66: Chapter 66 The Fox's Corpse

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Where is Lady Chi Ling?"

"Lady Chi Ling has gone out!"

"Hurry and put out the fire!"

"We don't have any Water-type Beastmen..."

Amidst the chaotic noise.

Hu Che struggled to move to the cave entrance.

He saw the glow of fire in the distance.

Chi Ling's Beast Husbands and other Beastmen were busy running about.

But the fire had not yet fully spread to his side.

It was the perfect opportunity to escape.

Chi Ling's Supernatural Ability would contract according to his movements.

At this moment, moving those few small steps had already caused his skin to split open in several places.

Hu Che took a deep breath.

He planned to take a gamble.

If his speed in transforming into his Beast Form was faster than the speed at which the Supernatural Ability contracted, he would be able to escape successfully.

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

He charged towards the outside of the cave.

A "Bang!" sound echoed.

"Ah!"

Hu Che was rebounded back.

At the same time, a flash of red light struck him.

It was as if a basin of scalding water had been splashed onto him.

The skin on his chest immediately turned red.

The areas that had already been injured by the bindings began to ooze thin lines of blood.

Hu Che gritted his teeth, barely managing to keep from groaning aloud.

He hadn't expected that Chi Ling's Supernatural Ability would not only restrict him from transforming into his Beast Form, but she had also set up a Barrier at the cave entrance.

Chi Ling's Barrier seemed to be laced with poison; after the burning sensation faded, an indescribable, intense pain spread throughout his entire body.

The Supernatural Ability chains on his body seemed to sense his intention to escape.

They suddenly became thinner and longer, wrapping around him even more tightly.

Suddenly—they tightened.

"Mmm... Ah..."

Drops of blood dripped onto the ground.

Hu Che collapsed to the ground, his body trembling slightly from the pain.

He endured it until his teeth bit through the flesh inside his cheek.

Fresh blood flowed down from the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

He immediately raised his eyes, alert.

Seeing the person who had arrived, he suddenly curled his lips into a smile.

"It's you..."

Inner City.

Tang Ruan had waited for several hours, but Yan Qing still hadn't returned.

Her heart felt inexplicably chaotic, so while it wasn't completely dark yet, she simply decided to go out for a walk.

When passing by a mountain, she suddenly smelled a strong scent of smoke.

Thick smoke billowed from behind the mountain straight into the sky.

On this side of the mountain, dozens of Beastmen stood there, pointing and whispering.

"How did a fire start?"

"I guess Lady Chi Ling is angry again. This isn't the first time she's burned down her own cave. She burned it once when the Old Snake King was still around."

"I heard that several of her Beast Husbands were burned to death, including that newcomer, it seems his name is... Bai Ye."

"It looks like this fire is quite large."

"The Red Bone Snake Clan is truly terrifying. If she hadn't been raised by the Old Snake King, she would probably kill us just as casually."

"Her Beast Husbands are truly pitiful..."

"By the way, what caused her to get so angry?"

"It's all because of Tang Ruan..."

Tang Ruan heard her own name.

She immediately turned on her heels, preparing to slip away.

When Chi Ling gets angry, she even kills her own Beast Husbands, let alone her.

It's too terrifying...

"That Beast Husband of hers..."

Hearing this, Tang Ruan suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"How could Hu Che be involved with Chi Ling?"

"I don't know, someone saw him enter Lady Chi Ling's cave."

Tang Ruan pushed into the crowd.

She grabbed the Beastman who was speaking.

"You just said that Hu Che is in Chi Ling's cave?"

The Beastman who was speaking recognized Tang Ruan.

For a moment, he was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say.

A Beast Husband voluntarily entering another Female Beastman's cave; this matter was naturally very prone to causing people to let their imaginations run wild.

"I only heard it too..."

"Who said it?" Tang Ruan pressed.

The Beastman grabbed another Beastman from the crowd, "Hey! Did you see Hu Che enter Lady Chi Ling's cave?"

"I heard it from Bai Ye... Bai Ye... he's already dead."

Tang Ruan followed the Beastman's terrified gaze.

Only then did she discover that several charred Beastman corpses had been laid out in front of the mountain.

After a Beastman dies, they revert to their lowest Beast Form.

From the charred bodies, one could vaguely identify a snake, a dog, a large bird... a fox?

Tang Ruan wasn't sure, but the size was indeed Hu Che's size.

Her legs seemed to suddenly lose all strength.

She took a weak step forward and nearly fell.

The surrounding Beastmen hurriedly helped her.

"Tang Ruan, don't panic yet. There is also a fox among Chi Ling's Beast Husbands."

Tang Ruan raised her head and saw that it was She Lei.

He looked at her with concern, his lips pressed tightly together.

"Then... Hu Che..."

"We don't know the situation yet, the fire is too big, we can't get in at all. We can only wait for the Snake King—"

He hadn't finished his sentence when he suddenly felt a chill wash over him.

Everyone looked up and saw Yan Qing standing on the mountaintop.

He gently raised his hand.

The fire behind the mountain gradually extinguished, finally converging into a red point of light that landed in his palm, where it was absorbed by him.

"Great!"

She Lei immediately led people to rush towards the mountain.

Tang Ruan also followed.

Suddenly, an arm blocked her path.

Tang Ruan looked up and saw Yan Qing frowning slightly, looking at her.

"Don't go over there." His tone was serious.

"Hu Che, he—"

She suddenly saw several Snake Tribe Beastmen carrying out another fox corpse.

"Hu Che, he..."

She gripped his arm tightly, her body trembling.

The look she gave Yan Qing was filled with pleading, pleading for him to tell her that she had seen wrong, that it was a misunderstanding, that there was another fox in the cave...

But Yan Qing used the calmest tone to say the three cruelest words.

"It is him."

Tang Ruan's heart felt as if someone had suddenly gouged a piece out of it.

She had just experienced this feeling half a year ago.

She swore that in this lifetime, she never wanted to experience such pain again.

Why...

She had just realized that she had started to like Hu Che a little, and then something like this happened.

Could it be, just as the Fortune Teller said? Every person she falls in love with will be a love she cannot attain.

Then she would rather she had never loved anyone; she didn't want him to die either.

It's all her fault...

Why did she suddenly realize she liked Hu Che...

"Come back with me."

Yan Qing bent down, intending to carry her away.

Tang Ruan suddenly pushed his hand away.

She ran crazily towards Hu Che's corpse.

She had to see it with her own eyes; otherwise, she wouldn't believe it!

Why did this happen to her? There must be some mistake somewhere!

Tang Ruan had only run two steps when she was carried back by Yan Qing.

"Tang Ruan! Hu Che's Beast Husband Mark has already disappeared!"

He suddenly shouted loudly.

Tang Ruan had never seen Yan Qing speak so loudly.

She was startled.

Yan Qing grabbed her hand.

He faced her wrist towards the Beastmen and repeated loudly, "Wake up, Hu Che is already dead..."

"That's not it..."

Tang Ruan shook her head.

"Not having a Beast Husband Mark doesn't mean he's dead, we are..."

Yan Qing suddenly hugged her tightly, so tightly that she could barely breathe.

Tang Ruan pounded on him hard, but she couldn't move at all.

His large hand supported the back of her head, protecting her entirely in his embrace.

Suppressed sobbing came from his chest.

Very quickly, a patch of his chest was soaked.

Every sob of hers was like someone holding a knife, slicing away pieces of his heart.

He suddenly realized that Tang Ruan loved Hu Che so much—loved him more than he had expected.

He lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair.

Using a voice that only the two of them could hear, he said: "Don't be afraid, I promise..."