“You… don’t you dare try any tricks! If you attempt to harm our master again, I won’t let you off!” Daisè’s expression softened slightly, but she still couldn’t resist issuing a warning.
“No… I won’t…” Zhubai murmured timidly in response, stepping out of the cave first.
Once outside, they were greeted by an endless stretch of bamboo forest.
Zhubai led Yun Qingxue and the others deep into the heart of the bamboo grove.
Before long, faint rustling sounds came from behind them.
“It’s those bat demons—they’ve caught up,” Yun Qingxue murmured with a frown after sensing their presence with her divine awareness.
Though the bamboo forest was dense, there were no large shrubs or thickets to conceal their tracks.
As the Flower Monarch, Yun Qingxue had mastered some ability to manipulate plants.
But if she forcibly used the bamboo to create a hiding spot, wouldn’t that only make their presence more obvious?
However, if they confronted the pursuing bat demons directly, the commotion from the fight would surely attract more of them, making escape even harder.
“Is there anywhere we can hide?” Yun Qingxue couldn’t think of a better solution at the moment, so she pinned her hopes on Zhubai, who was native to this land.
“Yes! Follow me!” Zhubai quickly nodded and led them to a particularly large bamboo stalk.
Before Yun Qingxue could even see what he was doing, everything went dark.
“Wh-where is this?” Daisè’s nervous voice echoed in the darkness.
“This is a secret tunnel my brother and I dug,” Zhubai replied. A faint glow soon illuminated the space as he held up a small luminescent stone.
His expression turned sorrowful as he explained, “Whenever one of our clansmen reaches the Huanxing stage in cultivation, those bat demons capture them to drain their power.
This tunnel was dug by my brother and me to rescue our people…
But sadly, those who were taken… never made it in time…
They… they were already drained dry before we could save them…”
By the end, Zhubai sniffled, struggling to hold back his tears.
“Those bat demons are utterly despicable!” Daisè clenched her fists in anger.
Despite her lingering resentment toward Zhubai for his earlier assassination attempt on Yun Qingxue, hearing of his tragic plight still stirred righteous fury in her.
“Didn’t you ever think of escaping?” Yun Qingxue asked him.
Zhubai sniffled again. “That old bat demon is ruthless. This bamboo forest is enchanted—you can enter, but you can’t leave…
We can’t escape. We’ve just been hiding and surviving day by day.”
“Can’t escape?” Daisè paled slightly and instinctively looked at Yun Qingxue. “Master, does that mean we’re trapped here too?”
“Don’t panic. I’ll take you to my brother. Maybe… he can find a way to get you out!” Zhubai said hesitantly.
Yun Qingxue frowned almost imperceptibly. There was something subtly off about the tone of his last words.
“But didn’t you just say it’s impossible to leave?” Daisè pressed.
In the dim light, Zhubai’s expression flickered uneasily. “Y-you’re different from us… You should… should be able to leave!”
Yun Qingxue’s confusion deepened. She had never heard of a barrier spell that discriminated between people.
“Let’s… let’s just go!”
Zhubai seemed unwilling to elaborate further and awkwardly led the way.
“Master…” Daisè tugged at Yun Qingxue’s sleeve.
After the earlier assassination attempt and Zhubai’s strange behavior, she no longer trusted the boy as she had at first sight.
“Follow him,” Yun Qingxue said, stepping forward to trail behind Zhubai.
Daisè frowned deeply but hurried after her master.
“I won’t harm you again…” Zhubai suddenly spoke up after a while. “You were right—you’re not the previous Flower Monarch. The state of our entire plant spirit clan is the fault of the last ruler…
Even… even you are a victim.
I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you…
My ancestors have always been loyal to the plant spirits. I can’t disgrace them or our Green Bamboo Clan…
If my brother and I can find a way to send you away…
Your Majesty, can you promise to forgive my earlier attempt on your life… and keep it a secret?”
“Zhubai, what exactly are you planning?” Yun Qingxue stopped walking.
Zhubai smiled faintly. “I won’t hurt you… I just hope you can forget my earlier disrespect…
My clan is gone…
I don’t want their names tarnished after death because of my recklessness!”
“I won’t hold your assassination attempt against you, but you must tell me—what are you planning?
If there’s a way to leave, why haven’t you, your brother, or the rest of your clan escaped?”
“Please… don’t ask!” Zhubai’s voice suddenly grew agitated.
“Xiao Bai!”
A weary voice called out from the darkness ahead.
“Brother!” Zhubai’s face lit up as he rushed forward. The glow from his stone revealed a young man in a green robe.
The man was tall but painfully thin, exuding deep exhaustion at first glance. Only his eyes, as clear as Zhubai’s, held any brightness.
“Didn’t I tell you not to wander off?” The man scrutinized Zhubai with a mix of reproach and concern.
“Brother…”
Zhubai gazed up at him with childlike devotion.
“Brother, I’ve met the Flower Monarch!”
“Don’t talk nonsense! The Flower Monarch would never come here! Let’s go back.” The man pulled Zhubai behind him, eyeing Yun Qingxue and the others warily.
“Brother, she really is Her Majesty, the Flower Monarch of our plant spirit clan!” Zhubai pointed at Yun Qingxue.
The young man frowned, studying Yun Qingxue for a long moment before asking uncertainly, “Why… do I sense a faint aura of royal bloodline pressure from you?”
“Because she is our monarch—the ruler of our plant spirits!” Daisè stepped forward.
“Impossible…” The man shook his head in disbelief. “Why would the Flower Monarch come to this wasteland?
And… wasn’t the current Flower Monarch said to be mentally unstable?”
“I was indeed unwell before, but I’ve since recovered.” With that, Yun Qingxue deliberately released a trace of her aura.
“It truly is the Flower Monarch!” The man immediately dropped to one knee. “Zhutao of the Green Bamboo Clan pays homage to Your Majesty.”
“Rise quickly.” Yun Qingxue stepped forward to help him up.
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