385: Chapter 384 Pursuit in the Dense Forest - Bai Ruoxue VS Si Hongbin

Deep in the dense forest, Zhao Lintai rushed forward desperately like a frightened rabbit. His heavy panting rolled in his throat, and he didn't even notice the bloody scratches on his face from the thorns.

As he ran, he looked back in fear. The play of light and shadow between the branches dazzled his eyes, and he couldn't even make out half a figure. Yet, the persistent sense of oppression felt like an invisible hand, tightly gripping his heart.

Although he wasn't sure why those people down the mountain were looking for him... but one thing was certain: it definitely wasn't anything good!

The only possibility he could think of was that the Security Bureau was about to make a move on him!

After all, Ye Ziming had also come to the Southwest. Combined with the fact that Ye Ziming had very likely followed him to the restroom yesterday, it was highly probable he had already heard his conversation with Bai Ruoxue.

Bai Ruoxue? Hongmen?

Yes! It must be that!

Bai Ruoxue's identity must have been exposed!

And since he had met with Bai Ruoxue last night, this confirmed the evidence of his collusion with Hongmen!

The Security Bureau was definitely going to arrest him!

If not for that, they would never have reached the point of dispatching armed helicopters and the Armed Police Force to capture him!

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. He had been completely screwed over by Bai Ruoxue this time!

If she hadn't suddenly come to find him, making him see hope for revenge against Qin Yi, he should have taken the money and fled to Southeast Asia the moment he got the news from Chu Weimin!

By then, the sea would be vast for fish to leap, and the sky high for birds to fly. He wouldn't be chased like a stray dog like he was now!

Just as he was anxious and regretful, Bai Ruoxue's airy voice suddenly came from behind, making his whole body stiffen: "Young Master Zhao, why are you running? With me here, are you still worried about being caught?!"

Zhao Lintai looked back sharply, only to see Bai Ruoxue's figure flickering through the dense forest. The sound of her clothes brushing against branches grew closer. Those cold eyes, like a viper locking onto its prey, were fixed firmly on him!

However, Zhao Lintai dared not stop for even a moment. He had made so many deals with Hongmen and knew so many of their inside secrets... With such a grand display today, Bai Ruoxue herself probably found it hard to escape. If it were him, he would definitely silence everyone before getting caught to avoid future trouble!

Being caught up by Bai Ruoxue would likely mean being silenced, and being caught by the Security Bureau—given the things he had done—would mean being executed ten times over, which would still be too little.

Since it was death either way, he might as well fight for it!

He gritted his teeth, gripped the engineer shovel in his hand, and slashed fiercely at the vines blocking his way. Sap from the broken branches splashed onto his face, but he didn't even notice, roaring as he continued to sprint forward.

"Security Bureau, Hongmen... none of you bastards will ever catch me!"

However, how could an ordinary person like him escape from the grasp of a Peak Anjin Martial Artist?

Behind him, Bai Ruoxue was getting closer and closer. Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from not far away.

Zhao Lintai's eyes instantly lit up—it was Si Hongbin! It was someone from the Si Family!

His thoughts raced. Grasping at this last straw, he shouted with all his might: "Brother Bin, save me! She wants to kill me! She also attacked Yao! Yao and Qin Yi were both hurt by her!"

Upon hearing this, Si Hongbin's expression changed drastically. Blazing Sun True Qi erupted from his body instantly, a golden halo wrapping around his form. He activated his Swimming Dragon Movement Technique at full power, the fallen leaves under his feet kicked up by his True Qi. Almost in the blink of an eye, he rushed to Zhao Lintai's side, grabbed his collar, his tone filled with anxiety and anger: "Where are Young Miss and Mr. Qin? Speak quickly! Where are they?!"

At this moment, Bai Ruoxue had also stopped, staring coldly at Si Hongbin, a flash of vigilance in her eyes—she could feel that this man's strength was not to be underestimated. Although he was also at the Mid-stage Dark Force like Si Yao, he was even a bit stronger than her.

"It's her!" Zhao Lintai pointed at Bai Ruoxue behind him, his voice trembling, "She ambushed them while Yao and Qin Yi were climbing to the top of the mountain. I saw it with my own eyes! Yao was knocked off the cliff by her on the spot, and Qin Yi was injured while trying to save her!"

