The First Jasmine - Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Initial Entry into the Southern Frontier

Early in the morning, after packing up and heading downstairs, she saw Han Mingxi sitting in the most conspicuous spot in the main hall with an air of seductive charm, smiling broadly as he looked toward her. A dull, throbbing ache spontaneously bloomed in Ye Li's forehead. Han Mingxi seemed utterly oblivious to the blaze of anger in Ye Li's eyes as he cheerfully beckoned her over, "Junwei, come over and have some breakfast." Ye Li walked over, looking at the lavish spread covering the entire table, and raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Brother Han's breakfast is truly exceptionally extravagant." Han Mingxi waved a hand, entirely unconcerned that the gaze of the entire hall had fallen upon him, and smiled, "Junwei, you should eat a bit more. Once we enter the Southern Frontier, it won't be nearly this easy to find such a sumptuous breakfast."

Ye Li stood upon ceremony, calling over An San—who had followed her down shortly after—to join them for the meal.

Han Mingxi looked at the silent An San, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "I haven't yet had the honor of learning this brother's good name. The guard by Junwei's side possesses extraordinary martial arts skills." Ordinarily, Han Mingxi possessed a healthy amount of self-awareness; as the younger brother of Tianyi Pavilion's master, his horizons were naturally not low. Although his own lightweight kung fu could be considered top-tier, he truly lagged behind when it came to brute martial prowess. At the very least, the martial arts of the bodyguard beside this newly acquainted friend were likely far superior to his own.

Ye Li glanced at An San and said indifferently, "Zhuo Jing."

An San looked up at Ye Li with a hint of surprise. Zhuo Jing was his real name, and ever since becoming a secret guard for the Princess Consort, he rarely used it anymore. He hadn't expected the Princess Consort to know.

Han Mingxi smiled. "So it is Brother Zhuo. I shall have to trouble Brother Zhuo moving forward."

An San replied coldly, "You flatter me, Young Master Han is too polite."

Just as the group of three finished their meal and An San went to settle the bill, the man who had come over to strike up a conversation yesterday slithered back over once more, accompanied by the middle-aged man who looked like a steward. "Young Master Chu, are you also planning to set off today? And this... gentleman is the guide you hired?" Ye Li gave a slight nod without speaking. Since neither of them showed the slightest inclination to converse, the man didn't feel the least bit awkward. Instead, he smiled on his own accord, "Since the young master's people are all assembled, are you planning to set off today? If so, why don't we travel together as companions?" Han Mingxi lazily poked at the breakfast dishes on the table and drawled, "Why should we travel with you lot? Isn't it much better for everyone to go their separate ways?"

The man smiled. "We're all heading to the Southern Frontier; wouldn't it be safer to look out for one another along the way? As far as I know... the moment we cross Suiqiu Pass, we seem to be entering the territory of the Luoyi Tribe. Yesterday, the two gentlemen..."

Ye Li raised her eyes, looking perplexed as she asked the man, "Since Your Excellency knows we offended the young chieftain of the Luoyi Tribe, why are you still so insistent on traveling with us?"

The man curled his lip dismissively. "So what if it's the Luoyi Tribe? Although the people of Nanzhao are skilled in poisons, we aren't necessarily afraid of them."

Ye Li nodded inwardly. With the Sickly Scholar—who was famed for his mastery of poison—traveling right in their midst, they naturally had no reason to fear the toxins of the Southern Frontier. After pondering for a moment, she nodded. "In that case, we shall trouble Your Excellency. I haven't yet asked your good name." The man laughed heartily. "I am Zheng Kui. I used to be a chief escort, and now I just work as a guard to earn a living. This is my steward, and that over there is our master. As for that other person..." The man calling himself Zheng Kui glanced toward the sickly scholar who was sitting against the wall with his eyes closed in meditation, and added, "I hear he's a top-tier expert hired by our master at a heavy price. But... haha, I honestly can't tell where his expertise lies; he just looks extremely sickly."

Ye Li nodded. "I see. Greetings, Guard Zheng. In that case, shall we set off now?"

