144: Zuan Dashao

Xie Ning and the other two naturally did not listen to Yuzhang Academy's words and leave the village.

The next day, early in the morning after breakfast, Su Qin stayed in the village to try and gather information by asking around, while Xie Ning and Qin Tianyu bid farewell to the enthusiastic villagers and headed up the mountain.

"What do you think of this incident?"

On the way up the mountain, Xie Ning, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly asked.

Qin Tianyu replied, "I don't know."

"Then do you have any suggestions?"

Qin Tianyu: "Capture them, torture them for information."

Sweat appeared on Xie Ning's forehead, and he asked again, "What if they don't talk?"

Qin Tianyu: "Kill them and hand in the mission."

"...Do you talk to your wife like this too?" Xie Ning said, speechless.

Unexpectedly, Qin Tianyu turned his head and shot him a glance: "Didn't you eavesdrop on everything?"

"Uh... I was just concerned about my classmate's sex—ah, no, I mean, happy life."

As soon as he finished speaking, seeing Qin Tianyu pull out a dagger, he quickly bolted up the mountain.

"I really didn't do it on purpose!"

"Fatty didn't do it on purpose!"

Two voices rang out: one was Xie Ning's shout, and the other came from somewhere else.

The two looked at each other, stopped their fooling around, and rushed toward the direction of the sound.

Soon, the two reached a wooded area. Looking past the trees, they could see a nimble fat man running for his life, being chased by a mass of black mist.

"It's him!"

"It's it!"

Seeing that Fei Shanqiu was about to be caught, the two quickly rushed forward.

Qin Tianyu unleashed a blast of Black Light, attracting the black mist's attention. Then, Xie Ning, Little Mantis, and White Fang arrived, surrounding it from all sides along with Qin Tianyu.

"Show your true form, don't force us to act." Xie Ning looked at the black mist and kept using his Identification skill, but unfortunately, there was no response.

The black mist whirled around and said, "Just you guys? In your dreams."

As the words fell, several Bone Claws extended from the black mist, heading straight for the two humans and two beasts.

Qin Tianyu and Little Mantis easily dodged and charged at the black mist.

Xie Ning and White Fang each unleashed Golden Fire, striking the Bone Claws and shattering them to pieces, then continuing unabated into the black mist.

"Ah—" The black mist hit by the Golden Fire let out a shrill scream. Then, with a 'pop,' it seemed like something had been shattered. Avoiding the attacks from Qin Tianyu and Little Mantis, the black mist split into dozens of thick clouds and fled in all directions.

Looking at those identical clouds of black mist, the two helplessly stopped.

At this time, Fei Shanqiu walked over, looking at the two in surprise and asked, "What are you guys doing in this remote corner of the mountains?"

Xie Ning said seriously, "We heard you were in danger and rushed over. Luckily we made it in time; you were almost a goner."

"Really?! You guys are too good to me. Don't worry, Fatty won't treat you poorly. In the future, as long as I have a bite to eat, you'll have a sip of soup!" Fei Shanqiu was moved to tears and made a promise while patting his chest.

"Mm-hmm, we'll remember that." Xie Ning nodded with a smile.

Qin Tianyu: "..."

Afterward, the three returned the way they came. On the way, Xie Ning asked again, "By the way, when we arrived here, we heard there was an evil spirit nearby and even fought it yesterday. Why is it chasing you now? Did you steal its money?"

Qin Tianyu: "..."

"Nonsense, how could I steal from it? That's my Demon Tamers Beast, the Fierce Demon! I didn't expect this bastard to have grown stronger—it's Silver Rank! It almost took Fatty's life!" Fei Shanqiu grumbled, clearly still upset about what had just happened.

Xie Ning frowned and asked again, "Are you sure that was your Fierce Demon?"

"I can't be sure, but it should be. Although its appearance has changed a bit from before, the reaction of the Demon-Luring Incense is right around here. Could there really be a second Fierce Demon besides it?"

After Fei Shanqiu finished, Xie Ning thought for a moment and nodded.

