Eliminating Hidden Dangers

"All right, all right~"

Qin Yue spent quite a while soothing Qiu'er before finally getting her to climb down from him. Smiling, he helped smooth her fur before looking to the side at Scarlet King, who had somehow emerged again, and knowingly asked, "And this is?"

"Scarlet King."

Before Qiu'er could speak, Scarlet King snorted and answered on his own, his tone filled with ferocity.

Looking at Qiu'er, he made a tentative suggestion. "Auspicious Beast, Soul Masters often appear in the Outer Zone. It's far too dangerous. Why don't I just take this boy back to the Core Zone and raise him there? Then you can see him every day."

Scarlet King was only saying it casually. How to handle this matter would still depend on Di Tian's decision. He did not dare leave the Auspicious Beast here alone and return to the Core Zone himself. It would be over if the Auspicious Beast ran off with this boy who had appeared out of nowhere.

Qiu'er had long understood that Qin Yue did not want to remain in Star Dou Forest and had made up his mind to sneak out. Naturally, she refused. Her eyes darted about as an idea came to her.

Qiu'er lowered her body close to the ground, bent her forelegs slightly, and straightened her hind legs, taking on the posture of one about to attack as she let out a series of low growls at Scarlet King.

Scarlet King silently took two steps back. The expression on his middle dog head suddenly softened, and even his eyes became much clearer. The two dog heads on either side showed no discernible expression, but their murderous gazes seemed eager to swallow Qin Yue alive.

Qin Yue understood that continuing the stalemate was not a solution. He immediately began advising Qiu'er through their mental connection. He knew that even if they managed to fool Scarlet King today, trouble would remain. As long as they could not convince Di Tian, the apparent leader, there was always the possibility that a Beast of Calamity would appear and abduct him.

Thus, Qin Yue needed to fabricate a reason that Di Tian could at least reluctantly accept. Only then would the Beasts of Calamity turn a blind eye to him out of consideration for Qiu'er, completely dissolving the hidden danger.

After a brief silence, Qiu'er adjusted her posture and became less aggressive. She directly turned around and encircled Qin Yue, speaking with utmost seriousness.

"Scarlet King, you should know—or rather, Di Tian should have told you—that every Imperial Auspicious Beast is destined to face a Death Tribulation."

Scarlet King's gaze toward Qin Yue instantly became uncertain and suspicious. Though he did not understand the boy's origins, Qiu'er's reaction made it clear that he was related to the Death Tribulation, and in a way beneficial to the Auspicious Beast.

Qiu'er's next words were exactly as he had expected.

"Looks like you've realized it. That's right. I sensed the Power of Fate within Qin Yue. That Death Tribulation originally held no possibility of survival for me, but Qin Yue's appearance shattered that impossibility, turning certain death into a slim chance at life."

"So if you insist on killing him, then kill me too. I refuse a future where, no matter how I struggle, I am destined to die!"

The tension in Scarlet King's muscles quietly eased, and the ferocious look on his face vanished without a trace. Yet he still refused to give up, asking, "Then why not just let me take this boy back and raise him properly? For your sake, Auspicious Beast, we can even provide him with Soul Rings and help him continue cultivating."

Qiu'er looked at Scarlet King as though he were an idiot and asked in disbelief, "My slim chance of survival is indeed connected to Qin Yue, but not to the Qin Yue of right now. How can you guarantee that chance lies in Star Dou Forest rather than outside it?"

Scarlet King opened his blood-filled maw to retort, but suddenly remembered that the Auspicious Beast possessed the Power of Fate. If something within Star Dou Forest could help her, she would not have described that Death Tribulation as certain death.

If Qiu'er had merely pointed out some random human and told Scarlet King that this person would help her in the future, Scarlet King naturally would not have believed her. But he had seen every one of the Auspicious Beast's strange actions over the past few days.

Secretly watching him, following him, acting incredibly intimate the moment they met, and that mysterious ritual whose effects he did not understand... With all those oddities combined, it was impossible for Scarlet King not to believe.

Looking at it from the other direction, if this boy truly had a chance to help the Auspicious Beast overcome her Death Tribulation, then every one of her actions became perfectly reasonable. No matter who examined it, they could find no fault.

Scarlet King already believed Qiu'er's explanation by seventy or eighty percent, but he spoke once more.

"Even so, it would be best to bring this boy back for a look. Not only to prevent you from being deceived, Auspicious Beast, but also to show him the strength of Star Dou Forest—to tell him that no matter where he runs, he cannot escape. That is the only way to stop him from leaving one day and never returning."

Qiu'er could not think of a reasonable way to refuse Scarlet King's suggestion, so she could only turn to Qin Yue.

Qin Yue was not surprised in the slightest. Scarlet King was ultimately just a bodyguard Di Tian had sent to protect Qiu'er. In a matter that could affect all of Star Dou Forest, he had no decision-making authority and could only leave it to Di Tian.

After exchanging looks, Qiu'er received the signal and nodded. "Then take Qin Yue to Lake of Life. Be careful. Don't hurt him."

Scarlet King, who had intended to seize Qin Yue in his jaws, abruptly paused. After snorting twice, he turned around and lay down before Qin Yue, impatiently urging, "Get on, boy. Being able to ride this king is the greatest fortune of your life!"

He, Scarlet King, a mighty Beast of Calamity with three hundred thousand years of cultivation, had actually fallen so low as to become a mount for a human boy. It was simply the greatest humiliation. He had truly sacrificed too much for Star Dou Forest!

Looking at Scarlet King, who was as enormous as a small mountain yet obediently lying on the ground before him, Qin Yue's lips lifted slightly before quickly falling again. If not for Qiu'er, he would absolutely have been bitten into minced meat.

"Hurry up! What are you hesitating for? Are you afraid? Or were you deceiving the Auspicious Beast?"

At Scarlet King's second urging, Qin Yue leaped up and steadily settled onto Scarlet King's back.

The next moment, Qin Yue grimaced in pain. He had not expected Scarlet King's dark red fur to only look smooth. In reality, it was extremely coarse and stiff. Sitting on it felt like having a pile of steel needles stabbing his butt. It was nowhere near as comfortable as Qiu'er's brilliant golden fur.

Seeing the pained expression on Qin Yue's face, Scarlet King was initially stunned. He subconsciously wondered whether he had accidentally struck the boy somehow—why did he look as though he had suffered terribly? But soon, sinister grins spread across all three of Scarlet King's heads as he decided to make Qin Yue suffer properly.

Qiu'er, whose mind was entirely occupied with sharing Lake of Life with Qin Yue, did not notice this. She and Scarlet King raced toward the Core Zone one after the other, quickly vanishing into the forest with Qin Yue in tow.