"Little Bai? Are you calling me a dog?" Bai Shuo cursed inwardly but kept a natural smile on her face. “Sure, sounds friendly.”
“Little Bai, take this trinket as a gift.” Mu Fan held the pig pendant out to her, but as Bai Shuo reached out to take it, her face froze, and her hand paused in mid-air.
Oh no, this thing glows when I touch it! If he realizes it’s a treasure, he’ll definitely figure out that I was taking advantage of him last night…
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
“No, of course not! I mean, look how… cute this pig is!” Bai Shuo awkwardly poked it with her fingertips. “It’s a bit heavy, though, so just set it down; I’ll take it in a moment…”
Before she finished, Mu Fan tossed the pendant to her with a casual flick.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Startled, Bai Shuo reflexively caught it. She almost tossed it away in her panic but suddenly realized that the pig pendant wasn’t glowing.
She was stunned, staring at the pendant in her hands. “It… it doesn’t…”
Mu Fan’s expression showed a flash of surprise, quickly hidden. “It doesn’t what?”
“I mean… it’s not as heavy as I thought!” Bai Shuo quickly changed course, pocketing the pig pendant and taking a bite of the wild fruit before handing another one to Mu Fan. “Thank you, Brother Mu! By the way, Brother Mu, where are you from, and do you know where we are? How did you end up being captured here?”
Mu Fan glanced at the fruit, then accepted it and started to play with it in his hand. “I’m from the borderlands. I came to the capital to sell some herbs for my family, but while passing through Mount Mu Xiao yesterday, I was robbed and taken by the mountain bandits.”
“Busy robbers, aren’t they?” Bai Shuo muttered. “Brother Mu, it seems we share the same fate—I was captured yesterday, too. I’d heard of Mount Mu Xiao before; it’s supposed to be a desolate mountain near Wei City. What’s strange is that I noticed this bandit camp isn’t very large—maybe a hundred bandits at most. Wei City is prosperous, with a strong military, so why can’t they take down such a small bandit stronghold?” Bai Shuo looked puzzled and walked to the entrance of the cave. Towering trees shaded the area, and the entire mountain was lush and alive, which surprised her.
During the chaotic escape in the dark last night, she hadn’t noticed. From the road, Mount Mu Xiao had looked barren, just a few small hills with some scraggly yellow trees. But here… it seemed like an entirely different world.
“Yesterday, I… I…” Bai Shuo pointed outside, at a loss for words. “The Mount Mu Xiao I saw from the main road didn’t look like this at all!”
“Could it be?” Mu Fan looked surprised and immediately walked to the cave entrance. “I’m from the borderlands and have never been to the capital before, so I didn’t pay much attention. Little Bai, maybe you’re mistaken; the world doesn’t have such strange phenomena, does it?”
“I’m sure I’m not mistaken…” Bai Shuo looked up at the sky. Though the sun was bright, only a few scattered rays pierced through the dense branches.
“I noticed last night that we couldn’t find a way out—this place is indeed strange…” Bai Shuo’s face filled with terror. “Brother Mu, I… I’m scared…”
Trembling, Bai Shuo clutched Mu Fan’s belt, looking thoroughly frightened. Mu Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly at her display of fear but reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. There’s no such thing as demons or monsters. The bandits who captured us are just people. If they live here just fine, then they must know a way down the mountain.”
“Brother Mu, you’re absolutely right!” Bai Shuo’s spirits lifted at his reasoning. She clapped her hands, “If we follow those bandits down, we’ll get out of here. Let’s hurry back to the camp. Those greedy bandits will likely go down the mountain to rob again today.”
“Alright.” Mu Fan agreed without hesitation and put on his belt. “Do you remember the way out from the camp?”
“It was dark and confusing, but I left marks on the trees when I escaped,” Bai Shuo said, running over to a tree nearby and pointing to a small moon symbol she had carved with a stone the previous night. “See, right here.”
“Let’s go, then.”
“Right.” Bai Shuo, eager to leave, took the lead, with Mu Fan trailing behind at a leisurely pace. As they walked, Mu Fan’s palm emitted a silvery light that shot into the dense forest.
The silver demonic energy darted through the woods, eventually reaching a wolf pack. The wolves’ eyes glowed silver, and, driven by the energy, they began to head toward Bai Shuo and Mu Fan’s direction, sending flocks of birds into flight.
In the Mu Family Village’s training grounds, Zhang Chao was pacing with a frown when he noticed flocks of birds startled into the sky from the forest. His expression darkened, and Wu Yong came running from the village gate, gasping for breath.
“Boss! Did you see that? There’s movement in the forest!”
“I can see that myself. It must be those two brats. Get the brothers together—we’ll bring them back this time for sure.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Meanwhile, outside Mount Mu Xiao, Chong Zhao led the way, with Fu Ling by his side. Behind them marched a large, well-equipped contingent of guards, numbering no less than five hundred.
“Miss Fu Ling, is this the place?” Chong Zhao asked, pointing his whip toward Mount Mu Xiao.
“Yes, that’s correct. It was dark that night, and though I was barely conscious, I vaguely remember seeing a girl taken into the mountain by bandits. I believe it may have been your sister.”
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