The steady carriage sped along without any jolting at all. If it wasn't for the sound of the wind, Han Yunxi wouldn't have known they were moving so quickly. She and Long Feiye were the only ones inside. After sitting in her seat, he'd only looked at her once before wordlessly closing his eyes. Han Yunxi had been born bold and could even argue in front of the emperor. But before the iciness of this guy, she was always a little timid. She wanted to ask him about Snake Gorge, but seeing him close his eyes, she didn't dare. Instead, she carefully measured him up.
His facial features seemed to have been sculpted by the Heavens, with narrow eyes, a high nose, and thin lips all placed in perfect alignment. Han Yunxi never thought that such a cold man could exist in this world. When he was silent, he exuded an arrogant and unapproachable aura that kept people at a respectful distance. Had he been like this since he was young? If he was so distant with Grand Concubine Yi, then what about the former emperor? In this world, had anyone seen his warmth or his smiling face?
She couldn't help but wonder if a woman would someday appear and earn a lifetime of promises and affection from him? But Han Yunxi quickly grinned at the thought. She really was overthinking things. How could such a cold and emotionless guy have feelings?
Abandoning her distracting thoughts, Han Yunxi shifted her gaze and leaned lazily against the carriage. It'd be better to try and figure out more information about Snake Gorge. She couldn't help but feel that this guy had schemes in mind when bringing her with him. While she was looking elsewhere, Long Feiye slowly opened his eyes to glance at Han Yunxi. It was only a single look before he closed them again.
The carriage drove all night until next morning, when Han Yunxi opened her eyes to meet Long Feiye's cold pupils.
"Ah…!" She had a fright as she quickly sat up.
"Awake?" Long Feiye asked coolly.
"What are you doing?" Han Yunxi said fiercely. Why had this guy gotten so close?
Long Feiye pulled away, a flash of dislike shining in his eyes. "Wanted to wake you up."
Tch…
Fine then, Han Yunxi calmed down. "Are we there? What kind of place is Snake Gorge? Are there lots of poisonous snakes? Is that why you brought me with you?" Han Yunxi had thought things over last night. Besides this reason, this fellow really had no excuses to bring her.
"There's only one poisonous snake, but his snake dan[1] is something Gu Qi Sha dearly desires. If we trade the snake dan for the Life Blood Pill, he'll definitely hand it over," Long Feiye explained.
So that was it…all right, this guy really was omniscient, he could even find out about these things. With these information, it was easy to get the Life Blood Pill. Of course, the crucial factor laid with her. Han Yunxi's confidence grew a bit more. She had the least fear over venomous snakes.
"Let's go, let me see what kind of poisonous snake it is," A self-confident Han Yunxi jumped off the carriage and started to walk forward when Long Feiye stopped her with a single line.
"It's a poison python."
"What?" Han Yunxi suddenly turned her head, eyebrows furrowing.
"A poison python," Long Feiye couldn't help his temper as he repeated himself. If it was just a regular venomous snake, he wouldn't have brought her here. Taking along a woman was all sorts of trouble.
"Poison python…" Han Yunxi murmured to herself, completely surprised. One had to know, pythons weren't poisonous! Venomous snakes had fangs that could secrete venom in their nerves so that they could inject them into their prey's bodies. They'd eat them after they died, but pythons and the likes couldn't attack with poison. Their assault came in the form of powerful constrictions that squeezed their victims to death.
Yet the pythons here carried poison?
Han Yunxi was perplexed. She checked within her detox system and found no records of such a thing. Beyond a doubt, this poison python was a completely new species to her. Seeing her pale face, Long Feiye asked, "Is there a problem?"
"How big is this snake?" Han Yunxi asked.
"Around three zhang[2], and it moves very fast while spouting poisonous gas," Long Feiye replied directly. From what he understood, quite a few people had tried to kill this poison python, but none of them could catch it. Many had died in the Snake Gorge instead.
Three zhang was equal to 10 meters, yet it could move quickly while spraying poison gas…wasn't it a highly evolved creature?
These words made Han Yunxi's complexion turn even ghastlier. She made a prompt decision and said, "I can't do this, I can't treat the venom of the poison python. You better think of another way." She was defenseless. If she couldn't treat the poison but got close to the snake, then she'd either be poisoned to death or strangled.
"Why?" Long Feiye didn't understand.
"There are thousands upon thousands of poisons in the world, but I'm not all-powerful," Han Yunxi admitted openly.
Long Feiye didn't want to come here originally, but thought that a poison specialist like Han Yunxi could make things easier. Now he hesitated. Yet right at this moment, the horse beside them raised its front legs and gave a panicked whinny.
"Not good!" Long Feiye's voice turned cold. His words had scarcely landed when a giant snake head burst out of the woods to the right, spraying a burst of poison mist.
In an instant, Long Feiye pulled Han Yunxi into his arms and retreated towards the gorge, but very quickly a gigantic snake tail whipped towards them head-on. Long Feiye had no choice but to quickly speed down into the gorge itself. Soon enough, the python revealed its body and chased after them like a flying sword. Long Feiye kept guard against their surroundings as he fled. Han Yunxi was held tightly in his embrace, her eyes wide and her mouth speechless. When she heard Long Feiye speak, she hadn't sensed anything and was now seriously frightened.