Seeing that Ye Li had agreed, Zheng Kui was clearly overjoyed and said with boisterous enthusiasm, "I'll go inform our master right away." Turning his face, Zheng Kui and the steward walked back to confer with the wealthy merchant master. The wealthy merchant master seemed somewhat displeased, but ultimately agreed. The four of them then returned to their respective rooms to pack their belongings. Watching the four figures head upstairs, Ye Li cast an indifferent glance at Han Mingxi. Han Mingxi slumped pathetically over the tabletop, gazing dolefully at Ye Li. "Junwei, what did I do wrong this time?"

Ye Li let out a soft hrumph, shot him a sideways glance, and said, "Young Master Han, could you possibly try to keep a lower profile?"

"A low profile?" Han Mingxi asked, looking puzzled. "I'm not exactly a public figure; why would I need to keep a low profile?" Very few people knew he was the Fengyue Young Master, otherwise they would have long since been hunted down and besieged by those self-righteous champions of justice. Ye Li looked at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You might be low-profile in name, but you carry a face that screams high profile. Do you suppose the Sickly Scholar has ever laid eyes on Young Master Mingyue? Do you suppose he knows that Young Master Mingyue is the Master of Tianyi Pavilion?" Han Mingxi blinked, gazing at Ye Li with an apologetic expression as he muttered, "Well... my eldest brother is friends with the Master of the King of Hell Pavilion. So... the Sickly Scholar has probably laid eyes on me before. It seems he knew we recognized him."

"Clearly so," Ye Li stated expressionlessly.

"Then why on earth would they invite us to travel with them?" Han Mingxi asked in a low voice. "If it's because of my identity, he should have greeted me directly. After all, my eldest brother's relationship with the King of Hell Pavilion Master is quite good."

Ye Li shook her head. "Probably not. They had already invited me once before you arrived, and I turned them down."

Han Mingxi stroked his chin. "The Sickly Scholar traveled thousands of li all the way to the Southern Frontier; his objective certainly isn't simple. But why would he tag along with some wealthy merchant? Ordinary merchants could never afford to hire him. As for running a medicinal herb business... people in the herb trade don't personally rush down to the Southern Frontier during March and April." The trade between Great Chu and the Southern Frontier mostly consisted of rare medicinal herbs from the south, but one only needed to look at Yonglin Town's current desolate state to know this wasn't the season for herb trading. Ye Li propped her chin in her hand and remarked, "Do you really think someone who can hang around a figure of the Sickly Scholar's notoriety is going to be an ordinary wealthy merchant?"

Han Mingxi raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

Ye Li fell silent for a moment. "I haven't figured it out yet." But since they had somehow latched onto them, she had to find out whether this was a mere coincidence or a deliberate scheme.

The group quickly rendezvoused at the inn entrance, then rode out of town toward Suiqiu Pass. To Ye Li's mild surprise, despite the wealthy merchant's corpulent and oil-dripping appearance, his horsemanship was actually quite decent. It was just that watching him made one genuinely feel a bit sorry for the horse beneath him. Ever since mounting his horse, the Sickly Scholar had coughed incessantly all the way, looking as though he might hack up his lungs and heart at any moment. While passing through Suiqiu Pass, Ye Li glanced back and happened to see Murong Ting standing radiantly atop the city wall, chatting merrily and excitedly with the middle-aged man beside her. No doubt, once freed from the suffocating constraints of the capital, Murong Ting was living quite happily. Ye Li felt genuinely glad for her friend; with a faint smile, she turned her head back and caught up with the others ahead.

"Drink some water." After a grueling, hurried ride past Suiqiu Pass, they didn't stop until the sky grew dim. Evidently, they had missed the next town where they could lodge for the night. Moreover, although the wilderness of the Southern Frontier was perilous, the homes or inns of local Southern Frontier residents were not necessarily safe for Central Plains travelers either.

An San expertly slipped into the woods, emerging a short while later with an armful of firewood and a wild pheasant, before promptly setting up a campfire and processing the game. Zheng Kui also hauled a few fish back from a nearby river. Ye Li glanced at the Sickly Scholar—who was coughing violently beneath the trees—and, with a slight frown of her delicate brows, handed a water skin over to him. The Sickly Scholar looked momentarily startled before extending his right hand to accept the canteen, nodding at Ye Li as he rasped in a low voice, "Many thanks." Ye Li nodded and returned to her original spot. Although the Sickly Scholar looked frail enough to have only half a breath left in him, Ye Li would never underestimate him by even a fraction. Such a man was best kept at a safe distance, especially given his existing blood feud with Mo Xiuyao.