"What did you say?!" Si Hongbin's anger was instantly ignited. The golden halo around his body surged again. He stared fixedly at Bai Ruoxue, his voice full of killing intent, "Where are my Young Miss and Mr. Qin now? What did you do to them?!"

A cold sneer curled the corner of Bai Ruoxue's mouth—her original intention was to kill Qin Yi, but Si Yao was so foolish that she had stepped forward to take that fatal blow for Qin Yi!

Now that she had hurt Si Yao, a grudge with the Si Family was settled. If she let these people go today, the Si Family would definitely seek revenge on Hongmen in the future, and she wouldn't have a good end either! It would be better to keep them all here!

With this thought, Bai Ruoxue's murderous intent surged!

"Just a servant of the Si Family, and you dare to shout at me?" She sneered, deliberately slowing down her speech, watching Si Hongbin's expression turn cold, "That's right, your Young Miss was indeed injured by me. She should still be in the cave on the top of the mountain! As for whether she lives or dies... that depends on how tough her life is! If you can hurry over there, perhaps you might still be able to save her life!"

"Bastard!" Si Hongbin roared, stomping his feet with great force, leaving a deep pit in the ground. His figure shot toward Bai Ruoxue like a cannonball, his fist wrapped in scorching Blazing Sun True Qi, the air itself becoming slightly hot, "Dare to hurt my Young Miss, I'll take your life right now!"

Behind him, the six Si Family Martial Artists followed immediately. Facing the fierce siege of the seven, Bai Ruoxue's cold eyes narrowed. She activated her Mystic Ice True Qi, her figure retreating rapidly, while both palms struck out, shouting:

"Mystic Ice Thousand Blades! Break for me!"

In an instant, countless ice spikes condensed out of thin air in front of her, the dense, sharp points flashing with cold light, shooting toward Si Hongbin and the others like a rainstorm!

Seeing this, Si Hongbin and the others simultaneously activated the Blazing Sun Fist Technique. As their fists danced, their Blazing Sun True Qi gathered together, forming a solid barrier that pressed toward Bai Ruoxue!

"Clang, clang, clang—"

The ice spikes hit the golden barrier, emitting the sound of metal clashing, instantly stirring up a sky full of white mist, shrouding the entire area.

Si Hongbin seized the opportunity, shattering the incoming ice spikes with one punch. The True Qi vibration dispersed some of the surrounding white mist, and he rushed toward Bai Ruoxue again. His fist speed was even faster, and the temperature of his Blazing Sun True Qi was even higher, causing the surrounding dead branches to crackle and pop.

Bai Ruoxue had gone through several battles, and her True Qi had been consumed by seventy or eighty percent. Facing Si Hongbin's fierce pursuit, she dared not be arrogant. As she retreated, she continuously condensed ice spikes to counterattack. The moment the ice spikes collided with the fists, cold and heat intertwined, forming waves of white energy.

The other six Si Family Martial Artists flanked from both sides, attempting to block her retreat. For a time, True Qi surged in the dense forest, and the sounds of fists, feet, and shattering ice spikes were incessant.

But this chaotic scene made excitement flare in Zhao Lintai's eyes!

"A chance! This is my chance!" He suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, taking advantage of everyone's focus on the fight to quietly retreat a few steps. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he immediately turned and ran like a rat that had stolen oil, sprinting toward the depths of the dense forest again!

"Hahaha! Fight! The more fiercely you fight, the better!" He laughed wildly in his heart as he ran, running even faster than before, as if once he ran out of this dense forest, the paradise of freedom would be ahead!

...

Meanwhile, inside the karst cave, it was completely different from the 'turmoil' outside.

Qin Yi's infusion of True Qi had reached the final moment—Si Yao's body was wrapped in faint white True Qi. The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra True Qi was like a spring silkworm spinning silk, bit by bit wrapping around the 'Mystic Ice True Qi' raging in her Meridians, and the white frost that had previously condensed on her body began to gradually recede.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips, which had previously been devoid of color, slowly revealed a faint pink under the nourishment of the True Qi, and even her breathing became much steadier than before.

After a dozen breaths, with the assistance of the Eye of Truth, Qin Yi's hanging heart finally fell—at this moment, in Si Yao's Dantian, the 'Mystic Ice True Qi' had been completely absorbed and refined by the 'Jade Maiden Heart Sutra True Qi'.

