ALL NOVEL Someone who had never seen such a scene couldn’t ever imagine how horrible it was. In the dark, throngs of snakes came flooding at them from all directions.
“What is this?” Mr. Liang shrieked hysterically. The steward stood by his side a second ago already fell on the ground, all color gone from his face.
“Shut up!” The Sick Scholar scolded. He said to Secret Guard No.3 with a frown: “Too many snakes. Snake repellent is useless. Instead, it’ll drive them mad.”
Han Ming Xi said in disgust: “Jun Wei, I might be able to get away from this taking you with me. Brother Zhuo, you can get away yourself, right?” Secret Guard No.3 nodded in silence.
The Sick Scholar said indifferently: “Well, Brother Han, you can take Mr. Chu and leave.”
However, Han Ming Xi didn’t do it right away since he heard threat in the Sick Scholar’s tone. If they did leave first, the Sick Scholar would definitely stab them in the back. Superb as Han Ming Xi was with his flying skills, he might not be able to dodge the attack from the third master of the Hall of Darkness when he flew with another person. As for the Sick Scholar’s companions, none of them had the ability to get away except the Sick Scholar himself.
Seeing the throngs of snakes get nearer, Ye Li said with a frown: “It’s no time for quarrel! Or do you prepare to stay here and become snake food?”
However, those snakes didn’t attack them as they got closer. Soon, Ye Li and her group saw a few men in black who were playing the piccolo come up from several directions behind the snakes. Apparently, those snakes didn’t gather here for no reason. They were driven here by those men. Zheng Kui cursed below his breath: “They are snake charmers!”
Ye Li and Secret Guard No.3 looked at each other, if the throngs of snake did come at them, they would manage to get away as soon as possible. However, there was no chance of getting away for that fat merchant.
Some snake charmers made way and a familiar figure emerged, strutting towards them with an evil sneer. “Huh… told you that you are going to fall in my palm one day. It’s only been one day. How have you been?”
Raising his brows with a smile, Han Ming Xi said: “Aren’t you the fool who called yourself the young lord of Luoyi Clan?”
The vulgar young man from the inn who left with resentment yesterday now wore a lavish dress decorated full of silver ornaments which glistened in the moonlight. Seeing the charming Han Ming Xi in a gauze robe under the moon, he stilled for a second and said: “Beauty, come here and I’ll forgive you. You don’t have to die with those ugly people.”
Han Ming Xi turned stiff, his eyes twitched. “How do you bring yourself to call them ugly?”
Indeed, everyone present, including those snake charmers standing far away were better-looking than the young man. Even that fat merchant wasn’t as vulgar-looking at the young man was.
Hearing that, the young man flared up instantly, glaring at Han Ming Xi with malice.
Ye Li coughed slightly and said with a smile: “Brother Han, though that lord isn’t a beauty, show him some mercy since he has strong admiration for you.”
Han Ming Xi set his mouth in a hard line as he said: “Is that admiration or jealousy? He would love to cut my face. Hum! I’m way beyond his league.” His experience with women wasn’t for nothing so he was pretty sure whether it was admiration or jealousy.
“Right.” The young man stood on the opposite chuckled: “When I get you I’m going to flay your face off. Hah hah… your face is mine. So, come to me so that my babies won’t disfigure you.”
The crowd went silent. After a good while, Han Ming Xi rubbed his face and asked: “You are not planning to paste my face on yours, are you?”
The young man smirked smugly and said: “That’s correct. It took me quite some time to come up with that idea. However, I didn’t find a suitable face. I thought that boy’s was good but now I prefer yours.”
Under the moon, Han Ming Xi’s pretty face turned malevolent instantly. Unforgivable!
“You are… not even the same size!” With a frown, Ye Li looked at that young man’s short and skinny face, then at Han Ming Xi’s perfect one, which was at least one-third bigger than that of the young man’s.
“Jun Wei.” With a throbbing forehead, Han Ming Xi waited for Ye Li grudgingly.
