The human-rabbit hybrids quietly discussed at the side as they watched Yun Jiuge administer the acupuncture treatment.
âDo you understand what youâre seeing?â
âWe seem to be getting a feel for it, but she moves too fast.â
âDonât we still have the pinholes on our bodies? We can apply Red Shades Flower on them to study them slowly once we get back.â
It was a rather clever idea.
Yun Jiuge smiled. She liked clever people.
âMiss Yun, these human-wolf hybrids are up to no good. I suggest that you stay here,â said the human-rabbit hybrid clan leader, who saw the human-wolf hybrids tied up in a bunch. He could not help showing a look of hate.
âThese human-wolf hybrids have violated the intergenerational decree of not killing oneâs kind by actually attacking our human-rabbit hybrid clan. They deserve to die!â Da Meng roared angrily. The other human-rabbit hybrids were also in an uproar.
âCalm down, everyone,â Yun Jiuge interrupted the human-rabbit hybrid clan. âTheyâre just being controlled by Demon Qi. Theyâre not necessarily plotting against you.â
âWhat does it mean to be controlled by Demon Qi?â the human-rabbit hybrid clan leader asked.
Yun Jiuge remembered that the clan leader did not know about the matter of Demon Qi, so she explained things again.
âDo the people whoâve brought in the Demon Qi have anything to do with the black rain?â The human-rabbit hybrid clan leader asked with a heavy voice.
âIâm not sure about that,â Yun Jiuge said. âWe can talk about this later. First, Iâll take you to Guoâer and the others. But I can only do so after you change into your rabbit forms.â The space inside the Spiritual Beast Bag was limited. She was unable to take with her such a large group of human-rabbit hybrids.
âSure,â replied the human-rabbit hybrid clan leader. It trusted Yun Jiuge slightly more now and did not stop the clan members from turning into their rabbit forms.
âThe cloth bag is too cramped. Iâll put you in this Spiritual Beast Bag instead. The Spiritual Energy inside will allow you to recover faster,â said Yun Jiuge, using Aâdai to show her own Spiritual Beast Bag.
The human-rabbit hybrids were immensely surprised and expressed their satisfaction after they tried out the Spiritual Beast Bag.
Yun Jiuge finally settled this group of human-rabbit hybrids and was about to deal with Zi Shang. Instead, she saw him standing in the distance on a small earth mound and waving to her, saying, âLook what I found?â
Yun Jiuge walked over to have a look and discovered that there was a big hole. Around 1,000 pieces of black stone were placed inside.
âWhatâs this?â Yun Jiuge picked up a piece to weigh it in her hand. It was very heavy and not an ordinary stone. It slightly resembled iron ore.
âThese are all iron ore. Once theyâre refined, they can be made into weapons,â said Zi Shang, who was still thinking about where to obtain iron ore for weapons. That was now solved.
âNo wonder the human-wolf hybrid clan would stay in this godforsaken place. Itâs for the sake of these iron ore,â said Yun Jiuge. Needless to say, it must have been Nangong Yue who made them collect it.
âAt least this trip wasnât made in vain. Quickly put them all away!â Zi Shang said with satisfaction.
Yun Jiuge unceremoniously put away all these iron ore.
âLetâs head to the cliff,â replied Yun Jiuge. She kept those human-wolf hybrids controlled by the Demon Qi at the bottom of the Spiritual Beast Bag and began to make a mad dash with Zi Shang.
Although she could not use her Spiritual Power, the Ten-thousand Beast Technique had laid a solid foundation for her body. Her running speed was as fast as a wild horse.
After running for about an hour, Yun Jiuge and the others arrived at the cliff but saw that the grass curtain hanging at the cave entrance had disappeared. Everything inside was in disarray. At a glance, it looked like it had been ransacked.
Yun Jiuge tensed up and hurriedly shot out the Moon Spirit Silk Thread into the cave.
Zi Shang lightly stepped on the precipice a few times and followed Yun Jiuge in.
They saw a lot of bloodstains in the cave, mixed with gray feathers and white rabbit fur.
