Chapter 475: "Crisis Within the Ancient Forest (p1)"
This was no small-scale hunting party that has set up camp here. From her initial assessment, A'bone could easily discern there are plenty of soldiers from North Qing based on their armor as well as numerous mercenaries of differing banners
These people are undoubtedly here to hunt because their greedy and excited faces said no otherwise. What's more, their weapons are still soaked in blood from handling the dead animals that's piled up nearby.
But the large number of her friends being slain wasn't the most shocking though, A'bone's been used to the sight of death due to her upbringing. What did catch her off guard was the roast currently tide to the bonfire. Though it's been skinned by now, she could still immediately recognize the creature with one glance; it's Flower, the very same Iron Leopard who painstakingly raised her from childhood!
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Tears came pouring down like a waterfall as her fist clenched into a tight ball of popping veins. She wanted to rush in, rush in to kill those monsters who took someone of great importance to herself! However, before she could take action, a slender hand had suddenly come from behind and covered that muffled mouth of hers.
"Calm down." Ye Ling Yue makes a quieting gesture with her other hand, trying hard to stop the struggling girl from moving.
But as someone whose been overwhelmed with hatred and shock, there's no way A'bone could remain calm under these circumstances. In the end, Ling Yue could only knock her friend out before sneaking away.
First and foremost, she had to gain some distance to avoid detection. With that achieved, Ling Yue immediately crawled up to the highest tree she could find and tasked Little Squeak to watch over the unconscious girl less she does anything rash when she wakes. Only with everything done did she return to the camp in secret.
Although she still doesn't know the origins of these people, just the fact that they would slaughter even the cubs without remorse was enough for her to place them into the evil camp.
However, logic told her that with simply four of their strength together would mean nothing, they couldn't take on so many at once.
In any case, she must first figure out the other side's objective before taking the next step. Luckily several of the mercenaries were chatting quite loudly, giving her ample room to eavesdrop in on their conversation.
"This hunt sure is profitable. Let's not mention the Kai Jian Manor's reward for this venture, just these fur and spirit cores alone would be enough to net us a huge profit."
"Isn't that right? I heard it was the second son of Lord Kai Jian who suffered at the hands of a female savage in this jungle when he was out hunting, that's why they are spending such a huge sum to hire us all."
"I heard that the female savage is quite amazing with her ability to control the beasts here, just that she's currently not here at the moment. I wonder what sort of reaction she would make once she learns of what happened to her animal companions."
"What is there to be afraid of? This time we came fully prepared. Not only did the Kai Jian Manor employ a large number of us mercenaries, they also hired several reincarnation masters as well as two eight cauldron alchemists too. If that savage does return, it will only end poorly for her."
Likely able to small the smell of the roast next to their bonfire, some of the mercenaries gladly began to dig into poor Flower's flesh.
Kai Jiang Manor?
Spending a minute to look back into her memories, Ling Yue could vaguely recall that the pair of siblings she encountered in the Tai Yi School was also members of this supposed Kai Jiang Manor. However, she also remembered the He Lao brothers mentioning that those two were merely children born of the concubine and not of the main wife.
But no matter, regardless of this second son being of the main wife or not - likely was - Ling Yue won't let any of them off the hook. They are too ruthless and their sins are inexcusable for what they've done here.
Not long after returning to the entrance with A'bone in hand, Ling Yue didn't need to wait long for Lan Caier and Jin Wu Monster to show up as well. It would appear the two also saw the traces of poachers even at the outer perimeter so she didn't need to explain much in terms of details.
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Two hours later....
The first scene A'bone saw was her companions discussing the matter at hand when she came to. Initially she wanted to jump up and run for the poachers again; however, her friends wouldn't have it.
"A'bone, you mustn't go. I and the Missy have just investigated this from the outside and could tell they are nobles of North Qing. They're very well prepared, at least three hundred strong. Right now they are all inside the forest so it's futile if you went by yourself."
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Not moving an inch from the spot, the wild girl didn't know what to do at this point. The only thing that she knew was to let the tears flow as the voice choked in her throat.
"It's all my fault. If I didn't leave on my own then Flower and the others wouldn't have..... I'm so useless. If only I can be stronger."
This would be the first time Ling Yue and Lan Caier saw their friend in such a depressed state so neither of them was feeling well inside.
"A'bone, you should be glad that you were not in the ancient forest, otherwise who is going to save Roar and Purple." Sighing at the sight, Ling Yue steps forward to help her friend up from the ground.
"Chief, you mean Purple and Roar is still alive?" Jerking out from her grief, the wild girl could finally see the light again.
"Yes, when I was investigating around from the outer perimeter, I saw some of the poachers escorting them both around. But it was strange, their reactions weren't right and didn't show any resistance at all."
Because Lan Caier had went in the opposite direction of the old monster, only she had saw the scene. According to what she noticed, there was a lavishly dressed man that was riding atop of the giant elephant, obviously the leader of the group. Then through the information she received from her younger sister, Lan Caier could pretty much guess that must be the second young lord of the Kai Jiang Manor.
"Impossible, how can Purple obey others." A'bone couldn't believe what she's hearing.
Purple was the girl's most trusted partner. The main reason she would stay inside the city while her animal friends all went ahead was due to the giant elephant's existence.
"Please don't be impulsive A'bone, there must be a reason for this. Considering Purple's strength and the other animals living here in the ancient forest, there's no way these people from the Kai Jiang Manor could've overtaken them all. After all, they've been self-reliant long before you were even here." Ling Yue's main body of concern lies with the possibility of a riot occurring among the animals here. If it does happen, the situation would become even harder to manage on top of the already disastrous fog plaguing the Northwest.
Kai Jiang Manor.... As if sudden remembering something important, A'bone abruptly cries out, "It's him!" Only now did she remember the event from half a year ago.
There was a boy, a weak and frail looking boy that got lost in the jungle before. According to the story she was given initially, the lad had lost his way and was attacked as a result of it. Then through some odd chance, A'bone ended up saving him and that's how their relationship began.
As someone that's never had any contact with the opposite sex, it's not hard to imagine how easy it was for the girl to fall in love. Eventually she did and so did the boy, or so it seems from the surface anyways.
There were many advances during their time together, but even A'bone had enough sense that human and animals are different. Denying the request to have sex together repeatedly, she eventually made a counter proposal for them to leave the jungle and start a life together at the man's home. However, what she got was excuse after excuse.
Finally, after much frustration and suspicion, A'bone eventually searched the man's possession and found the identification token of the Kai Jiang Manor. That's when the truth came out after she and her animal friends pressured him one night.
The man wasn't lost nor did he come without intent, he had ulterior motives from the very beginning. In the end A'bone became heartbroken and expelled her first crush. But because of how brief that event was, she actually forgot about it until now.
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