Chapter 51 A Man and a Fox According to Cao Zhuangling…
The man and the fox hurried in the direction Cao Zhuangling had gone.
The rustling sound of the heavy object being dragged across the fallen leaves behind them weakened.
Xie Baoqiong and Su Xiaochun pretended not to notice anything and walked toward their destination.
As Xie Baoqiong walked past a huge, ancient tree, she felt a cool object pressed against the outside of her arm.
He turned his head to the side, and a round, smooth top of hair came into view.
As the gaze slid down, Ah Mei's current appearance was extremely comical.
Her hair and clothes were covered with fallen leaves and dust picked up from being dragged along, and her hands and feet were bound by spiritual power, so she could only hop and skip to keep up with his pace.
When jumping onto uneven clods of earth, the body will stagger twice.
He felt a chill just now because Amei lost her balance and fell face-first onto his arm.
Xie Baoqiong stopped walking.
Amei straightened up, shook his head, and a few withered leaves fell from his body. One of them landed on Xie Baoqiong.
Xie Baoqiong had just brushed the withered leaves off her body when Amei pressed against him again, her soft face, cool as morning dew, against his hand, seemingly oblivious to the grudge between them, and spoke:
"Ah-Jung, let go of me."
"no."
Without a second thought, Xie Baoqiong pushed Amei's face away.
The rope formed by spiritual energy tautened.
Su Xiaochun, having taken a few steps forward, noticed the movement behind her. She took a running start, leaped onto Amei's head, and began scratching at Amei's hair with her claws.
"Little one, what are you thinking about?"
Amei shook his head, and the two tails of the red fox wrapped around his neck, clinging firmly to the top of his head.
His fair face, perhaps from anger, turned the same color as Su Xiaochun's hair.
Amei opened his mouth, but before he could utter a single word, he had already opened it.
A deafening explosion echoed through the valley, startling flocks of birds from the treetops.
The two people and the fox looked up and saw birds flying all over the sky away from the mountains.
The ground beneath their feet began to shake after the loud noise, making it almost impossible for them to stand.
Xie Baoqiong caught the falling fox, grabbed Amei by the collar, leaped up, her toes barely touching the branches, and rushed towards the source of the explosion.
Along the way, many birds and beasts in the mountains and forests passed by them.
The wind howled, blowing her hair back. Xie Baoqiong glanced at the fleeing beasts under the tree and continued on her way.
He was interrupted by a shrill voice: "Su Xiaochun! The little tombstone?"
The wind blew the words out of proportion, or perhaps the owner of the voice didn't recognize him.
Xie Baoqiong landed on the tree trunk and stopped, looking up to find the source of the sound.
The moment he turned around, a brown squirrel with its tail hanging upside down in front of him:
"It really is you, little tombstone."
Su Xiaochun stretched out her claws to grab the prey in front of her.
The squirrel nimbly darted to the tree trunk above, looking down at them from its elevated position.
“There’s a fight going on in the valley to the southwest. There was such a commotion just now. You should get away from there quickly.”
While Xie Baoqiong was still trying to recall who the visitor was, the squirrel above her head quickly relayed the message, threw an acorn at Su Xiaochun's fox-like face, and then fled.
Su Xiaochun caught the acorn that was about to hit her face with her two front paws. "You stinky rat, I'll tear down your nest!"
The only humans who had entered the mountains were Cao Zhuangling and his pursuers. Xie Baoqiong had just guessed that Cao Zhuangling had probably already engaged the pursuers. Upon hearing this, she hurriedly led her family to the valley in the southwest.
Intense sunlight streamed down from three steps away. Xie Baoqiong stopped in his tracks, halting on one of the trees. The bushes concealed his figure, but he could still see the horrific scene ahead through the gaps in the branches.
The dense forest ahead disappeared, and the thick trees were cut in half, revealing jagged and menacing gaps.
Several charred giant trees fell outwards, blocking the ground below.
