Chapter 142 Beloved (4) Happy Reunion

Chapter 142: Beloved (Part 4) A Happy Reunion

As Miao Yuanjin’s shout echoed, the two colossal beasts, mid-pursuit of Yu Xing, froze. Their massive heads swiveled in unison to fix their gaze upon her.

A shiver ran down Miao Yuanjin’s spine. She ducked her head and scrambled back through the window, retreating into the house.

Her heart hammered in her chest. The terror and panic that had gripped her moments before vanished, replaced by an inexplicable, almost absurd, sense of security.

Miao Yuanjin lightly slapped her own cheek, chastising herself in exasperation, “Miao Yuanjin, you’re pathetic! How can you feel safe around a liar?!”

High above, Yu Xing, seeing Miao Yuanjin successfully divert the beasts’ attention, prepared to dive down and rescue her. But then, from her aerial vantage point, she took in the full, horrifying scope of the scene below and froze.

Unable to reach Yu Xing in the sky, the giant beasts redirected their fury, converging on Miao Yuanjin, who had retreated into the house.

No sooner had Miao Yuanjin slapped herself than a colossal claw burst through the window. She stared, bewildered for a moment, then scrambled frantically into a corner.

“Yu Xing…” She barely whispered the name before catching herself. Quickly, she clapped a hand over her mouth, then pressed her palms together, forcing a look of devout piety. “Moon God, protect me… Great Moon God, please shield your most faithful devotee…”

Just then, a grating, teeth-on-edge creaking sound reverberated from above. Chunks of debris rained down as the roof, like a mere bottle cap, was torn clean off by one of the beasts.

Sunlight streamed onto Miao Yuanjin’s face, and for a moment, she felt as though she were seeing the light of heaven.

One beast had ripped away the roof, while the other opened its cavernous maw, lunging directly at Miao Yuanjin.

In that split second, a glowing, transparent barrier shimmered into existence between Miao Yuanjin and the beasts. The barrier held for a precious moment, allowing Miao Yuanjin to scramble out of the house.

The barrier was fragile, shattering into countless fragments after a single impact from the beast. Without hesitation, the beast lunged again, its jaws agape.

“Avada Kedavra!”

A bolt of lightning struck the beast’s mouth, knocking its massive head violently to the side.

Then, a hand seized Miao Yuanjin by the collar, yanking her off her feet and into the air in a flash. She dangled mid-air, swaying like a piece of cured meat.

But she paid no mind to her undignified predicament, instead pointing excitedly downward. “Did you see that?! The Holy Light Barrier! I’m a Level Two Moon God Chosen now!”

Yu Xing, gripping her broomstick with one hand and Miao Yuanjin with the other, said sternly, “Stop squirming!”

Miao Yuanjin blinked, finally registering her current situation. Her expression twisted. “So you’re the Bull Warrior…”

“Where’s Wei Tao?” Yu Xing, oblivious to Miao Yuanjin’s complicated emotions and contorted face, asked, “Weren’t you two together?”

“Haven’t seen her.” Despite her turmoil, Miao Yuanjin answered seriously. “From the moment I entered, it was just me and that monster.”

Yu Xing now had a clearer understanding of the situation. She turned to Miao Yuanjin. “I’ll get you out first. Are you ready?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m ready—wait, what?” Miao Yuanjin was bewildered. “How are you getting me out? What do I need to prepare for?”

No sooner had she spoken than Yu Xing released her grip on Miao Yuanjin’s collar. Miao Yuanjin plummeted like a fallen angel in freefall.

“AAAAHHHH—!!!”

The Sword of the Lake materialized in Yu Xing’s hand, and she swung it forward.

“…AHH—!!!”

The scream ripped through the slums, waking everyone. Lights flickered on as angry shouts erupted from behind windows: “Who the hell is screaming in the middle of the night?!”

The scream abruptly ceased.

Miao Yuanjin, stunned, realized her surroundings were now dark—she had truly escaped that hellish place.

She turned to find Yu Xing right beside her. Immediately, she lunged. “You dare come back?!”

Yu Xing quickly caught her hands. “Don’t move. Don’t touch me. Touching me brings bad luck.”

Miao Yuanjin paused. She wanted to retort that their previous embraces had been fine, but she didn’t press the point. Instead of pouncing again, she hissed in a low, fierce voice, “Why did you come back? How dare you return to Seven Cities?”

“I came to find you,” Yu Xing said.

Miao Yuanjin froze again.

“Tonight, I came specifically to see you.” Yu Xing’s voice was sincere. “I asked someone to track down your teammates for this mission. Your terminal was being monitored; I didn’t know how else to contact you.”

Miao Yuanjin: “…”

How could she describe Miao Yuanjin’s feelings?

She had been furious at Yu Xing’s deception and deeply suspicious of her identity. But now, after more than a month apart, Yu Xing was telling her that this reunion was entirely Yu Xing’s deliberate arrangement.

She had risked returning to Seven Cities… just to find her.

Miao Yuanjin’s anger melted away instantly. Instead, she became flustered, glancing left and right. “Oh, really? What did you need me for?”

Yu Xing, hurt by her cold response, said, “Do I need a reason to want to see you?”

Miao Yuanjin: “…”

Her mind was a jumble, and she couldn’t think of what to say. She blurted out the first topic that came to mind: “So… have you looked for Zhao Lan and the others yet?”

“No,” Yu Xing answered honestly. “This is the first time I’ve secretly entered a city since last time.”

