Chapter Forty-Eight: The Water Sprite

Su Ye immediately dropped flat to the ground. His eyes scanned the dense forest, and to his surprise, he could see wisps of pale green mist drifting with the wind—this was the unsettling poison gas he had sensed. However, these toxic vapors seemed lighter, hovering about a meter above the ground. They fluctuated, thickening and thinning without any discernible pattern.

“What are you standing there for? Get down!” Su Ye snapped at the others behind him, seeing that they were still upright and unmoving.

Mu Xia and the other two prodigies trusted Su Ye and instantly followed his lead, dropping to the ground. But Li Haoxuan hesitated, unsure if he should do the same. Truth be told, the ground was damp and filthy, and most importantly, why should he obey Su Ye? Among those present, wasn’t he, Li Haoxuan, the natural leader?

He also knew a thing or two about psychology—within any group, it was always the “alpha male” who drew the most attention. So he shouted, “Su Ye, what are you doing? Where’s this poison gas you’re talking about? Now’s not the time for these tricks; you shouldn’t have been leading us in the first place! Everyone, get up and follow me!”

Su Ye shot him a glare, then started rummaging through his bag. When he’d set out, Jiang Liuying had insisted he bring some “antidote pills,” and now they were proving useful. Though he didn’t know exactly what kind of poison filled the air, there was no time to figure it out—he’d just take the antidote first.

Mu Xia also found lying prone in the dirt very odd, especially at this late hour. “Where’s the poison gas? What did you see?”

“You don’t see it?” Su Ye was startled, glancing at Mu Xia’s shaking head—was he the only one who could perceive it?

Before he could say more, he noticed Li Haoxuan pulling out a bottle of some unknown brand of floral water, spraying himself and rubbing it all over his face, cursing, “Damn it, where did all these mosquitoes come from? It itches like hell.”

Hearing this, everyone turned their flashlights on his face. They saw that Li Haoxuan’s cheeks and arms were covered in bloody scratch marks. The sight was horrifying—enough to give anyone a heart attack if they hadn’t already steeled themselves.

“Li Haoxuan, you’ve been poisoned! Get down, now!” Mu Xia cried, kicking him sharply.

Finally realizing what was happening, Li Haoxuan shrieked and flung himself to the ground, though his face and arms still itched terribly.

“If you don’t want to die, stop scratching,” Su Ye said in a low, grave voice.

Li Haoxuan forced himself to endure, catching sight of the terror in Mu Xia and the others’ eyes. He knew his face must look monstrous. Gritting his teeth, he spat, “Su Ye, did you do this on purpose? We’re supposed to be a team! Why didn’t you warn us sooner? If we’d known, we wouldn’t have brought you along—you’re nothing but trouble.”

Su Ye grabbed a handful of wet mud from the ground and hurled it at Li Haoxuan’s face, splattering him with filth. “Shut the hell up!” he barked.

Li Haoxuan had been mid-shout when half the mud went straight into his mouth. He spit it out, furious. “Are you looking for a fight? Damn it!”

He was about to retaliate when, not far off, something let out a strange “Waaa!” followed by a shrill, piercing wail.

Li Haoxuan froze, his hand hanging mid-air, teeth chattering. “Is that… is that a ghost?”

Su Ye hunched his body, crouching low, and whispered, “Doesn’t sound like a lost soul—probably some kind of vicious beast. Stay below my height and follow me. Quickly—”

Hearing it wasn’t a ghost put Mu Xia and the others at ease. Even if it was a fierce beast, they felt more anger than fear, longing for it to show itself so they could destroy it together.

Nevertheless, they followed Su Ye, moving stealthily with bent knees. But after less than half an hour, exhaustion overwhelmed them. This way of traveling was utterly draining; sometimes they even had to crawl.

“How much farther, Su Ye? Let’s rest for a bit—we can’t go on,” Mu Xia panted, her once-fair face now smudged with dirt.

Su Ye shook his head. “No, we can’t stop. I can already sense at least five beasts circling us. If we halt, they’ll pounce. To them, we’re nothing but prey. Keep moving—”

Though everyone groaned and complained, they pressed on. Su Ye couldn’t help but marvel: these great families had survived for generations, and perhaps they weren’t as fragile as he’d imagined. They knew well the terrors of “Crying Night Isle,” yet still sent their heirs here—proof enough of their resolve and courage.

So, the group pressed forward without pause. One hour passed, then two, then three. By one in the morning, even Su Ye was exhausted, but they’d grown strangely accustomed to this tense state.

By three, they had to stop for a brief rest.

“It seems the cave at the center is still far off. Is this the family’s way of training us? It’s so different from what we learned at school,” Mu Xia said, her slender body nearly collapsing into the ground.

Everyone knew that, while school offered battle training, there were always instructors around, and classmates knew to pull their punches. Here, though, their lives were truly at risk, which forced out potential they never knew they had.

At school, who could imagine crawling for seven or eight hours? They wouldn’t even stand for that long, let alone crawl.

Li Haoxuan had no energy left to complain. He guzzled down pills and water as quickly as he could.

“They’re coming—we need to move!” Su Ye had heard twigs snapping in the underbrush.

Everyone tensed up, saying nothing as they resumed their low, crouching march. Their pace was slow, but as long as they kept moving, whatever was lurking in the dark seemed wary, not daring to attack. These creatures were patient, waiting for their prey to collapse from exhaustion.

No one knew how much time had passed before another companion, choked with excitement, cried out, “Look over there—the sun! Daybreak!”

Su Ye and the others turned, and sure enough, a faint beam of light was rising over the sea’s horizon. They had survived the night.

It had been the longest night of their lives.

“Haha, we made it! The poison gas is thinning, too!” Su Ye exclaimed, noting that the toxic mist was steadily dissipating in the sunlight—a good omen.

With the light growing, they could finally switch off their flashlights. Just then, a streak of blue-green shot out of the grass, darting straight for Su Ye’s throat.

“Watch out—!” Mu Xia screamed, instinctively raising her hand to block it.

A sharp pain, and blood spurted from her palm.

Su Ye’s pupils contracted. He kicked out hard, striking the blue-green creature with a resounding thud.

The group huddled together and peered ahead.

The blue-green thing was a monkey—a grotesque, terrifying monkey!

Its limbs were long, ending in sharp claws. Its fur looked like moss, as if it had lived in water for ages. Its face was small, twisted, and fierce, with eyes like green beans that glinted menacingly.

“What is that thing?” Li Haoxuan shouted, his face turning pale.

Su Ye checked Mu Xia’s hand—bloody but all five fingers intact. He said gravely, “Bandage it, quick! That’s likely a water monkey, notorious for dragging people into the water to kill them. What’s it doing on the island?”

“It must be the ebb tide. When the cave is exposed, many creatures can’t escape in time. They must have mutated,” Mu Xia replied through gritted teeth as she wrapped her wound.

Su Ye glanced at her, impressed by her resilience. He asked quietly, “Do you have any weapons?”

“No. I brought a gun, but that bastard Steward Zhang confiscated it!”

Li Haoxuan now realized they needed to work together. Looking around warily, he saw that one water monkey was hardly their only problem.

“Stay together. If they come, we fight them all!” Su Ye ordered.

No sooner had he spoken than the roots of the grass around them began to rustle and crackle. A quick glance revealed more than a dozen of those grotesque water monkeys.

And then, the treetops began to sway. They looked up, and their hearts instantly sank.

On the branches above, at least a hundred of them crowded together, a dense, writhing mass…