Escaping death

Thank you for letting your imagination run wild. Yi Shuyuan breathed a slight sigh of relief. Since you're so vicious and suspicious, go ahead and imagine all you like. Keeping his voice unchanged, he said with a cold sneer.

"Heh, they're almost all dead now anyway. I used a little trick at the waystation to lure that Snow Python over. Everything went according to plan."

At this point, Yi Shuyuan sighed softly before continuing with a trace of bitter resentment.

"The only thing I hadn't expected was that the Snow Python had already cultivated into a monster! However highly I think of myself, I wouldn't dare make a move under those circumstances."

Hearing this, even A Gou drew a sharp breath, let alone the leader. This man had deliberately lured the Snow Python to the waystation? They had intended to use others as bait, but who would have thought that everyone last night had been bait for a single man!

No wonder the Snow Python had gone against its nature and left the icy river for an abandoned waystation far away. Now it made sense. It wasn't just because the snake might be becoming a monster-this man had engineered it all!

The leader even unconsciously shifted his left foot half a step back. Still, his confidence hadn't completely deserted him. He did his best to steady his breathing and hide his fear. The man before him was far too dangerous. He had to find a way out!

"You've only got enough strength left for one or two strikes at most, haven't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't need A Gou to carry you!"

Yi Shuyuan knew he couldn't drive the man into a dead end. At the right moment, he needed to offer him a way down.

"Hmph!"

The cold snort was followed by nothing else. This was the way out Yi Shuyuan offered him, a tacit admission that he was right.

But just then, Yi Shuyuan's body suddenly stiffened, and his expression turned ugly.

That smell had appeared again, and it was getting closer and closer.

Seeing the ugly look on Yi Shuyuan's face, the leader actually breathed a sigh of relief. He had guessed right! The other man didn't want a fight to the death, and neither did he. Gripping his scabbard, he retreated two small steps.

"Neither of us got the snake's gallbladder, so there's no irreconcilable conflict between us. I won't ask who you are, and you have no need to fight me to the death. Why don't we part ways here?"

Yi Shuyuan narrowed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the impulse rising inside him. He made himself look as though he had considered the proposal, then immediately said.

"Don't spread word of the Snow Python!"

By now, Yi Shuyuan's voice had become slightly distorted.

But the villain already had his preconceived impression. Intent on leaving, he failed to notice, and instead thought this man was still scheming against even a monster.

"Fine. You have my word!"

Yi Shuyuan immediately said coldly.

"You go north, I'll go south. After ten breaths, we each go wherever we please. Let's part ways here!"

The leader nodded and cupped his hands in farewell. Seeing no response, he backed away another two steps, then began running into the distance. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept a close watch on Yi Shuyuan. When he saw the other man turn to look at him without getting up, he ran faster and faster.

"Don't leave me behind-"

Normally, A Gou thought of little besides escaping that group, yet at this moment, seeing the leader flee alone, he actually cried out in panic.

The leader heard him, but how could he possibly take A Gou along? Never mind that he didn't care whether A Gou lived or died-even if the boy had some use, that man clearly had trouble moving. If he took A Gou away too, depriving the man of his means of transport, wouldn't he be forcing him to attack?

Yi Shuyuan didn't give A Gou a chance to say more, immediately ordering him in a grave voice.

"Get me on your back. Hurry!"

A Gou was frightened, but he didn't dare disobey. He could only do as told, hoisting Yi Shuyuan onto his back and bounding south.

The leader pushed his lightness technique to its limit. As he kicked off a tree at a mountain pass, he seemed to catch something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head in midair, his pupils dilating before abruptly contracting, and drew his saber in an instant.

Shing!

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The whirling saber flashed against hard scales, throwing off sparks. A white shape had already closed in at tremendous speed. It was the giant snake.

Using the force of the impacts, the leader leaped onto the cliff face and raced sideways along it, slashing as he fled. The rock wall ahead came to an end, and the breath of inner energy he was holding had reached its limit; he could no longer maintain his footing. He had no choice but to leap out, and the snake's head immediately lunged after him.

"Hah!"

Just as the jaws were about to close around him, the leader, with nothing to push off in midair, tossed away his scabbard and stamped down hard on it. The scabbard plunged downward, giving his body a crucial boost. He rose barely one body-length, just enough to evade the snake's jaws, then struck its head with his palm to push himself higher again. His saber tip stabbed down into the top of the giant snake's head.

Clang!

The impact numbed his arm, and the saber's tip left only a tiny bloody mark on the snake's head.

"Hiss!"

A white tail lashed toward him in a blur. The leader barely had time to hold his saber across himself before it struck.

Bang!

A figure slammed into the cliff and slid down. His bent saber fell beside him, while the giant snake twisted and lunged toward him.

"No-aaagh-"

A shrill scream came from the distance. Yi Shuyuan shuddered in fright, while A Gou's face drained of color and his steps quickened considerably.

"It's coming! Run!"

The smell was rapidly growing clearer. Yi Shuyuan shouted in desperation. Although A Gou hadn't sensed any movement at all, goosebumps had already erupted all over him. He wished he could grow another pair of legs.