But the next second, a wave of intense weakness struck. Qin Yi's vision went black, and he slumped straight down beside Si Yao, his hand still subconsciously clutching Si Yao's hand.

Nourished by the 'Jade Maiden Heart Sutra True Qi', Si Yao slowly opened her eyes. The unfamiliar stalactite cave made her feel a bit dazed, until she remembered the excruciating pain of being hit by Bai Ruoxue's palm, and she subconsciously wanted to touch her chest.

But just as she was about to lift her hand, she noticed that her hand seemed to be held tightly by someone and could not break free.

She turned her head and saw Qin Yi slumped beside her, his face as pale as paper.

"Qin Yi... what happened to you?" Si Yao gently shook his hand, her voice tinged with panic.

Seeing that Qin Yi did not respond, she supported herself on the ground and slowly sat up, only to discover that she was covered in Qin Yi's jacket—the clothes on her chest had long been shattered by the Mystic Ice True Qi; if not for this jacket, she would have been exposed.

And Qin Yi, at this moment, was bare-chested, with several deep-to-the-bone wounds on his arms, stained with blood, looking shocking.

She hurriedly reached out to check Qin Yi's breath. After feeling his steady breathing, her hanging heart finally relaxed a little. Fortunately, it seemed that no major arteries were damaged; otherwise, with such severe injuries, without timely hemostasis, he would have lost his life long ago.

It seemed that Qin Yi had saved her and had fainted from exhaustion.

Realizing this, she carefully pulled her hand away, tore off her pant leg, and used the cloth strips to carefully bandage the wounds on his arms.

After doing all this, Si Yao began to check her internal breath. Previously, injured by Bai Ruoxue's 'Mystic Ice True Qi', she thought she was going to die here. However, a moment later, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the golden 'Blazing Sun True Qi' that had originally been scorching in her Dantian had now turned into a gentle white.

"What is going on?" Si Yao couldn't believe her own senses. That white True Qi, driven by her cultivation technique, wandered through her Meridians. There was no burning sensation of the previous Blazing Sun True Qi; instead, it nourished her Meridians like warm water, making her feel very comfortable.

"Could this be Yin-attribute True Qi? But how could this happen?" Si Yao looked at Qin Yi in confusion, secretly thinking, "Could it be Qin Yi?" Images of the True Qi he had released before flashed in her mind—it was clearly similar to her own 'Blazing Sun True Art', so how could it change the attribute of her True Qi?

She shook her head, deciding to ask when Qin Yi woke up. For now, she needed to figure out where she was.

She slowly stood up and looked around the stalactite cave, but just then, she suddenly heard a 'hiss, hiss, hiss...' sound not far away.

"That's the sound of a snake flicking its tongue! There's a snake?!" Si Yao immediately became alert, frowning and looking in the direction of the sound. When she saw what was in front of her, she immediately stopped moving.

She saw a Giant Black Python coiled on the Dragon Head Stalactite, its barrel-thick body covered in oily scales, its blood-red pupils staring fixedly at her, and the fangs in its mouth flashing with cold light.

The next second, the giant python slid off the stalactite, its long body twisting on the ground, moving rapidly toward her and Qin Yi.

Si Yao's heart tightened—although she could mobilize her True Qi, she didn't have the corresponding Mind-Cultivation Technique to condense it in her palm. Relying solely on Baguazhang to fight hard, she was simply no match for this giant python!

Just when she was at a loss, the giant python had already circled her, but it did not attack, instead turning its target to Qin Yi.

Its snake tongue gently touched Qin Yi's face, as if confirming his breathing, and then it suddenly wrapped around Qin Yi's body, dragging him toward the direction of the shallow water beach.

"Stop!" Si Yao shouted anxiously, immediately executing Baguazhang and striking at the snake's body.

But the giant python just flicked its tail gently, and a huge force sent her flying several meters away, her body hitting the cave wall.

Although it hurt a lot, she could clearly feel that this giant python had not used its full strength—could it be that it didn't want to hurt Qin Yi?

Si Yao endured the pain and followed, only to see the giant python gently placing Qin Yi on the Dragon Head Stalactite.

Subsequently, it suddenly raised its head, its snake tongue flickering frantically, as if it had smelled some prey.

The next second, its body sprang up, rushing out toward the cave entrance like an arrow leaving a bow.