CH 90

Chapter 90: Xiao Yi Has No Malice

On the other side, Liu Jiaming and others, who were responsible for luring the beast herd, drew circles nearby while leading the rhino beasts. However, they made sure to maintain a safe distance from the combat troops and Xiao Qingyang's location.

The luring team only needed to lead the rhino beasts to follow them; there was no need to engage with these creatures. Therefore, they would occasionally turn around to see if the rhino beasts were keeping up.

A team member turned around once again and silently counted the rhino beasts behind them—one, two, three, four... Well, all five were there.

Subconsciously, the team member thought to himself that all five were present. But just as he was about to turn his head back, he suddenly realized that he had only counted four, not five, as he clearly remembered that they had lured five rhino beasts.

The team member felt uneasy and turned around to count again, and once again, there were only four.

"Something's not right. One of the rhino beasts is missing," the team member hurriedly informed their teammates.

Others maintained their forward speed upon hearing this but found moments to glance back at the rhino beasts. Indeed, there were only four left.

"When did it go missing?" Liu Jiaming asked.

However, no one could answer that question because no one knew for sure.

"What should we do? What if it went to the captain's side?" Everyone was worried.

"If it went to the captain's side, it would be fine. I'm concerned that it went to Qingyang's side," Liu Jiaming voiced his worries.

They had counted five rhino beasts as they passed by Xiao Qingyang's location, but now, upon recounting, there were only four. It was highly possible that one of them had indeed gone to Xiao Qingyang's side.

"Qingyang and the others have no combat power. We need to hurry back and check on them," everyone expressed their concern.

Liu Jiaming stopped everyone and said, "You continue trailing these four. I'll go back and assess the situation. The possibility of the missing one going to Qingyang's side is just our speculation. Perhaps it didn't. If all of us go, we might actually lure the rhino beasts over there."

Everyone agreed with Liu Jiaming's words.

Therefore, Liu Jiaming separated from the main force once again and quickly ran towards Xiao Qingyang's location.

At this moment, Xiao Qingyang and the others, whom Liu Jiaming and the rest were worried about, were leisurely dozing off on a tree.

Previously, due to the need to remain vigilant of the dangers around them and the tension in the air, Xiao Qingyang and the others couldn't close their eyes even if they were tired. But now, things were different.

Xiao Qingyang had tamed a rhino beast, and with this creature guarding their surroundings, they could rest assured and take a nap.

Just as Xiao Qingyang and the others were about to doze off, they suddenly heard a commotion ahead. The rhino beast lying lazily under the tree also stood up, its eyes gleaming as it stared intently ahead, as if it had spotted prey running towards it.

Liu Jiaming, piloting his mech, spotted the rhino beast lying beneath the tree where Xiao Qingyang and the others were. He was startled, afraid that it might turn and attack them.

Thus, Liu Jiaming piloted his mech, attempting to divert the rhino beast's attention and lead it away from there. The rhino beast was indeed eager to chase after Liu Jiaming, but it had just submitted to Xiao Qingyang.

Once it had a master, its actions couldn't be so arbitrary anymore.

The movement of the rhino beast woke up Xiao Qingyang. He looked at the restless creature below and then followed its gaze, quickly spotting Liu Jiaming's mech.

"Xiao Yi, don't move. That's my friend," Xiao Qingyang said to the rhino beast below the tree.

Xiao Yi was the name Xiao Qingyang gave to the rhino beast. As someone who struggled with naming things, he simply used numbers for naming. Since the rhino beast was the first mutant beast he possessed, he called it Xiao Yi. If he encountered other mutant beasts in the future, there might be Xiao Er, Xiao San, and so on.

The rhino beast had developed intelligence and could understand Xiao Qingyang's words.

Upon hearing that the two-legged creature was his master's friend, it realized that its potential prey had escaped. Its spirits instantly wilted, and it lazily lay back down under the tree, motionless.

Liu Jiaming was unaware of the conversation between Xiao Qingyang and the rhino beast. Seeing the rhino beast unmoving, he became even more anxious, fearing that it might suddenly become agitated and ram the tree where Xiao Qingyang and the others were.

Originally, Liu Jiaming planned to lure the rhino beast away before making his appearance. However, now it seemed that he had to show himself first. If the situation turned unfavorable, he would bring Xiao Qingyang and the others into the mech and escape.

"Jiaming, over here," Xiao Qingyang waved urgently as Liu Jiaming approached.

"Qingyang, hurry up and get on. I'll take you away from here," Liu Jiaming said to Xiao Qingyang and the other two.

Xiao Qingyang didn't understand and asked, "Have the other rhino beasts been taken care of? Are we leaving here?"

