TGPSAC – Chapter 171

Chi Wan and her group, disguised as a merchant caravan, arrived in Mugu ahead of the others.

Jiang Weiyang still had to lead the fleet for trade, but they were in a hurry to get to Mugu, so they went on ahead.

One large ship, three hundred soldiers, Chun Gui, Xia Qu, Qiu Lai, and Dong Ying, along with their partners—everyone except Dong Ying herself—was disguised as a merchant caravan and its guards.

The group reached Mugu as quickly as possible. At sea, Chi Wan looked at the compass in her hand. It was a gift from Jiang Weiyang, one she had used ever since she first set sail. It was a family heirloom, rumored to turn misfortune into good luck.

She was willing to believe in the compass’s power. After all, throughout the journey, she had been trying to find a way to treat Yu Jiuzhou, but the result was that she could only suppress the poison, not cure it. And the poison was spreading faster with each passing day.

At first, one treatment could last a full day. Later, it would barely last half a day before the poison began to spread again.

Yu Jiuzhou stood behind her, watching her back. The weather was poor today, and a strong sea wind whipped around them, causing the Daoist robes she wore to flutter. It made her look very lonely.

She knew Chi Wan was worried—worried about the poison in her body.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Yu Jiuzhou said, walking to her side to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

Chi Wan turned her head and smiled, pulling the woman beside her into an embrace. “I will find the antidote.”

“It’s going to rain.”

She looked up at the sky. The dark clouds were pressing down on the city as if to crush it. With a sky like this, the rain would likely come down in sheets.

The ship was about a quarter of an hour from the port. She thought of a way to get through the Misty Forest: enter while it was raining. During heavy or torrential rain, fog was rare. It was summer now, and during a thunderstorm, it was difficult for water vapor to condense into fog.

In other words, if they entered the Misty Forest on a rainy day, even if there was still some mist, the toxins would be reduced to some extent.

Chi Wan turned and gave an order. “Speed up and enter the port.”

Only a small group would go to the Misty Forest: she and Yu Jiuzhou, along with Xia Qu, Yu Xingchen, and Honglin. The others would provide support from the outside and maintain their cover as merchants, otherwise they might attract unwanted attention.

Mugu, as they knew, was divided into two nations: Old Mugu and New Mugu. Two emperors, one family—an uncle and a nephew.

Both Old and New Mugu were competing for merchants from Great Zhou. In particular, they both wanted Great Zhou’s support in their bid to become the sole emperor of Mugu. Their fleet had to conduct business properly and not get involved in the struggles of another country. They were still disguised as a merchant ship, and with only three hundred people, it was best not to do anything at all. They would just do business honestly to cover for the group entering the Misty Forest.

The Misty Forest was in Old Mugu, the half ruled by the nephew emperor.

Finally, after several months, they had traveled from winter to summer and arrived in Mugu.

As soon as the ship docked, people came running over—not just one or two, but dozens of them, their eyes glowing green as if they were looking at a prime cut of meat.

“Boss, boss, what goods do you have?”

“Boss, want some spices? Want some spices?”

“Cheap! Very cheap!”

“Grain for gold! Grain for gold!”

“Boss, do you have any grain?”

Some of these people wanted to buy goods, others wanted to sell. What they wanted most was grain. Mugu was divided into two countries and fought from time to time. The people of Mugu were not good at farming, so it was normal for them to have nothing to eat. In Mugu, the price of grain was comparable to gold.

Thus, potatoes and sweet potatoes from Great Zhou could be exchanged for gold in Mugu. Often, merchant ships, in addition to stocking goods, would cultivate sprouts on the journey. By the time they reached Mugu, the crops would have grown, perfect for trading for gold.

Many merchants had tried farming in Mugu at first, but their crops were stolen before they could ripen, so they stopped trying.

No wonder Jiang Weiyang had said not to deal in grain; it would attract too much attention. Porcelain was better. The nobles of Mugu were fond of porcelain and would pay a higher price for it. The common people, however, had no interest in it. Even if they stole it, who could they sell it to? The nobles of Mugu would not buy from them.

To put it simply, for the same item, the nobles of Mugu would gladly accept it if sold by a Great Zhou merchant. But once it fell into the hands of a commoner, they wouldn’t want it, no matter how exquisite the porcelain was.

