“Hey! Jie Shui, didn’t you say you could protect us?” Mu Guoguo called out anxiously.
“Do something! Why are you just standing there?!”
“I…” Jie Shui’s teeth chattered as he reluctantly put on his clawed gloves.
Facing five Xubeasts, he mustered his courage, steadied his breath in his dantian, craned his neck, bared his sharp wolf fangs, and put on a fierce expression! He let out a howling Sky Wolf cry that shook the mountains—
“Meow… ooo… ooo…”
“…?”
Even the Xubeasts were stunned.
“Wha—what are you looking at?! Haven’t you ever heard a wolf howl before?” Jie Shui snapped in embarrassment.
“I’m just a little out of practice… but dealing with a few Xubeasts—ahhh, don’t come any closer!”
As a third-tier cultivator with a solid foundation, Jie Shui could easily handle one or two Xubeasts alone.
Besides, Xubeasts rarely acted in packs during the day, which was why he dared to take on this mission.
“I’m sorry, Tingyue, Guoguo, and the newcomers Qing Yi and Qianxue… This time, I messed up. You all run!”
Jie Shui’s legs were shaking, but he still bravely charged at the five Xubeasts!
“Run! I’ll hold them off, you go to Erdao Village and call for reinforcements… If they don’t make it in time, remember to burn a box of Strawberry Condensed Milk for me during the holidays! Sanyang Brand, with honey—if I don’t have it, I can’t eat breakfast—ahhhh—”
“And tell Ahuo and the others to take care of my Cat, please, just leave it to them!”
“Don’t forget Grandma of Sandao Village’s letter!”
“I’m off—Jie Shui, charge!”
Jie Shui’s body swelled, and in a flash, he transformed into a Wolf-headed Giant covered in dark, bristling fur!
Standing three meters tall, his sharp claws were as long as a grown man’s forearm, and he firmly placed himself between the Revival Society’s yokai and the Xubeasts!
“Run!” This time, his roar truly echoed through the mountains and forests.
But when he looked back, all the girls were calmly watching him, their expressions the same as if they were looking at an idiot.
Jiang Ke’er held her hand as if gripping something, and a fierce sword intent gathered there, though her palm was empty.
She and Qiao Xiaoxian flanked the Xubeasts from left and right.
With a single exchange, the Xubeasts in midair were pierced through the brain.
Two down.
The remaining Xubeasts realized something was wrong, but they didn’t even have time to react before those two graceful yet terrifying figures appeared beside them
—zzzt.
Two more were slain.
Only one was left.
Jiang Ke’er and Qiao Xiaoxian’s eyes met, sparks crackling between them in midair.
That one’s mine!
Jiang Ke’er wanted to snatch the kill—though it didn’t really matter, it gave her a sense of triumph over Qiao Xiaoxian.
But after a brief hesitation, she stopped.
After all, today was the last day of Qiao Xiaoxian’s life.
She ought to go easy on her.
Jiang Ke’er halted, and Qiao Xiaoxian flicked her finger lightly.
The third-tier Xubeast’s brain was destroyed as well.
Qiao Xiaoxian narrowed her eyes, puzzled.
She knew Jiang Ke’er too well—given her personality, there was no way she’d let that Xubeast go, just to beat her by even the tiniest margin.
Something was off.
There had to be more to this.
Qiao Xiaoxian kept her expression unchanged and started thinking deeply.
“Whoa—amazing!” Jie Shui stared, wide-eyed, at Jiang Ke’er and Qiao Xiaoxian.
“With a single move~ the Xubeasts are dead! Tingyue, where did you find these two powerhouses? They’re way too strong!”
Changsun Qingyue didn’t answer Jie Shui’s question.
Instead, she frowned and scolded, “You, when are you ever going to be reliable?”
“It’s not my fault! Who would’ve thought Xubeasts would attack together in broad daylight… and they’re all third-tier,” Jie Shui scratched his head, sounding aggrieved.
“You never wondered why nobody else took this delivery mission,” Changsun Qingyue crouched to examine the Xubeast corpses and sighed softly.
“The Blood Moon Xu Tide is almost here, and the Xujie Gate is about to open. Recently, Xubeasts have been acting unpredictably, doing all kinds of strange things. Even D-level Teams don’t dare enter the woods right now…”
“But isn’t there still a few days until the Xu Tide? This road is usually safe, and there are rarely any Xubeasts,” Jie Shui argued.
“I really did my homework! By all rights, there shouldn’t be any third-tier Xubeasts on the road from Yidao Village to Erdao Village. It’s never happened before… There’s not even a third-tier Xubeast Crossover Point here!”
Changsun Qingyue paused, her expression turning grave.
“Are you absolutely sure?” Jiang Ke’er asked, frowning as well.
“Absolutely! I may not be the most reliable, but I’d never joke around with our own people’s lives! If you mess around on a mission, you won’t make it to the end in the Ancient Scholarly Realm!” Jie Shui explained anxiously, still in his wolf form.
That made things serious.
Even though Jiang Ke’er didn’t know much about Xubeasts, she could tell that the nearby slave villages were facing a crisis—a true matter of life and death.
Yidao Village, Erdao Village, and Sandao Village were all situated in a Gourd-shaped Basin, surrounded by steep cliffs forming a natural defensive barrier.
Yidao Village sat at the mouth of the gourd, the first and nearly only line of defense.
Ninety-nine percent of the fighting strength of all three villages was concentrated there to repel Xubeast attacks.
Erdao Village was at the narrow waist of the gourd, serving as the logistical base, supplying defensive materials.
For years, there had never been strong Xubeasts in the forest between Yidao Village and Erdao Village, so Erdao Village’s defenses were extremely weak—easily broken.
But now, five third-tier Xubeasts had gathered in the area between Yidao Village and Erdao Village—supposedly a safe zone.
The villagers had no idea, thinking that as long as they held Yidao Village’s checkpoint, they could keep the Xubeasts at bay.
By the time they realized the truth, Erdao Village and Sandao Village might already have been devoured by the Xubeasts.
“We have to report this to the village immediately,” Changsun Qingyue said.
After hesitating, she continued, “Also, the situation has changed. We need to make a decision now.”
“Do we abort the mission, or keep going?”
A new Xubeast Crossover Point had appeared in the forest.
That was terrifying enough, but it also meant there could be even more dangerous anomalies nearby.
Living in the Realm of Novice Cultivator meant you had to be careful.
One mistake, and you could be buried here forever.
The wisest choice in the face of the unknown was to avoid danger and return to safety.
“My suggestion is to go back,” Changsun Qingyue said through gritted teeth.
“As the acting president, I have to be responsible for your safety.”
Jie Shui opened his mouth, but said nothing.
He looked disappointed—he wanted to finish the mission, but would never risk his comrades’ lives.
He just couldn’t understand it.
In previous years, the Blood Moon Xu Tide brought some anomalies, but it never changed the Xubeast crossover points or their strength.
What on earth was happening this year?
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen…