Chapter 18: The Snake Pit Part 2

The surrounding air was thick with the aroma of various medicinal herbs mixed together, making it impossible to distinguish the individual ingredients, let alone the faint scent of the rouge.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this pungent odor that the snakes and insects mostly lingered outside the house, not daring to enter through the doors or windows.

With a creak, a bamboo window was pushed open.

Feng Yun’ai put down the rouge box and turned to see Sang Chencao propping the window open, leaning half her body out.

The woman by the window reached out a hand. “The medicinal smell is wafting over from that direction. Do you think we can find the Spirit-Awakening Powder over there?”

Before Feng Yun’ai could respond, the woman had already leaped out the window, treading on the wind toward the source of the scent.

It was clearly a cavern below.

Beneath the white veil, Feng Yun’ai narrowed her eyes. she hurried to catch up, her white dress fluttering in the wind like a celestial being.

The person who landed first looked back and marveled, “After staying in the Great Desert for so long, I’ve never seen the immortal figures described in books. Only now do I realize they weren’t works of fiction.”

Feng Yun’ai’s expression remained cold. She gently unhooked the white veil covering her eyes, revealing a pair of cool, grey-white eyes. She surveyed the surroundings while tucking the thin veil into her sleeve, walking slowly forward toward the fragrance of the medicine.

Sang Chencao’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before she let out a snicker. Turning away, she said, “This seems to be a place for refining medicine. Do you think there will be any extremely toxic substances inside?”

Feng Yun’ai had already drawn her sword. With a sharp shink, the blade left its scabbard, though it was still not the one tightly wrapped on her back.

The silver light of the sword flashed across the mountain wall like a fleeting firefly.

Immediately, a snake’s body suffered, falling into two pieces onto the grass.

Feng Yun’ai finally took a step inside. In that single step, a light suddenly flared behind her.

There were candle holders on the mountain walls, and just now, Sang Chencao had silently lit the flames.

There were few insects or snakes in sight, but there were countless medicine furnaces.

Hanging from the ceiling and drying on wooden racks were medicinal herbs and the remains of scorpions and snakes.

Feng Yun’ai swung her sword to cut the hemp ropes, steadily catching the medicine trays in her hand.

She used her sword qi to sever more than a dozen ropes holding the trays.

The herbs in the trays had nothing to do with Spirit-Awakening Powder; they were common even in the Central Plains. Even the insect remains appeared to be ordinary.

“Have you seen what you’re looking for?” Sang Chencao took down a wall lamp and walked forward slowly with it in her hand.

Feng Yun’ai had no choice but to set down the tray. She stared intently at the indigo-clad back not far away and suddenly spoke. “Is the woman living with Wen Lanxin you?”

The indigo-clad figure stopped in her tracks. When she looked back, half her face was lost in shadow, giving her a ghostly aura. “If you ask it like that, I’ll naturally say it isn’t me.”

Feng Yun’ai tilted her sword slightly, secretly gathering her momentum. Inner qi surged through her meridians, condensing in her palm like a frozen cloud, seemingly connecting with the blade to become one with it.

Sang Chencao was clearly aware of this, yet she suddenly laughed. She abruptly struck out with a Palm Wind—a strike that seemed capable of overturning mountains and seas. It shook the ground and sent dust flying.

But the Palm Wind was not aimed at Feng Yun’ai. Instead, it struck a stone wall in front of her.

With a thunderous boom, dust billowed up like thick smoke.

Unexpectedly, the wall was a hidden door, concealing a secret chamber behind it.

Feng Yun’ai retreated with her sword, but the expected ambush did not come. Instead, an overwhelming, foul stench hit her nose.

It was so putrid that it completely masked the scent of medicine, making one want to vomit with every breath.

A dense hissing sound grew louder, the noise of slithering scales right at their ears.

It was a snake pit!

“Did you know there was a snake pit here?” Feng Yun’ai’s words cold and clipped. She immediately held her breath.

“I didn’t know.” Sang Chencao had already stepped into the snake pit, still maintaining that leisurely, self-composed posture.

The lamp was on the verge of going out, casting flickering shadows on the writhing snakes.

Feng Yun’ai would no longer believe her. She had already prepared to cut down all the venomous snakes, but to her surprise, the indigo-clad woman suddenly let go.

The lamp slipped from Sang Chencao’s hand. With a thud, it fell into the sunken snake nest. The flames crackled twice before consuming the bamboo frame and igniting the dry grass within the nest.

Feng Yun’ai froze.

“I lost my grip.” Standing before the roaring flames, Sang Chencao unhurriedly kicked a snake that had crawled to her feet back into the nest.