Internal turmoil

Hou Qing and Liu San reacted quickly and were not stung by the demon bees. However, Qian Tong, who had been stung several times earlier, was now dizzy and weak. If it weren't for Hou Qing holding him up, he might have passed out by now. Several places on his face and body where he had been stung were terribly swollen. The venom of the bees was already potent, and this demonic bee venom was even more powerful.

For an ordinary person, just one sting could be fatal. Qian Tong had endured seven or eight stings, which was a testament to his profound cultivation.

"The bees have flown back..."

After escaping for over ten miles, Liu San spoke in a low voice, signaling that they could stop now.

He crouched down to examine Hou Qing's wounds, frowning as he did so. He took out the Daoist sect's detoxifying potion from his pocket and applied it, then infused spiritual energy into Qian Tong's body. Soon, translucent pus flowed from the wound, and the swelling began to diminish. However, Qian Tong remained unconscious, his face pale and frighteningly weak, as if his life force had been greatly depleted.

"How long until he wakes up?"

Hou Qing asked in a low voice, sitting aside.

Liu San sighed and said, "The poison has been neutralized, so he should wake up soon. However..."

Hou Qing raised an eyebrow, "However, what?"

Liu San sighed, "The demon bee venom is too potent. Although I used the Daoist sect's detoxifying powder to remove the toxicity, it's not targeted enough. The residual poison in his body cannot be quickly eliminated. When he wakes up, he may still be physically weak..."

Hou Qing was taken aback and asked eagerly, "How much cultivation power remains?"

Liu San shook his head, "Three tenths is already good!"

"Damn brat!"

Hou Qing clenched his fist in frustration.

He never expected that such an inconspicuous kid would escape from his hands, causing one of his assistants to die and another to fall into a coma due to the bee venom.

Liu San fell silent for a moment and hesitated, "Senior Brother Hou, now there are only the two of us left, and we have lost our bait. The Snake-Dry Frog is a fourth-order demon beast, impervious to ordinary weapons due to its snake-like skin and potent venom. If we try to kill it now, our chances of success are less than half. It might be better to return to the sect and plan carefully..."

Hou Qing was furious and shouted, "No, we have spent a lot of money on this trip, selecting this task from the sect's disciples, expecting it to be easy with generous rewards. Sacrificing an insignificant junior should have been enough for success. Who would have thought that we wouldn't even see the face of the Snake-Dry Frog and instead lose a member of our team? Damn it, if we count that brat too, the sect will consider us to have lost two members, and we will be judged as failures no matter what. Not to mention rewards, there might be punishments, and our reputation among the elders will plummet, making future progress difficult..."

Liu San also fell silent, knowing that what Hou Qing said was true. He didn't want to return like this either.

Even if they were to shift the blame for the death of Zhao Zhi to Fang Xing after returning, it would be difficult to convince the sect.

The two remained silent for a long time, not speaking a word.

After a while, Hou Qing suddenly asked, "Can we still catch that kid?"

Liu San smiled bitterly and shook his head, "We can't track him anymore. I didn't expect that brat to be so cunning, using his clothes to trick us into the demon bee hive. He only had that one set of clothes. Would he run around naked in the forest? I was able to track him earlier only because of the scent of mud on his Daoist robe. Now that he has discarded it, we have no clues..."

Hou Qing pondered for a moment, then stood up with his sword and walked slowly towards Qian Tong.

Liu San was shocked and asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother Hou, what are you planning to do?"

Hou Qing sneered lightly and said, "Qian Tong is just a Daoist disciple with mediocre talent, no power or influence, and no background. On top of that, he has a hot temper, often arguing with people and seizing resources within the sect. He doesn't have many friends but quite a few enemies... If he were to die, although it would be more troublesome than dealing with that brat, it wouldn't cause a big mess..."

With cold eyes, he glanced at Liu San, the glint of malice flashing.

Liu San was stunned, looking at Hou Qing in panic as if seeing him for the first time.

Hou Qing also looked coldly at him, the long sword in his hand emitting a faint light, radiating an unpredictable aura.

After a while, Liu San sighed heavily and said, "I can't bear to see this kind of thing. I'll go over there for a bit."

Saying that, he gestured gently and walked slowly towards the bushes.

It was at this moment that Qian Tong, who seemed to be asleep, suddenly roared, turned over, and had already formed a spell unknowingly.

A small flying sword whistled towards Hou Qing, roaring, "Hou, you actually want to use me as bait..."

"I knew you were awake long ago!"

Hou Qing shouted loudly. Suddenly, he reached out his left palm, and with a virtual press of his five fingers, the flying sword aimed at him by Qian Tong was actually stopped in mid-air by an invisible spiritual force between his palms, shaking but unable to move forward. Hou Qing then grabbed it with force, and with a "pop," he crushed the spiritual force attached to the flying sword by Qian Tong, and the flying sword fell directly into his hand.

At this moment, Fang Xing, who was unaware that Hou Qing had given up using him as bait due to time constraints and was now targeting Qian Tong, waited for half an hour after hearing the screams of pain from the demon bees nearby. He stealthily returned to investigate and found the beehive on the ground, surrounded by many dead bees and traces of people leaving in a hurry.

He knew his plan had succeeded and felt smug, unwilling to let Hou Qing and the others go so easily. He followed their trail, which wasn't hard to find since they had left in a hurry, damaging a lot of vines and trees along the way. There was a clear escape route, and every now and then, bee corpses could be seen, confirming the direction.

After another half an hour of tracking, he finally found the spot where Hou Qing and the others had rested earlier. After waiting for a while to make sure it was empty, he went over to take a look and found empty bottles of the sect's detoxifying powder on the ground, as well as some bloodstains. Fang Xing furrowed his brows slightly, thinking, "It's normal to have detoxifying powder, but being stung by bee venom wouldn't produce blood, would it?"

After thinking for a while, his eyes lit up as he thought to himself, "Could they be plotting against each other?"

He vaguely felt that given Hou Qing's character, it wouldn't be surprising if he targeted his own people.

He decisively decided to follow them and see if Hou Qing and the others were still planning to kill the Snake-Dry Frog. If they were, he would follow along and seize the opportunity to take them all down while they were weakened, gaining a windfall.