Yu Xiaogang Also Fell for It

At a certain moment, finally entering the effective range of his soul skill, Yu Xiaogang injected soul power into his Soul Ring with a heart full of trepidation, silently chanting to himself:

I hope this works. No, it must work. It has to work.

Otherwise, both Tang San and I are finished.

It was so hard to find such a talented disciple who respects his teacher and follows the path of righteousness; I cannot let him perish here.

The second soul skill is Hypnosis—control first, then attack. The order should be correct, right?

After both Soul Rings lit up, Gangzi took a deep breath and roared loudly as if to bolster his courage:

"Farts like mist, sleep and dream, Luo Sanpao!"

Luo Sanpao opened its mouth to inhale, its belly swelling up before it leaped forcefully into mid-air, aiming its rear at the Silver Shuttle Snake.

With a pfft, a cluster of yellow gaseous mist sprayed out from between its chubby buttocks, shrouding a large area around the Silver Shuttle Snake.

Just as Gangzi intended to immediately release his first soul skill, a whoosh sounded, and a streak of silver light shot out from the mist, landing right at his feet.

Before he could react, a bone-chilling, excruciating pain erupted in his lower leg.

A shrill, miserable scream tore from his throat:

"Ah~~~"

Subconsciously lifting his bitten right leg, he lost his footing and fell flat onto the ground with a thud.

He didn't even try to get up; instead, he scrambled backward in a frantic, rolling crawl.

It's over, it's completely over. I'm going to die in this Soul Beast Forest.

His soul was terrified, for having memorized the Soul Beast Encyclopedia, he knew the toxicity and danger level of the Silver Shuttle Snake all too well.

Once bitten, there were only two words for it: incurable.

Beside him, Luo Sanpao followed its master closely, its eyes filled with panic.

Watching from afar, Tang San's vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

This pig-brained performance made him feel as if he were on the verge of a cerebral hemorrhage.

While his teacher appeared respectful and obedient to the point of servility on the surface, there was not a shred of caution in his heart.

Tang San's composure shattered, and he cursed out loud:

"What are you doing? No, what exactly are you doing, you old man? Are you performing a game for cowards?"

"Trash, you are pure trash. No wonder you were beaten into that state by Huang Tian. Facing an opponent with such high speed, you moved like an old lady out for a stroll—if you don't get hit, who will?"

"And what were you thinking, using a poison mist hypnosis skill on a highly venomous snake? Did you think the Silver Shuttle Snake wasn't excited enough and wanted to help it get in the mood?"

Seeing his only hope lie there magnificently incapacitated without having achieved a single thing, requiring his rescue, Tang San felt even worse than if he had been violated by a dog; he was absolutely frantic.

Yet, he did not give up and hurriedly reminded him: "Teacher, don't move around. That will accelerate the spread of the toxin."

"Oh, right, right, I almost forgot. The Silver Shuttle Snake has a blood-borne toxin."

Yu Xiaogang immediately stopped moving as expected, lying on the ground and gasping for air. In just a short while, sweat had soaked through his clothes.

It was hard to tell if it was from the pain or the fear.

Sanzi hopped over on one leg to press acupoints and bind the wound, hoping to delay the onset of the toxin.

On the other side, he didn't forget to ask: "Teacher, do you know how long it usually takes for prey to die after being bitten by a Silver Shuttle Snake? What do the people or soul beasts look like when they die from the poison? Is there skin ulceration? Are there obvious changes in complexion? Or do they emit some kind of special odor? Also, how does the Silver Shuttle Snake determine that the prey it bit is dead? Temperature? Breathing? Lack of movement? Or something else?"

He had conceived a plan: feign death.

He had treated the wound very promptly, and most of the toxin had been expelled. Combined with the acupoint pressing, binding, and the Mysterious Heaven Skill, he should die much slower than under normal circumstances.

If he could make the snake mistakenly believe he was dead and lure it over to feast on him, he could strike back suddenly once it got close. By utilizing the element of surprise with his hidden weapons, there might be a chance to turn the situation around.

The Silver Shuttle Snake was too fast; it was impossible to catch up on one leg, and even if he did, he had few means to deal with it.

Yu Xiaogang was left stunned by the barrage of questions.

These things aren't written in the Soul Beast Encyclopedia at all. How would I know?

The Soul Beast Encyclopedia was compiled by Martial Soul Hall specifically for internal members to find suitable Soul Rings. It only records the characteristics, abilities, and identification methods for different ages of soul beasts. At most, it adds a 'caution' label to extremely dangerous entities.

Gangzi shook his head awkwardly and said nothing.

Tang San was once again choked with frustration, yet he dared not waste any more time.

Then, I have no choice but to gamble, he thought to himself.

With one hand, he gripped Yu Xiaogang's lower leg tightly, while his right hand drove the short sword down with precision and ruthlessness. Ignoring his teacher's agonizing shrieks, he carved a cross-shaped gash into the flesh before finally letting go.

Then, clutching the short sword, he pretended to give chase to the Silver Shuttle Snake.

After leaping about thirty meters away, he calculated the rate at which the venom would spread through his legs; he should be losing consciousness right about now.

Suddenly, his body swayed, and he fell face-first onto the ground, twitching for a moment before going completely still.

Many toxins caused skin to ulcerate, congest, swell abnormally, turn strange colors, or break out in blisters.

By burying his face in the grass and pressing his palms beneath his body, he could prevent the Silver Shuttle Snake from discerning his true state.

The moment Tang San hit the ground, Yu Xiaogang behind him sat bolt upright with a sudden gasp.

He let out a howl even more wretched and piercing than the one he had made when he was bitten himself:

"Sanzi, what's wrong, Sanzi?

Sanzi, are you alright?

Sanzi, wake up! Don't scare your teacher."

His tone was filled with extreme terror, as if every word were trembling, and his face was a mess of tears and snot.

As he wailed, he grabbed at the grass and flowers, struggling to crawl forward.

Tang San was speechless to the extreme, yet moved to the extreme as well.

Damn it, I told you not to move around! Moving speeds up blood circulation and spreads the toxin—did you just treat my words as wind?

Even though he's risking his own life to save me, and even though him coming over won't actually help, his heart is in the right place. He is a good teacher.

However, no matter what he thought, he dared not move a single toe, nor could he make a sound.

He controlled his breathing to be incredibly faint, and even used his Mysterious Heaven Skill to forcibly suppress his heartbeat to its lowest possible point.

Because Yu Xiaogang had not treated his own toxin in time, his entire right leg had lost all sensation, and his head was beginning to swim; his crawling speed was not fast.

Yet, two minutes later, he reached Tang San's side.

After shaking him twice and seeing his disciple lying unconscious, Gangzi gritted his teeth.

"Sanzi, I have no choice but to cut off your left leg. This is to save your life; I hope you won't blame your teacher when you wake up."

Tang San was so startled by these words that he nearly jumped.

What the hell, you idiot, what do you think you're doing?

Get away from me, get away, you fool!

I'm trying to lure the enemy! Do you even know what luring the enemy means?

Yu Xiaogang had already raised his right hand, the sharp short sword whistling through the air, and Sanzi could no longer keep up the ruse.

He exerted force through his arms, pushing his body to roll to the side, causing Yu Xiaogang to strike at empty air.

However, the very instant he opened his eyes, he saw a thin, sharp, awl-like snake head not far away.

It was the very Silver Shuttle Snake he had been longing for.