Ye Qing stopped only after he had cut the protruding giant rock to the point of collapse. He put away the Scabbard of The Ancestor of Miao Dao, scanned the crowd beside him, and said in a deep voice, "In a moment, I'll kick this giant rock down, and everyone should jump over the fire over there immediately, light the tents on their bodies, and then dash up the mountain without looking back. Remember, whoever runs slow this time will get eaten by these rats until not even a bone fragment is left!"
The last words greatly motivated everyone, and they all looked at the fire beside them, just waiting for Ye Qing to kick that giant rock down. Especially Old Chen, this old guy was surprisingly shouting about respecting the old and caring for the young while running to the front, seemingly ready to run up the mountain first.
Ye Qing didn't bother with this old guy either, being the first to run in this kind of situation was just asking for trouble. Running out first would surely attract most of the Long-toothed Rats' attention, wasn't that courting death?
Of course, running last was actually the most dangerous. Because after those people rushed through, the Long-toothed Rats might have adapted to these moving firemen and could potentially give their all to attack him. Therefore, Ye Qing ran last, after all, his strength was a bit more robust than the others. As for Old Chen running first, Ye Qing didn't stop him; he just wanted to use this event to test Old Chen's situation, as he always suspected Old Chen was not a simple character.
"One! Two! Three!" Ye Qing counted three times, suddenly and forcefully stomping on the protruding giant rock. The rock immediately got stomped down and, being round in front on a slope, the outcome was obvious—it rolled straight down the slope.
However, below it was a ground full of Long-toothed Rats. The giant rock rolling down meant it rolled directly into the Long-toothed Rat Swarm. All they heard was a series of miserable squeaks, and it was unknown how many Long-toothed Rats were crushed by the giant rock, causing an obvious disorder among the swarm.
At this moment, Old Chen was the first to jump over the fire. His whole body soaked in gasoline, it was predictable; immediately, his entire body went up in flames, turning him into a fireman.
"Damn!" Old Chen shouted, seemingly burned not lightly by the fire, standing there momentarily forgetting what to do.
"Run fast, are you waiting to die?" Big Beard shouted, and only then did Old Chen remember what to do and quickly ran up the mountain.
Indeed, when Old Chen dashed into the Long-toothed Rat Swarm, these rats were indeed frightened by the fireman and retreated. After all, the Long-toothed Rats were afraid of fire. However, most of the swarm's attention was drawn to Old Chen, who, although retreated by the rats, still had many pursuing him.
Meanwhile, others also rushed over the flame one after another, frantically running up the mountain. The burning sensation from the fire on their bodies was, of course, incredibly scorching, but nothing compared to losing one's life. At that moment, everyone just wanted to keep their lives, so they ran desperately, not daring to slow down a bit.
Ye Qing was the last to rush over, just as he anticipated. After so many people rushed past, the Long-toothed Rat Swarm was certainly a bit shocked. However, at this moment, they were all adapted, so many Long-toothed Rats, even unafraid of the flames, lunged at him. Although many Long-toothed Rats were burned and retreated, there were just too many of them, coming one after another, even slowing Ye Qing's steps slightly.
Fortunately, Ye Qing's body was more robust than others. Despite the flames burning on his body, Ye Qing didn't feel much of the scorching sensation, just uncomfortable from the encasing flames. Ye Qing kept running and jumping vigorously, shaking off all the Long-toothed Rats from his body. However, no sooner had he shaken off a batch, another batch came charging up, these Long-toothed Rats fearlessly advancing, were truly dangerous. Ye Qing was engulfed in flames all over, with even his head covered with a tent, unable to see the outside situation, merely sprinting towards the mountaintop.
Screams and calls for help constantly came from the side, but Ye Qing no longer had time to save anyone, fearing he might lose his own life if he didn't run.
After running for about three minutes, Ye Qing noticeably felt fewer Long-toothed Rats on him. And when he stepped, his feet sank into the ground, meaning he had reached the snow line.
This situation made Ye Qing breathe a sigh of relief; the Long-toothed Rats wouldn't reach the snow line, which was a known fact. As long as they reached the snow line, they would be safe.
Feeling the snow beside him getting thicker and the Long-toothed Rats increasingly scarce, Ye Qing tore open the tent wrapped around him, finally freeing himself from that scorching feeling. At this moment, a few Long-toothed Rats were still around him, but within the snow line, these rats frantically ran back, completely ignoring Ye Qing. It was evident that the Long-toothed Rats were terrified of the cold.
