Chương 112: The Den of Poison!

As we made it outside, leaving the dead behind, we destroyed the entrance so our pursuers would need more time to regroup and investigate the cave. Once outside, she activated her Animo-reading ability. By extending her mental presence, she could detect other Animos throughout the small region ahead. She told me that 20 powerful individuals were approaching from the west, and the strongest among them, with a Animo of 139, 000, was not far behind. When I heard that number, I froze and confronted her.

"Wait. If that is the case, I do not even know you. I can just explain myself and get out of this mess." She let out a soft giggle.

"People like the ones I stole from are more stubborn than a rock. They will not listen to explanations. They will see a Suren with a thief and assume the worst. Trust me. I have been running from people like them for years. They will torture you just because they can." I retreated deep into my thoughts, realizing how terrible my situation actually was. Option 1 was to still try to explain myself and escape this trouble by pleading my case. That path might lead to my death or imprisonment.

Option 2 was to run with her into the unknown, which would keep me alive for as long as I could avoid detection. However, if I ended up caught, I would be tortured and killed. As I pondered the available options, I turned to her and spoke with confidence:"Let us go with option two." She looked at me with surprise, clearly expecting the worst, perhaps thinking I might attack her and try to present her head to our pursuers.

"What is option two?" she asked in a curious tone, keeping her weapon hidden behind her back, ready to strike.

"You run ahead, and I will follow," I told her with newfound confidence. She returned to a neutral stance, still surprised by my answer.

"Are you sure? You do not even know me."

"I... yes, I will follow you. Now let us go," I replied, my tone leaving no doubt that we were running out of time. And so, we ran. As I started to air-walk, she immediately stopped me and caught me in a headlock.

"Are you dense? Do you want them to find us even quicker? They have Animo readers too. Besides, air-walking is like being a fly in a box. You think you are free and have more room to move, but it is the exact opposite. You are much easier to box in and catch." Instead, we chose branch-hopping, leaping from tree to tree while leaving little to no footprint behind. This run was tedious and mentally exhausting, especially with the constant knowledge that our hunters were still hot on our trail.

Two days passed in this manner. We barely managed more than three and a half hours of sleep because she kept detecting them closing the gap, forcing us to keep moving. The forest we were in was dense in its structure. Ancient trees with thick canopies blocked most of the sunlight, while vines hung like curtains and the branches grew thick and sturdy. The ground below was covered in moss and fallen leaves, and every branch we jumped on creaked under our weight. Maimai moved like a shadow, graceful and silent.

I followed her, though my body was still adjusting to its new power. The doubled Animo made me faster, but it still felt insufficient, as Maimai easily stayed ahead of me. It was a constant reminder that my buff was minuscule in the grand scheme of power gained.

"How much farther?" I asked during a brief stop on a high branch, the leaves rustling around us as the whistles of our pursuers echoed in the distance.

"Far enough to lose them for a few hours," she replied. Her yellow-dark hair was tied back, and her black-green bandit clothes blended perfectly with the shadows.

"We might end up fighting them after all. I mean, you fought well for someone who claims he was brought here against his will. Most Suren, from what I have heard, do not even come this deep into this place. You... you seem different. Like you actually care about the people you drag into your mess." I leaned against the trunk, breathing hard.

"I do care. Too much, maybe. That is why I keep losing people. I keep telling myself it is not my fault, but it feels like it is. Every time." The emotion was raw as I revealed my greatest weakness to her. Now that she knew a bit more about me, including how I grieved for the lost and felt guilty for surviving, I added, "I just wanted strength to protect what is important to me. I never wanted to cause more death, but I brought it to them anyway, and I will clean up my own mess once I get out of this trouble."

Maimai looked at me for a long moment, her red lips curving into a small smile.

