CHAPTER 476: CHAPTER 312 THE DAMNED SNAKE WOMAN

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"You damned Snake Woman, watch out!" Yan Xiaobao’s voice suddenly echoed across the ground, and those words helped Deng Wu and the exhausted Wang Julong locate the young man. He rarely spoke to Sha Yun in such a manner; however, when their eyes fell on him, they instantly understood why.

Yan Xiaobao stood on the ground in front of the carriage. The earth was littered with corpses and severed body parts, yet he appeared uninjured. His robes were completely destroyed, as though someone had slashed his chest, revealing a small shallow cut. His arms bore similar wounds, though they were far more severe—white bone could be seen amidst the crimson flesh.

Both Deng Wu and Wang Julong felt a pang of sympathy for him as they gazed upon his injuries—not wounds inflicted by his opponents in combat, but the result of Sha Yun’s crude earth spear ability.

Seeing their opponent wounded, the bandits cheered and rushed toward Yan Xiaobao, only to be repelled by a barrage of Fireballs.

With a sigh, Deng Wu stepped forward, walking slowly toward Yan Xiaobao while taking his time searching for a particular scroll. As he reached the side of the white-haired young man, seven soul shadows of black wolf beasts materialized around him. They all roared, though strangely, no sound emerged—only vibrations coursing through the ground and walls. The power they emanated was enough to make the bandits’ faces turn ashen and flee one after the other, desperate to escape the corrosive wolves.

Deng Wu was a lazy man, feeling it unnecessary to pursue the already retreating bandit group. Instead, he reformed his beast’s soul shadow within the scroll and supported Yan Xiaobao as they returned to Wang Julong.

Sha Yun had long since disengaged from her merger with the earth, her face showing an overwhelming sense of guilt as tears streamed down her cheeks. Seeing this, Hue Yue couldn’t bring himself to be angry or blame her, as he understood her target was the enemy and not Yan Xiaobao. He had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Yan Xiaobao patted her on the head, then sank beneath the surface and leaned against the wall of the tunnel. Using his hand, he managed to retrieve a pill from one of his storage stones and tossed it toward Wang Julong.

When Wang Julong caught it, she saw it was a pill meant to replenish energy. Grateful, she consumed it and then sat down to begin meditation.

While Wang Julong meditated, Xie Lan approached Yan Xiaobao. With gentle hands, streams of green energy flowed from her warm palms, swiftly numbing his pain. Gradually, the wounds on his arm began to heal. Muscles and tendons reattached, and eventually, even the skin closed up, leaving no trace of injury.

Yan Xiaobao smiled cheerfully and nodded at Xie Lan. He was deeply thankful for her help with his wounds and equally glad that she was fulfilling the role of Wang Julong’s mentor. With a sigh, Yan Xiaobao realized he had much to be grateful for.

Yan Xiaobao sat on the ground, leaning against the cavern wall, and popped a pill into his mouth—the same type he had given to Wang Julong. After a moment, he stood once more.

Just as he lifted the door of the carriage, it opened, but the young white-haired man darted toward them and shut it again. "I apologize, young master; this is not a scene one would wish to witness," he said in a genuinely apologetic tone.

The sight was indeed unsuitable for the young master. Bodies were strewn across the ground—some intact, others mangled. A few bandits still clung to life, writhing in pain and stubbornly holding on with sheer willpower.

The ground was no longer dry and dusty, but instead ran with streams of blood from the corpses, and the stench was truly unbearable.

"You can handle the cleanup," Yan Xiaobao said, addressing the guards as he gestured toward the corpses. "You’ll have to get accustomed to dealing with bodies sooner or later." Stretching his body, he continued, savoring the returning strength coursing through him.

"Stack the bodies on one side of the road. Let those who are still alive leave. The remaining bandits will return later."

Hearing the orders, most of their faces immediately turned pale, with one individual even vomiting, his complexion paler than the others.

Yan Xiaobao let out a deep sigh, signaling his disappointment. He then began stacking the corpses to clear a path for the carriage to pass through the blood-soaked ground so they could move toward their destination.

He was not the only one struggling with the task; his companions joined him in moving the bodies. Soon, every one of them was covered in blood. The only positive thought they clung to was that encountering so many people might mean they were nearing the tunnel’s exit.

Reaching the exit of the tunnel would mean finding a place to wash up—a dream every one of them harbored as they piled the bodies.

Once they finally completed their task, everyone had to change their clothes and use some bottled water to clean themselves up a bit, removing the red clots from their skin. However, until they could bathe, the stench clung to them relentlessly.

Having left the massacre behind, they quickly returned to the main illuminated road as Yan Xiaobao pointed out that they had hunted for long enough. After slaughtering the bandits, none of the guards wanted to linger in the black tunnel longer than necessary. Although the young master had felt somewhat deceived during the entire attack process, sheltered inside his carriage, and later allowed to see the aftermath, his two attendants quickly managed to convey to him that life was not all fun and excitement.