Chapter 25 The Big Black Rat
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, watching Bibi Dong's retreating figure.
"Dong'er, don't worry, even after what you've gone through, I will never abandon you. Once I'm strong enough, I will make that Pope Qian Xunji pay the price and avenge you!"
Taking a deep breath, Yu Xiaogang completely ignored Liu Erlong beside him and hurried towards Bibi Dong and the other person.
Liu Erlong stood there dumbfounded, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
But after a moment, she bit her red lips and forced herself to chase after them.
However, her solitary figure conveyed a desolate feeling of being abandoned by the world.
...
And so, the four people, with their different thoughts and extremely complex relationships, traveled together, heading deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Along the way, the group remained extremely silent, an eerie atmosphere lingering around them.
Bibi Dong, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong all carried extremely heavy thoughts, their faces tense and their eyes gloomy.
Chen Yao, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to the strange atmosphere surrounding him, carefree, breathing in the fresh forest air and admiring the unrealistically beautiful ecological wonders around him.
Chen Yao's joyful, hopping and skipping appearance, as if he were on a vacation, made Bibi Dong, somewhat annoyed, grit her teeth, wishing she could drag Chen Yao over and pierce him a hundred times with her sharp spider spear!
Just then, a sudden earthquake shook the ground, accompanied by the cracking of a nearby mountain, revealing a colossal creature blocking their path.
It was a giant scorpion, the size of a small mountain, with a tail formed from nine segments of tailbone, held high and connected to a fiery red stinger.
"Yes, the King of the Earth! It looks like a soul beast at least a thousand years old, be careful of it..."
Yu Xiaogang recognized the scorpion as soon as he saw it, his face showing surprise, and began to explain. However, before he could finish speaking, a burst of purple energy surged out from his side.
Everyone's vision blurred, and in the hazy moment, they saw a huge spider demon shadow flash by, followed by a violent wail.
When their vision refocused, they saw Bibi Dong standing on a pool of foul-smelling black water, her skirt swaying in the wind, graceful and charming.
As for the King of the Earth, it had disappeared without a trace.
"Phew!"
Bibi Dong breathed a long sigh of relief, the frustration caused by the oppressive atmosphere dissipating considerably.
Then she turned around, raised an eyebrow at Chen Yao, who had somehow hidden eight hundred meters away, her expression inscrutable, and then said,
"The obstacle is gone, let's continue on our way."
After saying that, Bibi Dong walked forward on her own.
At that moment, Chen Yao leisurely walked up from behind, straightening his clothes, which had been somewhat disheveled from the emergency escape.
He then glanced disdainfully at Yu Xiaogang and Bibi Dong, who were still dumbfounded and hadn't recovered their senses, and said,
"Master Yu Xiaogang, what are you still standing there for? Were you scared silly by that soul beast? You're useless! Didn't you see the Holy Maiden is already far away? Hurry up and get going."
With that, Chen Yao slowly chased after Bibi Dong.
"Damn you! You ran faster than anyone else!"
Yu Xiaogang reacted, gritted his teeth as he looked at Chen Yao's already departing figure, but dared not delay and hurriedly followed.
...
And so, the group traveled another ten kilometers or so. As darkness gradually fell, they stopped and chose a relatively open area to set up camp.
However, due to the arrival of Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong, Chen Yao, who could not openly occupy Bi Dong's tent and was empty-handed, was forced to briefly become a wild man, hanging on a treetop to rest.
Soon after, the four of them gathered together, made a fire, and had a quiet dinner. Those who went back to their tents went back to their tents, and those who went back to the trees went back to the trees, and the camp fell into silence.
But as the lights inside the tent gradually went out, it seemed a large black rat darted into Bibi Dong's exquisite tent.
A commotion erupted inside, as if Bibi Dong had been terrified by the sudden appearance of the rat. It took an unknown amount of time for her to calm down, and the tent gradually quieted down.
But while Bibi Dong's tent was quiet, another tent on the opposite side stirred.
Yu Xiaogang emerged from that tent, pacing back and forth for a moment before slowly walking towards Bibi Dong's tent.
After Yu Xiaogang left, Liu Erlong also slowly emerged from the opposite tent.
Watching Yu Xiaogang's retreating figure as he walked towards Bibi Dong's tent, her eyes were filled with sorrow.
She wasn't stupid; she could tell that Yu Xiaogang hadn't forgotten Bibi Dong at all. In fact, after encountering Bibi Dong that morning, Yu Xiaogang had become extremely cold towards her, even intentionally or unintentionally distancing himself from her.
Liu Erlong understood Yu Xiaogang's meaning; he wanted to sever ties with her and win back Bibi Dong.
For a moment, Liu Erlong felt a chill creep into her heart, as if she had fallen into an icy abyss, despite the summer night's heat.
Reluctantly tearing her gaze away from Yu Xiaogang's retreating figure, Liu Erlong rubbed her red, moist eyes and walked away from the camp with a somber expression…
Reaching Bibi Dong's lit tent, Yu Xiaogang clenched his fist in front of his chest, giving himself a moment of reassurance before speaking.
"Dong'er, are you asleep?"
Yu Xiaogang's voice startled Bibi Dong inside the tent, but she quickly regained her composure.
She glanced at Chen Yao lying beside her, his fingers restlessly teasing the embellishments on her ample bosom, a look of lingering satisfaction on his face.
Sensing Bibi Dong's gaze, Chen Yao nodded to her.
Bibi Dong, who shared a strange understanding with Chen Yao, immediately knew that the boy had made up his mind and was planning to slip away.
"Hmph!"
Watching Chen Yao quickly put on his clothes, Bibi Dong snorted coldly in her heart. Then she picked up the clothes scattered on the ground and slowly dressed herself, speaking as she did so.
"Xiao Gang, what brings you here so late?"
Yu Xiaogang outside quickly responded.
"Dong'er, I want to talk to you!"
As if afraid that Bibi Dong would refuse, Yu Xiaogang added.
"It's very important!"
However, after saying that, no more sound came from inside the tent.
Just as Yu Xiaogang was getting anxious, Bibi Dong's voice finally rang out again from inside.
"I understand..."
Yu Xiaogang's face lit up with joy, but the next moment, Bibi Dong spoke again, freezing his smile on his face.
"Chen Yao, you can go out now. Investigate this matter thoroughly and report back to me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Then, amidst Yu Xiaogang's stiff expression, Chen Yao, neatly dressed, emerged from the tent and met Yu Xiaogang's gaze.
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(End of Chapter)