Three Little Ones in the Poisonous Forest

Three Little Ones in the Poisonous Forest

The outskirts of Sunset Forest.

Meow Meow stood atop a tall tree, watching the valley in the distance, veiled by a thin mist.

This place was different from Star Dou Great Forest.

Star Dou Great Forest teemed with life, its air mingling with the auras of Soul Beasts.

Sunset Forest, by contrast, was much quieter.

Especially near the area belonging to Dugu Bo, where even the birds sang far less often.

The wind swept through the forest, carrying a faint bitter scent.

White Dew stood beside Meow Meow. Her little nose twitched, and her face immediately scrunched up.

Gray Ear lowered his head to sniff the bark and quickly determined that someone had passed nearby.

"Not an ordinary herb gatherer."

Meow Meow studied the faint shoeprints in the dirt beneath the tree.

"There are marks from iron studs on the soles."

"People from the Black Eagle Family."

White Dew and Gray Ear both grew serious.

This wasn't a trial in Heaven Dou City.

This was the real Sunset Forest.

Meow Meow's aura had already been suppressed to around the level of a thousand-year Soul Beast by Soul Ring Disguise.

White Dew and Gray Ear's auras were also concealed by the Calming Bell.

As long as they didn't run into a Titled Douluo, they probably wouldn't be discovered.

Of course, if they ran into Dugu Bo, whether he noticed them would depend on Old Poison's mood.

Meow Meow was thinking this when his ears suddenly twitched.

A faint gulp came from the herb cart not far away.

Meow Meow turned around.

White Dew turned around too.

Gray Ear had already let out a quiet call.

A sack on the herb cart shifted slightly.

Meow Meow's eyes slowly darkened.

"Come out."

The sack didn't move.

"I'm counting to three."

"One."

The sack still didn't move.

"Two."

A very faint "meow" came from inside.

"Three."

Meow Meow flicked his paw, and the mouth of the sack opened by itself.

Numb Tail, clutching a piece of hardtack, rolled stiffly out.

Herb leaves clung to his body, crumbs dotted his mouth, and his tail was tucked up like a piece of rope.

White Dew: "..."

Gray Ear: "..."

Meow Meow: "..."

They'd guarded against everything, but not this cat sneaking into the cart.

"How did you get here?"

Numb Tail lowered his head.

"Meow."

"Don't meow."

Meow Meow fixed him with a stare.

"I asked how you got here."

Numb Tail gave another quiet meow.

It probably meant the herb cart smelled delicious.

Meow Meow's eye twitched.

"So you didn't come to carry out the mission. You followed the food?"

Numb Tail hurriedly shook his head.

But halfway through, he stopped, looking a little guilty.

Meow Meow took a deep breath.

He couldn't get angry.

Cats tended to shed when they got angry.

Besides, they were already on the outskirts of Sunset Forest. Sending Numb Tail back wasn't practical.

"Since you're here, stay close."

"If you eat poisonous plants again, I'm not saving you."

Numb Tail nodded at once.

White Dew walked over and gently tapped him with her tail.

Gray Ear, meanwhile, seemed noticeably relieved.

With Numb Tail around, trouble was certainly more likely.

But with Numb Tail around, things were also a little livelier.

Meow Meow looked at the three little cats and suddenly understood why the template always had them take the little ones along for training.

Coming alone was more efficient.

Bringing the little cats meant more trouble.

But if he never brought them along, they'd never become true core members of the Cat Net.

"Let's go."

Meow Meow dropped to the ground.

"Your task today is simple."

"Keep up."

The three little cats nodded at once.

There were many poisonous plants in Sunset Forest.

Fortunately, Meow Meow had just acquired the Spiritual Herb Identification Manual.

As they went along, he could tell which plants were safe to touch, which weren't, and which looked harmless but could make you dizzy just by smelling them.

At first, Numb Tail tried to sniff a small purple flower.

Meow Meow pinned him down with one paw.

"This is a Soul-Luring Vine Flower. Three sniffs will put you to sleep for a whole day."

Numb Tail's eyes lit up.

Meow Meow could tell what he was thinking.

"It's not for sleeping."

Numb Tail drooped again.

White Dew obediently walked around it.

Gray Ear memorized its scent.

They walked for half a day before finally reaching a low-lying area.

The trees here were noticeably more yellow and withered.

Black water seeped from the soil.

Meow Meow crouched and lightly touched it with the tip of his paw.

A wisp of black qi crept up his paw, only to be burned to ash by the Holy Fire.

"Pollution from Black Water."

White Dew looked uneasily at the muddy ground.

Gray Ear caught the scent of blood.

Meow Meow looked up.

A short distance ahead lay several Soul Beast corpses.

They were all low-level Soul Beasts.

The bodies had already rotted, and thin black threads had grown between their bones.

Numb Tail's fur stood on end.

