No Abandonment, No Giving Up!

[Camouflage]'s notes were quite interesting.

Since crossing over, Ji Ruo had gotten a skill with two notes for the first time.

[Note: Understand the environment, blend into the environment, become the environment!]

[Note: Hehehe~ can't see me~]

Although the notes were a bit offbeat, on second thought, the second note seemed like a footnote to the first!

'Understand the environment, blend into the environment, become the environment'—that was exactly what Ji Ruo and the others were doing now.

They were covered in mud from head to toe, lying motionless in the mire. Even without the skill's effect, a quick glance would hardly reveal their presence.

After all, though it was only the edge of the swamp, the mud was four or five centimeters deep. They had rolled around in it several times, their bodies caked with filth. Unless someone looked closely, they really couldn't be spotted.

They had blended into the environment, become the environment, and thus—'Hehehe~ can't see me~'.

Of course, part of the reason was that the Spider Queen had already lost much of her rationality by then.

In any case, as long as Ji Ruo and the others didn't do anything rash, they could watch this 'show' to the end.

With luck, they might even snag a couple of 'Out-of-Syllabus Exam Questions'.

Li Nannan's aura fluctuated between strong and weak. After all, she was a martial artist of the Qi Pulse Realm. The potent poison she had been afflicted with didn't seem to come from the Spider Queen—or rather, the Spider Queen hadn't intended to kill her outright.

The poison she had taken could still be lethal, but Li Nannan was a Qi Pulse Realm martial artist. With her internal Qi channels opened, she had long achieved micro-level control over her own body.

Moving her blood and Qi, or using her muscles to seal off minor wounds, was a piece of cake.

The only problem was that the poison carried a powerful paralytic effect. Otherwise, she would have already expelled it by circulating her blood and Qi.

Earlier, when she was trapped in the silk cocoon, the Nine-Eyed Demon Spiders had injected her with venom at regular intervals, preventing Li Nannan's formidable Qi Pulse Realm physique from taking effect.

Now that Ji Ruo had rescued her, though her mind wasn't fully clear yet, the residual poison in her body was being steadily diluted by the passive circulation of her blood and Qi.

Unless the Spider Queen bit her personally, ordinary Nine-Eyed Demon Spider venom—unless in massive doses—couldn't kill her!

A powerful martial artist was naturally immune to most poisons!

'What about those students? Did they escape?'

Though her body was still numb and weak, Li Nannan's consciousness was gradually reviving.

She could feel herself lying somewhere, completely still.

Recalling how Ji Ruo had turned back to carry her while running, and considering her current state, Li Nannan's heart felt a bitter ache, even though she wasn't fully awake.

'They must have found me a burden and abandoned me in the wilderness... That's fine. A Patrol Examiner is supposed to protect the examinees—how could I hold the students back?'

She thought this, but deep down, she felt a pang of loss.

Who didn't want to survive? She was still young!

'They're just Martial Apprentices. Carrying me, they wouldn't get far—everyone would die. Leaving me behind, my corpse could at least distract some of the Nine-Eyed Demon Spiders. Someone has to be sacrificed. We can't all die. I failed my duty as a Patrol Examiner, and I can't hold the students back either.'

Li Nannan kept comforting herself in her mind.

But she couldn't help feeling sad, couldn't help fearing death. She let out a soft whimper, as if crying quietly...

Gradually, the intense ringing in her ears and dizziness began to subside.

Though still very weak, she could now hear some sounds.

"...Whoa! That catfish tail slap was absolutely brilliant! Earlier, the fat catfish had been attacking with its head and whiskers, looking clumsy, but it was actually using psychological tactics to lull the big spider into complacency. When the big spider let its guard down and showed an opening, that chubby fish tail smacked hard—it twisted the big spider's mouth right out of shape!

Keep it up! Catfish big bro! You're the fattest!"

Ji Ruo was whispering an impassioned commentary. Liang Shixian and the other two had long since given up on bothering with him. After all, the two monsters above were locked in a bloodlust, eyes only for each other—they wouldn't be exposed anytime soon.