Yet strangely, they hadn't gone far at all. They had only crossed a mountain stream, leaving those steep mountains for the range opposite, but Yi Shuyuan instantly felt a sense of safety. As A Gou kept moving, the smell rapidly faded.

It stopped? Why isn't it chasing us?

Yi Shuyuan turned to look toward the mountain forest they had fled from. Although he couldn't see where the giant snake was, he knew it had to be lurking in some shadow in that direction.

Yi Shuyuan lowered his gaze to the mountain stream, looking thoughtful. Though narrow, it divided the mountains into two sides for a long stretch.

A dozen breaths, a quarter of an hour, an hour.

Time passed, second by second. The sun had risen high, and its light brought Yi Shuyuan waves of warmth. A Gou was still running for his life, but the sense of danger in Yi Shuyuan's heart had long since begun to fade.

Are we finally safe?

Yi Shuyuan let out a deep breath of relief. It seemed the giant snake stayed within that particular stretch of mountains. As for the vicious leader, neither Yi Shuyuan's intuition nor his reasoning gave him any grounds to believe the so-called leader could still be alive.

Once he relaxed, Yi Shuyuan couldn't help chuckling softly. Unexpectedly, his laughter made the person carrying him shudder.

Yi Shuyuan immediately realized that A Gou was still afraid of the monster. Well, perhaps he was even more afraid of him. He hurried to reassure him.

"Don't be afraid, A Gou. That strange snake won't chase us anymore, and I won't hurt you either."

But clearly, A Gou didn't put much faith in those words. His body remained tense.

Yi Shuyuan frowned. He didn't dare openly explain what he had just done; after all, one could never drop one's guard against others, and inspiring a little awe was useful. Yet he didn't want A Gou constantly wary of him either. What if something snapped in the boy's head and he struck Yi Shuyuan on the forehead one night?

After some consideration, Yi Shuyuan could only speak with a smile. His voice had now returned to normal and was much gentler.

"A Gou, when the campfire went out last night, you rushed over right away. You were trying to save me, weren't you?"

A Gou was afraid, but after a moment's hesitation, he still nodded. His steps slowed too.

"You saved me earlier as well..."

The smile on Yi Shuyuan's face remained unchanged.

"Do you know why I saved you?"

A Gou froze for a moment. That's right. He had no need to save me at all. Everyone was his bait anyway. Was it because I gave him food? Had he decided to leave one person alive? But why me?

"Why?"

Yi Shuyuan also wanted him to let his imagination work, so he gave an answer that was half truth and half lie.

"I may have used a few tricks, but I'm not as vile as you think. Those men were all villains. Their deaths were no loss. But you can still be saved."

As he spoke, Yi Shuyuan paused, then continued earnestly.

"Sometimes, a person's conscience can save his life. Without you, I wouldn't have survived either. You have kindness in your heart, and you saved my life. Whether by reason or sentiment, I could never harm you!"

He had appealed to both reason and emotion now. Hopefully, A Gou would understand.

Perhaps Yi Shuyuan's words had worked. A Gou's expression looked much better, and his breathing gradually relaxed.

"All right, let's rest for a bit."

A Gou was already quite tired. Obediently, he set Yi Shuyuan down. His expression was still cautious, but he wasn't as fearful as before.

A little while later, A Gou pulled over the cloth bag at his side, dug out a steamed bun, and began munching on it. Seeing Yi Shuyuan looking at him, he jolted and hurriedly took out another one, offering it respectfully.

"Senior, have something to eat."

"Thank you!"

Yi Shuyuan reached out and took it. Without dwelling on whether it might be poisoned, he calmly began eating. Halfway through, he found his loose hair getting in the way, so he held the bun between his teeth, tore a strip from his tattered clothes, and tied his hair back.

A Gou sat eating while secretly observing Yi Shuyuan. The man's expression was peaceful rather than vicious. Especially once his face was exposed, his features looked regular, his brow relaxed, and his gaze calm. He even seemed to possess a certain air of someone beyond the mortal world.

Had Yi Shuyuan known what A Gou was thinking and realized that his face had helped put the boy at ease, he would certainly have grumbled that looks mattered everywhere.

After another little while, A Gou began frequently looking back the way they had come, growing restless. We've rested long enough, haven't we? He still felt unsafe, afraid the giant snake would catch up, so he hesitantly spoke.

"Senior, where are we going?"

Yi Shuyuan swallowed the mouthful of steamed bun he was chewing. Gazing at the morning sun, which wasn't fierce yet but already wonderfully warm, he followed the feeling in his heart and said.

"Out of the mountains first, then to Yuanjiang County."

"No, Senior, I mean I'm afraid that giant snake will catch up again. We spent the whole night running from it..."

Although Yi Shuyuan had a strange intuition that told him the monstrous snake couldn't catch up this time, it was best not to rely on luck at a moment like this. He wasn't stubborn enough to court disaster, and immediately stood up.

"We'll do as you say!"