With the Second Beast Young Master leading the way, Ziqing and the others soon reached the entrance to the python-infested valley beside the waterfall.

Yelu Qianqian’s wound was poisoned, so Ziqing didn’t dare treat it carelessly. Fortunately, the arrow wound itself wasn’t very deep, not enough to cause continuous bleeding, but Ziqing remained anxious and extremely cautious nonetheless.

“Second Beast Young Master, is the giant python’s blood poisonous too?” she asked seriously. Her poison-immune constitution meant she feared no venom at all—unfortunately, the poison planted in her body had already been cured, otherwise dealing with a giant python would have been trivial.

With the Second Beast Young Master present, she naturally stayed on guard—throughout all of Nanzhao, aside from the old man of the Poison Den, everyone was extremely wary of anything connected to the Isolated Isle.

Ziqing didn’t believe for a moment that the Second Beast Young Master, even if he somehow learned the truth, would keep their secret.

“Poisonous, the same as the leopard’s,” the Second Beast Young Master answered quickly.

Ziqing nodded, glancing at Situ Haonan, who was tending to Yelu Qianqian, and said flatly, “Haonan, stay out here. Keep watch over… Princess Qianqian.”

Situ Haonan understood the unspoken meaning in her words clearly enough—he had to stay here not only to guard Yelu Qianqian, but also to watch Ziqing’s back.

This wasn’t an ordinary hunt anymore; there was no need to worry about the hunting ground’s rules. Killing a venomous giant python wasn’t particularly difficult for Ziqing.

“Mm, be careful!” Situ Haonan said seriously.

“Let’s hurry in, or it’ll be dark soon!” the Second Beast Young Master urged. The daylight was already fading.

Ziqing glanced at the sky, determined to get out before nightfall—otherwise there would be too many unpredictable complications after dark.

“Second Beast Young Master, since you can’t tame that python, you’d only get in my way coming along—you can’t actually help me!” Ziqing had no time for pleasantries, refusing him outright.

The Second Beast Young Master froze, then nodded, saying earnestly, “Please be careful. The python’s blood is even more poisonous than the leopard’s. The Xining flower is purple—it’s the only flower in this valley, and you’ll need at least ten blossoms!”

“Understood, don’t worry!”

With that, Ziqing turned and left. Without the Second Beast Young Master present, she no longer had to worry about the python’s blood touching her, and gripping Liuguang tightly, she descended the narrow mountain path.

Watching Ziqing’s figure disappear, Situ Haonan remained uneasy, sensing something was off but unable to pinpoint what. He wished Jun Beiyue were here—or that Ziqing had never come on this hunt at all.

All because of this troublesome girl in his arms—and heaven only knew where Jun Beiyue was right now.

Fortunately, this place was well hidden, rarely visited by other hunters—otherwise, running into anyone here would have been difficult to explain.

But Situ Haonan had no idea that the very thing he feared was already unfolding.

Across the entire hunting ground, nearly every hunter had been drawn, step by step, toward this location by their prey.

The Second Beast Young Master glanced at the sky, then down into the valley, a confident, cold smile flickering across his eyes.

“Second Beast Young Master, I have no idea who Qianqian heard it from, but she said there were extremely timid rabbits on that slope—did you tell her?” Situ Haonan asked flatly.

What worried him most was this exact coincidence—the hunting ground was so vast, how had the two groups ended up crossing paths here of all places?

The Second Beast Young Master denied it at once. “I never said anything. The Princess Consort asked me, and I told her nothing either! Princess Qianqian just… just begged me… to let you two…”

Before he could finish, Situ Haonan waved him off. “All right, all right, I understand.”

Qianqian had also said she hadn’t asked him—she probably hadn’t lied, Situ Haonan reasoned. But just then, the Second Beast Young Master suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground with a thud!

“Hey!” Situ Haonan cried out in alarm. What was happening? Everything had been fine, so how could he suddenly… But before he even had time to wonder, a sharp dizziness struck him too, and his vision went black as he collapsed unconscious as well!

What… what on earth was going on?

There was nothing around them, not even a single shadow of another person. Situ Haonan and the Second Beast Young Master had simply, inexplicably, fallen unconscious. Meanwhile, Ziqing remained completely unaware of any of this, having already reached the valley floor, moving silently, hoping above all not to disturb the giant python.

Above the valley, it was still dusk, the sky not yet fully dark, but down in the valley itself it was considerably dimmer. It didn’t seem to be flowering season—there were few blossoms in the valley, only a scattering of small purple clusters rustling here and there. The flowers were tiny; a single handful would yield about ten.

Ziqing remained alert to her surroundings while making her way toward the nearest cluster of flowers, step by careful step—though anxious, she moved with deliberate slowness.

But by the time her hand could reach the flowers growing against the rock face, everything around her remained perfectly still.

Ziqing let out a quiet breath of relief and reached out to pick them—when suddenly! A massive, fanged serpent’s mouth lunged out from within the rock face itself, straight toward her!

Ziqing had never imagined the giant python could be hidden within the very rock wall. Had it not been for the instinctive reflexes she’d cultivated since childhood, she might well have been swallowed whole by those massive fangs in that instant.

Ziqing broke into a cold sweat, but regardless, the flowers were already in hand—she turned to leave at once. But just as she took her first step forward, a massive, powerful tail suddenly whipped toward her from the other side with brutal force!

Ziqing recovered quickly enough to dodge with relative ease, but that single swing of the tail immediately sealed off the exit behind her with several massive boulders!

This valley was enclosed on three sides by sheer cliffs, with only this one path leading out—and now Ziqing’s escape was going to be far from easy.

Ziqing made a snap decision, tucking the Xining flowers into her sleeve and switching to her dagger instead.

At that moment, the giant python fully revealed itself—its scales patterned in alternating black and blue-green stripes, a sight terrifying enough to send chills down anyone’s spine. Ziqing gripped her dagger tightly, refusing to remain on the defensive any longer, striking first instead.

Yelu Qianqian couldn’t wait, and the situation above ground allowed no room for delay either—she needed to eliminate this python and get out as quickly as possible!

Soon, her small, nimble figure could be seen weaving between the python’s massive, coiling body, but the giant serpent proved to be no easy opponent—small wonder even the beastfolk clan elders had never managed to tame it.

Its enormous size made it no less agile—quite the opposite. Its body could twist into any shape, and even when tied into what seemed like an impossible knot, it could still slip free with ease.

For a time, woman and serpent were locked in fierce combat.

Ziqing hadn’t expected this snake to prove so relentlessly difficult—it seemed to have no intention of injuring her at all; it simply refused to let her leave, dragging the fight out endlessly.

Ziqing didn’t dwell on it too much, assuming the snake was simply trying to stall until nightfall. A giant python’s stamina was several times that of a human’s—even someone with Ziqing’s iron constitution would eventually grow exhausted, and all the more so once night fell, when she’d need to expend even more focus and attention.

She needed to find a solution, and quickly!

But she had no idea that at that very moment, torchlight was steadily converging on the valley from above…