Han Mingxi leaned lazily against a tree, watching as An San placed the dressed game onto the fire to roast, and smiled at Ye Li, "Junwei, Brother Zhuo is truly remarkable. I've never seen anyone handle these tasks with such fluid efficiency. Even Jianghu travelers who frequently camp out in the wilderness probably can't match this." An San, seated by the campfire, raised an eyebrow in silence. He certainly wasn't going to tell Han Mingxi what kind of grueling training he and his three brothers had endured beneath the cliffs of Mount Heiyun half a year ago. In truth, the four brothers still couldn't fathom how their master's mind could conceive of such bizarre ideas and training methods. Especially that so-called wilderness survival training; each of them had been dropped into an expansive, seemingly boundless forest to live alongside venomous insects and rodents for a full month. Their only allotted weapon was a single dagger and a crossbow loaded with a mere five bolts. At first, they were completely incapable of grasping what practical use such training could have for individuals trained in martial arts, lightweight kung fu, and internal energy. Yet a month later, An Er—the first to emerge from that forest in tattered rags—single-handedly took down An Yi, An Four, and himself. Originally, the four of them were evenly matched; even if there were occasional victories, the winner would invariably be at their absolute limit. But that time, An Er displayed terrifying prowess, defeating An Yi, then himself, and finally ending in a mutual collapse with An Four. Despite learning no new martial arts forms and experiencing no growth in internal energy, An Er's transformation left them simultaneously stunned and ecstatic.

Only after entering the forest himself did An San truly understand what An Er had endured. Venomous snakes, toxic insects, poisonous plants, swamps, wild beasts—in the beginning, he didn't even dare close his eyes at night. Sometimes, waking up midway through sleep, he would find himself surrounded by a wolf pack or realize a deadly venomous snake was coiling nearby, staring at him with unblinking eyes. Every day he had to forage for his own food while collecting the specific items mandated by the Princess Consort. The unluckiest time, he sank into a quagmire for three whole hours and thought he was going to lose his life. But by the final days of that month, he discovered he had gradually adapted to that atrocious environment; even without relying on martial arts, he could survive comfortably in the forest. He could even go a day and a night without food or sleep without feeling severe distress—feats entirely impossible through martial arts training alone. From the day he walked out of that forest alive and learned that the Princess Consort had secretly followed them the entire time, An San felt his heart completely and utterly submit to this young Princess Consort. They all knew in their hearts that their mistress was unequivocally the most extraordinary Princess Consort in the history of the Prince of Ding's Manor. The only thing An San regretted was that the Princess Consort had originally planned several other training modules for them, which were cut short only due to the Prince's illness.

"What Young Master Han says is true. Brother Zhuo's proficiency is so seamless that even veteran chief escorts with decades on the road couldn't hold a candle to him." Zheng Kui stared enviously at the half-raw fish roasting on his own makeshift spit, then glanced at the fragrant, perfectly roasted pheasant in An San's hands that could easily rival a restaurant dish. He had merely caught a few fish by the river, whereas this taciturn brother had already built a fire, caught a pheasant, cleaned it, and set it roasting, all while finding the time to forage for mushrooms in the woods to prep a soup. Their master was currently glaring at the fish in Zheng Kui's hands with unabashed dissatisfaction, his plump, greasy face practically spelling out utter disdain.

Ye Li beamed with a winsome smile as she looked at Han Mingxi. "Zhuo Jing has been taking care of me all along this journey. He's clever by nature, so he naturally picked it up after seeing it done a few times."

Han Mingxi wore an expression of sheer disbelief. He frequently camped out in the wilderness himself, yet whatever he roasted invariably turned into a charred black lump that he wouldn't dare eat.

An San calmly divided the roasted game into three portions, handing them respectively to Ye Li and Han Mingxi, as if he hadn't heard his mistress's praise at all. He certainly wasn't going to tell this flamboyant young master that his own mistress could actually cook even better than him. Looking at the Fengyue Young Master holding the roasted meat with an expression of sheer ecstasy, An San suddenly felt a strange surge of superiority.

