From appearance alone, the huge bulge on the snakeâs belly was not much different from a woman thatâs pregnant. However, the contour of that shape was visibly resembling that of a humanâs.
Ling Yue knows, this was the definite sign that her mother and General Nie was inside the creatureâs stomach. Thereâs no other explanation for that, which in turn riled up her thumping heart to the point where she can no longer control it.
Meanwhile at the same time over in the river, Xia Hou Hong and his remaining men were scrambling to row to shore. Thereâs just no chance for them to stand against that double-headed python while inside the water. Only by getting back on land will they have a slimmer of hope in survival.
âYour Highness, look over there!â Catching the rhythm of someone else nearby, Big Ear cries out for the prince to look over.
Sure enough, thatâs when Xia Hou Hong made eye contact with Ling Yue who was still hiding up in the branches. Apparently the girl had lost the critical timing to escape due to her momentary hesitation.
âLan Ling Yue, so itâs you who caused this!â
The former crown prince donât even know how many times heâs been plotted against by this blasted wench. Now to find the source of his misfortune here of all places, the question plaguing his mind of why the snake would suddenly burst into an outrage was instantly cleared up.
âYou bitch! I will never let you off the hook this time.â Drawing a bow out from his back, the prince readies it to shoot down the girl.
Though Xia Hou Hong wasnât as adept at the bow as Ye Huang Yu (mother), but thatâs still a military grade weapon heâs using. Forged of pure Moon Iron, one arrow alone can easily penetrate a solid boulder of considerable size.
Amused by the poor display, Ling Yue just couldnât resist a snicker as she swung her body downwards like an overhead kick. Because of that, the triple arrow shot in which Xia Hou Hong was so proud of were completely off target and flew way past the girlâs branch and out towards the other part of the river.
With the immediate danger out of the way, Ling Yue figured its time she scuttled away for good. Blowing a whistle, she promptly summoned her alchemic puppet thatâs lying in wait to chomp down at her figure.
âXia Hou Hong, out of consideration that weâre so well acquainted already, hereâs a big gift from me.â Itâs unsure when she did it but by the time her voice died down, a series of violent gleams of silvery light had shot forward at the canoes.
It was already bad enough to begin with due to the leaking body, but to have the girlâs dagger smashing full force into them, its only normal for the wood to splinter apart from the impact.
But thatâs not the worst of it either. Because of the loud commotion, it had caught the attention of the double-headed python still looking for its perpetrator.
âHelp, I cannot swim!â Choking on the water, Nose King struggles to reach for the prince in his panic.
Sadly for the shorty, Xia Hou Hong had other plans in mind. Heâs already frightened enough as it was to face the python, to have this extra deadweight drag him down when the creature was quickly closing in on them, heâs not that dumb.
In his swift decision, the bastard had directly kicked the pig nose in the face, thus causing him to sink back into the water and allowing the serpent to take a thorough poisonous bite at the thigh.
With the sacrificial lamb in the back acting as bait, it didnât take long for the dastardly prince and the big eared man to make it to shore. As for the shorty struggling for his life underwater, all that remains were a series of bubbles and a plume of blood seeping across the surface to prove the serpent was here.
âDamn you bitch, I wonât forget this!â Xia Hou Hong roars out in frustration. Unlike when he first came into this jungle with a group of entourage, all that remains now were Big Ear and himself.
He came to impress the king, not to throw away his life. As such, the blasted prince was starting to have second thoughts on this.
âYour Highness, the girlâs alchemic puppet appears to be very powerful. Why donât we follow her from behind and wait until she and the snake are both exhausted. Then we can just jump out and take the prize for ourselves.â
Although they are without Nose Kingâs ability to sniff out the prey, but Big Ear firmly believes they are still within their strength locate the other partyâs whereabouts.
âGood idea. That little tramp may not be all that strong but her cunningness is a true annoyance. Iâm betting sheâs hunting the snake because of that Captain Ye Huang. I heard their relationship is quite good.â Agreeing with his subordinateâs idea, the dastardly prince immediately had Big Ear start scouting the terrain for Ling Yue and the puppet.
âOh no, her ladyship is gone!â After the fierce battle, Jin Wu Monster as well as Aâbone and the rest were horrified to find their leader missing.
They can guess it for themselves already, the girl had chased after the double-headed python by herself.
âDonât panic all of you, Ling Yue left us a signal along the way.â While their group falls into a panic, it was Lan Caier who gestured for them to quiet down.
As expected of the big girl, only this sister would understand the heroinâs thought pattern and took notice to the secret markings on the nearby tree.
Further up ahead, was very frustrated by her failure.
âDamn it I still lost track of that snake,â she smacks down at her puppet. Although Ling Yueâs speed was by no means slow, but in the end she was no match for the pythonâs slithering speed and familiar knowledge of the region.
The blame cannot be on her for being so annoyed though. Itâs been well over a day since Ye Huang Yu was taken away. The longer she stalls on the rescue effort, the lower the odds of survival are for the victim.
âI must hurry before itâs too late!â Gnashing her teeth, she raises her senses to the highest in search of the creature once again.
Meanwhile deep inside the jungle where an extremely secretive cave was located, the double-headed python was currently lying around in comfort after having its belly filled.
Pythonâs in general are lazier than any other variant of the snake specie. Aside from hunting during the day, these serpents would usually hide within their lairs without ever moving. As such only the sound of trickling droplets of water could be heard within the cave right now.
But things arenât always what they appear to be, there was movements to be had here. Currently struggling to move within the snakeâs belly were Ye Huang Yu, the heroinâs mother in her injured state.
Her body was crushing with pain as she crawledâ¦.
Ye Huang Yu can still remember it clearly. At the time she was trying to save an elder confined within his home. Unfortunately for her, the good deed was rewarded with an attack the second she free the old man.
For that mistake, the price was a direct slash down her back with a knife.
To make things worse, right after she managed to subdue the elder and that weapon, two pairs of eerie green eyes had come forward from within the darkness. One pair was small, the other large, but the most damning part was the crushing pressure that came afterwards.