A large crater was smashed into the center, and spiderweb-like patterns were etched into the ground.
Hanging between the tree branches, Amei fidgeted with his body, trying to stand up.
Xie Baoqiong casually pulled the person up and made them stand on the tree branch.
He looked into the distance and saw several people lying on the ground, their fates unknown, covered in blood.
The sunlight poured down on those people, blurring their faces.
Xie Baoqiong carefully examined their figures and clothing, and when she saw that Xie Zhuo was not present, her hesitant gaze slowed down.
Four figures stood in the center of the pit.
Three figures dressed in dark blue and green robes formed a triangle around the central figure.
"division……"
He swiftly covered Amei's mouth, and Amei's head rammed into him, only to be slapped back by Su Xiaochun's claw.
"Mmm, mmm." Amei's mouth was covered, and sobs escaped from his throat.
At that moment, the figure in the center of the pit moved.
Three figures simultaneously swung hinge-like weapons at Cao Zhuangling.
"Thump"
A bell rang out.
A small golden bell appeared above Cao Zhuangling's head, and all the hinges that were thrown at him flew towards the small golden bell and became entangled with it.
Cao Zhuangling spread his legs and arms, his body weight pressing down as his arms swayed.
He immediately took a step forward and attacked one of the people surrounding him.
The man immediately released the hinge in his hand and dodged to the side.
Cao Zhuangling's figure slightly shifted in the air, but his attack did not diminish at all, and he was in front of the person in the blink of an eye.
A wave of energy shot out from his hand, propelling the man backward and sending him crashing into the trunk of a giant, verdant tree.
The lush greenery of the trees vanished instantly, turning them a charred black, as they crashed to the ground with the man, making a loud bang.
Then came a deathly silence. The man's legs dangled on the charred tree trunk, blood spilling from his mouth as he passed out.
...
Amei's struggling movements subsided, and a hint of pride appeared in his eyes as he glanced sideways at Xie Baoqiong.
But Xie Baoqiong's expression was solemn. Noticing his gaze, she glanced at him and tightened her grip on the rope of spiritual power controlling him.
...
On the other side, Cao Zhuangling's attack continued unabated.
The other two watched helplessly as their companion suffered a miserable fate, tightening their grip on the hinge and simultaneously launching an attack on Cao Zhuangling.
A cruel and manic smile appeared on Cao Zhuangling's face, and his whole body radiated a golden light like that of a small golden bell.
The two men's attacks landed on him.
Ripples spread through the air as the three bodies intertwined.
The waves trembled and rolled in the air, crashing against the edge, repeating this several times.
After hitting the edge again, it did not bounce back, but instead created a strong blast of air that rushed towards the three of them.
The two men who attacked Cao Zhuangling were thrown back by the shockwave and crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
After the dust settled, Jin Guan approached the two again.
Just as the golden light that was about to reap lives was about two feet away, two enormous yellow talismans flew in from afar, enveloping Cao Zhuangling and containing all the dazzling golden light within them.
Xie Baoqiong heard a commotion coming from the bushes not far away, turned her head, and saw Rong Feng and his group appear on the battlefield.
His gaze moved quickly, finally landing on Xie Zhuo behind the others. He paused for a moment, then looked away as if nothing had happened.
Amei beside him started to wriggle again, her bright eyes filled with anxiety.
But his mouth was covered even tighter, and he couldn't even whimper.
The talisman paper kept closing, like a silkworm cocoon enveloping the life within.
The golden light grew even stronger, almost piercing through the talisman paper.
The surface of the talisman paper showed faint signs of tearing.
Rong Feng gave the order, and the people behind him launched an attack on the small golden bell suspended in the air.
The golden light, far less vibrant than before, appeared somewhat dull and lifeless under the onslaught of the crowd.
With a soft sound, fine cracks appeared on the surface of the small golden bell.
"Smack!"
