76: Chapter 76 The Jade Sparrow Was Stolen?

Less than ten minutes after Ling Tian left the valley.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Dozens of figures tore through the air, landing in the valley that had just experienced a fierce battle.

It was General Qin Feng, Xia Youchu, and General Qin Feng's personal guard unit.

They had tracked him all the way here, guided by the faint Soul link between Xia Youchu and Ling Tian.

"General, the destruction here is extreme. It looks like a fierce battle took place."

A captain of the personal guard reported, "There are strong energy fluctuations remaining in the crater at the center. The attribute… is very unfamiliar, and it carries an extremely powerful destructive force."

Another guard added, "We found two golden hairs. After preliminary identification, they belong to a Golden-Haired Frenzied Ape. Judging by the residual aura, it should have… fallen."

"Fallen?" General Qin Feng raised his thick brows, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.

A Great Demon King, just died like that?

Who did it?

He looked toward Xia Youchu.

Xia Youchu crouched down, her slender fingers brushing over a deep claw mark on the ground.

"These are Ling Tian's footprints."

She said with certainty, feeling a slight relief in her heart. "He is still alive, and… he seems to have escaped?"

She could feel that the life force coming from the other end of the Soul link had not weakened; instead, it was even more intense than before!

Xia Youchu looked around.

Apart from the deep crater on the ground, she did not find any abnormalities.

There were no signs of any battle either.

This was exactly what puzzled everyone the most.

This meant that the Golden-Haired Frenzied Ape had been instantly killed, taken down without any ability to resist!

Even the corpse was gone, leaving only a few hairs behind on the spot!

In other words, it was very likely that the Golden-Haired Frenzied Ape, while fleeing, had encountered an unimaginable crisis. Not only was it instantly killed, but its corpse was also devoured by a terrifying entity.

And Ling Tian had luckily escaped from its stomach, then ran off to who knows where.

Looking at the footprints leading away on the ground, Xia Youchu's expression was grave.

Given Ling Tian's personality, if he could win, he would definitely finish off the opponent on the spot and devour them. But now, he had left in such a hurry, not even cleaning up the battlefield… The situation definitely wasn't simple!

He might have encountered even bigger trouble!

"Pursue!"

Xia Youchu stood up, her tone firm and decisive. "Follow the direction of the footprints, full speed ahead!"

General Qin Feng did not hesitate and immediately ordered, "All units, maintain vigilance and pursue in the direction of the footprints!"

The personal guard unit responded in unison, moving swiftly.

However, an officer in the team who looked somewhat similar to General Qin Feng, but younger, frowned slightly.

He was General Qin Feng's son, Vice-Captain Qin Hao, and also the deputy captain of this personal guard unit.

There was a hint of impatience in Vice-Captain Qin Hao's eyes.

What exactly is going on with Father?

The fighting on the front line is intense, and the Peng Clan scouts are highly active. As a legion commander, he actually abandoned the entire legion and brought us elite troops back to the rear just to help a little girl find her War Beast?!

Even if that War Beast has great potential, is it worth such a massive mobilization?

This is practically making a joke of the border's safety! Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, a waste of talent!

Although he masked his emotions well, how could he hide it from Xia Youchu, who was a Female Emperor in her previous life?

While moving quickly, Xia Youchu glanced faintly at Vice-Captain Qin Hao and transmitted a message directly into his mind using her consciousness:

"Vice-Captain Qin Hao, you seem to have doubts? Do you feel that finding my War Beast is not as important as the border conflict?"

Vice-Captain Qin Hao's body stiffened slightly. He hadn't expected Xia Youchu's perception to be so sharp, and even less expected that she would point it out directly.

He opened his mouth, just about to say something.

Xia Youchu continued using her consciousness, her tone carrying a hint of elusive teasing: "Or are you worried that the adult version of 'Peppa Pig' you secretly exchanged using military supply points will be delayed in delivery because of this mission?"

Boom!

Vice-Captain Qin Hao felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His whole body froze in place, and his face turned bright red at a visible speed!

He looked up abruptly, staring at Xia Youchu in disbelief, his eyes filled with shock!

How… how could she know?!

This was an order I placed on the dark web using a private encrypted channel through seventeen layers of proxies!

