The Paranormal Streamer Chapter 9

We kept moving without rest. Looking at our dwindling food, the woman sighed and continued forward. Sometime later, I noticed food was lasting longer. At lunch, the woman distributed food as usual—gave me a normal amount but only drank water herself, ate nothing. This wouldn't do. I quickly told her, "Ma'am, why aren't you eating?"

She said nothing.

"Ma'am, I know you're looking out for me, afraid we'll run out of food. But you can't do this—you can't eat nothing at all. You're not a deity. You need to eat."

The woman's children had died long ago. Since meeting me, she saw hope and treated me like her own son.

I couldn't bear seeing her like this.

"Thank you, young man. I'm fine. You eat more. I'm not hungry." She continued drinking water.

I quickly stopped her: "Ma'am, your health matters! Aren't you worried about food running out? If we run out, we'll dig up grass roots and eat tree bark. You can't just drink water like this."

Tears flowed from the woman's eyes. After eating, we rested briefly and continued forward. Then we found a cave opening, about the size of a python.

Suddenly I felt someone following us. I shouted directly: "Come out! Who are you? Why are you following us!"

The woman looked at me confused, wondering if I'd lost it.

Unexpectedly, a figure in black really appeared from behind a tree. I recognized immediately: "Was it you who messaged me to come to Hollow Creek? Why did you lure me here? What's your purpose?"

The mysterious person said nothing, just stared at the woman. Then the person suddenly ran backward and disappeared. The snake hole in front of us suddenly collapsed, and we fell in. When I got up to look carefully, wasn't this the cave I'd been to before? Where Frank had brought me.

Damn, weren't we directly at the general's tomb now? I figured we were. I told the woman about this place. She confirmed this was indeed the general's burial chamber.

Suddenly we heard agonizing cries from inside the cave. The woman and I were shocked. What was that sound? The missing villagers?

She told me to stay quiet. We immediately fell silent. Looking up, I saw something wrong.

In my memory, there was a stone tablet here. Now it was gone. Near where the tablet had been, I heard from nearby: "Don't eat me!"

I gestured urgently to the woman—the villagers were nearby. She understood. I told her not to rush, but this was life or death. The woman accidentally stepped on a stone, making noise. I knew immediately something was wrong. Soon, a sound like a mix of lion and ox came from the tomb. Hearing it stunned us both.

Then I saw a bull-headed monster appear, holding the half-eaten remains of a villager.

This general wasn't what I'd imagined at all—he was a monster! I heard the monster chattering away. The woman and I couldn't understand a word. Some ancient creature speaking god-knows-what language.

Since we couldn't understand, we'd just have to fight. Watching the monster gesturing while talking—meaning he'd dismember us—damn, absolutely arrogant. You'll see what's coming.

I shouted directly: "What the hell are you gesturing at! Let them go now or you'll regret it!"

The woman put down her pack, taking out all the ritual objects. Neatly arranging them on the ground, she began quietly chanting spells.

I watched her bite her finger open, dripping blood on a peach wood sword. I realized she was consecrating the sword.

Without another word, the woman grabbed the sword and charged. Despite her age, her movements were no worse than a young person's. I watched her thrust the sword toward the monster's chest, but it nimbly dodged. Didn't hit! I knew this was bad.

The woman wasn't giving up, preparing a second attack. But the monster was completely enraged. With a loud roar, one hand struck her stomach. She flew backward, coughing blood.

I rushed to check on her. She told me to quickly use the Eight Trigrams Banner. I immediately took out the banner and stood ready, not daring to slack off. But looking at the cave opening above, the color had turned black. The sun was setting. This would greatly increase the time needed to summon the banner and reduce its power.

Though I was trying my best to cast the spell, my combat and defense capabilities were basically zero.

The monster seemed to know what I was doing. Seeing an opportunity, it prepared to ambush me. The woman leaped up, and the monster struck her instead. She fell hard, blood gushing out.

I couldn't move now. If I did, all my preparation would be wasted. The monster didn't miss any chance—it launched another attack, this time directly at the woman. Already severely injured, she couldn't move, only channeling her energy.

She had to close her eyes, accepting death's arrival. Before dying, her hopeful gaze begged me to save the villagers.

"Young man, the rest is up to you."

In that split second, a person appeared before the woman. What the hell—it was the person in black from earlier! He was using the woman's peach wood sword to block the monster's attack. Unexpectedly, this person was quite powerful.

When the black cloth fell from his face, the woman cried out: "Son!"

The woman felt indescribable emotions. Though her mind was somewhat unclear, this person who'd followed them was her long-lost son.

The man in black immediately knelt: "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't take care of you. I let you become like this."

Seeing her long-lost son, the woman excitedly called out: "Son, you're finally back. That's wonderful!"

The man quickly held the woman's hand, comforting her: "I had my reasons, Mother. I came back for you this time. We'll talk slowly later. Rest now. Let me deal with this."

The banner finally began manifesting, sensing the monster's presence, emitting brilliant light. When I opened my eyes, I saw the man in black's face clearly—wasn't that my follower group's moderator? Holy crap!

I was going crazy. Seriously.

The man in black smiled: "Group leader, I had no choice. I've been observing you for a long time. You've been to so many dangerous places and always survived. Ordinary people couldn't do that. I knew you were a descendant of the ancient bloodline. Now only you and I working together can defeat this monster. We'll discuss everything else later."

He had a point. We needed to kill this ugly thing first. If we didn't, we'd all become its food.

I made eye contact with the man in black. I'd lure the monster to the burial chamber. The monster seemed to want to face off with my banner, pursuing me relentlessly. I seized the moment, chanting the spell. A white light shot from the Eight Trigrams Banner, hitting the monster's right leg. It face-planted directly.

The man in black went to rescue the villagers. I thought there'd be no more pressure, but the monster still had a trump card. I watched it gesture with both hands, drawing a circle.

Then the woman warned: "Quick, stop it! It's summoning its demon soldiers. When tens of thousands of demon soldiers are released, even the gods couldn't stop it!"

Hearing this, no way! I concentrated all my will, swung the banner directly at its head. The result was obvious—the monster vanished without a trace.

I observed for a long time, confirming no sign of the monster around, certain it was destroyed. Hollow Creek's mystery of so many years was finally solved. I breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing to the ground. Then I remembered the woman, rushing to her side: "Ma'am, are you okay? How do you feel?"

I thought she was just exhausted, but the truth was different.

The woman held my hand: "Young man, thank you. Thank you for helping me save the villagers from the start. Now the mission is complete. This old woman should return to dust."

Hearing this wasn't right, I quickly said: "Ma'am, don't talk nonsense. You'll be fine."

But looking down, I saw blood pooling beneath her. Her face was extremely pale.

Then the man in black and the villagers came to her side, weeping, hoping she'd be okay.

"Alright, everyone don't be sad. I know my own body. I just hope, son, you can live well."

The woman said tearfully: "All these years you left me alone, I don't blame you. I know you had your reasons. I won't force you to explain now. Being able to see you before I die is better than I'd imagined."

The woman's hand gradually lost strength, slipping from her son's grasp. A kind mother quietly passed away like this. The entire cave fell silent.

I led the villagers out through the underground passage I'd used before, back to Frank's thatched cottage. The villagers carried the woman's body home. Perhaps life is like this woman—illuminating the world while melting herself away.