Chapter 185: Venting Anger for His Little Guide

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Venting Anger for His Little Guide

The corners of Yun Sheng’s mouth lifted unconsciously. Her fingers stirred in the darkness and, following Si Jin’s aura, brushed against the back of his hand.

’Yes, of course I do!’

The next second, a piercing shriek suddenly rang out in the darkness.

No one had time to process what was happening. All they heard was a BANG, as if something had crashed, followed by a muffled grunt from Qi Yao as he was unexpectedly forced back two steps.

His foot landed in a pool of viscous, filthy blood. His boot slipped with a SQUELCH, throwing his entire center of gravity off balance.

"Major General Qi!" a nearby Sentinel cried out anxiously.

"I’m fine." Qi Yao’s voice was ice-cold, laced with suppressed fury.

Yun Sheng couldn’t see a thing, but she could sense that Qi Yao’s spiritual power had just trembled violently—as if attacked by something—before he managed to forcibly stabilize it.

The aftershocks of that tremor hadn’t even dissipated when there was another muffled thud, heavier than the last.

Qi Yao staggered sideways, bracing a hand against the cave wall. The force dislodged loose pebbles, which pattered down onto his shoulders and into his collar.

Then, the pollutants he had just blasted away surged toward him again, as if being herded by some unseen force.

Though it was pitch-black, they didn’t attack anyone else. Instead, they precisely located Qi Yao and swarmed him exclusively.

Qi Yao’s spiritual power flared again, sending another wave of them flying.

But the pollutants seemed to have gone berserk, attacking in relentless, inexhaustible waves.

A pollutant pounced down from above Qi Yao. He sidestepped to avoid it, swung his blade upward, and sliced the creature in two.

Black blood poured down like a waterfall. Qi Yao tried to dodge, but couldn’t get away in time, and was completely drenched.

His hair, sopping wet, clung to his forehead. Blood streamed down his cheeks, dripping into his collar and seeping into his combat uniform.

"Lights!" he barked in a low voice.

Several Sentinels scrambled to find their backup lighting equipment, but the moment they pulled one out, it exploded with another BANG.

"What’s going on?!"

"Why did it blow up again!"

Zhao Qian and Cheng Nian cried out in shock at almost the same time. The others remained vigilant, surveying their surroundings with nerves stretched taut.

In the darkness, Qi Yao’s silhouette was engulfed by layers of pollutants, the glint of his blade flashing with increasing frequency.

Yun Sheng couldn’t see, so she could only look in the direction the sounds were coming from.

Suddenly, a warm hand gave her wrist a gentle squeeze. She couldn’t stop her lips from curving into another smile as she, in turn, took hold of the hand that held hers.

Warm breath tickled her ear, and she heard Si Jin give a very low chuckle, a sound laced with a hint of smug satisfaction.

She was about to whisper something back when a terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from Qi Yao, several times more violent than before.

All the pollutants were sent flying, crashing against the cave walls and producing a series of dull thuds.

But at the very instant that pressure erupted, something suddenly slammed into him viciously from the side!

The attack was too fast, too ferocious. Before his spiritual power could erect a barrier, it was violently struck, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and smashed it directly into his spiritual landscape.

Wincing in pain, Qi Yao staggered back several steps, only stopping when his back slammed hard against the cave wall.

"Who is it? Get out here!"

He was seething, his voice, now dangerously high, filled with irrepressible fury.

After such a violent blow to his spiritual landscape, his spiritual power was on the verge of spiraling out of control, now leaking chaotically from his body.

The surroundings instantly fell silent. Even the shrieking of the pollutants had stopped.

Yun Sheng also held her breath and waited.

’A moment ago, I thought I sensed the Abyssal Giant Wolf’s presence. Did it ram into Qi Yao?’

’It won’t be found out, will it?!’

Just as she was worrying about the Abyssal Giant Wolf, a warm hand gently settled on top of her head and gave her hair a soft rub.

"Satisfied?" The low voice was tinged with laughter, meant only for her ears.

Yun Sheng hummed a soft "mhm."

The incredibly gentle hand paused on her head for another moment, then silently withdrew.

The mine tunnel remained deathly silent.

After a long moment, someone fumbled out a backup lighting device and carefully switched it on.

A dim, yellow light flickered on, illuminating a scene of utter carnage.

The ground was littered with mangled corpses and foul blood. And then there was Qi Yao, leaning against the cave wall, looking utterly wretched.

His combat uniform was covered in black, bloody stains. His cuffs were torn, his collar was askew, and a disgusting piece of a pollutant’s flesh was still hanging from his shoulder.

Soaking wet hair was plastered to his face, black blood dripping from his jaw. It was impossible to distinguish the blood from the grime.

A trickle of blood he hadn’t wiped away still clung to the corner of his mouth. His face was deathly pale.

Everyone who saw this was scared speechless. No one dared to approach Qi Yao and ask what happened.

Qi Yao raised his head, his expression blank. His gaze slowly swept over the crowd, finally landing on Yun Sheng.

Yun Sheng stood in place with her eyes lowered, her jaw slightly clenched, her fingers clutching the edge of her cuff.

She didn’t look up, but she could clearly feel his gaze on her, heavy as a stone pressing down.

Qi Yao stared at her for a few seconds.

Perhaps because he didn’t see anything, or perhaps because he didn’t think she had the ability to attack him, he withdrew his gaze.

"Retreat." His voice was as hard as iron. "Everyone, get out of the mine."

He took a step forward, and the bloodwater in his boots sloshed out with a SQUELCH, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the ground.

His gait was still steady, but from the back, he looked... wretched.

As if granted a pardon, the rest of the group immediately turned and followed him.

Yun Sheng followed at the back of the group, her head lowered, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Cheng Nian came closer and asked in a low voice, "Yun Sheng, are you okay?"

Yun Sheng shook her head, her voice muffled. "I’m fine... I was just a little nervous because I couldn’t see anything. I’ll be okay in a moment."

Cheng Nian patted her on the shoulder and also let out a sigh of relief. "I was a little scared just now too. Thank goodness we can leave."

Yun Sheng nodded and took the opportunity to bury her face in the crook of Cheng Nian’s shoulder.

She wasn’t scared.

She was reaching her limit.

Ever since the light came back on and she’d seen Qi Yao’s wretched state, she’d been holding back. The corners of her mouth were twitching, threatening to break into a grin.

’Qi Yao has probably never been this miserable in his entire life.’

Yun Sheng buried her face deeper into the crook of Cheng Nian’s shoulder and took a deep breath to suppress her urge to laugh.

She glanced down at the trail of wet, blood-stained footprints on the ground, and her lips curled up uncontrollably once more.

’Serves you right for trying to test me!’

The group slowly walked out of the mine entrance. Before the sunlight could even touch everyone’s faces, a series of muffled coughs reached their ears.

Each cough was heavier than the last, as if something were lodged deep in his throat, struggling to be expelled but unable to break free.

In the end, the coughing almost became a tearing, dry heave.

Yun Sheng followed the sound with her eyes, just in time to see Qi Yao’s body lurch violently.

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his lips, splattering across the gravel in front of him in a glaringly bright crimson.

"Major General Qi!"

The nearest Sentinel instinctively rushed forward, but before he could even touch him, he was sent flying back by a sudden burst of spiritual power, his back slamming heavily against the cave wall.

The aura around Qi Yao was in complete chaos. Terrifying waves of spiritual power radiated from his body in circles, like a shattered lake surface, the ripples expanding wider and wider, making the very air tremble.

"This is bad!" another Sentinel’s expression changed drastically. "Major General Qi’s spiritual power is running rampant!"