First, the nobles looked down on commoners and found anything they touched to be dirty. Second, if Great Zhou merchants lost money because their goods, transported over thousands of miles, were stolen and sold, they would surely stop doing business with Mugu in the future.

Grain was uncontrollable because the common people also needed it. But things like porcelain were of little use to them. They couldn’t trade it for food or money, and they might even be caught and hanged.

Upon hearing it was porcelain, the people blocking the ship left in disappointment. They were commoners; porcelain was useless to them, and they couldn’t sell it. It would just be stuck in their hands.

No wonder Jiang Weiyang said selling porcelain was better. It really didn’t attract attention. As for whether the nobles would buy it, a symbolic sales pitch would suffice.

If it had been grain, many people would probably have tried to sneak onto the ship that very night.

As for the situation in Mugu and the fact that its people were starving and cold, it was not their place to interfere. They were people of Great Zhou and should only concern themselves with the people of Great Zhou. As for the people of other nations, they would respect the fate of others.

The nobles of Mugu were inhumane, but it was not up to the people of Great Zhou to manage them.

Everything about their arrival in Mugu had been planned on the way. The five of them—Chi Wan and her group—each with a backpack, disembarked. Of course, they followed behind more than a hundred crew members. Some would go to sell the porcelain, while others would go to the outskirts of the Misty Forest to provide support. By splitting up, they were less likely to be targeted.

Just as the group separated, Honglin suddenly spoke up. “It looks like it’s going to rain today. Why not wait for good weather to enter?”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t endure hardship; she just felt it was unnecessary.

Chi Wan didn’t speak. She just kicked up some dust and splashed water into it. The dust settled, and the hazy feeling was gone.

Honglin looked at her in surprise. Mist wasn’t dust, and the principle wasn’t the same, but the meaning she conveyed was clear enough. In a heavy thunderstorm, the mist wouldn’t be as thick.

“You know divination?”

“A little.”

No wonder. Honglin looked at her in astonishment. “Are you a shaman?”

As a priestess, she also knew a little, but not much—at least not as much as Chi Wan.

“No.”

“Oh, you’re from Great Zhou. Could you be from the Directorate of Astronomy?”

“Why ask so many questions? All you need to know is that our goal is to get the antidote.”

Chi Wan couldn’t be bothered to say more. She sat in the carriage. They would have to take it to the Misty Forest. After another five or six miles, they finally arrived outside the forest. There was no one here. It would be strange if there were people in a place filled with poisonous mist.

She had already given each person a Ghost Pearl. This was their capital for walking through the Misty Forest.

But when the carriage reached the edge of the forest, the horses refused to go any further. It was obvious they sensed the danger inside and wouldn’t take another step forward. From here on, they would have to walk.

The five of them got out of the carriage and walked into the Misty Forest together. The surroundings were terrifyingly silent. Perhaps because the rain hadn’t started yet, there was a pile of rubble ahead. Among the rocks, Chi Wan saw a stone tablet: Those who enter will die.

The tablet was half-buried under the rubble. It was clear no one had been here for many years; even the tablet hadn’t been tended to. Strangely, the tablet was also carved with a lotus flower pattern. The ugly characters were a stark contrast to the exquisite floral design.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the dim earth. The next second, a massive clap of thunder shook the heavens and the earth. In an instant, the rain began to pour down.

Fortunately, they had prepared in advance and put on raincoats. The ancient raincoats were handmade and had excellent waterproofing. Wearing them, their vision was obscured by the rain, but they didn’t get wet. The mist in the Misty Forest was visibly thinning.

They waited outside for the rain to fall for a while before stepping in. But as soon as they entered, Chi Wan felt a change in the air. The air in the Misty Forest was toxic, like swamp gas.

This meant there were swamps, wetlands, and the like inside the Misty Forest. But swamp gas and mist were produced independently. It seemed the poison in the Misty Forest wasn’t from the mist, but from the swamp gas.

According to what Chi Wan had learned, rainwater could accelerate the dispersal and dilution of the gas, but a downpour could suppress its production. The situation with the swamp gas would vary depending on the amount of rainfall. Fortunately, this was a torrential downpour.

