Chapter 256: Someone disappeared (1/2)
Chapter 256: Someone disappeared
In the wake of the giant boulder appeared a large black rat, its size twice as big as normal rats. It fell to the ground with its four legs in the air, struggling to get up.
“Is that it?” Han Yunxi asked from a distance, doubt written on her face. The poison beast in her mind was something with bare fangs and claws, violent, ferocious, and huge.
“This isn’t the Gu Shu. The Gu Shu’s trapped inside, so it wouldn’t be able to get out so easily,” Gu Qishao explained.
Han Yunxi exhaled. She really thought the Gu Shu had appeared. Since the poison beast was called a Gu Shu (蛊鼠), maybe it was just a really big rat (鼠). Long Feiye and Tang Li were completely focused on the scene beyond the Xuan gold where Jun Yixie and Duanmu Yao stood, and didn’t pay the giant rat any mind. Snakes and rats alike had dens. If the labyrinth had dens of snakes, it wasn’t surprising that it had dens of rats as well. Han Yunxi hadn’t made any sound when she melted the Xuan gold. The secret room itself was very big too, while Jun Yixie and Duanmu Yao were both far away. For now, they hadn’t discovered the situation here.
“What better time to kill them than now?” Tang Li was about to take out the Pear Blossom Rain Needles and shoot them when the white-robed man suddenly spoke up in a low voice.
“I’m afraid that a rat this big must have eaten human flesh to grow to this size.”
Everyone’s faces shifted at the news! Flesh-eating rats? Weren’t these the predatory rats that only existed in the stuff of legends? Judging by its build, this rat was nothing like a so-called ‘predator,’ but their attack potential wasn’t something that could be described with such a word. Like man-eating ants, they never attacked alone, but in giant swarms. A single swarm of flesh-eating rats would include at least 100 members, while larger swarms had upwards of 1,000. In other words, if there was one flesh-eating rat, then that meant there was a swarm of them nearby.
Who knew that the long-lost flesh eating rats would show up here!?
Long Feiye and Tang Li whirled back to take a look. The appearance of the flesh-eating rat forced them to set aside the issue of Jun Yixie for now, because there was nobody in this world that could avoid their swarms! This particular rat had a head twice as big as normal rats. Its eyes were glowing red, while its sharp, protruding teeth and claws were extremely obvious. There was no way to imagine how terrifying it’d be to be swarmed by a mob of such creatures and torn apart. Everyone stared silently at the single flesh-eating rat without speaking for a long time. Gradually, the atmosphere grew tense.
Finally, Gu Qishao spoke up. “There’s no humans to eat here. Are you sure you haven’t gotten things wrong?”
“There’s no mistake. The Poison Sect’s raised flesh-eating rats before. I’m guessing that the Gu Shu called them over,” the white-robed man said seriously.
“You know quite a bit!” Gu Qishao said meaningfully. The Gu Shu actually had the ability to summon the creatures of the Sky Pit as soon as it felt threatened, using a signal to attract the closest poison animals around. This was another secret of the Poison Sect along with its Sky Pit Death Trap, and also a secret of the medical academy. Gu Qishao had stealthily overheard the information, but how did the white-robed man know? Even Gu Qishao had no idea that the Poison Sect had raised flesh-eating rats, so why did this guy know? How could a member of the Shadow Clan be privy to so much about the Poison Sect?
Could it be that the Shadow Clan was involved with the Poison Sect somehow?
Gu Qishao’s suspicions stacked up one after the other, but he had no way to question the suspect under such dangerous circumstances. The white-robed man ignored Gu Qishao’s doubts and even gave up on probing Han Yunxi. Instead he said, “Miss Yunxi, how long will it take you to melt the Xuan gold wall?” Unless the wall melted, they had no place to retreat.
But just as he finished speaking, a succession of skittering noises sounded from above them. Soon after that, a large mob of rats fell down in an unbroken stream from the hole above, cascading upon them like a flood. It was enough to make one nauseous!
“Ahhh…!” Mu Linger was so frightened that her entire figure shrank back. She retreated a few steps, her scream shrill enough to slice through the ceiling.
Long Feiye’s first move was to rush to Han Yunxi’s side. “Be careful.”
The giant rats kept dropping down. Unlike the first one that fell, these rolled on the ground before immediately turning over to run their way. They didn’t attack instantly, but soon hundreds of them had fell down to completely surround Han Yunxi and the rest in four or five rings, trapping them directly in front of the Xuan gold door. Although their numbers were far fewer and less poisonous than the king cobras, they were much harder to deal with than snakes. This swarm of flesh-eating rats was very crafty. They’d only lock in on one target and work together to crazily kill them! Right now, each and every one of their scarlet eyes were staring at Han Yunxi and the rest, searching for their first victim.
Tang Li couldn’t help but gulp. “What do we do?”
Ten flesh-eating rats were more than enough to devour a person in under a minute. If hundreds of these rats targeted a single person and ate them until only the bones were left, then it’d be the work of seconds. No matter whether the others were martial arts or poison experts, they wouldn’t be able to kill all the flesh-eating rats in time. This was a pure contest of speed and quantity!
“Take a guess, who will they pick first?” Gu Qishao asked playfully, but his face was ashen white. He’d definitely die if they ate him to his bones, but dying like that was really a little too tragic.