Chapter 326: More Mischievous Than All 5 of You
The chains on their wrists were quickly smashed open, and their injuries had mostly healed.
To avoid any further complications, they decided to escape immediately.
"Tian Fu thinks we’re seriously injured, so he won’t be back to interrogate us anytime soon. We’ll use this chance to leave Tianhuan City."
With their level of strength, even if they couldn’t defeat the Tian Family members, escaping wouldn’t be a problem.
But there were also the villagers from an entire village with them. The Tian Family had used the villagers’ lives to threaten them into surrendering without a fight.
"Grandmother," Fuzai asked, "were the people brought into the city with you today your companions?"
As she and Grandpa Tian had walked through, she hadn’t seen those people in any of the cells.
Shen Zi shook her head. "No, Grandmother doesn’t know them. They were probably captured by the Tian Family from somewhere else to be used for refining."
"Refining?"
"Yes, refined into something called a Blood Crystal."
Shen Zi didn’t know much about it herself. She had only learned of the Blood Crystals’ existence by overhearing fragments of conversation and seeing her former companions turned into one after another.
She worried that she and Mo Feng would suffer the same fate, so the two of them fled the Divine Mountain. While being pursued, they stumbled into a cave and ended up in the Upper Realm.
This was no time for talk. Shen Zi shifted into her beast form—a gray wolf—and shrank down. She then carried the similarly shrunken Fuzai and Mo Feng on her back as she made a run for it.
The guard who had been sent away by Tian Pingyue soon returned. Seeing that Tian Pingyue wasn’t inside, he didn’t think much of it, assuming the young master had gotten impatient and already left.
He glanced inside and saw two "figures" huddled in a dark corner, so he didn’t go in to check.
After all, Tian Fu had warned him that the two people inside were incredibly vicious and not to be approached unless necessary.
Shen Zi’s fur was gray and Mo Feng’s was black. Fuzai rolled around on the ground, and her color was mostly disguised as well.
Shen Zi was fast, gone in a flash. Rats were a common sight in the dungeons, so the passing guards paid her no mind.
They reached the exit without incident. The night outside was dark, perfect for providing cover.
Shen Zi slipped out quietly, leading her two companions through the Tian Family estate in search of an exit.
"Grandmother," Fuzai yawned, "let’s look tomorrow. The Tian Family estate is huge. I even got lost on my way in."
Seeing her so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, Shen Zi found a safe spot nearby and covered her with her thick fur.
As for Mo Feng...
He knew the drill. "A zhi, I’ll keep watch. You and the zaizai get some rest."
While they slept soundly, a few Tian Family guards were escorting two prisoners and had stopped to rest outside Tianhuan City.
The city gates only opened at a set time. Aside from important figures who could have the guards open them, ordinary people had no choice but to wait patiently.
Tian Rong and his wife were not important, so the Tian Family guards planned to enter the city the next morning.
They kept Tian Rong and his wife under their watchful eyes, starting a fire to roast some meat.
Tian Rong had a look of utter despair on his face, as if he expected to die any second.
Guo Min, however, was more philosophical. The two of them had no real value. As long as their son hadn’t fallen into Tian Fu’s hands, they should be safe for now.
But seeing the worried look on her husband Tian Rong’s face, Guo Min felt that things might not be that simple.
’Oh well,’ she thought, ’we’ve both lived a full life and enjoyed ourselves enough. As long as our son is safe, that’s all that matters.’
"My dear wife, it’s all my fault."
Tian Rong sighed. "If only I hadn’t spent my time on cockfighting and bird-walking, and had practiced driving a carriage more. I was too slow, and when they caught up to us, I panicked and drove the carriage right into a ditch."
"What’s the use of saying that now?" Guo Min sighed. "I wonder where our son is. That child is so filial. If he hears we’re in trouble, he’ll definitely come to rescue us."
"Of course, of course! You’re his birth mother and I’m his birth father. Even if he doesn’t save anyone else, he has to save us!"
Seeing his thoughtless attitude, Guo Min shot him a sharp glare. If her hands weren’t tied, she would have smacked him a couple of times.
’What kind of father acts like that? Can’t he wish for something good for his son for once?’
Receiving his wife’s dagger-like stare, Tian Rong gave an awkward smile and fell silent.
Yu An’s group rushed over from Earth Geography City and ran into Tongtong’s family on the way.
Tongtong had just found her family and was about to ask her parents to go rescue Fuzai when she spotted Yu An.
She was small, but her ability to speak was strong. In just a few sentences, she explained the whole situation, leaving Yu An frantic with worry and wishing she could teleport to Tianhuan City that very instant.
They finally arrived, but it was now late at night, and the city gates were already closed.
Yu Yao tried to console her. "Sister An’an, don’t worry. Tianhuan City’s defenses are even tighter at night. Dawn is only a few hours away. Let’s wait here for a while and get some rest."
"How about this," Yu An said, surveying their surroundings. "Little Yao, you and the others wait here. We’ll go look around and see if we can find a way in."
Seeing Yu An’s firm attitude, Yu Yao didn’t try to persuade her further. If she were in Yu An’s shoes, she would be just as anxious.
’It’s better to look around, anyway. Just waiting would be agonizing.’
Once they were out of sight of Yu Yao and the others, Yu An brought everyone except Ao Wu into her space. Ao Wu then shifted into his beast form and carried her high into the air.
Da Hu and the others weren’t asleep. Knowing their little sister might be in danger, they were all very anxious.
"Beast Father," Little Wolf said nervously, hugging Han Li’s arm. "Our sister will be okay, right?"
"Of course," Han Li said, patting his little head reassuringly. "Fuzai is more mischievous than all of you put together. The ones who should be worried are the bad guys who caught her."
"Now, hurry up and go to sleep. Otherwise, you won’t be able to wake up tomorrow, and you big brothers won’t be the first to see your sister when she gets back."
Da Hu shook his head seriously. "Beast Father, we’re not sleepy... If we do fall asleep, you have to wake us up."
Xiao Hu, who was usually fast asleep by now, also had his big eyes wide open, agreeing with his brother.
Perhaps because he usually slept so much, he wasn’t tired now.
’Mmm, it’s not too late to sleep after I see my sister come home with my own eyes.’
Han Li’s one mouth was no match for their five. To make matters worse, the Female Mother and Beast Father just watched as he was "bullied," so he had no choice but to surrender.
Tian Shu wasn’t sleepy either. He was waiting to find his parents and get them out of there the moment they got inside the Tian Family estate.
Inside the space, they could watch the outside world through a water screen. Xiao Yu sat up straight, holding his younger brother Little Serpent’s hand tightly.
Little Serpent asked curiously, "Second Brother, why are Female Mother and Beast Father Ao Wu circling the city walls instead of just flying straight in?"
Xiao Yu shook his head. "I don’t know either, Little Brother."
Tian Shu explained it for them. "There’s a spiritual power barrier above Tianhuan City that protects it from attacks at night. They’re probably looking for a weak spot."
"Attacking any other point would trigger an alarm and attract the guards, making it even harder to get in. A weak spot is different. You can use spiritual power to open a hole without alerting the guards inside."
The scene on the water screen kept changing. Just as Tian Shu was thinking to himself how little Tianhuan City had changed after all these years away, he suddenly saw two familiar figures.
He shot to his feet. "Mom!"