"Is Young Master Zhuo well-versed in the arts of poison?" The Sickly Scholar, sitting off to one side, took a few sips of water to suppress his cough and looked up at An San to ask. An San glanced back at him and replied indifferently, "Unversed."

The Sickly Scholar raised an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving. "The Southern Frontier teems with venomous flora and fauna; even a vast majority of the mushrooms in these woods are intensely poisonous. Yet the ones gathered appear to be entirely non-toxic."

An San curled the corner of his lip and retorted flatly, "The more brightly colored a mushroom in the mountain forests is, the more toxic it tends to be. Even a child knows that much." The Sickly Scholar gave a faint smile. "Is that so? If that's the case, Brother Zhuo would do well not to randomly forage for things to eat. After all, not all poisonous mushrooms in this world bear bright colors."

"Thanks for the warning."

The wealthy merchant master was evidently deeply displeased with the fish roasted by his bodyguard. After taking a few bites, he tossed it aside, pointed straight at Zheng Kui, and barked, "You! Go bag some game!"

Zheng Kui looked at the darkened sky and hesitated. The reason they had chosen to camp on the immediate outskirts of the woods was precisely because the forest at night was perilous. The Sickly Scholar sat up, cast a cold glance at the merchant, and warned, "If you want him dead, go ahead and send him in." The wealthy merchant master seemed deeply intimidated by the Sickly Scholar; hearing this, he sullenly swallowed his demand.

After finishing dinner, Han Mingxi seemed to have lost his daytime energy. He sat down closest to the campfire, leaning against a rock with his eyes closed in repose. An San finished tidying the baggage, stood up, leaped onto a nearby large tree, and seated himself upon a thick branch, quietly listening to the desultory conversation drifting up from below. Ye Li, feeling somewhat restless, remained seated by the fire, chatting idly with Zheng Kui while casually tossing twigs into the flames. During their idle chatter, Zheng Kui revealed to Ye Li that the wealthy merchant master was named Liang and was a major medicinal herb merchant from northwestern Great Chu, possessing vast wealth. His purpose in coming to the Southern Frontier this time was because he heard a legendary, extremely precious rare medicinal herb had appeared and would be publicly auctioned in Nanzhao's capital this June. Of course, this also included some boastful exaggeration from the vain Master Liang himself. Ye Li told Zheng Kui that she hailed from a scholarly family in Yunzhou, and was traveling specifically with her guards for sightseeing. As for Han Mingxi, she explained that they had met in Guangling and he had enthusiastically tagged along to accompany her on her travels to the Southern Frontier. Since the other party had already seen through Han Mingxi's identity, Ye Li naturally saw no need to conceal it further, simply noting that they had crossed paths at Clear Wind and Bright Moon Tower in Guangling City. At the mention of Clear Wind and Bright Moon Tower, Master Liang's fat-laden face instantly lit up with radiant enthusiasm as he regaled Ye Li with tales of his past experiences visiting the establishment.

"Young Master Chu is from Yunzhou?" the Sickly Scholar suddenly piped up from the side. "Does Young Master Chu happen to be familiar with the Yunzhou Xu family?"

Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Is this gentleman joking? Who among citizens of Great Chu does not know of the Yunzhou Xu family? Although I lack the fortune to study at Lishan Academy, I have long held deep admiration for the esteemed scholars of the Xu family."

"Is that so? Ahem... Come to think of it, since Young Master Chu holds the Yunzhou Xu family in such high regard, you must surely have heard of Young Master Qingchen?"

Ye Li turned her head slightly, her tone tinged with mounting reverence, "Young Master Qingchen... Eldest Young Master Xu achieved renown in his youth, a fact known across the realm. It's simply regrettable that although I am half a year older than Young Master Xu was back then, I have yet to accomplish a single thing. Truly shameful." The Sickly Scholar looked up at her, a probing glint in his eyes as he offered a faint, thin smile. "Is that so? Perhaps Young Master Chu will have the chance to meet him firsthand on this trip to the Southern Frontier."

A jolt ran through Ye Li's heart, though her expression remained seamlessly calm as she injected a hint of pleasant surprise into her voice. "Really? Young Master Qingchen is currently in the Southern Frontier?"