“Let’s move faster. We need to get out of the Misty Forest while the storm is heavy.”

Chi Wan could clearly see that as the swamp gas decreased, the consumption of their Ghost Pearls was also slowing down. The pearls would last much longer now. She hoped one pearl would be enough to get them to their destination, as they still had to come back.

Honglin was well-adapted to the current weather and walked quickly. But no matter how fast she went, Chi Wan could keep up. Yu Jiuzhou followed closely behind, with Xia Qu and Yu Xingchen bringing up the rear.

Honglin moved through the Misty Forest as if it were her own home, with great familiarity.

Before arriving in Mugu, Chi Wan had interrogated her about what was in the Misty Forest, and whether their objective was inside it or beyond it.

Her attitude had been rather ambiguous. Chi Wan wouldn’t let her get away with that, so she used some methods. For one, Honglin would no longer get to drink the medicine made from snake gallbladders and Ghost Pearls.

Finally, she learned that beyond the Misty Forest was an ancient tree, so large it could house thousands of wooden huts. The thing they were looking for was inside one of those huts.

Honglin started walking faster and faster. Chi Wan immediately drew her blade and stepped forward. “Walk properly. Don’t even think about shaking us off. Otherwise, I can kill you the instant you try to run.”

After being threatened, Honglin finally behaved, walking at a slower pace. She even stopped occasionally to wait for them. It wasn’t that they couldn’t keep up with her, but that she had walked this path before, and they had not.

Wait, if Honglin really didn’t have a Ghost Pearl, how could she have passed through this place? And how did she get back? Since the journey required passing through the Misty Forest both ways, she would need an antidote for both trips. The air in the Misty Forest was not something one could easily figure out. And the smell in the air—she knew it wasn’t just swamp gas, but also the faint stench of corpses.

This meant Honglin was hiding many things from them. It was very likely she was using a mix of nine truths and one lie to conceal something. She had been misleading them all along, making them think the Misty Forest was difficult to traverse and that a Ghost Pearl was crucial.

Chi Wan had obtained the Ghost Pearls, but she had only discovered that they were consumed very slowly when kept in a sealed box. They would gradually disappear upon contact with air. If Honglin didn’t have a Ghost Pearl, she couldn’t have entered. If she did have one, why hadn’t she succeeded before?

Were the Ghost Pearls really that important?

Perhaps they were. Chi Wan felt that the Misty Forest was just the tip of the iceberg. There must be something worse ahead, something that desperately required Ghost Pearls.

What could it be? Chi Wan fell into deep thought.

Unless… Honglin only had two Ghost Pearls, and more than two were needed inside. So she simply turned back to get more.

Chi Wan had collected eleven pearls. If she killed her, all these pearls would belong to Honglin. But alas, she had no bullets. If she had bullets, the pearls would be hers.

When Honglin had asked her to collect ten Ghost Pearls, it was probably just for herself. Little did she know that her schemes stood no chance against absolute strength.

Fortunately, Chi Wan had chosen to enter the Misty Forest during a thunderstorm. The consumption of the Ghost Pearls was low. At this rate, one pearl could last at least twelve hours.

“Someone’s here,” Chi Wan said, listening cautiously to the sounds around her. Even with the loud noise of the thunderstorm, she could distinguish the sound of footsteps from animal noises.

In a few quick movements, Chi Wan climbed up a massive tree, one so large that three people couldn’t wrap their arms around it. One could even lie down and sleep on its branches without issue.

She very quickly threw down a rope. Yu Jiuzhou grabbed it without any hesitation and was pulled up into the tree in the next second, so fast she barely had time to react.

Xia Qu was an expert tree climber. As soon as Yu Jiuzhou was up, she followed, her speed much slower than Chi Wan’s, but far quicker to react than the two fools below.

Yu Xingchen came from a noble background. She had never done something as unladylike as climbing a tree. However, Chi Wan gave her no time to think, directly throwing the rope down.

Xia Qu was even fiercer. “Hold on tight.”

Soon, only Honglin was left below. Honglin felt isolated. Fortunately, she knew how to climb trees and managed to pull herself up.

It wasn’t that Chi Wan wouldn’t help her; it was that she didn’t want to. As long as she didn’t die, Honglin had to solve any situation she encountered on her own.

