Chapter 342: They’ve All Arrived

By the time they made it to shore, the sky was already dark.

In the distance, Greenfield City looked as if it were engulfed in a great fire, casting a red glow across the horizon.

Yu Zhizhi stood by the shore, wringing the water from the hem of her skirt. As darkness fell, the sea grew ever more tranquil, and the sound of the waves rolled in, one after another.

The Little Octopus found an abandoned treehouse.

It was in a tree, small, like a little tent, just big enough to squeeze into for sleep.

The Little White Snake had swallowed some water. It poked its head out of the bamboo basket and spat it out.

Yu Zhizhi found the Spirit Runes she had left, gathered some dry wood, and started a fire beneath the tree.

The Little Octopus, keeping watch from the tree, called out, "A boat!"

It whispered a warning.

Yu Zhizhi extinguished the fire.

The Little White Snake had already gone into the tent in the tree. After turning into a rabbit, she found it was difficult to climb.

The Little Octopus just wrapped its tentacles around her and pulled her up.

Yu Zhizhi scrambled into the tent.

They hid carefully.

The sounds of battle finally subsided late into the night. A golden light bloomed in the distant sky, as if to purify all the tainted air.

Peering through the small tent window, Yu Zhizhi saw golden branches appear in the night sky, lush and leafy, as holy and magnificent as a divine miracle.

’The Divine Tree has been healed?!’

She placed her rabbit paws on the edge of the window, unable to resist standing on her hind legs to get a better view.

The Little Octopus gathered some red berries from the other trees.

It stuffed a few in its mouth. Seeing the little rabbit’s dangerous posture, it wrapped a tentacle around one of her legs to keep her from getting too excited and falling.

The Little White Snake wiped one of the red berries clean with its tail, moved to Yu Zhizhi’s side, and offered it to her. "Mama, eat a berry~"

Yu Zhizhi carefully drew back. She huddled in a corner, took the red berry Little Amon offered, and took a bite. It was sweet and sour.

Little Amon rarely saw his mother in her Beast Form.

It happily snuggled closer.

’Whoa, Mama’s so warm!’

The bodies of Snake Clan beasts are always cold. The Little White Snake burrowed into the fluffy rabbit’s embrace, its tail wagging happily.

Holding Little Amon, Yu Zhizhi drifted off to sleep.

After finishing its red berries, the Little Octopus glanced at them and slowly scooted over. It also wanted to sleep nestled against the little rabbit.

「The next day.」

Having dealt with the internal strife in Greenfield City, Noel led his men all the way to the seashore.

He saw the small tent in the tree and opened his palm. Pale green runes connecting him to the Divine Tree appeared, slowly drawing the life within the tent out.

A little white rabbit fell out of the tree.

Noel caught it easily.

Yu Zhizhi, who had still been asleep, suddenly felt herself falling. She snapped her eyes open to find herself being held in Noel’s arms.

Nearby.

The Little Octopus landed on the runes, along with the Little White Snake.

The Rabbit Clan youth held Yu Zhizhi and started walking back. "Everything is resolved. All the smugglers have been dealt with. However—"

He paused mid-stride. "K has disappeared."

’Last night, the Little Octopus said Tang Luo Ke’s presence had vanished...’

’Its sense of smell is so keen.’

Yu Zhizhi’s rabbit ears drooped slightly. She lay on Noel’s arm, looking dejected.

’Where did Tang go?’

’Did those smugglers do something to him?’

’If he had been here, the fighting would have ended much sooner.’

Noel boarded the Tree Car.

He placed the little rabbit on the cushion beside him, leaned against the window, and propped his chin on one hand, his expression weary. "I’m going to rest my eyes for a bit."

Healing the Divine Tree was draining, but thankfully, he had made it in time.

Once healed, the Divine Tree purified the corruption, leaving the smugglers with nowhere to hide.

Furthermore, the Divine Tree had also bonded with Noel.

He could now borrow a portion of the Divine Tree’s Strength.

The Tree Car returned to Noel’s residence. The damaged treehouse had already been fully repaired with the help of the Divine Tree’s Strength.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

The only difference was that Tang Luo Ke was gone.

Yu Zhizhi was listless. Upon returning to the study, she flopped onto the sofa and sighed.

’Staying in my Beast Form is actually pretty convenient...’

She buried her face in her paws.

’She couldn’t stop worrying about Wolf Wolf.’

That afternoon, Noel came in. The Rabbit Clan youth placed the documents in his hands on the desk, then turned and said, "The Empire has called an emergency meeting regarding K’s disappearance. Furthermore, the Deep Sea Empire has reported similar cases. We’ve decided to cooperate with them on this matter for the time being."

Yu Zhizhi lifted her head, her rabbit paws tucked before her, listening intently. "So... Tang’s disappearance isn’t an isolated incident?"

Noel nodded.

This was the first time something like this had happened in Varolan.

At the time, he had been busy healing the Divine Tree and wasn’t aware of the situation in the Jade Forest.

According to the guards’ reports, Tang Luo Ke headed straight for the source of the conflict, and then—

No one saw where he went.

This situation was extremely grave for the Empire; after all, he was one of their top combat assets. If someone with as much Strength as K could vanish without a reason, weren’t others in even greater danger?

"We’ve communicated with the Deep Sea Empire. According to them, they had warriors start disappearing last month. Just like K, they vanished in plain sight."

"Our initial assessment is that it might be some kind of teleportation Array."

"We’ll have to wait for tonight’s meeting for the specifics."

Yu Zhizhi quickly asked, "Can I attend?"

She wanted to hear what they had to say.

Noel: "You can."

He twirled the quill pen in his hand. "Now, let’s eat. The meeting will likely be long, and you can’t go on an empty stomach."

Yu Zhizhi saw the food the staff had brought.

Perhaps because she was in her Beast Form, the staff had specially prepared appropriately sized bowls.

Yu Zhizhi didn’t find it to be a problem.

She held a small piece of carrot with her rabbit paws and nibbled on it. Noel watched her for a moment before slowly looking away at the sound of footsteps.

"What is it?"

He looked at the female from the Water Porcupine Clan who had appeared.

The female from the Water Porcupine Clan, dressed in a work uniform, reported dutifully, "Lord Nuo’er, the Duke has arrived."

Yu Zhizhi, who was nibbling on her carrot, suddenly froze.

’So soon?’

’It’s a long way from the Imperial City to Greenfield City. How could the Duke be here already?’

As if knowing what the little rabbit was thinking, Noel nodded. "Yes. When we were arranging the meeting, the Duke said his Clone would appear to attend in his stead."

Oh...

Yu Zhizhi took another bite of her carrot. ’A Clone, right.’

She had seen one before.

A mass of Cloud Mist, with a clear upper body and a blurry snake tail.

’Since it’s not the Duke’s actual body, the oppressive feeling shouldn’t be as strong.’

She happily continued her meal.

A male from the Guinea Pig Clan continued the report, "The Delegation from the Deep Sea Empire has also come ashore. The one attending the meeting is their Imperial Marshal, Lord Shen He. Apparently, the ones who went missing were soldiers from his legion, and there was more than one."

Yu Zhizhi looked up in astonishment, her rabbit ears shooting straight up. The downy fur on her cheeks seemed to turn even whiter.

’Sh-Shen He...’

’AHHHH, THE BIG SHARK IS HERE!’