The Sickly Scholar sat up straighter. "Indeed, Young Master Qingchen is indeed in the Southern Frontier at present."

"That's wonderful! I hope I might have the honor of meeting Young Master Qingchen once we reach Nanzhao's capital, so I may seek his guidance." Ye Li lowered her gaze in contemplation, murmuring casually. Ignoring the Sickly Scholar's measuring gaze, Ye Li's mind raced through rapid calculations. Xu Qingchen had traveled the world in his youth and had always been notoriously elusive. Ye Li refused to believe he couldn't even conceal his own whereabouts if he wished. Yet the Sickly Scholar—hailing all the way from Xiling—was privy to intelligence regarding his location in the Southern Frontier... and seemed remarkably precise about it at that. This sparked a rather unpleasant premonition in Ye Li's mind. What exactly was the Sickly Scholar's purpose in coming to the Southern Frontier? Could it be related to Xu Qingchen?

Late into the night, the flames burning on the wilderness ground gradually dwindled. The forest under the veil of night remained dead silent, save for the occasional chirping of insects and calls of nocturnal birds. An San, dozing lightly while leaning against a tree branch, shifted his posture and let out a soft cough. Ye Li—who had been resting with her eyes closed beside the campfire—instantly opened her eyes, her gaze clear and completely devoid of sleepiness. Casually turning her body, she glanced toward the tree. Up on the branch, An San gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Ye Li closed her eyes once more, feigning deep slumber.

A faint, fishy stench suddenly drifted into the air, accompanied by a peculiar rustling sound and the vague notes of some indistinct, eerie tune. It sounded as though a mass of creatures was swarming across the grassland. An San frowned slightly, recalling a creature he utterly detested, and sat up before dropping lightly to the ground. The moment his feet touched the earth, the Sickly Scholar—who had appeared fast asleep moments before—snapped his eyes open. Catching An San's questioning, furrowed brow, An San ignored him, strode over to Ye Li's side, and whispered in a low voice, "Young master, there's movement."

Simultaneously as Ye Li opened her eyes, Han Mingxi and Zheng Kui on the other side awoke as well. Han Mingxi yawned lazily and asked, "What is it?"

An San stated flatly, "Something is approaching."

"Things? What things?"

An San muttered grimly, "I suspect... it's snakes."

"Snakes."

"Snakes," Ye Li and the Sickly Scholar chorused. The Sickly Scholar cast a glance at Ye Li, while Ye Li rose to her feet. "I smell snake musk. A great many snakes."

Han Mingxi realized aloud, "I almost forgot that Junwei is skilled in blending fragrances, so you naturally possess a sharper nose for scents."

Zheng Kui asked anxiously, "This is hardly the time to discuss that! What do we do?" Han Mingxi replied carelessly, "What is there to do? Run, obviously." The Fengyue Young Master possessed peerless lightweight kung fu; regardless of where they were, he never had to worry about being unable to escape. An San frowned. "I'm afraid we can't just run. Listen... the sounds are coming from all directions." Aside from Master Liang and his steward, everyone else present possessed genuine martial arts training and could readily tell whether An San was exaggerating. Han Mingxi let out a cold snort, leaped swiftly up into the branches, and dropped back down a moment later. Cursing under his breath, he spat, "Every time this young master comes to this wretched Southern Frontier wasteland, it's one headache after another. Why on earth are there so many snakes?"

No one bothered with his complaints as An San rapidly produced various anti-toxin and anti-snake preparations he had prepared in advance. The Sickly Scholar shook his head. "There are simply too many; it won't work."

Those who had never witnessed it could never imagine how terrifying such a sight truly was. Under the cloak of night, a dense, writhing sea of black snakes surged forward from every conceivable direction. "What is going on?!" Master Liang shrieked at the top of his lungs, while his steward had long since collapsed to the ground, paralyzed and drained of all color.

"Shut up!" the Sickly Scholar snapped. Frowning as he looked at An San, he warned, "There are too many snakes. Using snake-repelling powder will only drive them into a frenzy."

