Quick Travel to the Clouds

For the past thirty-odd days, Yun Chu has been gritting her teeth and persevering. She can't die; if she dies, the mission will fail.

The points she earned will be deducted!

She had initially thought she could follow You and complete the mission peacefully. But she never expected things to turn out this way.

They need to find a way to escape, and at the same time, they need to find out You's whereabouts and whether he is still alive.

Thinking of You, Yun Chu sighed.

The reason You, a member of the Black Wolf Clan, saved her was because he had a younger sister who, like her, was physically weak and often ill.

His sister was expelled from the tribe when she was ten years old.

For his sister's sake, he left the tribe.

He lived in the forest with his sister, but unfortunately, his sister passed away less than six months later.

Even at the very end, his sister was still saying how wonderful it would be if she could live.

She cried for help everywhere, which reminded You of his sister, so he saved her.

You treated her like a younger sister, while Yun Chu treated him like a brother.

Moreover, You saved her life, and she must repay that debt of gratitude. She must find him.

She couldn't even retrieve the weapons from the space, so she had to think of another way to escape.

As the morning light pierced through the thick clouds once more, Yun Chu followed the silent procession out of the cold shadows of the stone houses, barely feeling the existence of her legs.

Numbness and dull pain were the norm in her body; the only distinct feature was the burning brand mark on her shoulder, a constant reminder of her belonging—the property of the Lei Hu tribe, number ninety-three.

Two tiger soldiers lazily followed behind the column, their spears dragging on the ground with a harsh scraping sound.

They were as strong as rock statues, casually chatting about yesterday's bets and the screams of a slave being whipped by the overseer, completely ignoring the group of emaciated female slaves before them.

The edge of the forest was filled with the damp smell of humus and the faint sweetness of some wildflowers.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground covered with thorns and slippery moss.

The soldiers shouted for them to disperse and impatiently poked at each other with the shafts of their spears to urge them on.

The female slaves scattered silently like startled birds, their heads bowed as they painstakingly searched for food among the low bushes and under the tangled tree roots.

This is one of the slightly "better" jobs for them than for the males, but it is still a life-taking process carried out under the whips and contempt of the tiger clan.

Yun Chu mechanically parted a clump of thorny vines, her gaze vacant as she searched among the weeds for berries and buds that could fit in her basket.

Hunger made her eyelids heavy; the mission, and the worry for You, gnawed at her heart day and night.

live...

Her fingertips brushed against a grayish-green leaf with serrated edges. The rough texture made her fingertips pause slightly.

It is not the common nettle used to stave off hunger.

The leaf... its shape... and that almost tasteless, yet sticky sap that seeped out when squeezed... A cold current suddenly pierced through her numbness, and her heart began to pound wildly!

"Snake Fern" - its leaves are narrow and tooth-like, with veins that are an eerie purplish-black. A sticky sap oozes from its roots when collected.

It is non-toxic and often used externally to reduce swelling...

She barely dared to breathe, her peripheral vision fixed on that inconspicuous cluster of plants.

Instinct compelled her to look away, but something deeper within her held her firmly in place.

As if an invisible thread was pulling her stiffly to move her feet, she stepped over a wet, slippery fallen leaf, and her gaze involuntarily turned to the other side—to the shady side of a half-rotten tree root.

Several small, five-petaled flowers, each the size of a fingernail with smooth edges and radiating a strange bluish light, are quietly blooming.

"Dark Firefly Lotus"—its flowers resemble fireflies at night, emitting a faint, ethereal glow. Its fragrance is extremely faint, dissipating when the petals are crushed. It is non-toxic, and small amounts can be used medicinally for a mild calming effect…

"The sap from the roots of the snake-scorpion fern meets the petals of the dark firefly lotus... they blend seamlessly... a swift and deadly kill!" (Yun Chu of the Netherworld Sect!)

Whether picked alone or taken together, there is no problem.

However, if the juices of the two are mixed in a very short time... they will become highly poisonous!

