The gray peregrine falcon kept hovering over the towering ancient trees. With its sharp eyes scanning, most of the disturbances in the Miao village were caught in its eyes.
In the sky below it, a few figures stood scattered among the green shade that blocked out the sun.
"Hmph! Traitor!"
Chi Meng's little face kept hanging down, and while he was muttering in a low voice, his two hands were still pulling the grass stems at his feet.
"So, you don't have the exact whereabouts of the King of Snakes?"
Li Jing frowned and tapped his fingers on his knees habitually.
Looking away from Chi Meng, You Chuan looked at Li Jing who was sitting on the ground looking at him.
Nodding slowly, You Chuan hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Chi Meng: "The King is just under house arrest by Du Gong, so it should be nothing serious..."
"It's nothing serious! Why don't you let me see you if it's nothing serious! Then let me lock you up and take a look! That big traitor, the poisonous bastard, and you, the little traitor, are not good people!"
Chi Meng stood up suddenly, put his hands on his hips and yelled loudly, his face turned red.
"Eh……"
Li Jing raised her hand to signal Chi Meng not to get excited, and then stood up and looked at You Chuan, who looked calm.
"Brother Youchuan, you must be the one who knows the poisonous man best among the people here. You still can't tell who he is and whether he will tell you the truth..."
"If the King of Snakes is here, he can still suppress Mr. Poison. If the King of Snakes continues to be imprisoned for no reason, and if Mr. Poison has his own selfish desires, then..."
"It is not you who can avert the disaster in Miao territory."
Li Jing's voice was not loud, but it was sonorous and powerful. His eyes looked straight into You Chuan's eyes, his gaze was scorching and could not be ignored.
You Chuan's hand hidden behind his back clenched into a fist, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.
"Bah! Why would a traitor help us? Little Guoguo, ignore him! Let's go!"
Chi Meng flicked the purple-red hair on the back of her head, turned around and angrily pulled the empress away.
"Youchuan, I can't find my dad without you!"
Li Jing hesitated for a moment, saw the struggle on You Chuan's face, and patted You Chuan on the shoulder.
"It's not easy to see us without telling Mr. Du, thank you very much."
Li Jing picked up the sword box leaning against the tree and turned around to leave.
Chi Meng held the empress' hand and walked in front without looking back. Li Jing sighed slightly.
It seems that You Chuan is still loyal to the poisonous man now...
"etc……"
Just after taking two steps forward, a low voice came from behind.
"I can take you to see King Jiao, but I can't take him away. I can only see if he is okay...otherwise, I will not be able to absolve myself of the blame."
Li Jing turned around and noticed that Chi Meng and the Empress behind him were also looking over.
You Chuan looked at Li Jing with his beautiful eyes, and seemed to be looking at Chi Meng behind Li Jing.
"If you can promise me, I will take you there..."
Li Jing's eyes met his without any evasion, and her tone was firm and powerful without any pause.
"make a deal!"
…
A khaki gecko lay quietly on the stone wall with its eyes bulging, silently watching a cricket at the tip of the grass in front of it, its long tongue ready to go.
There was a sound of footsteps outside the stone wall corridor, the gecko's tongue flew away, and the cricket jumped away. He turned around with bulging eyes and saw several figures walking slowly from outside.
"The King of Snakes is right in front. I secretly followed Mr. Po here a long time ago..."
You Chuan pointed to a giant tree with red branches in front of him from a distance, and continued: "The King of Snakes seemed to be in pretty good condition at that time, but he was just trapped..."
Chi Meng's face flushed with excitement, his body had surpassed Li Jing, and his pace gradually accelerated.
"Xiao Guo Guo, please go faster!"
Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that the advantage of starting the plot a year in advance is that some inevitable things have not happened yet.
The empress's face remained calm as she walked beside Li Jing. The two of them were several positions behind You Chuan.
"I'll meet King Jiao later. Do you really want to take him away?"
Li Jing looked at You Chuan with squinted eyes, then looked at the surrounding environment, and then whispered after confirming that the old bastard Chi Li did not set up an ambush:
"They must be taken away. Chi Li has such a twisted mentality. Leaving the King of Snakes here is a punishment... At worst, You Chuan will also be taken away by force..."
The empress seemed to have understood this already, and looked at Chi Meng who was running very fast in front of her without any surprise.
"Now she is relieved."
Li Jing's eyes fell on You Chuan's back, and he shook his head: "Both King Hu and Chi Li are subordinates of Yuan Tiangang. If we can win over King Hu, it will be a huge help."
The empress looked pale and remained silent.
The two of them followed You Chuan like this, and the three figures were getting closer and closer to the tree hole.
"ah!"
Hearing Chi Meng's exclamation from inside the cave, Li Jing's eyes instantly flashed with sharp light.
His back heel left a shoe print on the ground, and the next second he saw him, he had already pulled out the Longquan Sword from behind and dodged into the tree hole.
"what happened!"
The cave was dark, with a damp and smelly atmosphere filling the air. The only source of light was the light coming from the entrance of the cave.
The Longquan Sword was inserted into the ground. Li Jing stared blankly at the bare stone platform. Several thick iron chains made of fine iron were scattered around the stone platform.
On the stone platform, there were still pools of black blood stained on it.
Chi Meng covered her mouth, and the tears in her eyes could not stop flowing out. When she saw Li Jing coming in, she pointed at the stone platform with a trembling voice.
"My dad..."
Li Jing's lips opened slightly, a little dazed: "How is it possible..."
Chi Meng could no longer hold back her sobs, and she burst into tears in an instant. She immediately threw herself into Li Jing's arms, pressing her head firmly against Li Jing's chest. Her shoulders kept shaking, and her sobbing voice continued. The sound of sobbing came out.
"Li Jing... the poisonous bastard killed my father..."
"I don't have a father anymore..."
Li Jing's head was a little stiff, and she hugged Chi Meng subconsciously: "It shouldn't be, how could it be possible now..."
The light at the entrance of the cave behind her was blocked by a figure. The empress holding the long sword silently glanced at Chi Meng who was crying in Li Jing's arms, and then turned her gaze to the stone platform beside them.
"King Hu..."
Li Jing rubbed his face, pushed Chi Meng's shoulders away, and stared into Chi Meng's eyes.
"Don't worry yet. The King of Snakes may not have been killed. Don't you have people in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave who are specially used to test insects? Where are they locked up?"
Chi Meng's eyes were already red and filled with tears. She was suddenly startled when she heard Li Jing's words.
"Just over there in the square..."
Without saying a word, Li Jing took Chi Meng and turned around and walked out.
Looking at the empress standing at the entrance of the cave, frowning in confusion, he didn't bother to explain, so he took her hand and strode out of the tree hole.
You Chuan, who was frozen outside, had a look of anxiety on his face. When he saw the three people coming out, he ignored Chi Meng's hand, which was held by Li Jing, and said anxiously:
"How's the King?"
Li Jing's heart beat a little faster, and she felt that she couldn't delay things, so she let go of the two women's hands and opened You Chuan's acupuncture points.
"There's no time to explain. We'll go to the square right away. You can cover our identities."
"When you get there and rescue people, you'll understand."
