Chapter 1002

Hu Xiaotian's expression eased slightly, he nodded, Yan Boguang leaned to his ear and whispered: "Actually, no matter how potent an aphrodisiac, its effect can be dispelled after intercourse; why don't you find a secluded spot to help her..." Before he finished, he got punched in the nose, Hu Xiaotian punched him so hard his nose bled profusely.

Yan Boguang covered his nose and cried out in pain: "I was trying to help you, and you hit me……"

Yan Nujiao hurried over to shield her brother.

Hu Xiaotian sneered: "Do you really think I'm as shameless as you?"

Seeing her brother's nose bleeding, Yan Nujiao felt a pang of sympathy and snapped: "How can you just lash out and hurt someone without asking?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "He's done so many bad things, yet you still shield him—it's literally helping a tiger devour its prey. Think of how many innocent women he's harmed; you're a woman too, you should understand their suffering better than I do."

Yan Nujiao bit her lip, sighing inwardly that her brother had committed too many heinous acts.

Yan Boguang wiped his nose clean and continued on the road.

The secret passage from Qingyun Manor leads all the way to the nearby Rock Valley Mountain; as one nears the exit, the foot feels water beneath, growing deeper, and the passage's openings are often chosen where water gathers or vines are thick, to prevent easy discovery.

Qingyun Manor's secret passage is the same: its opening lies on the bank of the Li River at the foot of Rock Valley Mountain, with the mouth underwater; this design bears a striking resemblance to that of the Dakang palace's secret passage.

The three, carrying Xue Lingjun, swam up from underwater; Yan Nujiao surfaced first, at which point the rain had eased considerably, and in the distance they saw Qingyun Manor engulfed in roaring flames. Yan Boguang and Hu Xiaotian surfaced shortly after; seeing the manor ablaze, Yan Boguang lamented: "What a fine estate, destroyed just like that!" In his heart he naturally blamed Hu Xiaotian entirely, for otherwise the Blade Demon FengXingyun would not have pursued them and taken out his anger on them. Yet Yan Boguang feared Hu Xiaotian's might, so he could only silently resent him.

After climbing onto the riverbank, Hu Xiaotian had Yan Nujiao unlock Xue Lingjun's acupoints; soon she awoke slowly. She felt her head about to split, but her consciousness was much clearer than before; she pressed her right hand to her forehead, looked at the three beside her, and finally fixed her gaze on Hu Xiaotian's face: "I… I… where am I?"

Hu Xiaotian rose, looked around, and saw flames shooting up toward Qingyun Manor. It seemed the Blade Demon FengXingyun, unable to find them, had flown into a rage and burned the manor to the ground.

Yan Nujiao said gloomily: "I don't know if anyone else managed to escape."

Yan Boguang said: "We should leave this place as soon as possible."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Now is not the time to leave; we should remain still and wait until dawn to consider leaving."

Yan Nujiao nodded: "Quite right; those people clearly came prepared. Perhaps they have men stationed at every exit……"

"Ah!" Before Yan Nujiao could finish, Xue Lingjun's scream cut her off; the three rushed over, only to see Xue Lingjun frantically waving her arms. Yan Nujiao lunged forward, pulled up her sleeve, and saw a large, brightly colored centipede clinging to Xue Lingjun's snow‑white, lotus‑root‑like arm.

They all gasped involuntarily. Yan Nujiao said sternly: "Don't move!" She quickly took a porcelain bottle from her waist pouch, pulled the stopper, and poured some white powder onto the centipede; upon contact the creature shrank rapidly and instantly turned into a puddle of slime.

The aphrodisiac's effect on Xue Lingjun had already waned by half; the shock of the venomous insect made her break out in a cold sweat, and she suddenly became fully awake, trembling as she said: "Centipede… centipede…"

Yan Nujiao grasped her arm to calm her, asking anxiously: "Did it bite you?"

Xue Lingjun shook her head, gradually calming from her panic.

Hu Xiaotian, assured she was unharmed, relaxed a little; Yan Nujiao took Xue Lingjun back to the riverbank and washed the slime off her arm with river water.

Yan Boguang was obviously terrified of being alone with Hu Xiaotian, his eyes darting about, unwilling to meet his gaze. He fidgeted, wanting to step aside, when Hu Xiaotian asked: "Where are you going?"

Yan Boguang trembled: "I need to relieve myself……"

"Together!"

Yan Boguang was reluctant but dared not object, so he followed Hu Xiaotian deep into the thicket. Hu Xiaotian did not deceive him; he undid his belt and began to urinate with a splashing sound. Standing beside Hu Xiaotian, Yan Boguang felt immense pressure; when he stole a glance, he met Hu Xiaotian's fierce glare and heard him roar: "Pee!"

Yan Boguang was so startled he shuddered, making it even harder to urinate.

Hu Xiaotian sneered: "You're lying to me?"

Yan Boguang's expression was agonized; he forced a grimace and said: "I didn't lie……"

Hu Xiaotian glared fiercely: "Then go ahead and piss for me to see!"

Yan Boguang, on the verge of tears, said: "You're staring at me… I… I… can't piss!"

