Chapter Fourteen: The Horrifying Delivery Room

On the road that followed, the three young half-demons became increasingly exhilarated by the killing, especially Ma Qiqi, that woman. Earlier, the four leg bones of the deformed Ten-Death-rank weasel-wolf were incredibly hard, its claw-like toes as sharp as hooks. Li Fusuo simply severed them from the root and handed them to Ma Qiqi to use as weapons. To his surprise, they suited her perfectly.

In truth, certain parts of monsters’ bodies often make excellent materials for crafting demon artifacts. The weasel-wolf’s diamond-hard toe bones, for example, could be forged into “shark teeth” for swords and blades. With such hardness, any ordinary steel weapon would shatter upon contact. The Boundary Stone Organization also offers merit point bounties for “spoils of war” taken from such monsters. These are reclaimed, refashioned by their own master crafters into demon artifacts, and then offered as rewards in exchange for merit points—a virtuous cycle.

Li Fusuo roughly estimated that these four leg bones and toe bones could be traded for about twenty merit points. Bear in mind, a single Ten-Death-level monster is worth only ten merit points.

Taking advantage of the break while retrieving his Tang sword Autumn Water and swapping Ma Qiqi’s weapon, Li Fusuo made the three rest for a moment, allowing the bloodlust in their hearts to subside.

By now, the four of them had followed the scent of the venomous weasel-wolf for about five kilometers. Judging by the increasing number of weasel-wolves along the way, they were surely heading in the right direction—toward the heart of the creatures’ lair.

It was then that Ma Mingming took the opportunity to ask a question that had been troubling him: “Captain, along the way, we must’ve seen or killed at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, weasel-wolves, right?”

After all this forced marching and fighting, Ma Qiqi was still full of energy, while Ma Mingming and Niu Shan—the two men—were panting and exhausted. Once he caught his breath, Ma Mingming continued, “So many weasel-wolves have died, but there must be even more alive. What do they eat? What do they drink? If they survived solely on human blood, countless people would have died. There’s no way the Boundary Stone would not have noticed.”

Li Fusuo grunted, scolding, “You’re only now realizing the root of the problem and its severity, and you’re still not asking the right questions. With a mind like yours, you think you’re fit to lead missions? I really wonder where all your pride comes from.”

He then gestured toward the waterway ahead, explaining, “Do you really think the underground drainage system of a mega-city like Kyoto is that clean? If you don’t believe me, try drinking all the standing water in a puddle and look at the ground underneath—it’s covered in bite marks. Those are left from gnawing away the garbage stuck to the surface.”

As he spoke, Li Fusuo’s expression was complicated, a mix of disgust and perhaps a bit of fear toward the weasel-wolves. He said gravely, “Weasel-wolves eat almost anything—flesh, grain, even garbage and sludge. Starvation is simply not an issue for them. What’s truly terrifying is their reproductive ability: a female can bear five to ten pups per litter and have seven or eight litters a year. The young are sexually mature at just three months. If their population ever exceeds a certain limit, humans wouldn’t be able to kill them as fast as they’re born. At that point, the weasel-wolves could really replace humanity.”

Hearing this, the three young half-demons broke out in a cold sweat. The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became: a hybrid breed of weasel and wolf, omnivorous, with a multitude of innate abilities, an enormous population base, and a monstrous reproductive capacity. Ma Mingming suddenly wondered whether the Boundary Stone’s emergency protocols were enough—or if more severe measures were needed.

Staring at a puddle on the ground, Ma Mingming’s face was full of disbelief, tinged with the horror that only comes from believing the unbelievable. For a moment, he was actually tempted to drink the water himself, just to see if Li Fusuo was telling the truth.

Noticing her brother staring blankly at the puddle, Ma Qiqi jabbed him in the lower back and whispered, “Bro, just touch it with your hand.”

Ma Mingming slapped his palm and reached out to touch the puddle. His expression instantly turned constipated—no need to ask, it was just as Li Fusuo had said. Now, both Niu Shan and Ma Qiqi grew heavy-hearted and listless.

Li Fusuo realized he might have been too abrupt in revealing the severity of the situation and tried to comfort them, but was suddenly interrupted by Ma Qiqi: “Hm? There’s a human scent.”