Han Mingxi said with an expression of intense revulsion, "Junwei, I should be able to break through if I carry you with me. Brother Zhuo should be able to get out on his own as well." An San nodded silently. The Sickly Scholar stated coolly, "If that's the case, Brother Han can take Young Master Chu and leave first." Han Mingxi didn't actually make a move to leave, because he clearly detected a thinly veiled threat beneath the Sickly Scholar's words. If he and Ye Li bolted ahead of time, the Sickly Scholar would undoubtedly launch a sneak attack from behind. No matter how formidable Han Mingxi's lightweight kung fu was, fleeing through the air while carrying someone meant he couldn't guarantee dodging the poisons wielded by the King of Hell Pavilion's third-ranked expert. As for the Sickly Scholar's side, there was no need to even consider it—aside from the scholar himself, none of the remaining three individuals possessed the capability to escape on their own.

Seeing the sea of snakes closing in, Ye Li frowned. "Is this really the time to argue? Or do you all plan to stay here and feed the serpents?"

Once the snakes surrounded them, they didn't immediately lunge. Moments later, a few figures emerged from various directions, holding short flutes to their lips and standing far back behind the snake swarm. Evidently, these serpents hadn't gathered here by chance; they were being driven by someone. Zheng Kui cursed viciously, spitting out, "It's Southern Frontier snake-charmers!"

Ye Li and An San exchanged a glance. If the snake swarm truly attacked, the two of them could likely break away in an instant, but that corpulent Master Liang would definitely not make it out alive.

A phalanx of snake-charmers parted to clear a path, and a familiar figure swaggered forward, wearing a malicious, gloating smile as he looked toward Ye Li and the others. "Hehe... I told you this young master would get his hands on you eventually. It's barely been a day—how do you like this?"

Han Mingxi raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Isn't this the idiot who claims to be the young chieftain of the Luoyi Tribe?"

The sleazy youth from yesterday's inn was clad tonight in a lavish outfit weighed down by heavy silver ornaments that glittered brilliantly under the moonlight. Seeing Han Mingxi's loose robes fluttering lazily in the moonlight with such seductive allure, he froze momentarily before stammering, "Beauty, why don't you come over here? This young master will spare you. There's no need to throw your life away keeping these monsters company." Han Mingxi's expression stiffened, his eyelid twitching violently. "Do you honestly have the nerve to call anyone else a monster?" To be fair, everyone present—including the snake-charmers standing far away—looked significantly more appealing than this youth. Even the bloated Master Liang at least didn't look quite so depraved.

At these words, the young man flew into a blind rage, glaring at Han Mingxi with eyes full of warped, murderous malice. Ye Li gave a light cough and smiled, "Brother Han, even if the gentleman opposite is neither fragrant jade nor precious pearl, you could at least spare his feelings. How can you bear to crush a man's heartfelt adoration like this?" Han Mingxi curled his lip. "Adoration? You call that adoration? That's sheer jealousy! He's practically salivating at the thought of scratching my face off. Hmph! Can the peerless visage of this young master be coveted by such a vulgar commoner?" Did people really think he spent his days wandering the floral paths of the demimonde for nothing? Could he honestly fail to distinguish between genuine adoration and spiteful envy?

"That's right," the youth opposite cackled. "Once I capture you, I'm going to peel your facial skin off alive. Hehe... I'll take your face for my own, so you better walk over obediently and don't let my little darlings ruin it." A heavy silence fell over the group. A moment later, Han Mingxi reached up to touch his own face with a look of profound cherishing, asking incredulously, "Surely our facial dimensions don't match, do you?"

"Junwei!" Han Mingxi's eyebrows twitched frantically as he glared resentfully at Ye Li.

The youth was clearly incensed by Ye Li's remark as well, roaring in fury, "I don't need your lip! I'm going to turn every single one of you into human-leather masks! Capture them—I want them all alive. Wait... that fat man can die for all I care!" The snake-charmers wore troubled expressions. Killing this group of people was simple enough; they merely needed to command the snakes to bite them, and thousands of serpents would eventually finish the job. But capturing them alive was a completely different story, as these individuals were clearly no ordinary lambs to the slaughter. Although the snake-charmers hesitated, they couldn't simply ignore their master's commands, so they reluctantly resumed blowing their short flutes to drive the serpent swarm.

Rumble!

