"Roar..." Faintly, from somewhere beyond the heavenly fire, wind, and thunder, the cry of a Light Beast carried over and rang directly in Xiao Hua's ears. Xiao Hua was overjoyed. The Heavenly Steed was headed precisely toward the source of the sound; if all went well, he would see the Light Beast in no time.
Yet at that very moment, the Heavenly Steed abruptly stopped. Its previously flapping light-feathers and galloping hooves both drew in, and even the dancing radiance around it gradually receded.
"Why aren't you going any farther?" Xiao Hua was greatly bewildered. He sat down and patted the Heavenly Steed's head. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Steed gave several low cries and snorted a few times. Its light-feathers had already folded against its body, and its four hooves merely stamped in place, refusing to fly forward even a single step.
"Could it be that the Heavenly Steed is afraid of the Light Beast?" Xiao Hua looked into the distance suspiciously, but immediately dismissed the thought. The last time, although the Heavenly Steed had kept some distance from the Light Beast, it had been quite intimate with the Light Cub. They had only been apart for a few days; surely they would not have become strangers?
"Ah..." A thought suddenly flashed through Xiao Hua's mind. "Damn it, could this Light Beast be testing this Xiao? That old thing..."
Looking at the fierce heavenly fire, wind, and thunder around him—the cast-iron heavenly wind howling mournfully, the snake-like threads of fire darting out from time to time, and the flood-dragon-like lightning crashing down with a "crack"—Xiao Hua pinched his chin and fell into deep thought.
If the contents of Xiao Hua's thoughts were spoken aloud now, even the Light Beast would probably laugh itself into a tumble in midair! Because... Xiao Hua