Ye Qing also took a deep breath, turning around to look; at this moment, four people were already standing in the snow line, just having run over as well. Though Ye Qing was the last to run, he was indeed the fastest. At this time, three people had already fallen on the ground below, covered with Long-toothed Rats, seemingly beyond saving. Two others were rolling down the mountain, and this situation was beyond help as well. Two remaining were still on their way here, frantically dashing in this direction.
"Run faster, you're almost there!" Ye Qing shouted, trying to give the two people hope. Sure enough, when they heard Ye Qing's words, they sped up significantly and finally rushed into the snowy zone. As for the Long-toothed Rats chasing after them, they dared not go further upon reaching the snowfall, as if they were truly afraid of the cold.
Ye Qing looked at the scene carefully. Including him, there were now a total of seven people in the snowy area, with Fat Wang and Big Beard among them. However, five people had already fallen victim, three of them had been torn to pieces, and nothing was left of them. Two others were rolling down the mountain, surely beyond rescue. There was still one more person, but instead of running towards the snowy zone, he seemed to have lost his direction and was running towards the other side.
"Who is that?" Fat Wang shouted loudly, "Hey, you're running in the wrong direction, run this way!"
At this point, it was clear that the person couldn't hear Fat Wang's shouts anymore, screaming as he ran wildly with a swarm of Long-toothed Rats chasing him.
Ye Qing's face suddenly changed as he heard those screams. Because he recognized it was Old Chen's voice. In other words, the person running was actually Old Chen!
Ye Qing originally wanted to test Old Chen's abilities, but he didn't expect that Old Chen truly had no skills, unable to get through such a situation. Seeing Old Chen's condition, Ye Qing quickly followed along the snowy zone, shouting, "Old Chen, run to the right, run to the right, don't go forward, there's a cliff ahead!"
But Old Chen seemed either dazed or genuinely unable to hear Ye Qing's shouts, and he didn't look back, charging straight towards the cliff. No matter how much Ye Qing shouted, he didn't change direction and ultimately rushed straight into the cliff, jumping off it alive.
This situation left everyone else stunned. Such a high cliff, falling down like that, how could there be any hope?
Ye Qing was also stunned; he had never expected such an outcome. He had assumed Old Chen surely had abilities, which is why he brought him along, hoping to force him to act in times of crisis. But now it seemed, Old Chen truly had no special abilities!
As Old Chen jumped off the cliff edge, no more screams could be heard on the mountain. The people surrounded below had already lost their lives and were surely beyond saving. The seven people who made it to the snowy zone had escaped this disaster. However, none of them felt the joy of surviving a catastrophe. Looking at those below who were gnawed by the Long-toothed Rats until nothing remained, everyone's heart was racing. If they had been a bit slower earlier, they might have ended up the same. Xiliang Mountain was truly dangerous!
Ye Qing sat down slowly on the snow, not far from the cliff edge, his heart filled with guilt.
After an unknown amount of time, Fat Wang came over and patted Ye Qing on the shoulder, saying, "Forget it, let's go!"
Although Fat Wang often argued with Old Chen, he bore no malice towards him. Seeing Old Chen fall off the cliff, he felt a bit down as well.
"I'm the one who harmed him!" Ye Qing sighed. "If I hadn't insisted on him coming up the mountain with us, he wouldn't have ended up falling into that cliff!"
"Talking about experts now, who could foresee so many things? If we knew he would die outside, we shouldn't have taken him away from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master at that time!" Fat Wang patted Ye Qing on the shoulder, saying, "This was a sudden incident, no one expected it, and no one could save him."
Ye Qing sighed deeply; he was still very upset. If he had known Old Chen truly had no skills, he wouldn't have brought him along, allowing him to live a simple, normal life. But now, Old Chen ended up buried in Xiliang Mountain. Ye Qing had saved him from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, only to cause his death in Xiliang Mountain; did he save him or harm him?
The sky gradually brightened, and the Long-toothed Rats below slowly scattered, leaving chaos on the mountain. Only a few scraps of clothing remained on the slope. Those who died had not even left their bones behind, showing the destructive power of the Long-toothed Rats.
A total of fourteen people went up the mountain, and now, including Ye Qing, only seven were left. Six people had been eaten by the Long-toothed Rats, and Old Chen had fallen off the cliff; the loss was severe for them. As they continued onward, no one could remain as calm as before, with every heart shrouded in a shadow.
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