"The big spider isn't backing down either. Though caught off guard and having its mouth twisted, it doesn't care at all, treating it like it just paid for a limited-edition skin. Huh? Teacher, you're awake? Uh... why are you crying? Are you hungry? Bear with it a little longer—we'll be able to eat soon."

Ji Ruo, in the middle of his excitement, suddenly heard a soft sob beside him and turned to ask.

Li Nannan, who had been crying, froze mid-sob. The sorrowful emotions she had been building up suddenly lost their flow.

She was lying right next to Ji Ruo. Since she had been unconscious, Ji Ruo had personally rolled her around in the mud, so her head was tilted toward him.

Hearing the voice, Li Nannan quickly opened her eyes: "You didn't escape? I told you not to worry about me—why won't you listen!"

"Shh!"

Ji Ruo looked at her seriously: "Teacher, you can't make loud noises during hide-and-seek or while watching a show—it ruins the experience for others!"

"Hide-and-seek? Watching a show?"

Li Nannan stiffly turned her head to look upward. Two monsters, both clearly stronger than her, were fighting atop a massive, deep-purple spiderweb. Both were already covered in wounds.

The Six-Whiskered Catfish was riddled with tiny holes all over its body, inflicted by the Spider Queen's terrifying mouthparts and sharp spiny legs.

Some areas had even been corroded into large pits by the highly caustic venom, still emitting wisps of smoke.

Many wounds were bleeding, the blood a strange blackish-purple, reeking of a thick, foul odor.

Clearly, it was heavily poisoned.

And the Spider Queen, who had previously defeated and captured Li Nannan, wasn't faring much better.

Half of its terrifying mouthparts outside its jaws had vanished—gone to who knows where.

The spider sac behind it was slightly deflated, and three of its eight sharp stabbing legs had already been broken off.

Li Nannan only felt that this scene was absurd beyond belief.

They were lying right beneath two demonic beasts, yet neither beast attacked them; instead, they were locked in a fight to the death, and from the looks of it, they had been at it for quite a while.

"Now... what's going on?"

Li Nannan asked, dazed.

Ji Ruo smacked his lips and said, "I'm not entirely sure either; they just started fighting out of nowhere. But this situation isn't hard to analyze—it's nothing more than love at first sight, one-sidedly falling into the river of love, love unrequited, love turning to hate, and all that. Maybe that Six-Whiskered Catfish was cheating, and the Spider Queen couldn't take it, so she came over for a domestic dispute."

Li Nannan: "???"

Love at first sight? Love turning to hate?

What on earth was he talking about!

These two weren't even the same species!

"Teacher, how's your body? Earlier, I saw you were pretty badly poisoned. How do you feel now?" Ji Ruo asked.

Li Nannan thought for a moment and said quietly, "The poison has been mostly diluted by my blood energy, but it'll take some time to recover."

"I see. Then, Teacher, just lie down and rest for a while. No rush—take your time recovering."

Li Nannan opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

How could this student speak so casually? This was the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm, which had undergone a drastic change! Even she, a Patrol Examiner, had nearly died here. How could this student seem completely unconcerned?

Suddenly, Li Nannan noticed something strange in her mouth and instinctively touched the odd spot with her tongue.

"How did my tooth fall out?"

She was stunned.

Then she realized her face also felt a bit swollen, but since the poison hadn't fully cleared from her body, she couldn't feel much pain.

Just then, Ji Ruo suddenly spoke with righteous indignation: "This spider is too much! She's the one who was messing around behind the Six-Whiskered Catfish's back, giving birth to a bunch of little spiders, and she still has the nerve to come here and blame the Six-Whiskered Catfish for cheating! Outrageous!"

Li Nannan: "..."

A deep doubt lingered in her heart—how had she lost two teeth?

She had never heard of the Nine-Eyed Demon Spider's poison causing teeth to fall out!

Thanks to the reader '丿emmm' for the 100-point tip~