Chapter 521 - 522: Missed
Jin Ling and Xijing held their breath, staring intently in the direction of the rocky mountain.
To get a clearer view, the two exchanged a look and silently moved up the rocky mountain, following the beastman who had suddenly appeared.
The other party didn’t seem to notice their presence and only walked slowly toward a large boulder on the mountain.
In the faint moonlight, Jin Ling got a clear look at the male blue bird’s appearance. He frowned slightly.
The male blue bird walked up to the large boulder on the rocky mountain and stopped.
Xijing was confused. They had checked that spot before and found nothing unusual. He wondered what the male blue bird was doing there.
While he was still wondering, the male blue bird suddenly began hopping around the large boulder. After a few circles, his figure abruptly vanished on the rocky mountain.
Jin Ling and Xijing waited, but the male blue bird did not reappear. They were astonished.
They had clearly seen him there just a moment ago. How could he have suddenly disappeared?
After confirming no one else was around, the two quickly walked to the boulder.
Xijing took out a sea pearl, illuminating the corner. The area looked exactly as it had when they inspected it before, completely unchanged.
"Jin Ling, did you see how he was hopping just now?"
Jin Ling nodded. "Step back a little."
Xijing took two steps back. The secret of this mountain very likely lay in the way the male blue bird had hopped.
Jin Ling stood where the male blue bird had first been and began to hop, mimicking the steps he had just seen.
One hop, two, three... On the tenth hop, the stone beneath Jin Ling’s feet suddenly moved.
A moment later, a section of the large boulder in front of them sank down, revealing a pitch-black opening.
"So the male blue bird didn’t vanish into thin air. He went in through here."
Jin Ling looked at Xijing. "You should return to the city and find Xixi in a bit. I’ll wait for the male blue bird to leave, then I’ll go inside and take a look."
Xijing thought of Qiao Xixi, who had inexplicably appeared in Tiger Beast City. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I’ll have the Phoenix Wing Clan males wait outside to assist you. Be careful."
Jin Ling hummed in agreement. After he stepped back, the boulder in front of them returned to its original state.
The two retreated from the rocky mountain. Once Xijing confirmed that Jin Ling was well-hidden, he turned and headed for Tiger Beast City.
Tiger Beast City closed its gates after dark, and nightingale beasts patrolled the skies at night. Xijing didn’t risk entering the city overnight. Instead, he found a place to rest outside the walls, planning to go in when the gates opened at dawn.
Qiao Xixi woke before dawn. Alone in a strange place, she couldn’t possibly have slept soundly. She had only rested with her eyes closed for a while before getting up.
Today, she had to find Xijing and Jin Ling.
After tidying up and having a simple bite to eat, she wrapped her head and face with a light animal hide and left the stone house.
No matter where they were from, beastmen were diligent. Laziness meant they wouldn’t be able to fill their stomachs.
As Qiao Xixi walked along the dirt road, many beastmen were already up and about. She avoided making eye contact with those she passed, simply keeping her gaze lowered as she hurried toward the city gate.
But just as she was nearing the gate, she unexpectedly ran into Jin Wei’s procession leaving the city.
Qiao Xixi froze, quickly stopping and hiding her figure behind a stone wall.
Jin Wei sat expressionlessly atop a massive elephant beast, with Fengxuan standing beside him, saying something to him.
After listening, Jin Wei frowned. "Let’s go."
Just as the procession was about to depart, a male and a female suddenly rushed in front of Jin Wei’s group, crying out.
"City Lord! Please, City Lord, give us our daughter back!" a frail-looking, middle-aged female cried, her face filled with sorrow.
The male supporting her also pleaded with Jin Wei, "Please, City Lord, return our daughter to us."
As they cried out, other beastmen blocked Jin Wei’s procession, all weeping and begging Jin Wei to return their daughters.
Listening to their cries, a vein throbbed on Jin Wei’s forehead, and a dark red glow immediately spilled from his eyes.
Qiao Xixi sharply detected the change in Jin Wei’s body and also sensed the aura of the Dark Primordial Stone’s energy within him!
’How could Jin Wei have the aura of the Dark Primordial Stone’s energy in his body?’
’Could it be that he was the one who stole that wisp of energy back in Beast King City?’
Fengxuan glanced at Jin Wei. ’This is bad,’ he thought, and quickly ordered the beastman soldiers to pull away the people blocking the road.
"Your daughters came to the inner city to have their fertility checked. They left as soon as the examinations were over; they are no longer here. However, the City Lord will certainly look into the matter of their disappearance. Take these people and get a clear account of what happened."
Fengxuan’s eyes were kind, and after he spoke, the grieving beastmen’s expressions became hesitant.
But since the Priest himself had spoken, the disappearance of their daughters surely had nothing to do with the City Lord.
"Our apologies, City Lord, Priest. We were just too anxious, so we came to ask for clarification."
Fengxuan nodded in understanding. "Don’t be anxious. By the way, an evil merman beast appeared in the inner city the day before yesterday. If your daughters still haven’t returned home, it’s very likely he is the one behind it. If you see him in the city, you must report it to the beastman soldiers."
Hiding nearby, Qiao Xixi was so angry upon hearing this that she clenched her fists.
’Fengxuan really has a tenacious hold on life,’ she thought. ’The poison I fed him before didn’t even torture him half to death, and he’s still here, up and about.’
Fengxuan gestured for the beastman soldiers to get the details, then immediately had the procession leave the city.
At this moment, the expression on Jin Wei, still seated on the elephant beast, had turned ghastly. A dark red mist was continuously seeping out of him.
Seeing this, Fenglin immediately pulled a pill from his clothes and handed it to Jin Wei.
"City Lord, hurry and take this."
Jin Wei also felt like he was about to lose control of his body again. He grabbed the pill and immediately swallowed it.
The moment he swallowed the pill, he felt the uncontrollable sensation within his body come under control.
The procession moved farther and farther away. After they left, Kunlin slowly emerged from his hiding place.
He had witnessed Jin Wei’s transformation. It was obvious that a dark power also existed within Jin Wei’s body, but he seemed able to suppress it through some means.
Kunlin glanced at the city gate, then turned and followed them.
Just as they left, Xijing arrived outside the city gate.
Inside the city, Qiao Xixi, thinking about Jin Wei’s earlier transformation, turned and followed the departing beastmen.
The moment she left, Xijing walked through the city gate.
Xijing glanced at the crowd that had just dispersed inside the gate and frowned. He stopped a passing beastman to ask about the situation.
Following behind the group of beastmen, Qiao Xixi could still hear their intermittent sobs.
As soon as she got closer, she heard a female say with a look of certainty, "Impossible. I’m sure of it. My daughter never left the inner city at all."