Still unsure of the situation, Mu Bai did not want to stir up trouble here. He stepped over the snake and headed toward the courtyard gate, intending to leave.
Before he reached the gate, a boiling uproar of squeaks surged toward him. Looking up, he saw the street outside teeming with rats, a dense black mass, every one of them red-eyed, scurrying toward him like water bursting over a dam. He looked back at the rooftops, which were also crawling with rats. Some had already jumped into the courtyard and were advancing on Mu Bai at an unhurried pace, glaring with crimson eyes, their fur bald in patches.
It was a fear so nauseating it reached into the soul. Every hair on Mu Bai's body stood on end, and goosebumps scattered all over the ground.
Before long, rats from every direction poured into the courtyard like black sesame seeds scattered across the ground, slowly closing in on Mu Bai.
On his guard, Mu Bai watched the approaching rats and slowly backed toward the stone well, stepping onto its rim. But the rats would not give up. Climbing over one another in layers, they soon threatened to submerge the smooth stone rim. With no other choice, Mu Bai leaped into the air, only to be forced down by an aerial restriction. There was nowhere left to put his feet on the ground, so he had to plant them squarely on several rats.
The rats he stepped on squealed, and countless others immediately bared their teeth in response, climbing onto his feet to scramble up his body. Mu Bai clenched his fists and shouted, sending ripples of power bursting outward. The vicious rats were blasted away one after another, finally clearing a patch of ground around him.
Mu Bai was angry, but