Chapter 88: [Escaping Danger] (Part 1)

That blue wolf didn't charge at Hu Xiaotian as expected but suddenly turned, and the other blue wolves did the same. Hu Xiaotian felt greatly surprised in his heart, thinking, 'I guess I'm still this mighty and overbearing, actually able to scare off this pack of vicious wolves?' Immediately he realized what had happened: it was Murong Feiyan arriving just in time, her sword flashing and carving a bloody path. Any animal senses danger; the seven wolves that had climbed the crag instantly realized Murong Feiyan was the greatest threat and turned to deal with her.

In the blink of an eye, Murong Feiyan had already slain two blue wolves with her sword; these vicious wolves were no longer as ferocious and stubborn as before, seeing their companions killed, they actually felt frightened and scrambled down in a panic.

The first to scatter was the black eagle circling in the sky; not long after, the wolf pack also gradually retreated. The wolves driven by the Beast Tamer were not from the same pack originally, and during their retreat, the two packs erupted into fierce fighting, with screams, howls, and roars rising and falling, the scene extremely bloody and gruesome to behold.

After the wolf pack had completely dispersed, dawn arrived unnoticed. All three were covered in blood and exhausted; Hu Xiaotian was the first to sit on the ground, feeling his life was truly tough—he had originally resigned himself to death at the critical moment, yet he managed to survive, indebted, owing Murong Feiyan a huge favor he could not repay, so he could only offer himself in return, not knowing whether Murong Feiyan needed his flesh as compensation.

Murong Feiyan was also exhausted to the extreme, too lazy to speak, sitting on the edge of a boulder, her gaze still vigilantly observing the surroundings, fearing the wolf pack might return.

In the east, a soft pale purple and fish-belly white appeared; the bluish-white dawn light and faint morning mist blended together, dyeing the mountains and waters, as the night quietly melted into the fresh morning light.

A black eagle still circled in the sky, but never dared to land; when the golden rays of the sunrise pierced the morning haze, the black eagle finally gave up any thought of attacking, flying farther and farther toward the sunrise until it became a solitary speck on the horizon.

Watching that black dot finally disappear from his view, Hu Xiaotian let out a long breath; although Murong Feiyan said nothing, her face likewise showed an expression of relief. Qiqi leaned against Murong Feiyan's shoulder, having fallen asleep at some point, her sleeping pose peaceful and tranquil; though her young face still retained childishness, one could easily tell from her brows and eyes that she would grow into astonishing beauty.

What truly made Hu Xiaotian sigh was not her beauty, but her extraordinary calm and wisdom; he wondered what kind of calamity this little girl would become when she grew up, and the four words 'bringing disaster to the country and the people' came to mind, causing an involuntary wry smile at the corner of his mouth, which he then accompanied with a slow shake of his head.

Murong Feiyan seemed to understand Hu Xiaotian's meaning, and she whispered, 'After all, she is still just a child.' In fact, even as she spoke those words she herself did not want to believe it; although Qiqi was merely a child, she did not possess the innocence of an ordinary child. Murong Feiyan added, 'Let her rest a little longer.'

Hu Xiaotian, however, reached out and gently patted Qiqi's frail shoulder: 'Dawn has broken; we should set out!' It was not because Hu Xiaotian was ruthless or cruel, but they had to leave this perilous place as soon as possible, to depart from Luxuriant Shade Mountain.

Qiqi had sprained her right ankle; although no bone was broken, she still could not walk. Since their horses had been taken back by Hu Fo, and as the only male in the group, Hu Xiaotian had to bear the burden of carrying Qiqi, even though he was reluctant—yet in this world many things must be done against one's will.

Helping a poor, lonely little girl would normally be nothing special, but Hu Xiaotian this time was forced into it; Qiqi was sinister and vicious, using the Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle to stab him hard, coercing him to escort her to Harmony Prefecture—this was not about making him repay evil with virtue.

Hu Xiaotian's left arm had now turned red up to the elbow; at the moment of life and death, Qiqi had mentioned giving him the antidote, but Hu Xiaotian, thinking death was certain, had bluntly refused in a bold manner. Now that the danger had passed, this little girl suddenly stopped mentioning the antidote, and even more outrageously, she lay comfortably on his back and actually fell asleep.