Several sudden tongues of flame shot up into the air. Amidst the shrill, rapid piping of the flutes, the snake swarm refrained from charging forward all at once; instead, they halted four or five zhang away, hesitating and milling about. Taking advantage of the moment while Ye Li and Han Mingxi were talking to the Luoyi young chieftain, An San had secretly scattered all the anti-snake herbs they carried across the perimeter around them. Seeing the serpents refusing to advance, the snake-charmers blew their flutes even more frantically and piercingly. The snakes grew increasingly agitated. Ye Li raised an eyebrow and looked at Han Mingxi. "Brother Han, do you know how to play a tune?" Han Mingxi offered a helpless, wry smile. "I don't know the first thing about driving snakes."

Ye Li shook her head. "You don't need to drive snakes; you just need to play a tune. It's best if you inject internal energy into it. Go play over there." She gestured toward the woods behind them. "Ideally, move around while playing."

Though puzzled by Ye Li's intent, Han Mingxi shrugged indifferently. "Very well, I'll follow Junwei's lead." Drawing the bamboo xiao from his belt, Han Mingxi leaped onto a nearby tree branch and began to play. A tune carrying internal energy didn't actually sound very pleasant—at least, not to Ye Li, whose internal cultivation was relatively shallow. Standing atop the branch, Han Mingxi shifted his position fluidly while playing, moving as effortlessly as if he were walking on flat ground, a feat that drew a brief spark of envy from Ye Li.

Gradually, the snake-charmers watched in growing horror as the serpents began to ignore their commands; the snakes at the very front even started crawling backward. The charm-masters blew their flutes with frantic desperation, but they lacked mastery over martial arts and their internal energy was mediocre at best. Their sound simply couldn't compare to Han Mingxi's. The melody of Han Mingxi's xiao gradually drowned out the shrill, grating flute notes. The Sickly Scholar seemed to grasp what was happening; likewise, he vanished into the air, leaping onto a neighboring bough, plucked a simple tree leaf, pressed it to his lips, and joined the musical onslaught. The snake swarm finally broke under the pressure; the serpents circling closest to Ye Li and her group turned and retreated, while others scattered in all directions, none daring to approach.

"What's going on?!" the young man shrieked in terror. The complexions of several snake-charmers turned pale as they stumbled backward, though they dared not stop blowing the flutes in their hands. Yet more and more snakes continued slithering away into the darkness. Ye Li stood beside the campfire with a cool, mocking smile. Snakes feared realgar, hated anti-snake repellents and pungent substances, and inherently dreaded fire—these were all biological instincts. As for so-called snake-charming: snakes possessed virtually no sense of hearing; they navigated entirely by sensing vibrations in the air. The so-called snake-charming flute was merely a tool used to train snakes to respond to a specific rhythmic vibration. Once that rhythm was violently disrupted and the serpents lost their orientation, they would naturally flee toward safer territory rather than face the heat and smells they abhorred.

"Aah... no!" Some of the retreating snakes slithered right across the young man's feet. Fortunately, the youth was also wearing plenty of repellant, so the snakes didn't strike him, but he was frightened out of his wits nonetheless. An San asked in puzzlement, "Do people from the Southern Frontier actually fear snakes?" Ye Li shrugged and smiled, "There are always exceptions to every rule, aren't there?"

Master Liang wiped the cold sweat from his face and exclaimed, "We are truly indebted to Young Master Chu's clever strategy; who would have thought those snakes could be driven off just like that?"

Ye Li frowned slightly, still nursing a quiet anxiety. Driving the snakes away bought them temporary relief, but if this massive horde of venomous serpents scattered unchecked, passing travelers would face a catastrophic hazard. Glancing at the panicking youth across the clearing, Ye Li's clear eyes darkened. She commanded An San, "Kill him!"

An San never questioned the reasoning behind any direct order given by Ye Li. Before her voice had even faded, his longsword flashed, his figure launching forward like a shooting star hurtling straight toward the young nobleman. The youth was already paralyzed with panic; seeing An San's blade lunging directly at him, he froze like a stunned wooden chicken, completely forgetting to dodge as he stared blankly at the approaching sword tip—

"Stay your hand!" A resonant, booming voice rang out urgently from the edge of the woods.