Running for Their Lives

Dongfang Wanyu returned with an armful of fruit, only to find that the person who had been sleeping on the bedding was gone. "Miss, have you seen my ninth brother?"

Mu Qing's eyes were swollen like grapes. She shook her head. "I'm not sure. When I looked earlier, he was still asleep. I don't know what happened after that."

Dongfang Wanyu went over to inspect the rumpled bedding. The bundle and everything else were still there. Only its owner was missing.

"Strange."

If she had meant to leave, she would certainly have packed her things. Given how Dongfang Minghui treasured that bundle, she would never have left it lying around so carelessly.

It did not look as though she had left of her own accord.

Dongfang Minghui followed the Lightning Mouse, marking a tree whenever they reached a new spot. Whenever she stopped, the Lightning Mouse sat down and waited without urging her on.

The girl and the little creature traveled one behind the other for most of the day.

East Minghui watched the trees grow increasingly lush. On trunks so thick that it would take five people to encircle them, she could make out several little figures. They seemed to be playing hide-and-seek, poking out a head here or a large tail there. Whenever they noticed her looking, they immediately concealed themselves behind leaves.

The farther she went, the more she saw. Every tree held dozens, even hundreds, of them, all gazing at her adorably with their round little eyes.

"Why are there so many?"

Dongfang Minghui suddenly had a bad feeling. Had she wandered into the Lightning Mice's den?

Seeing her stop again, the Lightning Mouse sat on the ground and gazed at her with a adorably vacant look, seemingly puzzled that she was no longer carving marks into the trees.

The girl and the little creature stared at each other.

Around them, other Lightning Mice occasionally grabbed thick, long branches and swung through the air.

In the end, Dongfang Minghui gave in. She bolstered her courage. "Well, I'm already here. Let's see what this little fellow wants."

Farther ahead, she saw vivid purple flowers blooming across the ground. She did not dare approach to examine them, afraid these beautiful blossoms might be the poisonous flowers The Female Lead had mentioned.

"Why have they all followed us?" Dongfang Minghui looked back to find a large crowd of Lightning Mice behind her. She had no idea when they had joined them. They held their forepaws against their chests and stood on their hind legs like people, their thick, long tails curled into flower shapes. They were not shy around strangers at all.

When Dongfang Minghui stopped, they all stopped too, looking adorably clueless. Every so often, they scratched their bellies or flicked their tails out and back, amusing themselves with all sorts of tricks.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak." When the Lightning Mouse that had brought Dongfang Minghui saw that she had stopped walking, the little creature flicked its tail, wrapped it around her wrist, and gave a gentle tug.

The meaning was clear: they still had farther to go.

Only when they reached the entrance to a large cave did the Lightning Mouse stop.

Outside the cave, Dongfang Minghui saw an enormous animal several times her size. A horn grew from its forehead. It looked somewhat like an ox, but not quite, and lay motionless on the ground.

She stared blankly at the Lightning Mouse before her, utterly baffled as to why the little creature had brought her to see an animal.

Before her question could be answered, she saw several Lightning Mice brazenly leap onto the animal. With swift slashes of their sharp claws, they cut off several chunks of meat and tossed them in front of her.

"Ah!"

The smell of blood immediately spread through the confined space. The animal on the ground still showed no reaction. Clearly, it had been dead for some time.

The Lightning Mice behind them kept slicing away. Before long, they had stripped all the flesh from the animal, leaving a bare skeleton.

The Lightning Mouse brought the meat before Dongfang Minghui, scratched the soft fur on its belly with its forepaws, then patted it.

"What do you mean?"

The Lightning Mouse scratched its head with its forepaws, then scratched and patted its belly again.

Dongfang Minghui was stunned. Only after they repeated the gestures several times did she understand: they had brought her here to be their cook. For a moment, she felt an entire stampede of profanity charging through her mind.

With practiced ease, Dongfang Minghui lit a fire, set up a rack, and skewered the meat on branches to roast it. Perhaps because they had sliced the meat so thinly, it cooked in no time.

