Stranger Danger

“If you save my life, then I’m willing to serve you as your humble servant, Miss Shangguan. I will become your bull and horse, and I will brave any danger for your sake!”

By now, Pockface Bai was beginning to notice Shangguan Hongjin’s true intentions as well. But what could he do? He was in a life-or-death crisis. He had to give even the unlikeliest hope a try. “Are you done thinking about your terms, Miss Shangguan?”

“Oh, I have.” Shangguan Hongjin beamed at him. “After careful deliberation, I’ve decided that there is absolutely nothing you could give me that would be worth my aid. Therefore, I decline your request for aid.”

“Don’t worry, I doubt that even a single speck of you will be left when you’re dead, so don’t worry about vultures picking off your possessions from your cold, dead corpse and just rest in peace!”

“You dare play me for a fool, Shangguan Hongjin?!” Pockface Bai could not hold back his anger any longer and glared at her with hatred.

“Hahaha… you only just figured it out, fool? Yes, I’m playing you for a fool. What can you do about it?”

Shangguan Hongjin put her hands on her waist and let out a loud guffaw. Then, she pointed a finger at Pockface Bai and started yelling, “Three years ago, you broke the code of outlaws, robbed my stuff and killed many of my men. I have never gotten payback from you, and you want me to save your life? Dream on!”

“Do you know why I showed myself? It’s because I want to watch you die. I want to give you a sliver of hope before snuffing it out before your eyes so you may perish in despair!”

“So? How does it feel?”

That was the last straw that broke his sanity. Pockface Bai abruptly threw all caution to the wind and charged straight toward Shangguan Hongjin.

“Come get me if you can, bitch! If I move even a muscle, then you’re my grandson!” Shangguan Hongjin continued to taunt.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”

Maybe it was because Pockface Bai only had eyes for Shangguan Hongjin now, but he started accruing injuries at an insane rate. Vines had penetrated his chest, leaves had cut his skin, wind and severed his arms, and mushrooms had blasted his legs into limbs.

Even worse, countless spores, seeds and pollens were sprouting, growing, blooming, and fruiting in his wounds, his orifices, and even his pores. Emerald green vines began extending out of his nostrils, colorful mushrooms began growing out of his ears, sweet-smelling flowers were blooming inside his eye sockets, and fresh grass was pushing out his hair until they covered his entire skull.

In just the matter of seconds, Pockface Bai had become a hotbed for all sorts of plants.

Naturally, Pockface Bai’s aura was decreasing at a prodigious rate. Although he was a Half-Step Grandmaster, and Shangguan Hongjin was less than ten meters away from him, he ultimately ran out of strength and came to a stop when he was just three inches away from the woman. That tiny bit of distance might as well be the difference between heaven and earth.

By now, Pockface Bai did not even look human anymore. His entire body was covered in grass, mushrooms, flowers, vines, and more plants. Such was the wild growth that one could not spot even a speck of blood on his body. It was a horrifying way to die to put it mildly.

“Shangguan… I will… haunt you… in the afterlife…”

Despite this, Pockface Bai still retained a sliver of consciousness. If he still had eyes, he would be staring straight at Shangguan Hongjin.

Unfortunately for him, he failed to finish his threat before a vine grew out of his mouth and silenced him forever. At the same time, a single white flower the size of a bowl grew out of the tip of the vine and gave off a sweet sweet that quickly permeated the surroundings.

“Can you? You’ve lost even the chance to linger in the world as a ghost anymore.”

Shangguan Hongjin shook her head as she watched the white flower. Pockface Bai hadn’t just died in body, his yin god had failed to make an escape as well. Forget turning into a ghost, he didn’t even have the chance to join the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn anymore.

After Pockface Bai and his group perished, the leaves slowly returned to the ground, the tree branches returned to whence they came, the flowers and grass swayed to the wind, the wind blew a low, whispery song, and the waters returned to calm. What was once an angry, violent forest had returned to normal almost as if what happened just now was just a dream.

“Thank you for your earlier warning, warrior. Otherwise, we might have met the same fate as them.”

Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth couldn’t help but pat their chest with trepidation and relief when they saw this. Who would have thought that such a beautiful, peaceful-looking forest would be concealing such terrible danger?

If it wasn’t for Ye Qing’s earlier warning, they could very well have ended up as Pockface Bai and his group. That was why they did not hesitate to thank him wholeheartedly.

“You’re welcome.” Ye Qing smiled while shooting the rope Pockface Bai was using a regretful look.

The rope was obviously an excellent Strange Artifact, but it was currently entangled inside the plants. He would be crazy to try and retrieve it and risk angering the forest again.

The ribbon that could transform into Kui Snakes were excellent as well, but it too was buried in the underground.

“Let’s go.”

Ye Qing beckoned his companions and turned around to leave. It was at this moment the vines entangling the rope abruptly loosened and pushed it out into the open. Not only that, one of the vines actually handed the rope to him.

At the same time, the ground where Yao Mei’er was buried shook a little and threw up small clumps of earth. A short while later, the ribbons were spat out onto the surface.

“Is this… for me?”

Ye Qing was caught off guard. His senses were telling him that the forest was quite happy and friendly toward him.

The vine holding the rope bobbed up and down like it was nodding.

“Thank you kindly for the gift.”

Ye Qing responded with a salute and reached out to grab the rope. The vine even rubbed against his palm affectionately as he accepted the gift.

Ye Qing took a moment to wonder why the forest was acting like this and quickly arrived at a conclusion. It probably had something to do with his earlier action.

Just now, when Pockface Bai and Yao Mei’er had fallen into the bottomless gap the forest had prepared for them, he had purposely used his demonic thought to slow them down a little. Otherwise, there was no way the two Half-Step Grandmasters would have failed to get out of the gap in time.

It was precisely because of his influence that they missed the best timing to escape the gap. It was also why Pockface Bai had no choice but to sacrifice Yao Mei’er to save his own life.

He had done it on a whim, and his influence was so subtle that not even Shangguan Hongjin or Pedant Earth noticed anything despite standing right next to him. He did not expect the forest to notice it instead.

This was most likely the reason why the forest had become so friendly and affectionate toward him. From their point of view, he had helped them in killing their hated foes.

After picking up Yao Mei’er’s ribbon from the ground, Ye Qing called out to his companions again, “Come on.”

Shangguan Hongjin and Pedant Earth exchanged a confused glance with each other, though they did not prod him about him. They obediently fell in behind him and resumed their journey.

Their puzzlement only grew as they continued forward though. When their path was blocked, the branches and vines would automatically move out of their way. When they ran into a mountain creek, the plants would automatically come together to form a bridge. When they encountered a river, the river bed was pushed up until there was solid ground on the surface so that they could cross over. When they encountered a hill, the hill would split at the center so that they could pass through.

Not only that, delicious fruits would fall in front of them from time to time, the leaves would carry sweet dew to their lips, the wind would blow away their excess heat and fatigue; so on and so forth.