Chapter 86

The beast bait whistled as it flew far away, once again drawing the attention of the large flock of gray Jueru birds.

They emitted strange "Jueru Jueru" cries, chasing after the beast bait.

A large flock of Jueru birds swept over the stone bridge, some of them only a few meters away from the group. The sound of their flapping wings was extremely clear.

"Quick!"

Old Wang shouted, speeding up.

His caravan members were all well-trained, moving swiftly. Qian Hao was also decisive, quickly rushing forward.

Third, it was Xue Chengyong's turn.

He gripped the beast bait, intending to throw it as far as possible to draw the surrounding Jueru birds away.

However, he was too close at that moment.

Suddenly, a Jueru bird swooped down from above, lunging at the beast bait in his hand.

Xue Chengyong was startled and fiercely threw the bait, which flew out and hit a Jueru bird, only to bounce back onto the stone bridge.

In the chaos, all three groups were focused on moving forward, completely unaware that a small piece of beast bait had been bounced back onto the bridge.

Xue Chengyong panicked.

"Quick, go!" One of the two middle-aged men behind him, seeing the situation, grabbed him and rushed forward.

At that moment, a large flock of Jueru birds swooped down toward the beast bait on the stone bridge, their gray feathers swarming, creating an extremely chaotic scene.

Wei He was about to throw the beast bait but saw a large flock of Jueru birds swooping toward his group.

He was startled and grabbed Wei Ying and Zhang Qi, rushing forward.

"Follow me!"

Behind them, Ouyang Lin and Jiang Su quickly followed, but Jiang Su was still a step behind.

Ouyang Lin was accidentally hit by the swarming Jueru birds, instantly engulfed in a sea of gray feathers.

A scream of pain quickly cut off.

Wei He rushed through the bird flock, the beast bait in his hand flying far out. This was the fourth quarter of the beast bait.

It immediately drew the Jueru birds blocking the way.

These Jueru birds were fierce, each like a second-level Qi and Blood Warrior, extremely fast, and once touched, they caused poisoning, making them extremely troublesome.

"Linying!!" After crossing the bridge, Wei Ying turned back, only to see Ouyang Lin completely gone.

Her eyes instantly reddened, and she let out a loud cry.

Wei He led the two to the bridgehead, put them down, and looked back at where Ouyang Lin had been engulfed.

There was no trace left.

He fell silent for a moment.

"Two breaths."

He turned and suddenly rushed forward, his feet leaving a crack in the ground.

Bang!!

In an instant, he clawed at Xue Chengyong.

The speed of this claw was incredibly fast, and before Xue Chengyong and the two guards behind him could react, they saw the hand appear in front of them.

"Wait!" Suddenly, a withered old hand blocked in front of Xue Chengyong.

It was Old Wang who intervened.

In a short moment, Wei He and Old Wang's four arms collided intensely, their movements leaving afterimages.

Puff! Old Wang retreated several steps, being forcefully pushed back.

His sleeves were torn into pieces by the force.

But in that moment, Xue Chengyong was already being carried away by the two guards, fleeing rapidly.

Seeing the intense confrontation between Wei He and Old Wang, they knew they were no match.

Xue Chengyong, having caused a major disaster, felt guilty and ran away.

Wei He was about to continue chasing.

"Brother Wei, wait! We can't kill here! Otherwise..." Old Wang's face changed as he saw a piece of beast bait on the ground where Xue Chengyong had left.

Wei He's face also changed. He grabbed his sister and Zhang Qi and ran.

On Old Wang's side, someone tried to kick the beast bait away, but it was too late.

A flock of Jueru birds descended, swooping down and brushing past the person.

Gray feathers scratched the person's face and hands, leaving wounds.

The person fell silent, collapsing without a sound.

"Go!!" Old Wang's face turned green, and he shouted, leading his group to flee frantically.

But the piece of beast bait seemed to have been left by Xue Chengyong. Seeing the confrontation between Wei He and Old Wang, he had malicious intentions, leaving a piece of beast bait and fleeing with the guards.

The beast bait would attract the strange beasts, delaying both sides and allowing him to escape.

However, he didn't expect Old Wang to notice too quickly. The beast bait hadn't fully taken effect before it was discovered.

At that moment, a large flock of Jueru birds swooped down, and both groups fled, running for over a mile before slowly stopping.

The stone bridge was no longer visible, and the surroundings were filled with large, black, withered trees.

The dense trees prevented the Jueru birds from swooping down, so they retreated.

Both groups stopped to rest and counted their numbers. Wei He's group was fine, with all four still present.

But Old Wang's group was missing three people...

"Scoundrel!!" Old Wang slapped the tree trunk hard, causing the bark to crack, showing his considerable palm strength.

"Linying..." Wei Ying lowered her head, gripping her bundle tightly, feeling down.

Although she was used to life and death, Ouyang Lin had been a good match, supporting each other on the journey, and they had become good friends.

A familiar friend had just disappeared before her eyes...

Jiang Su and Zhang Qi were also silent. They had been mentally prepared for such events before the journey, but when it really happened, the sudden death of a companion they had been with day and night gave them a huge shock.