"Welcome to the real world, Suren. Strength always comes with a price. I stole that portrait because I thought it would buy me more freedom. Instead, it just bought me more hunters. But I do not regret it. Freedom is worth the chase." I nodded at her statement, agreeing that freedom, measured against everything else, was the best option to have. As she smiled at our conversation, she turned and signaled for us to continue. With that, we jumped back from branch to branch. The forest seemed endless.

Our pursuers were always close on our heels, or at least that was how it felt to me. Their whistles sounded like hounds on a trail. We barely slept, taking only short naps on high branches and eating whatever we could find along the way. We found purple bananas and lychees. The fruit was sweet and filling, but never enough, as time was a precious resource. The run was becoming tedious and mentally exhausting with the constant cycle of short breaks and immediate running.

Strangely, every whistle made my heart race with excitement, as if my subconscious actually enjoyed the thrill. To my brain, however, every shadow made me tense up.

"How do you keep doing this?" I asked during one short break while the sun was setting and orange light filtered through the leaves.

"By not looking back," she said, her voice quiet.

"By remembering what I am running for. Freedom. Not being owned. Not being used. You learn to live with the fear. You turn it into proper fuel, and you turn it into strength." With that, we went to sleep for a short while. The next day, I finally asked the question.

"What if you return the item you took? Like, if you just place it on a branch here, do you still think they will run after us? I mean, what the hell is this item even for them to be so relentless in their hunt?" She showed me the portrait properly. On it was an amber-hued older man. The name in the upper left corner was hand-drawn, reading: Portrait of the Tang Progenitor Wushan-Tang. The man in the picture looked tall and imposing, around 1. 85 to 1.

90 meters, with a broad, muscular build forged from years of intense training and warfare. He had long, flowing black hair tied back in a warrior's style, with streaks of early grey from the immense stress and grief he had endured. His sharp, piercing eyes carried both wisdom and deep sorrow, holding a gaze that commanded respect and fear. He had strong, angular facial features with a neatly trimmed beard and a prominent scar across his left cheek.

He wore traditional, high-quality robes in dark earth tones, adorned with Tang Clan symbols. His presence was regal yet battle-hardened, exuding the aura of a true heir to the progenitor that could be felt even from this portrait. He also looked very stern and angry, his face in the picture already appearing to be in his late forties. That made sense, given what we knew of the story. He was the younger son of Wujiren-Dao.

After his sister, Mei-Dao, went mad with jealousy, carved the word "败者 (Loser)" into his forehead, and waged war on the family, he was forced to kill her in an epic final battle. In deep grief and disgust with the Dao name, he abandoned it and became Wushan-Tang, founding the powerful Tang Clan. You could still see the faded mark on his forehead. Then I understood and asked in a lightly shivering tone, "Are the Tang after us?" In my mind, I pleaded to Michaelanius for it not to be the case.

I did not want this obstacle on my current path. Please, not them. I had heard they were the powerhouse in the Zhongguodao. Relievingly, she answered with a no.

"This was stolen from a branch sect that is allied with the Tang, though." I gulped, knowing it was still time to take drastic measures to ensure our safety. We both decided to get to a higher altitude, so we tried at first to climb up a mountain and outrun them in the snowfall. It was of no avail, as she could still feel them nearby, like an annoying fly buzzing around. I made an even greater effort, and by the next day, we reached the bottom of this very mountain.

Before us stood an active waterfall, about three meters wide, with a strong, powerful current that shot violently downward. I argued that we should not wastefully continue our flight, but instead go inside this waterfall and hide behind the curtain of water. She was still pleading for us to run.

"It is too reckless," she said.

"They will find us. We should keep moving."

"Enough," I argued back.

"I know I am the reckless one. It is in my nature. Right or wrong, it always comes with a cost. But look at us. If we keep running like this, it will not help us. Here we have a shot. It is just like the cavern system. And maybe if we team up, we can beat them and gain proper freedom. Believe in that, at least." With that decided, I went toward the lukewarm water and swam toward the active waterfall. Seeing me completely set on my hellbent decision, she chose to follow me.