"This is what we came to investigate," Meow Meow said.

"The Black Eagle Family wants to draw the Black Water pollution toward Dugu Bo's Poison Array."

"If they succeed, Sunset Forest will be in serious trouble."

Numb Tail shrank back.

Now he finally understood that this trip wasn't about eating herbs.

Meow Meow swept his paw, and Purifying Holy Fire fell upon the corpses.

The black threads on the Soul Beast corpses slowly burned away.

But the instant the threads snapped, the ground suddenly trembled.

Gray Ear whipped around.

"Meow!"

There's something underground!

Meow Meow felt it too.

The next moment, black beetles began emerging from the soil.

They were about the size of fists, with metallic sheens on their shells, red eyes, and sharp mouthparts.

They weren't ordinary insects.

They were Soul Beasts mutated by Black Water pollution.

"Back."

Meow Meow's voice was calm.

The three little cats immediately retreated.

But there were too many beetles.

A dark mass surged from the low-lying muddy ground, as if awakened by the Purifying Holy Fire.

Holy Fire flared around White Dew, and a calming aura protected her and Numb Tail.

Gray Ear circled to the side, searching for a weak point.

Numb Tail initially wanted to run.

But after taking two steps, he looked back at White Dew and Gray Ear.

He gritted his teeth and, surprisingly, didn't flee on his own.

Meow Meow noticed.

"Good."

"But don't overdo it."

He flicked his paw, and a line of Holy Fire landed in front of the three little cats.

The approaching beetles all stopped.

They feared the Holy Fire.

That was good.

Meow Meow had planned to burn the whole area directly, but he soon realized something was wrong.

The beetles weren't coming from just one place.

Black spots were emerging all around the low-lying ground.

They seemed to be responding to a summons.

Meow Meow's gaze darkened.

"Something's controlling them from behind."

Gray Ear smelled it too.

He called out toward the east.

Meow Meow looked over and saw half of a black iron spike sticking out of the soil behind a withered tree.

The Black Eagle Family's array patterns were wrapped around it.

"A Bug Luring Nail."

"They've really invested a lot in this."

Meow Meow swept his paw, and the Ten Thousand Array Diagram flashed.

The Bug Luring Nail was wrenched out by the force of the array and instantly burst into black smoke.

The beetles faltered for a moment.

White Dew and Gray Ear seized their chance and led Numb Tail through a gap at the side.

But before they could fully escape, a larger beetle burst out of the ground.

It was as big as a calf, with dark golden patterns on its carapace. Its Soul Power was close to a thousand years' worth.

It was nothing to Meow Meow.

But for the three little ones, it was a real problem.

The beetle lunged at White Dew.

Holy Fire flashed across White Dew's body, barely helping her dodge.

Gray Ear pounced and bit down on the beetle's antenna, but it flung him away.

Seeing this, Numb Tail's eyes widened, and he charged straight at it.

Thud.

He slammed into the beetle's side.

The beetle only swayed a little.

Numb Tail rolled three times across the ground.

Meow Meow: "..."

Why did this kid still like ramming things with his body?

Still, the impact had knocked the beetle half an inch off course.

White Dew took the chance to retreat, and Gray Ear regained his footing.

Meow Meow stopped watching from the sidelines.

The three little ones had already done well enough.

He raised a paw.

"Holy Fire Judgment."

A thread of platinum-colored flame fell on the beetle's brow.

The black aura around its body erupted at once, as if something inside were screaming.

The next moment, the Holy Fire tore the black aura out of the beetle.

The beetle's fierce eyes turned vacant.

It swayed, then collapsed to the ground. It wasn't dead, only unconscious.

Meow Meow glanced at it.

"It can still be saved."

Meow Meow didn't want to casually kill Soul Beasts that could be saved.

They hadn't chosen to be polluted by Black Water.

He tapped the air a few more times, sweeping the area with Holy Fire Judgment.

Once the black aura inside the ordinary beetles was burned away, most of them burrowed back into the soil and stopped attacking.

The three little ones finally relaxed.

Numb Tail sprawled on the ground, his chest heaving.

"Meow..."

Meow Meow walked over to him.

"Ramming things again?"

Numb Tail lowered his head.

Meow Meow looked at the dirt on his forehead and couldn't help smiling.

"That was a decent hit this time."

Numb Tail's eyes lit up.

"But next time, think of something else first. Don't treat yourself like a rock."

Numb Tail nodded at once.

Gray Ear came over and rubbed against him.

White Dew gently licked the dirt from his ear, too.

Seeing this, Meow Meow didn't interrupt.

The three little ones were already more in sync than they'd been during the trial.

That was the point of real combat.

He gathered the remaining black aura inside the large beetle into the outer layer of the Calming Bell and sealed it with Purifying Holy Fire.

They could take it back for research.

