CHAPTER 2 – NINE YANG CROSSING (BOTTOM)
There is something within the icicle?!
Yang Dingtian had a burst of excitement. Without delay, he cautiously moved forward, but still could not see too clearly. From the entire cavern, only the middle had a opaque blue color. At this point, despite Yang Dingtian already melting a major part of it, it still not very transparent and one could not see what was inside.
Yang Dingtian hurriedly stepped forward, reached out with his hands, and encircled the root of the icicle. Suddenly, he could not help but s.h.i.+ver due to the cold. It was truly fortunate that Yang Dingtian was a Nine Yang Body, which made him truly like a stove. If it were changed to other people, they would directly become frozen.
The further he got into the ice, the colder it became, until it was almost completely unbearable.
While holding the icicle like this for a few hours, every half hour Yang Dingtian would rest for a while. The icicle melted inch by inch and the deeper in he went, the colder it was, until finally Yang Dingtian almost was not capable of enduring the pain.
Five hours later, Yang Dingtian was already s.h.i.+vering due to cold with his eyes intermittently became dark, almost entirely fainting. He obviously knew that if he continued to hold on, his life would be in danger. However, Yang Dingtian’s personality was a stubborn one; he would not give up until he reached his goal, so he forcibly pressed on.
“There’s actually a person inside?” Yang Dingtian was immediately encouraged. The icicle was almost finally melted away, becoming entirely transparent.
It was really strange, there was unexpectedly someone frozen in a cave a thousand meters down.
It was an old man. His hair and beard was completely white, disheveled like weeds. His whole face was completely wrinkled, too old to figure out his age. His clothes were old and dirty and apart from having no holes, there was basically no difference to a beggar’s clothes. Revealing the surface of his hands, they were as thin and dry as dead tree branches. This old man from head to toe, even every root hair, showed a gray and withered breath.
Yang Dingtian was slightly disappointed. This person should have died a long long time ago and seemed to have been frozen for a long long time. As to why he would be sealed within the ice, the reason was unknown.
But work should be done to the end. Although the person inside should be dead, Yang Dingtian decided to get him out.
Thus, Yang Dingtian resisted the piercing coldness, once again embracing the frighteningly cold icicle with his whole body s.h.i.+vering.
The final melting truly was a test of one’s will; this kind of freezing coldness was hard to describe with words. At last Yang Dingtian could not bear it anymore; his mind blanked out and he fainted.
“Kacha……” At the same time, a sharp fragmentation sound resounded. The last layer of ice covering the old man completely shattered and the thick icicle thoroughly vanished.
The piercing cold stopped and Yang Dingtian’s body gradually restored its heat, making him only temporarily unable to move. Yang Dingtian was leaning on the old man’s body with his nose full of the opposite party’s rotting smell. Although it wasn’t that bad, it was unendurable compared to other odors.
Suddenly! The old man in front of him fiercely opened his eyes! This made Yang Dingtian suddenly alarmed.
Was this sudden corpse moving? Wasn’t he already dead?
Shortly after, this gray and withered old man suddenly extended his dried up hand and grasped Yang Dingtian’s neck. His long nails were like knife blades stabbing at his arterial road, his murky eyes emitted an ice-cold blade-like look. His aged face was filled with anger and roared out a sentence in Yang Dingtian’s face.
The sound was as uncomfortable as if someone had sc.r.a.ped a wall with a knife. However, Yang Dingtian did not understand any of the words he said; it was simply a language that Yang Dingtian did not know.
Seeing that Yang Dingtian had no response, this old rotting person became very indignant and angry. He repeated the words before once more and listening to the tone, it seemed to Yang Dingtian that he demanding information.
“I, I don’t understand any of what you’re saying?” Yang Dingtian managed to say.
Hearing Yang Dingtian’s answer, the old rotting person was very excited. He said several words in succession. After that, the ugly aged face drew closer and asked Yang Dingtian a series of questions one after another.
Yang Dingtian suddenly felt a sharp pain and blood flowed down his neck. Yang Dingtian’s strength drained at this time and became simply unable to move.
Then, the old man pressed for another answer.
Yang Dingtian bitterly laughed: “Old gentleman, I really really don’t know what you are saying?”
The old man was furious. The long nails on Yang Dingtian’s neck suddenly scratched and Yang Dingtian’s mouth was immediately filled with blood. His flesh opened and blood surged out. Then, the old man pressed for another answer, but Yang Dingtian still did not understand.
The old man fury soared. Both hands firmly grasped Yang Dingtian’s neck and pressed for an answer once more in a cold tone.
Although he was unable to understand the words that the old man was saying, Yang Dingtian could understand the general meaning of the old man’s words. If he refused to say anything, the opposite party would strangle him alive.
Yang Dingtian immediately bitterly laughed for a bit: “I risked my life to save you, but now you’re going to strangle me alive. It was truly worth the bother.”
The old man did not know what Yang Dingtian had said, but it was apparent that he did not obtain the answer he wanted. His face immediately revealed a cruel sneer and then his hands tightened, those ice-cold hands gripped Yang Dingtian’s neck tighter.
Yang Dingtian gradually became unable to breathe and his eyes gradually protruded, tongue stretched out of his mouth. The strength to regret disappeared. He had saved this old man with great difficulty, but was strangled to death by the opposite party.
“I may die, but I absolutely cannot die in such an obscure and cowardly manner.” Yang Dingtian clenched his teeth. Strength gushed out from an unknown place deep within his unwilling body and he suddenly kicked forward.
