by Tinalynge
Looking at him Wan Qiao was astonished. When she first met him, he was coming to sell a medicinal pill. Lan Feng had hidden his aura to the best of his ability, but in spite of that someone who had known Lan Feng previously would without a doubt recognize him. As she had, but at the same time found that his aura was mixed with a human one.
Wan Qiao was not satisfied with Lan Feng. The bird never listened to her when she tried to train him, nor did he follow her guidelines when she gave him any. Instead, he felt as though a woman had no place to tell him how to act, something which caused the two of them to butt heads often.
Seeing that he was still alive, Wan Qiao had been filled with mixed emotions. One was shock and astonishment; another was anger and indignation. It was not until she stole some of his blood that she truly understood that although this person was Lan Feng, he was also not Lan Feng.
The blood she took back then belonged to a human boy of the age of ten, however, this human boy had the same aura as Lan Feng. This left only the possibility of a soul contract.
When Wan Qiao found out that this was a fact, she rushed back to Shenyuan and started to prepare. Prepare for the day Hui Yue came to call on her. She expected it to happen, but she never expected it to happen this soon. The fact that it did made her ecstatic.
The sooner he arrived, the easier it was to mold him. During these few months, the young man had already increased his physical strength a ten-fold and had increased his battle prowess especially when in his wolf-man form.
Shaking their heads, both Hui Yue and Wan Qiao stopped thinking about other things, instead, they once more looked around the village which now was a memorial ground for the dead villagers. The two exchanged glances before they both started moving in the direction the delegation had gone.
Determining the right direction was no hard feat. The delegation counted more than a hundred cultivators, and none of them did anything to hide their actions. They all butchered their way through the forest, killing beasts and plants alike.
Following them were footprints of beasts, it was obvious that this delegation had taken some of the villagers prisoner. This was something which made both Hui Yue and Wan Qiao see red; both of them were eager to save the villagers, and to teach the delegation what happens to humans who enter Shenyuan.
As Hui Yue and Wan Qiao made their way through the forest more and more guards joined them. None of them were fast enough to keep up with Wan Qiao, however, now they were joining one after another and the group grew larger and larger, all of them rushing after this delegation.
“We will catch up with them tonight,” Wan Qiao said, as her eyes narrowed and her killing intent billowed outwards. A killing intent which was as strong as the one concealed within the red mist of the wolf-man inside of Hui Yue.
As more and more guards arrived, her killing intent grew larger and larger, and eventually, every magical beast with lesser intelligence, those who could not take human shape, were doing everything they could to flee from this group of blood-thirsty magical beasts. All of them felt their beastly instincts to protect their territory, so they increased their speed. They were rushing as fast as they could towards the delegation who was butchering their way through the beast’s beloved land.
Chapter 16 – According to Plan
“Captain Song, I was under the impression that we were here as a delegation; a group of people who wish to meet with the inhabitants of Shenyuan to peacefully gain some information about this place. How can we ever explain what happened at the last village to their superiors? Isn’t our job as a delegation ruined already?” The speaker was a beautiful young woman. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties, and her features were beautiful without any childish air. She had an air of maturity around her, however, currently she also seemed distraught and frustrated.
“Senior Observer Li, I can understand that you are confused, but although we are here as a delegation that village did not have any humans in it. What they did have though were magical beasts who looked like humans. To see beasts pretending to be human is nauseating.”
Captain Song was a large man, his body bulging with muscles, his eyes cold and alert as he glanced around, and his mouth sporting a cold grin. His was bold and dressed in a yellow riding robe. Because they left their horses outside the borders of Shenyuan, he had not bothered changing but the robes in no way interfered with his movements.
“Captain Song, although they were magical beasts we will likely encounter more magical beasts. They created a city, and it is highly likely that the civilization within this area are all humanoid magical beasts.” Her voice was stern and she was unhappy about the way things turned out. She was told that she would become the Senior Observer of this delegation, the person who provided presents and spoke to the lords of this place.
Unfortunately, everything had changed as soon as Captain Song saw the humanoid beasts. His eyes glistened with greed and his face constantly showed disdain towards the beasts which were tied up and bound to groups of warriors.
Seeing this, Senior Observer Li felt very uncomfortable; her eyes pained as she looked at the beasts who now were prisoners, and she could not help but feel that they could no longer turn back. That they could no longer undo what they had done.
Remembering the dismembered corpses of the elderly, children, and adults who had gone against them. Anyone who had shown even the slightest bit of resistance was killed on the spot. They had shown no care as to whether the child was a young man, a small child, or an elderly woman.
Even still, many of the elderly even if they did not put up a fight were still killed as they could not keep up with the group. Captain’s Song’s philosophy was to leave no one alive.
