Crawling through the endless darkness of the tunnel, Lican was covered in dirt and wounds, each breath filling his lungs with dusty air.
He managed to reach the end of the seemingly endless tunnel and pushed against the heavy metal door.
Clunk.
He stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air, his eyes closing for a moment.
"Now is not the time to wait."
He crawled out completely and scanned his surroundings,Tall trees stretched toward the sky, forming a vast forest filled with giant trunks and thick branches. Beyond the forest stood a range of mountains, their peaks disappearing into the cloudy distance.
Lican was resolute.
Without a second thought, he dashed toward the mountains.
As he ran, he knew there was no turning back.
It seemed as if even the heavens had cursed him.
A deafening roar of thunder echoed across the mountain range.
Lican immediately paled and looked toward the darkened sky.
He sighed.
Then the rain came.
Water poured from the heavens, striking his wounded body with relentless force. He hastened his steps, the chain still locked around one of his wrists. He wrapped the chain around his arm, but the added weight made every movement more difficult.
He didn't have the luxury to complain.
He dashed between the trees as the rain continued to fall, desperately searching for somewhere to spend the night.
His tiny body began to shiver.
Then, fortunately, he spotted a cave along the side of the mountain.
Without thinking twice, he dashed toward it.
Reaching the cave, Lican collapsed against the wall and let out a long sigh of relief.
For the first time since escaping, his shoulders relaxed.
A faint sound escaped his throat.
It wasn't quite a laugh.
It was something closer to a broken chuckle—the kind that came when you were too exhausted to know whether you should laugh or cry.
Lican was deep in his thoughts when he heard a faint sound beneath the roaring rain.
At first, he wanted to ignore it.
But then he felt it, a strange, overwhelming sense of danger crawled down his spine,His body tensed.
He quickly spun around and stared toward the far end of the cave.
Two red, rage-filled slit eyes stared back at him.
Like a predator watching its prey.
Hissss!
The sound echoed through the cave.
The eyes shifted.
Something moved in the darkness.
Slowly, the creature entered the faint light flickering inside the cave.
Lican froze.
It was a snake.
A massive snake—nearly ten meters long.
Its enormous body coiled through the cave, its scales glistening beneath the dim light. A savage Qi radiated from its body, crushing the air around them.
Lican's face turned pale.
His legs trembled.
The pressure was so terrifying that he nearly peed his pants.
The snake slowly raised its head.
Its cold, crimson eyes remained fixed on him.
Then it began moving closer.
Closer.
Lican's heart pounded violently against his chest.
"Shit!"
He stumbled backward.
"Shit! Shit!"
The snake continued advancing.
"Move!"
Lican screamed at himself.
"Move, damn it!"
The snake lunged at him.
At the last possible moment, Lican gathered what little strength remained in his body and threw himself to the side.
The snake's fangs snapped shut inches from him.
Lican scrambled to his feet, his breathing ragged as he stared at the creature before him.
Its scales glittered beneath the faint light of the cave, a mixture of deep purple and black that made the beast look even more sinister.
The snake lunged again.
This time, it moved with an alarming speed.
Before Lican could react, its massive tail whipped across the cave.
Bang!
The tail swept his legs from beneath him, sending his tiny body crashing onto the stone floor.
Lican hissed as pain shot through his body.
He barely had time to recover.
The snake surged forward again, its jaws stretching wide as rows of extremely sharp fangs flashed toward him.
Lican's pupils contracted.
There was no time to think.
His body moved on instinct.
He shoved his chained arm in front of himself.
Clang!
The snake's fangs scraped violently against the iron chain wrapped around his arm.
Lican's heart nearly stopped.
The beast's jaws remained locked around the chain.
He saw his chance.
With everything he had, Lican grabbed the snake's head and slammed it against the hard stone floor.
BANG!
The snake's body thrashed violently.
Lican's eyes hardened.
He struck again.
BANG!
This time, harder.
Hissssss!
The snake writhed desperately, trying to free its jaws from the chain.
But Lican refused to let go.
He pressed its skull against the stone with a strength he didn't know he possessed.
For a moment, the snake couldn't move.
Then it changed its approach.
Its enormous body suddenly twisted.
Before Lican could react, the snake coiled around him.
Once.
Twice.
Its scaly body wrapped tightly around his small frame.
Lican's eyes widened.
The coils tightened.
His ribs screamed under the pressure.
He struggled to breathe as the snake squeezed
harder, crushing the air from his lungs.
"Ghk—!"
His vision began to blur.
Lican desperately searched for a way out.
Then, without thinking, he drove his free hand into his tied-up locs.
His fingers closed around something hidden within them.
The jade pin flickered in the faint light as Lican drove it into the snake's eye.
Blop!
Blood and some unknown liquid burst from the impact.
The snake convulsed violently.
Lican's breathing was ragged. Almost all the strength had left his body, but he forced his fingers to move.
He pulled the jade hairpin free.
Then, with what little strength remained in him, he stabbed it into the snake's skull.
Thud!
To his surprise, the jade pin penetrated.
Hissssss!
The snake shrieked in pain.
Its grip around Lican immediately loosened.
Lican didn't hesitate.
He tore himself free and scrambled backward, putting as much distance between himself and the beast as he could.He collapsed onto the stone floor, gasping for air,His eyes remained fixed on the snake.
Its enormous body writhed violently across the cave floor, blood pouring from its wounded eye as it desperately struggled.
Lican tightened his grip around the jade pin.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
He was terrified.
But he was still alive.