Tai Zhu Xuan Xiang: Me and My Eight Golden Gourd Sisters

Chapter 22: The Battle of the Golden Gourds and the Pack of Red-Maned Jackals

"Rustle, rustle—"

The forest was quiet at night.

The moonlight, like water, spilled over the wooden house and the melon trellis. The eight small golden melons, absorbed in the cultivation of breathing in the moonlight, swelled and contracted, their bodies shimmering with a precious glow, and the ethereal image of an infant within them appeared and disappeared. Suddenly, a faint sound came from outside the wooden wall, breaking the stillness of the night.

The eight little golden gourds were instantly awakened!

On the fifth golden melon, two beams of light shot out like sharp swords from the melon, piercing through the thick night and sweeping towards the direction from which the sound came.

The next second, the melon began to shake violently, and invisible ripples spread outwards to the other golden melons. The remaining seven small golden melons immediately tensed up, their bodies tilting slightly backward, like warriors gripping their weapons, assuming a ready-to-fight stance.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a dark figure leaped in from outside the wooden wall, landing heavily on the ground, followed by a second, a third, a fourth...

One after another, dark figures leaped over the wooden wall, landing on the ground inside and leaving footprints. Each figure's pupils emitted a chilling, eerie light, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps in the pitch-black night, looking extremely unsettling.

By the soft glow of the moon, one could see beneath those pairs of eerie lights were ferocious beast faces—the very same red-maned jackals that Cai Xuan had seen during the day.

The first few red-maned jackals crouched down, sniffing the ground as if searching for some scent.

They moved slowly along the ground and came to the foot of the wooden house.

The pack of jackals followed closely behind, making no unnecessary noise, clearly well-trained.

Several red-maned jackals sniffed the ground floor of the wooden house, then suddenly raised their heads and fixed their gaze on the second-floor platform. Then, with a push of their hind legs, their calf-sized bodies leaped into the air and landed on the platform. Their massive bodies stomped heavily on the wooden floor.

They sniffed around on the platform, searching for the scent left by the companion that Cai Xuan had shot and killed during the day.

Suddenly, the lead red-maned jackal twitched its nostrils, as if it had smelled something unusual. Its gaze slowly moved upwards, landing on the eight small golden gourds hanging below the wooden frame.

Saliva instantly dripped from the corner of its mouth.

"Aww—"

The lead red-maned jackal walked to the railing and let out a short howl towards the pack below, as if reporting some major discovery.

From within the pack of red-maned jackals, a figure a full size larger than the others slowly emerged. Its mane was thick and vibrant, like a burning flame; its eyes were cold and deep, carrying an undeniable aura of power—this was the king of the red-maned jackal pack, the Red-Maned Jackal King.

The Red-Maned Jackal King glanced coldly at the jackals on the platform, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

Then, it leaped up and landed in the center where several jackals had made way for it.

Upon reaching the platform, the Red-Maned Jackal King raised its head, gazing at the eight small golden gourds hanging from the wooden frame. Under the moonlight, the eight gourds shimmered with a lustrous glow, their surfaces subtly shimmering with a precious light, emitting a sweet aroma that made its blood boil. Its pupils suddenly contracted, its previously cold and fierce expression instantly replaced by greed, and saliva dripped from between its teeth, falling drop by drop to the ground.

After watching for a while, the red-maned jackal king could no longer restrain himself. He opened his blood-red maw, revealing two rows of sharp fangs, and bit down hard on the first little golden melon!

The first little golden gourd was already ready and waiting.

Just as the red-maned jackal king's fangs were about to touch the melon, the little golden melon suddenly swung its vine, and the entire melon, like an iron hammer, slammed heavily into the red-maned jackal king's chin from below with a sharp whistling sound!

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the Red-Maned Jackal King's massive body was thrown off balance, tumbling twice in the air before crashing heavily onto the ground floor, raising a cloud of dust.

"Awooo—"

The red-maned jackal king slowly rose from the ground, shaking its dizzy head. Its jaw throbbed with pain, and blood trickled from the corner of its mouth. Enraged, it raised its head and let out a deafening howl, startling countless night birds into flight.

This long howl seemed to be the prelude to an attack.

Upon hearing the sound, the red-maned jackals on the platform sprang into action, rushing towards Little Golden Gourd!

The first red-maned jackal opened its massive maw, filled with sharp, fangs, and lunged at the nearest golden gourd. The first gourd swung and slammed into its head. The dog's head instantly flattened, and it lay limply on the ground, never to rise again.

A second red-maned jackal pounced from the side.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out from the second golden gourd, striking the jackal's eye. The lightning traveled from its eye into its skull, exploding instantly. The red-maned jackal seemed to go mad, leaping down the stairs and frantically biting its companion. It only managed to bite once before collapsing to the ground. It convulsed a few times and then fell still.

The third jackal took advantage of the chaos to sneak around to the back.

The third golden gourd suddenly spat out a jet of water, like a giant, transparent rope, which wrapped around the red-maned jackal. The water jet tightened more and more, as if an invisible giant hand was twisting a bed sheet, contorting the red-maned jackal's body into a bizarre angle.

"Click click click—"

The sounds of bones breaking echoed throughout the room.

In an instant, blood gushed from the red-maned jackal's nostrils, eyes, ears, and mouth. Its body went limp like a rag doll. It was flung out by the jet of water, crashed heavily against the railing, slid to the ground, and could no longer move.

The fourth jackal, with its gaping maw, lunged menacingly from the front.

The fourth golden gourd spewed out a blazing flame, like a fire dragon, which shot straight into the mouth of the red-maned jackal!

Flames surged down its throat and into its abdomen, scorching its internal organs. The red-maned jackal howled pitifully, rolled wildly on the ground a few times, and then lay still.

Seeing that things were not going well, the fifth jackal turned to flee.

The sixth golden gourd emitted a ghostly light, striking it silently. The red-maned jackal's running motion abruptly froze, as if gripped by an invisible ghostly hand, and it fell straight to the ground, dead. There were no wounds on its body, yet it no longer breathed, as if its soul had been ripped away.

In the blink of an eye, all the red-maned jackals on the platform were wiped out.

Upon seeing this, the Red-Maned Jackal King roared in anger.

The pack of red-maned jackals downstairs surged onto the platform like a tidal wave, one after another, relentlessly and fearlessly attacking the little golden gourds.

Each of the golden gourds displayed its unique abilities. The first golden gourd used its body as a hammer, twirling and swinging it with unparalleled domineering power. Each strike took the life of a dog.

The second golden gourd burst forth with lightning, and those struck by it fell to the ground.

The third golden gourd's water jets were like whips and thorns, and those struck by them rarely survived; the fourth golden gourd's flames were like dragons, burning the red-maned jackals to charcoal; the sixth golden gourd's eerie light was like a sickle, silently reaping souls.