Having seen this village, Senior Observer Li guessed that the people within Shenyuan were not humans much like the other three kingdoms, but instead magical beasts. Beasts which had evolved greatly from those who were left within the other three kingdoms of the continent.
The delegation moved further and further into the forests, and they saw more and more magical beasts, some humanoid while others merely just regular beasts.
All the magical beast were incredibly intelligent, however, some of them wished to stay within the forest and live according to their instincts while others lived in cities. All of these beasts were far more intelligent than those outside of Shenyuan.
The forests were also filled with normal animals. Animals who were prey for the many magical beasts. The lower grade magical beasts were also prey for the smarter ones. It seemed as though everywhere around them were magical beasts, and no humans could be seen.
Walking the entire day, the sun quickly set in the horizon and as night was about to descend when Captain Song finally stopped the group. He stated that they were to set up camp.
….
While Captain Song went to sleep, followed by the majority of the guards, a shadow made its way through the campsite. It was constantly hiding within different shadows as it arrived at the outskirts of the camp. A place where three guards were stationed and next to the guards were around fifty humanoid magical beasts.
Li Meilin, the full name of Senior Observer Li, was this shadow who made her way towards these three guards. These guards were all King ranked experts, and Li Meilin smirked coldly as she seemingly disappeared from her previous location and reappeared behind a guard.
With a quick snap of her hand, she rendered one guard after another unconscious before she headed towards the prisoners. Golden light gleamed all of a sudden and moments later the humanoid beasts were freed.
Seeing that they were no longer captives all of them bowed deeply towards the woman who appeared in front of them. This woman waving her hand dismissively and she rushed back to her location, rushing through the shadows.
….
The prisoners who had been released did not rush forward, towards the middle of the forest, instead, they all backed away and traveled the way they had come from earlier. All of them aware that someone was coming to
their rescue. They moved towards the rescuing team.
And as expected, they did not need to travel for long before they saw the rescue team led by Wan Qiao and Hui Yue causing the group to rush even faster towards the each other.
Finally reaching the squad of rescuers, the villagers were all panting their eyes glistening with hope and happiness.
“How did you manage to get away?” Wan Qiao asked the village leader curiously. She knew that humans were greedy creatures and humanoid magic beasts sold for an amazing price back in their own cities.
The village leader was a young man whose original shape was a Death-Clawed Lion. A beast known for its strength and speed. He was the only man whom the delegation took prisoner although he had strongly fought for the safety of his village.
“There is a woman, they called her Senior Observer Li,” The guard started, “She was against the actions of the delegation saying that they were only there to talk with the residents of Shenyuan. The captain refused to listen and said that we were worse than dogs. Their captain is far worse than a beast, he indiscriminately killed the weak and elderly, even the women and children! Get revenge for us!” The leader pleaded with a trembling voice, “Get revenge for our children and our elders, our brothers and our sisters.”
Hearing his trembling voice and seeing his eyes turn red and moist, it moved Wan Qiao into listening to what the beast in front of her was saying. He forced his tears back and cleared his throat. “The woman, the Senior Observer was our savior and during the slaughter in the city, she went against the captain. She was also the one who saved us when were taken prisoner.” The man fell to his knees in front of Wan Qiao.
“We beasts have nothing, but we feel pride in returning kindness with kindness. That woman fought for our survival. She deserves to be saved. I beg of you, please let her go.”
Frowning Wan Qiao rubbed her head while thinking her eyes deep as an abyss not showing what she was feeling, but after pondering for a few moments, she sighed heavily.
“The woman, although friendly towards us, is still human. She is part of a delegation which was sent here to spread death and disaster. If we let her go she will have to live within our capital where we can keep an eye on her. I refuse to let her know about us and then return her to her old kingdom. All our secrets will be spilled.”
The face of the young man turned soft, and he kowtowed in front of the One-Horned Jasmine Eagle for the sake of showing just how grateful he was in the reply. “Even if she is to live within our capital, it is better than her dying.” He said happiness in his voice.
“Oi!” Wan Qiao suddenly yelled out and the many guards who just caught up with her ready to go attack the delegation all halted The stood on their legs and looked only at her.
“You, you, and you,” She pointed at three groups of guards who were standing within range, “Take these citizens back to the capital. Let them reside within the Heavenly Spring Mansion.”
Given an order, it was clear how quickly the guards started to act. Some of the guards took the children on their backs and took to the sky while others marched on the ground and showed the way for the villagers who were stronger. There were no elderly villagers left something which caused great grief to the survivors.
Seeing that the guards were swiftly following her orders, Wan Qiao was satisfied before she turned towards Hui Yue.
“I have a job for you,” She said with a brilliant smile on her face, “No one is more suitable for this job than you are. This woman Senior Observer Li, you are to locate her and keep her alive while the rest of us butcher the humans who dared touch our lands.”
