Chapter 68 Burning Percy Yarrow To Death
Amber nodded solemnly. She followed Jonathan’s instructions and took out her gun, loaded the ammunition, and released the safety catch.
After the two of them put on their gas masks, Jonathan led the way, carrying the equipment such as climbing ropes and combat knives that were consigned to Amber through her connections.
With Amber following closely behind Jonathan, they quickly went around the man-made lake and arrived in front of the forest. The lush forest was enveloped in fog, while the ground was overrun with dew-covered weeds. Jonathan’s and Amber’s feet and pants were already wet.
It was at this point that fear paralyzed Amber. Although she was mentally prepared, her terror mounted with every step when she saw the venomous snakes that were densely coiled up beneath her.
Wearing a gas mask had made it difficult for her to speak. Thus, her screams were muffled. Jonathan, on the other hand, was very calm. He hummed a tune in accordance with the Snake Repelling Technique taught by Felicia.
The tune was like a serenade sung on a moonlit night. It had a soothing and relaxing, yet bewitching power.
The mystical snakes were quite intelligent. Back then, the founder of the Crimson Onyx Sect, Percy Yarrow, had trained these snakes using the same serenade.
Unsurprisingly, after Jonathan hummed the serenade, the snakes in the forest spread to both sides like receding tides.
Seeing that the serenade had worked, Jonathan and Amber let out a breath of relief. Straight after, the two went deeper into the forest.
Forest is the favorite habitat of snakes. It’s a paradise for the reptiles. Jonathan and Amber continued to head forward without turning any lights on. Merely relying on the moonlight, they watched the snakes rustle in the bushes. Observing the snakes at a close distance was a ghastly experience.
The sound of the snakes slithering was extremely unpleasant.
Halfway through, Jonathan realized that something was wrong. Hence, he stopped moving forward.
“What’s wrong?” Amber murmured instantly. She was able to speak softly even with the gas mask on.
Jonathan lowered his voice and said, “Something’s not right.”
“What isn’t right?”
“These are snakes separating and making way for us in a meandering manner. The path that they’re opening up for us is like a winding road, but we’re planning to go straight ahead. If they’re guided by my Snake Repelling Technique, why is the path in such a shape?”
Amber was momentarily stunned. But thinking that Jonathan was overreacting, she breathed, “These snakes are animals, after all. They’re not real human beings. You can’t just blame them for not opening up a straight path.”
Suddenly, Jonathan discovered something with his keen senses. He noticed that the snakes were oozing with hostility when Amber said that they were only animals.
Jonathan could feel shivers up his spine. I can’t believe that the snakes are so smart that they can even understand human language.
“It’s not simple as you think,” Jonathan said in a serious tone. “Amber, I think these snakes are trying to lead us somewhere, and that place is likely an ambush. Something dangerous is waiting for us.”
“What can be more dangerous than these snakes? Did someone get hold of our whereabouts in advance? Even if they did and wanted to kill us, they could have just commanded the snakes to do so.”
In a low voice, Jonathan reminded her, “Don’t forget that the members of the Crimson Onyx Sect are best at uncovering secrets. If Gabriel knows that he’s at a disadvantage and has done some investigation beforehand, it won’t be a problem for him to predict that we’re coming.”
Amber gasped in astonishment. “There’s one thing I don’t understand. If Gabriel knew we were coming, why didn’t he kill us with these venomous snakes straight away?”
She looked at the snakes around her, goosebumps creeping up all over her body.
There were so many snakes. If they were to attack Jonathan and Amber, both of them would die a rather miserable death.
Amber used to watch Mythical Gods as a child. There was a scene in which people were thrown into a pit full of snakes.
Amber had been truly terrified when she watched the show at that time. Now that she was in the middle of the same situation, it was impossible for her not to tremble in fear.
Jonathan, on the other hand, was remarkably calm. The more dangerous it was, the more relaxed he would be.
“Amber, you’re right. If they wanted us dead, they wouldn’t have made things so tough for themselves.”
Hearing this, Amber sighed in relief. “So you’ve been overthinking, right? The other party didn’t even notice us.”
“No, they definitely know about us. They just refuse to kill us now. Perhaps more brutal things lie ahead. Let’s go. We’ll act according to the circumstances. There won’t be anything worse than what we’re facing right now anyway.”
At that moment, Jonathan stopped humming the serenade. However, the snakes were still moving apart like receding tides, creating a winding path.
The situation ahead further proved that Jonathan was right.
No matter how stupid she was, Amber knew that something was wrong with these snakes at that point.
Both of them walked in the direction guided by the snakes. Five minutes later, they exited the forest.
