Chapter 2320 - 2320: Coming Out of the Mountains

"Damn it, those three bastards! No sense of loyalty. They actually ran away!" Fat Wang cursed furiously, already upset that the three didn't enter the cave. Now that they had run away, Fat Wang was naturally even more displeased.

Ye Qing said nothing, but listening to the ceaseless rustling sounds coming from the cave, he spoke gravely, "The Long-toothed Rats are still pursuing us. This place is not safe. We need to leave here first."

No one objected to this. Shijia dared not act arrogantly anymore, and the group hurriedly ran towards the mountain's exit. The valley was quite large, and after running about two or three miles, they entered a thicket where their pace slowed slightly. Ye Qing led the way, pushing aside the brush as he walked forward.

Suddenly, as Ye Qing parted a bush, a white object leaped out from it. Startled, Ye Qing quickly waved his hand to push it away. Upon closer inspection, the white object was actually a skeleton. There were still bits of flesh attached to it, and fresh blood dripped from the skeleton to the ground, creating an eerie sight.

Just after Ye Qing pushed the skeleton aside, two more white skeletons charged out from the bushes, rushing towards them as well.

If they had encountered such a situation before, they would have been terrified. However, having experienced skeleton attacks earlier, the group had developed some resistance. As the skeletons lunged at them, Fat Wang and Big Beard joined forces, using the Famed Instrument to chop the skeletons down. The skeleton that attacked Ye Qing was also smashed to pieces by him, leaving three skeletons lying on the ground.

"Why are there three skeletons here?" Big Beard asked as he wiped the blood from his body, where one skeleton had scratched him. Although it didn't break his skin, it did smear blood on him.

Fat Wang said, "See these skeletons? They still have bloodstains and bits of flesh, which means they just turned into skeletons. This..."

Fat Wang's voice trailed off abruptly as he looked up, noticing Ye Qing and Big Beard were also watching him. Each person had a shocked look in their eyes because they had already guessed the origins of these three skeletons.

The three skeletons had obviously just turned, with blood and flesh still on them. This meant they were caught in the Golden Light during the moment it appeared. Before that, they were still living human beings. When Ye Qing and the others emerged from the cave, they didn't see those three people and assumed they had fled. Now it was clear they had been caught by the Golden Light and transformed into skeletons before they could even run. When Ye Qing and the others exited the cave, these skeletons attacked them. In other words, these skeletons were the same three people who had refused to enter the cave with them.

"Alas!" Fat Wang sighed heavily, looking at the three skeletons on the ground. "What can we say? If they'd entered the cave with us, they might not have died here. This is just fate!"

"Trying to save their own skins but ending up losing their lives instead. Whereas we took the risk and survived!" Big Beard sneered, showing little sympathy for the three. Back when they stood at the cave's entrance, Big Beard had tried to force them to go down, but they refused. Now they suffered this fate, which hardly warranted any sympathy.

While they lamented, the rustling sound came again from behind, indicating the Long-toothed Rats had caught up. This crisis urged them to hasten their escape without delay.

Luckily, the group moved swiftly, reaching the mountain peak before the Long-toothed Rats could emerge from the valley. Looking down from the peak, they saw a vast swarm of Long-toothed Rats, an overwhelming sight. It was impossible to tell how many rats were in the valley, but had they been surrounded earlier, they likely wouldn't have survived at all.

While they marveled at the scene, Fat Wang suddenly grabbed Ye Qing, exclaiming, "Young Ye, look over there!"

Ye Qing followed the direction Fat Wang pointed and saw a massive Long-toothed Rat emerging from the swarm in the distance. Ordinary Long-toothed Rats were smaller than typical rats, but this large one was bigger than a housecat, standing like a leader among them.

"Such a huge Long-toothed Rat!" Big Beard exclaimed, while Ye Qing stood in shock. The small Long-toothed Rats were already threatening enough, and with such a huge one among them, the danger they posed was unimaginable.

