Zhao Wuji's heart tightened when he heard Tang San's shout, his brows instantly knotting together. Most of his attention had been on Tang Hao and the Titan Giant Ape just now, and he truly had not kept watch over every student at all times.
"What? Xiao Wu is missing? When did it happen? Who saw her last?"
Everyone looked at one another and shook their heads. In the chaos, they had barely been able to look after themselves, let alone keep track of others.
"When the Titan Giant Ape was blasted away just now, there was a lot of dust. I think I saw Xiao Wu retreat a few steps in that direction..."
Zhu Zhuqing's cool voice carried a trace of uncertainty as she pointed toward a patch of shrubs behind and to the side, flattened and scattered by the shockwave.
Tang San immediately moved to rush over and search.
"Stop!"
Zhao Wuji barked, his expression exceedingly grim. He was just as anxious over this situation.
Xiao Wu was a student of the academy, and even more so, Tang San's sister. Whether for public or private reasons, nothing could happen to her.
But what troubled him even more was that the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Titan Giant Ape, had only just left.
What if Xiao Wu had been unlucky, fled in panic, or been thrown away by the shockwave and happened to run into the fleeing Titan Giant Ape?
With the Titan Giant Ape's size and speed, even a brush against it, or a single step from it...
Zhao Wuji did not dare think any further. The image sent a chill through even a Soul Sage like him, who had seen plenty of life and death.
"We can't split up and search blindly! This forest is too dangerous. What if something else happens?"
Zhao Wuji said in a low voice, sweeping his gaze across the group before finally settling it on Xiao Qing. There was a trace of hope in his eyes. "Xiao Qing, is Xiao Feng's sense of smell very sharp? Can you have him try to find Xiao Wu's scent?"
This was perhaps the fastest and most effective method available to them. Scattering to search blindly would be inefficient and dangerous, and they might even miss the best opportunity.
Everyone's gaze focused on Xiao Qing. Tang San, in particular, looked at him with near-pleading eyes.
Xiao Qing remained calm and nodded. "We can try. Xiao Feng, come out."
Seeing Xiao Feng emerge, Tang San hurriedly took out a clean handkerchief from Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
Before their departure, Xiao Wu had skipped over to help him organize his things and had asked Tang San to put it into Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
Xiao Qing accepted the handkerchief from Tang San and held it beneath Xiao Feng's nose.
"Xiao Feng, remember this scent. Try to find traces of Xiao Wu nearby."
Xiao Feng lowered his head and carefully sniffed the handkerchief.
Having memorized that distinctive scent, he lowered his head again and began carefully distinguishing Xiao Wu's lingering smell in the air, starting from the general direction Zhu Zhuqing had indicated.
After what the Titan Giant Ape had done, the smells of blood, dust, lingering Soul Power, and all kinds of plants and animals had mixed together. This made Xiao Feng's search far more difficult than when he had tracked the Blood-Vein Python.
Time passed second by second. Every second was torture for Tang San. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deeply into his palms, his eyes fixed on Xiao Feng's path as his breathing grew rapid.
Finally, after searching for roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Xiao Feng stopped beside an uprooted tree root overturned by the shockwave. He lifted his head and let out a low whine at Xiao Qing, then turned to look deeper into the forest, in a direction close to where the Titan Giant Ape had fled.
Seeing Xiao Feng's movements, Xiao Qing immediately understood what he meant and relayed the clues to Zhao Wuji and Tang San.
"Someone went that way?"
Zhao Wuji frowned deeply. There were no signs of a struggle, which was temporarily good news. It meant Xiao Wu might still be capable of moving and had at least not been forcibly taken away. But that direction was far too close to the route the Titan Giant Ape had taken.
For a level twenty-nine girl like Xiao Wu to run alone into the depths of the forest was practically a death sentence!
"Teacher Zhao, let's hurry and find Xiao Wu!"
Tang San urged anxiously. If Dai Mubai and the others had not held him back, he would have rushed out immediately.
