167: The Treasure Mouse's Discovery

The thick fog was like a wall, filled with shifting, ghostly shadows. The controlled crowd surged around them like a silent tide, and the carriage was trapped in place, caught in a dilemma. Qin Feng had originally intended to wait quietly for the zi hour, relying on the System's intelligence to find the key to breaking the situation, but this unknown "Mountain Spirit" Domain made even him feel that things were tricky.

In the midst of this suffocating stalemate, a small leather pouch at Xiao Chun's waist suddenly moved, emitting a faint "ji-ji" sound.

"Xiao Bai?" Xiao Chun lowered her head and gently opened the mouth of the pouch. A small mouse with silver-bright fur and eyes like black gems poked its head out; it was the Treasure-seeking Mouse she had raised since childhood, which was exceptionally sensitive to Spiritual Qi and treasures. At this moment, the usually timid little fellow appeared somewhat restless. Its bright black eyes looked toward a certain direction in the thick fog, its nose sniffing hard. Then, it looked up at Xiao Chun and let out a few urgent "ji-ji" cries, its small paws pointing in that direction.

"Brother Feng!" Xiao Chun's eyes lit up as if she had caught a lifeline. "Xiao Bai... it seems to have discovered something and wants to lead us in that direction!"

Qin Feng and Ji Ruxue exchanged a glance. In this state of being completely lost, any clue was worth a try, especially a small beast with extraordinary talent like the Treasure-seeking Mouse, which could often perceive sources of Spiritual Qi or anomalies that were difficult for ordinary people to detect.

"Follow it! Stay alert!" Qin Feng made a prompt decision.

The four immediately got out of the carriage and moved slowly in a combat formation, following the Treasure-seeking Mouse that was guiding the way from Xiao Chun's palm and constantly urging them with "ji-ji" cries. They veered off the official road and headed deep into the dense forest to the side. The wandering "puppets" around them showed no reaction to their departure, still wandering aimlessly within a fixed range like sleepwalkers. The thick fog flowed slightly as they went deeper, but it never dispersed.

After traveling through the rugged mountain forest for about fifteen minutes, the fog ahead seemed to thin slightly, revealing a hidden cave entrance half-covered by vines. It was pitch black and bottomless, and a strange scent mixed with blood, earth, and a faint exotic fragrance wafted from the cave.

When the Treasure-seeking Mouse reached this point, its cries became even more urgent, and it even tried to jump down from Xiao Chun's hand.

Qin Feng signaled for everyone to stop. Ji Ruxue silently approached the cave entrance to investigate for a moment, then returned and said in a low voice, "The cave is very deep and there are fresh bloodstains. Inside... there is a living creature. Its Aura is very unstable, carrying pain and madness, but it seems... to have no intention of actively attacking."

"Let's go in and see." Qin Feng gripped his ink plum sword and was the first to step into the cavern. Ji Ruxue followed closely behind, while Xia Ya held her shield to protect Xiao Chun in the middle.

The cave was narrow at the entrance, but after walking no more than a dozen yards, it suddenly opened up, forming a massive natural grotto. Faint skylight seeped through the cracks in the rocks at the top of the grotto, barely illuminating the scene inside.

And the scene before them caused all four to be shaken!

In the center of the grotto lay a gargantuan creature! It was actually a giant rat magnified dozens of times, comparable to a small house! Its fur should have been a glossy dark gray, but now it was covered in crisscrossing wounds. In particular, there was a huge claw mark on its back that almost reached the bone, gurgling with dark red blood that emitted wisps of black Qi! Even more startling was that the giant rat's eyes were completely blood-red, filled with pain, confusion, and madness. It was rolling and twitching in agony on the ground, letting out low, pained "he-he" sounds. Every roll caused the grotto to vibrate slightly, with gravel rustling as it fell.

Not far from the giant rat lay a corpse dressed in black robes, its chest completely collapsed and its neck bearing a terrifying bite mark. The corpse's hand still tightly gripped a broken bone staff carved with sinister runes. Judging by its attire and the lingering cold Aura, it was someone from the Yin Demon Sect. Based on its Aura, it was at least a Martial King-level Protector when alive!

"Ji-ji! Ji-ji!" The Treasure-seeking Mouse jumped from Xiao Chun's hand. Instead of being afraid, it ran to a spot not far in front of the agonizingly rolling giant rat, stood up on its hind legs, and chirped urgently at the giant rat, then looked back at Xiao Chun, its small paws gesturing repeatedly.

The frenzied giant rat seemed to be attracted by the Treasure-seeking Mouse's cries. Its blood-red eyes suddenly turned toward the cave entrance, locking onto Qin Feng's group of four! A burst of violent, malevolent Qi mixed with the pressure of a Martial King came crashing toward them!

"Watch out!" Xia Ya immediately took a step forward, her heavy shield thudding onto the ground. An earthy yellow light lit up, blocking the front of the group and resisting the impact of this violent Aura.

Ji Ruxue's short sword left its scabbard by half an inch, her eyes cold, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.

However, the expected attack did not come. The giant rat's blood-red eyes swept over Xia Ya's shield and Ji Ruxue's short sword, and especially when they passed over Xiao Chun, they actually froze! Amidst that madness and pain, it seemed to struggle with extreme difficulty to produce a trace of... clarity? Even a trace of an unspeakable... longing?

It stopped rolling, and its massive head struggled to lift, looking toward Xiao Chun. An indistinct sound, like a bellows being pulled, came from its throat—"He... he..."—and it actually slowly, bit by bit, lowered its massive head to the ground, performing an action similar to a "kowtow"! Once, and then again. Although it trembled and twisted due to the pain, it carried a heart-wrenching sense of pleading.

"It..." Xiao Chun was stunned. Beneath the giant rat's frenzied appearance, she sensed a deep pain and an intent to seek help. In particular, her Myriad Medicine Body seemed to have an instinctive reaction to the state of the giant rat, which was a mixture of injuries and some kind of sinister erosion.

"Do you want... me to save you?" Xiao Chun involuntarily took a small step forward and asked softly.

The giant rat nodded its massive head with difficulty but certainty, its blood-red eyes staring fixedly at Xiao Chun, the longing and pleading within them almost overflowing.