Chapter 8: The Head Is Gone

The prehistoric giant lizard stared at Wang Yueban for a full minute, neither side uttering a word. With a smug grin, Wang Yueban shot me a triumphant look. This guy, Wang Yueban, was truly the epitome of a reckless leaf crossing a raging river—propelled entirely by sheer bravado! His smug smile lasted less than three seconds. Suddenly, the prehistoric giant lizard snapped open its massive bloody jaws, revealing rows of sharp, glinting fangs that gleamed menacingly in the light. Its expression and posture suggested it was eager to crunch Wang Yueban’s head to bits, as if it were merely chewing on rock candy.

A deafening roar erupted from the beast as it charged at Wang Yueban with the speed of a sprinter. Wang Yueban’s cocky expression hadn’t even faded before the giant lizard was upon him. This time, the creature showed no restraint—it swung its massive, fan-like claw and smacked Wang Yueban’s head. He spun around in place three and a half times like a top.

As soon as Wang Yueban finished spinning, the giant lizard lifted its enormous claw again. With a thunderous smack, Wang Yueban shot through the air like a meteor, tracing a graceful arc before crashing headfirst into the earth over ten meters away. Half his body was buried in the dirt, his head planted deep like a pestle grinding garlic.

I cried out in alarm, “This is bad!”

Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, I dashed toward Wang Yueban. Gritting my teeth and summoning all my strength, I wrapped my arms around the part of him still sticking out of the ground and, with great effort, yanked him free as if uprooting a stubborn scallion.

“Yueban, Yueban, wake up! Come on, wake up!” I slapped his face with both hands, calling his name as I did.

He coughed violently, spitting out the dirt that had packed his mouth. “Cough, cough… pfft… phooey! Ugh, blech!”

Then, his eyes landed on me, and in a voice trembling on the verge of tears, he wailed, “Damn it, Jiang, are we meeting each other in the underworld?”

Seeing Wang Yueban in such a wretched state, I couldn’t help but feel emotional myself. I tried to comfort him, “Don’t talk nonsense, Yueban. You’re tough—you’re still alive and kicking! Don’t forget, you’re descended from imperial bodyguards. You know martial arts—it’s in your blood from head to toe!”

The two swipes from the prehistoric giant lizard had nearly claimed Wang Yueban’s life, but it wasn’t finished with us. With jaws agape and its thick, sinuous tail whipping behind it, the beast came lumbering toward us, relentless as ever.

“Jiang, it’s coming! It’s coming—look at its claws!” Wang Yueban, nearly beaten to death moments ago, had clearly been frightened out of his wits. Seeing the giant lizard bear down on us, he screamed in terror.

“Don’t be afraid, Yueban! Let’s fight this bastard together!” Seeing my brother so terrified, I steeled myself, forced my aching body to stand, and faced the giant lizard with a look of desperate determination.

The creature rushed up to me, using the same strategy as before. It swung its massive paw at my head, as if smashing a cucumber. The air whistled as the enormous claw, moving like a black whirlwind, came crashing down. There was no time to dodge; I simply shut my eyes.

A thunderous smack and a heavy thud sounded. I could feel the ground trembling beneath my feet. Judging by the force of that blow, the giant lizard’s strength was truly astonishing! In my mind’s eye, I couldn’t help but picture watermelons being crushed on the road by passing cars—pulverized, juice and all! The thought sent a shudder through me.

Wait—a moment! Something was off. If my head had really been smashed by that paw, how was I still thinking? According to the laws of nature, if a head is gone, could the body possibly continue to think with some other part?

Was my head still intact? Why hadn’t I felt any pain? Was it possible that my head had been obliterated so thoroughly that even my pain nerves had been destroyed, leaving me numb?

Slowly, I lifted my arm and reached up to feel my head… My ears were still there… so was my nose… and my eyes… Everything was where it should be!

What was going on? Alarmed, I quickly opened my eyes. What I saw left me stunned.

Standing directly in front of me was a lean young man, as straight and rigid as a lamppost, his back to me so I couldn’t see his face.

The raging prehistoric giant lizard, which had been so ferocious moments before, now lay sprawled on the ground ten meters away, looking as if it were paralyzed on one side. Its mouth hung open, a thick, crimson tongue lolling out, and bright red blood gushed from its maw like a fast-running stream.

What on earth was happening? My face must have been a perfect picture of shock and bewilderment as I stared at the scene before me.

At that moment, the giant lizard panted heavily, its breath labored and harsh. It scraped at the ground with its four huge claws, much like a hen searching for grain, then, despite its apparent paralysis, struggled to rise.

With a few guttural roars—sounding like both a bugle charge on the battlefield and a madman’s cursing—the prehistoric beast clawed frenetically at the earth, its thick tail twitching as it charged at the slender young man.

When this giant lizard charged, it truly resembled a black whirlwind. Sand and stones flew in all directions, and its four sharp claws gouged deep furrows in the ground.

Watching the monster barrel toward us, nearly upon us, my heart leapt into my throat and cold sweat poured down my brow.

But what shocked me most was that the lean young man in front of me remained absolutely motionless, standing tall like a lamppost, as if he’d been frozen in place.

As the saying goes, the hard fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who don’t fear death. What on earth was this young man up to?