Still After His Lucky Break? Drag Him Back!

Tang San stepped forward.

He cried out in a voice raw with anguish,

"Xiao Wu! Give me back my Xiao Wu!"

He stumbled two steps forward, his knees buckling as he nearly collapsed.

His shoulders shook, his eyes reddened, and his voice trembled with tears.

He threw himself into the performance, as though he were truly on the verge of breaking down.

Everyone present watched him with different expressions.

No one answered him, and no one came forward to comfort him.

They all had the feeling that this guy was an idiot.

They looked at him like he was a clown.

Tang San's acting really was convincing. If they hadn't known he was putting on an act, they might almost have believed him.

Ye Lin stood on the other side of the group, saying nothing.

He simply stared in the direction where the Titan Giant Ape had vanished, his gaze fixed.

Dai Mubai walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Xiao Wu will be fine."

Ye Lin kept looking into the darkness.

Tang San sniffled, wiped his face, and quietly edged over to Oscar.

He lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear. "Oscar, give me one of your Flying Mushrooms."

Oscar's hands paused. "What are you going to do?"

Tang San's gaze was resolute, but he lowered his voice even further. "I'm going to save Xiao Wu."

"You can't go. We've already lost Xiao Wu. We can't lose you too."

Every word sounded noble, as though Oscar had Tang San's best interests at heart.

But Oscar knew perfectly well.

Tang San wasn't going to save Xiao Wu. He was going to seek out his own lucky break.

Tang San's gaze had already dropped to the ground.

Beside a tree root lay a mushroom. No one knew when it had fallen there. Mud and bits of leaves clung to it; the Titan Giant Ape must have knocked it away earlier.

Tang San bent down, snatched the mushroom from the dirt, and stuffed it into his mouth, mud and all.

The mushroom dissolved as soon as it touched his tongue. Pale golden light spread from within him, and six transparent wings unfurled from his back. Thin as cicada wings, they glimmered faintly in the moonlight.

The wings fluttered once, lifting him off the ground.

Ma Hongjun reacted first, urgency in his voice. "Tang San! What are you doing?"

Tang San hovered in midair, looking down at the others. Tear tracks still marked his face.

But his eyes were full of resolve. He clenched his fists and said to them,

"I'm sorry, everyone. Something's happened to Xiao Wu. I have to save her."

"If Xiao Wu doesn't come back, neither will I."

With that, he beat his wings hard and became a streak of golden light shooting into the depths of the forest. Fast as an arrow loosed from a bow, he swept over the treetops in the blink of an eye and vanished into the night.

The others stood by the campfire, watching the streak of light disappear into the distant sky.

Their thoughts were remarkably alike.

And what was that about not coming back if Xiao Wu didn't?

Who the hell are you trying to fool?

Zhao Wuji slammed a fist into the ground.

"Tang San, where are you going?"

Anger burned in his voice.

"First Xiao Wu disappears, and now you run off too! What the hell is going on?"

He struck the ground again, as though those blows could vent his frustration.

But what he was actually thinking was,

Damn it! I let my guard down for one second, and Tang San got away to chase his lucky break.

Fuck!

Like he deserves it!

Flender had already risen to his feet.

He brushed the dust from his clothes.

"Oscar, I didn't expect that Flying Mushroom of yours to be so fast."

"I'll bring Tang San back. Wait here, and don't wander off."

As he spoke, seven Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet, and a pair of broad wings emerged from his shoulder blades.

Their gray-brown feathers resembled an owl's.

With one beat, they stirred a faint vortex in the air.

He sprang upward like a gray shadow and vanished above the treetops in the blink of an eye.

Tang San flew through the air, his Six Transparent Wings spread steady in the night wind as they carried him through moonlight and past one rolling canopy of trees after another.

His gaze kept sweeping the forest floor below.

The map from his previous life had unfolded in his mind.

Following his memories of that life, he searched for the route, matching his position to the stream and that stretch of woodland. His heart beat faster. The Eight Spider Lances were almost within reach.

Just then, a hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar.

Its grip was like an iron vise.

Tang San whipped his head around. A face behind gold-rimmed glasses hovered just behind him, and gray-brown wings spread in the moonlight, far wider than his entire body.

Flender looked down at him. "Tang San, where are you going?"

Held by the back of his collar, Tang San looked like a sparrow lifted by its wings. He struggled twice, his wings still flapping, but his body had already turned with Flender.

"Xiao Wu was taken! I have to save her!"

Flender did not let go. "We've already lost Xiao Wu. We can't lose you too."

He tilted his wings and carried Tang San back toward the campfire.

"Hey—" Tang San tried to speak again, but Flender tightened his grip and pressed him back down as he started to rise.

His wings flapped twice, but they were useless against Flender.

Within moments, Flender landed with Tang San in his grip.

He let go. Tang San's feet touched the ground, and he stumbled before finding his balance. The transparent wings on his back gradually faded; the spirit skill's duration had ended.

Flender withdrew his wings and pushed up his glasses.

"You cannot leave this place."

"Once we find a suitable Spirit Ring for Ye Lin, we're leaving the forest immediately."

"You are not going anywhere."

Tang San said urgently, "No! I have to bring Xiao Wu back! You can stop me now, but you can't stop me forever. If I can't fly there, I'll crawl!"

Before he could finish, Flender raised a hand and jerked his chin toward Shao Xin.

Shao Xin stepped out from the group and lifted a hand. One black and one white chess piece flew from his fingers, arcing through the air to land precisely on either side of Tang San.

The instant they hit the ground, black and white light flared together. Like two invisible ropes, they wrapped around Tang San's arms and legs, tightening until his entire body was held rigid.

Tang San struggled for only an instant before freezing in place. Then he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.

His face pressed into fallen leaves and dirt, his limbs pinned so firmly by the chess pieces that he could not move.

Tang San lay facedown, eyes wide and chest rising and falling. Aside from breathing and blinking, he could not even turn his neck.

In that instant, his thoughts began to roar.

Ahhh! Let me go! I have to get out of here! My lucky break!

One of the most important lucky breaks of my life!

If I miss it this time, I'll never get it back!

My Eight Spider Lances! My External Soul Bone!