Free Web NovelChapter 167: Chapter 167: He Hanshi Appears
The stronger the Insect Clan, the more intelligent they become.
The members of the Insect Clan, who typically fought and tore each other apart, had now, surprisingly, learned to cooperate with the tacit understanding of humans.
Perhaps because Mu Tangfeng had killed one of their own, the Insect Clan now considered him the greater threat.
As a result, the seven remaining members of the Insect Clan focused all their attention on Mu Tangfeng, completely ignoring Jiang Xia and the inconspicuous Shi Lan hidden in the fur on his neck.
Mu Tangfeng was clearly under immense pressure facing seven members of the Insect Clan alone. His gaze swept downward, and though Shi Lan was in a well-hidden spot on Jiang Xia, he noticed her instantly, seeing the look of concern and worry in her eyes.
A smile touched Mu Tangfeng’s lips, his orange-yellow hair catching the sunlight and outlining his flamboyant, unrestrained aura. He sensed the Insect Clan’s intent to surround him. His gaze, which had been gentle when looking at Shi Lan, turned cold and mocking as he stared them down. He planned to fly away and lure them somewhere more distant.
He was confident he could defeat them in a real fight, but he would look grotesque, and the methods required would be bloody and violent. He didn’t want to sully Shi Lan’s eyes with such a sight.
Just as he was about to lead the Insect Clan away, a shell struck one of them with pinpoint accuracy.
The creature let out a sharp, piercing shriek of pain. The next moment, He Hanshi, transformed into a White Lion, leaped down from a Hovercar suspended in midair. At the same time, soldiers from the other Hovercars in the formation equipped mechanical wings and flew toward the Insect Clan.
Shi Lan heard a majestic lion’s roar. The sound was overwhelmingly powerful, drowning out the grating screeches of the Insect Clan. It was like a war drum boosting morale, striking right at the heart.
She looked up and instantly recognized the large, white-furred, blue-eyed White Lion as He Hanshi.
She exclaimed in delight, "Jiang Xia, He Hanshi is here!"
Hearing this, Jiang Xia looked over as well, his expression stunned. "It really is Vice Admiral He."
Whether it was seeing He Hanshi or noticing the arrival of reinforcements, the two of them instantly relaxed, no longer so worried about Mu Tangfeng.
Jiang Xia shifted back to his human form, and Shi Lan landed in his arms.
He gently set her down. Given the circumstances, he knew it wasn’t the time or place for intimacy.
They both spent the next few moments looking up, but Shi Lan found that without the height advantage from Jiang Xia’s beast form, her view was almost completely blocked by the dense Pine Forest.
So, Jiang Xia transformed back into his beast form for her convenience, even letting Shi Lan sit on his head.
Shi Lan climbed onto him. Jiang Xia’s head was rounded, and perhaps for fear of falling, she instinctively grabbed one of his ears, hugging it like a pillar. With her arms wrapped tightly around it, she found a comfortable position and leaned back to watch the sky.
Jiang Xia felt the movement on his ear. It tickled, and he couldn’t help but give it a sensitive twitch. Though the movement was slight, Shi Lan nearly slid off his head. She tensed up, her limbs wrapping around him for dear life.
"Jiang Xia, can you please not move your ear?"
"Oh."
Jiang Xia seemed to realize he had almost caused an accident. Worried that Shi Lan might fall, he did his best to endure the ticklish sensation in his ear, trying to focus his attention elsewhere and ignore the soft warmth against it.
Once Shi Lan was sure his ear was still, she relaxed a little. With a long sigh of relief, she could finally focus on watching the battle.
He Hanshi and his people launched an overwhelming attack. With strength in numbers on their side, the battle was one-sided. The members of the Insect Clan weren’t stupid; they weren’t so foolish as to fixate on the prey before them. Sensing the tide had turned, they fled one by one, covered in wounds, scurrying away in disgrace.
He Hanshi managed to catch one more, coolly snapping its wings to prevent its escape.
He handed the captured creature to Bai Feng. Then, with a glance at Mu Tangfeng and knowing Shi Lan was likely still nearby, he immediately reverted to his human form and returned to the Pine Forest. He also ordered his soldiers to continue sweeping the Pine Forest and the rest of Yaoxing for any other Insect Clan presence.
He Hanshi successfully rendezvoused with Shi Lan and the other two.
Even though there were others present, the moment he appeared, his eyes saw only Shi Lan. After a long moment, he suppressed the surging longing in his gaze and walked over. "It’s been a while, Lanlan."
Shi Lan was clearly happy to see him too. "He Hanshi, I didn’t expect you to be here! How did you know the Insect Clan was on Yaoxing?"
A low chuckle rumbled in He Hanshi’s throat. "Yes, the Border Defense Star has been tracking the Insect Mother’s movements. We managed to plant temporary trackers on a few members of the Flying Insect Race that serve as her royal guard. This time, the signal just happened to lead to Yaoxing."
In truth, He Hanshi hadn’t known their destination at first. Their ship had simply been following the tracker’s signal. He had never been to Yaoxing; it was a squad leader from an A-Team that Bai Feng used to lead who identified the planet for them.
Unfortunately, the trackers could only withstand two trips through a wormhole. They would have to capture another member of the Insect Clan to plant a new one.
He Hanshi pushed those thoughts aside for the moment. His gaze swept over the trio as he asked, "And you? What brings you to such a remote place?"
Shi Lan explained, "I asked them to bring me here."
"My spirit body sensed a powerful source of energy here," she continued. "It’s the kind of energy that can enhance one’s spiritual power, so I wanted to come absorb it. I never expected to run into the Insect Clan."
"Energy? What kind of energy?"
He Hanshi seemed to have latched onto something important. His eyes instantly grew focused and serious.
Shi Lan repeated what Xiao Du had told her before, explaining that this so-called energy was simply the planet’s natural restorative energy.
If this energy were absorbed by its host planet, it would simply merge with the energy the planet itself emits, eventually dispersing back into nature.
It was just like the water cycle, a natural and regular process.
In reality, however, this energy didn’t have much of an effect on the planet itself. A planet’s lifespan is incredibly long, and this tiny amount of energy took ages to coalesce. Even if it wasn’t reabsorbed, it was of little consequence.
That was why Shi Lan had felt so comfortable with the idea of absorbing it herself.
From Shi Lan’s words, He Hanshi understood that this energy was indeed highly beneficial to humans. ’If that’s the case,’ he wondered, ’is it also extremely useful to the Insect Clan?’
Just then, Shi Lan seemed to remember something and added, "Oh, right. The last time I was on Black Star, I ran into the Insect Clan because of this energy, too. And the big-bellied one I saw back then seemed to be here today as well."
"A big-bellied one? That must be the Insect Mother."
He Hanshi snapped back to the present, an answer forming in his mind. ’The Insect Mother must need this power.’
"So, did the Insect Clan get the energy this time?"
His expression grew grim, though it was unclear what he was thinking. Shi Lan nodded with regret. "Yes. We were held up by the Insect Clan, and by the time they were gone, my sense of the energy had vanished. I’m guessing it was consumed by the Insect Mother, just like you said."
Hearing this, not only He Hanshi but also Mu Tangfeng and Jiang Xia at his side felt a sense of looming crisis.
If this energy was so potent, what changes would it bring about now that the Insect Mother had consumed it?
