Gone were the narrow mountain paths, and before Qiao Sang appeared a vast expanse of green open space. To her surprise, her eyes landed on two wild Contract Beasts.
In the grass, a Li Jiansparrow was chasing after a slow-moving Anrong Worm. A normal Li Jiansparrow is about 14 centimeters in size, but the one in front of her was unusually plump, clearly over-nourished. It stood about 25 centimeters tall, its body mostly a grape gray-brown, with a chestnut-brown head adorned with a black stripe running from its head to the tip of its tail. Its beak seemed exceptionally long and sharp compared to its body.
Li Jiansparrows are social creatures. Even if the population on the mountain was low, there must be relatives nearby.
Qiao Sang had no intention of confronting these two wild beasts. The flying beast, instead of taking to the air, chased after the sluggish insect beast, trailing behind as if playing a game. It was clear they were familiar with each other and enjoying their time.
She certainly did not want to disturb their playtime.
The diet-conscious Li Jiansparrow sensed Qiao Sang’s presence but, recognizing her as part of the Magnetic Wave Mouse group, ignored her and continued its quest for weight loss.
As they traveled halfway through the area, the mother Magnetic Wave Mouse stopped.
“Cii,” it called out, pointing towards three half-green fruit trees in the vicinity.
Qiao Sang looked at the scene before her and found herself unable to move. The fruit of these trees was called a Power Fruit. Eating one didn’t have any special effects, but it could easily substitute a full meal. If someone was short on funds and could not feed their Contract Beasts, they could purchase Power Fruits, ensuring the beasts would be satisfied for a day with just one.
Of course, this only worked for beasts below the advanced level. According to studies, advanced beasts needed three Power Fruits a day to be effective, while sixth-level beasts needed six. Nevertheless, many Beast Masters opted for Power Fruits to save money.
As someone with substantial wealth, Qiao Sang was hardly frozen in place by the sight of Power Fruits. Instead, she stood stiffly, staring at the enormous figure ahead, half-black and half-silver.
Who could tell her why there was an advanced Silver-tailed Sea Snake on Huangming Mountain?!
Directly under the middle Power Fruit tree, a four-meter-long giant snake-like beast was coiling. Its front three-quarters were black, while the tail end was a chilling silver.
As the third stage of the Short-tailed Snake’s evolution, Qiao Sang was not unfamiliar with it. The first evolution of the Short-tailed Snake led to the Long-tailed Snake, while the second could only evolve into a Silver-tailed Snake. However, the third evolution from the Silver-tailed Snake could take on two forms. One is the Toxic Black Python, a pure poison-type beast, and the other is the dual water-poison-type Silver-tailed Sea Snake.
The Toxic Black Python is a normal evolution of the Silver-tailed Snake. But for it to evolve into a Silver-tailed Sea Snake, it must meet two conditions. First, it must be in the ocean, and second, it must have a Dewdrop of Toxicity in its mouth; both conditions are crucial.
This was certainly not a beast that should appear on Huangming Mountain!
Taking advantage of the Silver-tailed Sea Snake being unaware, Qiao Sang quietly picked up the Fire-tooth Dog, who was curiously staring at the tree, and began to back away stealthily.
“Ya?” The Fire-tooth Dog looked confused. Shouldn’t they be going forward?
The little treasure-seeking spirit on Qiao Sang’s head contentedly drank its milk. It only wanted milk and had no interest in the fruits.
Seeing Qiao Sang moving backward, the mother Magnetic Wave Mouse and its baby paused for a moment but then followed her.
Once they retreated to the area where the Li Jiansparrow and Anrong Worm were still playing, Qiao Sang finally felt a sense of security.
Encountering an advanced beast without any Beast Master in sight was very abnormal. The Magnetic Wave Mouse had shown no reaction to the Silver-tailed Sea Snake, which indicated it knew of its existence. However, this Silver-tailed Sea Snake could not possibly be a wild beast.
