𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓━━━J. Cheng

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆-𝗦𝗶𝘅

026—Danger Beneath II

This beast soared out of the water, its dormancy disturbed, and now its attention was on both humans atop its shell. Its golden-slit eyes which resembled a snake's were completely out of focus. It stared at both Wei Wuxian and Wen Chao, but it may not fully recognize what they are actually. Perhaps, as long as the two didn't panic and didn't make a fuss that would make the beast notice them even more, they would be fine...

But Wen Chao, oh, Wen Chao. 

The beast exhaled air sharply out of its nostrils, probably because of the maple leaves that were near its nose that caused it to itch. Wei Wuxian might've been able to keep his composure, but the one beside him really couldn't. Wen Chao, scared and panicked at the thought of the beast being angered, screamed at Wen Zhuliu all while temporarily disregarding the sword next to his neck. "Why aren't you helping me yet?! Help me now! What are you waiting for?!"

"That idiot...!" Jiang Cheng cursed.

Upon hearing such a screech, the beast was provoked. It pulled back his head before springing up towards its back with its fangs parted wide. Wei Wuxian finally moved, sending Wen Chao's sword toward where the heart of the beast should be in an instant. But the beast's black scales were like thick irons, the sword merely clanked against the beast's scales before plummeting down the water. Wei Wuxian saw a chance to leap and did so when the beast hesitated and when its eyes followed the thin, shimmering object that just hit him.

Wei Wuxian planned on landing on another islet, but then he heard Jiang Cheng's voice. "Watch your back! The Core-melting Hand is coming!"

Wei Wuxian spun around with Wen Chao, to see a large hand heading towards him. At the same time, he saw a flash of white moving faster than Wen Zhuliu himself. And before Wei Wuxian could react, this whiteness appeared before him, blocking Wen Zhuliu's reach. Both the Wen cultivator and Wei Wuxian's eyes widened, completely not expecting this interruption.

"[First Name]-jie!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed. He let go of Wen Chao and caught [First Name] instead, letting Wen Zhuliu take back his young master. But he glared at his own 'core-melting' hand before moving his gaze to [First Name].

Wei Wuxian landed on land, holding [First Name] as she clutched onto her chest. "[First Name]-jie?! Your spiritual core!" 

Meanwhile, the Wen disciples finally drew their bows and aimed toward the beast, but it was of no use since none actually pierced the black scales.

[First Name] felt like her injuries only worsened after that move. But through her gritted teeth, she told Wei Wuxian, "It's fine, just go!" 

At first, Wei Wuxian didn't want to do so, but seeing that the Wen disciples are cripplingly useless, he really couldn't bear to watch anymore and after a long hesitation, he followed [First Name]'s words despite not trusting what she had said of being alright. [First Name] watched as Wei Wuxian took a bow and a quiver from a disciple, and used three arrows at once to aim towards the beast. But after hearing a cry, both Wei Wuxian and [First Name] found Wang Lingjao cornering Luo Qingyang with three servants, one holding a branding iron and aiming it towards Luo Qingyang's face. 

Seeing this, Wei Wuxian didn't hesitate to change his aim towards the three servants which had successfully hit them once he let go of the string. But Wang Lingjao also didn't hesitate to grab both Luo Qingyang's hair and the branding iron, pushing it towards the other's face with a sickenly twisted look on her face. With no more arrows at hand, he had no choice but to rush directly, using one hand to forcefully let Wang Lingjao let go of the other girl's hair and his other hand used to push her away, causing her to cough up an amount of blood.