Even my dad doesn't know!

Who exactly is she?!

This quirk was one of his deepest, darkest secrets!

If this got out, how would he, Vice-Captain Qin Hao, ever show his face in the military again?!

Xia Youchu watched him in this state and chuckled inwardly.

In her previous life, Vice-Captain Qin Hao was a fierce general under her command. After getting too drunk at a celebration banquet, he had hugged a toilet, vomiting while crying about this unspeakable quirk of his. She had overheard it, and it became a little piece of leverage she could use against him.

"Don't worry, I have no interest in spreading your little hobby."

Xia Youchu transmitted via consciousness, "But remember, everything your father and I are doing is far more important than you imagine."

Vice-Captain Qin Hao swallowed hard. Looking at Xia Youchu's deep eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, all his dissatisfaction vanished instantly, replaced only by deep curiosity and a hint of awe.

He lowered his head and muttered, "Yes! I understand!"

The team continued to pursue along the heavy footprints left by Ling Tian.

But as the tracking continued, General Qin Feng's brows gradually furrowed as well.

"This direction… is it moving away from the wilderness and toward the Human Race settlement?"

He said in a deep voice.

"Yes, five hundred miles ahead is Black Rock City in the Dragon territory." Vice-Captain Qin Hao responded.

Hearing this, General Qin Feng fell into deep thought.

Something is not right.

Even if Xia Youchu's War Beast had escaped luckily, it should logically have retreated toward Cloud City. Why would it run to Black Rock City?

Xia Youchu was equally confused, but the direction indicated by the Soul link was clear and unmistakable.

Just then—

Buzz!

The communication talisman Xia Youchu carried with her vibrated urgently.

She immediately took it out to check. It was an emergency message from her father, Patriarch Xia Yuan!

[Youchu! The estate has been attacked! The Emerald Spirit Sparrow has been stolen!]

A short line of text, yet it made Xia Youchu's pupils shrink, and her face instantly turned incredibly ugly!

The Emerald Spirit Sparrow was stolen?!

How is that possible?!

The Xia family currently has her father, Patriarch Xia Yuan, as well as Third Great-Uncle Xia Hongyi, Elder Xia Wen, and Elder Xia Wu—four Yuan Kings guarding it!

Who could steal the Emerald Spirit Sparrow from under their noses without anyone noticing?!

Among those who have entered Cloud City recently, there are only two people capable of doing this!

General Qin Feng has been by her side, so that leaves only one possibility—

Director Zhou Wenyan!

Xia Youchu's eyes turned cold.

It really was him!

In her previous life, this deputy director of the Inspection Bureau was found to have ties to multiple underground organizations, but due to insufficient evidence, he was only dismissed from his post.

In this life, he really did collude with the Myriad Beast Pavilion!

And the relationship is definitely not ordinary!

Otherwise, he would never have taken such a huge risk to personally steal the Emerald Spirit Sparrow!

A cold killing intent rose from the bottom of Xia Youchu's heart.

But she forcibly suppressed her anger.

Director Zhou Wenyan… Myriad Beast Pavilion…

You just wait, I will settle all of this one by one!

But for now, the most urgent priority is to find Ling Tian!

His safety is more important!

She took a deep breath and said to General Qin Feng, "General Qin, something happened at home. The Emerald Spirit Sparrow has been stolen."

"Stolen?"

"Did Director Zhou Wenyan do it?" Xia Youchu didn't explicitly say who it was, but General Qin Feng thought of Director Zhou Wenyan immediately.

Currently, he is the only one in Cloud City capable of infiltrating the Xia family to steal the Emerald Spirit Sparrow.

Moreover, this guy's appearance was too suspicious!

The Inspection Bureau headquarters is in the Imperial City. This old guy silently ran ten thousand miles away to Cloud City, and then news of the Emerald Spirit Sparrow being stolen from the Xia family came out. How could it be such a coincidence?

Xia Youchu's expression was calm: "I haven't found the perpetrator, but I estimate it has something to do with him."

Hearing this, a cold light flashed in General Qin Feng's eyes.

He glanced at the direction in which Ling Tian's footprints extended and decided decisively: "Keep pursuing! Let's find your War Beast first! Director Zhou Wenyan… Heh, he can't run!"

…