In front of the forest was a thatched hut that had no lights. It seemed that no one was residing there either.
Yet, the snakes still had not retreated. Instead, they kept moving forward, surrounding the hut from all sides.
The path that the snakes showed had led Jonathan and Amber to this very hut.
It was crystal clear that the mysterious person wanted the two to enter the hut.
No one knew if the hut had any traps. But following his instincts, Jonathan sensed danger coming from inside.
“What do we do now?” asked Amber.
Upon deliberation, Jonathan took out a windproof lighter from his bag and flicked it open. Then, he threw it directly at the roof of the hut.
Amber’s eyes lit up at the sight of that.
She thought that Jonathan was very clever. So what if many vicious traps have been set up? We’ll just stay outside and set the hut on fire.
The thatch was dry, so it caught fire as soon as it touched the lighter.
At first, it was a small fire. Then it grew bigger as the hut blazed with wicked flames.
“Oh no!” Jonathan’s expression suddenly changed as he rushed into the hut in a flash.
Standing aside was Amber, who looked more confused than ever.
Just as Jonathan rushed inside the hut, he immediately saw an old man sleeping right in the center.
The old man had a kind and amiable face. His eyes were shut as he lay there in serenity.
The sharp-eyed Jonathan could tell straight away that this old man was already dead.
What was worse was that Jonathan caught a whiff of gasoline on the old man. Before Jonathan ran into the hut, a spark had flown onto the old man’s body, and the old man’s body had begun burning fiercely.
In an instant, he was bathed in raging flames from head to toe. Even if Jonathan wanted to rescue the old man, it was already too late.
“Jonathan, the snakes have finally backed off. Let’s get going,” Amber shouted from behind him.
With a heavy heart, Jonathan swiftly returned to Amber’s side. The snakes had vanished from his sight, while the hut had been bathed in the firelight.
It was also at this moment that the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the east. Someone yelled, “Oh no! There’s a fire at The House of Worship. Everyone, come put out the fire.”
“Let’s go!” Jonathan grabbed Amber’s hand and ran toward the west.
To the west was a natural lake and clumps of reeds.
The formation of the mirage was caused by the refraction of the sunlight on the lakes.
Jonathan and Amber hid behind the reeds. Although the reeds were fully covered with dew, both of them could not care less about it.
After all, they were almost soaked with dew when they went through the forest earlier.
The hut was naturally beyond help. Shortly after, Jonathan and Amber heard someone crying again. In between the cries, they could hear words such as “Master Yarrow has passed on.”
“Let’s go!” Jonathan pulled Amber as they continued heading west.
Further west was a hill with a dense forest.
The bright moon in the sky shone on the hill, adding a sense of mystery to it. When Jonathan and Amber arrived at the hillside, the atmosphere was silent, or precisely speaking, tranquil. Only the sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing could be heard.
The two found a place and sat down. Looking down from there, they could see a place that was illuminated with lights.
What surprised them was that the brightly lit place below the hill seemed like a bustling small city. Amber pointed east in astonishment and asked, “That’s not an airport, is it?”
Looking over, Jonatha could certainly see that there was an open space in the town. It looked like a field that seemingly had the layout of an airport.
Jonathan and Amber could not see the airport clearly. However, they had just arrived by plane, so they were somewhat familiar with what an airport looked like.
The town where the Crimson Onyx Sect was looked very modern. It was not as underdeveloped as people thought.
Yet, this came as no surprise. Members of the Crimson Onyx Sect were all experts in geomancy and fortune-telling. They could make money easily. When Felicia left the Sect back then, she had so much money that it was enough for her to open a bar.
To the Crimson Onyx Sect, money was the least of their concerns.
Jonathan was not in the mood to think about unnecessary matters.
Master Yarrow has passed on… The House of Worship… F*ck!
Removing her gas mask, Amber turned to Jonathan and asked, “What was that just now? Master Yarrow has passed on? Did we really burn him to death?” As these words came out of her mouth, there was a massive shift in her expression. “Is it possible that Gabriel has set us up?”
Jonathan put on a stern look as he said, “Gabriel is undoubtedly involved in this matter. I’ve never known anyone as powerful as him in my life. He’s beaten us in every way before we even get to meet him in person.”
“Huh?” Amber was baffled. “Is it that serious?”
“We came here this time to capture Gabriel. To do so, we have to report our plans to the founder of the Crimson Onyx Sect. Now that we’ve burned the old man to death, the members of the Sect will surely hate us to the core.”
“But how could such a powerful figure like Master Yarrow be burned to death so easily?”
