Chapter 1338
: His face was filled with terror.
A hint of surprise flashed in Long Yuxuan's eyes, and he patted Xiao Muyang's shoulder forcefully.
"Good lad! You've been hiding it well! Why didn't you say so sooner if you had this ability!"
This is practically made for clearing roads! No fear of getting hurt!
Xiao Muyang, with a long face, rubbed the spot where he had been scratched but which was now gone, and complained.
"How would I know the specifics of this ability? And... it really hurt! If I had known I had this ability, they should have made me clear the way, instead of making me take so many hits for nothing!"
Discovering Xiao Muyang's special ability was the only consolation in this terrible journey.
The three rallied and continued their trek through the increasingly dark jungle.
When it was completely dark and the forest was shrouded in darkness, they finally managed to climb a small hill that wasn't too high. Long Yuxuan, panting heavily, wiped the sweat and dirt from his face and estimated the distance.
"At this pace... we've been walking for almost three hours, we must have covered at least... ten kilometers, right? Let's climb up this hill and see if we can see the highway lights outside the forest!"
With their last hope, the three stood on the mountaintop, straining to look into the distance.
However, all they could see was an endless, undulating sea of trees under the moonlight, like a black ocean! As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but trees! There was not a single glimmer of light representing human civilization!
Hope was shattered in an instant.
"Gurgle...gurgle..."
Just then, the three men's stomachs simultaneously roared in protest. Hunger surged like a tidal wave, tormenting their willpower.
"Damn it, I'm starving..."
Xie Feiyu plopped down on the ground, complaining weakly.
"I should have eaten more at the base at noon!"
With a grim expression, Long Yuxuan took out his phone and turned on the flashlight. A faint beam of light pierced the darkness, barely illuminating a few meters around him.
"Save your batteries, we don't know how much longer we'll have to walk. I'll use one flashlight to light the way, and you two shouldn't turn on your phones yet."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Muyang and Xie Feiyu silently put their phones back in their pockets, not daring to waste their precious battery power.
"It's all Luo Fei's fault!"
Xie Feiyu stumbled down the mountain, using Long Yuxuan's flashlight as a guide, while grumbling indignantly.
"They didn't give us any time to prepare, they just kicked us out! At least give us a compass and some rations!"
Xiao Muyang also sighed.
"I now strongly suspect that he thought we were never going to get out of this forest, which is why he let us go so readily!"
These words were like a needle, pricking Long Yuxuan's sensitive pride.
He abruptly stopped, turned around, glared at his two companions, and growled.
"fart!
The more he acts like this, the more we must go out there! Not only must we go out, but we must go out with dignity! Then, let's see what he has to say! We must succeed! We must slap him in the face!
"Yes! Slap him in the face!"
Xie Feiyu and Xiao Muyang were also stirred up by their own fighting spirit and echoed in low voices.
The three encouraged each other, relying on the faint light from Long Yuxuan's phone to grope their way forward in the pitch-black forest. The darkness amplified all sounds: the chirping of unknown insects, the hooting of owls, the faint roars of beasts in the distance, and the rustling of leaves in the wind, all of which made their nerves extremely tense.
"what--!!!"
Suddenly, Xiao Muyang, who was walking in front, jumped up and let out a shrill scream that sounded particularly piercing in the quiet night!
The sudden scream startled Long Yuxuan and Xie Feiyu, who were right behind him, so much so that their hearts almost jumped out of their throats!
"What's wrong?! What's wrong, Mu Yang?!"
Long Yuxuan, still shaken, quickly shone his flashlight on Xiao Muyang.
Xiao Muyang was hopping on one foot, his face filled with terror, pointing to the spot where he had just landed, his voice trembling.
"I stepped on something! It's soft and slippery! It feels like...it feels like a snake!"
"snake?!"
Long Yuxuan and Xie Feiyu's faces turned pale instantly! Being bitten by a snake in this desolate wilderness is no joke!
After the three of them calmed down a bit, Xiao Muyang put his foot down with a grimace and said in a tearful voice.
"My leg... my leg hurts! It feels like I was pricked by something! Yuxuan, can you take a look? Did I get bitten?"
Long Yuxuan quickly crouched down and shone his flashlight on Xiao Muyang's calves. The light was dim, and he couldn't see clearly.