Wei He's face was grim as he looked at Old Wang's side. If they hadn't intervened, Xue Chengyong would have died at his hands.

He had underestimated Old Wang's strength, but this time it wouldn't happen again.

He turned and walked toward Old Wang's side.

"Wait!" Old Wang raised his hand angrily, seeing Wei He's intention. He feared that if he didn't speak, he would lose the chance to speak and another fight would break out.

"Brother Wei, we also lost a few people. Xue Chengyong is also our enemy. Rest assured, we have a way to find him!"

"Hmm?" Wei He narrowed his eyes.

"Really." Old Wang looked back at Zhen Qi, who was dressed in black and wearing a black veil.

Zhen Qi slightly extended her right hand, and a light yellow insect with slowly flapping wings rested on her fingertip.

"This is a tracking insect. As long as we follow its flight path, we can find Xue Chengyong and his two companions!" Old Wang said solemnly.

"Good!" Wei He glanced at him and Zhen Qi, then at the tracking insect, and nodded.

If they couldn't find him, he would make them pay the price.

After all, Ouyang Lin had been with him for a month, obedient and well-behaved, with no bad behavior, and had a good relationship with Wei Ying. Such a person had been suddenly killed.

Out of both emotion and reason, he would give her an explanation.

The two groups set off again, quickly moving forward, following the flying tracking insect.

Wei He carried one person in each hand and followed behind Jiang Su.

Soon, they found Xue Chengyong and his two companions under a tree trunk.

But finding them was one thing; the three were already lying on the ground, lifeless.

Behind them, a black giant python, camouflaged to look like the tree bark, was slowly flicking its tongue, eyeing the approaching group.

The python, coiled around the tree trunk, was about twenty meters long, as thick as a thigh, and its tail split into four branches, shaking and making a rattlesnake-like sound.

"Dragon-tail snake..." Old Wang recognized the snake, his face turning serious.

"Slowly retreat!! It has already eaten three people and won't attack us recklessly. Retreat slowly!" he said in a low voice.

But before he finished speaking, the Dragon-tail snake suddenly lunged forward, like a black shadow, toward the person at the front.

Its speed was incredible, and even Wei He and Old Wang could only see a black blur.

Puff! One of Old Wang's men was knocked flying.

The Dragon-tail snake seemed not to be hunting for food. It turned and lunged at Wei He's side.

Wei He's heart raced, and he wrapped two types of force around his hand, then punched forward.

Bang!!

His fist collided with the snake's head, and the two forces squeezed and canceled each other out.

Wei He and the Dragon-tail snake both retreated several steps, one with a dizzy head and the other with a painful fist and trembling forearm.

Ah!

Suddenly, a scream rang out. Wei Ying's leg was caught by the Dragon-tail snake's tail, which coiled around her and slammed her into the tree trunk.

Wei He, who had just been pushed back, couldn't react in time due to inertia.

His eyes widened in horror, and he forced his Flying Dragon Technique to change direction, rushing to save her.

"Break!"

Suddenly, a delicate cry rang out, and a black figure swiftly moved, slicing off the end of the Dragon-tail snake's tail.

Then, she caught Wei Ying, used the tree trunk for leverage, and returned to the ground.

This person was Zhen Qi, who had been standing quietly in place.

"Go!" she shouted, carrying Wei Ying and fleeing with the others.

Wei He took a deep breath, took the two people, and quickly followed.

The two groups changed direction and hurried for several dozen breaths until they could no longer see the Dragon-tail snake, then they slowly slowed down and stopped to rest.

During the journey, Wei He wanted to ask Zhen Qi to return his sister, but never had the chance.

Finally, they stopped by a stream, and Wei Ying returned from Zhen Qi, still shaken.

This time, both groups suffered heavy losses.

Wei He's group was missing Ouyang Lin.

Old Wang's group was missing four people, significantly thinning their ranks. The guards and merchants were pale and visibly shaken.

After stopping, Wei He and Jiang Su gradually recovered, their breathing steady. Wei Ying returned and hugged Jiang Su, tears streaming silently. It might have been for Ouyang Lin, or it might have been from the shock.

Zhen Qi had saved Wei Ying's life in that moment.

Out of both emotion and reason, he should thank her.

"Thank you just now." Wei He approached Zhen Qi's group, clasped his hands, and said solemnly.

"..." Zhen Qi closed her eyes, ignoring him.

Zhen Qi had saved his sister once, and although Old Wang had prevented him from killing, the two actions canceled each other out.

Xue Chengyong had died in front of the Dragon-tail snake, so the matter was settled.

But Wei He couldn't help but recall the tracking insect, which reminded him of the black letter insect he had seen before.

The tracking insect was extremely similar to the black letter insect, the only difference being the color.

He had been attacked by the black letter insect before, so he remembered it well.

'This woman...' Wei He felt a hint of suspicion.

On the other side, Zhen Qi had determined that Wei He and his group were not the pursuers and had no ill intentions, just passersby.

So, when she saw Wei Ying in danger, she acted to save her.

Although she was cold, she was not a killer. She would save if she could, and if she couldn't, she would act within her limits and not overstep.