198: Chapter 198 Must I Die in Humiliation?

"What kind of place is this? Is this even meant for humans? Even with my nose covered and my internal energy used to block my sense of smell, I was almost knocked unconscious by the stench. If this were an ordinary person, they would have been fumigated to death instantly."

Ye Yun groaned in misery, not even daring to look down. Inside the latrine pit, those wriggling maggots—if he saw them, he feared his mouth up above would start spewing filth too.

Ye Yun's only hope was to finish quickly and get out of this place where even ghosts wouldn't want to stay.

Unfortunately, sometimes you can't just leave even if you want to.

Just then, a crisp sound suddenly rang out above Ye Yun's head. "Hiss… hiss…"

That crisp hissing sound traveled from afar, approaching him rapidly.

Although Ye Yun was severely injured and focused entirely on escaping this hellhole, as a master of the Transcendent with ten years of life-and-death training, his instinct for danger allowed him to detect the anomaly immediately.

Is that the sound of a venomous snake? Oh no, a Cobra!

Upon hearing the sound, Ye Yun turned his head and looked in the direction of the noise. On the rafters, a Cobra, about a meter long and the size of half an arm, was staring fixedly at Ye Yun, its prey, with a pair of emerald-green snake eyes.

It flicked its tongue, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.

Seeing such a threat so close by, Ye Yun's face went pale, his back turned cold, and his legs nearly gave way, almost causing him to fall directly into the latrine pit.

"Zuo Shishi, Heavens, you won't rest until you've played me, Ye Yun, to death, will you?"

"A Cobra this big—in my current condition, if it bites me, I'll probably ascend to heaven on the spot."

Ye Yun, who was squatting in the toilet taking care of life's business, saw this uninvited guest eyeing him covetously, ready to strike at any moment. His entire body was completely out of control, and his limbs were subconsciously trembling.

Moments ago, he was rejoicing that he had survived a great disaster and was destined for future blessings, having not only avoided death but also received help from a beauty like Liu Ruyan. Now, because of this sudden Cobra, Ye Yun was terrified to his core, his defenses completely shattered.

In such a narrow space and at such close range, the most fatal factor was that Ye Yun was in a weakened state with virtually no combat power to speak of. If the Cobra launched a surprise attack now, he feared his current strength would make it difficult to dodge the fatal blow. The Cobra could afford countless mistakes, but he, Ye Yun, could not afford a single one.

Thinking of himself as the dignified Master of the Nether Palace, a terror-inducing figure who shook the lands beyond the borders, known as the Underworld Palace Lord—to think he might not die at the hands of a powerful opponent, but instead get bitten by a Cobra, collapse into this disgusting latrine, and end his sinful life in such a humiliating way.

Ye Yun's heart was suddenly filled with a complex mix of emotions, and an inexplicable sense of sorrow welled up within him.

Could it be that all of this was being manipulated by a mastermind using some mystical, supernatural technique to play him to death step by step? Perhaps even Sister Ruyan rescuing him and bringing him here was part of the mastermind's pre-planned scheme, all just to make him, Ye Yun, die a humiliating death.

In the span of just a few seconds, Ye Yun's brain spun wildly, unleashing his boundless imagination.

Unfortunately, some things are destined to happen, and you cannot avoid them just because you don't want them to or because your mind is elsewhere.

The Cobra kept flicking its tongue at Ye Yun, twisting its body as it closed in on him step by step. It was extremely fast. When it was less than half a meter away from Ye Yun, it suddenly opened its blood-red maw, revealing two gleaming fangs.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Cobra lunged at Ye Yun, its speed as fast as lightning.

Severely injured, Ye Yun could only rely on his body's instincts to twist away. He forcibly channeled his internal energy and, with lightning speed, delivered a hand blade strike towards the Cobra before him.

Facing the threat of death, Ye Yun's striking speed was incredibly fast. Such speed and force were completely beyond what an ordinary patient could achieve.

That fierce palm strike made intimate contact with the Cobra. As the old saying goes: When a dragon is in shallow water, it is mocked by shrimp; when a tiger is on the plains, it is bullied by dogs.

At this moment, Ye Yun looked fierce, but he was already so weak that even walking was a struggle. Facing the Cobra's surprise attack, despite using his signature move, he was still one step behind.

"Ah…" Before Ye Yun's hand blade could neutralize the Cobra, the snake's bloody maw had already lunged at his neck and bitten down hard.

"Damn it, it's one thing to be bullied by Chu Yun, but to think that even a beast like you dares to bully me! I'll take you down with me!"

Furious and desperate, Ye Yun exerted his last ounce of strength, grabbed the Cobra that had bitten his neck, and ripped it into two pieces.

His anger and sorrow at this moment had completely consumed him, erupting like a volcano.

Those who live by the sword must eventually pay the price. During his ten years as a mercenary, Ye Yun had always lingered on the edge of life and death, with the possibility of losing his life at any moment. He had once imagined that one day, he might encounter someone powerful, or a top-tier expert like his master, and die at their hands because he was outmatched.

Back then, Ye Yun truly had little fear of death. Unfortunately, after returning to the Dragon Kingdom and experiencing so many events, Ye Yun had begun to fear death.

Even if he were to truly face everything with equanimity, he only wanted to die a dignified death in battle, not like this—bitten by a Cobra, collapsing helplessly in a latrine, or even falling into the pit of filth, ending his life so humiliatingly.

Thinking of Su Mingyue and her daughter Ye Xiaoling, thinking of the deep blood feud he still had with the Ye family, thinking of the beautiful CEO Mei Feng, and thinking of the pretty widow Liu Ruyan who had just saved him—Ye Yun did not want to die. He yearned to live.

He certainly didn't want to be killed by a Cobra, fall into the latrine, and have his body devoured completely by those disgusting maggots.

Ye Yun truly couldn't imagine, if he were to die so humiliatingly, what his master, Master Bai Mudan, would think when the news spread and she learned of the situation. He couldn't imagine what kind of humiliation his death would bring to the entire Nether Palace and to his master, Master Bai Mudan.

As one of the most venomous snakes in the world, the Cobra's toxin acted extremely quickly. From the moment Ye Yun was bitten to when he tore the Cobra apart, only a few dozen seconds had passed. Ye Yun felt a wave of dizziness. An overwhelming sense of drowsiness attacked him, giving him the urge to just lie down and sleep.