Feng Shui Chapter 129: Keeping Warm

His appearance immediately startled Tang Ru. Ignoring her own injuries, she hurried to reassure Chen Xiao: “Don’t worry! Daoist Xi is in the late Golden Core stage. Escaping a cave-in like this is easy for him. Besides, he told me he has other ways to deal with the mountain’s malevolent energy. We just need to wait calmly for his safe return!”

Only then did Chen Xiao let out a breath of relief. His eldest brother never spoke falsely, if he said he could handle it, then he definitely could.

Supporting Tang Ru, Chen Xiao returned to where the children and Tong Nuonuo were gathered. Tong Nuonuo was surrounded by the kids, comforting them while handing out food.

With no water on hand, he scooped up thick snow and boiled it directly, mixing the rations into a gruel. Just a few small ration cakes were enough to make a large pot of porridge. Tong Nuonuo cooked several batches for the children to eat.

Lacking proper bowls, the kids held basins and small pots, sitting in a circle, eating ravenously. The warmth of the food finally lifted their spirits.

“Arou! How are you feeling?” Tong Nuonuo stood and approached. Having saved these children and distributed food, the kids now looked to him as their anchor. Wherever he moved, they followed.

“I’m fine.” Tang Ru’s face was pale, but after taking the pill Xi Yunqing had given her, half of her body was able to move again. She pushed Chen Xiao aside and sat down cross-legged. “I need to heal quickly. You all should recover as well. Those people won’t give up so easily; they know the tunnels well and will escape somehow. We can’t stay here long, rest a bit, then move out.”

Chen Xiao nodded and quickly gathered himself, eating and drinking to regain strength. They stayed less than half an hour before packing up camp, erasing their tracks, and continuing onward. Chen Xiao told Tong Nuonuo and Tang Ru, “You two take the lead. I’ll bring up the rear and cover our trail.”

Tong Nuonuo frowned. He was the lowest in cultivation among the three, tailing the rear was usually not his job. But he was terrible with directions and had to have someone with him. Tang Ru was injured and couldn’t lead the children alone. So Chen Xiao took responsibility for covering their tracks.

Though a fresh snowfall would eventually hide all traces, the children walked slowly while cultivators pursued quickly. Without setting traps or diversions, they’d be caught sooner or later.

In the end, Tong Nuonuo could only say, “Chen Xiao, take care!”

Chen Xiao carefully wiped away their footprints and signs of passage, then returned to the cave entrance. He created various traces, making it seem like a group of children and several adults had gone off in a different direction.

Then he circled back to his original spot and hid at a distance, watching the collapsed entrance.

He intended to wait for Xi Yunqing to appear, but just before dusk, a poisonous viper broke through the mountainside. Chen Xiao’s expression darkened. He had thought the beast was dead, but the fierce creature, thick-skinned and tough, had barely survived.

The viper looked pitiful now, half its tail was rotten, exposing bone. Large patches of scales and skin hung loose, blood staining the snow and soil beneath.

Wounded, aching, full of hatred and rage, the viper vented its fury on everything nearby. It lifted its head, puffed its throat sac, and sprayed a strange-colored toxic mist around the mountaintop.

Though vegetation was sparse, a few crooked trees stood nearby. The viper’s poison instantly burned them like acid. After an eerie sizzling, the trees turned into pools of thick, blackened liquid.

Chen Xiao could no longer hide and dashed away from his hiding spot.

His movement immediately caught the viper’s attention. The beast was looking to vent its anger and instantly gave chase.

Though its tail was badly injured and wounds slowed it down, the viper was a fierce beast with over five hundred years of Nascent Soul strength. A starving camel is still bigger than a horse, one bite could easily kill Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao ran desperately but couldn’t shake the viper. Deep snow slowed him further. After stepping into a snow cavity once more, Chen Xiao realized running straight wouldn’t work.

If even this half-dead enemy was too much to handle, maybe he shouldn’t go out adventuring anymore.

After this mental preparation, Chen Xiao nimbly rolled aside to dodge the viper’s poisonous fangs. He threw out a Qi-guided lightning talisman. Crackling, a bolt of lightning struck the viper’s forehead.

The viper was stunned by Chen Xiao’s resistance. The lightning didn’t hurt at all and barely phased it. Instead of injuring the beast, it only provoked its rage.

Chen Xiao’s brow didn’t even twitch at the failed strike. He continued dodging and throwing talismans. This time he aimed at the viper’s wounds. Soon, the smell of burning flesh rose from the beast.

Chen Xiao’s moves angered the viper. It stopped chasing Chen Xiao’s legs and instead inhaled deeply, inflating its throat sac to unleash a cloud of poison.

Chen Xiao kicked off hard, seizing the moment as the viper raised its head and opened its mouth wide. He lunged forward, quickly unscrewed the lid from a small porcelain bottle, and flicked it into the viper’s open jaws.

After throwing the items, Chen Xiao slipped past the venomous viper just as it reacted by turning its head to bite, quickly putting distance between them.

The viper revealed its ferocity and was about to unleash a cloud of poisonous mist. But an unbearable stench suddenly poured from its open mouth. In a way, the viper, like a snake, uses its tongue and olfactory system to sense its surroundings.

