Zhu Zhuqing's face went deathly pale.
She knew that sound all too well.
Not far away, trees snapped with a crash. A ghastly white figure, even more burly than the corpse from earlier, crushed every obstacle like a runaway locomotive and burst into view.
Over three meters tall, it had eyes that had once been brown but were now blood-red, fixed on the female ape's corpse on the ground. Its thick forelimbs dug deep into the earth, each swipe plowing five furrows through the soil.
A male Wind Ape, with two thousand years of cultivation judging by its size.
But it seemed to be a mutant as well, and its strength should be even greater than the female's.
The male Wind Ape threw back its head and let out a long, anguished howl. Its thick fists pounded the ground madly, sending dirt flying and smashing out a deep crater.
Those blood-red eyes abruptly rose, locking onto Zhu Zhuqing like searchlights from hell.
Killing intent swept over her, blotting out heaven and earth. Zhu Zhuqing felt as though her entire body had plunged into an ice cellar, her blood almost freezing.
This was bad!
Her Nether Civet Martial Soul instantly possessed her. Soul Power erupted, and she instinctively dodged backward.
But she was too late.
The berserk Wind Ape was nearly twice as fast as the previous one.
Its massive body barred her way, and its enormous palm swept toward her with the force of toppling mountains and overturning seas.
Bang!!!
A dull impact rang out beside Zhu Zhuqing's eardrums.
Although the blow did not strike her head-on, the force it carried hurled Zhu Zhuqing bodily through the air.
Zhu Zhuqing's vision went black, and a hot, metallic sweetness surged into her throat.
"What's going on?!"
After hearing the tremendous commotion outside, Jiang Che poked his little head out of the cave to see what was happening.
A black shadow came hurtling toward him like a cannonball.
Jiang Che recognized that shadow. It was Zhu Zhuqing, who should have left.
Several Blue Silver Vines instantly sprouted from the ground, forming layers of spiderwebs that caught Zhu Zhuqing securely.
Jiang Che looked down at Zhu Zhuqing on the ground. Her face was pale as paper, and blood kept spilling from the corner of her mouth as she murmured, "Quick... run!"
"What?"
Jiang Che looked up and met the enormous scarlet eyes in the distance, filled with towering fury.
Roar!
The Wind Ape hammered its chest madly. It opened its bloody maw, and a ball of red light rapidly took shape in its throat.
Jiang Che knew this attack all too well. The previous Wind Ape's version had already made him suffer considerably.
The deadly threat was only a breath away.
Jiang Che scooped up the barely conscious Zhu Zhuqing, his Soul Power erupting like boiling water.
"Flight!"
With no time to think, he shot upward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Behind him, the ball of red light rapidly swelled.
Through her blurred vision, Zhu Zhuqing saw the woods racing backward. Heaven and earth were shaking, and the red light behind them was closing in at an unstoppable speed, its crimson radiance engulfing everything.
The boy she had regarded as an enemy and a disgrace not long ago was now holding her as he raced through this desperate situation. An indescribable feeling quietly took root in her heart.
Jiang Che circulated his Soul Power at full strength, racing toward the valley ahead.
The valley ahead was filled with jagged rocks that could effectively block the Wind Ape's attacks. Even if it pursued them, its massive size would make running through the valley difficult.
At last, Jiang Che charged into the valley of jagged rocks.
Boom!
Just as Jiang Che rushed into the valley with Zhu Zhuqing, a streak of red light shot in from behind and exploded with a thunderous crash!
The deafening blast nearly tore their eardrums apart.
Violent shock waves swept up chunks of rock and instantly engulfed the entire valley. Jiang Che had still underestimated this Wind Ape's true strength.
Jiang Che stopped, first forming a semicircle of Blue Silver Vines around Zhu Zhuqing, then covering both her and himself with a Qi Condensation Shield.
Once the aftershocks had completely dissipated, Jiang Che dared not hesitate and immediately used his flight skill.
In the distance, the Wind Ape was smashing through rocks, its eyes scarlet as it charged toward them.
Taking advantage of his flight skill, Jiang Che wove nimbly through the valley's jagged rocks and finally put some distance between himself and the Wind Ape.
Jiang Che dared not let up in the slightest as he raced toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Che felt that little Soul Power remained in his body. Only then did he stop and gently set the unconscious Zhu Zhuqing down.
He scanned their surroundings warily. After confirming they were safe for the moment, Jiang Che began examining Zhu Zhuqing's injuries.
There was a long gash on her back, perhaps sustained during the encounter with the Wind Ape, and blood was seeping from it.
Although she had bruises of various sizes elsewhere, none were serious.
Only the wound on her back could threaten her life if it was not treated promptly.
Jiang Che had no choice. In his current state, he had no spare Soul Power to help heal the wound on Zhu Zhuqing's back.
"Looks like I'll have to do it myself!"
"I'm not doing this on purpose. This is purely to help treat your wound."
Then Jiang Che controlled the Blue Silver Vines, enclosing the two of them.
Jiang Che took a deep breath and removed Zhu Zhuqing's clothes.
He then took some medicinal herbs for treating wounds out of the System Space.
After treating Zhu Zhuqing's wound, Jiang Che tore his gaze away with difficulty and dressed her fully again. Only then did he inwardly breathe a sigh of relief.
Although humans on the Douluo Continent developed quickly and were almost fully developed by twelve, Jiang Che still had the mindset of his previous life, after all, and dared not entertain any improper intentions toward Zhu Zhuqing, who had only just turned twelve.
Speaking of which, the Tang God King and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Hooligan Rabbit had to be mentioned.
One was a transmigrator, and the other had transformed into a human after a hundred thousand years. Both were there pretending to be young.
What was more, Tang San had not initially known Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast. They had shared a bed from the very beginning, when Tang San's soul was already that of an adult.
Only then did Jiang Che breathe a sigh of relief. He placed some Blue Silver Grass around them to serve as a warning system, then settled down to meditate and recover his Soul Power.
Zhu Zhuqing gradually regained consciousness.
It was quiet around her, with only the soft crackling of a campfire, the chirping of insects nearby, and a faint, toasted aroma of grilled fish.
She had not eaten a proper meal in all this time. Now, smelling that mouthwatering aroma, Zhu Zhuqing's stomach began growling uncontrollably.
Suddenly, she remembered something and snapped her eyes open.
Beyond the firelight stood a figure both familiar and unfamiliar.
The figure was focused on grilling fish, his posture casual. It was Jiang Che.
Zhu Zhuqing felt a little dazed, but she soon noticed something was wrong.
That sense of wrongness had already been there before she lost consciousness.
Too light!
Zhu Zhuqing instinctively reached for her abdomen. It was soft!
She froze as though struck by lightning, her face like a ripe apple, her usual cold aloofness utterly gone.
She finally knew where that uncomfortable feeling in the cave before she lost consciousness had come from. Her inner armor was gone, but that was not even the most important thing.
Most importantly, the black bandeau that had originally wrapped her chest was gone, replaced by a layer of clean white cloth.
"Ahhh!"
Her scream tore through the night sky, and even the surrounding insects fell completely silent.
Jiang Che nearly lost his grip on the grilled fish.
Jiang Che looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who resembled a startled kitten, and asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
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