Chapter 135 - The Trick Of The Eye

Cheng Xiu looked on to the scene of San Zhe screaming, raising his trident and running off. What happened to him all of a sudden?

Cheng Xiu narrowed her eyes and released the carp sword from its sheath.

"Brother San!" she called as she ran off behind him.

Yaksha stared at the fluttering long black hair of Cheng Xiu as she ran off behind her friend. He tilted his head, and stepped forwards, the golden mask on his face glinting in the dim light, letting off an eerie aura that had the creatures lurking in the shadows whimper and run away.

Cheng Xiu cut through the foilage as she ran after the blue silhouette that dashed after something unknown.

"Brother San! Brother San! Wait!"

San Zhe seemed to be unable to hear her calls as he ran after the slithering snake.

"Damned beast!" he cursed as he ran after it. His companions were not reacting to the beast's presence which meant that they were put into some kind of an illusion that made them think that everything was normal. He had to kill the creature to save his companions.

He slashed his trident this way and that as he tried to hit the snake.

It was golden at the top, and black at the bottom. The top of its head had a deep red stone embedded in it.

San Zhe knew what this creature was called. This was the Crimson Head. The snake that lived in the caves near the Clock Tower of the Viridian Forest. It was poisonous.

San Zhe hurried after it.

Cheng Xiu frowned as San Zhe the figure of San Zhe seemed to gain speed even more.

She was quite surprised about it. Though she had not wanted to, Cheng Xiu subconsciously deemed San Zhe as someone weaker than her, despite him being two levels above her.

But now his speed seemed to have increased by a bit too much.

Cheng Xiu pushed her legs forward but still found San Zhe far away from her reach.

Soon, his form disappeared.

Cheng Xiu frowned as she burst into a clearing and found two roads forked in front of her.

She looked to the right and then to the left, unsure which route that San Zhe had taken. She observed the environment around her to find a clue to the situation.

The two-path seemed to be identical.

Cheng Xiu's sharp eyes caught sight of the single fallen leaf on the left that seemed to have been cut off by a sword.

Cheng Xiu took a step forward and then ran into the road on the right.

A figure became visible under a large tree. It was a woman in pale white clothes that barely covered her essential areas. Had any straight man or bent woman had seen her would have fallen on their knees. Her cold green eyes followed the red-clad figure of Cheng Xiu until she disappeared.

A snake slithered towards her.

She looked at the creature for a moment with a blank face.

"You did well," she whispered to it.

'That girl guessed the right path,' the snake whispered in misery as it wound around her curving figure.

The woman smiled at the snake, petting its golden scales. "She is the Keeper of the Stone. If she could not recognise such lowly illusions then she would have lost the treasure already."

'A human,' the snake said, its voice growing in contempt. 'How can a human ever be worthy of the Crimson Treasure!'

The woman nodded.

'Do you think this will help the Queen?' the snake asked her.

"Hmm," the woman said as she knelt to the forest floor. "The Crimson Stone has the power to restore the life of anyone. We can use it to restore our Queen to her old health."

The woman closed her eyes, and a pattern appeared in front of her. She concentrated and sent a thread of Qi into the formation, disrupting it. "Now, the human will find herself in the company of creatures far more dangerous than she had ever been in."

'What about her other companion?' the snake asked. 'Isn't he going to be a problem?'

The woman transformed into a snake with Golden scales and a white underbelly. 'No. He can not interfere in our matters without losing his Place in the Elite Council. That human is ours to deal as we wish with. If she has the ability, then she will escape on her own.'

'Why?' the snake asked in confusion. 'She is just a human. Why would he get into that kind of trouble for such a simple act of kindness?'

The golden snakes started to move forward. 'Because she is the Keeper of the Stone.'

Yaksha walked slowly out of the shadows and looked towards the disappearing figure of the two serpents. His eyes fell on the glowing formation that was losing its lustre.

He started to step forwards.

In another part of the forest, Cheng Xiu rushed forwards, her heart anxious about the place. She couldn't believe that she left Yaksha behind to run after San Zhe. She should have asked the Expert to help her in that instant but had forgotten in her hurry.

She did not think that asking for his help in this regard was a bad thing. She knew her powers well enough to know that she could probably not fight with the creature that lured them into this side of the forest on her own. And even if she could, she would not be able to save San Zhe without any harm.

Neither did she have that kind of power, nor did she have that kind of skill.

It was better to ask Yaksha in that instant.

She hoped that the expert would be able to reach them in time before something happened to San Zhe. Even though this was a game, it could leave shadows in people's hearts if they encounter something too nefarious, and Cheng Xiu knew how nefarious the Other World could be from the articles that she read in the foram.

Cheng Xiu reached another crossroad.

Just as she was deciding on which path to take, Cheng Xiu felt killing intent from behind her.

Cheng Xiu turned around immediately and raised the sword in her hand.