"Mother..." Dongchi, who had fallen, looked terrified.
Si Yan ran towards Dongchi, but Jie Ling grabbed her.
Si Yan whirled around.
Her gaze had never been so fierce. "Jie Ling, did you do this?"
Jie Ling quickly masked the trace of triumph in her eyes.
She said pitifully, "Brother Si Yan, how could you think it was me? I was just worried you would act impulsively and jump down as well."
"You’re worried about me?" Si Yan laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Jie Ling, don’t think I wouldn’t dare to touch you just because you’re female! Let go!"
She was only somewhat tolerant because Jie Ling was the heroine of this world, not because she was genuinely afraid of her.
Si Yan ripped away the hand clutching her beast-skin skirt and ran towards where Dongchi had fallen.
She frantically scanned the cliffside below and saw Dongchi clinging to a rock that was about to come loose.
"Mother!" Bei Ji cried out. Seeing her about to jump, he could no longer maintain his disguise. He tugged at her anxiously. "Mother, it’s too dangerous! It’s too dangerous! I’ll go with you! Wherever you go, I will follow!"
"Silly child." Si Yan’s heart ached.
Having already lost Nan Mo, her heart had been in turmoil. This time, she couldn’t lose Dongchi as well.
Xi Qing held onto Bei Ji. "Bei Ji, don’t cause trouble for Mother."
Bei Ji was so anxious he was on the verge of tears. "I’m not causing trouble! I’m going to save Big Brother! Mother, don’t go..."
Si Yan paused, then said to Bei Ji and Xi Qing, "Go find Ming Yan; Ming Yan will protect you. Follow Ming Yan to Dark Sun Lake."
Si Yan touched Xi Qing’s small face and said gently, "Xi Qing, Bei Ji is gentle-natured; help Mother take care of him."
Xi Qing looked at her stubbornly. "I know I can’t persuade you, and I also know I can’t be of any help."
Xi Qing shot Jie Ling a brief glance. Turning back, he looked up, his small face serious. "Mother, you have to be careful. You and Big Brother must come back. I will take Bei Ji to Dark Sun Lake; I promise you, I will take care of Bei Ji."
Bei Ji cried, "Mother!!!"
"You must all take good care of yourselves." Having said that, Si Yan no longer hesitated. She fixed her eyes on Dongchi’s location and leaped down.
Dongchi’s grip on the rock began to falter as his strength waned. He transformed into a serpent, intending to wrap his tail around the rock. But just then, a massive black bull charged into the stone, shattering it violently.
Dongchi was terrified, his blood nearly frozen, and everything around him seemed to slow down.
The azure sky, the pure white clouds.
And, striving to reach him, his mother.
In the distance, Ming Yan suddenly turned around.
The Tiger Beastmen by Ming Yan’s side also turned, their senses keen.
"What’s happened over there?"
Hu Yong glanced around. "Strange, where is Lady Si Yan?"
Ming Yan’s eyes narrowed sharply; he quickly jumped beside Xi Qing and Bei Ji. "Your mother... Where is she?"
Xi Qing and Bei Ji, having witnessed Dongchi and Si Yan being swept away by the beast tide, now wore terrifyingly grim expressions.
Bei Ji was colder than ever, like a statue.
Xi Qing turned back with a chilly gaze, his icy eyes sweeping over Jie Ling like a knife.
The palpable killing intent made Jie Ling tremble slightly.
To relieve the pressure, Jie Ling muttered under her breath, "What are you staring at, you freak?"
So what if she pushed one of their brothers? Males weren’t valuable anyway. What did it matter if one died? Why were they all overreacting and targeting her?
Xi Qing withdrew his gaze and looked up at Ming Yan. "Lord Ming Yan, my big brother dove into the beast tide to save Dongchi."
A female, and an underage cub, falling into the beast tide?
Ming Yan’s body stiffened for a moment.
Si Yan grabbed Dongchi, who transformed into a snake and coiled around her waist.
Si Yan mounted one of the frantic wild bulls, clutching the hair on its neck with both hands.
Green light emanated from her hands. A thick vine then wrapped around the bull’s neck, forming a makeshift rein.
"Mother!" Dongchi yelled.
Si Yan immediately tightened the reins, dodging the bull to her left.
Another bull from the right charged fiercely toward her, and Si Yan quickly maneuvered to avoid it.
"Dongchi, hold on tight!"
Dongchi clung tightly to Si Yan.
Si Yan steered the bull, following the direction of the beast tide.
Dongchi lifted his head to look at Si Yan.
She was unlike any other female. Facing such a terrifying beast tide, she was so brave.
The young cub bit his lower lip, a flash of resentment in his eyes. Why couldn’t he grow up faster? Why wasn’t it him protecting his mother? He really didn’t want to be a cub.
Si Yan pulled the wild bull into a sharp turn, but suddenly another cliff appeared ahead. "Not good!"
The terrain here was incredibly bizarre. An abrupt cliff rose from what seemed like an endless plain, with layers of precipices; one misstep, and you could plummet.
If Si Yan hadn’t seen the wild bulls ahead suddenly disappearing, she wouldn’t have realized there was a cliff.
Dongchi wrapped around Si Yan tightly. Si Yan gritted her teeth. "Can’t stop!"
If they jumped off the bull now, they would certainly be trampled to death by the beast tide. They couldn’t jump, and the wild bull wouldn’t stop!
Si Yan gritted her teeth again.
Dongchi seemed to sense Si Yan’s decision as she directed the wild bull straight toward the cliff edge.
Dongchi buried his head in Si Yan’s embrace.
He wasn’t afraid to live or die with his mother.
The wild bull bellowed, its body flailing through the air.
Si Yan immediately let go. She kicked off the bull beneath her, using the recoil to leap toward the cliff face.
A small knife flew from her hand, embedding itself in the cliff wall. She grasped the rope tied to its hilt and pressed herself against the cliff face.
Si Yan bit her lip, glancing above and below. More wild bulls kept falling from above—THUD, THUD—piling up as carcasses below.
Just as Si Yan was preparing to climb down, the small knife suddenly dislodged from the cliff wall, and she and Dongchi plunged downwards together!
Si Yan hastily drew her silver dagger, plunging it deep into the rock. But the force of her fall was too great; the soft silver dagger couldn’t withstand the strain.
This cliff wasn’t actually very high. Si Yan gritted her teeth and held on. By the time she finally stabilized, she found herself already at the bottom.
Gripping the dagger with both arms, she had endured violent, painful vibrations throughout the descent.
Now, Si Yan’s hands were trembling too much to be used.
She weakly sat on the ground.
Dongchi immediately transformed into human form, grasping Si Yan’s hands anxiously. "Mother..."
Si Yan’s lips were pale. She forced herself to sit up and look at the wild bull carcasses still falling from the sky. Then, she sensed a terrifying killing intent.
The bull carcasses had attracted many fierce creatures from the surroundings; Si Yan felt that she and Dongchi were now surrounded.
Si Yan’s eyelids felt heavy, and her body swayed as she tried to stand, Dongchi supporting her.
"What’s... ahead...?" Si Yan murmured, her vision blurring.
Supporting Si Yan, Dongchi said, "Snakes... and scorpions."