She had hidden so much information from them. How could she possibly tell them everything unless it was a life-or-death crisis?

Chi Wan took out her telescope. A thunderstorm, alas. She was truly afraid a bolt of lightning would strike the tree. But the Misty Forest was dense with trees; who knew which one would be struck? She hoped their luck was good enough for the lightning to avoid them.

But the rain was too heavy, rendering the telescope useless. She put it away and listened carefully to the surrounding movements. Sure enough, a dozen or so people soon appeared in their line of sight.

Chi Wan counted them. There were thirteen people in total, each carrying something—either a military-style pack or a simple backpack. The luxury goods industry in Great Zhou had all sorts of bags, not like those of later generations. These were embroidered stitch by stitch and had long been in fashion.

Common people also carried bags, but the kind made by tying a piece of cloth was becoming rare. Many would use a needle and thread to sew a cloth sack, and there were also multi-functional belts that could hold many things.

These people were also carrying a number of weapons, like shovels and knives. Some had ropes slung over their bodies—just ordinary hemp ropes.

Their ropes were nothing like hers, which were thin yet tough.

Back when she was leading troops in battle, Chi Wan had many things made, such as the flying tiger claws for scaling city walls. With those, climbing was easy for them.

Compared to their equipment, this group was a motley crew. Did they not know the Misty Forest was dangerous?

As the group drew closer, Chi Wan could see their faces through their rain gear. There were locals from Mugu, people from other countries, and even some from Great Zhou. Why would this group be here?

Then she heard them talking. “Good thing you guys figured it out. The poisonous gas in the Misty Forest is weaker on rainy days. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Even if the gas is weaker, it doesn’t mean there’s no poison. And the path is difficult in a storm. Who knows how much time we’ll waste.”

“Are you sure there’s a great tomb here? Did Han people really come here back then?”

“Shut up and keep walking. If you delay us, I’ll kill you.”

Grave robbers? Chi Wan had figured out their identity. Although their purposes were different, their destination might be the same. They might run into each other.

Suddenly, she felt a cold chill. She flicked her dagger to the side, sending a reddish snake flying. It landed right in front of those people.

Because the path was difficult, they were looking down and happened to see the snake. One of them shouted, “Snake, there’s a snake!”

“What are you yelling about? It’s just a snake. Kill it.”

“Hmph, I’ll skin it and soak it in wine. My wine gourd could use its gallbladder.”

The venomous snake was still dizzy from the blow to its head. Just as it came to, it saw several reckless humans about to strike it. Its passive ability triggered, and it lunged forward to bite, only to be knocked out again by a shovel. It never regained consciousness.

“What bad luck! There are even venomous snakes in this forest!”

“What kind of snake is this?”

“A Fire-Spotted Snake.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

The men looked at the snake’s corpse on the ground, its scales shimmering with a metallic luster, and their hearts tightened.

As a group of grave robbers, they knew a fair bit about venomous snakes.

“Fire-Spotted Snakes live in colonies.”

If there was one, there could be thousands.

Chi Wan’s pupils constricted. She turned to look at Honglin. “There are venomous snakes in the Misty Forest?”

“Don’t worry, there’s only one kind, the Fire-Spotted Snake. They live in groups. If you see one, it means there are snakes all around. But we have the Ghost Pearls, so they won’t attack us.”

She had said the Ghost Pearls’ function wasn’t that simple.

Not only could they purify poisonous gas, but they could also ward off venomous snakes and insects. The effect was good, but it couldn’t cure poison. It seemed the Ghost Pearls could only ward off poison, not cure it, but that was already very good.

Chi Wan thought of the snake just now. She didn’t know how long it had been lying there. The sound of the rain was too loud, and it hadn’t moved, so she hadn’t noticed it.

It was only when it moved that she immediately sensed something was wrong and flicked it away.

These snakes were hidden everywhere, ready to strike at any moment. They blended in with their surroundings, making them very difficult to spot.

Chi Wan glanced at Honglin and decided to stay in the tree for now. The commotion from the people below was too great; it was only a matter of time before they disturbed the snake colony. They could just follow from a distance—not too close, not too far.

