A Helping Hand (1)

Hearing that, Ren Fang slumped helplessly to the ground and sat there in a daze, her hands clenched tightly. She did not know what to do.

"Don't worry. Fanxin isn't someone destined to die young. He'll defeat that guy and make it through alive," Little Black Cat said at once, trying to comfort Ren Fang when it saw how worried she was.

"Really? What if something happens to him?" Ren Fang was not reassured.

"Don't worry yet. It's not over." After hesitating for a moment, Little Black Cat looked at Ren Fang and said, "Can you stay here for now? I'm going to bring someone back to help. Once he gets here, he might be able to help Fanxin."

"I'll go with you," Ren Fang said at once. She wanted to do something to help Fanxin.

"No. The person I'm going to find is on another island, and my body is very small. If I take you with me, we'll both fall into the sea. There are ferocious sharks and terrifying sea beasts in the water, so we'd both be in danger," Little Black Cat said. "That's why you have to stay here. I've already made a big iron box. You'll be safe if you hide inside it."

As it spoke, Little Black Cat took an iron box out of its Mechanical Space. It was rectangular and large enough to hold three or four people. Little Black Cat had made it long ago.

It had made the iron box for Ren Fang. She was an ordinary girl and not much of a fighter, and this was a dangerous forest. If wild beasts surrounded and attacked them, Ren Fang would be in danger.

With an iron box, however, Ren Fang could hide inside, and the beasts would be unable to get at her.

"Well... all right!" Ren Fang hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly and agreed. Although she wanted to go, there was nothing she could do if she could not.

"Okay, remember: don't come out until I come back for you, understand?" Little Black Cat warned. This forest was full of dangers, and a girl like Ren Fang, who was not much of a fighter, could run into trouble at any moment. Staying inside the iron box was safest for her.

"I understand." Ren Fang nodded.

"Then get in." Little Black Cat opened a door in the iron box and had Ren Fang lie down inside. Then it closed the box and dragged it beneath some bushes so that she would not be discovered.

Little Black Cat went to the air vent, glanced at Ren Fang, waved, and immediately left.

It channeled demonic power through its entire body and began to transform. This time, it took on its flight mode. The person it was going to for help was on another island, and it had to cross the sea. Without flying, it could not possibly get there.

After transforming, it flew straight into the air, but did not leave immediately. It shouted in the direction where Fanxin was, "Fanxin, I'm going to find you some help! You have to hold on and don't give up, understand? If you give up, I'll never forgive you!"

With that, it flew away, heading straight for the other island.

It was going back to the very island where they had originally stayed.

It pushed its speed to the limit and raced all the way there. An hour later, it reached the air above the island. It did not land, but circled high overhead.

"Grandpa Nick! Grandpa Nick! Come out, quick! Little Black needs to see you urgently!" Little Black Cat flew high in the air, shouting down at the ground again and again.

Nick was the one it had come to for help. He was on the island, but his exact location was impossible to pin down. That was why Little Black Cat was shouting from high above instead of going down to look for him.

Little Black Cat called for several minutes without getting a response. It grew anxious. Fanxin was still struggling to fight over there, his life hanging by a thread. If it could not bring help in time, he might die.

"Grandpa Nick, come out, quick! Something's happened to Fanxin! If you don't come out, he'll die!"

As Little Black Cat called out, it could not help bursting into tears. It had known Fanxin for many years and truly did not want anything to happen to him. If Fanxin died, it would lose a true playmate.

"Why are you crying? He isn't dead yet, is he?" While Little Black Cat was sobbing, an aged voice rang out from below. A moment later, the island began to shake. Soil rose from underground and rushed high into the air.

A few minutes later, a tall column formed from the soil stood in the very center of the island. It was as high as Little Black Cat was above the ground.

When it saw the column emerge, Little Black Cat immediately flew over and jumped onto it. Then it headed straight for the center of the column.

At the center of the column was an old man, but shockingly, he was nothing more than a head. Everything below his neck was missing, and his head had merged directly with the column, as if the column were his body.

The head had appeared not long ago, when Little Black Cat and Fanxin left the island. He had come out to watch the two of them go, worried that Fanxin would not return. But although he had appeared, neither Fanxin nor Little Black Cat had noticed him, so they had no idea that an old man had been watching them from the shadows all along.

Little Black Cat went up to the old man and rubbed affectionately against his face. It was not surprised in the least, because it had met this old man with only a head a very, very long time ago. It had been frightened then and had run away on the spot, but after spending some time with him, it had gradually grown used to him.

"Grandpa Nick, you finally came out! Come with me, quick! Fanxin is in danger. If you don't go and help him, he might die," Little Black Cat said at once after rubbing against the old man's face for a moment. This old man was Grandpa Nick, the one it had come to find.

"Oh, tell me what happened first," Grandpa Nick said with a nod.

"Well, a little fox had its body destroyed by a bad guy. To stay alive, the fox entered Fanxin's body and refused to come out. It's also trying to take his body for itself. It said Fanxin has a strong soul, and his body is suitable for it to live in."

Little Black Cat said, "Fanxin is at a disadvantage now. That little fox is beating him back at every turn. Grandpa Nick, there's nothing I can do, so I had to come here and ask you for help."