Chu Liuyue reached out and tapped its small head. “Don’t always compare with others.”
The little fellow trembled as it looked up. It looked as if its heart was aching; it did not expect Chu Liuyue to say something as heartless as that. I’m just asking for pats! Is that a lot to ask for?
It grabbed Chu Liuyue’s finger and pressed it against its ears. Pat me!
Chu Liuyue was speechless. It is so small, but it has a big attitude.
Chu Liuyue could only pinch its furry ears. They were quite nice to touch.
Only then was the little fellow content. It grumpily turned around and hid its face in its tail.
Chu Liuyue could not help but laugh.
“Can you all let me go now?” Gu Mingzhu suddenly spoke up in a stiff tone. She was clearly very upset about what she had been put through in the last day and night.
Chu Liuyue blinked. “Are you dreaming? We almost died because of you, and you think we’re just going to let it go like this?”
“But you’ve already gotten the golden mane bear cub! You—”
“We deserved it since we defeated the golden mane bear. With its pearl of essence, it was only a matter of time before we found this place. You just saved us a little time, so do you really think that you deserve credit for this?”
Chu Liuyue’s tone was calm and even, but Gu Mingzhu did not know how to respond to that. She finally realized that Chu Liuyue really did not intend to let her off easily. “Then what do you want? Chu Liuyue, don’t push it. I have a signal bottle on me. If you try anything, I’ll make the teachers and elders hold you responsible!”
Chu Liuyue looked at the agitated Gu Mingzhu and sarcastically replied, “That’s great! We can take the chance to ask how we should punish a student who caused the deaths of two classmates and the disappearances of another two, and dragged us into danger.”
Gu Mingzhu bit her lip.
Hong! Long! Long!
A loud rumbling that resembled thunder suddenly sounded.
Chu Liuyue frowned and hurried towards the cave entrance. She was stunned by the scene she saw at the middle of the mountain.
“What’s wrong? What happened? The commotion…” Cen Hu caught up with her first. When he noticed her stiff expression, he followed her gaze.
His eyes widened as well.
At the foot of the mountain, a horde of fiends was headed their way!
“Second-grade silver feathered deer!” Cen Hu took a closer look and instantly identified the beast with a silver feather at the top of its head.
Silver feathered deers were rather common and tame. They ran fast and were often hunted to be used as mounts for the noble families. However, they were solitary animals, so why were so many gathered in one place?! There were thirty to forty of them!
But that was not all! Behind them was a group of black bats flying their way.
Cen Hu’s face twitched. “Third-grade purple lightning bats?!” Aren’t these venomous creatures nocturnal animals? Why are they out here in broad daylight?! They also number more than the deer!
Chu Liuyue’s hand tightened as she glanced around quickly and pensively.
Mu Hongyu and the others had caught up at this point. They, too, were stunned when they saw the situation at the foot of the mountain.
“Hold on! There are some in the northwest direction! Those are… fire leopards?!”
“Some are in the south too! They’re golden-eyed demons!”
The others looked at one another.
Mu Hongyu could not help but ask, “Could this be… the Fiend Tidal?”
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why so many fiends suddenly appeared in synchrony!
“Aren’t they supposed to be heading for the heart of Wan Ling Mountain? We’re still in the periphery, so why are they headed our way?” Cen Hu did not understand.
Chu Liuyue’s hand, which was hidden in her sleeve, tightened. “We’ve been surrounded.”
…
At the same time, everyone in Wan Ling Mountain had sensed that something was amiss.
Somewhere, Si Ting and the others were surrounded by third-grade red tigers. Both sides were at an impasse, and both sides suffered injuries.
Si Yang wiped the blood away from his face as he gritted his teeth. “Big Brother, the red tigers seem hell-bent on fighting us all the way. What do we do?”
They had been rather unlucky. They ran into a stranded red tiger earlier, so they helped a teammate hunt it. Little did they expect the red tiger pack to find their way here based on the scent, which led to this conflict.
After the difficult battle, they had almost depleted their energy. However, the red tigers seemed determined to fight them to the bitter end.
They did not remember being told that Wan Ling Mountain’s fiends were this difficult to deal with!
Si Ting knitted his brows together. “Zhou Yun and the others are seriously injured. They have to be sent back immediately.”
Si Yang laughed bitterly. “I pulled the signal bottle’s strings earlier, but the teachers are not here yet. Big Brother, the current situation does not seem right.”
Si Ting pursed his lips. He had the same thought.
The fiends seemed to have been triggered by something. They were especially aggressive!
They had run into other groups earlier. The situation was tense and dangerous, and many had backed out because of the severity of their injuries.
The teachers probably got held up on their way here.
“Roar!” A red tiger suddenly roared deeply.
Si Yang and the others stared at the red tigers nervously, afraid that they would all run forward simultaneously. However, the tiger that roared, surprisingly, turned and ran toward the forest!
The other red tigers followed suit! They were gone in the blink of an eye!
“Wh-what just happened?” Si Yang was stunned. “Could it be… that the Fiend Tidal has begun?”
According to their teachers, Wan Ling Mountain’s fiends would head to a specific spot at a specific moment.
However, Si Ting’s heart was in his mouth. “Something isn’t right! They’re not headed for the heart of the mountain!”
…
More fiends were gathering at the foot of the mountain.
The people stuck in the middle of the mountain sank into an eerie silence. They felt that extreme danger was headed their way!
“What’s going on? Why are they headed towards our way?”
The golden mane bear cub in Mu Hongyu’s arms was also a little antsy; it only calmed down after she cajoled it for a while.
Chu Liuyue kept silent. The fiends aren’t here for them. They’re here for me!