Gong Shaotian was taken away by the people following him.
When he woke up, he found that the bones in his right hand had been completely crushed.
If not for the spiritual medicine he carried, the hand would have been ruined.
Since waking up, he had been burning with anger.
Bai Maomao and the others had moved too quickly.
It was only now that they finally caught up.
“Is the medicine ready?”
Gong Shaotian’s eyes were bloodshot.
When he saw Bai Maomao’s cold and delicate face, he wanted nothing more than to rip it apart himself.
“It’s ready…” the person behind him replied with a slight tremble.
“Young Master Gong, maybe we should wait until we’re back at school to deal with them. If we attract the Fire Butterflies, there could be casualties.”
“Hmph.”
Gong Shaotian snorted coldly.
“Their lives are exactly what I want. Stop with the nonsense. Hurry up.”
Lang Junxian had just formed his foundation and sat down in a corner of the cave to stabilize his cultivation.
Bai Maomao sat beside him, silently keeping watch.
The rescued girl had calmed down and was willing to speak, but every time they asked what school or team she belonged to, she went silent again, with a look that said “ask one more time and I’ll cry right here.”
Mo Qin was heartbroken and attentively stayed by her side, trying to cheer her up with jokes.
But before she laughed, he already burst into hearty laughter, his booming voice echoing throughout the cave.
Yan Miao couldn’t stand it anymore and dragged him outside to find food and firewood.
The cave finally quieted down.
Liu Lei and Meng Qu stood guard at the entrance.
Neither were good at small talk, so once Mo Qin left, the cave fell into silence.
The girl huddled in her coat, hugging her knees and daydreaming quietly.
Yan Miao came back from the forest with wild mushrooms and dry branches.
Mo Qin caught a wild rabbit and two pheasants.
Along the way, Yan Miao kept eyeing the fat rabbit in Mo Qin’s hands, hesitant to speak.
Back in the cave, Mo Qin stunned the pheasants and threw them down.
Holding the fat rabbit, he was about to skin it.
Yan Miao grabbed him.
“What’s wrong?”
Mo Qin turned around.
“Can…can we not…”
Yan Miao stammered, pitifully looking at the rabbit in Mo Qin’s hand.
“Can we not eat it?”
“Not eat what?”
Mo Qin raised the still-kicking rabbit.
“This one?”
Yan Miao nodded quickly.
Mo Qin chuckled, thinking Yan Miao didn’t like rabbit meat.
“This wild rabbit is super tender. Once you try it, you’ll love it.”
He turned to keep skinning.
“No!”
Yan Miao urgently pulled him, almost in tears.
“Can’t we just eat the chickens instead?”
Mo Qin patted his head.
“Mountain chickens aren’t as fat.”
Yan Miao clutched his sleeve stubbornly, eyes red.
Mo Qin turned to scold him but was startled by his tear-filled eyes.
“Alright, alright! I won’t eat it. Don’t cry—your eyes are as red as a rabbit’s!”
He let go of the rabbit, raised his hands in surrender, and looked at Yan Miao.
Yan Miao sniffled, watching the fat rabbit hop away.
He pursed his lips and softly said,
“Thank you.”
Mo Qin burst out laughing.
“Why are you thanking me? If anyone deserves thanks, it’s that fat rabbit.”
“…”
Yan Miao silently turned away, carrying the stunned pheasants to prepare them.
For this military training, they only brought food that could keep and some seasoning.
Yan Miao was great at cooking.
He made a big pot of pheasant and mushroom stew, using every bit of seasoning.
The rich aroma filled the cave, waking Bai Maomao, who had been dozing off.
Eyes sparkling, he guarded the pot, waiting to eat.
Yan Miao stirred the stew, grabbed a bowl, and began serving it.
Bai Maomao took one and also brought a bowl for Lang Junxian, leaning happily against him to drink chicken soup.
