Chapter 155: The Trials of Xyl (Part-20)

The forest had gone quiet again. Only the chirring of insects filled the gaps between their breaths. Lin Fang seemed like he had fallen asleep.

But Nixian still couldn’t. After hesitating a bit, she spoke. “Alpha-gege?”

“What?” A quick response came to her.

That’s when she realized that Lin Fang wasn’t asleep as she thought.

Taking a pause, she asked. “Why do you sleep even while wearing that mask?”

He gave a small hum before answering calmly. “To protect my identity, naturally.”

“But we’re alone,” she said, turning on her side to face his back. “There’s no one else here.”

“But you were here, weren’t you?” Lin Fang replied quietly, “I don’t want the things from here following me outside.” He paused briefly. “It’s better if you don’t know my name or my face. Better to take me as some mysterious travel companion.”

Nianxi sighed and rolled onto her back again, staring up at the night sky. The stars blinked faintly between drifting clouds. “You talk just like my mother,” she said softly.

Lin Fang’s brows shifted beneath the mask. “Is that so?”

“She used to be like you,” Nianxi continued. “Strong. Calm. Always saying things that make me feel assured, just through her words alone.”

Lin Fang’s voice was low, almost thoughtful. “You’re speaking in the past tense. Is she…”

Nianxi gave a small laugh. “No, she isn’t dead. She’s alive. Just… not the same person anymore.”

He listened without speaking.

Nianxi went on. “She used to train me herself. Now she’s too busy serving the nation. All she cares about is missions, reputation, duty.” Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but make a small pout as she complained. “I’m fifteen, you know? I want to go to school, make friends, and do normal stuff. But instead, I sneak into dark guilds and steal their tech for her.”

Her tone dropped, bitter but tired. “She’s the worst mom, honestly.”

There was a small pause. Then Lin Fang’s voice, quiet, almost lost in the night, slipped out. “Better than a mother who left her kid with his grandparents, then going on to remarry someone else, having another family… and never even calling his own son.”

Nianxi blinked, head turning toward him. “What?”

“Nothing,” he murmured, eyes already shut again.

She stared at him for a few long seconds, parting her lips slightly. Her earlier frustration faded into something softer. “I guess you must’ve had a tough childhood too…”

Lin Fang didn’t answer. He lay still, pretending to be asleep. Maybe half of him really was.

Meanwhile, far above, from the branch atop a sprawling banyan tree, a pair of glowing golden eyes blinked open.

A large leopard with its tail flicking slowly, crouched low on a thick branch. Its gaze was fixed on the two figures below.

Its claws sank into the bark, but it didn’t jump down. Instead, it waited in patience.

Meanwhile, elsewhere at the salt lake in the same sector;

The moon hung low over Sector 77, its pale glow catching the ripples of a vast lake hidden deep within the forest.

The air felt heavy, thick with moisture, and the kind of silence that made every sound feel sharper.

Three figures emerged from the treeline — Bu Mokong at the front, Li Ying beside him, and the white-haired Ryan Zhao walking with the kind of confidence only arrogance could create.

Bu Mokong took a slow step toward the rocky shore and exhaled. “I’ll drag it out. You two get ready,” he said, trying to sound calm, but his fingers trembled around the command seal.

With a stern gesture, he sent his Commander-Tier Flying Mantis forward. The creature’s wings buzzed as it skimmed just above the lake’s surface, its reflection rippling beneath it. It moved fast, slicing the air as it headed for the lake’s center.

The water looked calm — too calm with little ripples on the surface.

Li Ying frowned. “This feels wrong.”

Before Bu Mokong could reply, the lake exploded.

A massive serpent shot upward like a spear thrown by a giant. Its emerald scales shone sharply under the moonlight, and its head, wide as a truck, opened to reveal rows of needle-sharp teeth.

Bu Mokong’s scream cracked the night. “No… Dodge!”

But the mantis never stood a chance.

The Green Anaconda King snatched it mid-flight, closing its jaws with a sickening crunch before disappearing beneath the surface with a booming splash.

The shockwave crashed against the shore, sending water spraying everywhere. Bu Mokong stumbled backward, his eyes wide in disbelief as the bond in his core snapped violently.