Clearly, that young man was enraged by what Ye Li said, roaring angrily: “It’s none of your business! I’m going to make skin masks out of all of you. Seize them all, alive. Well… that fat one doesn’t matter, dead or alive.”
That put those snake charmers in an awkward situation. It would be easy to kill them all with the help of all those snakes. However, it was a completely different matter taking them alive since they didn’t lack the strength to truss a chicken. Hesitant as they were, they couldn’t ignore the order of their master, so they started to play the piccolo and drive the snakes.
Boom!
Suddenly, several fire erupted. Urged by the quick tune, the snakes didn’t come closer , instead, they stopped several miles away from them, hesitant to move forward. When Ye Li and Han Ming Xi were talking to that young lord of Luoyi Clan, Secret Guard No.3 took the chance to put snake repellent around them. Seeing the snakes wouldn’t move forward, the snake charmers quickened their tunes. The snakes were more agitated minute by minute.
Raising her brows at Han Ming Xi, Ye Li asked: “Brother Han, do you play the piccolo?”
With a bitter smile, Han Ming Xi answered: “I do, but I don’t know how to command snakes.”
Ye Li said: “You don’t have to as long as you play the piccolo. Use internal energy if you could. You can play over there.” Pointing at the woods behind her, she added: “Better if you move around as you play.”
Though he didn’t understand what Ye Li wanted, he simply shrugged and said: “Okay, whatever you say.” Taking out the Phoenix Flute he had, Han Ming Xi jumped up a tree nearby and started to play. A tune with internal energy wasn’t a pleasure to the ear, at least not for Ye Li who didn’t master strong internal energy. As he played among trees, Han Ming Xi changed spots constantly as if he was walking on the ground. Ye Li had to admit she really admired him for his superb flying skills.
Slowly, to their horror, the snake charmers found the snakes not as obedient, with some of the snakes in the front crawling back. So, they played harder. Pitifully, those snake charmers didn’t know martial arts nor did they master superior internal energy, therefore, their tunes were no match for Han Ming Xi’s. The sound of Han Ming Xi’s Phoenix Flute overpowered that of the rapid piercing piccolo. The Sick Scholar, who was standing there seemed to realize something. Then he jumped up a tree as well as he pulled a leaf and started to blow it himself. It seemed the snakes couldn’t stand it anymore and started to withdraw, none came closer.
“What’s happening?” The young man shouted in shock. The color had left the faces of several snake charmers as well. They started to step back but didn’t dare to stop playing the piccolo. However, more and more snakes retreated. With a cold smile, Ye Li stood by the fire. She knew the fear of stimulating stuff such as snake repellent and fire was in the nature of snakes. Snakes hardly have any hearing, so those snake charmers were driving them with the waves of air that the snakes were trained to become familiar with. Once the waves were disturbed, the snakes wouldn’t stay under control anymore. Clearly, they’d love to go somewhere else instead of heading towards snake repellent or fire.
“Ahh… go away!” Some snakes crawled back which reached the young man soon enough. Clearly, he had a lot of snake repellent so he was bitten but he was scared to death anyway.
Secret Guard No.3 asked, confused: “Are people of Nan Zhao afraid of snakes?”
Shrugging with a smile, Ye Li answered: “There are exceptions, aren’t there?”
Wiping off his sweat, Mr. Liang said: “Mr. Chu, thank you for your brilliance that drives those snakes away.”
With a slight frown, Ye Li was still a bit worried. Her companions and her would get away from an emergency since those snakes had already left. However, it would be bad news for passers-by if all those snakes got loose. Looking at that flurried young man on her opposite, her clear eyes darkened and she said to Secret Guard No.3: “Kill him!”
Secret Guard No.3 never asked for reasons whenever Ye Li gave him an order seriously. So, before Ye Li finished her sentence, with a flash of his long sword, Secret Guard No.3 already charged at that young man like a flying arrow. The young man was at a loss to begin with. Now that he saw Secret Guard No.3 come at himself with a long sword, he was as dumb as a wooden chicken, forgetting even to dodge.
“Mercy!” A loud voice rose from the other side of the woods.