THE VENOMOUS SNAKES

Hu Nayin's sparkling eyes changed instantly as she saw something flashed toward them in a tick. The happy blush immediately disappeared from her cheeks. Her face was pale right now, as pale as a wall.

"Snakes!!!" She screamed. "So many snakes!"

Dozens of snakes Yun had thrown were enormous. Yellowish black in color, they were crawling at the maximum speed. And they seemed to be starving. They made a very loud hiss. Their mouths opened wide and their forked tongue started sticking out here and there.

Wu Qi drew his sword.

"Your Highness, please take Wang Fei and run up the hill. It's safe over there!" Wu Qi pointed at another hill beside them that was higher than their location while trying to kill the snakes.

"Hihi, that is not such ordinary snakes. They are the very starving snakes. Plus, the instincts snakes have are better than such stupid soldiers like you. Not only have they managed to avoid your sword, they will also eat you!"

Yun and De Ta smiled as finding that Wu Qi faced difficulty to kill their snakes. Instead, it was they who must run away to avoid the snakes' chase. And Wu Qi's idea to go to the top hill he pointed was a bad idea. Zhu Su and Hu Nayin must still run again. They kept running and running, until they were out of Yun's sight.

"I'm pleased now. Let's return home," Yun chuckled.

De Ta followed her. "We can wait for the news stating that they have been pecked by the snake to death."

"Sh*t, sh*t!" Wu Qi kept trying to slash the snake, however it turned out that they were very slippery. Not only did they avoid Wu Qi's attacks, three of the snakes also managed to grab Wu Qi. This made Wu Qi's attack less maximal because he had to protect himself from the snakes' venomous bites.

"Nayin, you are pregnant, you can't run!" Zhu Su hurriedly carried Hu Nayin. It was very terrible if she miscarried. He must do something to help her.

"I'm okay, Your Highness!... it'll make you more troubled!..."

"Stop arguing! I don't want you and our baby get into danger!"

Hu Nayin turned silent. She said nothing and only looked soundlessly at Zhu Su, his movements slowed down because of carrying her heavy body due to pregnancy.

"Your Highness, I have killed all of the snakes!"

Wu Qi's delight exclamation let Zhu Su turn around. "Really, Wu Qi?!"

"Yes, Your Highness!... huh..."

A snake was twisting his leg.

Wu Qi was busy wagging his feet by exerting his best effort, while Zhu Su, who had dropped Hu Nayin from his arms, drew a small sword from his waist, intended to kill the snake.

"Your Highness, I'll finish it by myself! Just stay back, this snake is dangerous!..."

Ignoring Wu Qi's refusal shout, Zhu Su was focused on the snake at Wu Qi's feet, then immediately stabbed his sword to the snake's body.

The snake immediately fluttered in pain on the ground, and after a while, it died.

"It's finished, Wu Qi!... What's wrong?!"

Wu Qi was sitting on the ground, holding his right wrist which turned red bruised.

"Wu Qi! Were you bitten by that poisonous snake?!" Zhu Su and Hu Nayin quickly approached him. Wu Qi shook his head.

"No... it didn't bite me..." He replied softly. "But... I hit a trunk very hard when I was about to get away from the snake, and then I'm bruised..."

"Gosh! It's very severe!" Zhu Su shouted in shock. "We have to return to Kaifeng, then..."

The color drained from Wu Qi's face. "Your Highness... this... where are we?..."

Zhu Su gasped. He immediately looked right and left, and his face turned pale. "My Heaven... we get lost..."

This was an area they had never explored before. All paths looked identical, the thick trees and shrubs seemed to snuggle, reluctant to give way. The atmosphere also turned gloomy and cold in sudden, even though it was still daytime.

They were really in big trouble.

"After all, we can't stay here. We have to find a way to return back." Zhu Su paid attention to the paths. He tried to find the marks of their previous footprints. But it was difficult since every path in the forest always consists of gravel, leaves, and twigs that can easily be blown by the wind and will make any kinds of marks vanish.

Hu Nayin pointed. "If I don't guess wrong, we come from this direction."

The hit from Hu Nayin was soon agreed by Zhu Su and Wu Qi, both of them had faced dead-end at all. "Yeah... Looks like you are right, Nayin..." Zhu Su concluded, and they took that path.

The sun had been down to the west, turning the sky to purplish-red as they reached the exit ramp.

"Wow, you get it, Nayin. We've got out of this forest!" Zhu Su said happily. "We can cure Wu Qi's wounds..."

His words were cut off. The scenery he saw did not live up to his expectations.

"This is not Kaifeng, Your Highness," Hu Nayin muttered. "What kind of place is this?..."

They had arrived at a residential area. This area seemingly had quite a lot of residents, yet it was far less crowded than a big city. Not so many houses were lined up here. We could categorize it as a village. Several people went back and forth, and occasionally a cart carrying goods was passing through.

"Well, we've been out of the forest and we should be grateful for it. It's evening now, let's get relax first, and later ask people around the way back to Kaifeng." Zhu Su looked around, trying to find a good motel to take a rest and drink tea.

"I think that inn is okay," Hu Nayin pointed at a building few meters in front of them.

If they did not observe it carefully, they would not assume it as an inn since it did not look like a usual inn. As they came inside, they found this inn was almost deserted. Only two other visitors there, sitting at the corner while enjoying tea and wine. At first, Zhu Su wondered whether this inn provided lodging or not.

"Excuse me. Do you provide accommodation?" Zhu Su asked a fourteen-something--years-old girl. She was the only one sitting behind the receptionist desk.

The girl smiled kindly. "Yes, Sir. The bedrooms are on the second floor," She replied.

"Alright, I book two rooms." They approached some seats and sat down.

They decided to relax first, by enjoying snacks and tea. Because there were only a few visitors, they could choose a seat right aside the window to enjoy the sunset view. The windows in this inn were located several meters higher than the road, it made them be in a higher place. The rows of houses and pedestrians became smaller, and they could see the mountain and the vast sky much clearer.

"Such a rare chance for me to visit an uncrowded inn," Zhu Su said as he watched the young waitress served their snacks and tea. Paying closer attention, the girl's face was quite pretty - at least she looked fresh if we could not describe her as a beauty, maybe because she lived near the mountains filled with many fresh plants.

"Enjoy your meal," The girl smiled kindly after serving the order.

Hu Nayin grabbed her hot tea glass. "Thank you, Sis."

"Do you know the way to Kaifeng?" Zhu Su asked.

"The way to Kaifeng? Wait a minute, I'll take a map first." The girl answered kindly. She headed towards the receptionist table, took out a map, and came back again. "Now we are here... You can take this way... then go here... just keep going this way and you will arrive in Kaifeng."

Zhu Su nodded his head. It turned out that the way returning to Kaifeng was not as difficult as he thought, at least they did not have to go through that spooky forest anymore. But it was more distant because they had to circle around, and now they should rest themselves since they were so lethargic. "Thank you very much, Sis. You give us a big help."

The girl grinned. "You're welcome!" She bowed respectfully, and left them.

"Such an amazing girl, we can't overlook her just because she's a waiter in a small village, she is very polite, even much more polite than a waiter in the big city," Zhu Su praised. "Alright, let's eat the dish... what's wrong with you, Wu Qi?"