XiChen looked up and yes, there was the deadly snake, glowering at them. Jiang Cheng whipped out Zidian so fast, purple electricity burning its way up the trunk of the tree where the snake was lying in wait.

XiChen unsheathed Shouyue, ready to attack.

The snake swooped down, avoiding Zidian's lashes and swerved around to counterattack, fangs ready and dripping with venom. The ground sizzled where its venom fell, burning black without a fire. Ba She was a red and black snake, and must have been at least the length of eight people lying down from head to toe, and she was furious.

XiChen twirled to avoid being bitten, because after that there was no hope; her venom was strong enough to kill a hundred elephants instantly, and she herself was immune to venom from other snakes, such was her power. She reared her head to attack again as Jiang Cheng went for a double attack, both with his whip and his sword.

XiChen winked at his husband and they communicated silently, both realising what needed to be done. Ba She was a formidable opponent but in the end, she only had one head, and they had two; if they worked together, they could finish her off easily.

XiChen waited until Ba She was concentrating on only Jiang Cheng as he unleashed his simultaneous attack, then he whipped around and jumped high up into the tree that was supporting her body. Shouyue slashed at the body of the snake before XiChen leapt from the topmost branch, landing on the back of the snake. Before Ba She could understand what was happening, her head was cleanly sliced off.

They didn't even have time to congratulate each other before another gut wrenching scream filled the air, this time the noise was familiar.

"I see the Jins have spared no expense." Jiang Cheng whirled Sandu as they advanced towards the Aoyin.

The Aoyin was a deadly creature, a long body with hardly any fat, and the longest claws; it's razor sharp teeth perfect for opening up human heads and feasting on their brains. When they were younger, Jiang Cheng remembered Wei Ying teasing him that he'd be safe because he didn't have one...but this was no time for nostalgia.

They raced towards the sound and by the other noises they could hear; of slurping and the cracking of skulls, it looked like some poor unfortunate cultivators had already met their ghastly end.

Sure enough, in the next clearing they came across the beast, its long limbs swaying as it gorged on human flesh. Blood, thick and coppery fell upon the ground staining it red. It looked up, saw Jiang Cheng and let out the most unholiest scream, one that echoed all around them. XiChen clutched his ears while Jiang Cheng faced off.

Both wary opponents circled one another, both enraged, one mad with hunger, furious at being interrupted and the other aghast at its crimes.

Suddenly it lunged forward, its long claws ready to slice Jiang Cheng into ribbons, but he was ready and waiting. Sandu was flung to slice at its neck with Zidian took care of its claws, and XiChen could only clap in admiration.

"Have you noticed that the prey is particularly antagonistic? Almost as if they're on edge already." Jiang Cheng remarked.

"Yes, I did. What do you think it means? Who...or what has made them like this?" XiChen looked worried.

Jiang Cheng cleaned Sandu on some soft leaves before sheathing it.

"I don't know, but we better be careful. More careful." He corrected himself, wondering what was happening with the others.

********

Jin Ling knew he had been sent down for two reasons; one, to stop the novice cultivators from from ascending the mountain and getting into more trouble, and two, to actually make sure they didn't get hurt, because as his uncles like to tell him, human life was the number one priority.

But standing in the middle of hostile faces who weren't actually accusing him of competing, but were not above snide remarks when they didn't have any idea what was really going on, that was the difficult part.

"I'm just here as your host, I promise." He reassured the young ones for the hundredth time.

"Then stay back." They told him.

That's just fine with me, he told himself and returned to the back. But it was he who was between a rock - these stubborn, idiot youngsters who were inexperienced - and the hard place - his uncles, who would not be happy with him if he failed to keep them safe.

Jin Ling sighed and wished SiZhui was with him...that, or if the day could finish faster....

*******

Wei Ying had heard a noise...and it didn't sound aggressive. So far, he and Lan Zhan were relatively unharmed, and the contest was still a tie, and Wei Ying was wondering if this was to force his hand...but if he was honest, he didn't care who won between them. As it was all about pleasure, the winning was in name only since they would both benefit. However, the bet between the brothers was a different matter entirely and one he intended to win.

"Let's wait here and see what comes at us." He suggested to Lan Zhan, who was past caring and had that look in his eyes that meant he was going to have his way with Wei Ying regardless of any prey left, and pretty soon.

"Mn."

Wei Ying grinned and resisted the urge to kiss him again, because since they had inadvertently started doing that, Lan Zhan collected every time, and one more kiss was going to push him to his limits.

They hid behind a bush, listening intently, but the swish, swish, swishing sound gave no clue as to what approached.

Wei Ying knew that hunts like this attracted prey from all corners of the world. It was quite possible that what was coming towards them was an uninvited guest, and they had to be prepared.

Still, they were at a total loss when they saw what it was.

*********

A/N

A merry Christmas to everyone and a happy cliffhanger, one last one (no promises) before the new year.

Thank you for reading and telling me what you think!

I hope you all enjoy this special time!

Charlie.