Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Lifted into the Sky

Yimei’s face went pale. She grabbed Si Shuo’s hand, her lips trembling as she said frantically, “Si Shuo, the Rogue Beasts are here! Let’s go hide in the caves on the back mountain!”

Outside, the Beastmen were already gathering their Beast Skins and Crystal Stones, scrambling toward the back mountain. Some young Beastmen were knocked over, and they wiped away their tears as they got up and continued to run.

Si Shuo pressed her lips together tightly. She pulled Yimei quickly downstairs; the males of both their families were currently away.

But after they left their cave, she stopped. Instead of following Yimei to the back mountain, she took another small path toward a ravine.

Just as she entered, she heard a familiar and rather excited voice: “I saw Si Shuo! She went that way…”

Si Shuo pressed her lips together and pushed Yimei toward the spot where she usually practiced her Catalyst Technique.

She covered Yimei’s eyes with one hand. With the other, she rapidly catalyzed a seed, pushing her superpower to its limit. She formed a thorn ball, from which flowers and leaves unfurled, vibrant with life.

She encased Yimei inside it. “Yimei, don’t make a sound. I’ll lead them away. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine!”

Yimei cried, trying to grab her.

Si Shuo pushed her away first, offering a small smile. “If one of us can get away, that’s what matters. Stay alive…”

With that, she took a deep breath, clenched her jaw, and rushed out of the ravine.

’I’m actually terrified,’ she thought. ’Even though I know I have nine lives, aren’t they still lives? Doesn’t it still hurt when you’re in pain?’

“System, if I lose a life, what will happen to Zhi Le?”

System: Zhi Le’s Beast Mark will be removed. However, rest assured, Host. As long as you don’t forcibly remove the Beast Mark yourself, he won’t be stripped of half his life and cultivation. But, if he wants to mate with you again, he’ll have to sacrifice another ten percent of his lifespan. Of course, Beastmen with superpowers have very long lives. After a few more sacrifices, you two can still grow old together.

Si Shuo faltered for a moment. ’So that’s how it is. If I lose this life, my bond with Zhi Le will be broken!’

The place she was running toward was the Divine Mother River. The current there was swift, and it was said to contain all sorts of Beast-eating Fish that could devour Beastmen and Wild Beasts down to the bone.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go to the back mountain. She had a vague suspicion that there was something wrong with the Rogue Beasts’ attack on the Luoni Tribe this time.

And Ma Hui’s shouting, which exposed her location, only confirmed it.

She just hadn’t thought Ma Hui and the others would be crazy enough to act as the Rogue Beasts’ accomplices just to get her, sacrificing the entire tribe in the process!

Or perhaps the Rogue Beasts had been restless for a while, and certain people, afraid of dying, had become inside informants…

If she went to the back mountain, not only would she not be well-protected, but it was highly likely that the tribe’s Beastmen would push her out to be ravaged and toyed with by the Rogue Beasts just to survive.

The Luoni Tribe’s guards were fighting desperately to hold back the Rogue Beastmen. But the Rogues were numerous, and every one of them had struggled to survive in countless harsh environments. They were highly capable, and several had already slipped into the tribe.

“Get her! Si Shuo is over there! It’s because of her that the Rogue Beasts targeted the Luoni Tribe… The Mutated Cat is a sign of misfortune…” Ma Hui shouted, pointing at Si Shuo.

A faint smile touched the corners of Si Shuo’s lips as she turned and ran toward Ma Hui.

At that moment, there was only one male beside Ma Hui. He didn’t take Si Shuo seriously at all, simply raising an eyebrow as he waited for her to walk right into their trap.

Si Shuo appeared furious as she reached them. “You’re evil! You’ll be cursed by the Beast God!”

Ma Hui laughed, smug and brazen. “All I know is that resisting the Rogue Beasts at this time of year always leads to many sacrifices.

When we could just use barren females like you to appease the Rogue Beasts’ anger, why should we have to live in constant fear?”

Si Shuo asked, word by word, “And do you know that I’ll die for sure?”

