Chapter 72: Entangled Her

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Entangled Her

Mo Xuan Ye’s arrow struck nothing but air; Qiao Suluo had already jumped.

A hint of surprise flickered across his cold eyes. He lowered his bow, withdrawing his Domain Power.

At that moment, Mo Chi hurried over. "Young Master, did you kill that ugly female?"

"She jumped," Mo Xuan Ye replied coldly.

Mo Chi gasped in shock. "Jumped? How is that possible?"

He rushed to the edge of the cliff. The abyss below was shrouded in a thick layer of fog, completely obscuring any trace of a person.

"Young Master, she really did jump! She’s usually so arrogant and domineering, but she’s always been a coward who’s terrified of heights. Why would she jump?"

Mo Xuan Ye couldn’t figure it out either. The faint, resolute smile she wore as she plummeted flashed through his mind, stirring a strange sensation in his chest.

"Well, she’ll definitely be crushed to death from a fall like that," Mo Chi said. "At least it saved you from having to do it yourself. It spares you from dirtying your hands, Young Master.

"It’s good that she’s dead. Now she can’t disgustingly pester you anymore.

"Once you find the item this time, we can head back and surprise Miss Shen. Then, you and Miss Shen can get married as soon as possible."

In Mo Chi’s eyes, his Young Master was so exceptional that only a beautiful and gentle female like Miss Shen was worthy of him. Qiao Suluo wasn’t even fit to carry his shoes. She was completely out of her league.

Back when she used every underhanded trick in the book to pester their Young Master, everyone in the Mo Family absolutely loathed that ugly, wicked female. Previously, the Young Master couldn’t do anything about it due to the marriage contract with the Shen Family. Fortunately, it was later exposed that she was a fake heiress. His Young Master no longer had to be associated with that vile woman.

This way, the Mo Family’s reputation would remain intact.

***

After plunging from the cliff, Qiao Suluo escaped the range of Mo Xuan Ye’s Domain Power. However, plummeting from such a staggering height drained all the color from her face. The sensation of free-falling through the air was terrifying, and the howling wind whipped agonizingly against her ears. To say she wasn’t afraid would be a lie.

"AHH!" she screamed, unable to hold it in.

Her mind went completely blank. Overwhelmed by sheer terror, she couldn’t formulate a single thought. She wondered if she would plummet to her death. She cursed that scumbag in her mind, vowing that she would definitely get her revenge.

Perhaps sensing her fear, the system comforted her. "Don’t be afraid, Host. There is a deep pool of water below. I will use the System Power to cushion your fall. You won’t be in any danger."

Hearing the system’s words finally eased some of her terror.

The moment she hit the surface, she felt an unseen force cradle her entire body, allowing her to descend gently into the water.

"System, I don’t know how to swim!"

Qiao Suluo genuinely couldn’t swim. The system fell silent for a moment before replying with a weak, helpless tone, "Host, I will use my own energy to temporarily grant you the ability to swim. However, after continuously protecting you, I have exhausted my System Power. I must go into a deep slumber now."

Once submerged, Qiao Suluo realized she could miraculously breathe underwater and swim instinctively.

Hearing the system’s fading voice, she asked anxiously, "System, don’t go to sleep just yet! How are Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo doing?" She was incredibly worried about them.

"Don’t worry, they are fine."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked, "Then what can I do for you? How can I help replenish your System Power?"

"As long as you continuously complete missions, I can replenish my System Power," the system answered weakly. "Remember, you must save Chu Moyuan and bring him back."

"But how am I supposed to find Chu Moyuan right now?" Qiao Suluo asked, thoroughly conflicted. "I don’t even know where he is or what situation he’s in."

"The map can pinpoint his location," the system explained. "Just follow the directional arrow, and you will find him."

Qiao Suluo understood then. The map was highly intelligent, much like a modern GPS.

"If you fall asleep, when will you wake up?"

"I will wake up once you form a Contract with another Beast Husband."

With those final words, the system fell completely silent.

"System? System!"

No matter how many times Qiao Suluo called out, there was no response.

Qiao Suluo swam to the surface and dragged herself onto the shore. The bank was covered in lush, dense vegetation, resembling a primeval forest. "I wonder where this is?" she murmured.

She sat by the water’s edge to rest for a while, eating a little food to recover her stamina. Then, she absorbed some medicinal herbs stored in her spatial dimension to enhance her Healing Ability just enough to cure her sprained ankle.

Once the pain in her foot vanished, she finally checked the map.

Sure enough, an arrow pulsed on the parchment. Following its direction, she trekked deeper into the woods. After walking for about half an hour, Qiao Suluo stumbled upon a gigantic black snake resting in the forest.

The serpent was as pitch-black as ink. The scales covering its massive body had lost their luster and were smeared with blood, making it a shocking and gruesome sight.

Upon seeing it, Qiao Suluo let out a reflexive scream. "AHH!"

She was absolutely terrified of snakes.

Her legs gave out, and she plummeted onto her backside, instinctively scrambling backward in panic. The map slipped from her grasp and tumbled to the earth. However, now that she had found Chu Moyuan, the map instantly crumbled into ashes.

Taking a closer, trembling look at the creature, Qiao Suluo recognized that this was Chu Moyuan’s true beast form.

She had envisioned rescuing him in his humanoid state. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to be faced with his true serpentine body—and such an impossibly massive one at that. Just looking at it was horrifying. A spine-tingling chill washed over her entire body.

It was a primal, instinctual fear that she couldn’t control. She wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing, but then she remembered that he was the most formidable villain boss in this world. The system had assured her he wouldn’t die easily, so he was likely just unconscious.

After a long while of watching the motionless snake, Qiao Suluo slowly let out a breath of relief. She called out softly, "Chu Moyuan? Chu Moyuan?"

After a few shouts, she remembered that he had a hearing impairment; he couldn’t hear her voice at all. She had no choice but to inch closer with excruciating caution, slowly extending her hand until her palm rested against his scaled body.

The cold, slippery sensation of the snake’s flesh made her hand tremble.

Suppressing her body’s instinctual terror, she began channeling her Healing Ability into him. She had harvested quite a few medicinal herbs along the way, so she still had plenty of Healing Ability left in her reserves. As she infused the healing power into Chu Moyuan, she could visibly see the mottled scars across his body slowly mending. The gruesome wounds were gradually closing up, ceasing their bleeding.

Just as she was entirely focused on healing him, Chu Moyuan suddenly snapped his eyes open.

His gaze resembled a profound, crystalline pool, with an amber-gold light shimmering in its depths—deep and steeped in mystery. An orange-red halo bloomed around his pupils, resembling the most breathtaking sunset on the horizon.

However, the split second he saw Qiao Suluo, his eyes constricted into vertical slits, radiating an aura of extreme danger. It looked as though raging flames had ignited within his pupils.

His massive body shifted. In a flash, a cold, elongated tail coiled tightly around her, and his icy, flickering tongue brushed against her neck. It felt as if a single bite could effortlessly snap her throat in two.

"AHH!"

Enveloped by his freezing aura, Qiao Suluo felt the breath hitch in her chest, her entire body shuddering uncontrollably.

She squeezed her eyes shut on reflex, her eyelashes trembling violently. Not daring to make any sudden moves, she frantically tried to explain, "Don’t... don’t bite me! I came here to save you!"