"Third brother, watch out! Get down!" Xue Qinghe shouted anxiously.
"Third Prince, you're too big a target up in the sky!" Dugu Yan shouted.
In a Soul Beast forest, unless one had absolute confidence in one's strength, one must never take flight rashly!
Doing so would expose one directly to every predator in the surrounding area!
"General Ge Long has stopped all the Soul Beasts. Here..."
Before the Third Prince could finish, a terrifying presence suddenly bore down on them. Everyone's vision went black. When they could see again, a gigantic owl covered in pitch-black feathers had caught the airborne Third Prince in its jaws, half his body inside its mouth.
"Third brother!"
"Third Prince!"
Xue Qinghe was just about to move to save him when the enormous black owl flew away with its prey. Within just a few breaths, it vanished completely into the night.
Everyone watched with ashen faces, and quite a few were frightened to tears on the spot.
"The Third Prince..."
"First Prince!"
A pitch-black figure rapidly approached from afar, six Soul Rings flashing around him.
"Teacher Zhang Yunqing, a Night Shadow Cat Owl carried third brother away!" Xue Qinghe anxiously pointed in the direction the Night Shadow Cat Owl had flown.
It was a notorious bird of prey in Sunset Forest!
It hunted exclusively at night!
"What?!" Zhang Yunqing's expression changed. Possessing the Black Panther Martial Soul, he had been brought into the forest in advance by Ge Long and had arrived early.
"Leave this place first. I'll go save the Third Prince!"
With that, the black figure darted through the forest at high speed, soon disappearing from everyone's sight.
Coming back to their senses, the others resumed their flight. With the distant firelight to guide them, however, they no longer had to scurry around aimlessly as before.
"Wait, where's Baers?" Xue Qinghe suddenly asked.
"I don't know. I didn't see him earlier either. Maybe he got lost," said one of the princes running ahead.
"No, I have to go back and find him." Xue Qinghe stopped.
"What?!" Several princes stopped when they heard this.
"First Prince, don't act rashly! It's so dangerous in there right now. Even if you go back, you might not find Baers."
"Exactly. Besides, whether Baers is even still alive..."
"You withdraw first," Xue Qinghe said.
"Yanzi, you have experience in the forest. Lead them out."
"First Prince, it's too dangerous!" Dugu Yan urged.
"I know, but third brother is already in danger. I can't let anything happen to Baers too," Xue Qinghe said gravely.
"Get out first. The Soul Masters coming to rescue us should be nearby."
"First Prince, this..."
"There's no need to say any more," Xue Qinghe interrupted.
"Everyone, make sure you get back safely!"
Deeply conflicted, Dugu Yan nodded. "I'll lead them out."
"I'm going too," Xuan Ming said.
"What?!" Dugu Yan's expression changed.
"No!"
"I'm off." Giving Dugu Yan no chance to stop him, Xuan Ming placed the terrified, stupefied Ye Lingling into her arms and followed Xue Qinghe, running back the way they had come.
"Xuan Ming!" Dugu Yan instinctively moved to chase after him, but looking at the deathly pale Ye Lingling trembling all over before her, she could only give up.
"Follow me!"
"What the hell? Why is there another wave?"
Snake Lance Douluo, who had driven out the ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts and was hiding in the shadows, was somewhat baffled.
He had only driven out one wave of ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts. Why had another wave of thousand-year Soul Beasts appeared?
"Who's there!"
Snake Lance Douluo barked, instinctively summoning his Martial Soul.
"Relax. It's me." Clad in golden armor, Yue Guan emerged from the dense woods.
Snake Lance Douluo froze. "Yue Guan? What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Yue Guan said, speechless.
"And what are you up to?"
He had only intended to drive over a wave of thousand-year Soul Beasts to create chaos and find an opportunity to snatch the boy away. After all, Xue Qinghe was here too. It would be disastrous if an accident happened to him.
Yet as he was driving them along, several ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts had suddenly appeared!
Following them back to their source, he had discovered that She Long was behind it.
"I'm carrying out the young mistress's plan," Snake Lance Douluo said.
"What about you? Why did you come here instead of staying in Spirit City?"
"To carry out the Pope's assignment, of course," Yue Guan said.
"You're... planning to use this autumn hunt to kill another prince?"
"Yes." Snake Lance Douluo withdrew his Martial Soul.
"You're just dealing with a little Soul Master in his teens in level. Did you have to make such a huge commotion?" Yue Guan looked utterly speechless.
"With so many ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts, can you bear the responsibility if something goes wrong?"
If anything happened to Qian Renxue, wouldn't Qian Daoliu chop She Long into mincemeat?!
"This was all arranged by the young mistress, and I've kept things within bounds," Snake Lance Douluo said.
Qian Renxue planned to have Ge Long serve as a witness. A mere handful of thousand-year Soul Beasts would never hold that fellow back.
