Chapter 164: Get Him, or You’re Next
BOOM! An explosion erupted, but it missed Jin Hui. He dodged with a speed Qiao Lie had never before witnessed!
The moment Jin Hui raised his hand, Qiao Lie saw the star pattern on his arm—10 stars! He had 10 stars!
"Mother, that Golden Eagle Beastman is 10-star! We can’t beat him! Quick, find a place to hide!"
Qiao Lie’s words made Qiao Xixi’s heart leap into her throat. ’A 10-star opponent! Even several of me combined would be no match for him!’
But she couldn’t show the slightest bit of fear. She still had her children to protect.
’We’re at the ore vein!’
Qiao Xixi immediately jumped into the deep hole the Earth Escape Beast had dug the day before and pulled out a strip of animal hide smeared with Sangze’s blood.
Her plan all along had been to use Sangze’s blood to tame the Earth Escape Beast.
"Earth Escape Beast! Come out, come out! Bring your friends and come out!"
Qiao Xixi waved the hide strip, rapidly spreading Sangze’s scent through the tunnel.
Jin Hui watched Qiao Xixi leap into the hole, and his gray-green pupils darkened.
"You... are not getting away."
He strode to the mouth of the hole and jumped in after them.
Qiao Xixi looked up to see Jin Hui jumping in after her, and she waved the strip of hide even more frantically.
’Sangze said he’d already tamed the Earth Escape Beast. As long as it smelled his scent, it would come out obediently.’
’Why is it taking so long to appear? Is there not enough blood? Is the scent not spreading fast enough?’
Just as Jin Hui was about to reach them, Qiao Xixi felt the tunnel begin to tremble violently.
Even a surprised Jin Hui quickly grabbed onto the tunnel wall to halt his fall.
The tremors grew stronger. A moment later, Qiao Xixi felt herself and the children land on something solid, which then began to rise quickly.
Jin Hui watched them ascend, and just as he prepared to grab them, Qiao Xixi and the children slid quickly off the Earth Escape Beast’s back. What met Jin Hui was a massive, gaping maw.
Jin Hui’s pupils contracted. He had no choice but to retreat upwards; he couldn’t maneuver properly in such a confined space.
"Earth Escape Beast, what about your friends? Have them come out and get him! We can stay underground; no need to go out."
The Earth Escape Beast seemed to understand but also appeared reluctant. Qiao Xixi noticed this and immediately dangled the beast hide smeared with Sangze’s blood in front of it.
"Get him! Otherwise, I’ll have Sangze deal with *you*!"
The Earth Escape Beast no longer showed any hesitation. ’Compared to getting beaten up myself, what’s the big deal if my friends take a beating?’
It opened its massive maw and let out a deafening roar into the tunnels.
The roar was so powerful it made the tunnels tremble violently once more.
Standing above, Jin Hui heard the roar, and his eagle-like eyes narrowed grimly.
"Hand over Sangqi, and I’ll let you live."
"In your dreams!" Qiao Xixi’s voice echoed up from the depths of the hole.
"You overestimate yourself!"
Jin Hui leaped into the air, transformed into his beast form, and began to beat his wings rapidly.
A small tornado formed out of nowhere, snaking its way toward the mouth of the hole where Qiao Xixi had entered.
Qiao Xixi felt the howling gales and slapped the Earth Escape Beast. "Earth Escape Beast, go!"
The Earth Escape Beast contracted its body, carrying Qiao Xixi and the children backward at high speed.
The tornado shot into the entrance of the hole, causing the ground beneath to shake even more violently.
Jin Hui beat his wings faster, sending more and more tornados into the various tunnel openings. No matter which exit they chose, Qiao Xixi and her children would be sucked out.
Inside the network of tunnels, the Earth Escape Beast zipped back and forth, carrying Qiao Xixi and her group. It was a good thing the passages were wide; otherwise, the sand and gravel would have scraped them raw.