Li Fusuo was startled. “What’s going on? Be clear. Is it someone from another Bloodstain operation team? Or some reinforcements called in by Lynx?”

Ma Qiqi activated her innate “Olfactory Perception” ability, carefully searching the surroundings before replying, “Yes, it’s a human scent. It’s faint and not far from here, but I can’t tell who it is.”

Li Fusuo pondered, then ordered, “Point out the direction, let’s move—be careful. Something feels off.”

With that, the four crept cautiously in the direction Ma Qiqi indicated.

As they approached the end of a waterway, Ma Qiqi said quietly, “Up ahead seems to be another retention basin, but there’s a mix of scents, spread over a wide area. It must be there.”

Li Fusuo was about to respond when Ma Mingming, impatient, rushed ahead to take a look.

The darkness was impenetrable, their flashlights barely illuminating anything. Li Fusuo wanted to stop him, but Ma Mingming had already crossed the distance in a blink. As he stepped out of the waterway, his body suddenly tilted as if he’d stepped into thin air, pitching forward into the darkness.

The incident happened too quickly, and Li Fusuo was a step too slow to react.

Fortunately, a black streak shot out from behind Li Fusuo and the others, catching up just as Ma Mingming’s silhouette vanished from sight. Li Fusuo had only taken two steps when he felt something cold and rope-like wrap around his ankle. He instantly realized it was the tail of Evil Serpent Little Xie. He crouched down to brace himself, serving as an anchor.

Sure enough, a tremendous force pulled at his ankle, and in the next second, Ma Mingming was lifted bodily into the air by Little Xie and dragged back.

As soon as he was set down, Little Xie vanished again. Ma Mingming’s first words were, “Why is that snake so cold? It’s like the chill seeps into your soul.”

Li Fusuo cuffed him on the back of the head and growled, “Why don’t you just freeze to death or fall to your death, you idiot! Disobey orders again, and I’ll feed you to the weasel-wolves!”

Seeing Li Fusuo was truly angry and knowing he was at fault, Ma Mingming averted his gaze, too ashamed to argue.

Li Fusuo asked, “What’s up ahead? Did you see anything?”

Suddenly remembering, Ma Mingming replied in a low voice, “I saw it. The weasel-wolves have dug the retention basin into a pit nearly seven or eight meters deep. My flashlight fell in, and by its light, I saw many caves in the pit wall, but couldn’t see what was inside. The bottom of the pit seemed covered with bones—bleached white—I have no idea how many.”

Niu Shan and Ma Qiqi found this odd as well. All three looked at Li Fusuo, who pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s go take a look, but don’t make a sound.”

Li Fusuo led the way, creeping to the edge of the dark pit. The four of them peered over the rim.

The darkness inside was so deep that even their flashlights had little effect. Li Fusuo first shone his light along the near edge; sure enough, the pit wall was riddled with black, gaping holes—caves all about the same size, large enough for a person to enter. The floor was indeed covered in a mass of bones, just as Ma Mingming had described.

Li Fusuo swept the light left and right—more orderly rows of caves, like shelves in a storeroom—though from this angle, they couldn’t see inside.

Suddenly, Niu Shan whispered, “Wait, something just moved in that cave.”

Li Fusuo immediately shone his light where Niu Shan indicated. There was a shadow moving.

Ma Qiqi said, “Looks like a rat.”

Ma Mingming retorted, “Impossible. Down here, even garbage is a monster’s snack. There can’t be other living creatures—unless…”

Li Fusuo declared, “It’s a weasel-wolf pup. Newly born.”

At that moment, the black shape crawled out of the cave, rolled to the pit floor, got up, and began gnawing on a bone.

Niu Shan exclaimed, “They can chew bones to sharpen their teeth at birth?!”

Li Fusuo ignored him, shining his light on the caves opposite. What they saw stunned them all.

The opposite wall was also honeycombed with caves, but from this angle, they could see inside. Ma Qiqi nearly screamed in terror.

The caves weren’t deep—perhaps two meters at most. In the one illuminated by Li Fusuo’s light, a large dog lay on its back, its flesh a bloody mess. The dog, a large breed, had a single eye reflecting green in the beam, as if still alive.

