Chapter 152: Then I Will Kill Her
Jin Ling took out the Bubble Fruits Qiao Xixi had given him and threw several in a row, the explosions making the magical beasts hesitant to approach.
"Feiyan, go!"
Feiyan turned, grabbed Qiao Ang with his teeth, and ran in the direction Qiao Xixi had gone.
Qiao Xixi sprinted wildly with the three cubs until the path ahead grew increasingly dark and narrow, making her feel uncertain.
"Little Imp, are you sure we can escape this godforsaken place?"
"Host, just keep running forward. Don’t worry. As long as you keep going, those magical beasts and Mutant Beasts will never catch up."
Qiao Xixi had no choice but to trust it and keep moving forward. She didn’t notice that the scenery around her was changing as she ran.
After she rounded a large boulder, the boulder suddenly shifted, and a thick white fog rushed toward her.
Qiao Xixi’s vision was instantly obscured.
"Ah! Mother!"
Qiaoqiao, who was strapped to her chest, was suddenly ripped away by an unseen force!
"Qiaoqiao!"
The white fog grew thicker and thicker. No matter how she cried out, she received no response from Qiaoqiao.
"Qiaoqiao."
"Mother, I’m over here."
Qiaoqiao’s voice suddenly sounded right next to her. Qiao Xixi quickly followed the sound, fumbling through the fog until she grabbed a small hand.
"You scared me to death! Let’s get out of here, quickly."
"Okay."
"Little Imp, which way should I go?"
"Host, let go! Quickly!"
"What?" Qiao Xixi froze.
"That’s not cub Qiaoqiao you’re holding!"
Qiao Xixi’s pupils contracted. She quickly lifted the "cub" in her hand and took a closer look. It was a piece of wood!
As the piece of wood came up to her, it suddenly sprouted a grotesque face, and a sharp branch stabbed toward her eyes.
"Damn it!"
Infuriated, Qiao Xixi slammed the piece of wood onto the ground and stomped it to bits.
"Where’s Qiaoqiao? What the hell is this godforsaken place?"
"Host, this is the Dream Forest. The white fog makes beastmen hallucinate. From now on, don’t believe anything you see or hear. Just trust your gut and keep moving forward!"
"Then what about Qiaoqiao!"
"Cub Qiaoqiao is also in the Dream Forest. She’s safe for now. The only way to find her is to get out of here and burn down the great tree that’s releasing the fog."
"Straight ahead?"
"Correct."
This time, Qiao Xixi held Qiao Lie and Sangqi tightly in her arms, refusing to let go, and walked straight ahead as Little Imp instructed.
"Mother, save me! I’m so scared!"
"Mother! Mother! Ah!"
Her ears were filled with the sound of Qiaoqiao’s cries for help, but Little Imp had said they were fake. Qiao Xixi could only pretend not to hear and quickened her pace.
But just as she was about to escape the Dream Forest, a long branch suddenly shot out toward her, coiling around her body.
Startled, Qiao Xixi immediately pulled out a Bubble Fruit and threw it.
"BOOM!"
The branch snapped, letting out a piercing shriek.
"What foolish beastman dares to harm me! I’ll turn all of you into my nourishment!"
Countless branches stabbed toward Qiao Xixi. Just as she pulled out a Bubble Fruit to throw, a root wrapped around her wrist.
The roots also ensnared Qiao Lie and Sangqi in her arms.
"Let go of me, Mother!" Sangqi struggled, trying to reach for Qiao Xixi, but he couldn’t break free. He could only watch helplessly as she was pulled farther and farther away from him.
"Mother!"
Sangqi let out a roar as streams of black energy billowed from his beast bones.
The black energy merged with the white fog and drifted away, entering an even darker abyss.
Deep within the endless abyss, a pair of mismatched eyes slowly opened. The wisp of black energy swirled between their owner’s brows.
’He really can’t stay out of trouble.’
A black shadow flickered and vanished from the endless abyss in the blink of an eye.
Back in the Dream Forest, Qiao Xixi and the cubs were lifted higher and higher. Below them were long, sharp thorns.
"Hehehe, my body will soon absorb some fresh nutrients! Hahahaha."
The branches went slack, and Qiao Xixi and the cubs plummeted downward.
"Shit! Little Imp, put it on my tab! On my tab! Instant Teleportation Card! Instant Teleportation Card!"
"Host, wai—"
"Ah!"
Before Little Imp could finish, Qiao Xixi slammed into a firm embrace, and she instinctively clung to the person who caught her.
The next instant, two more small figures landed in her arms.
It was Qiao Lie and Sangqi.
To be more precise, Sangqi was clinging tightly to Qiao Lie.
Before she could figure out what was happening, her vision blurred, and she lost consciousness.
The dark figure carried her before the malevolent great tree. The tree, so arrogant just moments ago, quickly retracted its branches and trembled in fear upon seeing the figure.
"You just grabbed Sangqi."
In the dense mist, the deep voice was laced with amusement.
The great tree trembled even more violently. "A-anyway, h-he wasn’t going to die. I-I was just toying with him... Ah!"
The great tree shrieked in agony. The instant the dark figure vanished, it crashed to the ground with a deafening thud.
The moment the great tree fell, the thick white fog dissipated as if nothing had ever happened.
When Jin Ling and Feiyan arrived, they only saw Qiaoqiao, who had fainted in the woods.
Feiyan’s eyes were red as he practically flew forward to scoop Qiaoqiao into his arms.
"Qiaoqiao, wake up, Qiaoqiao."
Qiaoqiao whimpered and slowly opened her eyes.
"Father?"
"How did you end up passed out in the woods? Where are your mother and the others?"
The color drained from Qiaoqiao’s little face. "I don’t know. One moment I was in Mother’s arms, and the next, something pulled me to the ground. It tangled up my arms and legs. I could hear Mother calling for me, but I couldn’t say anything..."
"Don’t cry, don’t cry. Father will lead you to her."
Jin Ling quickly sniffed the air all around, but he couldn’t detect even a hint of Qiao Xixi’s or the others’ scent.
Jin Ling’s fists clenched, a panic unlike any he had ever known rising in his chest.
He didn’t dare to consider the possibilities.
"It looks like there was a fight up ahead. Xixi might have gone that way. Let’s go check it out."
Jin Ling strode over to the fallen great tree.
Feiyan stared at the tree in astonishment. It had somehow been completely uprooted. Its roots, which had been buried deep in the ground, were thicker than a beastman’s body. There was no way Xixi could possess that kind of strength.
"Xixi has to be okay. Let’s keep searching."
"Okay."
The dark figure carried Qiao Xixi and the cubs into an endless darkness.
Gazing at the little female in his arms, he pinched her chin and studied her, a flicker of confusion in his deep, mismatched eyes.
’She... looks somewhat familiar.’
Sangqi struggled to sit up in Qiao Xixi’s arms and swatted at the large hand with his small paw.
"Don’t hurt Mother!"
"Mother?" Sangze inhaled deeply from the crook of her neck. Her faint, fresh scent brought a manic chill to his mismatched eyes.
"It’s her, isn’t it? The cold-blooded female who abandoned you. To think she actually came back."
His powerful hand slowly caressed the top of Qiao Xixi’s head, killing intent running rampant in the darkness.
"In that case... I’ll just kill her."