Chapter 239 – Escaping From a Calamity (3)
He slightly pursed his lips while sitting still. His fingers executed a seal. The light of the flames danced inside his blue eyes that were similar to two deep lakes. Not once did they display anything but a sub-zero cold expression.
As the last flame died out, Jiu Zun slowly got up. “Let’s go.”
Ning Xuemo faintly smiled, “Good!” She took the initiative to walk towards the place where the demonic tree once grew.
The little qilin promptly jumped up and followed behind her. “The big tree has been burned to ashes! No need to look anymore. We still need to find the exit which is more important.”
Ning Xuemo patted its head once again. “Silly Apple, the exit is right under the tree!”
The little qilin’s mind blanked out. Then it looked toward the place Ning Xuemo mentioned; there was a big dark hole. The insides of the hole was burned until it became charred. With the white smoke still rising out from the earth, it couldn’t clearly see much of the hole.
Jiu Zun glanced at Ning Xuemo. That little girl was frighteningly intelligent. If he made a move, she could probably guess the next ten moves he would make…
‘Almost completely seen through!’
As expected, the tree roots of the demonic tree led to a passage outside. The little qilin used water to extinguish the remaining fires, and together with Ning Xuemo and Jiu Zun, it jumped down.
……
The sky was blue like ceramic glaze with the clouds looking like white floating cotton.
Two people and a beast jumped out from inside a big cave, just to land on a mountain ridge.
A rugged terrain of weirdly stones that came in all kind of sizes and shapes filled the whole hilltop they were on. In contrast, the distant horizons was filled with verdant and lush primitive forests.
Ning Xuemo deeply sucked in the fresh mountain air.
‘So good! The feeling of escaping from calamity is really good! To be able once again breath the fresh air of freedom, it’s fantastic!’
The little qilin was also filled with excitement. It shouted gleefully while bouncing around. It had yearned for the outside sunlight for so long! ‘Finally, after such a long time!’
“Little Apple, where is this place?” Ning Xuemo grabbed its horn before inquiring.
Little Apple blinked its two big eyes. Then, it looked around. Finally, slightly embarrassed, it replied, “I don’t know…”
“You don’t know? Didn’t you say you had rushed to this mountain before?”
“But… that was a thousand years ago. Many mountains change their shapes with the passage of time. This is the first time I’ve seen this place!”
‘Oh well…’ Ning Xuemo turned to Jiu Zun, “Jiu Zun, do you know on which mountain we are?”
“It’s the 8th mountain, Rocky Slope.” Jiu Zun threw those words before turning around and walked away.
“Jiu Zun, where are you going?” Little Apple asked out of reflex.
Jiu Zun shot a glance at it but did not reply Instead, he walked towards the south as his sleeves fluttered alongside his movements.
He was truly clear-cut. He said he will go off on his own once they escaped, and sure enough, he left without even a second’s delay. He did not even bother to bid them farewell.
Ning Xuemo’s long eyelashes trembled. She watched his figure slowly vanish in the distance. Her lips raised into a smile. “Little Apple, let’s go back. Jiu Zun has a place he has to be, so we should also go our way.”
Little Apple had no other alternative but to walk back.
As it returned to Ning Xuemo’s side, it rubbed against the lower corner of her clothes. It was deeply afraid of Jiu Zun. However, after going through such an adventure with him, it became a little bit dependant on him.
It felt that the three of them should journey together instead of splitting up.
It looked helplessly at Jiu Zun’s little body quickly disappearing from his sight. Then, it turned to Ning Xuemo, “Where are we going right now?”
“All the beasts on this mountain are afraid of you, right?” Ning Xuemo wanted to confirm once again.
“Of course! I said I was the Monarch of Ten Thousand Beasts.” Little Apple raised its head and trusted out its chest with confidence.
Ning Xuemo let out a yawn. “Then, that’s very good!” She raised her head to look at the color of the sky. ‘Judging from the look of it, it should be around 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon.’ The sun was on its course toward the west as it shined down warmly on their body.
“Little Apple, protect me. I’ll take a short nap in here first.”