The sky had not yet brightened, and being in the forest, the surroundings were almost pitch black.
Yang Lin switched on his flashlight, but it only managed to keep him barely in sync with Lin Xiao Tian, while Yang Xin lagged behind, stopping every few steps, nearly falling behind multiple times.
"Xiao Tian, slow down a bit, we can't keep up," Yang Lin panted.
Even though he had practiced martial arts since childhood, following Lin Xiao Tian's pace at this moment put immense pressure on him.
This also made Yang Lin secretly surprised.
Given Lin Xiao Tian's age, he was about the same as them, and not particularly strong, yet his stamina was so good?
He himself, since childhood, had trained with world-class security companies almost every year, with professional martial arts coaches guiding him, and yet he couldn't keep up with Lin Xiao Tian's rhythm?
Another point was that he was holding a flashlight, while Lin Xiao Tian, with his full senses, was navigating purely by sight!
"Keep up! It's going to rain today, and the conditions in the mountains will be much more complicated. We don't have much time. We must withdraw from the depths of Black Mountain before the rain starts."
The siblings had no choice but to push themselves.
Fortunately, Yang Xin's physical fitness was also decent, and she could barely keep up.
Soon, the three of them ventured deeper into the forest.
During this time, Lin Xiao Tian also found the backpacks of the two bodyguards from earlier.
However, the backpacks were there, but the people were gone.
Yang Xin sighed, feeling a pang of guilt.
Yang Lin picked up a backpack and searched through it for a while.
Soon, a handgun appeared in his hand.
Without hesitation, Yang Lin handed the gun directly to Lin Xiao Tian.
"Xiao Tian, take this gun. From now on, we'll rely on you."
Yang Lin could have secretly pocketed the gun, but by giving it to Lin Xiao Tian now, it was essentially a gesture of submission. He hoped Lin Xiao Tian would trust him, and by handing over the gun, he indicated that they posed no threat to Lin Xiao Tian at this moment.
Lin Xiao Tian took the gun without saying much.
He had initially thought Yang Lin was a useless dandy, but it seemed he knew how to conduct himself. In contrast, Yang Xin was like a startled deer, still in a state of shock.
"Once the White Viper has eaten a person, it will no longer fear humans. We need to be even more careful from now on. Stay close to me and don't fall behind," Lin Xiao Tian said seriously, looking at the two of them.
Yang Lin instantly became nervous. "Didn't you say the White Viper wouldn't attack people randomly?"
"Not under normal circumstances. However, it's about to rain, and the White Viper becomes agitated in wind and rain. Moreover, you guys stole its eggs..."
Hearing Lin Xiao Tian's words, Yang Lin's expression turned grim.
"Then let's go back now! Otherwise, it'll catch up to us!"
"No need to be too anxious. It's not raining yet, so it's still relatively docile," Lin Xiao Tian replied.
"Just because it's not raining now doesn't mean it won't rain later, right? You said it would rain, and if it suddenly starts pouring, we won't have time."
"The rain is still about three hours away. We have enough time."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Of course," Lin Xiao Tian said confidently.
Hearing Lin Xiao Tian's confident assurance, Yang Lin couldn't help but look at him again.
However, at that moment, a scream suddenly came from behind.
"Ah..."
Lin Xiao Tian turned his head to look.
He saw that a sharp branch had cut Yang Xin's arm, and blood was flowing from the wound.
"Yang Xin, how could you be so careless!" Yang Lin reprimanded her.
"I don't know how it happened, this branch just lashed out. When I was standing, I specifically checked my surroundings," Yang Xin replied, looking wronged.
"You're injured and bleeding. If those wild animals smell the blood, we'll be in trouble..." Yang Lin continued to scold Yang Xin.
But Lin Xiao Tian interrupted him.
"It's not her fault, it's this branch!"
"Huh?" Yang Lin blinked in surprise.
Was Lin Xiao Tian defending Yang Xin?
Could it be that he had a crush on Yang Xin?
This was exactly the tone of a sycophant. Lin Xiao Tian was most likely infatuated with Yang Xin.
Yang Lin inwardly despised Lin Xiao Tian. He thought Lin Xiao Tian was a real man, but it turned out he was just as servile.
Even Yang Xin was flustered by Lin Xiao Tian's inexplicable concern.
Just then, Lin Xiao Tian had already come in front of her.
Yang Xin became nervous.
Lin Xiao Tian's words felt like a warning signal to her.
If Lin Xiao Tian really had feelings for her, he would undoubtedly pester her the rest of the way.
Yang Xin imagined some unpleasant scenarios. What if Lin Xiao Tian harbored ill intentions towards her? What would she do then?
Thinking of this, her heart grew more flustered.
"Look closely at this branch," Lin Xiao Tian reminded her.
Then, under the flashlight's beam, Lin Xiao Tian broke off a small section of the branch that had scratched Yang Xin.
The next moment, a few drops of bright red liquid flowed from the break.
Simultaneously, a strong scent of blood wafted over.
"This is blood..."
Yang Xin immediately realized.
Lin Xiao Tian released the branch again.
The moment he let go, the branch seemed to come alive, retracting its tendrils on its own.
Yang Lin shone his flashlight upwards.
For a moment, both siblings were stunned by the sight before them.
About one to two meters above their heads, countless branches writhed like crawling caterpillars, moving wildly. Some branches even pierced through the corpses of bats.
"This is a blood vine. It can move like an animal and contains neurotoxins that cause paralysis. However, its range of movement is limited. If we don't stay in one place for too long while walking, it won't choose us as targets," Lin Xiao Tian explained.
"There are things like this?" Yang Lin asked, astonished.
He had thought the man-eating plant was incredible, but he hadn't expected this blood vine to be even more formidable.
Yang Xin was also surprised. However, similarly, she felt a trace of guilt.
She had just completely misunderstood Lin Xiao Tian in her mind.
Lin Xiao Tian took out silver needles and quickly pricked Yang Xin's arm a few times. Soon, the bleeding from Yang Xin's arm stopped, and even the numb feeling in her arm had greatly recovered.
"Hiss... I didn't expect this wound to hurt so much," Yang Xin said with a pained expression.
"The blood vine's toxin, although it paralyzes the nerves, after the toxicity disappears, it only intensifies the pain for the victim, but it won't last long."
"Ouch! Such dangerous things are appearing already. If we go any further in, won't it be even more perilous? I think we should go back down the mountain?" Yang Lin suggested again.
"If you want to go down the mountain, you can go down by yourself. I won't stop you," Lin Xiao Tian said dismissively.
"Fine, fine... You're the boss, we'll listen to you, okay!" Yang Lin said helplessly.