But it was very much dead. The dog’s belly was slit open, exposing the spine; every last organ had vanished, leaving the belly a hollow, bloody sack.

Niu Shan’s voice trembled, “Look, there’s something alive inside the dog!”

Sure enough, in the pelvic cavity, a writhing mass of black shadows—four or five in number—huddled together as if for warmth.

Ma Mingming, uncertain if it was fear or discomfort with speaking quietly, rasped, “Those have to be newborn weasel-wolves! Did… did they eat all the dog’s organs?”

Ma Qiqi nearly gagged, but Li Fusuo quickly covered her mouth. He said, “They must have eaten them. But it’s worse than that—look at the other caves.”

At this, all of them felt a chill down to the marrow. The sight was hell on earth.

Every cave contained the corpse of a different animal, all splayed on their backs with bellies open like pouches, each “cradling” a varying number of newborn weasel-wolves. In every case, the viscera and lungs had been devoured as a first meal.

Most of the bodies belonged to common livestock—dogs, pigs, sheep—or to small animals like cats and weasels. A few were larger, such as cows and horses, and they even spotted foxes and monkeys. But for the gruesome deaths and the pit’s grim setting, it might have resembled a zoo.

Even Li Fusuo, hardened by a decade of monster hunting, was left dazed by the horror.

After a moment, Li Fusuo voiced a bold guess: “These animals are both the weasel-wolves’ food… and…”

He hesitated, then chose a more palatable word: “…and their ‘mothers’.”

“‘Mothers’?”

The three others stared, dumbfounded. Niu Shan asked, “You mean these animals gave birth to those weasel-wolves? And then served as food for them?”

Li Fusuo nodded. “Not exactly. I doubt these animals volunteered to become food. More likely, the weasel-wolf pups were born by tearing out of the host’s belly, eating their way through the organs as they emerged. If it’s the other way round, it’s even more unspeakably cruel. This hollowed-out basin is their nursery—a maternity ward that crosses the boundaries between species.”

At that moment, Ma Qiqi—who had been silent—suddenly burst into sobs. “So… she… is she the same?!”

Li Fusuo signaled for her to lower her voice but followed her gaze. What he saw nearly split his eyes open.

In a cave near the pit’s edge, directly across from them, lay a woman in a plaid dress, hair disheveled, sprawled on her back. In her belly was a litter of newborn weasel-wolves.

Niu Shan and Ma Mingming noticed as well, nearly cracking their teeth in fury.

Ma Mingming’s face flushed from red to green, his fists clenched so tight they creaked. Just as Li Fusuo feared he would do something rash, Ma Mingming pointed at the woman and cried, “She’s still alive! Look! Her leg moved!”

Saying this, Ma Mingming made to rush in and save her.

Li Fusuo had to use all his strength to pin him down, whispering harshly, “You’re wrong! She’s dead! That was only… only the weasel-wolves gnawing inside her, triggering a reflex!”

Li Fusuo was sick at heart. He thought of Chen Kexin, the regular at the bar who had been missing and guarded by a weasel-wolf pup for two days. She was spared, but now it seemed that, had he not rescued her in time, her fate would have been exactly that of the unknown woman in the cave.

To see a fellow human used as breeding vessel and food by monsters—anyone would want to wipe out every last weasel-wolf.

But with the situation unclear and the Weasel-Wolf King still at large, they could not risk the fate of millions in Kyoto for a moment’s rage.

Unfortunately, Ma Mingming could no longer contain himself. He shouted, “We can’t just let her be eaten! I’m going down there!”

Li Fusuo cursed inwardly. In a flash, he slapped Ma Mingming to the ground.

But it was too late. Ma Mingming’s bulky form hit the ground with a muffled thud, his shout and the impact echoing through the huge pit.

In the next instant, countless pairs of green eyes flared at the pit’s edge. Niu Shan swept his flashlight around and revealed a horde of hideous weasel-wolf heads.

It turned out the rim of the pit, once a retention basin, was ringed with water channels—almost a circle. Now, the weasel-wolves began to hurl themselves frenziedly at Li Fusuo and the others.