Hu Xiaotian now felt quite a bit of regret, wishing he had taken the antidote from her hand earlier.

Murong Feiyan glanced at the sleeping Qiqi and asked Hu Xiaotian, 'How is your hand?'

Hu Xiaotian replied, 'It's sore and numb; it seems the poison's onset is drawing nearer.' He clearly said this for Qiqi to hear.

Murong Feiyan frowned, secretly calculating in her mind that she should find a way to get Qiqi to voluntarily produce the antidote.

At that moment Qiqi happened to open her eyes, sighed softly, and said, 'Then last night when I gave you the antidote, you still refused?'

Hu Xiaotian, no longer caring about face, said, 'This is a different time; refusing last night doesn't mean refusing now. Seeing the Buddha off to the West, rest assured—I promised to send you to Harmony Prefecture, so I will surely get you there and not abandon you midway.' His words sounded noble, but upon closer inspection one could see he had given in.

Murong Feiyan also said, 'I can vouch for that.'

Qiqi looked at Hu Xiaotian then at Murong Feiyan, sighed again, and said, 'Sister Murong, even if I don't trust him, I would certainly trust you, but the antidote for the Seven-Day Soul-Severing Needle is not in my possession.'

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed this girl for speaking nonsense with her eyes open, wishing he could throw her off his back.

Qiqi blinked her eyes, putting on an innocent, naive look, and said, 'Good thing you didn't believe me last night; the porcelain bottle I gave you truly contains poison, and extremely deadly poison at that—if you actually drank that medicine, I would push your corpse off the cliff; those wolves, as long as they ate your flesh, would surely all be poisoned to death, giving me a chance to escape.'

Hearing this, Hu Xiaotian sucked in a cold breath, thinking, 'Damn you, you little brat, at such a young age, how can your heart be so vicious? Fortunately I was alert, otherwise I would have been killed by you without even knowing.' Then he reconsidered: maybe Qiqi got this idea from his own words; now that the danger had passed and she didn't want to give him the antidote, she said this. With his life in her hands, he could only endure in silence, as the saying goes, 'patience holds a dagger,' letting his anger burn inside. Forget it, he wouldn't quarrel with this yellow-haired little girl.

Murong Feiyan was also exhausted to the extreme, too lazy to speak, sitting on the edge of a boulder, her gaze still vigilantly observing the surroundings, fearing the wolf pack might return.

With Qiqi's intelligence, she naturally could sense the hidden meaning in Murong Feiyan's words; the corner of her mouth curled into an innocent smile: 'Sister Murong, why be angry? Since I promised, I will certainly follow through.'

Murong Feiyan said, 'Do it as best you can!' She had already made up her mind in secret: if this little girl dared to play tricks, she would certainly not let her off lightly.

That afternoon, the three descended Luxuriant Shade Mountain smoothly, almost simultaneously turning back to glance at the mountain; recalling last night's perilous scene, they all felt immense relief.

Murong Feiyan pointed ahead and said, 'Just go forward and you'll reach the official road.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

Qiqi said, 'Big Brother Hu, are you tired? My foot doesn't hurt anymore; why don't you put me down to rest a bit?' After the ordeal of escaping the beast herd, her outward attitude toward Hu Xiaotian had obviously become much more polite.

Hu Xiaotian thought inwardly, 'Do you think I want to carry you?' He bent down, set Qiqi down, took the waterskin Murong Feiyan handed him and drank a few gulps; Qiqi then tried to walk carefully a few steps to the side, feeling her ankle no longer as painful as before, and thought she could proceed slowly.

Murong Feiyan said, 'Let's wait until we reach the market ahead to hire a cart.' Speaking of this, she suddenly thought of an extremely troublesome problem: all their luggage and belongings were carried by Liang Da Zhuang, who had vanished without a trace at the onset of the wolf encounter; for all they knew, he might already have become a tasty morsel in the wolves' bellies. And they had no money left? *************************************************Today is my birthday, it seems I haven't even reached VIP level, so no blessings were saved—well, I'm soliciting blessings myself!!!

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