Chen Xiao had struck ruthlessly, he had shoved a potent foul-smelling potion deep into its mouth. The viper immediately suffered massive damage, both physically and mentally, and its mobility was crippled more than halfway.

The viper writhed in agony, wide-mouthed, howling in a heart-wrenching scream. Unfortunately, the small porcelain bottle wasn’t food, it shattered when its teeth struck it. And the stench couldn’t be expelled by spitting. The more it opened its mouth to breathe, the more agonizing the foul smell became, making it feel worse than death.

Its entire body convulsed, twisting like a twisted rope as it rolled desperately on the ground. Chen Xiao knew this was his chance. If he didn’t kill the viper now, once it recovered, it would be impossible.

He drew the steel knife he had bought earlier with Du Rong and focused his energy. After channeling his yuan qi for a moment, he plunged the blade hard into the viper’s vital spot.

The viper’s skin and flesh were tough, hardened through constant exposure to killing energy. But killing energy was the nemesis of yuan qi. The only resistance Chen Xiao’s knife met was the tough skin, and then it pierced through deeply.

The viper let out a miserable scream, thrashing wildly. Its head turned around, and with its last ounce of strength before death, it lunged at Chen Xiao’s arm with a bite. Chen Xiao quickly withdrew the blade and slapped his protective yuan qi talisman repeatedly over his arm.

The viper’s teeth were blocked layer upon layer, only scratching a shallow wound on Chen Xiao’s arm before it collapsed completely, unable to move.

Chen Xiao knew the situation was dire and forcefully pushed away the viper’s flat, round head that was smashing against him. The venom sac inside the viper contained a highly corrosive poisonous mist, and its teeth carried a neurotoxin used to hunt prey.

By some luck, Chen Xiao wasn’t instantly dissolved into a foul liquid, but unfortunately, the poison soon took effect. He barely managed to walk two or three steps before collapsing to the ground.

The poison spread rapidly through his veins. Chen Xiao quickly lost consciousness. What made his life even more precarious was the killing energy attached to the venomous fangs, turning his body blue and purple. If not for the yuan qi inside resisting it, his internal organs would have rotted away in moments, leading to death.

At the critical moment, Xi Yunqing arrived, tracking the signs left from the battle. Seeing Chen Xiao’s uncertain life state, Xi Yunqing’s heart shattered. “Brother Xiao!!”

He cradled Chen Xiao, checking for the faintest breath and heartbeat before feeling a bit relieved. Xi Yunqing immediately took out a spirit pill from his storage pouch and forced it into Chen Xiao’s mouth to sustain his life.

He examined Chen Xiao’s injuries and immediately noticed the blackened wound on his arm. Xi Yunqing had spent years training alone and managed the Lian Dan Hall at Zhongxuan Sect, always carrying a wide variety of pills and medicines before setting out.

Though the viper’s venom was tricky, it was no match for him. The biggest challenge was the killing energy poisoning covering Chen Xiao’s body, the blue and purple discoloration.

This kind of injury was similar to wounds caused by evil cultivators, and common healing methods proved ineffective.

Xi Yunqing carried Chen Xiao a long way to find a wind-sheltered mountain hollow. There was little snow piled up there. He cleared the ground and took out camping supplies from his storage.

He heated the ground and laid down thick velvet blankets, gently placing Chen Xiao onto the soft bedding. Before coming to Jin City, Xi Yunqing hadn’t been prepared enough, but this time he specifically bought these supplies for Chen Xiao. He felt guilty for the earlier mistakes. These bedding materials were comfortable and warm enough to be suitable even for ordinary people.

The blankets were warm, but Chen Xiao’s skin remained icy cold. Xi Yunqing tried everything he could think of, but couldn’t warm him up. The cold brought by the killing energy was not so easily dispelled. If Chen Xiao were awake, he could use the yuan qi from the compass to improve his condition.

This kind of poisoning was so rare that even someone as knowledgeable as Xi Yunqing had never heard of it, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

Chen Xiao curled up, trembling under the blanket, his bluish-purple face looking miserable. But Xi Yunqing didn’t notice this, only feeling how pitifully weak his younger brother was now.

After some thought, Xi Yunqing finally decided to pull back the blanket and hold Chen Xiao close to his chest. Xi Yunqing’s own fire-elemental yuan qi acted as a natural heat source. The warmth radiated steadily, soaking his clothes with sweat.

This fiery energy finally pulled Chen Xiao back from the endless icy darkness. Slowly, he began to regain some awareness. His eyes still closed, he murmured faintly, “Big brother…”

Xi Yunqing was overjoyed, feeling this method worked. He carefully adjusted their position so Chen Xiao lay facing him, chest against chest, legs entwined, holding him tightly to keep him warm. He whispered, “Brother Xiao, don’t be afraid. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The viper’s poison had not yet fully worn off. Chen Xiao was still too weak to move. After a long struggle, his lips barely moved as he said, “Killing energy…”

He tried hard but couldn’t say more, his expression filled with frustration. Xi Yunqing felt a pang of sorrow and gently stroked Chen Xiao’s cheek. “Don’t speak. Save your strength.”

Chen Xiao quietly hummed in his nose. His eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds and wouldn’t open. Eventually, he gave up struggling and drifted into a deep haze.

With a brother as strong as Xi Yunqing here, that bit of killing energy was nothing to worry about, it would dissolve away sooner or later...