After that, Meow Meow placed a Cat Net Node Expansion Card in the middle of the low-lying area.

A small stone stele rose from the ground.

It wasn't tall, and it bore nothing but a Cat Paw Print.

When the Cat Paw Print lit up, White Dew and Gray Ear could both feel a familiar presence.

This was the first node of the Heavenly Dou Cat Net on the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

If anything unusual happened here in the future, Heaven Dou City would receive the news right away.

"It's done."

Meow Meow nodded with satisfaction.

But the instant the node rose into place, a cold gaze suddenly came from deep within the Poison Mist in the distance.

Meow Meow stiffened.

Dugu Bo?

No.

The gaze vanished just as quickly.

It was as if someone had only glanced over by chance.

But Meow Meow didn't dare let his guard down again.

He immediately suppressed his Soul Ring Disguise as much as possible.

He looked just like an ordinary Little White Cat.

White Dew and Gray Ear were also enveloped by the Calming Bell.

Meow Meow pressed Numb Tail into the grass with one paw.

Numb Tail: "..."

The Poison Mist churned in the distance.

A Jade Green Snake slithered along a tree branch.

It didn't come any closer. After watching from afar for a few moments, it disappeared.

Meow Meow let out a breath of relief.

"That Old Poison has eyes everywhere."

The three little ones didn't dare make a sound.

Meow Meow looked toward the depths of the Poison Mist.

That should be where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was.

But they couldn't barge in just yet.

The Black Eagle Family's Bug Luring Nails hadn't all been cleared away.

And Dugu Bo wasn't easy to fool.

If they went in rashly, even a hundred-thousand-year-old cat might get caught by Poison Douluo.

Meow Meow thought it over and decided to circle the outskirts first.

He had just led the three little ones away from the low-lying area when Gray Ear suddenly stopped.

"Meow."

There was someone up ahead.

Meow Meow looked up.

Footsteps came from among the trees.

Several Black-clad Soul Masters were hurrying over from the other side.

The man at their head wore a Black Eagle Pattern Cloak and had a grim expression.

"The Bug Luring Nails have been cut."

"Someone's clearing our formation."

"Find them."

Meow Meow's gaze turned cold.

People from the Black Eagle Family.

Just what he needed.

He didn't rush to attack, instead leading the three little ones up into the treetops to hide.

The men passed below.

One of the Soul Ancestors crouched to inspect the ground, his expression grim.

"The Pollution has been purified."

"It wasn't Dugu Bo's poison."

"It was another kind of fire."

The Soul Master at their head frowned.

"The Crown Prince's Mansion?"

"Doesn't look like it."

"Then who was it?"

No one answered.

Meow Meow crouched in the tree and listened carefully.

The Soul Master at their head spoke again:

"We can't put off the Medicine Garden any longer."

"Your Highness is pressing us."

Your Highness?

Meow Meow's thoughts stirred.

This Your Highness wasn't Qian Renxue.

Then who was it?

Xue Xing?

Or a prince from the Star Luo Empire?

The Black Eagle Family had ties to both sides, so the title was too vague.

Meow Meow didn't attack right away.

He wanted to hear a little more.

But just then, Numb Tail's nose twitched.

One of the Black-clad Soul Masters ahead had a piece of dried meat hanging from his waist.

Numb Tail's eyes lit up.

Meow Meow immediately pressed down on his head.

Numb Tail froze.

Don't move.

Good.

He was improving.

But although Numb Tail didn't move, the Soul Ancestor suddenly turned around.

"What's that smell?"

Meow Meow: "..."

You've got to be kidding.

Numb Tail still smelled of the rations in the medicine cart.

The Soul Ancestor scanned the treetops.

"Up there!"

A Soul Skill blasted toward them.

Meow Meow sighed.

So much for eavesdropping.

He raised a paw and slapped the air.

The Holy Fire formed a small shield and blocked the Soul Skill.

The next moment, White Dew and Gray Ear quickly retreated, while Numb Tail rolled toward another tree.

The Black-clad Soul Masters immediately unleashed their Martial Souls.

Two Soul Ancestors and three Soul Elders.

It was a formidable lineup.

But against Meow Meow as he was now, it wasn't enough.

"Don't kill them,"

Meow Meow told the three little ones.

"Keep them alive."

The three little ones froze.

He said that as though they could kill anyone.

But White Dew immediately released Peaceful Holy Fire to disrupt the enemy's mind.

Gray Ear circled around to the side and seized an opportunity to bite through the Signal Tube at a Soul Elder's waist.

This time, Numb Tail didn't charge at anyone. Instead, he dragged away the Talisman Pouch hanging from the enemy.

Meow Meow looked on with satisfaction.

Not bad.

The Snack Thief Cat has finally learned to steal.

The leading Soul Ancestor flew into a rage at the sight.

"A few cats?"

