Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Treat It Like Hei Dan is in Kindergarten

Finally, Hei Dan had the chance to experience what Ji Huan felt at the beginning.

A dozen pairs of white-ringed eyes stared intently at Hei Dan, who returned the gaze just as fiercely.

Hei Dan held onto the egg in his claws with great care; it was the only thing left to him by his uncle before he left. Always fearful that the monsters on the other side would snatch his egg away, Hei Dan glared back nervously.

However, the moment that frightened Hei Dan the most was not this, but mealtime:

The caretaker directly placed a basin of meat inside, not minced, but whole chunks!

At the scent of the meat, the little monsters in the cage immediately swarmed over, fiercely tugging at the chunks in the basin. As they chewed, their tiny mouths glistened with cold light from their sharp teeth.

Within a minute, those little monsters had licked the basin clean. Then, they returned to their original huddle, still muddied with blood foam.

Due to the intense competition for the meat, their bodies were still stained. Crammed together in their dirty state, as time passed, an unpleasant fishy odor began to emanate from them.

After a while, the caretaker came over and filled the basin with water.

Considering how every time after meals, Uncle would pour water to clean Hei Dan's claws, the little creature finally took action. Crawling over, it cautiously dipped its left paw into the water, then followed by its right.

As Hei Dan couldn't walk yet, when one paw was submerged, the other had to support his body on the ground. The ground was covered in blood and flesh from the earlier scramble for food among the other monsters. Consequently, after cleaning his paws, Hei Dan found them dirtier than before.

While Hei Dan was examining his paws, the smaller monsters, seemingly thirsty, emerged from their corners to drink water. As they bumped into Hei Dan, who was stuck in the middle of the path, he fell over, getting his once-pristine body smeared with the bloody foam on the floor.

Thus, the previously spotless Hei Dan became just as filthy as the other monsters.

Never having smelled such stench before, Hei Dan's white-ringed eyes wrinkled upon catching a whiff of himself. Planning to wash again in the basin, he found it empty when he reached its side.

Hei Dan let out two more chirps before retreating back to his corner, reeking of odor. Hungry, sleepy, aggrieved, and scared, the little monster curled up and fell asleep.

Where is Grandpa? Hei Dan missed him!

And what about Uncle? It had been so many days since Hei Dan last saw him!

Chirp... Chirp...

Hei Dan's eggshell was uncrackable, and his tummy was crying for food!

Here were numerous malevolent entities who refused to give Hei Dan any green vegetables, serving only red, meaty dishes! They wouldn't even let Hei Dan clean his little paws!

Chirp... chirp...

In the dream, Hei Dan was particularly aggrieved, alternately missing his grandfather and uncle, until he cried in sorrow.

***

Ji Huan's eyelids twitched; he felt as if he could hear Hei Dan's sobs again.

Holding his breath, Ji Huan forced himself to focus all his attention on the cage ahead.

Yes, the cage... inside.

It was an incredibly sturdy prison, housing a fierce beast whose features were distorted with rage. Moonlight illuminated its snow-white bone scales and ram-like horns.

From Ji Huan's perspective, he could clearly see the bloodstains adhered to those bone scales.

That was...

Grandfather!!!

Ji Huan wept bitterly, calling out his grandfather's name in his heart loudly.

Yet, Grandfather seemed to be completely unaware, quietly lying motionless inside the cage, silent and lifeless.

Suppressing the turmoil of emotions surging within him, Ji Huan meticulously examined the rest of the cage. Then, he softly called out Hei Dan's name in his mind.

Ever since they shared Hei Dan's dream, Ji Huan had noticed that their connection had grown increasingly intimate. Whenever he invoked Hei Dan's name inwardly, no matter where Hei Dan was or what he was doing, he would always turn his head precisely towards Ji Huan's direction.

Hei Dan, Hei Dan, Hei Dan...

Ji Huan whispered his friend's name in his mind, each call more urgent than the last.

He kept calling, but the tiny black head never appeared.

Upon confirming that Hei Dan was indeed not in the cage, Ji Huan was unsure whether he should feel relieved or more anxious.

He felt as if he could still hear Hei Dan's sobs ringing in his ears.

Endure, he must endure.

"Endure a little longer, Hei Dan," Ji Huan whispered, his heart gradually calming down. "As soon as Uncle rescues Grandfather, I'll find you right away."

Fixing his gaze on the adjacent cage, he noticed it was identical to the one confining his grandfather. Inside was another fierce black beast. Due to its black fur and the darkness of night, Ji Huan had difficulty discerning its features. Unlike the silent and motionless Grandfather, this creature relentlessly slammed against the bars, periodically letting out a terrifying roar.