What Yu Xing meant was that Seven Cities was the first place she had infiltrated, so she hadn’t seen Zhao Lan’s group because they weren’t there. Miao Yuanjin, however, interpreted this as Yu Xing’s first priority being to see her.

A strange, secret thrill shot through her. Miao Yuanjin murmured, “You shouldn’t have come back. It’s dangerous. Weren’t you afraid of being discovered?”

“Not afraid.” Yu Xing genuinely wasn’t. With her ability to possess others, why would she fear being discovered?

The last encounter had been so messy because she had to protect her grandmother. This time, she was alone—escaping would be incredibly easy.

Miao Yuanjin was speechless. She looked at Yu Xing, who had removed her hood and mask, observing her closely for a long moment before blurting out, “You’ve lost weight.”

Miao Yuanjin: “…”

Yu Xing: “…”

The sudden awkwardness was palpable. Miao Yuanjin scratched her head. “Why does this feel so weird?”

“I feel the same,” Yu Xing agreed.

“Oh!” Miao Yuanjin suddenly exclaimed. “Wei Tao!”

Only then did they remember Wei Tao. Miao Yuanjin looked around frantically. “Where is she?”

“She should still be in there,” Yu Xing said.

“She’s in danger!” Miao Yuanjin worried. “What if she’s already dead?”

“She probably isn’t,” Yu Xing said calmly. “According to the records, all the workers here went insane, but no one died. So she shouldn’t be dead—whether she’s gone crazy or not, I don’t know.”

Miao Yuanjin also breathed a sigh of relief. Right, the records clearly stated that no one had died because of this pollution source.

“Since you could save me, can you save her too?” Miao Yuanjin asked.

Yu Xing nodded. She was beginning to understand the nature of that dreamlike dimension.

Once inside, people were separated individually. Each person was placed in a nearly identical space and would encounter a giant beast. The problem lay with that ramshackle hut—it was like a portal to another dimension. Entering it would transport you to another person’s space.

Earlier, when Yu Xing looked down from above, she saw that beyond the slums were still slums—endless rows of identical slums connected together. There was nothing outside of them in that space.

Yu Xing found the situation pretty messed up. She asked Miao Yuanjin, “What did you experience inside? Did you run into anyone familiar?”

“Anyone I knew? Do you count?” That was Miao Yuanjin’s first thought. She said, “I went in and realized none of you were there. I panicked and searched everywhere for you. Then that monster appeared, trying to eat me, so I just kept hiding until you showed up.”

Yu Xing had encountered Yu He several times inside, but Miao Yuanjin hadn’t met anyone familiar. Did that mean the illusions weren’t based on people’s memories? Or was it just random?

After a moment of thought, Yu Xing said to Miao Yuanjin, “Wait here for a bit. I’ll go save Wei Tao.”

…

A seven-foot-tall beast-woman crouched by the wall, panting heavily. This beast-woman was none other than Wei Tao.

After entering, Wei Tao realized Miao Yuanjin and Wang Zuxian were nowhere to be found. She immediately understood the situation was complicated. Sure enough, a massive beast-like monster soon appeared. She had no other option but to transform and fight it.

The monster was much larger than her. She fought tooth and nail just to stay alive. For now, the monster was stronger, but it couldn’t overpower her immediately.

The problem was that maintaining her beast form in battle sapped her mental energy. After fighting this long, she could clearly feel her mental energy dwindling bit by bit. She was starting to despair—what could she do once her energy ran out?

And she had no idea where Miao Yuanjin was. Was Miao Yuanjin in danger too? She was the one who had brought Miao Yuanjin into this line of work. If Miao Yuanjin died, she…

A low, guttural growl rumbled…

The monster let out a low growl, lowering its massive head. Its long snout brushed against the rooftops as it sniffed, seemingly tracking Wei Tao by scent.

*Splat!*

A drop of dark red, foul-smelling blood landed on the ground beside Wei Tao.

Her face went pale. She leaped up, landing on the opposite rooftop. Just as the monster’s jaws lunged forward, she jumped again—this time directly onto its nose.

Her limbs were fully transformed into beast-like claws. Crouched low, she scrambled up the monster’s nose using all four limbs. Her target was its eyes. If she could blind it, she might actually win.

Just as she reached the area around its blood-red eyes and prepared to strike, the monster suddenly shut its eyes and thrashed its head wildly. Wei Tao clung desperately to its fur, but the force was too strong. She couldn’t hold on and was hurled skyward.

During those few seconds of suspension, she frantically tried to figure out how to land safely. Suddenly, the space in front of her twisted, and something flew out. Right behind it were five or six identical monsters.

Wei Tao: “?!”

One was already enough to nearly kill her—how could there suddenly be so many?

“Found her!”

A familiar voice rang in her ears—it sounded like Wang Zuxian’s.

The next second, Wei Tao’s vision blurred. Her legs gave out, and she landed hard on her backside.

“Wei Tao!” Miao Yuanjin’s voice reached her ears. “Good heavens, why are you so bloody?”

One moment she was in mid-air, the next she was on the ground—the whiplash from the teleport made her dizzy. She couldn’t help but think, *Isn’t it normal to get bloody when dealing with contaminants? I bet you don’t look this clean after that.*

Then she opened her eyes and saw the two figures in front of her.

One stood there looking annoyingly pristine in military-green attire, while the other wore a dark hoodie, the hood and mask seemingly welded to her head. Both were spotless, not a hair out of place.

*I…*

Wei Tao stared. For the first time in her life, Wei Tao began to question everything.