The aroma spread everywhere. Although the heavy smell of blood still lingered, she doubted these creatures, who had always eaten raw meat, would be particularly fussy.

Every pair of beady eyes was fixed on the meat in her hands. Dongfang Minghui genuinely worried that they might rush over and skin her alive too.

"Here."

Dongfang Minghui threaded all the slices onto a branch and gave it to the Lightning Mouse that had brought her. From what had happened, she had begun to figure things out. Was this greediest little mouse the leader of the group?

The Lightning Mouse revealed a row of sharp teeth and devoured the slices in just a few bites. After finishing, the little creature stared at Dongfang Minghui, still hungry for more.

The meaning needed no explanation.

Resigned to her fate, Dongfang Minghui roasted all the meat. After working hard for most of the day, she had fed the little creatures until they waddled around with bulging bellies. Meanwhile, she was covered in soot and grime, her arms so sore she could barely lift them.

Elsewhere, Dongfang Wanyu had searched for most of the day without finding any trace of Dongfang Minghui, leaving her filled with conflicting emotions.

At noon, she packed the bundle and slung it over her back. Leaning against a tree trunk, she took out a flatbread to stave off her hunger.

Seeing her grim expression, Mu Qing tried to comfort her. "Miss, perhaps your ninth brother had something to do and left first. It might not be what you think."

Dongfang Wanyu glanced at her with a smile. "She has hands and feet. She'll come back on her own." She had examined the surroundings and found nothing amiss. Perhaps that, too, was good news.

"Miss, don't—"

"Shh!"

Dongfang Wanyu lay down and pressed her ear to the ground. After listening for a moment, her expression changed drastically. "Go, now! A huge swarm of Ironclad Beetles is heading this way."

Mu Qing looked startled at first, then delighted. "The Ironclad Beetles are coming? Does that mean Big Brother and the others succeeded? Then my fifth brother can definitely be saved!"

"I don't know whether he can be saved, but I'm certain you'll die too if you don't leave now." Dongfang Wanyu helped her support the injured man, her voice sharp with exasperation. "Hurry up and pack! Do you want the swarm to come and chew everyone down to bare bones?"

Mu Qing froze, then lowered her head in shame and hurried to pack. Just then, Zhao Sanqi unexpectedly appeared, covered in blood.

"Big Brother, you're back!" Mu Qing said happily.

Zhao Sanqi held a live female Ironclad Beetle in his hand. His eyes were red, and his voice choked as he spoke. "Hurry! The swarm is about to catch up!"

Seeing that he had returned alone, Dongfang Wanyu knew something had gone wrong, but she could not be bothered to ask why.

As Mu Qing packed, she asked, "Big Brother, where are the others?"

Zhao Sanqi covered his face. His voice was terribly hoarse, but he haltingly recounted what had happened. "They're all gone. Third Brother... he ignored me and stole the Ironclad Beetle King's eggs. The entire colony came pouring out. Fourth Brother, too—"

Mu Qing's hands suddenly stopped packing. She stared at Zhao Sanqi in disbelief, her lips trembling. "Big Brother."

Seeing them still hesitate, Dongfang Wanyu roared, "Enough! How much longer are you going to dawdle? Talk after we've escaped with our lives! Don't forget you still have someone to save!"

Neither dared say another word. They gathered their things and ran, taking their unconscious fifth brother with them.

They had barely left when an overwhelming tide of Ironclad Beetles swept through behind them. Like a swarm of locusts, they left nothing wherever they passed.

As the Ironclad Beetles drew close, Dongfang Wanyu handed their fifth brother straight back to the two of them. "You go ahead."

To them, this act of loyalty was undoubtedly a lifeline in their hour of peril.

Dongfang Wanyu was soon surrounded by Ironclad Beetles. Wave after wave surged toward her, and no matter how many she killed, there seemed to be no end to them.

With no other choice, she draped the clothes Dongfang Minghui had worn the day before over herself. The odor of Corpse-Stench Grass drove away a large swath of Ironclad Beetles.

