Chapter Eighty-Six: Unwittingly Entering the Serpent’s Den

The two of them gritted their teeth in agony! Especially where the stones had struck them—those places were a blur of blood and wounds. Fresh blood oozed endlessly from their injuries, and in a matter of moments, they looked as though they had been drenched in blood from head to toe.

Suddenly, several dark figures dropped onto the riverbank. Bathed in the moonlight, their faces and the murderous intent in their eyes became clearly visible.

"It's you!" Qin Feiyang and his companion turned pale at the sight. These people were none other than the elders of the Ling family!

"Run, quickly!" Qin Feiyang barked in a low voice. He scrambled up, disregarding his wounds, and darted toward the forest behind them.

But he had barely gone a few steps when he came to an abrupt halt, his pupils contracting sharply as he looked ahead. There were more shadows lurking in the forest before them!

At the same time, several figures emerged from both the left and right. They, too, were elders of the Ling family. Thirteen in total!

Ling Yunfei glanced at the thirteen men, his face ashen. He asked, "Jiang Haotian, what do we do now?"

Qin Feiyang replied, "How strong are they?"

Ling Yunfei answered gravely, "Eleven are first-rank Martial Masters, two are second-rank."

Qin Feiyang's heart sank. Thirteen Martial Masters—he and Ling Yunfei had no chance of victory against such odds!

"Why aren't you running?" sneered one of the elders. "Go on, keep running—why stop now? Let me tell you, tonight you won't escape us!"

The thirteen men advanced step by step, closing in until the two were surrounded at the center, sinister smiles on their faces.

Qin Feiyang said coldly, "To think you managed to get the letter into our hands—your skills are impressive indeed!"

One of the elders laughed coldly. "We have to thank the city lord for that. If not for his help, we'd never have found a way to deliver the letter to you."

At these words, a murderous light flared in Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei's eyes.

"Don't talk nonsense!" another elder barked in alarm.

"What's there to fear? They're about to die anyway—what does it matter if they know?" scoffed the first.

"That's right. With so many of us, do you really think they can fly away?" another agreed.

Qin Feiyang asked, "Were you the ones who slaughtered the Ling family too?"

"Nonsense!"

"We are the elders of the Ling family—would we really massacre our own clan?"

"This was all the doing of the Jiang and Mu families!"

"The city lord has already investigated and found the truth, but because Black Bear City is in chaos, he hasn't made it public yet."

"Once we've killed you, we'll begin our revenge—Jiang and Mu will be wiped out to the last child to pay this blood debt!"

The thirteen men radiated murderous intent.

"So it really was them," Qin Feiyang muttered with disdain. "I don't know about the Mu family, but with the Jiang family backed by the Grand Master of Yan Commandery, do you really dare lay a hand on them?"

"We have nothing left to lose—the Ling family is destroyed. If worst comes to worst, we'll die together!"

"Stop talking!" someone snapped. "He might be stalling for time. Attack!"

All thirteen surged forward, their internal energy surging, eyes glinting with savagery.

"No matter how strong the enemy, we can't just sit here and wait for death. Stay close to me!" Qin Feiyang growled, and to everyone's shock, took the initiative to charge toward one of the elders.

Ling Yunfei, startled, hurried to follow—for there was no other choice. Every escape route was already blocked; their only hope was to fight desperately to break through.

"Overestimating yourselves," sneered the elder.

As Qin Feiyang neared, the elder raised his arm and struck out with his palm, internal energy sweeping in all directions.

But instead of faltering, Qin Feiyang only charged harder!

"Seeking death!" The elder grinned, certain of victory.

But in that instant, Qin Feiyang stepped sideways—the palm strike swept past his chest.

In that split second, a cold light exploded in Qin Feiyang's eyes. He suddenly raised his arm and slashed downward with all his might.

A gleam of white flashed through the night, and the man's right shoulder instantly spurted a fountain of blood!

In the next moment, his entire arm was severed at the shoulder and crashed to the ground.

"Ahhh—" The elder was stunned for a heartbeat, then, as excruciating pain enveloped him, he howled in agony.

Seizing the opportunity, Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei darted past him, never looking back as they plunged into the forest.

The sudden turn of events left the remaining twelve elders dumbfounded.

The wounded elder roared, "Why are you standing there? After them! Watch out for that deadly weapon in his hand!"

The twelve snapped out of their daze and immediately plunged into the forest in hot pursuit.

Ling Yunfei glanced behind them and said grimly, "They're coming after us. At our speed, they'll catch us in five breaths at most!"

The two of them ran at lightning speed, using their most advanced footwork techniques, but compared to Martial Masters, they moved at a snail's pace.

Qin Feiyang scanned ahead. Though the forest offered some cover, there was nowhere to truly hide.

"What do we do? Should we hide inside the ancient fortress?" He hesitated. He trusted Ling Yunfei, but he was not ready to reveal the secret of the ancient fortress—one can never be too careful.

Suddenly—crack!—the ground beneath them gave way, and their bodies dropped straight down.