"That means you're lying to me; if you lie, I'll cut off your balls so you can never harm innocent women again."

Yan Boguang was startled by his threat, quickly turned away, and this time actually managed to urinate; he exclaimed joyfully: "I… I actually pissed……"

Hu Xiaotian coldly said: "You've done evil, committed countless misdeeds—who knows how many innocent girls you've harmed."

Yan Boguang said: "Conscience of heaven and earth, those common women weren't seized by me; it was Qu Guangbai who captured them to curry favor with me, but now I have no interest in women at all."

"Who are you lying to?"

Yan Boguang said: "If I lie, may thunder strike me down; after I was injured at the Wan manor in Qingyun, I can no longer engage in sexual relations—even if I wanted to, I'm willing but unable. The only time I ever plucked flowers in my life was when I went to the Wan household, yet I came away empty‑handed, losing my wife and troops. Though I was once promiscuous, I have never committed the act of stealing fragrance and jade. I have piles of silver, yet finding a woman is still not easy." He sighed again: "Even if someone gave me a celestial beauty now, I could only look, not touch."

Hu Xiaotian saw Yan Boguang's worried, grimacing face and couldn't help wanting to laugh. After they finished relieving themselves, they walked out of the woods and saw Yan Nujiao standing outside with an anxious expression—naturally she was concerned for her elder brother. Having overheard their conversation from outside the woods, which was truly vulgar, Yan Nujiao, being a young lady, felt too embarrassed to barge in and see what was happening. Seeing her brother emerge unharmed, she finally relaxed.

Xue Lingjun had just washed her face; though she was awake, she still appeared dazed and confused.

Yan Boguang whispered: "Are we just going to wait here forever? If the Blade Demon comes looking for us, wouldn't we be sitting ducks?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "You know the local terrain best; is there any reliable hiding place nearby?"

Yan Boguang said: "A cavern would be best; if we could stay inside a cavern and never come out, that would be ideal."

Hu Xiaotian scoffed: "That would just make us shrinking turtles!" Actually, he secretly agreed with Yan Boguang's idea, for staying in a cavern and not emerging is far safer than being outside.

Yan Nujiao said: "This place is very remote, some distance from Qingyun Manor; they wouldn't think we'd hide here."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Let's hope so." He approached Xue Lingjun and said softly: "Miss Xue, how do you feel?"

Hearing his voice, Xue Lingjun finally exhaled as if waking from a dream; her memory of what happened was hazy, only fragmented bits remained in her mind, and her earlier silence had been her trying to piece those fragments together. She gave Hu Xiaotian a weak smile and said: "I'm fine, just a little thirsty."

Yan Nujiao said: "The mountain spring water here is sweet; I'll go fetch some for you."

Xue Lingjun replied: "No need, I'll go myself!" She staggered to the river's edge, cupped the water ready to drink, but saw that the river's color was entirely red, like fresh blood, and she screamed in terror.

Hu Xiaotian darted to Xue Lingjun's side, only to see her pretty face drained of color, pointing at the river now completely turned blood‑red, she trembled: "Blood… blood…" Before she finished, she felt stars flash before her eyes, her legs gave way, and she collapsed toward the water.

Hu Xiaotian swiftly reached out and caught her; seeing the river suddenly turn blood‑red, he was equally shocked, unaware why the water had changed so abruptly.

Yan Nujiao also came over, saw the river's color, inhaled sharply, and whispered low: "Oh no, this river has been poisoned."

Hu Xiaotian started at her words, lowered his head to look at Xue Lingjun, and saw a black aura spreading over her snow‑white pretty face—clearly she had been poisoned. He asked Yan Nujiao: "Do you know what poison has been put in this river?"

Yan Nujiao gazed upstream and saw a expanse of white‑colored objects drifting downstream with the current; upon closer look, they were all dead fish.

Behind them, Yan Boguang trembled: "Spiders… so many spiders……"

Hu Xiaotian turned and saw a black mass of thumb‑sized spiders rapidly approaching them; Yan Boguang, terrified, ran toward them shouting: "Run, run……"

Yan Nujiao said: "To the opposite bank of the river!"

Upon hearing that, Yan Boguang was the first to lunge into the river; Yan Nujiao grabbed him tightly, anxiously demanding: "You don't want to live?" The river turned red because someone had dumped poison into it; this toxin enters the body through the pores on skin contact, and although Xue Lingjun hadn't drunk the water, her hand touching the contaminated river water immediately poisoned her.

With Yan Boguang's lightness skill, crossing the nearly seven‑zhang‑wide river was impossible; the only option was to follow the bank upstream to find a narrow spot to jump across. As he hesitated, someone seized his arm—it was Hu Xiaotian, who grabbed him like an eagle snatching a chick, heaved him hard, and Yan Boguang shot up like a cloud‑riding steed, screaming as he flew over the blood‑tinged river surface. Hu Xiaotian held Xue Lingjun in one arm and encircled Yan Nujiao's slender waist with the other, leapt into the air, and, regulating his inner breath, his body soared like a great bird over the seven‑zhang stretch of water. (To be continued~^~)