Mainly, she wanted to see what these people were up to. By staying in the shadows, they could use this group to avoid many risks. With them charging ahead recklessly, they might just clear a safe path.

Just as she expected, after they killed that snake, countless pairs of faint blue eyes appeared from under the rotten leaves on the ground. They were very small and unnoticeable without careful inspection. If those men accidentally stepped on one, the result would not be good.

With a dense carpet of snakes underfoot, it was impossible not to step on them. Soon, a man cried out and fell to the ground. The leader looked closely and saw a venomous snake biting fiercely into the man’s leg. In a short while, the bitten area turned blackish-blue, and the man collapsed, his lips purple.

Rainy days naturally increase snake activity, but Fire-Spotted Snakes didn’t seem to attack proactively. They usually only attacked when disturbed.

One, two… a dense swarm of snakes crawled out from under the rotten leaves. The colony was thoroughly awakened. Only then did the men realize that the ground beneath their feet was covered in snakes, with almost no place to step.

Just a moment ago, there hadn’t been so many.

The leaves on the ground bulged from time to time, indicating that more snakes were crawling underneath, heading towards them.

Chi Wan frowned and carefully observed the tree they were in. Fortunately, there were no snakes on it.

It seemed Fire-Spotted Snakes preferred dark, damp environments underground. Only a few were willing to climb trees.

“Quick, climb the trees!”

The men also realized this and decided to climb.

In the heavy rain, the tree bark was wet and slippery, making it difficult to climb. The smart ones threw their ropes over branches and pulled themselves up. Others used whatever they had—knives, swords, daggers—to climb up bit by bit.

Thankfully, the distance between the two trees was quite large. Hiding in such a thousand-year-old tree, the other party couldn’t see them.

Some of them had just managed to find a technique and climb halfway up, only to be pulled down by their incompetent teammates. The Fire-Spotted Snakes had already surrounded them. At first, they didn’t bite, but a person’s psychological endurance is limited. Seeing the snakes crawling over, even onto their feet, they quickly kicked them away. The moment they kicked, a Fire-Spotted Snake turned and bit them.

Seeing the snakes begin to attack, the few men still on the ground frantically used their tools to drive them away. This only provoked the snakes’ ferocity, and they lunged forward to bite them one after another.

In the end, only six of the thirteen men were left, huddled in a tree, trembling.

The Fire-Spotted Snakes did not disperse. They were climbing the tree, their speed not slow even in the downpour. One could imagine that once they reached the top, these men would be finished.

Chi Wan’s brow furrowed deeply. This couldn’t go on. She had already seen a Fire-Spotted Snake climbing the tree they were in. It was already halfway up.

With such heavy rain, a fire attack was obviously not an option. Unless they left the tree directly. She could do it, but the other four might not be able to.

Yu Jiuzhou looked up at the branches of the great tree. It was a thousand-year-old tree, very dense, with thick branches. They should be able to jump from this tree to another.

“Tie a rope to this tree and jump over bit by bit.”

There was no other way. The ground was covered in snakes; going down would certainly lead to an attack. If they waited any longer, who knew how much time would be wasted.

Chi Wan nodded. “Alright. I’ll tie a rope between the two trees, and you can climb across.”

“Okay.”

She found a sturdy branch on the tree, tied the rope to it, and then with a push of her feet, she leaped directly to the other tree. She tied the rope, and a rope bridge was formed.

Yu Jiuzhou put on leather gloves, preparing to cross bit by bit. But Chi Wan tapped her feet quickly on the rope a few times and was by her side.

“I’ll take you across.”

Chi Wan wrapped an arm around her waist. Her speed was a little slower than when she came over, but her footing was steady. She reached the other tree without any incident.

She couldn’t carry Yu Jiuzhou directly to the other tree, but with the rope for leverage, she could easily move back and forth between the two trees.

In fact, if she were a bit bolder, she could have gone directly from the top of one tree to the other with her lightness skill. But that would require climbing up for a long time, and some branches might not be able to bear a person’s weight. The spot she chose was just right—it could bear a person’s weight and was the closest point to the other tree.

Chi Wan went back again, grabbing Xia Qu’s belt with her left hand and Yu Xingchen’s with her right. With the fastest speed, she delivered them to Yu Jiuzhou’s side.