âIt looks like the mole youâre talking about has appeared,â said Zi Shang as he looked around the cave. He dabbed a bloodstain in the corner and rubbed between his fingers.
âEven if there was a mole, Advisor Jun and the others were around. How could they be destroyed so quickly?â asked Yun Jiuge. She originally thought that with the Eagle Clan and human-rabbit hybrid clan around, the mole would not be able to strike so easily.
âWeâve to ask them about that,â answered Zi Shang as he looked at the bottom of the cliff.
âAre they down there?â asked Yun Jiuge. She followed Zi Shangâs line of sight towards the bottom of the pitch-dark cliff.
âThe bloodstains continue downwards. They should be down there. Hold on to me tight.â Zi Shang embraced Yun Jiugeâs slender waist and jumped to the bottom of the cliff.
The wind roared past her ears. When she was about to fall down, she shot the Moon Spirit Silk Thread upwards to steady her body, and then slowly descended.
A strong smell of blood wafted up from the bottom of the cliff. Two figures lay among a pile of stones.
Yun Jiuge went over to take a look and saw Aâgu inside.
He lay face down on the ground with bloody wounds in his back. Both his wings were drenched red.
Behind Aâgu was Advisor Jun, lying on his back. He appeared to be losing his consciousness. When he saw Yun Jiuge, he wanted to call out to her but could not make a sound.
âDonât talk,â instructed Yun Jiuge as she hurriedly administered acupuncture treatment to stop their bleeding. Then she poured a few Hemostatic Spiritual Pills and Vitality Strengthening Pills that she had brought with her, into their bodies.
The effectiveness of the Spiritual Pills was obvious. The bleeding on both men stopped.
âMiss Yun, go quickly to save Guoâer and the others,â Advisor Jun said in a hoarse voice as he struggled to sit up.
âWho attacked you?â Yun Jiuge asked.
âIt was Aâhui,â said Advisor Jun, revealing an expression of great pain.
He did not expect to be betrayed by one of his own men.
âAâhui? How could it be him?â replied Yun Jiuge, who was also taken aback.
âI donât know why he did it,â said Advisor Jun, who recounted what happened with much difficulty.
âNothing was unusual when Aâhui came over. He even took the initiative to help the human-rabbit hybrid clan draw water in order to speak to them about building the city.
Just as they were having a lively discussion, Aâhui suddenly pulled out a sharp wooden stake and stabbed them in the back. Then he made those human-rabbit hybrids leave with him by threatening them with the lives of Guoâer and her child.
âIâll send you back and then go after them,â answered Yun Jiuge, who wanted to send Advisor Jun to the top of the cliff.
âNo, quickly go after them. You cannot let Aâhui send the human-rabbit hybrids to the Divine Envoy.â Otherwise, their Eagle Clan would be doomed.
âVery well, Iâll go after them first and come back for you,â Yun Jiuge said. Once she saw that their injuries were stable, she did not pursue the matter further. She threw out the Moon Spirit Silk Thread toward the top of the cliff to leave.
âTreasure-hunting Scorpion, do you still remember the scent of that particular human-rabbit hybrid from before? Can you help me find her?â Yun Jiuge asked as she let out the Treasure-hunting Scorpion.
âHas that human-rabbit hybrid been taken away by someone? Who would be so evil to pounce on a pregnant female?â shouted the Treasure-hunting Scorpion angrily. âIâll kill him once I catch him!â
Having said that, it jumped to the ground and took a few turns before pointing in the west direction, saying, âThat way.â
âLetâs give chase!â shouted Yun Jiuge. She threw the Treasure-hunting Scorpion on her shoulder and moved rapidly ahead with Zi Shang toward the west.
They ran for two hours before they saw a flying figure in the distant sky. It was Aâhui.
âAre you going to just knock him down or go over to see where heâs going?â Zi Shang asked. He wanted to cast a bigger bait to catch the big fish. But Yun Jiuge might not be willing to put the human-rabbit hybrids at risk.
...