Chapter 1456: Chapter 1316: The Battle of the Silent Forest! Chapter 1456: Chapter 1316: The Battle of the Silent Forest! Whispers of anguish drifted softly through the air, ethereal and delicate, gradually revealing a sense of sorrow.
As she spoke, Ning Man’er’s tears had already begun streaming down her cheeks, landing gently on the vines.
Crying, she grew tired, her delicate fra curling up in the small crevice of the tree roots, her eyes damp as she fell into slumber…
On the desolate land stood a huge, dead tree, and beneath it, a girl in fetal position who had fallen asleep, painting a harrowing and pitiful scene.
This scene was both still and shifting through ti. Every spring, sumr, autumn, and winter that passed, she would curl up under the tree. Now, her weary heart had led her to sleep like this, as if she never wished to wake again and desired to be entombed alongside the old tree.
The Silent Forest beca utterly silent, the sky above remaining empty, the occasional cold breeze that swept through made no sound at all.
The wind and the sand were slowly eroding the last remnants of the Old Divine Tree.
Its branches, dry beyond dry, creaked dully in the wind, and its desiccated leaves trembled on the verge of falling…
The wind picked up, and the lifeless leaves finally dropped from their branches, fluttering down slowly, alone in their descent.
The Old Divine Tree stood tall; the process of the leaves falling took a long ti. After a while, the leaves that had descended from heaven to the Mortal World finally ca to rest at the base of the roots.
The fallen leaves conveniently covered Ning Man’er’s makeshift wooden bed, encasing her delicate body.
The slumbering girl, unaware, instinctively clutched at the dead leaves with her small hand. Her lips curled into a faint smile of peace and vulnerability.
…
Luo Lin
“Chu Mu, what’s wrong?” Pang Yue stopped and looked back at Chu Mu, who had suddenly slowed his pace.
Chu Mu didn’t answer; he was holding a small Tear Crystal in his hand, lost in contemplation as he gazed at the scene within.
The image in the Tear Crystal was sowhat blurred, but Chu Mu could see the depths of the Silent Forest, where Ning Man’er lay curled up alone under the dead tree. He saw her talking to herself non-stop, saw her tiredly lie down…
It was as if an injured girl was nestled in the arms of a grandfather who loved her dearly.
Through the bond of their Soul Contract, not only did Chu Mu see Ning Man’er’s current scene, he also saw her past mories.
Each segnt of these mories was simple, including Ning Man’er’s current confiding and storytelling, all so straightforward. Yet, Chu Mu didn’t know why, but after seeing the image presented by the Tear Crystal, his heart felt sour, and he longed to fly to the depths of the Silent Forest right now, to hold her, to comfort her.
“Chu Mu?” Pang Yue called out to Chu Mu again.
Chu Mu ca sowhat back to reality and glanced at Pang Yue.
“What’s wrong?” Pang Yue continued to ask.
“Nothing major. I was just thinking of so things. How far are we from the Silent Forest?” Chu Mu inquired.
“Not far. It should take a few more days to reach it. Our previous route had so issues; otherwise, we could have arrived earlier,” Pang Yue explained.
“Alright, then let’s hurry up a bit. Ning Man’er is already in the Silent Forest, and I’m worried that Kang Ruodong and his people might have noticed,” Chu Mu stated.
Chu Mu was truly worried about Ning Man’er.
“Okay,” Pang Yue nodded.
Everyone could see Chu Mu’s urgency, and they all quickened their pace, racing towards the Silent Forest Fortress.
…
About two days later, the Silent Forest Fortress finally ca into view for Chu Mu and his companions.
Upon entering the Fortress city, the group of five imdiately started searching for Kang Ruodong and others.
“The Kang Ruodong you speak of, whether he is in the city or not, I do not know. However, a group of people did enter the Silent Forest a day ago, and they all appeared very strong,” a guard said.
“A day ago?” Chu Mu imdiately furrowed his brow.
This news was undoubtedly bad for Chu Mu because Kang Ruodong and his group were surely after Ning Man’er, and if Chu Mu was one day behind them, they might have already taken her away.
Chu Mu beca anxious, not wanting to waste any more ti in this fortress city.
“Chu Mu, let’s go to the depths of the Silent Forest now then. The terrain of the Silent Forest is quite complicated; they might not be able to reach the deepest parts within a day,” the Morning Crown Prince suggested.
While they were inquiring from the guard, a Divine Sect mber about 500 ters away from Chu Mu and the others was staring intently at the group of five.
After a while, seemingly sure of sothing, the Divine Sect mber hurriedly ran off in a certain direction.
Unaware that soone had been watching him, Chu Mu, upon receiving solid information, and his group of five imdiately headed out of the city.
Just as they had rushed out of the city for a short while, suddenly, a group of people chased after them from behind, clearly targeting Chu Mu and his companions.
“Chu Mu, there are about ten or twenty people behind us!” Ye Wansheng exclaid.
Chu Mu looked back and imdiately saw a familiar face.
“It’s those people from He Shangguan that we t in Lin City!” the Morning Crown Prince quickly recognized three individuals.
“Why are they here?” Pang Yue said, puzzled.
Among that group of people were indeed He Shangguan, Cai Yun, and Wan Jun. What Chu Mu hadn’t expected was that they were also heading to the Silent Forest.
That ant their arrival in Lin City wasn’t a coincidence; it was very likely that, like him, they were there to inquire about the issue with Kang Ruodong blocking Ning Man’er at the Heavenly Boundary Monunt.
“How could it be him??” Suddenly, Xiaoxiao exclaid in surprise, her gaze fixated on a person behind them.
Pang Yue looked to see who Xiaoxiao was staring at, only to notice a young man wearing a bamboo hat.