Zhao Wuji glanced at the exhausted group, then at the frantic Tang San, and calmly began making arrangements. "Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, the three of you stay behind. Protect Oscar and Ning Rongrong. Set up a simple defense here and stay alert."
"Oscar, make as many Recovery Big Sausages and Blood-Nourishing Sausages as you can. Once you're done, I'll take most of them. Keep the rest in case of emergencies."
"Tang San, Xiao Qing, and I will follow the traces Xiao Feng found and search for Xiao Wu! Remember, maintain formation, don't rush in recklessly, and be prepared for unexpected situations at all times! Move!"
He had made the most reasonable arrangement. Someone had to search for her, but someone also had to remain behind to protect the support-type Soul Masters and the members in the worst condition.
"Yes!" everyone answered.
Tang San gave Zhao Wuji and Xiao Qing a grateful look, then immediately followed Xiao Qing, who had mounted Xiao Feng, as they rushed into the forest. Zhao Wuji followed close behind.
Led by Xiao Feng, Xiao Qing and the others sped deeper into Star Dou Forest.
Yet the deeper they went, the stronger Tang San's unease became.
At first, he could still comfort himself by telling himself that Xiao Wu had merely run off in panic. But before long, a discovery that chilled him to the bone shattered his last hope.
"Xiao Qing," Tang San said, his voice slightly hoarse, "isn't the direction of Xiao Wu's scent getting closer and closer to the route that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast took?"
Zhao Wuji had noticed it as well, and his face instantly darkened.
"Something's wrong... Could that girl be chasing after that thing?"
Even he found the thought absurd. A Soul Grandmaster not even level thirty, actively tracking down an injured and crazed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? This was no longer merely reckless courage. It was seeking death!
"Impossible! Xiao Wu wouldn't be so careless!"
Tang San refuted him instinctively, but his voice lacked conviction. Reason told him that Zhao Wuji's guess was very likely true.
But why? Why would Xiao Wu do this? Star Dou Forest was fraught with danger. They had only just escaped death beneath the Titan Giant Ape's claws. How could she deliberately run toward an even more dangerous place?
Though Xiao Wu was usually lively and spirited, occasionally mischievous and impulsive, she was by no means a reckless and ignorant person. Nor would she ever treat her own life as a joke!
Countless questions and worries churned through Tang San's mind.
"No matter why, we find her first!"
Zhao Wuji said heavily, cutting through Tang San's tangled thoughts. "Stay close to Xiao Feng and remain alert! That beast is seriously injured, but it's still a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! If we really run into it, don't hesitate. Take Xiao Wu and retreat immediately. I'll cover the rear!"
Xiao Qing said nothing. Of course he knew why Xiao Wu was doing this, but he did not understand why she had chosen to do it this way.
Being so reckless, what could it bring besides trouble for herself and others?
Now, Xiao Qing and the others could see that the traces left by the Titan Giant Ape's escape were becoming fresher and fresher. This meant the distance between them and the Titan Giant Ape was steadily shrinking.
"Stop!" Xiao Qing, who was walking at the front, suddenly shouted in a low voice and raised a hand in warning.
Everyone immediately stopped, holding their breath and finding cover. Zhao Wuji motioned for Tang San and Xiao Qing to lower themselves while he slowly poked his head out and looked ahead.
About two hundred meters ahead, the trees became much sparser, seemingly opening into a forest clearing.
At the edge of the clearing, a black silhouette faced away from them, half-kneeling on the ground. It was the Titan Giant Ape they had encountered before!
And not far in front of the Titan Giant Ape, on the other side of the clearing near several enormous boulders, a pink figure stood silently.
It was Xiao Wu!
Her back was to Tang San and the others, while she faced the Titan Giant Ape. She did not seem injured, and her stance even appeared somewhat... calm?
"Xiao—"
The moment he saw Xiao Wu, Tang San, who had remained relatively calm until then, nearly cried out. Fortunately, Xiao Qing reacted faster, turning around and covering Tang San's mouth with one hand.
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