Cheng Yue was relatively calm. Shaking her head, she said, “I didn't see clearly what it was. Everyone was looking for the Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass when the entire cave suddenly shook. Everyone started running, so we just followed them.”
Ming Ran was extremely excited. “I saw it! It was a snake demon—several of them were shaken out! The ground cracked open too! But those snake demons are different from the Golden Scale Snake Demon in the Miasma Forest. They're fiercer and much stronger.”
Chen He gasped.
The Golden Scale Snake Demon was already strong enough, yet these snake demons were actually even more ferocious.
He said with a grim expression, “Could it be that the Twin Insect Cave is actually a snake nest? Did you see any Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass then?”
“No,” Ming Ran crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. “Although the Twin Insect Cave is huge, with so many people, it should have been thoroughly searched by now. There was nothing.”
Chen He muttered, “How strange. Where could it be then?”
“If you want to know where it is, why not go in and take a look?”
Having finished kicking the disciples, Ye Chang'an swept his gaze over. His eyes paused on Song Yao and Chen He, his eyebrows arching high as a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
Those useless fools from the Beiyao Sect actually failed to stop even one of them.
Or did these two simply not run into Lu Mingxuan and his group at all?
Then where did Lu Mingxuan and the others go?
Why hadn't they arrived yet?
He stood up straight and casually brushed the dust off his brocade robe, regaining a bit of his composure from his earlier disheveled state. With a malicious, teasing tone, he called out, “We went in just now and found absolutely nothing.”
He drawled, speaking with double meaning, “But since your Nine Saints Hall claims to be the number one sect, you should be more capable than us. Shouldn't you go back in and take another look?”
Ming Ran immediately frowned and retorted bluntly, “How do you have the nerve to say that? When the snake demons came out earlier, you ran faster than anyone else. Now you have the face to stand here and tell others to go in and die?”
These merciless words undoubtedly struck a nerve with Ye Chang'an.
The smile on his face vanished instantly, and his eyes grew cold.
He raised his hand slightly. The disciples behind him immediately understood, drawing their swords with a sharp clang and stepping forward to surround Song Yao and the others.
Ye Chang'an crossed his arms and leaned against the stone wall, a sinister and arrogant smirk curling on his lips. “What? Did I give you too much face?”
He paced forward two steps, the hem of his brocade robe sweeping over the gravel on the ground. Every step carried an oppressive weight. “Earlier, letting you go in on your own was giving face to your Nine Saints Hall. What, do I have to 'invite' you in?”
There were quite a few disciples from various sects around, but none of them dared to make a sound. They even quietly backed away and turned their heads.
With two major sects clashing, offending either side was unwise.
Moreover, Ye Chang'an not only had the disciples of the Taiqing Pavilion under him but also the help of subordinate sects. Wouldn't intervening now be suicidal?
Yet, after a brief moment of silence, someone actually stepped forward, his face flushed red as he roared angrily, “Young Master Ye, isn't it inappropriate for you to bully others and use numbers to intimidate them like this?”
Everyone looked over.
The one speaking was actually the disciple from the Qianxi Hall who had previously come to demand justice from Nine Saints Hall after his clothes were stolen.
The young man, filled with resentment, rushed in front of the Nine Saints Hall group with his sword on his shoulder, seemingly throwing caution to the wind. “They are still young! If you have a problem, direct it at me!”
At this, not only was Ye Chang'an a bit dumbfounded, but the people being protected behind him were also quite bewildered.
Didn't this guy hate Third Senior Sister with a passion?
Why was he now risking his life to rush forward and protect them?
Ming Ran hesitated and said, “My friend, what... what are you doing?”
The young man gave her a firm look. “No matter what, your Third Senior Sister and I once shared a fleeting romance. Her junior brothers and sisters are my junior brothers and sisters. Today, even if I have to risk my life, I will protect you all.”
Song Yao: “...”
How did she, the person in question, not know about this “fleeting romance”?
The others fell silent as well. Ming Ran swallowed hard and said, “You really are deeply devoted to Third Senior Sister, huh.”
To fall in love like this just from having his clothes stolen.
How truly rare.
However, Ye Chang'an looked as if his tail had been stepped on. His face, which had still held a hint of playfulness moments ago, instantly contorted, and his gaze turned brutally fierce.
He didn't even give anyone time to react. With a flash of his figure, he lunged forward.
His iron-grip hand violently grabbed the Qianxi Hall disciple's neck, slamming him hard against the rough stone wall, his knuckles turning white from the force.
“What a fine 'fleeting romance'!”
His voice was extremely low but carried a bone-chilling malice, squeezed out from between his teeth. “Even in death, you're still out there flirting around. Song Yao, you're really something!”
The young man's face flushed bright red as he was choked, making wheezing sounds in his throat. He could only kick his legs in vain, his sword having long slipped from his grasp, clattering loudly against the ground.
Yet Ye Chang'an showed no sign of loosening his grip. An almost insane obsession swirled in his eyes as he said word by word, “Let me tell you, when Song Yao was alive, she was my, Ye Chang'an's, fiancée. Even in death, she can only belong to me! What kind of trash are you to think you're worthy of protecting her junior brothers and sisters in her stead?!”
As he finished speaking, his wrist twisted sharply, tightening his grip on the young man's neck even further. Even his struggles began to grow weak.
Ming Ran and the others hurriedly tried to save him, but the surrounding disciples immediately pushed their swords forward a few inches, blocking their movements.
It wasn't until a nearby Taiqing Pavilion disciple softly called out, “Young Master,” that Ye Chang'an seemed to snap out of it. With a sneer, he suddenly released his grip, throwing the youth violently to the ground.
“Since you love sticking your nose into other people's business so much and want to play the protective hero...”
Ye Chang'an looked down at him from above, the tip of his boot lightly grinding against the sword beside the youth's hand. A cruel curve formed on his lips. “Then be a good Samaritan to the very end. Go into the Twin Insect Cave with them.”
He chin-gestured forward. The disciples behind him immediately stepped up, pressing their sword tips against the young man's back, forcing him to stumble to his feet and huddle together with Song Yao and the others.
“Either go in yourselves...”
Ye Chang'an's voice carried an unquestionable pressure. “...or I will throw you in one by one to feed the snakes.”
Song Yao pinched the bridge of her nose and was the first to move. “Let's go.”
If she stayed here any longer, she really wouldn't be able to stop herself from beating Ye Chang'an up in public.
The others behind her quickly caught up. “Seventh Senior Sister! Wait!”
Chen He walked shoulder-to-shoulder with her and lowered his voice. “The snake demons in this cave are so fierce. Why should we go in and seek our own deaths? We might as well fight Ye Chang'an and find an opportunity to break out!”
Song Yao didn't stop her pace. “We're already here. Besides, I heard the Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass is very valuable.”
Ming Ran agreed, “Exactly, exactly! Who knows, maybe we'll actually find it.”
Stepping into the cave, a cold and damp aura wrapped around them once more.
Water droplets condensed on the rock walls, trickling down the slippery crevices. A faint, fishy stench floated in the air, which was much colder than outside.
Cheng Yue noticed that Song Yao's face didn't look too good. She rummaged through her spatial pouch, pulled out a thicker cloak with a fur collar, and handed it over. “Wear this instead.”
Rate on N.U.
