Everyone followed the direction of Xiao Shuo’s fingertip and looked toward the still-smoking volcanic crater, gasping in shock.
That was the very place where the Mountain God had unleashed his wrath!
Tang Hongluan was also stunned. Although the volcanic eruption seemed to have ended and the situation appeared temporarily stable, this was still a volcano!
Even in the apocalypse, with all their advanced technology, humans still couldn’t accurately predict volcanic eruptions. At any moment, they could be swallowed by the flames.
And yet, Xiao Shuo dared to rush to the crater just three days after the eruption? Was he courting death?
If that dog of a man wanted to die, she certainly didn’t!
“I’m not going!” Tang Hongluan refused decisively. Even a second of hesitation would mean she’d lost.
“It’s not entirely unreasonable to go there and ask!” Surprisingly, Yan Chen agreed with Xiao Shuo this time. Since even the old shaman had no solution, they might as well follow the principle of “untying the bell requires the one who tied it”, go to the place where the Mountain God raged and, perhaps, even kowtow right there!
The old shaman remained silent. The land of divine wrath, who would dare disturb it lightly?
But… staying too far away might also seem disrespectful to the Mountain God.
“What’s there to fear?” Xiao Shuo curled his lips and glanced at Tang Hongluan with narrowed eyes. “The Mountain God is familiar with you, he won’t take you along with him!”
Tang Hongluan secretly glared at Xiao Shuo, not forgetting to shoot a glare at Yan Chen as well. Two lunatics!
One was deliberately stirring up trouble, and the other was blindly superstitious to the extreme. What a pair of freaks!
“I will go with utmost sincerity to kowtow at the place where the gods raged!” Xiao Shuo added another bold declaration, leaving the beastmen present utterly dumbfounded.
Throughout the journey, Xiao Shuo had been causing all sorts of trouble, and everyone had assumed that even if he made it here, he wouldn’t easily complete those thirty kowtows.
But now, not only had Xiao Shuo openly declared he would kowtow, he even insisted on doing it at the very heart of the Mountain God’s wrath!
The old shaman had nothing left to say.
If kowtowing anywhere at the foot of the mountain seemed ambiguous, then going to the epicenter of divine wrath would leave no room for criticism.
As usual, all eyes turned to Tang Hongluan.
Everyone waited for her response.
If she agreed, Xiao Shuo would take her straight to the volcanic crater.
Tang Hongluan trembled, both from fear of the volcano’s unpredictable fury and from suspicion of Xiao Shuo’s ulterior motives. Who knew what this mad beast-husband might suddenly do?
Like, say, pushing her into the crater… Just the thought made her skin crawl.
“Yan Chen has to come with us!” Tang Hongluan desperately proposed her only condition, feeling like she had no choice but to gamble this time…
Naturally, Jiang Cheng and his group wouldn’t dare join in the fun. Anyone with half a brain knew that place was fraught with danger, the horrors of three days ago could repeat at any moment.
If that happened, there’d be no time to escape. They’d be reduced to mere sacrificial offerings.
Tang Hongluan looked at Yan Chen, who hesitated for a moment. She smiled faintly, at least this beast-husband was superstitious, not stupid…
Yan Chen gazed at the crater, the events of three days ago flashing through his mind. They had been galloping through the mountains as usual, with no warning at all, when the Mountain God suddenly erupted in fury. Flames burst from the crater, instantly turning the entire mountain into hell.
Only because they hadn’t been at the very front had they escaped disaster.
The few beastmen leading the charge had been swallowed in an instant, only Xiao Shuo had managed to escape.
“If you’re too scared, just wait here!” Xiao Shuo’s voice dripped with disdain, but his eyes were fixed on Tang Hongluan. “But she has to come with me! Otherwise, I won’t know if the Mountain God will be satisfied with my kowtow!”
Tang Hongluan gritted her teeth in frustration. This lunatic was completely out of control, determined to charge straight into the volcano’s mouth!
“I’ll go!” How could Yan Chen let Xiao Shuo belittle him in front of everyone?
“Then you take-” A flicker of hope flashed in Tang Hongluan’s heart as she stared at Yan Chen, but before she could finish her sentence, she was abruptly flung onto the back of the white tiger.
Just her luck! She really didn’t want Xiao Shuo to be the one taking her!
She wanted Yan Chen!
Before she could even steady herself, another earth-shaking roar erupted from the tiger, strong enough to make the entire volcano tremble.
Tang Hongluan’s heart pounded in terror. This madman was truly beyond reason, what if his roar triggered another eruption?
Next, everyone watched as the two tigers raced across the smoke-choked mountainside, dodging falling rocks and scorching gusts of heat, their paws kicking up clouds of ash and dust…
The old priest held his breath, praying silently that the Mountain God would finally be appeased and spare the Tiger Clan any further wrath!
Xiao Shuo charged toward the volcano’s mouth like a man possessed. Tang Hongluan clung desperately to the tiger’s back, screaming, “Slow down! Slow down!”
But Xiao Shuo ignored her, his icy eyes gleaming with a mix of determination and something darker.
Yan Chen followed closely behind, his expression gradually shifting to confusion. What was Xiao Shuo planning?
As the volcano’s gaping maw loomed closer, Tang Hongluan’s mouth fell open in horror. He wasn’t slowing down, was he actually going to jump in?!
Suddenly… CRACK! Tang Hongluan felt her body lurch violently downward…