Perhaps it was just as Zhao Sanqi had said: the theft of the Ironclad Beetle King's eggs had enraged them beyond measure. A great mass of fearless Ironclad Beetles continued to swarm toward her.

"Tsk, tsk. What a sorry sight."

Just as Dongfang Wanyu was at a loss, that cool voice sounded in her mind again.

Dongfang Wanyu gritted her teeth in anger. "If I die, your plans will go nowhere. Go ahead and laugh."

"If even feeble creatures like Ironclad Beetles can kill you, I'd say you truly need some training here in the Purple Demon Mountains."

Dongfang Wanyu knew that perfectly well. She desperately needed to hone her abilities. Before, she had been unable to act freely because Dongfang Minghui was with her.

"Enough nonsense. Is there another way to counter the Ironclad Beetles?"

Dongfang Wanyu lashed out with her long whip, sweeping away dozens of Ironclad Beetles trying to crawl toward her.

"Of course there is, but—"

"Ahhh! Help! Get out of the way! Move!"

A figure suddenly burst in, arms over her head as she scrambled about, charging frantically toward Dongfang Wanyu as though her backside were on fire. Behind her—no, across the entire sky—a dense black mass came in pursuit.

"Help!"

Dongfang Minghui did not even notice Dongfang Wanyu. Covered in dirt and desperate to escape, she had kept darting into dense woodland. Somehow, she had run straight into Ironclad Beetle territory, and now the beetles were everywhere. Out of the frying pan and into the fire: she had Ironclad Beetles ahead of her and Golden Crows behind.

Either way, she was dead. Dongfang Minghui closed her eyes and charged straight ahead, moving swiftly and nimbly. There was no denying that, in the face of death, human potential knew no bounds.

As she ran, the great flock of Golden Crows behind her spat wind blades. One struck and cut a tree clean through. Another hit, blasting a crater in the ground.

It was easy to imagine what would happen if one of those wind blades struck a person.

Dongfang Wanyu witnessed a miracle. As Dongfang Minghui charged toward her, the swarm of Ironclad Beetles around her scattered, each fleeing at astonishing speed, as though they had encountered something far more terrifying than Corpse-Stench Grass. Those a little too slow were smashed to pieces in great swaths.

The extraordinary sight left Dongfang Wanyu unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Help—"

"Ahhh!"

Dongfang Minghui suddenly rose into the air. Scared half to death, she thought a Golden Crow had caught her.

"Shut up."

Dongfang Wanyu grabbed her by the back of her collar and fled through the air at tremendous speed. "I haven't seen you for half a day. Where did you go? How did you provoke so many magical beasts?"

Realizing it was The Female Lead, Dongfang Minghui knew she was safe now and breathed a sigh of relief. Her throat was hoarse and even seemed to hurt a little. She licked her parched lips. "I don't know how I provoked them either."

"She has the scent of a Golden Crow Bird Egg on her. Make her throw it away, quickly. Otherwise, you'll have escaped the Ironclad Beetles only to become the target of a flock of Golden Crows. Even if you survive, you'll be half crippled," the cool voice in Dongfang Wanyu's mind warned.

Dongfang Wanyu immediately said, "Do you have a Golden Crow Bird Egg on you? Throw it away! Otherwise, these Golden Crows will keep following us."

"What egg? I didn't take—ah!" A possibility suddenly struck Dongfang Minghui. She searched herself and took out a stone no larger than her palm. "This?"

Heavens, all that suffering had been because of this stone? But no matter how she looked at it, it did not look like an egg!

"What are you staring at? They're catching up! Throw it away!"

Dongfang Minghui hurled the stone toward the flock of Golden Crows with every ounce of strength she had. Sure enough, when they saw the egg, one of the Golden Crows opened its beak and caught it. The flock stopped midway and no longer pursued her.

Dongfang Minghui patted her chest. She had nearly run herself breathless trying to escape. If The Female Lead had not appeared, she would surely have become food in those birds' beaks by now.

"Seventh Sister, how did you know that was a bird egg?"