Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 345 Vine Cage
As the swarm of bats flew by, Pei Nian felt Gu Jingnian's blood flowing more and more.

She was anxious and wanted to get up.

"do not move."

Gu Jingnian pressed her down, preventing her from moving, and whispered, "The lower we lie, the less likely they are to attack us."

Pei Nian felt that this couldn't go on, so she forced herself to calm down and looked up, noticing a huge bat hanging upside down on the rock wall above the swarm of bats.

The giant bat remained motionless, its mouth still, but Pei Nian keenly realized that it was directing the swarm of bats in some way.

"Above".

Pei Nian spoke up, reminding Gu Jingnian.

"Did you see it?"

She was worried that Gu Jingnian had already fainted, but fortunately, she immediately heard him say "hmm" behind her.

"Get rid of it."

I'll count to three.

Then, Gu Jingnian counted them off crisply and efficiently.

The two were very in sync; when they counted to "three," they rose up from the ground almost simultaneously.

Gu Jingnian used his body to block the oncoming swarm of bats, while Pei Nian picked up a sword from the ground, raised the longsword, and thrust it at the giant bat.

"squeak!"

A sharp cry pierced the darkness, and the giant bat, in pain, flapped its wings and flew away.

Gu Jingnian seized the opportunity and grabbed its paw.

"Go upstairs."

Pei Niansui lightly leaped up, placed one foot on Gu Jingnian's shoulder, tumbled in the air, and landed on the back of the giant bat.

She bent down, grabbed Gu Jingnian's hand, and pulled him onto the giant bat's back.

Enraged, the giant bat continued flying forward, its upper body pressed against the rocky top, attempting to pull the two people on its back down.

Pei Nian then plunged his longsword into its neck and controlled its direction like a rein. Each time the sword pressed to the right, it had to fly to the right to alleviate its pain.

Thus, the giant bat wobbled as it flew through the caves, followed by a dense swarm of bats, as if leading an army of thousands.

Ahead lay a vast, dark space, but not entirely devoid of light.

The light was very faint, but when it flew closer, you could see that it was a piece of jade.

It is not as bright as a luminous pearl, but rather has a subtle luster.

You can vaguely see mist floating near the jade. When you get closer, you realize that it is not a piece of jade, but a small jade mountain.

Jade Mountain lies still, its shape perfectly formed by nature.

The giant bat flew towards Jade Mountain and curled up somewhere at its foot.

It has made this place into a slightly sunken little hollow, which is very smooth.

As soon as it lay down, a sudden gust of wind swept in, and before Gu Jingnian and Pei Nian could react, they were swept away by the wind and thrown to the ground.

Then, sharp claws grabbed them, making it impossible for them to break free.

It was an even larger bat that carried them slowly up Jade Mountain until it stopped near the summit.

The mountaintop is quite flat, like a smooth jade bed.

The giant bat landed and used its claws to press Gu Jingnian and Pei Nian onto the jade mountain. It then lay down, its huge wings covering them completely.

Gu Jingnian and Pei Nian struggled at first, but they soon found the jade mountain quite comfortable.

Gu Jingnian, in particular, was seriously injured, but as soon as he came into contact with Yushan, a warm current surged from his abdomen and flowed through his body, accelerating his self-healing process.

Even during self-healing, it doesn't feel as painful as before.

Even the toxicity in my body has been alleviated somewhat.

The comfort made him relax a lot, and he stopped struggling, since he couldn't get out anyway.

He fell into a deep sleep.

The two had been embracing each other since they were captured. Pei Nian's hand was always around Gu Jingnian's waist, and he quickly realized that the jade stone was beneficial to his injuries.

After a while, Gu Jingnian's even breathing gently sprayed on her forehead, and she felt very peaceful, so a wave of drowsiness washed over her.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly realized that if she fell asleep, Li Shuangyun would possess her again, so she forced herself not to sleep.

I don't know what kind of willpower they used to persevere for a while longer.

She pressed her face against Gu Jingnian's, her eyelashes brushing against his face several times, until finally, her eyelids slowly closed, and she fell into a deep sleep.

After a while, the giant bat grabbed them again and flew away.

Passing through caves, the scenery ahead varied greatly. First, we flew over a vast and bright space, with lush vegetation and rows of pavilions and towers below.

Continuing forward, the environment darkens, with jagged rocks and deep abysses made of black neodymium below.

In the dim light, one could see many large snakes writhing inside. As the giant bat flew by, a large snake suddenly leaped out of the abyss, its blood-red mouth gaping wide as it bit down fiercely.

