Chapter 156: Wake Up, Hayabusa
Qiao Xixi couldn’t figure out the relationship between Sunxiao and Sangze, but judging by how Sangze hadn’t tried to kill Qiao Lie, she guessed there wasn’t a blood feud between them.
So, after a moment’s thought, she said, "Yes."
"You’re an honest little female, but..." His face suddenly darkened. "I hate the look on your face when you talk about that snake."
Qiao Xixi quickly backed away, putting more distance between them.
Thankfully, Sangze didn’t press the issue. After he finished eating, he went back and sat on the animal hide.
Qiao Xixi went over to her two cubs and found a relatively clean spot to sit.
"Come on, lean against Mommy and go to sleep."
"Okay."
The two cubs snuggled dependently against Qiao Xixi and closed their eyes.
Qiao Xixi lay down and closed her eyes, but her mind was already speaking with Little Yao.
’Little Yao, how far are Jin Ling and the others from the ore vein now?’
’Host, it looks like they went in a different direction. They’re pretty far from you now.’
Qiao Xixi grew anxious. ’Are they all okay?’
’They’re fine, Host! The area they went to has very few magical beasts and Mutant Beasts.’
’Okay.’
’Say, do you think I could use Bubble Fruits to blast the ore vein?’
’Of course you can, Host! I can give you a few coordinates. All you have to do is bury the Bubble Fruits and detonate them.’
Qiao Xixi was surprised the method would actually work.
’Great. I’ll go blow it up first thing in the morning.’
Hearing Qiao Xixi’s breathing even out, Sangze, who had been sitting in the darkness, rose and walked over to her.
Qiao Lie woke instantly, but before he could react, Sangze tapped him on the head.
Qiao Lie felt an overwhelming wave of drowsiness wash over him. His eyelids grew heavy, and he quickly fell back asleep.
Sangze gathered Qiao Xixi into his arms and took a deep, long sniff of her scent.
"Little female, you smell so good."
When Sangqi sensed that Qiao Xixi was gone, he opened his eyes. He frowned in displeasure at the sight of her in Sangze’s arms. He scooted his body closer, bit by bit, until he could snuggle into a comfortable spot in Qiao Xixi’s embrace and fall back asleep.
Qiao Xixi, sleeping soundly, unconsciously rolled over.
Her fingertips brushed against a firm, searingly hot body. ’This doesn’t feel right,’ she thought. ’It’s not like one of the cubs.’
She snapped her eyes open in shock, her gaze locking with a pair of mismatched irises.
Sangze’s face instantly flushed crimson. Even though it wasn’t obvious against his skin tone, he scrambled to his feet and backed away in a panic, like a child caught doing something wrong.
"S-sorry! I... I don’t know why I was sleeping here."
Qiao Xixi looked around. This wasn’t where she had fallen asleep. ’Last night, I was definitely on the ground with the two cubs. How did I end up on the animal hide when I woke up?’
’It must have been the nighttime Sangze’s doing.’ But even though the man before her was the same person from last night, she couldn’t bring herself to blame him.
’Whatever,’ she thought. ’I should just eat quickly and get to the mining.’
"It’s fine. I know it wasn’t you."
Sangze froze. Then, as if recalling something, his expression grew even more apologetic.
"I’m sorry. Was it him?"
Qiao Xixi knew who he was talking about. "Yes."
Sangze looked even more distressed. "Xixi, you said you were looking for Saint Crystals, right? We’ll go dig for them in a little while. Once you find them, you should leave this place immediately."
Qiao Xixi was surprised that he wanted her to leave.
"Sangze, do you want to leave?"
A look of confusion crossed Sangze’s face before he shook his head. "I can’t leave."
Seeing his resolve, Qiao Xixi didn’t press the matter.
After they ate, Sangze led them to where the Saint Crystals were located.
After setting Qiao Xixi and the others down, Sangze ran to a small hillock. His hands transformed into sharp claws, and he began to dig.
"Sangze, what are you doing?"
Sangze glanced back at her. "I’m digging for your Saint Crystals."
Qiao Xixi felt a wave of exasperation. ’If he just digs with his hands, we’ll never get out of here.’
Qiao Xixi pulled up the coordinates Little Yao had given her.
"Sangze, let me show you how to dig."
Sangze paused, his curiosity piqued.
Following Little Yao’s directions, Qiao Xixi had Sangze dig. Once the hole reached a certain depth, she told him to stop and moved to another spot to start a new one.
After they had dug several holes, Sangze couldn’t help but ask.
"Xixi, will digging like this really get us to the Saint Crystals?"
"It will. The plan is to blast open the surface first, and then we’ll dig deeper."
Sangze didn’t understand any of it, but he felt that what Qiao Xixi was saying made a lot of sense.
"Okay. Just tell me where to dig next."
"Over there, too."
With each new hole they dug, Qiao Xixi would bury a few Bubble Fruits. Then, she found long vines to link all the locations together.
While Qiao Xixi and her group were busy digging away, Jin Ling’s party was going mad searching for her.
They moved cautiously through the dark forest.
Feiyan scanned his surroundings and came to a sudden halt.
"I have a feeling we’ve been down this path before."
Jin Ling stopped as well. He’d had the same feeling but had kept quiet while trying to confirm it.
"What the hell is this place? Where on earth is Xixi?!"
Feiyan’s eyes were bloodshot. They hadn’t slept a wink since Qiao Xixi disappeared. If Jin Ling hadn’t already formed a bond with Xixi, allowing him to still sense her life force, Feiyan would have lost his mind by now.
Just then, a loud commotion suddenly erupted nearby.
Jin Ling and Feiyan’s expressions tightened, and they quickly ducked into the shadows.
A pack of Mutant Beasts suddenly burst from the darkness, scrambling frantically for their lives.
Jin Ling and Feiyan exchanged a look of surprise. ’What could possibly frighten these Mutant Beasts so badly?’
Their question was soon answered. In the darkness, they saw a pair of blood-red, serpentine eyes, and then a colossal body slowly emerged into view.
"It’s Sunxiao."
Sunxiao slithered slowly out of the forest. His blood-red eyes swept through the darkness, finally locking onto the spot where Jin Ling and his group were hiding.
"He’s smelled our scent."
With a sweep of his massive body, Sunxiao suddenly toppled the large tree they were hiding behind, ripping it out by the roots.
Feiyan and Jin Ling instantly shielded the cubs and dodged out of the way.
The massive snake’s head reared high, a clear sign of aggression.
Jin Ling stared at him. "Sunxiao! Xixi came in here looking for you, but she got separated from us! Snap out of it and help us find her!"
The name "Xixi" was like a needle, freezing Sunxiao in place.
A flicker of black flashed through his crimson, serpentine eyes, but it was quickly swallowed by the blood-red color once more.
Sunxiao was struggling to regain consciousness.
"Xixi is alone in the Hopeless Abyss with Qiao Lie and Sangqi! It’s incredibly dangerous. You have to wake up and find them, quickly!"
The black and red in his serpentine eyes swirled ever more violently until, finally, a pinpoint of black settled in the sea of crimson.