This man appeared to be one of the leaders of the group, with seven or eight people following behind him.
“And who is he?” Pang Yue asked.
“He’s my eldest senior brother, Huo Lei, one of the strongest young disciples in the Monster Beast Palace!” Xiaoxiao said.
The group was indeed divided into two factions: on one side were the Divine Sect mbers led by a man in a brocade robe, and on the other side were the Monster Beast Palace mbers led by Huo Lei, as Xiaoxiao had ntioned.
Strangely enough, none of them wore any conspicuous symbols of their identity, which was odd since Divine Sect mbers usually displayed their authoritative identity openly when traveling.
“Lord Xu, it’s them!!” Suddenly, an angry voice ca from behind. It was He Shangguan’s voice!
The soul pet ridden by the man in the brocade robe, Lord Xu, was very fast, quickly catching up to Chu Mu and the other four, with Huo Lei from the Monster Beast Palace also in pursuit.
“Xiaoxiao, why are you here?” Huo Lei spotted Xiaoxiao imdiately, furrowing his brows in clear displeasure.
“Weren’t you the one who asked to investigate that matter? So I followed the lead here,” Xiaoxiao said.
“Nonsense!” Huo Lei severely reprimanded her, then continued, “You think you’re going to the Silent Forest? Is that sothing you should ddle in? Return to Fortress City imdiately and don’t go anywhere else.”
Huo Lei spoke to Xiaoxiao with the authoritative tone of an elder.
“You’re not my father; why should I listen to you!” Xiaoxiao was extrely annoyed. She hated it when her eldest senior brother, Huo Lei, spoke to her with such a commanding tone.
Huo Lei’s face imdiately darkened.
“Brother Huo, this young lady is… Well, her few friends are quite arrogant. They killed two of my subordinates’ soul pets…” said Lord Xu.
“She’s my Junior Sister, and our Master is her father. This girl is willful and hard to control. If there’s been any offense, I ask for Lord Xu’s leniency,” Huo Lei replied politely.
“Oh, so she’s Mr. Xiao’s daughter… We naturally won’t trouble Miss Xiaoxiao. We can handle this matter calmly. It’s not a big deal, right?” Lord Xu said with a smile, quickly turning his gaze to his three subordinates behind him.
He Shangguan wanted to say more, but upon hearing that Xiaoxiao was Mr. Xiao’s daughter, their expressions imdiately changed.
He Shangguan wasn’t foolish; Master Xu would never risk offending Mr. Xiao of the Monster Beast Palace for the likes of them, so he could only force a smile and say, “Indeed, the mistake was partly ours as well.”
“You and you, follow Miss Xiaoxiao and escort her back to Fortress City,” Huo Lei commanded a few of his subordinates after a glance.
Master Xu turned to his subordinates and said, “A few of you stay here as well.”
After saying this, Master Xu turned to Chu Mu and the rest, “Perhaps you should stay temporarily in Fortress City. Once we return from the Silent Forest, we’ll resolve this matter.”
Chu Mu’s heart sank imdiately – these people clearly intended to put them under house arrest in Fortress City.
However, Kang Ruodong had already left a day earlier, and if they were delayed any longer in Fortress City, Chu Mu genuinely worried that Ning Man’er would fall into Kang Ruodong’s hands.
“Chu Mu, what do we do now?” Pang Yue asked urgently.
These people were extrely powerful, especially Lord Xu and Huo Lei from the Monster Beast Palace, who must have reached the immortal level. With the strength these two possessed, they couldn’t afford a head-on confrontation.
“Let’s go back to Fortress City first,” Chu Mu said.
Chu Mu was well aware that it wasn’t wise to confront these people directly. Both Lord Xu and Huo Lei were undoubtedly eager to find Kang Ruodong in the Silent Forest, and they wouldn’t have ti to waste here. Instead of clashing with them, it was better to comply for now, wait for the stronger individuals to leave, then head to the Silent Forest afterward.
Chu Mu was the first to recall his soul pet, and the others, with no other choice, reluctantly began the spell to return their soul pets to the Soul Pet Space.
Huo Lei and Lord Xu’s subordinates ca forward and sealed the group’s soul sense.
“Make sure to watch them until we return from the Silent Forest, got it?” Master Xu commanded He Shangguan, Cai Yun, and Wan Jun, his three subordinates.
Huo Lei also left three of his n to ensure that Xiaoxiao didn’t run off again.
Watching as the subordinates escorted the five prisoners back to Fortress City, Master Xu glanced at Huo Lei, “We need to hurry; Kang Ruodong’s already had a day’s lead.”
“Don’t worry; he’ll still need to circle the middle and outer areas of the Silent Forest. We won’t be much slower,” Huo Lei replied.
After this exchange, the two n led their subordinates on a swift pursuit deep into the Silent Forest!
…
After being escorted back to Fortress City with their soul sense sealed, Chu Mu and the others were confined to a courtyard.
Because of Xiaoxiao’s presence, although He Shangguan, Cai Yun, and Wan Jun harbored deep resentnt towards Chu Mu and his group, they still dared not take any overt revenge, especially since the three from the Monster Beast Palace were extrely respectful towards Xiaoxiao.
“Chu Mu, I’m so sorry, it’s my fault. I’ve caused trouble that’s preventing you from getting to the Silent Forest in ti,” Ye Wansheng said with a shafaced expression.
Chu Mu shook his head, “It’s okay. Two days ago, I had White Three head to the Silent Forest ahead of us. It should be able to reach Ning Man’er soon to protect her. And… do you really think these losers can keep us imprisoned?”
(First chapter delivered~~~~~~ The third chapter will be coming around ten-thirty~~~~~) (.)
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