The air was thick with the horrifying sounds of screams, a chorus of agony that echoed against the backdrop of raging fire that engulfed everything. The cacophony of suffering was like music to XiShi's ears, satisfying a dark part of her, but even she knew that time was slipping away with each passing moment.

XueLing landed heavily on the ground, his face contorted in a mask of fury. He was a force of nature, unstoppable. He didn't even glance at XiShi's tear-streaked face as he pulled her into a protective hug before turning his wrath towards HanYing. If he had looked at her, he would have completely lost control.

"My mate asked you what the hell is your point, you shitty snake!" he roared, his voice booming across the ravaged landscape.

"Well," HanYing drawled, "the little female over there clearly understands the situation. I told her and SangYe that if he came to me willingly, I wouldn't cause a scene. He did come, but this woman had to interfere and stop him. I gave them time, but they didn't cooperate, so I attacked the tribe. It was simple orders." He spoke with unnerving calm.

"I don't care about that!" XueLing snarled. "Just fucking heal HaoYue now!" He hurled a fireball at HanYing, his frustration boiling over.

"Not happening!" HanYing retorted, launching a physical attack on XueLing with incredible speed and precision. This man was far more skilled than they had anticipated. In the novel, HanYing's venomous attacks had nearly killed XueLing. He'd only survived thanks to HuanHuan's blood transfusion.

A new thought struck XiShi like a blow. She almost felt guilty for not asking about FengXiu as she clutched a weakened HaoYue. "XueLing," she breathed out, "where is FengXiu?"

She wanted to slap HuanHuan for not helping HaoYue yet, but she was also paralyzed by her own helplessness.

"He's catching up," XueLing said, his movements fluid as he dodged HanYing's attacks.

"Stop," XiShi commanded. "What would it take for you to heal my mate?"

She knew that snakes had the ability to neutralize venom. FengXiu had told her that any snake could remove poison, and she had inquired about this in case such knowledge could be useful. It was a simple thing for them. But there was a critical difference between normal venom and demonic venom, the latter of which could only be extracted by snakes of the demonic race. So, even if FengXiu arrived, he wouldn't be able to save HaoYue. Apparently, XueLing was just as vulnerable to snake venom as HaoYue was.

"What would it take, you ask..." HanYing hummed, an amused look on his face. "Well, I don't know. Give me an offer. I'll be taking SangYe with me anyway."

The sheer audacity of this man! 

Time was running out. HaoYue was getting weaker, his life hanging by a thread. She needed to act fast.

And as for HuanHuan? She was going to hold a grudge after this.