Free Web NovelChapter 191: Chapter 191: Serpent’s Eggs
Ning Xuan turned to Yun Han, the Silver Horn in her hand. Seeing how pale he was, she asked, "What’s wrong? Are you hurt?"
The words had barely left Ning Xuan’s lips when Yun Han dropped to his knees. "I overstepped my bounds and distracted you, failing to notice the danger and leading you into peril. My crime is unforgivable. Please, Contractor, deliver my punishment."
"Uh..." Ning Xuan recalled how Yun Han had claimed his legs were too weak to stand just moments before. ’He’s usually so shy,’ she thought. ’He finally worked up the courage to be bold for once, and now he’s probably going to be traumatized.’
"It’s not your fault. I was the one who started it," Ning Xuan comforted him.
But Yun Han only lowered his head further, his voice trembling. "You are merciful, Contractor, but I grew arrogant from your favor. Thankfully, you are powerful. Had anything happened to you, not even ten thousand deaths could absolve me of my guilt." As he spoke, he drew a short blade from his sleeve and held it above his head with both hands. "Please, Contractor, decide my fate."
Ning Xuan took the dagger, leaned down, and seized Yun Han’s wrist. Her grip was so tight he felt his bones might snap. "And how should I do that? Stab you full of holes? Or should I break your arms and legs? Why don’t you tell me?"
Yun Han knew she was angry and didn’t dare look up. Steeling himself, he said, "I will submit to whatever the Contractor decides."
"Are you sure you want to keep this up?" Ning Xuan suddenly let him go, her voice laced with resignation.
"Even if I were going to punish you, I’d have to pick the right time and place. Does this look like a suitable environment?" Ning Xuan rapped him on the head.
Yun Han blushed. The Exotic Beast was dead, and based on the typical distribution patterns of its kind, there shouldn’t be any other powerful ones nearby. Still, this was the wilderness; they couldn’t let their guard down.
"I have no idea what you’re brooding over. Just hurry up and find the Silver Horned Viper’s nest," Ning Xuan ordered, seeing the look of self-blame still on his face.
"Yes." Receiving his orders, Yun Han’s expression turned serious. He gathered energy at his fingertips and wiped it across his eyes, then looked down at the ground. Following the tracks, he located a patch of deep, dense grass about a dozen meters away. The area was vast, roughly the size of a basketball court. Yun Han stared at the patch of grass, and a white light flashed from his fingertips. The light shot out like a thread, slicing through the over meter-high weeds and severing them at their roots. With a wave of his other hand, he shifted the entire cut section of grass aside. In just a few seconds, the large grassy patch was completely cleared, revealing a raised patch of open ground at its center. In the middle of the clearing was the sloping entrance to a lair, surrounded by soft soil.
"Contractor, I’ve found it," Yun Han said confidently.
"Nice work. Come on, let’s take a look." Ning Xuan started walking over.
"Contractor, I don’t sense any life signs down there, but it’s still an unfamiliar, narrow space. You shouldn’t risk it. Let me go check it out," Yun Han said, stopping her.
Ning Xuan frowned, but seeing his insistence, she nodded. "Alright. Be careful. And first, widen the entrance to the lair."
The entrance was surrounded by soft soil and wasn’t difficult to clear away. Once it was clean, the pitch-black opening was fully exposed, wide enough for two people to enter at once.
The passage wasn’t a vertical drop but a winding slope that led down. In a flash, Yun Han plunged a dagger deep into the earth outside the entrance, tied a rope to it, and slid nimbly into the darkness, holding onto the line.
The passage continued to wind downward, its walls coated in a sticky dampness thick with a foul, fishy stench. After descending four or five meters, he reached a larger chamber. The space was quite wide. Yun Han switched on a light he had prepared, and as it flared to life, the scene within the lair was revealed.
The ground was uneven, littered with shed scales and the bones of various animals. Piled in one corner was the viper’s old, sloughed-off skin. Clearly, the serpent had been nesting here for a long time.
Yun Han gathered his energy again, wiped it across his eyes, and scanned his surroundings. This time, he discovered another chamber hidden behind a section of the stone wall. He pushed the rock aside. Inside, the floor was paved with a dense layer of glittering stones that radiated a strange, pure energy. Two grayish-white, patterned eggs rested quietly on the bed of stones. In the dim light, their surfaces gleamed with an eerie luster. Yun Han crouched down and gently touched one. He could feel the faint pulse of life emanating from within.
Yun Han gathered the eggs, scooped the layer of glittering stones into a bag, and pulled himself back up the rope.
"Contractor, I found two snake eggs. Judging by their aura, the snakes inside are still alive, but I don’t know when they’ll hatch. I also found these Energy Stones." Yun Han presented the valuables he had recovered.
"The energy fluctuations from these are a bit different from regular Energy Stones," Yun Han explained as he emptied the bag. "But they were lining the floor of the chamber with the eggs, so they must be providing the eggs with energy."
Ning Xuan stared at the stones radiating fluctuations of Spiritual Energy, her heart pounding with excitement. ’These aren’t the common Energy Stones of the Interstellar Federation... These are Spirit Stones!’
’This world actually has Spirit Stones.’
’The Spiritual Energy fluctuations from these Spirit Stones are pure, uniform, and stable, with no obvious elemental affinity. They’re balanced Mixed Element Spirit Stones.’
"Yun Han, you have a good eye," Ning Xuan praised him, delighted. "These stones can aid in Cultivation. They’re very useful."
"Are there more down there? That settles it, I have to go see for myself," Ning Xuan said, her excitement palpable.
"I’ll go with you." Seeing that Ning Xuan was determined to go, Yun Han hurried to follow.
Unwilling to give up, Ning Xuan searched the entire lair but found no more Spirit Stones. However, she did spot the pile of shed skin in the back of the chamber and had Yun Han help her drag it to the surface.
"This snakeskin is tough and thick," Ning Xuan said. "It could be used to craft armor, or at the very least, we could sew some bags out of it. It’d be a shame to just throw it away."
Ning Xuan and Yun Han piled the corpse of the great snake and the other Exotic Beast together, adding the snakeskin to the heap. They then took the snake eggs and Spirit Stones and headed back to Spiritual Spring Valley. They arrived just as Tang Xue, Min Wu, and Wang Yue were returning, and the group was greeted by the sight of Ning Xuan’s face beaming with unconcealable joy.
Yun Han followed behind, watching her cheerful figure, and the corners of his own mouth turned up in a faint smile.
"Come on, Wang Yue, get your vehicle. We need to go pick some things up," Ning Xuan called out, already turning to head back.
"We were starting to think you and Yun Han had run off somewhere to have fun," Tang Xue said in amazement, staring at the four-to-five-meter-long, black-and-white patterned serpent. "I can’t believe you were actually out hunting! And you managed to take down a monster this big."