Even without the Dewdrop of Toxicity, just the requirement of being in the ocean meant that, let alone Huangming Mountain, there was no ocean in Hanggang City as a whole.
Having little time to ponder, the odd appearance of the Silver-tailed Sea Snake began to haunt her thoughts. Its face was dark, making it hard to see anything unusual, but its lower silver section had three deep, untreated wounds that were festering.
For a Short-tailed Snake to evolve into a Silver-tailed Sea Snake, its Beast Master could not have been lacking the funds for treatment.
Even if in a moment of financial distress, a person would typically seek a way to afford treatment for an advanced beast, especially when it had no Beast Master nearby.
This was not normal. Very abnormal.
Countless thoughts flooded Qiao Sang’s mind. After a moment of contemplation, she took out her phone to contact the Patrol Department.
Two seconds later, her expression darkened.
No signal…
Though Huangming Mountain was a mountain, it wasn't completely devoid of visitors. Occasionally, people come to hike, enjoy the sunrise, and exercise. Ye Jingwen had even posted on social media while hiking there before.
After a moment of consideration, she picked up her phone again to call the police station.
Two seconds later, panic surged within her. Why couldn’t she get through to the police station⁈
Generally speaking, if there’s no signal, emergency calls can still go through since they have higher transmission priority.
The signal here had to have been deliberately blocked, and Qiao Sang immediately formed a conclusion.
The unexplained appearance of an injured Silver-tailed Sea Snake with no Beast Master nearby, coupled with the blocked signal, combined to instill a sense of urgency in Qiao Sang.
She wanted to go down the mountain.
“Cii?”
At that moment, the mother Magnetic Wave Mouse beside her called out in confusion.
Still, there was a bit of curiosity left in it, and Qiao Sang asked, “Have you ever seen the Beast Master of that Silver-tailed Sea Snake?”
“Cii.” The mother Magnetic Wave Mouse shook its head.
Having no other questions, she turned to leave the mountain when the Magnetic Wave Mouse she saved pointed toward the left.
“Cii Cii.”
“You know something?” Qiao Sang was taken aback.
“Cii.”
The Magnetic Wave Mouse nodded knowingly.
It had seen its partner in secret.
Though Qiao Sang was very curious about what kind of person the Beast Master of that Silver-tailed Sea Snake was and why they had not treated it but let it come to the mountain, there were simply too many oddities.
She decided it might be best to leave first.
“I’ll be leaving; I won’t take any more Power Fruits. I hope we can meet again someday,” Qiao Sang said to the Magnetic Wave Mice.
Afterward, Qiao Sang squeezed past the trees she came through, holding the Fire-tooth Dog.
When she emerged, she found the mother and baby Magnetic Wave Mice blinking at her.
Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment and then awkwardly smiled, hastily pushing through the trees behind her.
But once again, she found the Magnetic Wave Mice right in front of her.
“Cii?”
“Cii?”
The mother and baby Magnetic Wave Mice tilted their heads in unison in one direction.
Ghost Wall!
Qiao Sang was completely flustered.
“Ya!”
The Fire-tooth Dog jumped down from Qiao Sang's arms and cautiously surveyed the surroundings.
Qiao Sang forced herself to calm down.
In this world, any strange events were caused by extraordinary creatures.
The scene they were encountering could either be an illusion created by a superpower beast, a mirror space, or a dream from a ghost-type beast—any of these were possible.
There had to be a capable superpower or ghost-type beast on this mountain.
There was no way such a level of skill could come from a wild beast in a rural area.
“Where is the Beast Master of that Silver-tailed Sea Snake? Take me to them,” Qiao Sang commanded.
“Cii.”
Sensing her seriousness, the Magnetic Wave Mouse straightened its posture as well.
Seven minutes later,
Qiao Sang was hiding behind a tree, her face filled with shock as she looked at the pale and lifeless man lying on a pile of grass.
Holy cow!
This is five million!
(End of Chapter)