As we both passed through the stream, which hit our heads and backs with heavy droplets of water, we hid behind the curtain of rushing water, trying to outsmart our pursuers. We found ourselves inside a massive, old den with a nasty, strange smell. Not thinking much of it at the time, we waited and held onto each other. I even found myself praying to Michaelanius that our paths would not intersect with the hunters. Some hours passed, and nothing happened. She could not detect anyone nearby.

On the next hours, we both ate the last provisions we had gathered on the road, including the purple bananas and lychees that were so abundant in this biome. Just as we were feeling relieved, we suddenly heard a female scream echoing from deeper within the cave. We went to investigate the noise. It turned out we had stumbled right into a bandit poison den. We then saw as we stood on the edges corner how they worked on captives who were strapped to bamboo and impaled above the ground, deep within this dark den.

Spikes and poisonous needles surrounded them in a hugging, pressing manner. The poison bandits, as Maimai explained to me in a whisper from behind a rock, were just as bad as the people hunting us. They were exiled Tang Sect members trying to rediscover the Original Poison Body, a technique that only the elite were ever allowed to learn. Currently, they were experimenting on people fresh from a nearby village. They were vile scum. Once again, I nearly lost my temper in anger, but Maimai held me back.

"Not now," she whispered.

"We cannot save them all. We need to survive first." I then argued that we could not simply go back, asking her what if our pursuers were already waiting like wolves outside. If this scum had an exit leading somewhere else, we had to try it. And so, I walked out of our hiding spot before she could stop me.

She would have preferred to run without helping the helpless, thinking it was too reckless, and I would have simply reminded her that being reckless was in my nature, right or wrong i wont let bastards like them run free before me. As I approached one of the four crazy guys, who looked like toads because they had experimented on themselves for the poison body and developed many bloating bubbles on their skin, I called out to them upon viewing them.

"Ew. Ugly toads. How about you fight me instead? Let us learn about your issues together and put these people out of their misery and let them free." The elder among them turned to the voice around.

"Hoho. A Suren. Hoho. How did a rare breed like you make it to the Den of the Poison Tailhand?" the elder asked me curiously.

"Oh, I do not know. I guess the stink in this damp den made it pretty obvious. So I came to say hello, and after viewing your faces, I decided that I need to cut your ugly mugs down," I replied, my tone filled with disdain. The elder laughed, using an apparition to squeeze one of the victims as he stood near them. He injected so much poison into the poor soul that the person bloated up instantly.

Green goo flew out of the person's mouth, eyes, and ears, and they died right before our eyes, as if their life meant absolutely nothing to the elder.

"Hoho! Now, Suren, I guess I have a new bamboo stick ready for a special, arrogant guest that can be used for experimentation. My friends and scholars, let us get him onto the experiment bamboo, as I have just made a spot available," the elder said in delight. With that, the other three younger bandits, who appeared to be in their twenties with severe hair loss and only small patches of hair left on their scalps, launched their attack. I immediately activated my Fire Vestuto, now completely furious.

They had just killed one of their victims completely unnecessarily. Yet again, a soul was lost because of my presence. But in my mind, I swore that I would save the others. Driven by that high, rushing anger, I attacked with everything I had. Using my Elsa di Fuoco, I unleashed an aura slash that burned the closest foolish scholar into pure charcoal and ash. The other two jumped back, looking deeply disturbed upon seeing the intense heat I had created. The elder stepped away from the trapped victims.

"Hoho. I guess he is too much for you, my students. Let Elder Maofanli take care of this issue and bring him to his proper place." He activated his Vestuto right away. He was an earth attribute type, transforming his robe into an armor that made him look like a knight. Maofanli, a forty-seven-year-old amber-hued exile of the Tang Sect, manifested his self-created Vestuto, the Poison Brigandier Vestuto.

