Chapter 74 Qishi Si

Chapter Summary: [Wei Wuxian smelled the acrid odor of burning clothes and skin, along with the horrible smell of overcooked flesh. A soft, grating sound came from below his collarbone, near his heart.]

-------------------------------------

Wei Wuxian smelled the acrid smell of burning clothes and skin, as well as the horrible odor of overcooked flesh. A devastating pain shot through him from below his collarbone to near his heart.

He gritted his teeth, but still couldn't suppress the agonizing roar that burst from his throat.

His palm strike was powerful, sending Wang Lingjiao flying. She coughed up blood and crashed to the ground, crying loudly. Jiang Cheng raised his hand to strike Wang Lingjiao's head, while Wen Chao shouted, "Jiaojiao! Jiaojiao! Quickly save Jiaojiao!"

Wen Zhuliu frowned slightly, said nothing, and indeed flew forward, repelling Jiang Cheng, and brought Wang Lingjiao back, throwing her at Wen Chao's feet. Wang Lingjiao threw herself into his arms, spitting blood and wailing loudly. Jiang Cheng caught up and fought with Wen Zhuliu. Wen Chao saw that his eyes were bloodshot and his expression was terrifying. Coupled with the other aristocratic disciples' impassioned emotions and the giant demon beast in the pool, whose left forepaw had already stepped onto the shore, he finally became frightened and shouted, "Retreat! Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

His men, who had been holding out for a long time, had been waiting for his order to retreat. Upon hearing the order, they immediately flew away on their swords. Wen Chao's sword had been thrown into the water by Wei Wuxian, so he grabbed one from someone else, jumped onto the sword with Wang Lingjiao in his arms, and disappeared in a flash. The servants quickly followed him. Jin Zixuan shouted, "Stop fighting! Let's go!"

The young masters from the noble families had no desire to continue fighting against the monster that resembled a mountain of stone. But as they ran back to the cave, they found a pile of dead snakes coiled on the ground, lying along the vine they had climbed down from.

Jin Zixuan roared in fury: "Shameless scoundrels! They cut the vines!"

"Well done, senior brother!"

Although her chest still ached, it was much better than the initial, intense pain. The Jiang family disciples were overjoyed to see Wei Wuxian send Wang Lingjiao flying with a single blow.

Hmph, what a bunch of cowards.

Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and Jin Zixuan all thought the same thing at the same time.

Back then, the group of them were so engrossed in fighting and kicking the Wen family servants that they didn't even notice how utterly despicable these Wen family members were.

Upon seeing the vines that finally appeared in the sky, Wei Wuxian snorted coldly, thinking to himself: The most shameless things are yet to come.

Without this vine, they wouldn't have been able to climb this steep earthen wall at all. The cave was more than thirty feet above their heads, and the white light was blinding. In a short while, the white light disappeared by half, like a celestial dog eating the moon.

Someone else exclaimed, "They're blocking the cave entrance!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the remaining half of the white light was also blocked.

Deep underground, only a few burning torches remained, illuminating several bewildered young faces, speechless.

After a long silence, Jin Zixuan's curses broke the stillness: "Those two scoundrels really did it!"

A boy murmured, "It doesn't matter if I can't get up... My father and mother will come looking for me. They'll hear about this and definitely find their way here."

A few people chimed in, but then someone else said in a trembling voice, "They still think we're being educated in Qishan, why would they come looking for us... Besides, after the Wen family escaped, they definitely won't tell the truth, they'll definitely make up some excuse... We can only stay here down here..."

"We can only stay in this cave...no food...with a monster..."

Just then, Jiang Cheng helped Wei Wuxian slowly walk over. Hearing the words "there is no food," Wei Wuxian said, "Jiang Cheng, here is a piece of cooked meat, do you want some?"

Jiang Cheng said, "Get lost! That branding iron will burn you to death. What kind of time is this? I really want to sew your mouth shut."

"Damn it, these bastards are capable of anything!"

Many people started cursing.

Even the heads of various clans avoided the demonic beasts like the plague. How lucky were the group of unarmed young men and women who were trapped and had their escape routes blocked to return safely back then, aside from Wei Wuxian and the others' intelligence and resourcefulness.

However, in any tense or serious situation, as long as Wei Wuxian has that mouth, nothing can ever be serious.

What do you mean by "cooked meat"? It's this late, and you still have the mind to joke around.

Lan Wangji's light-colored eyes fell on them, then on Mianmian, who was following helplessly behind them. Her face was streaked with tears, and she sobbed, twisting her skirt with her hands, repeatedly saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Wei Wuxian covered his ears and said, "Hey, stop crying, okay? It's me who got burned, not you. Do you expect me to comfort you? You comfort me, okay? Alright, Jiang Cheng, stop arguing. It's not like I broke my leg."