The Fierce Demon was not a Yao Beast of Earth Star, but was captured from other dark Secret Realms. They were powerful and quite intelligent, but their drawback was that they were prone to rebellion.

Therefore, on Earth Star, Fierce Demons were very unpopular Yao Beasts. Market demand was low, so few people captured them. Let alone near a small mountain village, even within a whole province, having two Fierce Demons would be a rare occurrence.

Fei Shanqiu still looked displeased. He said through gritted teeth, "The damn thing is, this bastard's temper is even worse than before. I just said hello to it, and it pounced without a word. If Fatty had been half a second slower, you guys would be burning beef for me next year."

"Once I catch it, Fatty is going to starve it for three to five days..."

Listening to Fei Shanqiu's words, Xie Ning shook his head helplessly, quickened his pace to pass him, and rushed toward the village.

However, just as they entered the village and approached Uncle Li's house, they saw that the door was broken, the windows were completely destroyed, and there were many cracks in the house. It looked like it had taken a heavy blow from the front door.

The area was surrounded by villagers. They looked anxious and were arguing about something in a panic. Several people were crowded in front of the village chief, saying something unknown.

The expressions of Xie Ning and Qin Tianyu both turned grim as they rushed into the house, but not a single person was to be seen.

There were no signs of a struggle. The inside of the house was perfectly intact. Water was still boiling in the kettle, and there was a golden light-element cat paw print on the table.

"This..."

Xie Ning paused, then returned outside and hurriedly asked, "Village Chief, what happened here? Who attacked Uncle Li's family?"

"Child, don't worry." The village chief first patted the back of Xie Ning's hand to comfort him, then said, "They were abducted by that evil spirit. Just now, those students from that academy went to chase it. They will definitely bring them back."

Xie Ning's brow furrowed, his expression grave. A moment later, he returned to the house, to the spot with the golden cat paw print.

When his finger touched the cat paw print, it suddenly shattered, turning into golden light that flew out the window in a certain direction at a moderate speed.

"Let's chase it!"

After saying that, Xie Ning took the lead, jumped out of the window, and chased after the light.

Qin Tianyu followed closely behind. Just as the two left, Fei Shanqiu ran into the house. Looking at their departing figures, he couldn't help but roar:

"Damn! Don't just run, what on earth is happening!"

Despite his roaring, his movements weren't slow at all. Gritting his teeth, he ran out the door, circled the house, and chased after the two back up the mountain.

Chasing the golden light, Xie Ning arrived at a fork in the road. At this fork, there was another golden Light Cat paw print.

As soon as he touched it, it turned into light once more, guiding the way.

After repeating this several times, when the three of them reached the edge of a bamboo forest, they encountered the group from Yuzhang Academy who had set out earlier.

The latter were clearly somewhat surprised to see them.

"It seems you didn't take my words seriously; you still haven't left." Wu Tian first looked at Xie Ning with displeasure, then thought of something and said with a mocking expression, "Even the people providing you with a place to stay could be taken away. You really are Trash."

Xie Ning was about to speak when a loud shout came from behind: "Trash your ass!"

Fei Shanqiu arrived, having crashed through two small trees along the way, covered in leaves and branches, leaning on his knees and panting heavily.

"You bastard, if you want to bicker, come at me. If Fatty doesn't curse you until you turn into a maggot on the spot, I'm not called the Young Master of Zuan!" Saying this, Fei Shanqiu took a few deep breaths and pulled out a large water bottle to take several gulps.

While looking around for traces of the Light Cat, Xie Ning didn't forget to reply, "You even have that nickname? It seems you're a real Veteran of Zuan."

"Low profile, low profile. It's not good if people find out; fans these days are crazy." Fei Shanqiu waved his hand modestly.

The two ignored Wu Tian the entire time.

"You guys..."

Just as Wu Tian opened his mouth, Qin Tianyu discovered something and said, "This way!"

After saying that, the three bypassed the Yuzhang Academy group and rushed into the bamboo forest, ignoring the latter's angry curses.

After running for a few minutes, Xie Ning finally saw a thin, small figure crouching on top of a slope, and beside him was a Light Cat.