Chapter 489: Monsters Outside the City
The same night Qiao Xixi and the others returned to their tribe, Jin Ling’s group also reached Tiger Beast City.
However, to avoid being discovered, they didn’t enter the city immediately.
At Jin Ling’s direction, a male from the Phoenix Wing Clan led them to a mountain outside Tiger Beast City to make camp.
"There’s a cave up ahead. Let’s rest there for the night."
Xijing nodded and followed Jin Ling to a relatively hidden cave.
The Phoenix Wing Clan male kept watch from a tree outside the cave.
With Qiao Xixi absent, they had no need to start a fire.
After making sure the cave was safe, the two headed into the forest to hunt.
At night, the mountain forest was filled with predators on the hunt. They hadn’t gone far when Jin Ling caught the scent of a Long-haired Humming Beast.
"It’s over there."
Xijing followed the scent in pursuit. As he drew near, he heard faint cries for help from just ahead.
Jin Ling pushed aside the foliage and saw, in the distance, a Long-haired Humming Beast charging a male beastman.
Seeing that the Long-haired Humming Beast hadn’t noticed them at all, Jin Ling suddenly burst from the trees and hurled a large rock straight at it.
The rock struck the Long-haired Humming Beast squarely. It shrieked in pain and whirled around to glare at Jin Ling and Xijing. But as it prepared to charge, a fin shot from Xijing’s hand, instantly slitting the beast’s throat.
With a final, wretched cry, the Long-haired Humming Beast fell stiffly to the ground.
Xijing went over to the fallen beast, while Jin Ling approached the beastman it had been attacking.
In the faint moonlight, Jin Ling could see it was a male black bear beastman. His burly body was covered in blood; he looked gravely injured.
The male black bear struggled to open his eyes, extending a trembling hand toward Jin Ling. "I... I’m a beastman... from Tiger Beast City. Please... sa-save me... I’ll... I’ll repay you..."
Jin Ling’s brow furrowed. ’Their current situation wasn’t suited for meddling.’ But upon hearing the man was from Tiger Beast City, he helped him up anyway.
"Let’s take him back to the cave."
Xijing shouldered the kill, glanced at Jin Ling, and nodded. ’Jin Ling isn’t the type to be a bleeding-heart. He must have his reasons for this.’
On the way back, while Xijing found a water source to clean their kill, Jin Ling got some water for the black bear beastman to drink.
After a drink of water, the black bear beastman gradually regained some strength. His dark eyes scanned Jin Ling up and down. He didn’t sense the aura of a powerful warrior, assuming he was just an ordinary male.
"Thank you for saving me. If it weren’t for you, that Long-haired Humming Beast would have rammed me to death."
Looking at the bear’s build, Jin Ling thought, ’He doesn’t look like someone who couldn’t handle a Long-haired Humming Beast.’
"Did you get hurt while you were hunting?"
The black bear shook his head. "No, that’s not it. I was ambushed by a monster."
At this, both Jin Ling and Xijing stopped what they were doing.
"A monster? What did it look like?"
The black bear beastman recalled the events. He had indeed gone up the mountain to hunt, but his luck had been poor. Having failed to catch anything, he decided to find a place to spend the night and try again in the morning.
But as he was searching for a place to rest, a black mist had suddenly shot out from behind him, wrapping around him tightly. It bit him on the shoulder, the pain so intense it sent him crashing to the ground.
He managed to struggle free, but in his panicked escape, he ran right into the Long-haired Humming Beast. It knocked him to the ground, and he couldn’t get back up.
"I... I didn’t get a good look at the monster. It was just... a black fog."
"Was it a blackish-red mist?"
"Right, right, I think so."
Hearing this, both Jin Ling and Xijing’s expressions darkened. ’Could a monster have escaped all the way to Tiger Beast City?’
After they finished preparing the kill, they brought the black bear beastman back to the cave.
Xijing gave half of the meat to the Phoenix Wing Clan male on watch, and brought the other half back into the cave.
Jin Ling sliced off a large piece of meat and handed it to the black bear. "Here, eat something."
In the world of beastmen, even in a place like Tiger Beast City, food was incredibly precious for the average person. Xiong Tian was stunned by their generosity—not only had they saved his life, but they were also sharing their kill with him.
"Thank you so much."
Jin Ling sat down beside Xijing, using a bone knife to carve the meat.
"You’re injured. You shouldn’t keep hunting in the mountains. We happen to be heading back to Tiger Beast City tomorrow, so you can come with us."
Hearing this, Xiong Tian looked up at them. "You’re from Tiger Beast City, too?"
Jin Ling nodded. "Yes. We just got back from a trip to Beast King City with the City Lord."
Xiong Tian looked puzzled. "Were you escorting the City Lord back? Did he run into some kind of danger on the road? I was on gate duty the night he returned, and he came back in such a rush. It looked like he was in some kind of trouble."
Jin Ling’s gaze flickered across a cyan mark on the back of Xiong Tian’s hand. ’The mark of a Tiger Beast City soldier.’
"Yes, we ran into a bit of trouble, but it’s been dealt with."
Xiong Tian, suspecting nothing, replied, "Well, that’s good. Then let’s head back together tomorrow."
Jin Ling nodded, then asked with feigned casualness, "Xijing, I can’t find my bone tablet. Do you have it?"
Without batting an eye, Xijing replied, "No. You probably dropped it on the way here."
Hearing their exchange, Xiong Tian immediately assumed they were also city soldiers. "Oh, so you’re soldiers, too? How come I’ve never seen you before?"
Jin Ling chuckled. "We were on the Beast King’s personal guard. But now that the bone tablet is lost, I’m afraid we won’t be able to get into the royal city."
"That’s no problem," Xiong Tian said. "I used to be a guard in the royal city. I still have an extra bone tablet. I’ll get it for you when we get back."
"Thank you so much."
As the night deepened, the cave filled with Xiong Tian’s earth-shaking snores.
Jin Ling and Xijing both stepped outside the cave.
"What’s a ’bone tablet’?"
"It’s the identification for the royal city’s soldiers. With a tablet, we just have to conceal our auras and we can get in and out of the royal city with ease."
Xijing nodded. "You should get some rest. I’ll keep watch tonight."
Jin Ling glanced toward the cave. ’Even though they had saved Xiong Tian, males were naturally wary of sharing a cramped space with another unfamiliar male who could be aggressive.’
"Alright. I’ll get a little sleep." With that, Jin Ling leaped onto a large boulder outside the cave, shifted into his beast form, and closed his eyes.
In the pitch-black forest, a tall figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
His eyes glowed crimson as he stared at the traces of Xiong Tian’s blood on the ground, a look of savage greed in their depths.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from behind him.
"City Lord."
Fengxuan gazed with a troubled expression at Jin Wei, whose eyes were a dark, bloodshot red.
The corner of Jin Wei’s mouth twitched as he bared his sharp fangs at Fengxuan.