Phoenix's Requiem

Faced with Zhuo Yifeng’s warning, everyone else held their breath. Only then did they realize that their surroundings had gone quiet all of a sudden. Even the wind, which had whistled through the trees all morning, seemed to have vanished.

This was the sign of strong beasts about to emerge.

“Qiuqiu,” Yun Ruoyan called out mentally, “Can you determine what sort of beasts are approaching?”

“Based on their scent, they’re rather weak individually, but there are a huge number of them. It feels like… it feels like…” Qiuqiu couldn’t quite detect the identity of the beasts right away.

“What a strong odor! Snakes, they’re snakes!” Zhuo Lin’er’s voice trembled.

As she listened closely, Yun Ruoyan found that she could indeed hear a susurrus coming from the west, the sound of friction between snakeskin and the ground!

“The snakes are coming from the west, and they’re heading east. We’ll retreat south,” Yun Ruoyan immediately commanded.

The others followed her into the southern part of the forest, but they had barely taken a few steps when they heard a shrill feminine voice from behind them.

It was Yi Qianying’s voice!

Yun Ruoyan’s heart thudded. They’d remained where the tiger had appeared for a whole day, and, based on what Pei Ziao had said, they would surely have circled back if they hadn’t found the exit. Since they didn’t appear, Yun Ruoyan believed that they’d already left the array, but who would have expected to encounter them here?

Honestly, it seemed like she couldn’t get away from her enemies even if she tried!

“Ah, why are there so many snakes around here?! Help!” Yi Qianying called out shrilly once more.

“There are people in the south! Let’s hurry over,” Yun Ruoyao said to her party, and then Yi Qianying and the others traipsed into the southern part of the forest as well. They ran away from the snakes so quickly that they caught up to Yun Ruoyan’s party in an instant.

“Why are you guys everywhere we go?! You fleeing cowards!” Lin Qingxue cursed at them as she continued running south.

Yun Ruoyu wanted to shout back at her, but her face was pale white, clearly having received a significant shock.

Behind them, a frightening scene was being laid out.

Green snakes, large and small, slithered towards them in numbers too vast to be counted. It felt as if the forest had suddenly come alive, green tendrils slowly encroaching on their field of vision.

The curious odor of snakes permeated the air.

As Pei Ziao clutched a sword with one hand, he pulled Yi Qianying forward with the other.

“Ah!” Yi Qianying suddenly tripped, and she pulled Pei Ziao down with her. In mere moments, the two of them were surrounded by the snakes.

Pei Ziao let go of Yi Qianying’s hand and plucked a dagger from his belt. With sword and dagger, he slew the snakes as they approached before they could touch him or Yi Qianying.

Countless snake corpses were bisected by his blades, and snake ichor and entrails filled the air.

Yi Qianying half-stooped behind his body, her face green and white all over.

The swarm of snakes caught up to the other stragglers, and they had no choice but to stop and fight against the horde as well.

“There are too many of them, and we can’t kill them all!” Lin Qingchen and Lin Qingxue were fighting back to back, their swords dancing in the air.

As Yun Ruoyan turned and saw her two cousins surrounded by the snakes, she immediately turned back to help them, as did Zhuo Yifeng by her side.

When Yun Ruoyan and Zhuo Yifeng ran to the Lin sisters, they found to their surprise that the snakes quickly slithered away.

As if they had received some sort of command or encountered a sworn enemy, the snakes moved elsewhere.

“It must be the saber-toothed tiger’s canines!” Qiuqiu exclaimed from Yun Ruoyan’s mind.

“The saber-toothed tiger’s a mid-tier beast, and this patch of forest is likely its territory. The snake horde must have smelled the scent of the tiger from the canines and mistaken Zhuo Yifeng for the master of the territory!”

Upon hearing this, Yun Ruoyan immediately called out to everyone to get close to Zhuo Yifeng. As expected, the horde of snakes surrounding them avoided the group.

“Why aren’t those snakes biting them and only us?!” Yun Ruoyu shouted in frustration as she kept swinging her sword.

“They must have some sort of snake-repelling artifact,” Yi Qianying’s trembling voice piped up.

“Whatever the reason, we should follow our sister’s example.” Hearing Yun Ruoyao’s words, the other three quickly understood what she meant. Two nights ago, when they had faced the saber-toothed tiger, Yun Ruoyan had deliberately brought the tiger to them, so why shouldn’t they do the same to her?

As one, their group of four quickly approached Yun Ruoyan’s group.

“Those shameless cowards are coming towards us! What should we do?” Lin Qingxue gnashed her teeth.

There was no one in that group that Yun Ruoyan didn’t despise, but when she thought about how familiar Pei Ziao was with the territory, she knew that he’d be an asset when it came to finding a way out of the array.

“I don’t like it, but I think it’s better to save them for now,” Yun Ruoyan announced coolly.

Although the Lin sisters also hated the group and felt particularly strongly about their shameless fleeing two nights ago, they also couldn’t bear to just see them die, and didn’t object.

Pei Ziao, Yun Ruoyao, and the others quickly joined up with them, and the snake horde continued to encircle them.

“Oh, how unexpected! We thought that you’d long since left the array.” Lin Qingxue didn’t waste any time in needling Yun Ruoyu.

Yun Ruoyu grit her teeth, still not fully recovered from the shock of the snakes.

“Sister Ruoyan, it’s great that you’re alright!” The one who spoke was none other than Yi Qianying. Because of her shock, her pretty face had turned a little pale, and her large eyes were glistening with tears. As she said these words, Yun Ruoyan could almost believe that they were genuine.