Upon hearing the roar, Ji Huan knitted his brows. The sound seemed eerily familiar.

With bated breath, he intently observed both cages while cautiously watching the house's entrance not too far away.

He had arrived too late.

Following the helicopter's flight path up the mountain, Ji Huan suddenly heard a series of explosions overhead before he could locate the landing site.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Three explosions in succession. Three helicopters crashed one after another, the last one plummeting just a hundred meters in front of him, its immense impact sending him flying before he could react.

When he regained consciousness, his ears and nose were filled with blood. Wiping the blood from his face, Ji Huan gritted his teeth and ran towards the first helicopter's crash site. Upon realizing that the wreckage was at the enigmatic mansion where he had been working for a long time, he paused in surprise, then without hesitation, dashed inside.

The entrance was in chaos, with people rushing in and out. Ji Huan remained composed, flashing his identity card from his part-time job, and effortlessly blended into the crowd.

Upon reaching the courtyard, he immediately recognized Grandfather trapped in the cage.

He wanted to find an opportunity to open the cage and drag Grandfather out, but there was constant traffic in and out of the room behind the cage, and guards were always stationed beside it. Ji Huan could not find a chance to make his move.

This wait lasted for four hours.

Ji Huan had been hiding in the bushes beside the area for a full four hours. Fortunately, he had cleaned this courtyard before, so finding a place to conceal himself wasn't too difficult for him.

After some time, a group of people emerged from the room behind the cage.

"…Young man, you're truly remarkable. You managed to capture the offending monster responsible for this incident on your first attempt. This is a significant achievement." The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a high-quality dark suit with neatly trimmed short facial hair. As they walked out, he tilted his head to speak to those trailing behind him.

"This monster has likely been lurking here for quite some time, residing on Eight Virtues Mountain all along. If not for Mr. Wang's magic beast with its sharp sense of smell detecting it, it might have continued to remain hidden." The response came from the man beside him, slightly younger and dressed in a white protective suit. Ji Huan immediately recognized it as the uniform of the staff who had dealt with the incident in the courtyard that afternoon; they were supposed to wear hoods, but this person wasn't wearing one at the moment.

"The timing was fortunate. My magic beast may look fierce, but it's usually well-behaved. Even if it did spot the monster, what good would that have done? It still wouldn't have been captured, right? Tsk—rumor has it that the same monster devoured twenty people fifteen years ago before escaping. Little Chen's contribution this time is doubled," the mustached man chuckled, shaking his head as he praised the young man behind him once more.

"Oh? Well...this...this...I only happened upon it by chance, purely coincidental. If not for Mr. Wang's magic beast weakening it beforehand, I'd be lucky to escape being eaten with my current abilities..." Faced with the mustached man's continuous praise, the young man behind them—Chen Sheng—had no choice but to speak up.

This Chen Sheng was indeed the same Chen Sheng who had accidentally caught Hei Dan earlier and then accidentally seen his grandfather's true form, causing him to fall onto his bottom in fright.

As the team's overall level was low, although they suspected the monster to be of a higher rank, since they managed to capture it, they didn't think much of its strength. After completing their team mission, they followed protocol and sent the monster to the containment facility.

The containment area hadn't taken the creature seriously either. Starved and severely injured, it was clear that it didn't have much time left, so they had simply thrown it into the waste disposal zone.

A monster of such advanced age with severe injuries, even its body parts would hold no value for recycling. After some time in this place, the monster would turn into black ashes, easily swept away, an environmentally friendly solution.

However, shortly after discarding it, the Wang family arrived with the shocking news that "the dying Horned Fiend was the culprit behind the earthquake."

This earthquake had been rather catastrophic, collapsing half a mountain and affecting half the town's population. The government had already dispatched investigators, and as one of the families that coincidentally had a large number of people stationed there this year, they had become the main focus of the relevant departments.

The Wang family, known for their expertise in monster cultivation, were under even greater scrutiny.

In fact, they had been the primary target of investigations for several years now.

Their respected uncle, who had good relations with the government, made it clear that he wouldn't intervene. Amidst their frantic efforts to deal with the situation, they stumbled upon the perfect culprit – a prohibited-class monster with a criminal record, on the verge of death.

Nothing could be more suitable than this.

Unlike humans, whose disappearance would prompt their families to report to the authorities, if a monster vanished, its "family" surely wouldn't dare to report it, right? Besides, did monsters even have families?

However, this time, they had guessed wrong.

That monster had family. His family had come here at great expense just to find him. For his sake, they would dare to do anything.

Upon hearing their words, Ji Huan abruptly stood up from behind the hiding rock.

With anger seemingly manifesting in his eyes, he asked in a deep voice, "What do you intend to do to my grandfather?"