Chapter 44 (1/2)

”As they picked out a location for the trap, a giant serpent suddenly ca Qian Tong screamed 'we can't lose our bait' that I then realized that our bait was probably the serpent Then all the shi+xiong caiant serpent All of theether, but not long after it was dead, the Python Toad suddenly appeared Since it had caught the shi+xiong off guard, they had to face the toad head-on…”

Faced with the three elders, Fang Xing norant of the fact he was going to be used as the ”bait” and that he had only escaped due to his extreood fortune

According to his story, the plan had been disrupted by the sudden appearance of the giant serpent In order to protect their bait, they had to then kill the giant serpent without realizing the blood of the serpent had unexpectedly lured the hunting Python Toad towards them and—without any other choice—they had had to battle with the toad After Zhao and Qian were killed, it was only Hou Qing and Lyu ere left barely surviving, and when Hou Qing ran to escape, the toad then went for hiround nothi behind a huge tree the entire time, which had spared him from the chaos

Throughout the entirety of the tale, Fang Xing had painted the elders the picture of a standard ignorant bait who had only happened to survive thanks to sheer luck

When it was iant serpent had lured the unexpectedly early visit of the Python Toad, an elder with a short beard softly nodded his head ”Python Toads like to hunt for their prey at night It must have been the serpent blood that had attracted the toad in its hunt”

Fang Xing was once again interrupted by the awe-inspiring elder when he hadhad left Lyu behind to run off on his own ”Did you say that when Hou Qing asked Lyu San to stay behind so he could run away, Lyu San accepted?”

To put it si this part of the story

Fang Xing gave a reply while pretending to stare blankly back at the elder, ”Yes sir I re to run as fast as possible while he laid on the ground quietly But for so Hou Qing instead and co Lyu San Dear elders, this is the part where I still don't understand why it happened…”

”It is rather odd Have you been lying?” the awe-inspiring elder firmly asked

Startled, Fang Xing quickly waved his hands ”No, I promise I have only told the truth”

Seeing this, the short-bearded elder laughed and interrupted, ”Don't worry tooYou're probably unfamiliar with the characteristics of the Python Toad; it was born with a flahere it can only see things inmay appear to have been treacherous to run off by himself, but it was in fact he who had fallen into Lyu San's trap When he chose to run away, he was as good as the toad's next meal”

The awe-inspiring elder was surprised upon hearing the explanation before nodding ”And then? How did the toad die?”

”When the Python Toad ate shi+xiong Hou Qing, it ca Lyu San was It then started a strange tornado to suck the corpses of shi+xiong Zhao Zhi and shi+xiong Qian Tong Even shi+xiong Lyu San did not escape it, even though he was still alive… I did see shi+xiong Lyu San activate his Flying Sword as he was being sucked in, though I think…”

At this point, Fang Xing looked somewhat astonished ”I don't knohat happened there, but once the toad sed shi+xiong Lyu San, it started to goin its way, even the tree that I had been hiding behind was knocked down I then saw so to summon some scary spell so I made a run for it, and I was lucky that it didn't chase after ood hundred yards, I looked back and saw that the toad had stopped h, so I ran again…”

The cyan-robed elder quietly sighed ”Lyu San was indeed so its insides with his Flying Sword after being sucked in by it Fang Xing, tell us, did you go back to check on it again? Lyu San may have been sucked in by the toad, but there is still the chance of survival if he killed it fast enough”

”I… I was too afraid I didn't dare to return until a day later By then—” Fang Xing was on the verge of tears onceof the toad I… I even saw the corpses of the shi+xiong inside its belly It was… it was… horrifying I was… petrified…”

The elders looked to each other one last ti presented to them; this story had interwoven both fabrication and truth with ical flow, and the elders could not spot anything wrong with it Another reason was that they had all been through the same They knew exactly some of the dirty business that went on between these disciples In fact, even if there had been a few plot holes within Fang Xing's story, they would not bother with it as long as they had some manner of excuse and story if anyone was to ask

”Well, what's done is done and there's no point dwelling on it What happened to the beast core of the toad? Did you bring it back?” the cyan-robed elder suddenly questioned after another sigh The two re with deep concern; clearly, to the that determined whether the mission was a success or failure heavily depended on whether he had the core or not Even if soht the beast core back, the mission would be counted as a success