The guards opened the package and were immediately shocked. All the food inside was covered in white mold, and some had even turned into clumps of black mold, making it inedible!
"This is food that was placed here yesterday. How could it have turned into this in just one day?" The guard was shocked. Even in summer, food shouldn't spoil so quickly.
"It must be the black fog on the mountain that caused the food to rot and spoil!" Shen Lixue wiped the sweat from her forehead. In modern times, there is a lot of white fog. Sometimes, due to environmental factors, there will also be some darker light gray fog, which carries some germs that can cause illness.
The mist on Black Mist Mountain must have carried some kind of potent toxin, which is why the food rotted in such a short time. Luckily, they took medicine beforehand; otherwise, they would definitely have been poisoned. Black Mist Mountain is indeed extraordinary, killing people invisibly at any moment.
"Help! Help!" A desperate, sweet cry for help came from afar.
Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng exchanged a glance. Besides them, there were other living people in these mountains.
Turning my head, I looked through the thin mist at the endless trees and rocks, and gradually several figures faded into view. The leader was dressed in a blue brocade robe, with a handsome face and a gentle demeanor.
Shen Lixue's gaze sharpened: Dongfang Zhan, why is he here too?
Turning their gaze to Dongfang Zhan's side, they saw a young woman who, despite her pale face, was still beautiful and charming. Behind them ran five or six guards. Looking further back, they were instantly shocked.
"What...what is that?" The guard was shocked and his words were incoherent. There were snakes everywhere, red, yellow, green, and patterned, big and small, thick and thin.
"Run!" Shen Lixue's expression changed, and she shouted a reminder, pulling Dongfang Heng along as they ran forward quickly. There were so many snakes, too many to count, that they would eat people without spitting out the bones; they simply couldn't afford to mess with them.
Zi Mo and the other two followed closely behind the two, using their lightness skills to move forward quickly.
Dongfang Zhan was being chased by snakes and ran aimlessly up the mountain, trying to shake off the swarm of snakes. When he saw Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue, he ran towards them.
Upon seeing the swarm of snakes, Shen Lixue and Dongfang Heng did not come to their rescue but instead turned and ran. He was not angry because he knew how dangerous these snakes were; for the two of them to rush over would have been suicidal. "Prince An, Lixue, why have you come to Black Mist Mountain as well?"
"I have something to do!" Dongfang Heng replied coldly.
"Dongfang Zhan, how did you provoke this swarm of snakes?" The dense swarm of snakes was already within reach. Shen Lixue used her lightness skill to move forward quickly, and had no time for pleasantries with Dongfang Zhan.
"After we entered the mountains, we encountered a large snake, so we killed it and dug out its venom. For some reason, snakes started attacking us one after another. Later, those snakes joined together and formed a terrifying snake swarm!"
The woman running beside Dongfang Zhan waved the snake pill in her hand, her eyes full of confusion. It was just a snake, so why did it cause such a big reaction? Those snakes were also strange; as soon as one batch was killed, another batch would come, and there were so many that they couldn't be killed all of them.
Shen Lixue glared at the woman: "What you dug up must be the snake king's snake core!" In the deep mountains and forests, of all people to mess with, you had to provoke a group of snakes.
"These snakes are very clever. Even with the thick fog blocking their way, they can easily follow us." They were stuck deep in the mountains and almost lost, but the snakes seemed to know the terrain very well.
Shen Lixue glanced coldly at the woman: "Snakes track people not with their eyes, but with their sense of smell. Once they've smelled your scent, they'll never forget it. Dense fog has no effect on them!"
"Is there any way to escape?" The woman looked pitifully at Shen Lixue. They were entangled by these snakes, and even if they could escape from Black Mist Mountain, the snakes would not let them go.
"Run forward as fast as you can, and don't let the snake catch you, that's the best way to escape!" Shen Lixue replied to the woman in an annoyed tone. Snakes are very vengeful. If you kill their king, they'll definitely chase after you and bite you to death.
