Chapter 506: Out of Control, Severely Wounding Her
In the forest, Qiao Xixi stared at the Unicorne Bull Beast she had killed with a large rock. She thought about leaving it, but it seemed like a waste to abandon such a huge prize.
After hesitating for a moment, she took out her bone knife and began to butcher her kill.
She worked quickly. After all, she was deep in the forest and the sky was growing dark. The strong scent of blood from butchering the animal would attract other predators.
’This Unicorne Bull Beast is huge.’
It was a good thing she could use her Wind Skill to make it lose control and crash into a tree. Otherwise, it would have been much harder to hit it in the head with a rock and smash its skull.
The beast was so large that butchering it was exhausting. By the time Qiao Xixi finished cutting up the meat and storing it in her space, the sky had already grown dark.
Qiao Xixi drank some water from her Spiritual Spring and quickly washed up. Then, she opened her map to check her location.
But to her surprise, she saw Sangze’s location marker moving toward the forest.
Qiao Xixi was stunned. She thought she must be seeing things.
"Xiaoyao, is there something wrong with the tracker? Why is Sangze’s location moving?"
"Host, there is no problem with the tracker. If you see it moving, then he is moving."
Qiao Xixi’s eyes lit up. "Does that mean Sangze is awake?"
Xiaoyao shot her down. "It’s hard to say. What if someone is moving him?"
The smile on Qiao Xixi’s face slowly faded. ’Under normal circumstances, no one in the inner city would move Sangze. What’s more, I can also see Sunxiao’s tracker heading toward the forest.’
She thought it was more likely that Sangze had woken up.
’In any case, they aren’t far now. I’ll find out what’s going on soon enough.’
「Meanwhile」
When Sunxiao came ashore and checked Qiao Xixi’s location, he also noticed that Sangze’s marker had moved. It looked like he was also heading in Qiao Xixi’s direction.
Sunxiao swam to the shore, shifted back into his human form, and frowned.
’Did Sangze wake up, realize Xixi wasn’t where she should be, and immediately come after her?’
Sunxiao couldn’t think of any other explanation.
But right now, the most important thing was to find Xixi.
After confirming Qiao Xixi’s location, Sunxiao strode into the woods.
The sky had grown completely dark. The moon was rising later than usual tonight, and without its light, the forest was pitch-black. Even with the excellent night vision of a beastman, Qiao Xixi wouldn’t have been able to see the path ahead without her illuminating sea pearl.
But even with the sea pearl, she could only light up a small area in front of her, so her pace slowed.
She had no idea how long she’d been walking when, just as she thought she was about to exit the forest, a faint sound came from up ahead.
Qiao Xixi froze, her eyes scanning the darkness ahead.
Just then, a solid black panther emerged from the shadows.
Its pure black coat blended almost perfectly with the night.
The moment she got a clear look at it, Qiao Xixi’s eyes lit up.
"Sangze, it’s really you! You’re finally awake!" Qiao Xixi said, happily stepping forward.
But just as she neared Sangze, he suddenly roared and lunged at her.
Startled, Qiao Xixi dodged instinctively.
"ROAR!"
His mismatched eyes glared at her coldly, as if she were prey.
Qiao Xixi was taken aback by his gaze. She even began to wonder if she was mistaken, and this was just a black panther Mutant Beast.
But the scent drifting on the air confirmed it—the male panther before her was indeed Sangze.
"Sangze, what’s wrong with you—ah!"
Before Qiao Xixi could finish, Sangze attacked her again.
Qiao Xixi’s expression changed as she dodged again, but she had underestimated Sangze’s speed. Just as his sharp claws were about to tear her skin, a figure rushed over and pulled her out of the way.
Startled, she instinctively clung to her rescuer.
Once the shock subsided, Qiao Xixi tightly hugged Sunxiao, who had pulled her to safety.
"Sunxiao."
Sunxiao set her down. "Are you hurt?"
Qiao Xixi shook her head. "What’s wrong with Sangze?"
The words were barely out of her mouth when Sangze charged them again.
"Stay back."
Sunxiao said, turning to face the charging Sangze.
Qiao Xixi stood behind a tree, her expression grim as she watched the two of them fight.
It was as if Sangze had completely lost consciousness and didn’t recognize them at all.
"ROAR!"
With a furious roar, Sangze suddenly lunged, trying to bite Sunxiao.
Sunxiao whipped his long tail, striking Sangze and sending him flying.
’Xiaoyao, what in the world is wrong with Sangze? Why is he like this?’
’Host, this is because the dark aura in his body has suppressed the power of the forbidden drug. A large amount of dark energy has invaded his body, causing him to temporarily lose his self-awareness.’
’You mean his body is being controlled by dark energy?’
’That’s one way to put it.’
’Then what do I do?’
’There’s nothing you can do about it. While you could purify the dark energy in his body, if that energy is weakened, the forbidden drug’s power will rebound and harm his body.’
’So I can’t do anything? I can only watch helplessly as he runs wild?’
’You can try to awaken his consciousness. See if his own will can suppress the dark energy’s influence.’
Qiao Xixi snapped back to reality. Her pupils contracted when she looked up and saw Sangze’s sharp claws digging into Sunxiao’s long tail. Without a second thought, she rushed forward.
"Sangze, stop!"
"Xixi, look out!"
Sangze roared, knocking Qiao Xixi to the ground and baring his fangs, ready to tear out her throat.
"Xixi!"
"Sangze, no!"
Just as Sangze’s fangs were a hand’s breadth from Qiao Xixi’s neck, the darkness deep within his mismatched eyes suddenly began to churn violently.
As Sunxiao moved to knock Sangze away again, Qiao Xixi quickly shouted, "Sunxiao, wait! I’m fine!"
"ROAR!"
A low, pained growl rumbled in Sangze’s throat as he struggled.
When he looked at Qiao Xixi again, the darkness in his eyes had faded slightly, but he couldn’t immediately regain his senses.
What Qiao Xixi didn’t know was that a seductive voice was constantly whispering in Sangze’s ear.
"Kill her. Kill the female before you."
Sangze shook his head in agony. His mismatched eyes darkened once more, and with a roar, he lunged to bite Qiao Xixi again.
Sunxiao, already on high alert, whipped his long tail and struck Sangze hard the moment he moved.
"Xixi."
Sunxiao’s long tail coiled around Qiao Xixi, pulling her into his protection. He would never allow anyone to harm her—not even one of her own mates!
Qiao Xixi’s brow furrowed.
’Xiaoyao, if I can’t wake him up right now, it should be okay to knock him unconscious, right?’
’Host can try.’
Qiao Xixi formed a hand seal, and a fierce gale began to rise. Just as the wind was about to engulf Sangze, he suddenly leaped away and fled deep into the forest.
"Sangze!"