He clutched his chest, face twisting in pain. “Dammit… This is the second one… the second monster companion I’ve lost…”

Ryan didn’t offer sympathy. He scoffed, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. “You should contract something stronger next time. Those mantises are useless.”

Bu Mokong’s expression darkened for a moment, anger flashing in his eyes — but he swallowed it, forcing a respectful nod. “Yes, Young Master Ryan…”

Li Ying watched him from the side, hiding her smirk behind a neutral face. “Serves you right, baldy… always sucking up to him.” She stepped forward and clasped her hands. “Let’s forget about this one. It’s too dangerous at night.”

But Ryan didn’t even acknowledge her. His gaze remained fixed on the lake, eyes gleaming with thrill rather than caution. “If you two are scared, then stay back. I’m killing it.”

Li Ying felt a vein throb in her temple. “This brat…”

Bu Mokong kept quiet.

Ryan lifted his sword. It was a sleek, black-silver blade with sharp arcs of glowing patterns etched along its length. He stepped right to the edge of the lake and thrust the tip into the water. Mana surged through him, crackling along the blade.

“Arc of Lightning!”

A pillar of black lightning erupted outward, tearing across the lake’s surface like a storm unleashed. The water violently trembled, churning as waves rose, and for a few seconds, everything went still.

Too still.

Then the lake detonated again.

Not far from the shore, the Green Anaconda King rose up, towering several meters above them. Moonlight cascaded along its massive, scaled body, highlighting bruises where the lightning had struck, but the monster looked very much alive and extremely angry.

Its glowing yellow eyes narrowed on the three humans. A deep, guttural hiss rolled over the water, vibrating through the ground beneath their feet.

Meanwhile, back in the Jungle;

Lin Fang slept with his mask on, completely still except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. Nixian lay beside him, fidgeting… twisting left… right… sitting up… then lying down again.

After almost ten minutes of restless rolling, she finally muttered under her breath, “Ugh… I need to pee…”

She glanced at Lin Fang’s back. He wasn’t moving. “He’s asleep, right?”

Nixian activated her senses quietly, extending a thin wave of mana outward.

“No Elite monsters. No humans. Nothing within a hundred meters… good.”

She got up gently, stepping on the soft leaves without making a sound, and slipped deeper into the bushes. A minute later, she sighed in relief as she finished her business and started pulling up her pants.

Then—

Her senses spiked all of a sudden.

Her pupils shrank as she slowly lifted her head.

A large silhouette perched above her — silent, motionless, and judging.

Her breath stopped. “Oh… no…”

A massive leopard, easily the size of a small horse, dropped from the branch with silent precision. Its maw opened wide and lunged straight for her neck.

She screamed. “Kyaaaa”

The beast missed her throat by inches but clamped onto her arm, teeth sinking through flesh. Nixian shrieked in pain as the leopard dragged her upward, climbing the tree with her dangling helplessly from its jaws.

“HELP!”

Her voice tore through the forest.

Lin Fang’s eyes snapped open instantly at the sound.

Alpha’s voice thundered inside his mind at the same time, “Northeast! Now!”

Lin Fang was already up, kicking off the ground. “Dammit, why did she go off on her own?! Was she trying to escape or what—”

His boots lit up with mana as he surged forward, exploding through the trees at full speed.

Up in the branches, the Leopard Queen felt the threat rushing toward it. It growled, flattening its ears. Even though it is a Lord-Tier monster, it still felt like it couldn’t guard prey and fight a sudden attacker at the same time, so it made a choice.

Kill the outsider.

It released Nixian’s arm, letting her drop onto the thick branch. Pinning her down with her claws, the beast turned and opened its jaws wide to roar—

Nixian, trembling, widened her eyes in terror, murmured, “I’m going to die at this rate.”

When the thought appeared in her head, she acted on pure instinct.

She shoved mana into her bracelet, and the black gem flared.

In the next moment, a blinding shockwave burst outward.

From the distance, Lin Fang saw a sudden sphere of golden-white light bursting between the trees.

When the flash faded, Nixian was no longer there.

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