"These Long-toothed Rats are truly terrifying!" Ye Qing frowned deeply, staring at the cave entrance far away. After a moment of silence, he said, "I can't shake the feeling that these Long-toothed Rats seem to be bred by someone!"

"Finally, you noticed!" Shijia chimed in from behind. "When I entered, I already sensed something was amiss here."

Ye Qing turned to Shijia, curiously asking, "You also think these Long-toothed Rats were bred?"

"I didn't see the Long-toothed Rats when I came in, but I could tell someone must be living near that cave. The Tai Chi Circle was a deliberate setup," Shijia explained, pausing briefly. "Inside the cave, the stone walls are full of small holes, which are obviously the rats' nests. Given how dangerous and aggressive you say these rats are, if someone lived here, they'd have been devoured long ago. But this person has clearly lived here for quite some time, even setting up mechanisms inside the cave, suggesting these Long-toothed Rats wouldn't attack them!"

Ye Qing's face changed at Shijia's words, realizing that if the rats were truly bred by someone, the situation was more grave than they imagined. Whoever could control these dangerous rats posed a considerable threat. If they used the rats to attack the world's heroes, how many could escape their onslaught?

"This is a significant conspiracy!" Shijia said, looking earnestly at Ye Qing. "With Heaven Earth Man Three Gates about to open, I foresee chaos escalating across the land."

Ye Qing silently frowned, pondering for a while before saying, "Let's get out of the mountains first."

With the world in increasing disorder, Ye Qing had to hurry back to handle matters for the World Alliance. Additionally, the Long-toothed Rats posed an immediate crisis that needed addressing without delay.

Fat Wang and Big Beard sensed the gravity of the situation, urging them to quickly follow Ye Qing away from Xiliang Mountain.

The group had faced many dangers entering the mountains, yet with Shijia accompanying them, those threats seemed minor on their way back. Provided they avoided encounter with more Long-toothed Rats, they would be safe. Within less than five days, they emerged from Xiliang Mountain's domain.

As they left Xiliang Mountain, Ye Qing turned back, reflecting on their experiences with some lingering remorse. They had entered the mountain as a group of fourteen, yet only four emerged. Most of Fat Wang's men had perished within, including Old Chen, a fact that weighed heavily on Ye Qing's conscience. Searching below the cliff where Old Chen fell, they found no remains, presuming wild animals carried his body away.

Fat Wang noticed Ye Qing's guilt and reassured him, patting his shoulder, "Let it go. In these situations, death is unavoidable. We'll burn plenty of Yuanbao Candles for him so he can have a better afterlife!"

Ye Qing sighed, refraining from speaking, and continued outside with Fat Wang and the others.

Despite leaving Xiliang Mountain, no roads awaited them. Only after walking some distance did they finally leave the mountain's range completely. As their exit point differed from their entry, they trekked another dozen miles along Xiliang Mountain before locating their parked vehicles.

The cars Zhou Yue provided them remained in place despite sitting undisturbed for half a month, as Xiliang Mountain was sparsely populated, deterring theft. But dust now layered the car roofs.

Seeing the vehicles, Fat Wang breathed a sigh of relief, excitedly cheering, "Finally, no more running, and we can drive! Damn it, Fat Lord's exhausted!"

Big Beard and the man also expressed eagerness, for nearly two weeks of constant escape would tire anyone out. Fat Wang even shed some weight.

Ye Qing also felt relieved and joined the others approaching the cars. Fat Wang retrieved the car key from his backpack and unlocked the door, hopping in first and lounging in the seat with a look of contentment, exclaiming, "So refreshing!"

Ye Qing prepared to enter, but he suddenly noticed a distinct handprint on the car's tail. Startled, he wondered why it was there, as none of them had moved towards the back. Did someone approach the vehicles during their absence?

While Ye Qing pondered this suspicion, a familiar voice suddenly emerged from behind, "Hey, where did you come from? Trying to steal cars, are you? Before stealing, didn't you think about whether the cars had owners? This isn't called stealing. This is robbery. And robbery is wrong, robbery..."