Fortunately, she was strong enough. The two of them together weighed over two hundred pounds, but for her, it was a piece of cake.

As for the remaining Honglin, Chi Wan gestured for her to untie the rope and hold on tight. Then, with a swing, she pulled her across.

Honglin: “…” The differential treatment was too obvious. It was simply inhuman.

This time was better, at least. She had given her a pull instead of making her figure out how to get to another tree on her own.

The group repeated this method, crossing several trees in succession. Before long, they would be out of the Fire-Spotted Snakes’ encirclement.

Their movements were not loud, but with several people moving back and forth, it was still quite noticeable. One of the grave robbers saw them.

“There are people!”

Several of them looked over and saw that there really were people, and they were using a rope to cross bit by bit. They were inspired and tried to copy them, throwing a rope to the other side, but they couldn’t throw it far enough.

The leader of the grave robbers reacted quickly. He tied a hammer to one end of the rope and threw it with all his might. The end with the hammer wrapped around a branch on the neighboring tree several times. The leader’s eyes lit up. He quickly tied the rope tight and started to cross.

But while the others were light and graceful, they were clumsy and couldn’t even stand steadily. They could only hug the rope and move slowly. At least there was hope now; they didn’t have to wait to die in the tree.

Seeing that they had been spotted, Chi Wan quickened her pace. Soon, they were out of the Fire-Spotted Snakes’ encirclement. As for those grave robbers, they could only leave them to their fate.

The five of them came down from the tree. Without resting, they had to leave this place quickly while there were no snakes, in case the Fire-Spotted Snakes followed them.

They ran for a full ten minutes before stopping. Xia Qu leaned against a tree. “This damn forest, when will we ever get to the end of it?”

Chi Wan turned her gaze to Honglin, waiting for her answer.

“Soon,” was all Honglin could say. “The visibility is poor in the heavy rain, and the markers I left are long gone. Now I can only rely on my instincts.”

The Misty Forest was enormous, more than a hundred times the size of the Black Sand Beach. Whether it was raining or foggy, it was very easy to get lost inside. It was not a place for ordinary people to enter.

Honglin had been very well-behaved along the way, but the more obedient she was, the more Chi Wan felt that she was planning something big.

Although they didn’t know each other well, they had been together for several months. Coupled with Honglin’s previous actions, it was normal for her to be on guard.

“Rest for a bit, then we continue.”

They had been in the Misty Forest for four hours already. The heavy rain was about to stop, and the swamp gas would rise soon. They didn’t have much time left.

They rested for only five minutes, catching their breath before continuing forward. Fortunately, they had a map. But even with a map, it was difficult to navigate the Misty Forest. Chi Wan could only rely on the map in conjunction with Honglin’s directions.

The map could only confirm that Honglin was not leading them astray. When Honglin didn’t know the way, they would rely on the map to continue.

They walked for another ten minutes or so. The rain gradually stopped, and at the same time, the swamp gas began to rise. Chi Wan could clearly feel the toxins in the air becoming more concentrated. If this continued, they would be poisoned by another toxin before curing the first one.

“Put on your masks and hurry.”

The group quickened their pace without hesitation. As they were walking, Chi Wan suddenly stopped. “People, and snakes.”

It was the Fire-Spotted Snakes again, and there were more people than the group of grave robbers from before.

Chi Wan quickly climbed a tree and looked into the distance. She saw twenty to thirty people surrounded by Fire-Spotted Snakes. These people were tightly wrapped up, making it impossible to tell where they were from. They were different from the grave robbers; their methods of dealing with the snakes were very effective. Despite the large number of snakes, none could get close to them.

These people were also more brutal. Some directly cut open the snakes, ripped out their gallbladders, and immediately stuffed them into their mouths, eating them fresh. A gallbladder just taken out—how could it not be fresh?

Perhaps seeing the increasing number of snakes, the leader of this group made a few hand signals. The others climbed the trees like monkeys, as if they were long accustomed to life in the rainforest.

However, when she saw the hands they revealed while climbing, Chi Wan’s pupils suddenly shrank. Snake scales? They were similar to the scales on Honglin’s body, just not as red and bright.