He was at a loss for what to do.
"You...you have self-healing abilities, right? Even if you were bitten, the wound should have healed by now, shouldn't it?"
"The wound hasn't healed yet! It's definitely still there! Quickly check how serious it is? Should we suck out the poison?"
Xiao Muyang was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet.
Long Yuxuan and Xie Feiyu exchanged a glance, their faces showing extreme difficulty and disgust. Sucking out snake venom with their mouths? Just thinking about it made them nauseous.
Long Yuxuan steeled himself, moved closer, and carefully rolled up Xiao Muyang's trouser leg to examine it closely with the help of a flashlight. Sure enough, near his ankle on his calf, he saw two tiny, bleeding holes!
"There are two small eyes...it looks like...he really was bitten by a snake!"
Long Yuxuan's voice also became tense.
"Huh?! It's really a snake?!"
Xiao Muyang was so frightened that his voice changed tone.
"Quick! Quickly suck the poison out for me! Hurry!"
Long Yuxuan looked at the two small eyes, hesitated for a moment, and instead of using his mouth directly, he used his hands to squeeze the area around the wound. After squeezing a few times, some bright red blood seeped out.
He examined the squeezed-out blood carefully, then sniffed it closely, breathed a sigh of relief, and said.
"Don't scare yourself! The blood that came out is bright red, so it's probably not a venomous snake, or it didn't inject venom. It's probably just a non-venomous snake, or it was just stung by something." Hearing Long Yuxuan's judgment, Xiao Muyang's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was slightly relieved. He quickly concentrated and mobilized his still not-yet-skilled self-healing ability.
The two small, bleeding holes on his calf visibly contracted and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, disappearing in a few seconds and leaving only a little bloodstain.
The wound healed, but the psychological trauma remained. Xiao Muyang had been afraid of slippery, cold, long creatures since he was a child. The thought that he might have stepped on a snake or even been bitten made him feel cold all over and gave him goosebumps.
"I can't take it anymore..."
Xiao Muyang said, his voice trembling with tears.
"It's pitch black here, and there are grassy patches everywhere. Who knows how many snakes are hiding inside? What if I step on a poisonous one? Even if I can heal myself, the pain would be unbearable! And what if the venom takes effect too quickly, and I don't have time to heal..."
Xie Feiyu nodded repeatedly, still feeling lingering fear.
"Mu Yang is right! We can't go any further! It's too dangerous! I don't want to get bitten by a poisonous snake and die in agony or from the venom in this desolate wilderness!"
Looking at the terrified expressions on his two companions' faces, and then at the low battery on his phone and the impenetrable darkness around him, Long Yuxuan knew that he could not go any further tonight.
He sighed and said.
"Alright, let's find a place to spend the night. I think... let's find a big tree, and we can make do in it for the night until dawn before we leave."
The suggestion was unanimously approved by Xiao Muyang and Xie Feiyu. Compared to the perilous ground, the trees obviously offered them a greater sense of security.
Using the dim light, the three carefully made their way forward for a while, and finally found a lush, thick-trunked banyan tree in a valley that felt more gloomy and damp. It seemed easy to climb.
"Let's take this one!"
Long Yuxuan shone his flashlight on the tree trunk.
“Let’s climb up and find a sturdy branch to stay in.”
The eerie valley where Long Yuxuan, Xiao Muyang, and Xie Feiyu were currently located was far more dangerous than they had imagined.
This place, known as "Snake Valley" by those who knew the inside story, was not without reason. Deep within it lay an astonishing number of various venomous snakes, roughly estimated to be at least tens of thousands!
They inhabit and reproduce here, turning this place into a forbidden zone for life and their own kingdom.
After a night of fear, hunger, and cold, the three were utterly exhausted. Although the eerie rustling sounds and the relentless bombardment of countless mosquitoes kept them awake, their extreme drowsiness eventually overcame their fear. In the darkest hour before dawn, they huddled together on the thick branches of the banyan tree, drifting into a light, half-asleep state.
They didn't know exactly how much time had passed, but it was around five in the morning. Just as the sky was beginning to lighten with a faint glimmer of dawn, the mournful cawing of crows jolted the three of them awake from their restless sleep.
Long Yuxuan was the first to open his heavy eyelids. Before he was fully awake, he felt a cool, slippery touch on his face, as if something was gently scraping his cheek.
