Chapter 190: Chapter 187: Once Called Brother Mo, Brother Mo for Life
Mo Qi didn’t know how to describe his current situation and feelings.
It was as if countless giant elephants with hides of bronze and bones of iron were crushing him between them. Every corner of his body, every inch of his skin, was enduring immense pressure.
And this pressure wasn’t just external; what was even more unbearable was the pressure inside his body.
Intertwined forces viciously kneaded his internal organs.
The Dragon Might was like a giant hammer striking iron, relentlessly pounding on every one of his bones.
At one moment, Mo Qi felt like he was about to be crushed flat; the next, he felt like he was about to be torn to pieces.
If it were just pain, he could have endured it. The real issue was the gut-wrenching agony that left him unable to breathe.
Gazing at the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell a hundred zhang away, Mo Qi gritted his teeth. He pushed against the pressure, which felt like mountains and seas crashing down on him, and shakily got to his feet.
"Mo the kid, are you all right?" the Pig Emperor asked with concern.
"Don’t worry, I’m not dead yet!"
Mo Qi took a deep breath and comforted himself. ’I may be in a weakened state, but I’ve completed the Nine Transformations into Spirit. At least I’m Entering the Spirit with the Body, so enduring some pressure isn’t necessarily a bad thing.’
He casually tossed a few Medicinal Pills into his mouth, then began trying to approach the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell.
He took a single step, and the pressure of the Dragon Might surged. Mo Qi staggered, nearly collapsing to his knees again.
But he clenched his fists, using all his strength to fight against the Dragon Might, and finally managed to straighten his back once more.
"This isn’t enough to stop me!"
After a brief moment of acclimatization, Mo Qi stepped forward again.
And so, under the Pig Emperor’s shocked gaze, Mo Qi faced off against the Dragon Might.
With each step, he took some time to adapt to the strengthening Dragon Might. His advance was slow but incredibly steady.
That’s just how people are. Sometimes, if you don’t push yourself, you’ll never know where your limits lie.
After walking a full fifty zhang—halfway there—Mo Qi himself could hardly believe it.
Just a short while ago, his very first step had forced him to his knees.
Amidst the agony and pain, Mo Qi cracked a grin. Two streams of blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, a result of clenching his jaw too hard as he walked.
"Only halfway to go..."
Looking at the remaining fifty zhang, Mo Qi took a deep breath and stepped forward again.
CRACK!
The fifty-zhang mark seemed to be a dividing line. Before this point, the Dragon Might was powerful, but still within the limits of what Mo Qi could endure.
But now, the moment he stepped past it, it was as if a great mountain had fallen from the sky and landed right on top of him.
The pressure instantly intensified tenfold!
Mo Qi’s legs were the first to give way. His kneecaps shattered, and his thigh bones pierced through his flesh.
With no time to react, he collapsed.
CRACK!
Another sound of shattering bone. His arms, which had instinctively moved to break his fall, snapped at the wrists and elbows.
CRACK! CRACK!
Immediately after, his sternum and ribs also gave way, unable to withstand the pressure.
The only parts of him still relatively intact were his head and his entire spine.
’Does this make me an Iron Head Boy? To think my head is still perfectly fine under this terrifying pressure!’
Mo Qi mocked himself, then his stomach churned.
PFFT—
A mouthful of blood sprayed out, only to fall back onto his face due to him lying flat on his back.
Seeing this, the Pig Emperor’s face contorted with anxiety.
"Mo the kid, give up! Crawl out of there, or you’ll die!"
"Give up?" Mo Qi shook his head. "My name is ’Mo Qi.’ My mother gave it to me. Though I don’t remember my days with her, I know she wanted me to never give up, no matter when, no matter what I face!"
As he spoke, the Dragon Soul hovered directly above him.
Their eyes met. The Dragon Soul’s gaze was cold and emotionless, but a blazing fire burned in Mo Qi’s eyes.
"San Pang’s father is still waiting for me to save him! If I give up, what will happen to him?!"
"But you’ll most likely die!" the Pig Emperor emphasized again.
"It’s just a possibility, isn’t it?" Mo Qi laboriously twisted his head, rubbing his face against his shoulder to wipe away the blood that was blinding him.
"If I don’t ring the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell, San Pang’s father will definitely die. Trading a ’maybe’ for a ’definitely’... that’s a good deal!"
"I, Mo Qi, grew up without a father. I know how that feels, so I won’t let San Pang go through it too. He’s still young. Since he trusts me and calls me Brother Mo, I have to be the one to shield him from the wind and rain. Once he calls me Brother Mo, I’m his Brother Mo for life!"
The Pig Emperor fell silent. It looked at the Dragon Soul, then at the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell, its gaze finally resting on Mo Qi, who was covered in blood, the white bones of his limbs starkly visible.
It wrinkled its snout and thought, ’This foolish kid is going to be the death of me! Fine, go ahead and do whatever you want. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility!’
At the edge of the Dragon Vein, everyone saw Mo Qi’s predicament and heard his every word.
Jin Sanpang burst out crying with a "WAAAH."
"Waaah~ San Pang doesn’t want anything to happen to Brother Mo! Waaah~ It’s all because San Pang is bad! San Pang is useless! San Pang feels so awful! Waaah~"
Sobbing, Jin Sanpang began frantically beating his own head.
With the mentality of a four or five-year-old, he didn’t know how to express his emotions. Like many children, this was the only way he could vent his anguish.
Seeing this, Liu Hui quietly walked over, took Jin Sanpang’s head in his arms, and held him to stop him from hurting himself.
His own eyes were red as he stared intently at the image of Mo Qi.
"There, there, San Pang. The Master will be fine. We have to believe in him!" This was the first time Liu Hui had ever spoken to Jin Sanpang in such a tone.
Jin Sanpang hugged Liu Hui tightly, his sobs growing louder.
"’Once he calls me Brother Mo, I’m his Brother Mo for life,’" Qian Duoduo muttered. Before he knew it, two streams of tears had soaked his cheeks.
Nangong Yan, however, was completely and utterly stunned.
She had always believed that Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang followed Mo Qi, willing to serve him so devotedly, because they had been won over by his Medicinal Cuisine and his abilities.
Only now did she finally understand that what had truly won over Liu Hui and Jin Sanpang was Mo Qi’s character and his sincere heart.
Wu the Old Ghost turned his face away. Even with his nearly two thousand years of experience, seeing this scene made his heart sink.
Zhao Zijun and Zhu Fan looked at each other, a lump forming in their throats.
Back to Mo Qi. He was lying on the ground, all four limbs crippled. White bone, covered in fractures, protruded from his joints.
"ARGH!"
Mo Qi let out a low roar and forced himself to roll over, changing from his back to his stomach.
The only parts of his entire body that could still move were his head and his spine.
He was still fifty zhang from the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell. It was a distance he could normally cross in the blink of an eye, but now it seemed like an insurmountable chasm, impossibly far and impassable.
How Mo Qi wished he were a snake, so he could just slither over with a WHOOSH.
Unfortunately, while his spine could sway from side to side, it couldn’t propel his body forward.
"So... is this the only way?"
He stretched out his neck and began to plow the ground with his chin, using the strength of his head to drag his body forward, inch by grueling inch.
’This is so damn humiliating! Thank god no one’s watching except for the Pig Emperor.’
Mo Qi comforted himself with this thought, unaware that Jin Sanpang and the others were watching his every move.
But not a single one of them found it comical. Not a single one of them could bring themselves to laugh.
All that remained was a profound shock that struck them to their very souls.
