Chapter 24: Encountering Danger

An unknown amount of time had passed. The dense fog still shrouded the two of them.

Mei had not yet returned.

Zhou Wanqing remained silent, standing quietly in place as she gazed into the thick fog, her eyes filled with worry.

Lin Yan stood off to the side, neither too far nor too close—maintaining a distance that allowed him to instantly react if anything went wrong.

As he sensed his surroundings, a faint whistling sound of something tearing through the air suddenly reached his ears.

Something was wrong!

Lin Yan moved so fast that Zhou Wanqing didn't even see when he sprang into action. She only felt an arm wrap around her waist before she was pulled into a firm chest.

Before she could cry out in surprise, a rapid succession of noises rang in her ears.

CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK!

It sounded like countless steel beads violently striking an iron plate.

She looked up at Lin Yan, then glanced forward. A golden Golden Bell Illusion had completely enveloped them. He was holding her tightly, their bodies pressed close together.

The Poison Needles shooting at them from all directions crashed against the golden bell and fell powerlessly to the ground. Zhou Wanqing looked down. A layer of glossy green fine needles already carpeted the forest floor. Their tips gleamed with an eerie green light, making it obvious at a glance that they were coated in deadly poison.

Her pupils suddenly contracted. But it wasn't because of the Poison Needles—it was because of the figures that emerged alongside them.

Their bodies were as shriveled as dead wood, wrapped in tattered strips of cloth as they slowly shambled through the fog.

HISS—

A bizarre sound echoed from the mist. It sounded neither like a human voice nor a beast's roar, but rather like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Zhou Wanqing's scalp tingled with terror. Forgetting that she was still in Lin Yan's embrace, she screamed, "It's the Gu People!!"

Lin Yan's reaction was faster than her voice.

The moment those shriveled figures emerged from the fog, he released her waist and pushed her behind him. The force of the push was perfectly calculated, moving her back to a relatively safe distance without causing her to lose her footing.

Then, he took a step forward.

The rotting leaves and mud beneath his feet were blasted away, revealing the dark red hard soil beneath. Golden light surged from his body, even more blazing than before, as if an invisible furnace was roaring to life within him.

The Golden Bell Shield and Vajra Invulnerability Divine Skill operated simultaneously. The intense, masculine, and unyielding power was so overwhelming that even the dirt beneath his feet began to SIZZLE.

A gust of fierce wind rushed at his face.

It was a wooden spear as thick as a child's arm. Its tip had been whittled to a razor-sharp point and slathered in some dark brown liquid that gave off a nauseating sheen in the mist.

Lin Yan stood perfectly still, allowing the wooden spear to strike him.

THUD!

The tip of the spear exploded on impact, sending splinters flying everywhere. The Gu Person holding the spear was sent flying backward by the recoil, crashing into something in the distance with a series of muffled thuds.

Inhuman screeches echoed through the fog.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yan didn't stop. He strode boldly forward. A golden afterimage streaked through the mist. With every step he took, the ground trembled slightly.

He had never learned any Lightweight Skill, but bolstered by his terrifying Inner Strength, every push-off from his feet felt like a bundle of explosives detonating against the earth. That sheer, unreasonable power made his speed astonishingly fast.

The first Gu Person had barely poked its head out from the fog when it was met with Lin Yan's fist. There was nothing flashy about the punch. It was a straight, direct strike, like a sledgehammer smashing into rotten wood.

The Gu Person's chest instantly caved in. Its entire body flew backward, snapping a dead tree as thick as a bowl before tumbling across the ground seven or eight times and finally coming to a halt. Its body was twisted at a grotesque angle, clearly beyond saving.

Right at that moment, two pairs of bony hands shot out from the pile of rotting leaves and grabbed Lin Yan's ankles. The fingernails on those hands were astonishingly long—over three inches—and shone with a dark, glossy hue like poisoned iron hooks.

Incredibly, after seeing the Golden Bell Shield, these Gu People had instantly come up with a countermeasure.

Unfortunately for them, it was useless.

The only reason Lin Yan hadn't dodged was that he wanted to test the might of the Vajra Invulnerability Divine Skill. The terrifying nails scratched frantically against his skin, producing a harsh, grating screech, but they couldn't penetrate the dark golden sheen at all.

Lin Yan looked down, locking eyes for a split second with the two pairs of murky eyes hidden in the rotting leaves. Then, he raised his foot and stomped down viciously.

BOOM!

The earth shuddered as if something had detonated underground. Several nearby trees shook simultaneously, showering leaves down around them. The pile of rotting leaves ceased all movement.

Zhou Wanqing stood behind him, tightly clutching her Black Bamboo Flute, her expression filled with profound shock.

It wasn't that she had never seen martial arts experts before. But this most primal, utterly unreasonable display of pure violence still shook her to her core. At this moment, Zhou Wanqing felt nothing but immense relief that she had brought Lin Yan along.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to calm down. She raised the flute to her lips and began to play an eerie melody.

Unlike before, the flute notes were sharp and high-pitched, sounding almost like a warning alarm. The Gu People pouring out of the fog simultaneously froze in their tracks. Their heads twitched from side to side in a grotesque manner, as if they were hesitating.

Sweat beaded on Zhou Wanqing's forehead as the tempo of the flute music grew increasingly frantic.

This did the trick. The Gu People began to retreat. Pair after pair of murky eyes stared dead at Lin Yan and Zhou Wanqing until they completely vanished into the depths of the fog.

Poisonous Snake Ridge fell quiet once again.

Zhou Wanqing lowered the bamboo flute and gasped heavily for air. Her back was already drenched in a cold sweat; she looked as though she had just been fished out of a river.

However, she didn't sit down to rest. Instead, she quickly walked over to Lin Yan, pulled a small porcelain bottle from her medicine basket, and poured out several emerald green pills.

"Quick, take these."

"There's no need. Poison of this level is useless against me."

Lin Yan waved his hand dismissively. The Vajra Invulnerability Divine Skill was even more formidable than he had imagined.

Hearing this, Zhou Wanqing didn't press the issue. After swallowing one herself, she finally let out a long breath of relief.

"Why did all these Gu People come out?!" she said, biting her lip. The color had still not entirely returned to her cheeks.

Lin Yan didn't reply, calmly gazing at the pale green mist before them.

"Oh no! Mei..." As if suddenly realizing something, Zhou Wanqing jerked her head up, her pupils shrinking.

"It'll be inconvenient to bring you along." During the fight just now, Lin Yan had confirmed that the poisonous miasma had no effect on him, so he didn't mind going to save someone. One who braves the snow to gather firewood for others must not be left to freeze. "I'll escort you out first, then come back in to look for her."

"Thank you so much, Young Hero Lin!" Zhou Wanqing's expression flickered with deep gratitude. "If it weren't for you..."

"Say no more. You came here to save people; it's only right that I help you," Lin Yan said, walking toward her. "Pardon my offense!"

"Huh?"

Before Zhou Wanqing could react, her vision spun. By the time she regained her senses, she was already slung over his shoulder.

Earlier, the situation had been an emergency, so she hadn't paid it much mind. But now, this intimate contact instantly left her completely flustered.

"Put me down, I can walk."

"You're too slow. Every second wasted puts Miss Mei in greater danger," Lin Yan said, striding forward with a blank expression. "Stop squirming!"

Fortunately, although Poisonous Snake Ridge was dangerous, the terrain wasn't overly complex. Even though it was his first time there, he could still find the exit.

Zhou Wanqing's face burned as red as blood, yet she couldn't argue with his logic. She had no choice but to bury her head, playing the ostrich.