Several girls gathered around Mianmian and began to sob together.

Everyone: ...

Well, he not only has the mind to joke around, but also the mind to tease young girls.

Wei Wuxian said: That's called having a good mindset! You know what a good mindset is!

Lan Wangji withdrew his gaze and turned back.

Jiang Cheng said, "Young Master Lan, where are you going? That demonic beast is still guarding the Black Pool."

Lan Wangji said, "Let's go back to the pool. There's a way to leave."

Upon hearing there was a way to leave, even the crying stopped abruptly. Wei Wuxian asked, "What way?"

Lan Wangji said, "There are maple leaves in the pool."

These words seemed nonsensical at first, but Wei Wuxian immediately understood.

In the dark pool where the demonic beast dwelled, a few maple leaves were indeed floating. However, there were no maple trees or human traces in the cave, and only banyan trees near the cave entrance. These maple leaves, however, were a vibrant, fiery red, and appeared very fresh. They had also seen maple leaves floating on the flowing water in a stream when they were climbing the mountain.

Jiang Cheng understood and said, "There's likely a cave at the bottom of the Black Pool that connects to a water source outside, which is why the maple leaves from the mountain streams were brought in."

Most people were still confused when they heard Lan Wangji's words, until Wei Wuxian explained it to them and they understood.

The Jiang brothers glanced at the two people leaning on each other behind them and laughed, "Young Master Lan and Senior Brother are indeed a perfect match; their thought processes are exactly the same."

Jiang Cheng snorted coldly, subconsciously glancing at Wei Wuxian, only to see—

When Wei Wuxian saw Jiang Cheng in the final celestial shadow, he understood. After listening to the words of the Jiang brothers, he gave Jiang Cheng a strange look.

Jiang Cheng suddenly realized: ...

You two have the same thought process, okay? I have no interest in stealing your Second Young Master Lan. I don't deserve to be in this scene.

Besides, I've realized it's my fault now. I'm smart, so it's my fault.

One of them said timidly, "But... how do we know if this hole is big enough, big enough for someone to crawl through? What if it's too small, what if it's just a crack?"

Jin Zixuan frowned and said, "Moreover, that demonic beast is still guarding the black pool and refuses to come out."

Wei Wuxian pulled up his clothes, fanning the wound beneath with one hand, and said, "If there's any hope, we should move. It's better than sitting here waiting for our parents to come and save us. So what if it's guarding the Black Pool? We'll just lure it out."

After some discussion, half an hour later, the group of scions of noble families returned via the same route.

Although I knew the group of teenagers were all safe, I was still on tenterhooks watching the whole thing, afraid that someone might get eaten by Xuanwu if I wasn't careful.

Seeing Wei Wuxian calmly devising a plan to escape, Qingheng-jun couldn't help but feel even more admiration for him.

Although this young man is unconventional and often makes jokes and teases, Miss Jiang and Sect Leader Jiang's assessment of him is indeed correct. He is never ambiguous when it comes to important matters. Even when everyone feels hopeless, he can still shoulder the responsibility of controlling the whole situation and find a way out for everyone.

This is why two teenagers who had just come of age were able to support the entire Jiang family.

But what kind of desperate situation could lead such a young man to embark on the path of cultivating the demonic arts?

They hid in the cave, secretly spying on the monster.

Most of its body was still submerged in the dark pool. A long snake-like body emerged from the turtle shell, approached the shore, opened and closed its fangs, gently bit the corpse, then retracted its neck and dragged it into its fortress-like, dark turtle shell, as if it wanted to savor it inside.

Wei Wuxian threw a torch, which landed in a corner of the cave.

The commotion was particularly amplified in the deathly silence of the underground, and the monster's head immediately emerged from its shell again. Its narrow pupils reflected the flickering, burning torch, and it was instinctively drawn to anything that shone and burned, slowly stretching its neck towards it.

Behind it, Jiang Cheng silently submerged into the water.

The Yunmeng Jiang Clan lived by the water, and all their members were exceptional swimmers. Jiang Cheng entered the water, and the ripples vanished instantly, leaving barely a trace. Everyone stared intently at the water's surface, glancing occasionally at the demonic beast. The enormous black snake head hovered hesitantly around the torch, its indecisiveness only increasing the tension within them.

Suddenly, as if it had made up its mind to test this thing, it brought its nose close to it. But it was lightly scorched by the blazing flame.

The monster's neck snapped back, spitting out two streams of angry steam from its nostrils, extinguishing the torch.