Only several ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts could keep Ge Long from breaking away. Ideally, he would also be severely wounded and have to be rescued.
If even Ge Long ended up like that, the death of a prince would not seem so unexpected.
He simply hadn't expected the Third Prince to be so foolish as to dare fly in a Soul Beast forest, only to be snatched away by a Night Shadow Cat Owl.
That was just as well. It saved him from having to strike in secret.
"And who's this?" Yue Guan looked questioningly at the unconscious Baers in Snake Lance Douluo's hand.
"A prince of the Balak Kingdom," Snake Lance Douluo said.
"A prince?" Yue Guan raised an eyebrow.
"Did he offend you?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Snake Lance Douluo no longer wanted to bother with Yue Guan.
Qian Renxue did not want word of Xuan Ming reaching the Pope's Palace. Otherwise, what if the Pope wanted to snatch him away?
Chapter 33: First Soul Skill, Thunderstorm
"Could you stop standing here?"
Noticing Xue Qinghe approaching with Xuan Ming, Snake Lance Douluo began trying to send Yue Guan away.
"Why can't I stand here?" Yue Guan countered.
When the herd of Soul Beasts had charged over earlier, he had noticed that the boy with the strange domain was close to Xue Qinghe.
Barring anything unexpected, Qian Renxue had set her sights on that boy.
But Bibi Dong had already said she wanted to see him alive, or see his corpse if he was dead.
He had to snatch that boy away today!
"What exactly are you trying to do?" Snake Lance Douluo was growing worried.
Could Yue Guan have already discovered that boy Xuan Ming?
"What business is it of yours?" Yue Guan gave a light snort and leaned against a nearby tree.
The Third Prince of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had been carried away by a Night Shadow Cat Owl, his chances of survival slim. Instead of making certain he was dead, She Long had picked up this prince of Balak and was waiting here for someone.
Something was definitely wrong!
She Long was no match for him. Plenty of people from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had already entered the forest, and Qian Renxue could not possibly expose her identity for that boy.
He was taking the boy, no matter what!
"Are you here to snatch him away?" Snake Lance Douluo gave up trading riddles with Yue Guan.
They had to make things clear. Otherwise, if they really came to blows later, they would be in serious trouble.
"It's not me who wants him. It's the Pope," Yue Guan said.
"The Pope?" Snake Lance Douluo froze.
"I clearly had Salas suppress the news. How could the Pope know?"
Ever since the incident on the street that day, Xue Qinghe had used the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's power to suppress information about Xuan Ming. As for Spirit Hall, he had also spoken to Salas. There was no way the news could have reached Spirit City!
"Xue Qinghe seems pretty close to him, doesn't he? Didn't that boy tell you?" Yue Guan asked in puzzlement.
The corner of Snake Lance Douluo's eye twitched. "Don't tell me this has something to do with you?"
Dugu Yan had only told Xue Qinghe that Xuan Ming had met Dugu Bo after escaping from human traffickers. As for what happened afterward, Dugu Yan had not spelled it out.
"In any case, I had my eye on that boy first," Yue Guan said.
"If I don't bring him back, I can't report the completion of my mission to the Pope."
"But the young mistress has already made up her mind to win him over," Snake Lance Douluo said.
"That's not my concern." Yue Guan shrugged.
"His Holiness the Pope said she wants to see him alive, or see his corpse if he's dead."
"Either let me take him away, or let me kill him."
Snake Lance Douluo looked toward Xue Qinghe and Xuan Ming, who were not far away. "But the young mistress..."
"She Long, we've known each other for decades. I'm sure you understand my current circumstances," Yue Guan said.
After Qian Xunji's death, he and Gui Mei had already ended up on Qian Daoliu's blacklist. Had they not thrown their lot in with Bibi Dong, Qian Daoliu would long since have sent them both to accompany Qian Xunji in death.
In this matter, even if the boy had been in Dugu Bo's hands and Yue Guan could not take him immediately, he could have returned to Spirit City to report the situation and devise another plan.
But with Qian Renxue involved, he had to take the boy away!
Otherwise, if Bibi Dong came to believe he had divided loyalties and was still thinking of leaning toward Qian Daoliu, he would be finished!
"..."
Seeing Yue Guan's refusal to yield an inch, Snake Lance Douluo fell silent.
He was no match for Yue Guan. Moreover, if Yue Guan truly intended to snatch the boy, he could not even fight him!
Rescuers from the autumn hunting party had already entered the forest. If he fought Yue Guan and drew those people over, tonight's events would become complicated.
"Hide off to the side first. Once we've finished our business, you can make your move," Snake Lance Douluo said.
"Much appreciated." Without another word, Yue Guan withdrew straight into the dense woods.
Snake Lance Douluo sighed and pulled up his black robe, covering himself completely.
At the same time, Xue Qinghe came running over with Xuan Ming.