Chi Wan couldn’t help but think that these people might be Honglin’s clansmen. Honglin was the clan leader, and every clan leader was named Honglin. But there were many other people in her clan. How did they get here? And they chose to enter the Misty Forest on the same day as them.

She glanced at Honglin below and decided to go around them.

She leaped down from the tree. “Let’s go.”

Chi Wan nonchalantly started walking to the right, avoiding those people. Xia Qu and the others didn’t mind; they had been twisting and turning the whole way anyway. They just had to follow Her Highness the Prince.

But Honglin suddenly said, “Wrong way. We should go that way.”

She pointed in the direction of the other group. If they went that way, they would definitely meet.

Chi Wan’s eyes turned cold. “There are snakes over there. We need to take a detour.”

She wasn’t explaining to Honglin, but to her own people.

Hearing there were snakes, Xia Qu shivered. She hadn’t forgotten the scene from before—the dense mass of snakes writhing and crawling on the ground. Goosebumps broke out all over her skin. She had been forcing herself to run through her disgust.

“Since there are snakes ahead, let’s take a detour.”

If they were trapped by snakes again, they would have to find a way to escape the swarm. There were too many snakes in the Misty Forest; they could run into a colony anywhere.

Honglin’s body stiffened. “You said there are snakes ahead?”

Her voice was clearly tense, just like Xia Qu’s. But Xia Qu was worried about the snakes. What was she worried about?

If Chi Wan hadn’t seen it for herself, she might have thought Honglin didn’t want to see snakes either.

“Not just snakes, but people too. The snakes have them surrounded.”

Hearing this, Yu Jiuzhou already understood what was going on. The people surrounded over there probably had nothing to do with the grave robbers, but they were related to Honglin.

Honglin clenched her fists and said no more, obediently following Chi Wan on the detour.

It wasn’t that she wanted to take a detour. If she said any more, Chi Wan would start to suspect her relationship with those people. Besides, she believed that a mere snake swarm couldn’t stop them.

The group chose to take the detour and finally saw the sky-reaching ancient tree at dusk. The tree seemed to grow into the heavens, it was so tall. They experienced firsthand what it meant to be “running towards a mountain that kills the horse.” Even though they could already see the ancient tree, it still took them a long time to reach it. By the time they did, the sky was as dark as black silk, without a single speck of light.

Chi Wan could see in the dark; she could see everyone’s expressions.

Honglin’s pair of snake-like eyes glowed with a blue light, particularly noticeable in the darkness.

There was no moonlight in the Misty Forest; the moonlight couldn’t penetrate it. It was pitch black. Fortunately, their equipment was comprehensive. Chi Wan took out kerosene, used her internal energy to dry some wood, and made a few simple torches. When Xia Qu found more firewood and lit a bonfire, they extinguished the torches.

They would have to climb the tree later, and who knew what they would encounter. It wouldn’t do to have no light in the darkness.

“You’ve worked hard.” The group sat around the fire. Yu Jiuzhou leaned on Chi Wan’s shoulder. Ever since she was poisoned, Chi Wan had been researching the antidote, but unfortunately, she could still only suppress it, not cure it.

After entering the Misty Forest, Chi Wan had been their pillar of strength. It was thanks to her that they had made it this far.

Over the past few months, Yu Jiuzhou hadn’t been idle either. She had been diligently practicing her internal energy and the skills to use it. She was no longer comparable to who she was back at the Black Sand Beach.

Chi Wan smiled and placed a piece of dry ration in Yu Jiuzhou’s mouth. “It was nothing.”

It wasn’t hard work. As long as she could find the antidote, this little bit of hardship was nothing.

“This journey is perilous. It would be wonderful if we can really find the antidote,” Xia Qu said, chewing on her dry rations, her eyes full of worry. Her most revered monarch and her most beloved person were both poisoned. Of course, she would give her all. As long as she could find the antidote, she would pay any price.

“Hmph, it’s not that simple,” Honglin sneered. She still held a grudge against Chi Wan for preventing her from meeting her clansmen.

Chi Wan stared at her coldly. “We’re at the base of the ancient tree now. The map is useless. Tell us, where on the tree is the item?”

The ancient tree was like a mountain. With its width, it must have been growing for hundreds of thousands of years to reach such a size.