"There's a lone rhino beast here, right under your tree. It's too dangerous. I'll take you away first," Liu Jiaming explained hastily, keeping an eye on the rhino beast's movements. If it made any aggressive moves, he would not hesitate to attack.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingyang immediately understood the misunderstanding and felt relieved. He no longer felt anxious and said, "Jiaming, don't worry about it. It won't harm us."

Liu Jiaming was confused, not understanding the current situation. Why was Xiao Qingyang so certain that the rhino beast wouldn't harm them? It looked particularly fierce before.

"Jiaming, don't be nervous. This rhino beast really won't hurt anyone," Su Zihan chimed in to reassure him.

He could understand Liu Jiaming's reaction, Su Zihan remembered that he didn't believe in such things at first either. It was only when he saw Xiao Qingyang and the rhino beast peacefully coexisting, and the rhino beast showed no intention of attacking people, that he completely relaxed.

Su Zihan informed Liu Jiaming about Xiao Qingyang's battle with the rhino beast, even though Liu Jiaming hadn't witnessed it himself. Based on what he heard, he was able to imagine the entire scene.

In Su Zihan's description, Xiao Qingyang was incredibly brave, and the battle was exaggerated and fantastical. In the end, the rhino beast surrendered because it couldn't defeat Xiao Qingyang.

After listening to Su Zihan's account, Xiao Qingyang almost couldn't help but think that he was still in the era filled with cultivators, where battles relied on various dazzling spells.

It had to be said that Su Zihan was really good at using his imagination. Such talent was wasted not writing novels.

"It's not as exaggerated as Zihan described. It just happened to be dark, and I took advantage of the situation," Xiao Qingyang casually explained and quickly changed the subject, "How is the situation with the Captain's team?"

After observing for a while and seeing that the rhino beast had been lazily lying there without any intention of attacking them, Liu Jiaming left the mech and climbed onto the branch where Xiao Qingyang and the others were.

However, Liu Jiaming still didn't believe that a rhino beast could be tamed by humans. So his mech remained positioned near the tree trunk. If the rhino beast made any unusual movements, Liu Jiaming could enter the mech immediately and protect Xiao Qingyang and the others.

"I'm not very familiar with the situation with the captain's team, but there shouldn't be any problems," Liu Jiaming replied.

"That's good. Why don't you go help them then? We're fine here. We can take care of ourselves," especially with Xiao Yi around, there was even less danger.

However, the clever Xiao Qingyang didn't say the second half of the sentence, or else Jiaming would definitely worry again.

"No, I have to protect you here," Liu Jiaming glanced at the rhino beast below the tree, clearly still not trusting it.

The rhino beast rolled its eyes at Liu Jiaming, turned its head to the side, closed its eyes, and couldn't be bothered with this bipedal creature.

It had already been tamed by its master, so there was no danger whatsoever. This bipedal creature was just unnecessarily concerned. Well, since he wanted to protect his master, it took the opportunity to take a nap. It would be a waste not to sleep in such good weather.

As a result, the protector  for Xiao Qingyang shifted from Xiao Yi to Liu Jiaming.

The four of them stayed on the tree until late at night. Xiao Qingyang, Su Zihan, and Gu Xiaotian couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep. Only Liu Jiaming remained vigilant, constantly on guard.

At around two in the morning, there were rustling sounds ahead. Liu Jiaming became alert, and even Xiao Yi, who had been dozing with his eyes closed, immediately opened his eyes, staring intently in the direction ahead.

"Jiaming, what's wrong?" Xiao Qingyang asked in a sleepy voice, hearing the commotion.

"There's something happening. Wake up and find a place to hide," Liu Jiaming said to Xiao Qingyang while staying on guard.

Xiao Qingyang nudged Gu Xiaotian and Su Zihan beside him, urging them to wake up quickly.

At that moment, the commotion ahead grew louder, accompanied by voices.

"Are they up ahead?" one person asked.

"Yes, Jiaming should be with them. Nothing should go wrong," another person replied.

Liu Jiaming quickly recognized the voices as those of their teammates. His nervousness immediately subsided.

"It's them, it's Weiran and the others coming," Liu Jiaming said, smiling for once.

Sure enough, not long after, Lin Weiran and his group emerged from the forest, exposed to the sight of Xiao Qingyang and the others.

However, the initially relaxed expressions on Lin Weiran and the others turned cautious when they saw the rhino beast below the tree, glaring at them. They instinctively transformed them into their beast forms, as if they were ready to pounce on the rhino beast in the next moment.

Seeing their reactions, Xiao Qingyang knew they had also misunderstood. Worried that they might accidentally harm Xiao Yi, he hurriedly spoke, "Don't attack. Xiao Yi means no harm."

****

Translator’s note: 

We are close to the end of this book~ The goal is to finish this month.