The rescued girl also held a bowl, sipping slowly, cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling—her expression mirroring Bai Maomao’s joyful one.
They split two chickens among themselves, paired with bread.
After eating and drinking their fill, some cultivated, others slept.
In the Middle of the Night
The cave was quiet.
Mo Qin and Yan Miao were sound asleep, curled up together.
Liu Lei and Meng Qu dozed at the entrance.
Bai Maomao was snoring in Lang Junxian’s arms.
The rescued girl lay deepest in the cave, her eyes unusually bright.
After waiting a bit, she quietly got up, stepped over the others, paused slightly by Mo Qin and Yan Miao, and floated out of the cave.
A flash of red light—
Liu Lei and Meng Qu didn’t even notice.
Bai Maomao briefly opened his eyes, then went back to sleep.
The Next Morning
“The girl we rescued is gone!”
Mo Qin’s booming voice echoed in the cave, waking everyone.
Yan Miao rubbed his eyes.
“Who’s gone?”
“BBJL—our girl. She’s gone!”
Mo Qin pointed to where she had slept.
Everyone sobered up immediately and got ready to search.
“No need,”
Bai Maomao stretched and stood.
“She left on her own.”
“How do you know?” everyone asked.
Bai Maomao shrugged.
“I saw her leave last night.”
“Why didn’t you stop her? It’s dangerous out there alone!”
Mo Qin shouted.
Bai Maomao shrugged again.
“You don’t want to know the truth. Just trust me—she’s safe.”
Mo Qin wanted to argue, but seeing Lang Junxian’s cold stare, he shrank back and whispered to Yan Miao.
Thanks to the rabbit incident, Yan Miao was now much closer to him and listened patiently.
Since no one could find the girl, they accepted Bai Maomao’s explanation and packed up to continue on.
Meanwhile…
Gong Shaotian waited anxiously in a tree for his men to return.
A moment later, a tall figure ran over in panic.
“Ri–Riot! It’s started!”
Gong Shaotian smiled.
“Good. And Li Yu?”
The figure nodded.
Gong Shaotian leapt from the tree, eyes flashing with malice.
“Let’s see if they survive this.”
Bai Maomao’s group exited the cave and walked through the forest.
Mo Qin was unusually quiet, upset about the girl’s sudden departure.
Yan Miao followed silently.
It was a beautiful day—sunny with a cool breeze.
The leaves rustled gently.
A gust blew dust into the air.
Bai Maomao buried his face in Lang Junxian’s chest to wait it out.
Lang Junxian sniffed the air, frowning.
“This dust smells kind of stra—”
Before he could finish, a swarm of giant flaming red butterflies charged toward them.
Their eyes gleamed coldly, and their sharp, gleaming proboscises made them look deadly.
They were nearly as big as the giant spiders from before.
“Holy crap!”
Mo Qin cursed, grabbing Yan Miao’s hand and sprinting.
The butterflies gave chase.
Mo Qin used his magic tool to flee with Yan Miao, but his cultivation couldn’t match Bai Maomao’s.
Soon, his spiritual energy started to run out, and he slowed down.
Behind them, the enormous butterflies were getting closer and closer.
Mo Qin panicked.
He mustered all his strength to sprint forward, but his empty dantian (energy center) could no longer sustain him.
Clutching Yan Miao tightly, he tumbled to the ground and rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop.
Meanwhile, the giant butterflies behind them surged like a crimson wave, covering the sky as they pursued.
Mo Qin shielded Yan Miao in his arms and shut his eyes in despair.
Then—a warm, slightly soft wing covered them, gently enveloping the two of them beneath it.
The butterflies behind had blood-red eyes, but when they saw this butterfly’s action, they only paused momentarily before flapping their wings even faster to chase the others ahead.
No pain came as expected.
Mo Qin opened his eyes—only to lock gazes with the cold compound eyes of a fire butterfly.
“…………”
Damn, this giant moth is terrifying to look at.