Unable to find the corpses, the Golden Silk Armadillos grew somewhat agitated. Some were even beside themselves with rage, searching the vicinity for a long while. Several times, they swept past the area where Xiao Hua and the others were concealed. Then, after one of them snarled a few times at another, they scattered like monkeys from a fallen tree. The scolded Golden Silk Armadillo hung its head in dejection and flew at the rear. Yet when that last Golden Silk Armadillo passed near Chen Yi, it suddenly stopped. Its eyes fixed on the direction where Chen Yi's figure was hidden, its nose twitching as though it had discovered something. Hesitantly, it inched toward Chen Yi. As it drew closer, the spirit beast became more and more excited, until at last it began shrieking, "Squeak, squeak!" The other Golden Silk Armadillos, already far away, were drawn by its cries. They stopped, and several even flew back!
"Go!" Zhu Chenghe growled. The four of them revealed themselves at the same time not far from the Golden Silk Armadillos and flew at top speed in one direction. Behind them, Xiao Hua appeared to be slow, yet in truth he did not lag far behind as he took flight as well!
"Squeak, squeak!" The Golden Silk Armadillos froze for a moment, then all flew after Chen Yi and the others in pursuit... Three days later, at the meeting point of three low mountain ranges, in a spot where the vegetation was somewhat lush, everything was abnormally quiet. There were neither birdsong nor insect chirps, not even the sound of wind. The low shrubs were like black wood, dark as iron, while the black weeds had three leaves each, slanting toward the sky and giving off an oppressive heaviness.
The valley floor here was