“Thank you for your concern. Are you disappointed that we aren’t dead?” Lin Qingchen made her choke on her words.

Yi Qianying shut her mouth in an embarrassed manner.

“Sister, we left two nights ago in order to preserve our family’s strength. Please try to understand.” Yun Ruoyao didn’t seem to have a guilty conscience at all.

When she saw Yun Ruoyan’s group again, she too was shocked that they were still alive. Actually, she did feel somewhat guilty, because even though Yun Lan wouldn’t have faulted them for their actions, it truly was somewhat shameful to leave family behind and run.

But Yun Ruoyao’s mental conditioning was excellent, and she rapidly hid her guilty conscience behind cold, logical reasoning.

Not wanting to talk to her, Yun Ruoyan simply ignored her words. She was looking at the snake horde surrounding them, neither attacking nor moving away, her forehead scrunched up in thought.

“We can’t just leave them surrounding us like this. We have to find a way to get rid of them,” she couldn’t help but exclaim.

Seemingly unaware of the Lin sisters’ disdainful expressions, Pei Ziao walked straight to Yun Ruoyan’s side. Like a shadow, Yi Qianying followed closely behind him. Yun Ruoyan’s eyes began to ache just looking at the couple, and she turned her head aside.

“Actually, we just found the exit to the misdirection array.”

“Hmm?” Pei Ziao’s statement made Yun Ruoyan turn around. “What did you say? You’ve already found the exit?”

“Sister Ruyoan, don’t listen to him! If he really did find the exit, why haven’t they left yet? Were they waiting to see if we were truly dead?”

Lin Qingxue gave Pei Ziao a supercilious look. He looked handsome enough, but he was just another coward at heart! Their family’s core foundation pill had gone to waste saving a bastard like him.

“Brother Ziao’s not lying! We really did find the exit,” Yi Qianying quickly explained. “We were just about to leave when we accidentally triggered a trap and incited the snake horde. That’s how we ended up being chased all the way here.”

“Really?” Lin Qingxue’s tone was still deeply suspicious. “It sounds almost like the truth.”

“Forget it! It doesn’t matter if they don’t believe us.” Yun Ruoyu finally caught her breath. She had suffered an internal injury against the saber-toothed tiger, and although she had consumed a life quintessence pill, she still hadn’t fully recovered. “To think you’re the ones calling us cowards, when you won’t even believe the truth! It doesn’t seem like you guys are the brave sort either.”

“There’s no reason for us to lie to you—everyone wants to get out of here quickly,” Yun Ruoyao added.

Alright, lead the way.” After thinking for a moment, Yun Ruoyan made a decision.

Yun Ruoyu and Yun Ruoyao looked at each other before they stepped forward. Yun Ruoyan looked toward the Lin sisters and Zhuo Yifeng, motioning them forward with her eyes.

As they moved, the snake horde slithered after them.

Pei Ziao walked right behind Yun Ruoyan, his eyes drifting toward her from time to time.

From inspecting her these last few days, he was surprised to find that Yun Ruoyan had changed: she had become smarter, more athletic, and decisive. These qualities of hers deeply attracted him.

His gaze landed on Yun Ruoyan’s straight back, on her dark, glossy hair tied into a ponytail, her white and unblemished neck, and her scarlet bodysuit that accentuated her body.

If one were only to look at her from the back, she looked like a rare specimen of feminine beauty. Her face was truly a pity. Pei Ziao sighed.

“Ouch!” Something had tripped Yi Qianying, and Pei Ziao was too distracted by his thoughts to catch her in time. She stumbled forward and hit Yun Ruoyu, who was walking directly in front of her. [1]

“Why’re you on this expedition if you can’t even walk steadily? Are you trying to kill yourself?” Yun Ruoyu pushed her aside with disgust.

“I’m sorry, Ruoyu!” Yi Qianying apologized profusely.

Pei Ziao also frowned. He wasn’t sure why his father had given their family’s recommendation to Yi Qianying. After all, why was such a delicate girl here?

This sort of place was far more suited for a strong-willed woman like Yun Ruoyan.

His thoughts kept drifting to one idea: to marry both the girls, one to accompany him in cultivation, and the other to keep in his mansion, to give him the gentlest embrace and company when he was tired from cultivating.

As he continued to dream, Pei Ziao’s face revealed a rare lecherous smile.

“Alright, we’re here.” Yun Ruoyu and Yun Ruoyao stopped moving. In front of them was a structure that looked like a mountain cave.

“If we walk through here, we’ll be able to leave the misdirection array,” Pei Ziao pointed to the cave as he spoke. By then, the snake horde had spread out over a larger area, and they could feel countless small, beady eyes trained on them.

“You can enter first,” Yun Ruoyan said decisively after glancing at Pei Ziao and Yun Ruoyao.

“Naturally.” Yun Ruoyu stepped into the cave.

Yun Ruoyao, Yi Qianying, and Pei Ziao followed suit. As he entered the entrance, Pei Ziao turned back and glanced at Yun Ruoyan, but the latter simply stared back coolly. Although she felt that his gaze seemed a little strange, she paid it no mind.

The cave was dim and dark, and even after walking for fifteen minutes, they had yet to see an exit.

“How much longer need we walk?”

“We’re almost there, almost!”

Yun Ruoyao and the others began walking even more quickly.

Yun Ruoyan started to get an uneasy premonition. She was just about to consider turning back when she noticed that the path up ahead was forked. She ran forward, but Yun Ruoyao and the others had suddenly vanished!

1. Foreshadowing again.