There was a deep pit here, invisible in the dark—perhaps a trap set by hunters for wild beasts.

"Damn it, how can we be this unlucky!" Ling Yunfei cursed. They were already cornered, and now, falling into a trap was adding insult to injury.

"We have no choice—we'll have to use the ancient fortress."

But then—"Wait! Why is there an echo?" Qin Feiyang said in surprise.

Ling Yunfei's angry curses echoed for a long time below. If this were just a trap, only a few meters deep, there would be no such echo. There must be a tunnel underneath.

Thud, thud! They landed almost simultaneously at the bottom, about ten meters down. The height was not enough to injure them.

"They're down there!"

"Let's go—after them!"

"This must be a trap—they can't escape now!"

Sinister voices sounded from above. Soon after, Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei sensed that someone had leapt down as well.

"Do you have a fire striker?" Qin Feiyang asked urgently. The echo came again.

It was pitch black—he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, nor tell east from west.

"I do!" Ling Yunfei replied, pulling one from his clothes. When he struck it, the place lit up immediately.

They quickly noticed a round tunnel on the left, about the size of a large sieve—one would have to stoop to enter.

Glancing upward, they saw an old man rapidly descending.

"Quickly!" Qin Feiyang urged.

Bending low, the two slipped into the dark tunnel, one after the other, and ran deeper without looking back.

After running dozens of meters in, Ling Yunfei frowned and said, "Jiang Haotian, doesn't something feel off?"

"I feel it too. Secret tunnels are usually square. Why is this one round? It doesn't look man-made."

"You little brats, let's see where else you can run!"

A cold voice echoed behind them—the twelve elders had followed.

"Persistent ghosts!" Ling Yunfei cursed under his breath.

"Wait—do you smell it? There's a fishy stench," Qin Feiyang said suddenly.

"A stench?" Ling Yunfei sniffed hard and frowned. "You're right, there is a strong fishy odor."

"I think we might..." Qin Feiyang began.

"What?"

Qin Feiyang swallowed hard. "This might be a snake's lair."

At these words, Ling Yunfei's hair stood on end, an icy dread washing over him. If this really was a snake's den...

One could imagine how long and thick that snake must be!

Hiss! Suddenly, a sibilant cry came from deep within the tunnel.

Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei froze, their scalps tingling. If this wasn't a snake's den, what else could it be?

The ground began to tremble, as if something massive was crawling toward them.

With a monstrous horror ahead and twelve Martial Masters closing in from behind, what hope was left?

What they thought might be a path to survival had turned out to be a true dead end!

At the same time, the twelve Ling family elders had heard the commotion as well. They halted, peering ahead in alarm.

Ling Yunfei spun around and shouted at them, "This is a snake's lair—get out, now!"

"A snake's den! With a tunnel that size, the snake must be at least a meter thick!"

"Quick! Retreat!"

The twelve turned pale with fright and hurried back the way they came.

If they were above ground, they would not fear. But here, forced to stoop as they walked, they stood no chance against a giant beast.

Ling Yunfei turned to Qin Feiyang. "We should retreat too!"

"We can't," Qin Feiyang said, grabbing him.

"Staying here is certain death!" Ling Yunfei protested.

"If you were in their shoes, what would you do?" Qin Feiyang asked, examining the tunnel walls as he spoke.

Ling Yunfei answered without hesitation, "If I were them, after leaving the lair, I would block the entrance..."

He stopped short, realization dawning.

Exactly! Once outside, the twelve would block the exit, trapping them inside with the giant beast!

Boom! At that moment, a deafening crash came from the tunnel's exit. Amid a rumbling noise, the entrance was sealed tight!

"Just as I thought!" Ling Yunfei's face went deathly pale.

Bang! Another explosion sounded from the side. Ling Yunfei jumped, looking over to see Qin Feiyang punch a hole in the left wall, instantly creating a dark opening two or three meters wide.

"What are you doing?" Ling Yunfei asked, confused.

Qin Feiyang snatched the fire striker from him and said, "Isn't it obvious? A refuge! Get in!"

Ling Yunfei looked at him dubiously but quickly ducked into the hole.

Qin Feiyang walked back a few steps, set down the fire striker, then hurriedly slipped into the refuge as well, crouching with his head poking out, watching the depths of the snake lair.

Ling Yunfei frowned. "Are you sure this is a refuge?"

"To be precise, it's an ambush point," Qin Feiyang whispered.

"An ambush?" Ling Yunfei was shocked.

The ground shook ever more violently. Dirt and pebbles rained from above.

"It's here!" Qin Feiyang's eyes narrowed.

A massive serpent's head slid into view—large as two basins! Its narrow eyes gleamed with a ghostly light in the dim fire.

And atop its head, a horn as thick as a man's arm jutted out!

"A one-horned giant serpent!" Qin Feiyang tensed.

He had seen such monsters in the imperial capital—terrifying beyond belief! Its venom could kill in an instant. That horn was dozens of times harder than black iron—utterly indestructible!

Sweat beaded on Qin Feiyang's brow as he gripped his sword tightly, the tension nearly unbearable.