Just then, Jiang Cheng surfaced and took a deep breath. The demon beast, sensing its territory had been invaded, tossed its head and turned to probe towards Jiang Cheng.

Seeing the situation was dire, Wei Wuxian bit his finger, quickly drew a few lines on his palm, and suddenly burst out of the cave, slamming his palm into the ground. As soon as his palm left the earth, a ball of flame taller than a person erupted into the air!

The monster was startled and turned to look this way. Jiang Cheng seized the opportunity to climb ashore and shouted, "There's a hole at the bottom of the pool, and it's quite large!"

Wei Wuxian asked, "How small is 'not small'?"

Jiang Cheng said, "I can beat five or six at a time!"

Wei Wuxian shouted, "Listen up, everyone! Stick close to Jiang Cheng and get out of the cave. Those who aren't injured, help the injured; those who can swim, help those who can't. If you can get through five or six at a time, don't fight over who gets in! Now, get in the water!"

After he finished speaking, the flame that had shot into the sky gradually died down. He took a dozen steps back in another direction, then struck the ground with his palm, unleashing another burst of earth fire. The demon beast's golden eyes turned red in the flames, burning with madness. It pawed at the flames, dragging its heavy, mountain-like body as it crawled toward them.

Jiang Cheng roared, "What are you doing?!"

Wei Wuxian said, "What are you doing?! Leading people into the water!"

He had successfully lured the demonic beast from the water to the shore; if he didn't leave now, when would he? Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone come here! Those who can swim, stand on the left; those who can't, stand on the right!"

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's teamwork was incredibly precise, down to the second.

The younger generation watched with great interest. The book didn't record it in such detail. The few strokes of the pen in the book were so tense and exciting. With the two brothers working together, a safe evacuation was not a problem.

As Wen Qing watched this scene, she narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling the rumors that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had killed Xuanwu.

It seems that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, something unexpected is about to happen.

Wei Wuxian was surveying the terrain while retreating, fueling the flames. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his arm. Looking down, he saw he'd been struck by an arrow. It turned out that the Lan disciple whom Lan Wangji had glared at earlier had picked up a bow and arrow discarded by the Wen family and fired at the demon beast. Perhaps seeing its ferocious appearance and agile movements, he panicked and lost his aim, the arrow hitting him instead. Wei Wuxian, without time to pull it out, slammed his palm into the ground, reigniting the flames, before yelling, "Get back!! Don't cause me any trouble!"

The disciple had originally intended to strike the demon beast's vitals with an arrow to salvage some of his earlier pride, but things had turned out this way. His face grew even paler, and he plunged into the water, fleeing in panic. Jiang Cheng urged, "Come here quickly!"

Wei Wuxian said, "I'll be right there!"

Jiang Cheng had three other aristocratic disciples with him who couldn't swim; this was practically the last batch, and they couldn't delay, so they had to go into the water first. Wei Wuxian pulled out the arrow, and only after pulling it out did he suddenly realize, "This is bad!"

The smell of blood greatly stimulated the monster, and its neck suddenly grew longer, revealing its fangs!

Before Wei Wuxian could figure out a solution, he was thrown to the side and sent flying by a palm strike.

Lan Wangji pushed him away.

The monster snapped its jaws shut and bit his right leg.

Just watching made Wei Wuxian's right leg ache, while Lan Wangji remained expressionless, only slightly frowning. Then, he was immediately dragged back!

"Ouch! That really hurts!"

Everyone was caught off guard and suddenly felt a sharp pain in their arms.

Which beast is shooting arrows at this hour?!

Everyone looked closely and realized, "It's Su She again?!"

Jiang Cheng thought to himself, no wonder the Xuanwu suddenly went berserk. He picked up Sandu and tried to stand up to look for someone, but Wei Wuxian grabbed him.

"Alright, take a break. Miss Niangui didn't actually resurrect Su She and release him."

Jiang Cheng snorted and sat down.

As soon as I sat down, I saw Xuanwu lunge at Wei Wuxian, and then Lan Wangji risked his life to save him.

Jiang Cheng: ...

Before he could even form a thought, he felt a sharp pain in his right leg.

The pain was excruciating, reaching deep into his bones; Jiang Cheng instantly felt as if his legs were about to break.

Not only him, but everyone around him turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Miss Niangui, this is Hanguang-jun's injury, why should you sympathize with him!"

Someone couldn't help but shout out the question.

Xiao Niangui's voice drifted over: "Since you all enjoy the story of the slaughter of Xuanwu so much, then experience it for yourselves."

Everyone: ...

Damn, that really hurts!!