“What’s that got to do with me? Sacrificing one to save everyone, the few for the many—even an idiot would make that choice. If you have to blame someone, blame your own bad luck. Why did you have to be a Mutated Cat, and so beautiful at that?”

Si Shuo nodded. “Since you know the consequences, I won’t hold back!”

Ma Hui froze. “You’re not stuttering…”

As she opened her mouth, Si Shuo raised her hand and injected the poison from the syringe.

The male beside her sensed something was wrong and lunged forward to grab Si Shuo’s hand. With a twist of her wrist, Si Shuo plunged the needle into his arm and quickly pushed the plunger.

The moment the poison entered their bodies, an overwhelming, unbearable pain hit them like a storm as the toxin flowed through their veins, spreading throughout their bodies.

Watching the two of them collapse and convulse on the ground, Si Shuo let out a cold laugh. “I’m not getting out of this anyway. If I’m going to die, I’m taking two of you with me!”

She raised her head and looked at Yu Jiao, who was frozen in place.

Yu Jiao shuddered violently and shouted to the Eagle Beast circling in the air, “Quick, take my sister away! The farther the better, for her safety…”

Si Shuo laughed in exasperation. ’She’s still putting on an act at a time like this?’

Before that Eagle Beastman could even react, a Rogue Crowned Eagle Beastman beside him shrieked with excitement and dove down. Its sharp talons seized her by the wrists, preventing her from touching him with the knife and syringe in her hands.

Just like that, Si Shuo was snatched up into the sky!

Yu Jiao’s voice was triumphant, yet she still feigned ignorance and shouted loudly, “Si Shuo, take care of yourself! You have to hold on until Zhi Le comes to find you…”

Si Shuo yelled back, “Yu Jiao, you just wait! If I don’t send you to meet the Beast God, I’ll renounce being a female!”

Before she could finish shouting, the entire weight of her body was hanging from her two slender wrists as she was carried straight into the clouds.

The Crowned Eagle Beastman flew high and fast. The cold wind made her shiver uncontrollably, whipping her hair into a tangled mess. She couldn’t open her eyes, and it was difficult to even open her mouth.

The Crowned Eagle Beastman’s talons dug painfully into her wrists. Si Shuo lowered her gaze, watching as she was carried farther and farther from the Luoni Tribe. Even the sprawling Dongye Forest and the Tai Lu Mountain Range gradually disappeared in the distance, and panic filled her heart.

“Let me go!” The moment she opened her mouth, she got a bellyful of cold wind, and her shouts were mostly scattered by the gale.

The Crowned Eagle Beastman gave no sign of hearing her, simply continuing to fly onward.

Si Shuo didn’t speak again. Instead, she closed her eyes and thought, ’Even though he’s a Beastman, he can’t escape the habits and traits of a Crowned Eagle.’

’Birds use a vast amount of energy to fly. The Crowned Eagle Beastman’s body isn’t plump; he doesn’t have much stored fat to burn for energy. And they aren’t migratory birds, so they lack flight endurance and strategy.’

So, she closed her eyes to conserve her strength, waiting for the superpower within her to recover bit by bit. She planned to seize the opportunity to escape when the Crowned Eagle Beastman rested or hunted…

The Beastmen hunting in the Dongye Forest were already starting to head back. Zhi Le had just worked with his companions to take down a Long-haired Golden Tiger. He was covered in blood spatters, emanating a grim, murderous aura.

He wiped his face with satisfaction. Looking at the relatively intact Beast Skin, he felt a surge of pride.

He had contributed a lot to the kill, so he should be able to claim the entire tiger skin. He could use it to make clothes and bedding for his little female. A +1 to their stockpile of supplies for the harsh winter!

He first broke off a few tiger fangs, wiped them clean, and stored them in his personal space. But in the next instant, his expression changed drastically. He looked toward the Luoni Tribe and immediately transformed into a Snow Leopard, bolting in that direction so fast he became little more than a white blur…

「At the same time」, Ji Liang, who had just arrived at another tribe, seemed to sense something and whipped his head around. His expression turned icy as he gave a quick order to his second-in-command, hired a White Goose Beastman suited for long-distance travel, and hurried back.

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