I have no idea who this youth is, but I'm certain he intends to help us.

Though I could sense no danger approaching, I urged the other two to leave the vicinity immediately.

As we hurried forward, we glanced back to see the light in the garret slowly dimming.

A black miasma, like venom, was seeping out of the single window.

We knew the situation had reached a point where we could not afford to linger, so the three of us broke into a full sprint.

We scrambled over the pebble beach and dove back into the medicinal garden through the reeds.

Looking toward the sparse mulberry woods in the distance, scattered with various herbs everywhere, we hesitated for a moment.

Should we cut through the bamboo grove back to the shrine, or find another way out?

None of the three of us could decide.

Daxiong stated firmly that he would sooner die than step into that bamboo grove again; we had to find a way around it.

Nie Chuan and I both felt this option had an extremely low chance of success and would waste too much time.

However, neither of us actually wanted to traverse that bamboo forest either.

As we stood in indecision, a sudden rustling sound came from the nearby reed bed behind us.

We turned to look and saw large sections of reeds being flattened by something immense, creating a huge, crashing noise.

Before we could even register our surprise, a gigantic black serpent poked its head out from the collapsed reeds.

Its head was almost the size of a tire, and its black scales reflected eerie pinpoints of light under our flashlights.

Its tiny green-bean eyes radiated a cold glare, and its tongue flickered in the air, testing the scent.

Quickly, its massive head swiveled, locking onto our position.

Its entire body tensed noticeably, then it reared up over three meters high, throwing its neck back to emit a hissing warning sound.

I knew then that it had targeted all three of us.

Seeing the enormous snake, the other two nervously reached for the daggers at their waists.

I told them, "This is definitely not an ordinary snake.

We'd best avoid a direct confrontation; if we can run, we run." With that, the three of us nodded simultaneously, then bolted toward the bamboo grove.

But after only a few steps, we heard a sharp snap behind us, like a whip cracking against the ground, followed by a sudden darkening overhead as a shadow, like a great dragon, swept over us and landed heavily ahead of us.

All three of us froze for a moment, then focused our vision to see that it was the great serpent.