Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

While the nine-tailed beast was still not fully awake and made no move.

With a burst of energy, Chai Xiaomi sprinted towards the pile of dead leaves that bulged at its front paws.

The closer you get, the more insignificant you feel.

The shadow of the behemoth hung like a cloud from the sky, dragging the entire land into a deep pool.

Chai Xiaomi's legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the edge of the pile of dead leaves. Before she could even think, her hand reached out and firmly grasped the wrinkled little hand that peeked out from between the leaves.

That little hand wasn't as soft and supple as a normal baby's; instead, it was cold and stiff...

He was still trembling uncontrollably.

Chai Xiaomi wrapped her little hands even tighter, trying to warm them with her own body heat.

In the ghost infant's numb, white pupils, the thick, fog-like resentment suddenly dissipated, and from the depths of the darkness, a faint light struggled to emerge, giving it a glimmer of life.

It felt the leaves on its body frantically being pushed aside.

Then a pale, tense face covered in fine sweat came into its view.

She looked very scared.

But her eyes, like twinkling stars, were bright and radiant, revealing determination and courage.

"Little Ba, don't be afraid! Mother is here to take you home."

Xiao Ba...

So its name is Xiao Ba...

sounds so good.

It was going to tell the mountain sparrow spirit that stood on the treetop every day mocking it, to tell the two noisy toads by the stream, and to tell all the creatures that had ever glanced at it with pity or disgust.

It has a name! Its name is Xiao Ba!

Did you all see that? Its mother has come to pick it up!

It is no longer an unwanted wild child!

The surrounding light was quickly swallowed up, and a powerful demonic aura, carrying withered leaves and dust, swept everything away like a tornado with destructive force.

Chai Xiaomi pulled Xiao Ba into her arms. The strong airflow made it impossible for her to open her eyes. Her face was stinging from the various sand and gravel fragments that were swirling up. She could only squint and open her eyes slightly, but the stinging pain made her tears flow.

Through her blurry vision, she vaguely saw the enormous creature in front of her suddenly raise its front paws and press down on her head!

She was caught in the wind, with nowhere to escape, so she could only hunch over, crawl and curl up, protecting Xiao Ba tightly beneath her.

A buzzing sound exploded in my head, sharp as countless fingernails scraping against my bones.

Just as the sharp claws were about to touch the tip of her hair—

A clear, crisp voice pierced through the raging storm and the piercing ringing in the ears, echoing from afar:

"Put your claws back, prepare to die."

Her tone was languid, with a rising tone at the end, clean and clear like a secluded valley, as if a mountain spring flowed into her ears and resonated with her heartbeat.

In an instant, nine arrows shot out of the air, piercing through the powerful wind.

With tremendous force, it rammed eight of the nine-tailed beast's tails into the ground!

The other arrow, however, was aimed at its forepaws.

The huge claw stiffened abruptly in pain, stopping just above Chai Xiaomi.

A familiar, faint, and refreshing scent suddenly enveloped the area, unlike the fishy smell of the mountains; it was clean and free of impurities.

Chai Xiaomi felt a strong, powerful arm encircle her waist, easily scooping her up along with Xiao Ba in his arms and pulling her into a broad embrace.

She looked up in a daze.

The boy's lowered eyes were close at hand, and deep within his heterochromatic pupils, a faint, almost invisible flame seemed to be hidden.

"How incredibly stupid! Instead of running away from the monster, you went right up to it just to grab this ugly doll. The vengeful spirit won't get crushed by the monster, but you'll be turned into mincemeat!"

His gaze swept lightly over her face, which was scratched and bleeding from the gravel, and his voice was as cold as ice.

I really want to crack open your head and see if it's filled with an ocean.

Wu Li cursed as he lifted her into the air.

At the same time, he used his palms to tightly protect the girl's face from the dry branches and sand swept by the wind.

He remained completely unaware as sharp stones cut long, thin gashes into the back of his hand.

Wu Li led the people to a bare boulder at the highest point of the steep slope and put down the two "troublemakers," one big and one small, that he was carrying.

Fearing he might say something even more hurtful, Chai Xiaomi instinctively covered Xiao Ba's ears.

Even though the human traffickers are gone, the show must continue, or all the previous efforts will be in vain.

She could clearly sense the change in Xiao Ba; its eyes, now shining brightly, were filled with undisguised adoration as it looked at Wu Li.

She looked exactly like a daughter looking up to her heroic father.

"Where did you just go?" Chai Xiaomi asked hurriedly.

"I'll hide in the shadows and wait for the moment when its attention is entirely focused on you before I strike."

It turned out that he had already discovered the monster, but instead of warning her, he hid himself well.

Chai Xiaomi felt a lump in her throat, and her face instantly filled with grief and indignation:

"Husband! You actually used me as bait! As expected, husband and wife are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately."

Xiao Ba blinked, looking at his mother who was on the verge of tears, then at his father who had a cold expression, his little face full of worry.

It always felt that its father wasn't the kind of person who would abandon his mother.

But it couldn't speak, and could only look anxiously at Wu Li.

Wu Li glanced at her indifferently. He was truly impressed by her acting skills; she was still putting on an act at this crucial moment: "Have you ever seen a hunter rescue the bait?"

"The nine-tailed beast must be defeated in one blow, and its nine tails must be pinned down in order to suppress its demonic power; otherwise, it will only provoke it to become even more ferocious."

He raised an eyebrow, his voice indifferent: "Just now, trying to use you as 'bait,' I wasted an arrow for nothing, a complete failure. Tell me, how are we going to clean this up now?"

"..." Chai Xiaomi's head drooped slowly. Little did she know he had a backup plan. "It's all your fault! You didn't even tell me before you hid!"

The girl lowered her head, so her expression was not visible, but her voice was muffled, full of anger and a hint of lingering fear.

Clearly, her act of rushing out had exhausted all her courage, so much so that she was only now belatedly feeling the relief of surviving a disaster, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.

Are you only scared now?

He usually seems to be afraid of death.

"How was I supposed to know you'd be so fearless today, charging in without a word, like you'd taken the wrong medicine?" The boy smirked, squatted down, and looked down at the top of her head.

For some reason, I suddenly felt an itch to pinch that bluffing little face.

But the moment he lifted her chin, his movement suddenly stopped.

Those eyes, which were always wide open, were now brimming with tears, like those of a frightened fawn. The rims of her eyes were terribly red, and the tip of her nose was also slightly red, making her look extremely pitiful.

Already terrified, he then proceeded to reprimand her with cold words.

Chai Xiaomi felt incredibly wronged.

"Didn't you just take us flying?" She slightly turned down her lip, trying hard to hold back her tears. "The best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee. Can't we just fly out of here?"

She, as Xiao Ba's "mother," couldn't easily shed tears in front of him.

As if sensing her emotions, Xiao Ba nervously clenched her clothes with her little hands, and the corners of her mouth gradually drooped down.