They were as small as dust in front of it. The trunk was probably as wide as a house, twenty to thirty meters across, and its height was impossible to see. It was hard to say where the antidote was.

“It’s up there. Keep climbing to the very top, and you will naturally see the antidote.”

The answer Honglin gave seemed more like she was toying with them.

Just as Chi Wan was about to speak, a rustling sound came from the tree. Xia Qu shot to her feet. “Ants!”

It was a lot of ants, countless poisonous ants crawling down from the tree, even denser than the snake swarm. People with trypophobia were in for a treat. So many ants swarming downwards was like a river of blood, a deeply unsettling sight.

Yu Jiuzhou immediately lit a torch and aimed it at the ants. The other three followed suit.

As the ants approached, they used their torches to burn them. A smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

Chi Wan didn’t join in. She was observing the tree, trying to see where the ants were coming from.

She threw out a flying tiger claw, hooking it onto the ancient tree. This was the limit of its height. She quickly ascended and found that the ants were coming from a hole in the tree. There was nothing further up. At this position, they should be able to avoid the ants.

Chi Wan immediately flew down and explained the situation on the tree. Just as they were about to climb up using the flying tiger claw, she suddenly felt something was wrong. “Hold your breath!”

The swamp gas was getting thicker. No, not thicker, it was as if the swamp gas was surging, almost solidifying, about to pounce on them.

Swamp gas behind them, poisonous ants in front. Mugu was indeed dangerous, a worthy final stop before the Void.

Chi Wan first held Yu Jiuzhou, about to go up, but Yu Jiuzhou pushed her slightly. “I can do it myself.”

In such a critical situation, she could protect herself.

Yu Jiuzhou grabbed the flying tiger claw, and her light body leaped up. Halfway through, she tapped her toes lightly on a leaf and reached the top.

Watching this scene, Chi Wan let out a soft laugh. As expected of the Empress, her skills had become so formidable in just a few short months.

Beside them, Xia Qu and Yu Xingchen were also climbing up. Both were military generals and not weak. Climbing something like this with a rope was more than enough for them.

Chi Wan quickly got up the tree. The ants seemed to be attracted to fire and were still crazily crawling downwards. Not a single one was climbing up. She had guessed correctly. This way, they had managed to escape the ants.

Compared to Xia Qu and Yu Xingchen, who were trained in climbing as a basic skill, Honglin’s movements were much slower. Just then, the swamp gas enveloped the flames, forming a wave of fire, and the ants were all blown away.

Honglin, who hadn’t made it up yet, was also hit by the blast and slammed heavily against the tree. Chi Wan immediately hung upside down from the tree, grabbed Honglin’s hand with lightning speed, and pulled her up.

Honglin clutched her arm in pain, tears welling in her eyes, but she didn’t make a sound. After a long while, she pulled down the sleeve of her clothes. A large patch of her left arm was burned, and the poison from the swamp gas was attached to it, looking exceptionally terrifying.

Honglin hesitated for a moment, then drew her dagger and chopped off her left arm. She snatched Xia Qu’s torch and pressed it against the wound!

“Ah!!!”

A sky-shattering scream of pain echoed. Honglin’s arm stopped bleeding, and sweat dripped continuously from her face. She took a long while to recover.

Chi Wan, holding hemostatic medicine, froze. She had not expected Honglin to be so ruthless—ruthless to others, and ruthless to herself.

Only then did Honglin see the medicine in her hand. She was surprised for a moment, but she didn’t regret it. She had the blood of a snake in her veins. The nine-eyed snake had tenacious vitality and strong regenerative abilities. Cauterizing the wound with fire would not kill her.

Everyone was shocked by Honglin’s methods. A person could actually be so cruel to themselves.

“Go!” Honglin stood up, enduring the pain. She had been poisoned by the swamp gas; there was no time to waste.

Chi Wan didn’t hesitate either. She stood up and led the way. Honglin walked with her, while Xia Qu and Yu Xingchen tacitly brought up the rear. Yu Jiuzhou was naturally in the middle.

After walking for a short while, they saw many skulls. These heads were placed neatly on the branches, as if arranged by someone.

After a long pause, Yu Jiuzhou said one sentence, “Live human sacrifice.”

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