“Peng……” The foot made contact with the old man’s chest.
“Kacha……” A clear breaking sound, like dead branches being stepped on, and the old man’s ribs were kicked broken. Yang Dingtian’s effort wasn’t too large, but the old man already was like a greatly dried up oil lamp. The old man’s bones were brittle and dry and just like this, it was easily kicked broken. Moreover, his entire body was kicked down, so naturally, both hands were loosened from Yang Dingtian’s neck. It seemed like grasping Yang Dingtian’s neck was the last remnants of the old man’s strength.
Yang Dingtian hurriedly moved his hands and legs and rapidly retreated, getting far away from the old man. Finally, his back hit the wall and he gasped in deep breaths. On one side, he was looking at his body’s wounds and on the other, he was vigilantly looking at the frightening old man out of the corner of his eye.
The several wounds on his body had already stopped bleeding, but now it truly was a burning pain. However, the cavern was too small. Wanting to entirely stay away from this crazy old man was impossible.
Yang Dingtian gasped for breath as he acc.u.mulating strength while watching the dangerous old man attentively. As long as the old man came to attack once more, then he couldn’t be blamed for being impolite.
But after that old man was kicked over by Yang Dingtian, it was possible that his chest was kicked into an injury. The old man’s mouth spit out a dark red blood twice, then tried really hard to try to sit up with his hands, but his effort failed many times.
It seemed like his whole body only had his hands able to move and all the other places could not move, so he couldn’t get up.
After trying hard, he was still defeated, making the old man was furious. He issued waves of snarls, used both hands to pound the ice, but suddenly his chest wound acted up. He spat out several mouthfuls of black blood and the hands that were beating the ice also immediately became mangled.
Then he gave up and laid down on the ice face upwards and began to shout abuse. Of course Yang Dingtian had no idea what he was scolding, but his voice was full of anger and grief, so it could not help but make Yang Dingtian be influenced.
“This old man is very pitiful.” Yang Dingtian could not help but have a burst of sympathy.
At last, the old man stopped cursing and laid down on the ice floor silently. The broken bones within his chest may have stabbed into his inside flesh, for his chest was already swelling high.When the old man began to breathe, his chest fell, until it finally seemed that he breathed no more.
In spite of knowing that going over to the old man was very dangerous, Yang Dingtian could not restrain himself and slowly walking towards him.
Far away by some distance, Yang Dingtian lightly kicked the old man, but the other party did not have any response. Yang Dingtian stepped forward and touched his neck artery. There was a pulse, but it was already extremely weak.
Yang Dingtian went forward and supported the old man up, then untied the old man’s clothes to examine the wound on his chest.
His right chest ribs had been kicked broken by Yang Dingtian. He was already as thin as dried human corpse, his skin was like a layer of leather on top of his ribs, so the two broken ribs could be easily seen. One of them pierced the flesh, making a few inch high swelling on the thin layer of skin. It was greenish black and purple; seeing it was very scary.
Yang Dingtian utilized his shallow knowledge on first-aid to reluctantly help the old man’s broken bones put into the right location. During the entire process, because of the piercing pain, the old man’s body shuddered several times, but still did not wake up.
Fortunately, only two ribs were broken and they weren’t broken into several pieces. But for Yang Dingtian, adjusting broken bones was still quite exhausting. In this world of snow and ice, Yang Dingtian even exuded a thin layer of perspiration.
Suddenly! Before Yang Dingtian’s eyes, there were two long sharp fingernails. As long as he moved a little, these two sharp fingernails would piercing his eyes, making him thoroughly blind.
Not knowing when, the old man unexpectedly woke up. Seeing Yang Dingtian’s look, he immediately let out a cruel sneer. At this time, his long fingernails still had Yang Dingtian’s b.l.o.o.d.y flesh. Along with his sinister and cruel face, he looked especially frightening.
Yang Dingtian immediately let out a nervous breath, then let down his gaze. He continued bone setting for the old man, as if not knowing that the opposite party wanted to poke him blind.
However, when he was bone setting, both of his hands were slightly shaking. Yang Dingtian let out another long breath and calmed down his shaking hands, then earnestly adjusted the old man’s broken chest bones.
His behavior was not reciprocated. The old man instead gave a taunting sneer, as if ridiculing Yang Dingtian’s hypocrisy and cunning.
Yang Dingtian did not pay any attention and continued to give serious treatment to the old man.
The old man’s fingernail slowly exerted itself and a sharp fingernail slowly pierced towards Yang Dingtian’s flesh, similar to a sharp knife slowly piercing millimeter by millimeter.
The fingernail that was piercing towards him reached one centimeter and was already piercing the outer flesh. Very quickly, it was going to stab Yang Dingtian’s eyeball.
Yang Dingtian’s eyes narrowed and his right hand slowly became a fist. In the next moment, he wanted to punch towards the old man’s broken bones heart area, thoroughly making the old man get killed!
However, the old man suddenly stopped and instead pulled out the fingernail stuck into his body. Then, he slowly closed his eyes and allowed Yang Dingtian to do whatever he wanted.
Yang Dingtian let out a long breath. He calmed down his rapidly beating heart, then continued to treat the old man.
Finally, he set the old man’s broken bones and then carefully dressed it with clothes. Even though doing it like this was too rough, it couldn’t be helped right now. There wasn’t a single piece of wood inside the cave.
After taking care of everything, Yang Dingtian once again drew back and retreated far away from the old man’s place, sitting down against the wall.
And this dangerous old man was motionless with his eyes closed.