The sound of explosions echoed through the streets of the Forbidden City.
Meng Hao's fight was obviously ongoing and it was as far from an assassination as it should. This would clearly draw the attention of most if not all cultivators in the city.
Instead of waiting some more, I stood up, and walked outside the house. Looking around, I headed up north, I still remember from my perch at the temple from before where the Serpent Temple is. It's a bit far, I'll have to cross several streets, but that isn't an issue right now.
I dismantled the sniper scope I created and placed it in front of my eye, seeing no cultivators moving about ahead of me, I began moving through the shadows of the street.
The sun was going to rise pretty soon, so I needed to work fast if I wanted to get what I need from the temple.
The destination wasn't far, but being prudent and careful made it far longer than it should, but that was actually worth it. As a matter of fact, I realized that my Thermal Scope had a big issue. It was unable to fully detect everyone, proven by the fact that a man was walking leisurely in front of me.
He moved without much care in the world as he walked right past a group of guards who couldn't even detect him.
The scope I used on him didn't reveal shit. And then it hit me. Yin Qi user. They are like the dead, and they could easily hide their heat signature from my sight. As for the puppets, he must be using something to hide himself away from them.
If I rushed out I'd probably have bumped into him or might have completely missed him, and if either happened I would be oblivious to this information. Which could be crucial to my survival.
With this idea noted, I moved to the temple's direction, it wasn't far from where I was. And as long as the battling noise was still going, I'd be able to do what I need to in the temple.
In less than half an incense stick worth of time, I was already at the gate of the Serpent Temple. The door was decorated with many snakes that seemed like they would come out of the walls at the merest move. The whole building was designed to look like a dome made from a snake coiling around itself.
I lightly pressed on the door and it opened in an eerie squeak. Inside the temple were several lit lamps. And at the farthest wall from the door was an altar that had a small black snake sleeping comfortably on.
Once I stepped inside the temple, the doors closed behind me and the small snake woke up.
It looked at me and I felt the hairs on my back standing up. Still, I didn't move. The snake ahead is strong, but not strong enough to warrant my attention. It's a Soul Formation level snake, nothing to difficult to handle. But its obvious from where I was, that this isn't the goal of my hunt.
I looked around, and thankfully I did. The walls which I thought were nothing but mere walls were alive.
The walls shuddered and shook, and soon changed color from that of stone, to a black scaled body of a snake.
A creature began uncoiling from the walls to stand… well, if snakes couldn't stand this one kinda did.
It was actually a lamia, a woman with a snake's body.
It hissed at me as it has gotten closer.
"Human, what brought you to your death?" it said.
"Who said I'll be the one dying here," I asked as I pulled a couple of pills in one hand and a hand cannon in the other.
"Because many before you had come, and I still live," she spoke smugly as she got even closer.
"I'm not like everyone else," I said as I pointed at her with my weapon and then squeezed it.
She dodged the bullet the moment she felt the release.
Then she smiled, "You're like everyone else, you are all too slow," she said.
"Is that so?" I grinned. Suddenly a thump was heard and she turned her head to realize that the small snake on the altar had its head blown off of its socket.
She turned her head back to me, her face transformed to a monstrous and wrathful sight, "YOU DARE!" she screeched as she lunged at me with both arms forward.
Two shots followed after to which she dodged, exactly where I wanted her to as I had already thrown a pill to the location she'll be moving.
Her big body didn't realize when she crushed the pill underneath her.
"Gotcha," I said smiling.
With my words uttered, she stopped, moved a bit of her snake body and saw a sludge latching onto her.
She sniffed the air and said, "Poison? Weak, I'm immune to most poisons!" she said.
"I know that part because you're in the Poison God's domain, but that doesn't mean you're immune to all poisons," I said as I took a few steps back.
She ignored my words since the pill apparently didn't do anything to her. And continued her chase of me.
Her tail swiped at my head at blinding speed, but thankfully I was able to duck under. The swipe was strong enough it carved a great gash into the wall behind me.
And as I was getting my balance back I threw even more pills to which she just crushed as she was bulldozing her way toward me
"Come put, pin her down," I spoke. Not to X, or Y, but the Expendables.
These are puppets I made in the image of X, they weren't as strong or as powerful, but they had something to them, numbers.
And numbers beat courage any time of the day.
A couple dozen puppets came out of my holding bag and they all grabbed at the snake. Stopping her movement and locking her down.
She struggled to move at first, and soon was slowly able to smash one of the puppets away from her, then the second, and third.
"Weaklings, you cannot stop me!" she said.
As I backed away I said, "I know, but that's the idea," I said as I threw even more pills.
"These won't work! You're far too weak!" she said as she wrenched herself away from the puppets, losing some scales in the process.
And just as she approached me, she stopped, her eyes going in and out of focus. She tried moving again but couldn't do anything but fall on her face into the ground.
Unable to move or function, she couldn't do much but watch in a stunned face as I slowly approached her, "I told you, you're not immune to all poisons," I said as I placed my revolver in between her eyes.
It took one shot before her blood began pooling on the ground.
Suddenly, the altar at the back opened in half. It revealed a scroll.
I got closer to the altar making sure that there weren't other enemies hiding in ambush.
And when I grabbed the scroll and opened it, I grinned.
"This is pretty nice."
It was a map, a map of the upper part and lower parts of the Forbidden City. Apparently, this place extends all the way to the underground.
The map had a pair of footsteps that were in red color, they were approaching… this very location.
I hastily moved out of the building after throwing a couple more incendiary pills.
I then used the Traceless Steps and walked toward the two red footsteps.
Once the fire began engulfing the dome. The red footsteps on the map hastened up, and a man appeared at the crossroad in front of me.
This build, I recognized. And just as the man went past me, he stopped, turned his head to my location, then turned his head to the fire in the dome and continued moving towards it.
On his chest was the number 666.
Gotcha
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