Clad in sleek black, gold, and venomous green armor with a large poison cylinder on his back, he channeled deadly toxins through tubes directly into his blade and mouth. His dark green sword dripped with corrosive liquid poison that could melt skin and wound even higher Animo opponents, while his poisonous gas severely reduced cellular healing for as long as the battle lasted. A near master of this dangerous, self-invented style, Maofanli was a terrifying force on the battlefield.

While Maofanli and I clashed, Maimai secretly helped the victims out of their imprisonment. She even managed to grab the antidote from the front lab, giving it to them while signaling them to stay quiet and move slowly toward the back exit. Under her guidance, the victims fled the den while the elder and I continued our duel. He quickly took control of the battle, forcing me to up the ante. I decided to tap into my Soul Attribute. Maofanli was instantly perplexed and shaken.

A man wielding two different attributes was supposed to be completely impossible and unheard of in this world. With my newfound power, I could fight much better. However, because both of us were releasing such a massive amount of Animo, the entire mountain began to vibrate. Our pursuers, who had actually been camping right along the water line because they suspected we were hiding nearby, noticed the disturbance. Their leader took charge of his soldiers, and they ran straight toward the sound of the battle.

They burst into the cavern, catching sight of me in my grey shadowy armor and one of the exiled. Maofanli, whom had a massive bounty of 21, 000 osmium on his head, with a wanted poster demanding him dead, not alive. Seeing an opportunity to strike down two targets at once, the lead hunter jumped right into the fray.

"I am allied with the Tang Sect, you vile freak. You should have killed yourself on the day you left the sect as a former elite tester."

"It is you, Ucha!" the exiled man shouted back, his tone filled with pure anger. With the situation escalating, the three of us fell into a tense fighting stance. However, as the two of them started to clash, I chose not to join. Instead, I took off and ran, knowing I was too weak to keep going much longer anyway. Maofanli's poison was strong, but I felt proud that I had held my own against such powerhouses. When I made it outside, I found that the escaped victims were forced to fight Ucha's remaining soldiers.

Over the course of the hunt, Ucha had amassed his numbers, leaving twenty-three men scattered across the entire area to block our escape. Maimai quickly hugged me, and I felt something being slipped into my pack. She needed to guide the victims to safety, but I knew I had to stay behind and face the army. I told her that I could kill them because they did not feel nearly as powerful as the leaders inside.

Trusting my words, she took charge of the group, running ahead as she screamed back at me, "I am bringing the victims home. I will come back for you once I make sure they reach safety!" She took charge, knowing I was somewhat weakened by the poison, and pulled some of the soldiers toward her to help both of us in the process. Inside my helmet, strange green veins began to spread across my face, and my breathing became heavy and staggered.

The toxin was taking a heavy toll, turning me into a liability, but my sheer will forced my body to adapt to the burning sensation within. Using the last of my proper strength, I guided the victims with maimai into the forest, fighting off the soldiers who ran after the path of hers. At first, I avoided killing unless absolutely necessary. I lacked the energy to guarantee clean, lethal strikes, so I focused on severing limbs to stop them from pursuing us.

However, as they pressed on with our clashes, shouting that they would kill all of us, including the victims Maimai was taking with her, they began accusing us of doing evil and being in cahoots with those Tang people. They acted like blindly righteous zealots, completely failing to understand that these were innocent captives who had nothing to do with our fight. Their ignorance infuriated me. I decided right then that it was better for everyone if I simply cut their heads off.

The soldiers screamed as they watched me chopping off their heads with swift arcs. I turned to the remaining zealots, shouting back at their active screams and curses.

"You do not deserve to live anyway!" The emotion was raw. It was a mixture of rage for the innocent, grief for the ones I could not save earlier, and a fierce determination to protect these people at all costs alongside Maimai. I fought like a man possessed. The battle was brutal, but it was necessary to ensure that no hunters, other than the few Maimai had pulled away herself, could follow her. It was bloody, but we made it.

The soldiers who stood in my way all fell to their deaths, decapitated, their bodies lying among the fallen leaves around the trees. I could only hope that the victims would be safe for now.