What a horrific snake!
They narrowly avoided the poisonous mist multiple times, but her detox system didn't give her any alerts. It once again proved that this was an unknown poison. If Han Yunxi had enough time to collect some samples, she could still formulate an antidote, but right now they were stuck fighting between life and death! The deeper they went in the gorge, the denser the trees became. Because of this, their danger grew as well. Long Feiye kept rushing forward at a terrifying speed. Han Yunxi thought, since we're in the gorge now, this guy should be trying to find the exit at the other end.
But!
Suddenly, Long Feiye changed directions to flee into a copse of trees on the right.
"You're not planning to get out of here?" Han Yunxi was alarmed.
"Your lordship is here for the snake dan!" Long Feiye replied coldly. Compared to this poison python, dealing with Pill Fiend Valley's Gu Qi Sha was much more of a hassle. He didn't have the leisure to beg for a pill, so now that they were in the Snake Gorge, he definitely wouldn't leave empty-handed. The poison python seemed to doubt Long Feiye's actions as well. It stopped briefly before hiding itself in the dense trees.
Seeing this, Han Yunxi forgot about persuading Long Feiye and gave a long exhale. "It's gone."
Long Feiye made a quick decision to fly upwards at the same time the poison python tried to rush their previous position. So dangerous! This was a pure race of speed! Quickly, the poison python disappeared again. Long Feiye landed on the tallest tree, one hand wrapped around Han Yunxi's pretty waist, the other around a tree branch. From this height, he could overlook the entire valley. Han Yunxi was scared, but her first time seeing the world from such a height gave her a surge of excited emotions. Although nothing good ever came out of traveling with this guy, each time was very stimulating.
She knew that there was no way he'd run away. If he wanted to, he would've long ago, but they came here instead. In that case they might as well risk everything and fight a few bouts with the poison python. They might even get the snake dan.
"Look, over there!" Han Yunxi's sharp eyes quickly picked out signs of movement in the forest. Because of the snake's poison mist, animals of the Snake Gorge had long died or escaped. Such a big stir could only be the poison python itself. Long Feiye glanced over before taking Han Yunxi to land on a tree crotch below and to the right of them.
"Stand still," he said coldly. Han Yunxi immediately held on tight to a tree branch. She couldn't help but admit that she lost all sense of safety when he let her go. Long Feiye didn't hold onto any branches, but stood steadily in the center of one, his figure as tall and straight as a pine tree. In his hands were bow and arrows as his cold gaze took aim at the constantly moving form in the distance.
Han Yunxi observed all this from one side and could only think that this man was bursting with an oppressive cruelty. No matter how she looked, he resembled some sort of top-tier assassin. Suddenly, the movement in the forest abruptly ceased as the poison python halted. Long Feiye gradually narrowed his eyes as his ever-shifting bow came to a stop in one direction.The arrow on the bow was ready to fly at any time. Han Yunxi anxiously held her breath, but just when she expected Long Feiye to shoot, he suddenly turned and aimed towards a spot below them before releasing the arrow. The swish of its launch was swift and fierce.
She saw it fly down like lightning, its momentum carried along by a startling speed. Long after the arrow had disappeared, Han Yunxi could still sense the strength behind its flight. She didn't expected this guy to channel internal energy into his arrow. But why had he changed directions? In the midst of her confusion, Long Feiye had already shot countless other arrows, one after the other shooting like meteors from the sky as they flashed by, filled with infinite energy. When a giant snake tail started spasming in the forest, Han Yunxi finally understood. Just then, Long Feiye had given up on aiming at the snake tail to shoot at the head instead. If she guessed correctly, the poison python must have incurred heavy wounds on its cranium, thus restricting its movements. With a brain injury, it'd be much harder to haul along such a big body and tail to escape.
This round of shooting looked simple, but any other person might be hard-pressed to escape the pursuing snake in the first place, much less shoot with 100 percent accuracy to wound its head from a tall tree. Han Yunxi knew that every single one of Long Feiye's arrows contained a massive amount of strength, or else a tiny bow and arrow next to the python's massive body would be like a mayfly to a tree.
Long Feiye had stopped, but the veins that had appeared on his hands had yet to disappear. The giant snake tail thrashed in the air, quickly crushing the trees around it. Han Yunxi had to estimate that the thrashing wouldn't reach their tree before she could set her mind at rest and peer towards the snake head with Long Feiye. As long as the head died, no matter how much the tail thrashed, it'd just be something on its last legs.
As they waited, Long Feiye took out the bow and arrow again. Yet at the same time, the snake head went through a few last struggles before growing still.
"It's finally dead?" Han Yunxi asked timidly. Long Feiye didn't reply, but a careful look crept into his eyes as he continued to wait. Unexpectedly, a white shadow suddenly flew down from a nearby tree, heading straight towards the snake head. Han Yunxi could clearly see that it was a white-robed female!
What nerve, trying to get something without lifting a finger in front of Long Feiye!
-o-
[1] dan (?) – a pellet used for cultivation; one can develop one in the body after practicing for a long time.
[2] zhang (?) – a unit of measurement. 1 zhang = 3.3 meters.