With a flutter, a small bird flapped its wings, about to fly away, when a yellow snake suddenly leaped up and swallowed the bird whole. A few feathers swirled in the air before gently drifting to the ground.
The guards' lips twitched. If they were caught by the snakes, they would surely be swallowed whole, leaving not even bones behind.
As they ran, a lake appeared before them. The woman's eyes lit up: "There's a lake ahead! Let's jump in quickly and escape the snakes!"
"Snakes are better swimmers than you. If you want to die, just jump in!" It wasn't that Shen Lixue was being mean to her, but rather that none of the methods she suggested were solutions. If everyone did as she said, they wouldn't even know how they died.
"This..." The woman's face turned red with anxiety: "Then how can I escape the snakes?" She had been chased by snakes for most of the day, and was panting heavily, almost unable to run anymore.
Shen Lixue glanced at the trees on both sides, her gaze sharpening: "Let's cross the lake quickly!"
Dongfang Heng and Zi Mo, along with the two guards, had no objections and used their lightness skills to float across the lake.
Dongfang Zhan's gaze darkened, and he too drifted across the lake.
The woman followed closely behind, her eyes slightly reddening as she watched the relentless swarm of snakes: "Snakes can swim, they'll keep chasing us!"
“I know!” Shen Lixue gently landed on the opposite bank of the lake, stopped, and pointed to several large trees, saying, “Quickly cut off the branches and leaves of these trees and throw them into the lake. The smaller the pieces, the better.”
"Yes!" Zi Mo and the three guards took out their longswords and hacked wildly at the tree, cutting the branches and leaves into small pieces, which they quickly threw into the lake.
The woman frowned at Shen Lixue: "What are you doing?" The wood will float on the water, and the snakes can swim along the wood to this side to chase them.
Shen Lixue snorted coldly, picked up the fallen branches and leaves, and threw them into the lake: "Miss, please look at the water surface and see if there's any difference compared to before?"
The woman turned her head and saw a thin layer of oil floating on the clear lake surface. She was suddenly taken aback: "What's this?"
Shen Lixue smiled and said, "These trees are oil trees; their branches and leaves are full of oil!"
Watching the snakes swim into the lake one after another, with the first few about to reach them, Shen Lixue waved her hand and threw the tinder into the water.
With a loud bang, a raging fire erupted from the splashing lake surface, spreading rapidly along with the oil and instantly engulfing the entire lake. Countless snakes were set ablaze, writhing and thrashing about in the inferno.
The woman looked at Chen Lixue with astonishment: She's so clever...
Shen Lixue turned to look at Zimo: "Zimo, did you bring sulfur?"
"I brought it!" Zi Mo took out a small bottle. There are snakes and insects in the mountains, and sulfur is an essential item for going into the mountains.
"Sprinkle sulfur along the lake to prevent snakes from coming ashore!" Shen Lixue looked at the lake. Some of the snakes that were only slightly burned were struggling to climb ashore. There were quite a few of them. If they managed to climb ashore, they would definitely continue to chase them.
"Yes!" Zi Mo and two guards each took some sulfur and quickly sprinkled it on the lake shore. The snakes were afraid of the sulfur and dared not come ashore. They were trapped in the sea of fire. The lake was churning and the fire was soaring into the sky. Because of the lake's obstruction, the fire did not spread and only burned in the lake.
Dongfang Zhan looked at Shen Lixue, who stood quietly by the lake, her beautiful eyes shining with a confident and aloof light.
He had always known she was intelligent, but he hadn't expected that she also possessed a level of insight, courage, and unique perspective that none of the royal princes had.
The woman looked nervously at the lake: "Girl, didn't you say snakes can swim? If they sink into the water, the fire won't reach them!"
"Snakes are very light and usually float on the water. They also don't have much intelligence; when faced with danger, they don't think about how to escape. The lake is large, and if most of the snakes are burned, the remaining snakes will be afraid and won't dare to go any further!"
Shen Lixue said calmly, glancing at the lake full of dead snakes, and slowly walked to Dongfang Heng's side: "The snake swarm has been dealt with, let's go!"