"Mother, Mother! I’m the one he’s after! Give me to him, and you all will be safe! I... I won’t die. I’m a little monster, I can’t be killed."
Sangqi’s heart ached as he watched Qiao Xixi being forced to evade a 10-star beastman’s attacks, all because of him.
He didn’t want his mother or his brother Qiao Lie to be in any danger because of him.
Qiao Xixi hugged him tightly. Her heart ached as she remembered Qiao Lie saying something very similar to her once before.
"Sangqi, do you hear that sound?"
"Hm? Your heartbeat, Mother?"
"That’s right. It’s especially fast and strong, isn’t it?"
Sangqi curiously pressed his small face against Qiao Xixi’s chest. It was true. His mother’s heartbeat made him feel so at peace.
"Mother’s heart beats stronger because of you, because of your brother Qiao Lie, and because of your brother Qiao Ang and sister Qiao Qiao. If I were to lose any one of you, my heart would be in terrible, terrible pain. So, never say such foolish things about asking me to give up any of my children again, alright?"
Sangqi clutched Qiao Xixi’s clothes tightly. SOB... ’Mother said she would be heartbroken without me.’ The feeling of being loved by his mother was so wonderful.
"The wind is catching up! Earth Escape Beast, speed up!"
The Earth Escape Beast surged frantically, moving faster than it ever had in its entire life.
Just as it seemed they were about to be sucked out by the tornado, the Earth Escape Beast let out a sorrowful wail.
When Qiao Xixi and her group still hadn’t emerged, Jin Hui flapped his wings even faster.
At that moment, a violent tremor rose from below, and one by one, other Earth Escape Beasts were suddenly yanked out of the ground.
Roused from their pleasant slumber, the enraged Earth Escape Beasts charged at the one responsible.
Jin Hui’s eagle eyes narrowed. He changed his focus, flapping his massive wings to bat the other Earth Escape Beasts away.
But the Earth Escape Beasts were enormous; the force of the wind was not enough to send them flying.
The Earth Escape Beast brought Qiao Xixi to an opening, where she paused to catch her breath. Watching the swarm of beasts battling Jin Hui, she couldn’t help but give them a thumbs-up.
"Gotta say, there really is strength in numbers. Even a 10-star beastman would have his work cut out for him trying to take you all on."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than she saw several Earth Escape Beasts get sliced in half by the gale.
"Oh my god! Burrow!"
What Qiao Xixi didn’t know was that Jin Ling and his party had just arrived above the deep pit.
Jin Ling leaped nimbly out of the chasm. "It’s filled with the bodies of beastmen," he reported.
Feiyan stepped forward for a look. "They’re from the Divine Leopard Tribe. They’re all dead."
Sunxiao’s massive serpentine head swiveled, tasting the air, before locking onto a direction. "This way."
Jin Ling and the others also sensed Qiao Xixi’s presence nearby.
They didn’t know how long they had been walking when they heard a tremendous sound from not far ahead.
The group exchanged a look and quickened their pace.
"Feiyan, you take the cub and stay at the rear," Jin Ling said, then dashed to run in front of Feiyan.
Feiyan understood Jin Ling’s intention. Without a word, he fell back a few paces behind the others.
"Father, I can sense Mother’s presence getting much stronger."
Qiao Ang twitched his little nose in the air. "I can smell her too. Mother is definitely nearby."
The constant stream of emerging Earth Escape Beasts made Jin Hui lose all his patience.
A dark vortex spun out from his yellow-green eagle eyes, and the once clear, moonlit sky instantly turned grim.
"I’ll let you witness the true power of a 10-star beast soul."
A black cyclone swept over all the tunnel entrances in an instant. Hiding underground, Qiao Xixi suddenly felt an immense suction pulling her out. Even the Earth Escape Beast was being dragged outward by the incredible force.
Her vision went dark as her body was violently sucked out of the tunnel and into the open air.