Colorless and odorless, it is enough to tear apart the internal organs and burn the meridians of the strongest beast in a matter of breaths!

A tiny, frantic spark suddenly leaped up in Yun Chu's eyes, as if it had been rekindled from the ashes!

Yun Chu suppressed the exclamation that almost escaped her lips, and her body acted even before her mind could process it.

She quickly squatted down, pretending to trip over the mud on the soles of her shoes, and casually put a few sour wild fruits into her wicker basket.

Rough fingers deftly, precisely, and quickly plucked a few leaves of the "snake fern," crushed them, and spread them over the wild berries. The sticky juice instantly seeped into the berries, becoming almost imperceptible.

The next second, she got up with a slightly unsteady gait, and walked over naturally, almost brushing the edge of the rotten wood. With a nimble flick of her wrist, several "Dark Firefly Lotuses" seemed to have appeared out of thin air and were mixed in among the pile of wild fruits and leaves, firmly pressed deep at the bottom of the basket.

The cool touch of the basket's bottom and the eerie glow prickled her fingertips through the thin vines.

"What are you dawdling for, little rabbit!" The tiger soldier's rude shout lashed out like a whip, accompanied by the dull thud of a spear shaft hitting the ground. "Hurry up! Load it up and go back!"

Yun Chu shuddered violently and quickly lowered her head, letting the loose strands of hair cover the last trace of color that had instantly faded from her face, as well as the small flame that had suddenly ignited in her eyes, a flame mixed with fear and a crazy determination.

“Yes…” she responded so faintly it was almost inaudible, her voice trembling like a withered leaf in the wind.

Beneath the seemingly ordinary wild fruits and vegetables in that basket lay a silent revenge belonging to the weak, powerful enough to tear apart the tiger clan's might.

Another agonizing half-month has passed.

The same morning light, the same deathly silence in the queue, the same icy brand burning on Yun Chu's shoulder—number ninety-three, a silent curse.

This time, however, as the group dispersed at the edge of the forest, where the scent of decaying leaves filled the air, a thicker, more intense fear hung in the air.

Two unfamiliar tiger soldiers leaned against a tree trunk, their eyes like hooked claws, casually yet aggressively sweeping over each of the bent-over female slaves.

They were more robust than any I had seen before, with glossy fur and an undisguised savage aura.

One of them had a hideous new scar on his face, while the other was playing with a sharp bone dagger.

Yun Chu's heartbeat began to lose its rhythm. She forced herself to lower her head and focused on searching for something to eat among the tree roots. The vine basket contained the bitter roots and scattered wild fruits that she was already familiar with.

However, at the deepest part of the bottom of that basket, there were the dried and discolored fragments of "snake fern" and the flattened but still eerily luminous petals of "dark firefly lotus" that she had carefully collected over the past half month whenever she "stumbled" or "slipped."

They lay there quietly, like sleeping venomous snakes.

"Hey, you rabbit clan member," the scarred tiger soldier suddenly spoke, his voice rough and hoarse, the tip of his spear pointing in Yun Chu's direction.

Another tiger soldier's gaze immediately locked onto a trembling fox girl with a fluffy orange-red tail beside her. "And you two foxes! Get up!"

The surrounding air froze instantly.

The other female slaves became even more stiff, burying their heads even lower, and no one dared to look at them for long.

The fox-girl let out a short whimper, her wrist tightly gripped by Yun Chu amidst the chaos—the trembling in her hand was unclear whether it was the fox-girl's or Yun Chu's own.

The two tiger soldiers exchanged a knowing, sinister grin. "Come here, I'll take you to find some berries in a 'good spot'."

"Scarface Tiger Soldier said jokingly," said the soldier with the bone dagger, while Yun Chu was roughly shoved.

Staggering, Yun Chu and the fox girl were dragged and pulled into the depths of the bushes.

The thorns scratched her skin, leaving stinging marks, but Yun Chu felt no pain.

All her senses were focused on the wicker basket at her waist and on her breathing.

Calm down! You have to calm down!

This is your chance!

It might be the only chance to escape!