Hearing this Hui Yue could not help but gulp. Everyone within range was a King ranked or above. Fighting against them was something he could do for a short period of time when he transformed into a wolf-man, however, to fight against more than one for an extended period of time, Hui Yue was more than likely to lose.
Thinking for a bit he knew that he could not decline the responsibility he had been given and instead he started pondering how he could keep her safe. The best idea was to simply leave the battle.
Although these magical beasts in human form were very similar to humans, both in intellect and lifestyle, they were not humans. Deep within were some instincts which they could not kill and these instincts were certain to surface during the battle royale they were about to enter into. Seeing a woman alive, even if they were told not to kill, the hate these beasts felt towards humans was rooted deep and they probably would attack her. Killing her in the confusing, loud, and messy battle that was to descend.
Although Hui Yue was at a loss about the job he had been given he never showed any of his thoughts on his face, instead, he started to plan the best way to save this person whom he had no clue what kind of cultivation base she had.
If Hui Yue was to use all his energy then he could transform into the wolf-man and for a few moments he could release all his energy within three or four swipes causing strong enough energy ripples to allow for the two to escape in the middle of the battle, but after escaping he would have no strength left. It would mean that they had to hide to stay alive.
Although this sounded easy, it really was nowhere as simple as it sounded. Hiding from a magical beast was almost impossible. They had keen scent, sharp eyes, and astonishing hearing. No matter where they hid they were likely to be found, and if Hui Yue had already used up all his energy by the time they hid then they would have no one to protect them.
Sighing internally, Hui Yue could not help but hope that this Senior Observer Li was strong enough to protect herself so that all he had to do was find a safe spot and stay put.
Wan Qiao was observing Hui Yue this whole time. She understood exactly what thoughts went on within his mind. She had to say that she was astonished to see the determination which crept into his ice-blue eyes. His demeanor changed from the laughing man from before to a proper cultivator; a person who had experienced life and death battles previously and knew exactly how important it was to be cautious. The fact that he had no ties to the other guards also meant that if one of them had a grudge against him, it was likely that they would try and get rid of him in the chaos which was expected to appear near the battle.
Chapter 17 – Battle Royale
As soon as the group of villagers left their surroundings, Wan Qiao’s eyes turned ice-cold and she lifted her arm into the air. Her hazel brown, golden feathers sprouted from her skin and within moments the giant bird was standing at the front of everyone. Her wings spread out and the force contained within sent debris of the trees flying in every direction. The previously dense forest suddenly changed, and the bird created a clearing within the trees. The blue sky was suddenly visible through the trees which allowed for light to cascade down towards the group of beasts and the one human. All the beast’s’ eyes turned red when they were overtaken by their killing intent. The animals all slowly transformed to their original shapes, howls, roars, growling, all sounds from the beasts could be heard reverberating through the forest, and finally, Wan Qiao started to move. She lifted her wings and a loud, terrifying shriek sounded out before the bird started to make a way through the dense forest.
Hui Yue activated Velocity Flow as he followed behind Wan Qiao. Considering that he needed to save this Li Meilin, he had to be there from the very start. Finding her would be hard, and keeping her safe even harder.
Wan Qiao knew this and to help him slightly she made sure to keep a pace which fitted his highest speed when using Velocity Flow. Behind him beast after beast roared out, preparing themselves for the battle which was to come. At this point, Hui Yue was the only human shaped person left, however, he dared not transform too early because his control over his wolf form was still limited.
It took the group of magical beasts roughly two hours of constant running before they started hearing the sounds of clattering and yelling in the distance. The delegation had long since heard the beasts horde coming their way, and they had all taken up positio
ns getting ready to greet the incoming beasts.
Seeing this, Hui Yue hid right behind Wan Qiao, and as he expected the massive eagle shrieked once more. The shriek sounded throughout the entire forest and was answered by howling, growling, and roaring beasts.
Wan Qiao collided straight into the many humans. Her wings and her legs swept around, killing at least twenty humans from the collision alone. However, just as she collided into them she took to the air and a large bald man appeared who was fully focused on the flying bird.
Looking at this man Hui Yue was taken aback. The man was without a doubt a Saint ranked expert. To send a Saint showed how serious the Siban Empire was about this delegation, however, they never arrived at any place where they could find humans, nor had they ever intended to be peaceful. Their real purpose in entering Shenyuan was to get any kind of information back to the empire.
This trip was valued highly by the Siban Empire which was why they sent Captain Song. One of their few Saint ranked experts. This saint was so sure of his own power that he was not frightened by any sort of retaliation no matter which kind of dirty deeds he committed. He was certain of his strength as the strongest, however, he had never met anyone like Wan Qiao before.
