"Thank you both for saving my life," Li Zhaolei sighed with relief as he took the strength-replenishing dicine from Bai Muxue’s hand and swallowed it. He looked at them with a face full of gratitude, but a flash of viciousness flickered in his eyes as he gazed at Zhuge Feng. If it hadn’t been for Zhuge Feng’s refusal to lend him dicine, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a wretched state.
"Young Master Zhuge, are you alright?" Bai Muxue, her white robe fluttering, quickly turned to Zhuge Feng, who was sitting on the ground, gasping for air.
The four of them were the appointed Young Masters. Fang Jianfei and Li Zhaolei were the oldest and had entered this place the most tis. Zhuge Feng was the youngest and presumably entering for the first ti. For Li Zhaolei, this was supposed to be his final trial. Yet, despite his multiple entries, Li Zhaolei was not as formidable as Zhuge Feng.
Moreover, Li Zhaolei’s envious glare towards Zhuge Feng made both Fang Jianfei and Bai Muxue look at Li Zhaolei with disdain. People from the Li Family truly are selfish and self-serving—that saying isn’t false at all.
"I’m fine, thank you both," Zhuge Feng sighed deeply. He was genuinely grateful for their arrival; it allowed him to finally catch his breath.
"Young Master Fang, Young Master Bai, how did you two end up here?" Li Zhaolei asked, bandaging his wounds while simultaneously trying to ingratiate himself with them. He was seriously injured and now had to rely on these two for everything. Besides, having been inside for over ten days, he wasn’t entirely clueless about the situation outside.
"Ye Zhiqiu was rescued, and the Family Head ordered us to undergo a trial," Fang Jianfei said with a bitter smile. "I had just entered the forbidden area behind the mountain when I ran into Bai Muxue. We then heard the recent roars and followed the scent of blood here, not expecting to find Li Zhaolei in such a desperate situation. If we had known it was Li Zhaolei being attacked, we might have delayed our arrival, perhaps waited until he was dealt with before showing ourselves. But regret is pointless now."
The Li Family’s Young Master was indeed renowned among them.
Li Zhaolei’s expression instantly turned ugly, and his body staggered. He had humiliated Ye Zhiqiu significantly. He, along with mbers of the Fang Family, had been specifically assigned to guard Ye Zhiqiu. How could Ye Zhiqiu possibly have escaped?
"Who rescued Ye Zhiqiu? Was it the Ye Family? Didn’t they offer any explanation?" Li Zhaolei asked anxiously. Now that Ye Zhiqiu had escaped, he feared that once Ye Zhiqiu recovered, the Li Family would be the first he’d annihilate.
"The Ye Family paid no heed to the matter. It was a group of n in black who rescued Ye Zhiqiu. After taking him, they all vanished without a trace," Fang Jianfei said indifferently. He bore no deep grudges against Ye Zhiqiu. If Ye Zhiqiu hadn’t practiced forbidden techniques, leading to his imprisonnt, Fang Jianfei wouldn’t have bothered with that affair at all.
"The entire village has been thoroughly searched. I believe they won’t be able to escape," Bai Muxue said nonchalantly, handing so healing dicine to Zhuge Feng.
Zhuge Feng, however, refused it. He took out so dicine from his bosom instead and asked Bai Muxue to apply it to the wound on his back. The antiseptic dicine had barely touched the bleeding wound when the blood flow miraculously stopped.
Bai Muxue looked at Zhuge Feng with so surprise. The Zhuge Family was famous for their dicine and poisons. While she found the potency of Zhuge Feng’s dicine surprising, she harbored no suspicion. The dicine carried by a future Family Head was naturally exceptional. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived here for more than ten days unscathed.
"Listen, what’s that sound?" Fang Jianfei asked, his sharp hearing having detected a multitude of noises rushing their way. Though distant and still unclear, everyone could distinctly feel the tremors through the ground.
anwhile, the animals that had been circling the four of them began to retreat in terror. In a matter of monts, all the ferocious beasts had vanished, although the oppressive shadows of Vultures overhead remained.
"Is that a beast stampede?" Bai Muxue’s figure flashed, and she stood atop a tree, looking out at the dark, churning mass surrounding them. Her expression hardened. Wherever the beast stampede passed, trees toppled, and dust filled the air. Smaller animals were trampled into pulp.
This was the forbidden mountain range of the five major families, ho to nurous ferocious beasts that had existed for hundreds of years. Although it was known to be brutal, every person who entered for trials was either an elite or soone being punished, left to fend for themselves.
But no one expected the number of ferocious beasts within to have swelled to tens of thousands. Every year, people from the Hidden World Families would venture out to capture animals in deep forests and release them here to grow freely. When had the numbers grown so imnse?
Fortunately, there was a barrier preventing anything from leaving. Otherwise, the creatures of the forbidden mountain could flatten the entire Hidden World Village. The re thought made Bai Muxue shudder. The Bai Family was in charge of security here, but the animal population had beco a serious threat to the Hidden World Village. It seed an effective solution was urgently needed.
"What in the world is going on?" stamred Li Zhaolei, his voice shaking. Just dealing with a few hundred animals had nearly cost him his life. Facing a stampede of tens of thousands converging from all sides would surely spell a quicker death. His legs trembled uncontrollably again.
"We should leave quickly," Zhuge Feng said, his face pale as he felt the vibrations through the earth, easily imagining the terrifying power of the impending stampede.
"The stampede is converging from all directions, and with Vultures in the sky, there’s nowhere for us to run," Bai Muxue said as she landed from the tree. She looked at the dark mass of Vultures hovering overhead, hearing their incessant, rallying cries, her expression growing even graver.
"Then what do we do? Are we just supposed to sit here and wait for death?" Li Zhaolei paced back and forth, his agitation intensifying.
"Sir, since you’ve arrived, why not show yourself?" Bai Muxue called out, cupping her fists towards a copse of trees where she sensed soone was concealed. She had noticed a subtle disturbance when he landed among the branches earlier, despite his careful concealnt.
"Now that we are surrounded by a stampede on all sides, whatever your intentions may be, we are allies for the mont," Fang Jianfei also said, cupping his fists towards the trees. In the Hidden World Village, Eastern and Western customs rged, preserving the old Jianghu atmosphere while embracing modern culture. With both Fang Jianfei and Bai Muxue dressed in traditional robes, they naturally adhered to ancient courtesies.
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