Chapter 21 — Ambush

His movement was too fast, so fast that the surrounding beastmen didn’t react at all.

Just as the fangs pressed against Chu Fufeng’s throat, a strong tail lashed out and sent the attacker flying.

Shen Yan slammed into a stone wall and, upon hitting the ground, vomited a mouthful of foul blood mixed with pieces of his own organs.

“Shen. Xue. Ji.”
Shen Yan spat out each word as if he wanted to tear Shen Xueji’s flesh apart piece by piece.

“Shen Yan, after all these years, you’re still the same useless trash.”

The crisp, deliberate pronunciation of “trash” pierced his heart.

He couldn’t help recalling his youth—how he had been defeated by this crippled, low-born wretch. The shame still burned.

Bloodlust slowly filled his eyes.

“Shut up!”

Shen Yan pounced, and the black venomous serpent collided violently with the dark jade-green, winged serpent. The two beasts tore at each other with ferocity.

Every strike aimed for a vital point. It was a fight to the death.

Chu Fufeng’s hands trembled as he drank the potion Shen Xueji had given him. Regaining a bit of strength, he wiped the remaining liquid from his chin, determination lighting his eyes.

Boom!

Shen Yan was thrown out again. He hit the ground and convulsed as he coughed up more blood.

None of the beastmen had expected Shen Yan to last less than five minutes against this strange, winged serpent-beast.

Afraid that Shen Yan would die and implicate them, the beastmen split into two groups—one to check on Shen Yan, and the other to surround Shen Xueji and Chu Fufeng.

Shen Xueji swept them away with his tail. Before they could react, his tail curled around Chu Fufeng and bolted into the forest.

“Chase them!”
The beastmen scrambled to their feet.

Boom!

A sudden explosion erupted. Shen Yan suffered the worst of it, the blast carving out a massive crater around him.

Chu Fufeng slowly lost consciousness.

Shen Xueji moved at incredible speed. If he hadn’t been worried about revealing their position, he could have flown even faster on his wings.

After waking from a nap, Hua Mian absentmindedly gnawed on the jerky Yan An handed her, occasionally glancing at Chi Rui, whose face was pale as he operated his light-brain.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of leaves brushing caught everyone’s attention.

Then Hua Mian saw it—the legendary Téng Snake from mythology. The creature felt her gaze and looked down at her from above.

Like an ancient deity.

“Téng Snake?” Hua Mian blinked in confusion, realizing it was real.

Shen Xueji had rushed back too quickly and forgot to change out of his beast form. Seeing Hua Mian’s startled expression, he grew uneasy.

Did she think his beast form was ugly? Repulsive?

“Madam, this is Xueji,” someone quickly clarified. “Not a Téng Snake.”

Yu Jin stepped forward to catch Chu Fufeng.

Shen Xueji shifted back into human form, his heart tightening in bitterness. She’d looked at him and called someone else’s name. Then what was he to her?

Was it his wings? His serpentine body?
Did they remind her of… someone else?

Anger pricked his chest, and his expression chilled.

Hua Mian suddenly received a cold glare from Shen Xueji, and her face darkened as well.

Why was he giving her attitude?

She crossed her arms and turned away, sitting to the side. She had also seen Chu Fufeng’s bloody, mangled state—he was barely alive, yet somehow still breathing. Truly the late-stage powerhouse of the group.

Seeing Hua Mian no longer looking at him, Shen Xueji panicked internally, but forced himself to calm.

She had looked at him and said another beast’s name—any beastman would be furious. Naturally, he had the right to be angry!

He didn’t want this to happen again.
So he decided to cool her off.

Hua Mian watched Yan An and Yu Jin skillfully treat Chu Fufeng’s wounds, idly tearing leaves apart in boredom.

After Chu Fufeng returned, Chi Rui’s hands flew quickly over his device.

Ten minutes later, he let out a breath of relief.

“In three hours, a cargo ship will arrive to transport a load of green ore. We’ll sneak on board and get out of here.”

Three hours passed quickly.

Hua Mian rode her panda, following Yu Jin and Shen Xueji—each carrying an injured person—as Chi Rui guided them toward the cargo ship’s temporary docking point.

The ship wasn’t large but looked new. Several beastmen were loading sacks of green ore onto it.

Chi Rui knew ship structures well. As long as they avoided people, they could board and escape.

Night thickened. It was time.

“This is the place,” Chi Rui whispered excitedly.

Hua Mian felt joy too—they were finally leaving this cursed place.

Suddenly, a harsh beam of light shone on them.

Hua Mian’s expression instantly hardened. Her sharp gaze swept toward the source.

“Good evening, everyone,” said a pale-faced man—slender, tall.

“Zuo Liangchen. You damn persistent ghost.” Chi Rui sneered.

“You flatter me,” Zuo Liangchen said. “But it was your group that pushed me to act. I didn’t expect it would be this easy to round you all up.”
He stepped aside, revealing the female behind him.

Zuo Liangchen?
Hua Mian looked at him in surprise.

Behind him stood… Sophia?

“Who allowed you to imitate me? Disgusting and lowly—just looking at you makes me sick.”

Sophia glared angrily at Hua Mian. Her irritation instantly spiked into full-blown fury when she saw Hua Mian’s pretty face.

Hua Mian, being scolded directly to her face, refused to swallow her anger.

“You’re that ugly, and you think anyone wants to imitate you? You think you’re some treasure everyone fights over? I’m not your father—I won’t spoil you.”

“You—!”
Sophia hadn’t expected a mere ordinary female to dare insult her.

She only acknowledged Soothe Masters. Ordinary females like Hua Mian were worthless trash to her.

“Kill her!” Sophia roared, pointing at Hua Mian.

Things escalated too quickly. Before Shen Xueji or the others could stop Hua Mian from speaking, Sophia had already turned to attack her.

Yu Jin and Shen Xueji stepped in front of Hua Mian in perfect sync.

Zuo Liangchen raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected this female to have such a sharp tongue. Too bad she was just an ordinary female who couldn’t read the situation.

“Capture them!” he ordered.

At once, a dozen beastmen rushed out from the ship.

These were nothing like the sloppy mercenaries Shen Yan had hired. They wore uniform gear, reeked of blood, and moved with disciplined precision.

“You actually keep private soldiers?” Yu Jin’s face darkened as he glared at them.

Training private troops was illegal.

“These are mercenaries I hired,” Zuo Liangchen said dismissively.

Everyone present knew these were his private soldiers. But without proof, they couldn’t hold him accountable.

The fight broke out. Shen Xueji and Yu Jin engaged the attackers, who fought with ruthless brutality.

Shen Xueji was overwhelmingly strong. Beastmen fell one after another beneath him. The remaining ones were wounded and struggling.

Zuo Liangchen knew Shen Yan held a grudge against Shen Xueji, but he hadn’t taken it seriously. If Shen Xueji got rid of Shen Yan, that would’ve even been convenient.

He hadn’t expected Shen Yan to take such a heavy loss—nearly blown up by Shen Xueji. Sophia, enraged, had demanded they join forces to avenge him.

Shen Yan’s defeat wasn’t unjust. Shen Xueji was a literal humanoid weapon.

Seeing their side faltering, Sophia snapped at Zuo Liangchen, “This is your so-called elite?”

“Madam, please calm yourself,” he soothed.

Then he joined the fray, charging straight at Shen Xueji.