He instinctively fixed his gaze on it—
This sight nearly scared the soul out of him!
A huge snake head, thicker than an adult's arm, with scales that gleamed with a cold, eerie light, was hanging less than a foot in front of him!
The forked, scarlet tongue was extending and retracting; the icy touch just now was from the tongue licking!
"what--!!!"
Long Yuxuan's screams were like those of a rooster being choked, sharp and twisted!
The scream also completely woke up Xiao Muyang and Xie Feiyu who were standing nearby.
When the two opened their eyes, they were terrified!
It's not just Long Yuxuan who has a giant snake on his face!
Their bodies, arms, legs, and even necks were inexplicably covered with all sorts of venomous snakes of various colors, thicknesses, and lengths!
The snakes' cold bodies coiled around them, their slippery scales rubbing against their skin. Some snakes even raised their heads, coldly "staring" at them with their emotionless vertical pupils!
"Snake!!!!"
"Help--!!!"
The three of them simultaneously let out a heart-wrenching scream. The extreme fear caused them to unleash all their potential in an instant. They sprang up from the tree branch and twisted their bodies frantically, trying to shake the snake off their bodies!
This really stirred up a hornet's nest!
Their leap not only shook the snakes off themselves, but also startled countless more venomous snakes that were coiled up all over the banyan tree! In an instant, it was as if a "snake rain" was falling, with countless snakes tumbling down from the tree!
The sight beneath the tree sent shivers down the spines of the three who landed, sending goosebumps surging across their bodies like a tidal wave!
As the light grew brighter, they could see clearly that, centered on their landing point, every inch of the surrounding area—the ground, the bushes, the rocks—was covered with thousands of writhing snakes!
They intertwined and pressed against each other, and many were even mating without regard for others, creating an incredibly dense, nauseating, and horrifying scene! A heavy, fishy stench filled the air.
"Oh my god..."
Xiao Muyang felt his legs were as weak as noodles, and his teeth were chattering.
"This...this is like falling into a snake pit?!"
Xie Feiyu's voice was choked with sobs, and his face was as white as paper.
Long Yuxuan's heart was pounding, but he forced himself to remain calm and observe. He suddenly remembered that it was early autumn, a crucial time when many snakes were active and preparing to mate and lay eggs!
He instantly realized that they hadn't fallen into a snake pit, but had stumbled upon a snakes' "mating extravaganza"!
"It's...it's all over..."
Xie Feiyu looked at the snakes around him, which had raised their heads and seemed to have been startled and were now paying attention to them, and his legs trembled like leaves.
"Where...where do I go? There are snakes everywhere!"
Xiao Muyang was also on the verge of collapse.
"Run? How can you run? You can step on seven or eight with one stomp!"
At this critical moment, Xie Feiyu, driven to the limit by fear, reacted almost instinctively!
He took a sudden step forward, assuming a less-than-perfect but exceptionally stable horse stance, his hands forming a ball in front of his chest, and let out a suppressed shout from his throat!
"Ho-!"
In an instant, an invisible yet powerful "qi" surged forth from the palms of his hands! It was like a violent hurricane rising from the ground, or like an invisible heavy artillery shell!
"boom!!!"
A dull, deafening roar! In the fan-shaped area directly in front of him, hundreds of venomous snakes—whether coiled on the ground, hanging from the bushes, or even engaged in their activity—were instantly slammed into the air by an invisible giant hand, hurled and twisting in all directions! A large section of bushes and weeds in that area was cleared away! Further away, a massive boulder, estimated to weigh two or three tons, was struck by the edge of this invisible shockwave. With a "crack," spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface, and it shattered into several pieces!
This sudden, almost miraculous scene completely stunned Xiao Muyang and Long Yuxuan, who were either preparing to close their eyes and await death or scream along with the others! The two of them opened their mouths wide, their eyes bulging out, as if they had seen the most unbelievable thing in the world!
"Fei... Feiyu... you..."
Xiao Muyang pointed at Xie Feiyu, his words becoming incoherent.
Xie Feiyu himself was also stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting his "qi" to be so powerful.
But he had no time to explain. Seeing a temporary "path to survival" appear in front of the cleared area, he roared. (End of Chapter)