Free Web NovelChapter 373: Chapter 373: Father Beast, Don’t Go
A dark figure nearly blended into the night. Like a phantom on the breeze, he appeared silently behind Qiao Yi.
Just as he struck at Qiao Yi, Qiao Yi dodged in a flash, reappearing on the other side in the blink of an eye.
"Langqi, Langqi, where are you?"
Qiao Xixi and the patrol team pursued them outside the tribe’s grounds, but there was still no sign of Qiao Yi.
She shifted into her beast form, searching for Qiao Yi’s lingering scent. Suddenly, her pupils constricted. She spun around and dashed into the forest.
On the training grounds, Sunxiao’s long tail swept swiftly toward Jin Ling.
Jin Ling leaped into the air to dodge, then flashed behind Sunxiao. But just as he was about to attack, he froze.
Sangze and the others also stopped, all of them sensing an unusual current in the air.
"Such a powerful presence."
The silence was broken by the sound of urgent footsteps. A moment later, Ma Qing appeared before them.
"Feiyan, you all need to go, quickly! The Clan Leader ran outside the tribe looking for Langqi."
The males’ expressions changed drastically. They immediately followed Ma Qing in the direction Qiao Xixi had gone.
As Qiao Xixi chased deep into the woods, she felt a powerful force rushing toward her. She couldn’t stop in time and was struck, her body sent flying through the air.
"Ah!"
"Wind!"
Just as she was about to plummet to the ground, a warm current swept in and caught her securely.
In the darkness, she felt a sharp gaze on her, but when she looked around, she saw nothing.
As she focused, Qiao Xixi’s pupils constricted violently. By the time she tried to retreat, the immense power was already upon her.
The assailant struck suddenly, now only an arm’s length away.
"Wind!"
The night wind billowed, sweeping her away to the other side.
BANG!
Before she could even regain her footing, Qiao Xixi saw the large tree where she had just been standing crash to the ground.
Her opponent gave her no time to recover. The instant the tree fell, that crushing pressure descended on her once more.
"Wind!"
As Qiao Xixi silently chanted the spell, the wind swirling around her grew stronger. Her attacker seemed to hesitate for a split second before charging straight through it.
Amid the gale, a black claw suddenly shot out, aiming for her chest.
Qiao Xixi pulled out a Bubble Fruit and hurled it at her foe.
The opponent caught the Bubble Fruit in one hand.
BANG!
The attacker clearly hadn’t expected the fruit to explode. Blood splattered across Qiao Xixi’s face. While her opponent was stunned, she quickly retreated. But the moment she turned, she sensed another unnatural disturbance in the air.
"Ah!"
A powerful force suddenly seized her arm. Qiao Xixi saw a strange, gray mist instantly envelop her.
The gray mist coiled around her like an invisible bandage.
"Ngh!"
"Xixi!"
A figure leaped out, striking the gray mist with an open palm. The mist scattered instantly, freeing Qiao Xixi.
"Langqi!"
Qiao Yi threw her over his shoulder and ran.
"Xixi, why did you come out here?"
"I... I was worried about Langqi."
Qiao Yi sighed heavily and said nothing more.
Qiao Yi sprinted through the mountain forest with Qiao Xixi.
Qiao Xixi felt the wind WHOOSHING past her ears. She wanted to say she could run on her own, but after sensing Qiao Yi’s speed, she wisely kept her mouth shut.
When Qiao Yi ran at full speed, even Jin Ling and the others would struggle to keep up.
Qiao Xixi could feel the dark figures tailing them like shadows. Just when she thought Qiao Yi was moving too fast for anyone to possibly catch up, she would catch their scent on the wind and know they were still right behind them.
Qiao Xixi raised her hands and chanted the spell. "Wind."
A fierce gust of wind howled forth, blocking the dark figures’ path.
Just when Qiao Xixi thought she had finally thrown them off, she sensed their presence again moments later.
’This is the first time I’ve truly grasped the power of these beastmen. Any ordinary beastman would have been stopped by that gust of wind; it would be impossible for them to catch up so quickly.’
"Xixi, hold on tight."
Qiao Xixi instinctively tightened her grip on Qiao Yi. He rapidly mobilized his energy and accelerated again. At that same instant, Qiao Xixi pulled a Bubble Fruit from her space and hurled it in the direction of their pursuers’ scent!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Jin Ling and his group heard the explosions.
"The sound came from over there. Xixi is in that direction, it matches the locator. After them!"
Jin Ling and the others sprinted toward Qiao Xixi’s position, but Qiao Yi’s speed was simply too great. By the time they arrived, she was long gone, with only crushed flowers and grass left on the ground.
"Keep after them."
Qiao Xixi lost track of how long Qiao Yi had been running. Only when he could no longer sense the abnormal presences did he bring her to a small, hidden cave and quickly conceal their scents.
"Xixi, hide here and don’t move. Head back to the tribe after daybreak."
Qiao Xixi looked at Qiao Yi in a panic. "What about you?"
Qiao Yi frowned. "My enemies are after me. I have to leave, or I’ll bring harm to you and the cubs."
"Are they that strong? Can’t we deal with them if we work together? Who are they?"
Qiao Yi’s gaze grew heavy. "They are the Beast Guards from the Watchtower. You are no match for them."
"Then I’ll have Sangze take you to the Hopeless Abyss to hide! You can follow the Earth Escape Beasts and go underground..."
"Xixi," Qiao Yi interrupted her gently. "They can track my scent. It’s only a matter of time before they find me. Don’t be afraid. Their goal is just to take me back, not to kill me. I’m still useful to them."
Qiao Yi’s palm rested on the crown of her head again, patting it gently. "Langqi is just leaving for a little while. He’ll be back. Be good and stay right here. Don’t move."
Qiao Yi stood up, already sensing an unnatural stir in the night air.
"They’re here."
He gave Qiao Xixi a long, deep look, as if trying to etch her face into his very soul. "I’m going."
He turned without a hint of hesitation.
"Father!"
Qiao Yi went rigid but did not turn around.
Qiao Xixi ran up and hugged him from behind.
"Father, please don’t go. I don’t want you to keep putting yourself in danger to protect me. This time, let me face this with you. Please?"
Qiao Yi felt her tremble and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"When did you figure it out?" ’And I thought I’d hidden it so well,’ he mused.
"It was... that time you let Feiyan scratch your lower back. Whenever we used to play around and I accidentally scratched you there, you’d get really mad. Also, you hate eating fish-beasts more than anything. You tried to hide it, but..." ’You weren’t very good at it.’
Qiao Yi finally turned to face her, looking at the child he had devoted himself to protecting. "You silly girl. You’ve been deceiving your father this whole time."
"Yes. I just wanted to see how long you planned to keep hiding it from me. Father, this time, let me face this with you. Please don’t leave by yourself again, okay?"
His rough fingertips wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. As he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, Qiao Xixi felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, and her vision suddenly went black.
’No, Father, don’t!’