"Catch them!"

Meow Meow narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Catch who?"

He didn't reveal his hundred-thousand-year aura.

He only gave the Calming Bell a gentle shake.

Ding.

Several Black-robed Soul Masters froze.

The Sacred Flame Domain pressed down, making the flow of their Soul Power sluggish.

Before they could react, the array patterns beneath their feet lit up.

The Ten Thousand Array Diagram drew on the terrain, trapping all five in place.

The Soul Ancestor tried to break free, only to find that the harder he struggled, the more chaotic his Soul Power became.

"An array?"

"Impossible!"

"What kind of Soul Beast are you?"

Meow Meow sauntered over to them.

"I have a few questions for you."

"Answer well, and you'll live."

"Answer badly, and you'll still live."

The men stared at him, stunned.

Meow Meow continued,

"But it'll hurt a lot."

White Dew glanced at Meow Meow.

Gray Ear lowered his head and said nothing.

Numb Tail clutched the Talisman Pouch and cautiously edged backward.

Meow Meow pointed a paw at the leading Soul Ancestor's forehead.

"Where did the Black Water come from?"

The Soul Ancestor gritted his teeth and refused to answer.

Meow Meow activated Holy Fire Judgment.

A wisp of Holy Fire slipped into the Soul Ancestor's mind.

His face turned deathly pale at once.

It wasn't ordinary pain.

It was burning away, bit by bit, the malicious thoughts and lingering traces within him that were connected to the Black Water's Pollution.

A moment later, the Soul Ancestor was trembling like a leaf.

"B-Black Water Swamp."

"Who sent you to the Sunset Forest?"

"Your Highness."

"Which Your Highness?"

The Soul Ancestor's face twisted in pain. He seemed afraid to say.

Meow Meow's gaze darkened, and the Holy Fire dug an inch deeper.

The Soul Ancestor finally growled,

"Prince Xue Xing!"

Meow Meow understood.

So it really was him.

But that still wasn't enough.

Xue Xing didn't seem like someone who could control the Black Water.

"Who else is behind this?"

The Soul Ancestor's lips quivered.

"I don't know."

Meow Meow could tell he was telling the truth.

He asked another question.

"What do you want with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"

The Soul Ancestor's eyes grew unfocused.

"The Medicine Garden..."

"Spirit herbs..."

"Stabilize the Samples..."

"And... open the Great Marsh Seal."

Meow Meow's tail went still.

Open the Great Marsh Seal?

For now, the Black Water Swamp was only seeping outward.

If they really opened the seal, this would be far more than a minor case of Pollution.

The Sunset Forest, Heaven Dou City, and even the entire Heaven Dou Empire would be caught up in it.

Meow Meow released the Soul Ancestor.

He looked at the others.

Their faces had gone deathly pale with fear.

Meow Meow couldn't be bothered to question them further. He used the Calming Bell to suppress their minds and confirmed that they knew little more than the Soul Ancestor.

Then he cast a communication array with one paw and sent their location to Qian Renxue.

"Qinghe will send someone to take custody of them."

"You're in luck."

"This cat doesn't feel like killing anyone today."

The Black-robed Soul Masters didn't dare say a word.

Right now, they thought this White Cat was even more frightening than Dugu Bo.

Meow Meow dismissed the array but didn't release them. He used the Ten Thousand Array Diagram to keep them trapped in place.

They wouldn't be able to escape before the Crown Prince's Mansion's people arrived.

Once he was done, Meow Meow turned to Numb Tail.

"The Talisman Pouch."

Numb Tail immediately set it down.

Inside were a few Soul Coins, a Black Eagle Token, a fragment of a route map, and three strips of dried meat.

Meow Meow tossed the dried meat far away first.

Numb Tail's eyes followed it as it flew.

"Come back."

Numb Tail reluctantly dragged his gaze away.

Meow Meow opened the route map.

It marked several points on the outskirts of the Sunset Forest.

One of them was very close to the edge of the Poison Mist.

Beside it were two words:

Seal.

Meow Meow's gaze turned cold.

"Looks like they're planning to make their move tonight."

White Dew and Gray Ear looked over too.

Numb Tail couldn't understand the map, but he understood Meow Meow's expression.

He didn't dare think about the dried meat anymore.

Meow Meow put away the route map.

"Let's go."

Gray Ear asked a question.

Meow Meow looked toward the depths of the Poison Mist.

"To the seal."

"If the Great Marsh Seal is really here, we have to block it tonight."

The three little ones immediately followed.

On the other side of the Poison Mist, a white-haired old man in green robes suddenly opened his eyes.

Dugu Bo stood on a hillside, watching the distant place scorched by the Holy Fire, his brow furrowed deeply.

"What was that?"

"A cat?"

He let out a cold laugh.

"When did even cats start daring to come into this old man's Medicine Garden?"