Golden fragments scattered into powder and drifted down from the sky.
The golden light emanating from the cocoon vanished instantly.
A piercing scream emanated from within.
Rong Feng clenched his fist, and the cocoon shrank and flew towards him.
As he approached, his expression suddenly changed. He scattered the talismans, flicked his wrist, and new talismans appeared at his fingertips, flying towards an inconspicuous mound of earth not far away.
The talisman flew down onto the mound of earth, then burrowed down, pulling out a human figure and wedging it into the earth.
Cao Zhuangling's face finally showed a look of fear, mixed with a hint of resentment.
He looked up at Rong Feng, who was gradually approaching, his gaze passing through Rong Feng, through the treetops, and down to A Mei, who was struggling. His eyes were hopeful, and his mouth opened and closed silently.
Ah Mei.
Amei easily recognized the first two words and suddenly stopped struggling.
What happens next?
What comes next?
He wanted to look up and ask Xie Baoqiong for help, but he didn't want to miss Cao Zhuangling's words.
Amei could only see Cao Zhuangling's mouth open and close three more times.
What exactly is it?
It's Amei! Run!
Or, Ah Mei, please save me!
The cool water blurred his vision, making the three illegible words even more indistinct.
The spiritual energy surged wildly within his body, breaking free from the restraints.
Xie Baoqiong felt the icy drops dripping from her hand, pressed down on Amei, and spoke in her usual cold tone:
"If you go, you will die."
Amei bit Xie Baoqiong's hand that was covering his mouth hard, and some tears flowed from his eyes, falling onto the teeth marks he had made.
His figure gradually faded away, and a thick, white mist emerged from his fading body, carrying him toward Cao Zhuangling.
The crater that was smashed into the valley was quickly filled with white mist.
As Xie Baoqiong's position became increasingly obscured by the white mist, he raised his hand, now bearing the mark of a tooth, and brushed it across the mist before him. It felt cool, like Amei's face today, and also like the liquid that had just dripped onto his hand.
His eyes were dazed, but his heart was pounding.
Why?
Within the white mist, spiritual energy surged wildly around him.
"Qiong'er".
A call from under the tree interrupted his thoughts.
The fox beside him glanced at him, then silently disappeared into the woods behind the white mist.
Through the white mist, Xie Baoqiong could only make out a blurry yet familiar figure under the tree.
He jumped down, was caught in someone's arms, and put on the ground.
A familiar hand stroked his head, and after seeing his expression, the hand relaxed.
"Does anything hurt?"
Xie Zhuo wiped the dust off his face with his fingertips and then brushed his messy hair back.
Xie Baoqiong leaned against Xie Zhuo's chest, pressed her head against him without saying a word, and silently raised her right hand, which had been bitten with a tooth mark, in front of Xie Zhuo.
Actually, the bite didn't hurt much; the skin wasn't even broken. It's probably more painful for Amei's teeth.
Xie Zhuo grasped his hand and immediately noticed the faint teeth marks on it, then lowered her head and breathed out.
Xie Baoqiong listlessly raised her head, pulled her hand out and hid it in her bosom, and looked warily at Xie Zhuo, who seemed somewhat surprised.
Xie Zhuo sighed softly, his gaze filled with guilt.
"Father should have asked you first."
Xie Baoqiong realized that her actions were a bit strange and secretly put down her hidden hand.
"Qiong'er, don't sleep. After we get down the mountain, Dad will take you to get your medicine."
Xie Baoqiong turned her head to look at Xie Zhuo: "Why are you snoring?"
Xie Zhuo's gaze deepened as he looked at him:
“I don’t know either, but your grandmother used to do this when I was a child. She would say that it would stop the pain. Now that there are no medicines for injuries, this is all I can do.”
Xie Baoqiong pondered for a moment, concluding that this was a custom unique to humankind, and that he was, in his current identity, also a human being…
He raised his hand and leaned closer to Xie Zhuo.
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