Aside from the white bones, there was also a simple bed made from piled tree branches, as well as traces of fire.
All signs indicated that someone had been living here.
And whoever would live in a place like this could only be the demoness.
Thus, Chu Feng concluded that this must be the demoness's lair, and these were indeed the remains of those who had been taken away by her long ago.
However, since the bones had already deteriorated, Chu Feng could not tell which one was Wang Qiang. Still, he needed to determine whether Wang Qiang was among them.
If Wang Qiang wasn't there, then so be it. But if he was, it would mean Wang Qiang had already perished at the demoness's hands — and that was something Chu Feng desperately did not want to be true.
Left with no choice, he began counting the number of bones. Back when Wang Qiang had gone to flirt with the demoness, Chu Feng had already sensed that something was off. At that time, he had instinctively taken note of every person present.
Almost without thinking, he had committed to memory the number of people who were abducted.
So by counting the bones, Chu Feng could roughly determine whether Wang Qiang was among them.
Though there was no truly reliable basis for this, Chu Feng just felt that Wang Qiang would have been the one among that group to hold out the longest.
"Damn it!"
"Damn it!!"
"Damn it!!!"
Suddenly, Chu Feng's expression twisted violently, his teeth clenched in fury. At the same time, a wave of deep, crushing grief surged through his eyes.
"What a pathetic joke."
Then, clenching both fists, he smashed them into the ground with all his might, shaking the earth as though a violent earthquake had struck.
Chu Feng had already counted the bones — and the number matched exactly those who had been taken away that day. That meant Wang Qiang was among them.
But these were bones. If Wang Qiang truly was among them, he was undoubtedly dead.
"Why am I so weak? Why am I so damn weak?"
"Useless. I'm utterly useless — I can't even protect my own friend, and yet I dare to dream of reclaiming my lost dignity?"
"Trash. Chu Feng, you're nothing but trash — a complete and total waste!!!"
Chu Feng screamed hysterically. In this moment, his heart was truly torn apart with grief. Though no tears fell, the agony inside him was unbearable.
Despite not having spent much time with Wang Qiang, Chu Feng had felt from the very start that he was someone worth knowing — a man worth calling a friend.
And when he learned that Wang Qiang had secretly protected him in the past, Chu Feng's gratitude deepened immensely.
What sealed it was Wang Qiang's words — that he simply liked the look of Chu Feng. That single remark had earned Chu Feng's recognition of Wang Qiang as a brother.
Yet now, Chu Feng had watched helplessly as Wang Qiang was taken away by the demoness, powerless to do a thing. And Wang Qiang had been eaten alive by her while Chu Feng could only stand by and do nothing.
Every time he imagined the demoness skinning Wang Qiang, peeling his tendons, tearing his flesh and blood apart bite by bite, his death so horrific it was unbearable to picture — Chu Feng was consumed by hatred for the demoness. And just as much, he hated himself — hated his inadequacy, hated his weakness.
"Did one of your relatives get eaten by that demoness?" Suddenly, a calm, faint voice rang out.
Hearing this voice, Chu Feng shot to his feet and cast his vicious gaze toward its source.
But the moment he looked, Chu Feng froze in place. It was an old monk.
The old monk was very thin and poorly dressed — a tattered cloth robe that had been patched and mended in countless places, like something a beggar might wear.
Yet despite the ragged clothing, it was remarkably clean — not a speck of dust on it.
Chu Feng could tell at a single glance that this gaunt, withered old monk was no ordinary man.
He had no observable cultivation, appearing no different from an ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts. But how could an ordinary person possibly reach such a dangerous place?
"Who are you?" Chu Feng forced himself to suppress the grief over Wang Qiang's death and addressed the old monk cautiously — though he did not call him elder.
Because Chu Feng could not yet determine whether this old monk was friend or foe.