The sharp teeth bit into Gu Jingnian's clothes, tearing off a piece of cloth.

But the giant bat flew a little higher, over the abyss where the giant serpent was coiled.

At this point, you can see that what's below is not a large snake, but a five-headed leech.

The giant bat crossed the land inhabited by leeches, and ahead stood a towering stone platform, upon which stood a person.

The man was hidden in the shadows, his face obscured. He held a small whistle in his mouth and blew it. The giant bat came at the sound of the whistle and threw Gu Jingnian and Pei Nian down.

The two fell downwards, with countless leeches below opening their gaping mouths to catch them.

Suddenly, two vines sprouted and wrapped around the two people.

Their weight caused the vines to sway up and down, and when they fell to their lowest point, they were close to the leech's gaping mouth, but then they bounced up and fell again.

Like two drooping fruits, they offer leeches a hope that they can reach but cannot quite attain.

On another vine not far away, Shen Lingshu was also curled up and hanging there, like another fruit.

The person standing on the stone platform saw Gu Jingnian take his place, took a few steps, and walked to the roots of the vines.

He raised his hand, a flame flickering in his palm, and pressed it onto one of the vines.

"squeak!"

The vines seemed to spasm, contracting into various curved shapes.

Enveloped in it, Gu Jingnian was swayed violently as the vines began to suck his blood.

Visibly, the ends of the vines began to thicken, sending blood all the way to the roots to heal the burns there.

The mysterious figure on the stone platform did not continue to harm it. He turned around, faced the pattern carved on the stone platform, raised the dagger, and slashed his palm.

The blood flowed into the chisel marks, down the grooves, and not a single drop was absorbed by the black neodymium; it all flowed to the very bottom.

There lurked a six-headed serpent, larger than many five-headed serpents combined, which had been sleeping.

Perhaps it smelled the blood, it suddenly woke up, crawled to the bottom of the chisel mark, pushed aside the other leeches, raised its head in the middle, and waited for the blood to flow into its big mouth.

The mysterious figure on the stone platform continued to clench his fist, letting the blood flow incessantly.

Suddenly, he heard a burst of laughter.

It's Pei Nian.

Pei Nian had already woken up. She smiled and said leisurely, "Someone beat me to it."

How did you wake up?

The mysterious person spoke, his voice high-pitched and tinged with arrogance.

Then he realized what was happening, smiled, and said, "So it's Vice Envoy Li."

"I possessed Pei Nian while she was asleep, but I never expected... that Eunuch Xu would beat me to it."

She paused slightly before mentioning the name "Eunuch Xu," but then spoke with great certainty.

"Oh? Vice Envoy Li actually recognizes us?"

The mysterious man gently stroked the vine, and the vine then coiled around Pei Nian and carried her to the stone platform.

At this moment, Gu Jingnian was still being rapidly drained of his blood, but Pei Nian had a gentle smile on her face, showing no sign of urgency.

She didn't show any pain despite being strangled so tightly; she just stared at the mysterious figure on the stone platform, who was indeed Eunuch Xu.

"Eunuch Xu, are you also acting under orders?" Pei Nian asked. "You've taken care of the Kaiping Division's mission? That makes us look utterly incompetent."

“We didn’t originally intend to take action, but the Kaiping Division has failed to capture Gu Jingnian and has even allowed him to penetrate this deep into our territory. We have no choice but to clean up this mess.”

Pei Nian said, "How about you give me some credit too?"

“Very well!” Eunuch Xu replied with a smile. “I love making good connections. I will report Vice Envoy Li’s merits to His Majesty.”

"But His Majesty wants more than just Gu Jingnian. Does Eunuch Xu really know the true mission that the Kaiping Division received?"

Xu Gonggong looked puzzled, then waved his hand, and the vines released Pei Nian, placing her on the stone platform.

"Vice Envoy Li, please speak frankly..."

At that very moment, Pei Nian suddenly raised the longsword he had never let go of and slashed at the vine that was wrapped around Gu Jingnian.

"grumble!"

Another piercing scream rang out, and the vine snapped in two, writhing wildly like a snake.

At the same time, Pei Nian's eyes had regained their original cold and firm look.

She was not possessed by Li Shuangyun.

Even though the Spirit Gathering Jade at the bottom of Black Mountain once made her fall into a deep sleep, she regained consciousness through her strong will.

Only someone like Pei Nian could fool Eunuch Xu.

(End of this chapter)