A poisonous bee stung Fengyu’s palm, and she screamed in agony.
Her entire palm felt numb. Fang Lingjun, ignoring her own stings, used her bare hands to swat away the bee attacking Fengyu, but got stung on her wrist instead.
Hearing Fengyu’s cries, Lin Xiao threw off his outer robe and covered both Fengyu and Fang Lingjun. "Run forward! We’ll cover you from the back."
Cai Wensen rushed over from the front, shouting for the two women to run ahead, while the four men at the back slashed at the bees with their longswords. But the bees were too small, quick, and agile.
"Cai Wensen, you’re a dead man!" Lin Xiao roared, so loud it scared a flock of birds into flight.
"I didn’t mean to!!!" Cai Wensen wailed in pain, screaming as he got stung repeatedly.
No one could determine what species these bees were, but their stings caused unbearable pain and numbness. Despite their frantic fight against the bees, everyone’s arms, faces, and shoulders were covered in stings. Even their swords slipped from their paralyzed hands. Cai Wensen and Zhou Liyu got stung at the corners of their eyes, the most tender spots, and dropped their swords in anguish, clutching their faces and rolling on the ground.
The moment they stopped moving, the swarm of bees blanketed them, crawling densely over their legs, arms, and waists. Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin couldn’t simply stand by. "Fang Lingjun, you take Fengyu and head back to camp!" they shouted.
At least the bees seemed distracted by them, giving the two women a chance to escape. Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin, though their own faces were swollen with stings, ignored the pain and focused on driving the swarm off Cai Wensen and Zhou Liyu.
"Don’t stop! Run to the camp, or these bees will sting us to death!" Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin each grabbed someone and dragged them along. Cai Wensen and Zhou Liyu, their faces swollen red, could no longer open their eyes. Stumbling and tripping, they almost tumbled into the valley below more than once, making it sheer torment for Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin to drag them forward.
At long last, they reached a river. Without hesitation, Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin kicked Zhou Liyu and Cai Wensen into the water and jumped in after them, sinking to the riverbed. Zhou Liyu, caught off guard, swallowed several gulps of water as he tried to surface, only to feel Lin Xiao forcibly pressing him back down. The swarm of bees hovered over the river for several agonizing seconds before gradually dispersing.
When the bees finally left, the four of them resurfaced. Cai Wensen, barely breathing, clung weakly to the riverbank, unable to open his swollen eyes. His entire face was red, numb, and burning hot. Soaking in the river water slightly alleviated the pain.
Their bodies were wracked with pain and numbness; they couldn’t stop groaning.
Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin were in no better shape. All four of their faces were as swollen as pig heads. Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin shielded their eyes, and though they could still barely see, it was enough to pull Cai Wensen and Zhou Liyu onto the riverbank.
Both Zhou Liyu and Cai Wensen were semi-conscious. The venom was spreading through their bodies, causing unbearable pain and an intense, itchy heat at every sting site.
"Am I going to die?" Cai Wensen bemoaned, filled with regret. Why had he been so stupid?
If only he hadn’t been so stupid, none of this would’ve happened.
Lin Xiao rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arms, which were covered in swollen, bright-red welts from the bee stings. He knew his face must look terrible, and he worried for Fang Lingjun and Fengyu.
"Get up immediately. We need to get back to camp for medical help." Lin Xiao’s voice was hoarse as he planted his longsword in the ground to push himself up. He dragged Zhou Liyu to his feet and slung him over his shoulder.
Zhang Boxin hoisted Cai Wensen up as well. "I really want to kick you into the river again."
"Let you drown, end of story!"
As if their situation couldn’t get any worse, they realized they had run in the wrong direction. To return to the camp, they now had to cut through the southern part of Xiyanshan. Lin Xiao cursed inwardly—just his luck!
As they entered the forest, an eerie chill seeped into the air. Though daylight was still visible, there was no time to think. They pressed forward, desperate to reach camp before nightfall.
Suddenly, Lin Xiao felt his foot sink slightly into the ground. Before he could react, spinning blades shot out from all directions, cutting through the air as if ready to shred them to pieces. With Zhou Liyu and Cai Wensen blind, Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin felt a cold sweat run down their spines. Why were there traps in the hunting grounds?
These traps were clearly not intended for hunting prey.
"Zhang Boxin, watch out!" Lin Xiao shouted. The two men, despite their pain and the numbness in their sting-ridden hands, drew their swords to deflect the incoming blades.
They managed to cut down the first wave of blades, but a second wave was already upon them. Exhausted, Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin had no strength left. Zhou Liyu and Cai Wensen lay on the ground, barely clinging to consciousness.
Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin clutched their shoulders, half-kneeling, unable to fend off the second wave.
"Brother, dying in the same year, month, and day doesn’t sound so bad," Zhang Boxin rasped, barely holding on. He felt the toxins numbing his nerves completely.
He thought to himself, I’m going to die here in the hunting grounds.
What an absurd way to go.
Just as death seemed inevitable, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly thundered through the air. A crimson figure descended from above like a streak of radiant light, deflecting the incoming blades in breathtaking fashion. The blades had nearly reached their throats—mere moments separated them from death.
Xie Xun landed with his back to them, his robes billowing as he held his sword in a vigilant stance. Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin stared at the reassuring sight of his back, their eyes involuntarily filling with tears. They had almost died.
It felt as though their souls had already entered King Yan’s domain before Xie Xun pulled them back to the mortal world.
"Young Marquis..." Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin managed to utter before collapsing, their vision narrowing to Xie Xun’s flowing robes and the shattered blades on the ground.
Xie Xun had come searching for Fengyu but instead found the wretched group of four, each face swollen comically. Squatting down, he inspected Lin Xiao’s injuries. "You were stung by poisonous bees?"
The two men lacked the strength to respond. Zhuifeng circled anxiously around them.
"Idiots!" Xie Xun scowled. "Don’t you know the poisonous bees of Xiyanshan are deadly? Why didn’t you avoid them?"
Zhang Boxin thought wryly, Young Marquis, we were the ones who purposely smashed the hive. If we told you that, you’d probably be enraged into oblivion.
Looking around, Xie Xun saw no sign of Fengyu. "Where is Fengyu?" he demanded.
"She and Fang Lingjun should’ve made it back to camp," Lin Xiao replied weakly. The group had run in the wrong direction while being chased by the bees. Xie Xun thought to himself that if Fengyu were truly in danger, the Soul Suppressing Pearl would have already alerted him.
As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared, a shadow darted across the remaining blades. Xie Xun, sensing something amiss, dodged swiftly and picked up one of the spinning blades. He examined its tip and noticed it was coated with a substance. Bringing it close to his nose, he sniffed lightly and his expression immediately darkened. "Poisoned arrows."
"What?" Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin struggled to get up, dragging Zhou Liyu and Cai Wensen away from the scattered blades.
A milky sap laced with deadly toxin coated the blade tips. Even a graze could cause death.
Whoever had set these traps in the forest didn’t intend to hunt—they intended to kill. Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin exchanged glances, their bones chilled to the core. This was terrifying.
They were so close to dying. If these blades had so much as scratched them, they would’ve perished in the forest, with no one the wiser.
Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin picked up the spinning blades, recognizing the toxin immediately. Lin Xiao’s hand trembled, and the blade fell to the ground as he shivered from head to toe.
"This stays between us. No one says a word, understand?"