I'm not a perfect person, and although I'm not entirely heartless, I'm not a saint either. Although I saved Ling Qian several times, when it came to the crucial moment, I had to take action!
The fat man held a dagger to Ling Qian's neck and said in a low voice, "We mean no harm. Answer our question honestly, and I won't make things difficult for you."
The feeling of having a gun pointed at your head is not good at all. The cold gun barrel would heat up in an instant, I would feel pain for a moment, then intense dizziness, and finally die completely, but I would forever close my eyes.
Death is actually a very simple thing, at least its process is not complicated.
The atmosphere was extremely tense, and Luo Qiong didn't know which side to support. My gaze fell on Ling Qian, and I said, "Ling Qian, tell your men to put down their guns, otherwise we'll all die together."
She looked at me and after a while said, "You guys put down your guns."
After a momentary glance exchange, the two strong men moved their gun barrels away. At this point, Ling Qian said, "My brother has poisoned you, which means your life is in his hands. But unfortunately, the antidote is not on him."
I looked at her, wanting to make sure she was telling the truth. After a moment of contemplation, I shouted, "Then where is the antidote?"
As if anticipating my question, Ling Qian coldly chuckled and replied, "Black Mole is the method my brother uses to control others, but it's not safe to keep the antidote on him. He placed the antidote in our ancestral hall, sealed with the Seven Seas Coffin. Only my brother knows the password to open the Seven Seas Coffin, so if my brother dies, the poison on both of you will end your lives. Of course, you could go to the border and try your luck, maybe find a wizard who raises Black Moles. But the probability is pitifully small."
Actually, I had already guessed that this would be the result. A clever person like Ling Xuan would naturally make comprehensive preparations.
I frowned. Although I had expected this situation, I still couldn't think of a solution.
"If I were you, I wouldn't let my brother die. If he dies, it means both of you are sacrificing your lives. My brother is now trapped in an ancient temple, and I think you should go back to save him."
These words from Ling Qian were actually the thoughts that had crossed my mind, but what could we do when facing that monster? Isn't it just walking into a trap?
"My brother is a very fair person, fairness is his greatest principle. If you can help him through this difficult time, maybe the venom on your body will be released because of this. Even if you can't help him, what if something happens..."
I have to say, Lingqian's eloquence is quite powerful, I am indeed tempted. Even if we don't go back now, if Lingxu dies, I and Fatty will also be in trouble. It's better to go back and take a chance. If we save Lingxu, I'm sure Fatty and I will also be cured!
"Fatty!" I shouted, looking up, "You take them back with Luoqiong, I'll go help Lingxu."
"Don't be fooled by this woman! What can you do if you go, you'll just end up being bitten by a venomous snake. In my opinion, let's take them back to the village, and if Lingxu doesn't die, we can use Lingqian as leverage to exchange for the antidote."
Fatty wanted to play it tough until the end, which was also a method, I pressed my lips and after thinking for a while, I said, "Let me go back to find Lingxu first. If Lingxu dies in the end, I'll find a way to escape back, and then we take Lingqian to the Ling family to exchange for the antidote. Don't argue with me, this is the best. I'm not going to die so easily."
Fatty's spiritual power has already exerted a lot of strain once this time. Although the effect of this ability is indeed amazing, the burden is too heavy, and the duration is too short. Even if he wants to help, it wouldn't be of much use. If I go back, it would only be a matter of picking up the pieces and I would definitely ensure my own personal safety first.
Fatty wanted to say something else, but I had already taken the remaining realgar and started walking back. He was still holding onto Lingqian and couldn't free himself, so he could only watch me leave.
There's not much realgar powder in the bag, I estimate that I can't go too deep. If I get surrounded by a group of snakes again, it's almost impossible to break out. Lingqian had set a trap clearly for me to go save her brother, even though she knew I didn't have much ability, it's better than nothing.
I didn't dare to go back the same way, so I circled around from the side through the woods. It was pitch black at this time, this side of the woods where I was walking was still okay, I didn't see any snakes. But not seeing with your own eyes doesn't mean there isn't any, so I continued to move forward cautiously.
When I approached the ancient temple, I stopped and sprinkled a circle of realgar powder around my body, then squatted down to look ahead. The area in front of the ancient temple had completely quieted down, the ground was littered with snake corpses, but I didn't see where Lingxu had gone. The monster also disappeared without a trace, after waiting for a while to make sure it was safe, I cautiously walked out under the moonlight. The ancient temple should have been peaceful and serene under the moonlight, but at this moment, the front of the door was covered with snake blood, the smell of blood was everywhere, and there were many broken snake corpses twitching. I looked up and saw that the wooden door was wide open, there was also a trail of blood being dragged on the ground, leading from where Lingxu had been standing before into the ancient temple.
"Has he been killed?"
I couldn't help but worry, in fact, I still hoped that Lingxu was alive. If he died, would Fatty and I end up against the Ling family? Wouldn't that be suicidal?
I walked towards the door, the closer I got, the more I could hear some low, deep sound, like breathing. I peeked inside through the gap in the door, and to my surprise, I saw someone lying outside the temple, leaning against a pillar. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Lingxu!
Wow, the renowned Mountain Lord San Shan was covered in blood, even though I was quite far away, I could still see clearly. There was a terrible wound on his neck, and half of his uniform was dyed red with blood, and yet he hadn't died!
I didn't rush in without thinking. The monster was still somewhere, I didn't want to run into it unexpectedly.
After waiting for a while and the monster still didn't show up, I pushed the door open cautiously, but unexpectedly a coiled snake suddenly leaped out and bit me on the neck with its fangs. This thrilling scene startled me, and I evaded it as it bit me, then I chopped its head off with a knife, its brain almost cut in half. However, venom still dripped from its mouth. I had often heard that some snakes' fangs could eject venom, and today I witnessed it.
The venom landed on my body, fortunately, it didn't reach my eyes, otherwise I would have been blinded for sure!
Shaken, I wiped my clothes and checked the surrounding walls, making sure there were no more snakes before I slowly approached Lingxu. At this moment, Lingxu was weak and lying still on the ground. But his eyelids were still twitching, proving that he was at least alive.
"Hey, hey..."
I called out to him several times, but he didn't respond at all. I reached out and felt his pulse, even though I'm not a doctor, I could tell that his pulse was very weak, indicating that he was very weak.
I patted his face, and after a long time, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at me, saying, "It's you, what are you doing here?"
"I came to save you, where's the monster?"
As I spoke, I tried to lift him off the ground, but his body was too limp, I struggled for a long time and still couldn't lift him completely off the ground. At this moment, I couldn't help but miss Fatty. If he were here, he could have easily hoisted him up on his shoulders with a couple of lifts.
"I severely injured the monster and it's hiding inside now, it shouldn't dare to come out."
Lingxu seemed to be getting more and more clear-headed. In the end, he steadied himself against the wall and stood up slowly from the ground, and said seriously, "I've burned half of the monster's body with my Thunder magic, it shouldn't be able to move. Help me kill it! I'll let you and your friend go."
As the words entered my ears, I couldn't help but shiver. Help him kill the monster and then get back my and Fatty's lives? At first, this deal sounded good, but upon further consideration, it seemed unfair to me.
"I'm taking the risk to help you kill that monster, and then I have to rescue you in return for getting back our lives? Hmph, your offer is really unfair. Your life is worth more than ours, so if I save you, I should get both of our antidotes. As for killing the monster, that's a separate price!"
At this critical moment, I actually had the mind to negotiate with him about business. I must say I had quite the courage.