Du Ping, who had just raised his head, gasped, "****," His heart seized, and he felt bile rise in his throat. He involuntarily plopped onto the ground and scrambled backward.

At this moment, less than a meter in front of him, a bloated, moss-covered big woman lay prone.

As Du Ping looked up, his gaze met a pair of pitch-black eyes. Simultaneously, Du Ping saw clearly that this creature had a small head and a short snout. Half of a yellow-brown furred animal corpse dangled from its mouth, swaying. With each movement, reddish-brown liquid dripped to the ground.

Du Ping was startled by the sudden sight. Before he could discern what it was, muttering only, "****," his body shot back like a released spring.

Eating a yellow weasel raw, and one this big! I have to run, no matter what it is! That was Du Ping's only thought at that moment.

But Du Ping's violent movement had clearly startled the thing before him as well. The big woman suddenly lunged forward. The half-eaten yellow weasel fell from her maw, revealing a gruesome, bloody mouth right before Du Ping's eyes.

At the same time, a dragging sound came from behind the big woman.

A tail?

A human-faced monster?

Du Ping panicked. His kidneys clenched instantly, adrenaline surged, and blood rushed to his head. As he recoiled, his hand brushed against a tree branch. Without a second thought, he grabbed it and thrust it towards the mouth, matted with yellow fur and bloodstains.

A direct hit. A piercing, wretched shriek instantly tore through the woods. The horrifying scream overwhelmed all other sounds, echoing relentlessly.

The big woman was struck in a vulnerable spot. Screaming, she retreated. This counterattack bolstered Du Ping's confidence; the creature before him wasn't as terrifying as he'd initially thought.

With his adrenaline still pumping, his courage multiplied. He swiftly rolled to his feet.

Du Ping let out a sinister chuckle. Fear had now transformed into recklessness and audacity. He swung the branch in his hand, lashing out at the retreating, crawling figure.

"WHACK!"

"AHHHH!"

That cry jolted Du Ping, who had been readying another strike, to his senses.

Could an animal make a sound like that?

Instantly, images of various animals yelping in pain flashed through his mind.

A person?

Du Ping's mind cleared further, and he began to examine the crawling big woman more closely.

This focused look finally allowed him to distinguish features. The two filthy forelimbs propelling her forward, caked in mud and grass, didn't quite resemble animal forelegs. They looked more like... Human arms?!

Arms?!

It's actually a damn human!

Upon closer inspection, what dragged behind the big woman wasn't a tail but legs—though they appeared broken and useless.

A savage who eats raw flesh and drinks blood!

Though not well-read, this rather academic term suddenly popped into Du Ping's mind, bringing a faint smile to his lips and easing the tension that gripped him.

Humans inherently fear unknown creatures and wild beasts. It's a fundamental instinct—impossible to eliminate, only to overcome. But if it's a human, the fear lessens. After all, we all have two arms and two legs; there's nothing to be truly afraid of.

As Du Ping's mind relaxed, his body sagged slightly. He stumbled but quickly regained his balance.

This all transpired in two or three seconds, the blink of an eye. The fleshy ball on the ground was still hollering "AH! AH! AH!" as it struggled to crawl forward.

Du Ping, still wary, poked what he assumed was a leg with the branch.

At this poke, the appendage that had been dragging instantly recoiled with a speed that made Du Ping tense up all over again. Feeling embarrassed by his reaction, he couldn't help but blurt out a "****."

Is it over now?

No.

The curse had barely left Du Ping's lips when the fleshy ball on the ground abruptly turned over, once again revealing that mouth stained with fur and blood.

A chill shot down Du Ping's spine. He immediately raised the branch he held and struck out again. A sharp "WHACK!" echoed once more.

"AHHHH! Screw your mother, you cowardly cur from a shit-eating family! You motherfucker!"

Du Ping, poised to strike again, froze, his eyes darting around.

The vulgar, despicable, filthy, and malicious words, delivered in that familiar tone, were an undeniable reminder: the thing before him was, damn it, Du Jun's wife.

Du Ping felt as if he had swallowed excrement; nausea and revulsion washed over him. Staring at the mouth, full of fur and blood, the water he had just drunk seemed to surge back up his throat and dribble from the corners of his lips.

Looking at that disgusting, obscenity-spewing mouth, Du Ping quickly turned away and spat heavily towards the trees. He feared that another glance would make him lose control and bring the branch crashing down on that mouth.

Du Ping even cynically speculated, Du Jun probably couldn't stand this woman's foul mouth; that's why he sought out his wife's younger sister.

Attracted by the woman's shouting and cursing, the others, who weren't far off, began to make their way towards Du Ping.

"Du Ping, what's wrong?"

"Did you find that woman?"

Du Ping looked at the approaching group but said nothing, merely gesturing behind him.

They were all below Tsim Stone Tsui and could only hear the woman's curses, not see the situation above. Seeing Du Ping point upwards, they quickly scrambled up a few steps.