The enemy used Yang Ming’s family to threaten him.
However, knowing how they usually operated, he could expect the worst had happened to his family.
Hence, no matter what they did to him, he would never speak.
Those people used sorcery to forcibly remove his pet beast from his body, severing their blood contract in the process. With this, the heavily injured Yang Ming was no different from a cripple.
After that, Yang Ming blacked out. He thought this was the end of his life, only to be surprised by the sight of Shang’er upon regaining consciousness.
However, this might just be another scheme of theirs so Yang Ming remained quiet after waking up. He would observe his surroundings for now.
Shang’er didn’t know what happened so she asked for his name. Seeing how he wouldn’t speak, she wondered if his brain was damaged from all the torture. Shang’er didn’t consider anything else. She went out and returned shortly with a ferocious mountain tiger.
The poor tiger had been sleeping in its cave when a sudden tornado whisked it away before tossing it down onto the ground outside the temple. When it finally came to its senses, it could still see stars circling above its head.
Just as it was about to get up and exhibit its intimidation as the king of beasts by roaring, it received a slap across the face. This humbled the tiger enough to silence it.
Shang’er retracted her hand and stared at the tiger. “I can sense some spirituality in you so you must have some spiritual intelligence and is at the initial stage of cultivation. Consider yourself lucky. Help me guard this person and don’t let any other beasts harm him. Should anything happen to this human, I’ll make sure to skin you alive.”
Despite how vicious her words sounded, Shang’er’s tone was surprisingly gentle.
The tiger obviously understood her because it quivered in fright. It should have been sleeping in its own cave but who knew that misfortune could befall it out of nowhere.
It could sense the woman’s fearsome monster energy. And despite her tiny size, it felt like she was able to tear it to shreds in an instant.
Hence, the tiger quickly nodded in fear.
“I know that cultivation is tough. If you do your task well, I might just teach you some entry-level cultivation methods. But if you don’t, I’ll just make liquor out of your bones.”
Having said that, Shang’er flew away like an ethereal goddess.
The tiger stared after her with envy. Then it quickly realized this might be a golden opportunity so it didn’t felt so unlucky anymore.
It poked its head inside the temple to take a look and found a barely alive human lying on the ground, staring back at it. The tiger licked its lips and then walked in to lay down in a corner.
Yang Ming had heard everything that Shang’er said. Even so, he was slightly surprised when the tiger entered the temple obediently. As a Rank 4 appraiser, he still managed to keep his composure.
The tiger was indeed ferocious and appeared to be Rank 2.
For a wild beast without an owner, it has done surprisingly well.
More importantly, the tiger had spiritual intelligence so it must be seeking the path of cultivation. This wasn’t unusual. The world was a vast place filled with beasts that hid deep inside forests like this one. Among them, there were quite a number of beasts like this tiger.
However, what surprised Yang Ming was the young woman’s capabilities. She only left for a brief moment and came back with this tiger.
Without a blood contract, she was able to make it obey her instructions. That indicated that she was a skillful person.
After careful consideration, Yang Ming deduced that she wasn’t in cahoots with his captors but decided that he would continue to observe her for a little more.
Back to Shang’er. After returning to the villa one day later, she was disappointed.
The place was now empty.
Forget living humans, even the corpses were gone. The villa had been cleaned up, and even the bloodstains had been washed away. Looks like the demonic appraisers were pretty efficient. After noticing that this place had been attacked, they quickly cleaned it before abandoning this position.
Shang’er sighed.
She wanted to capture Elder Ye to interrogate him, but it looks like her plan wasn’t going to happen soon.
“I’m still not experienced enough.” Shang’er was frustrated. Of course, she was only observing from a distance without actually entering the villa herself. Rather, she imbued her energy onto a sword and sent it flying over to check out the place.
Shang’er had once suffered a defeat, so she had grown to become more cautious on the battlefield.
If someone had set up a trap inside, to barge into the place would be plain reckless.
Shang’er didn’t return to the temple immediately but went around the other way instead, in case someone was following her.
After she returned, the tiger went over directly to welcome her. Clearly, it was trying to gain her favor.
Yang Ming had now propped himself up against a pillar. He watched as Shang’er entered.
“Who are you?” Yang Ming asked. He could tell that she wasn’t one of them.
“Your savior,” Shang’er answered coldly. Her goal wasn’t achieved and she lost the enemy. Without any clues left, she might just have to return to Maple City and continue waiting.
That obviously irritated her.
She felt the urge to visit Lin Jin, but this attack wasn’t a strong enough reason to justify her sudden visit.
Yang Ming had thought many things through during this period of time. He was a brilliant man or he couldn’t have been able to rise up as a Rank 4 beast appraiser.
“My name is Yang Ming. Thank you for saving my life. Please help me with one more thing, my savior.” Yang Ming saluted. Yet, Shang’er flung her sleeve, refusing to even entertain his request. “I’m busy.”
Even after suffering rejection, Yang Ming continued speaking, “Savior, please escort me back to Heavenly Spiral City. Once my duty is finished, I will surely return your grace handsomely. This is very important to me.”
He had to return to the city. One reason was that Daojun’s token was currently sitting inside a mansion in Heavenly Spiral City. Apart from that, he had an idea who was the culprit behind this ambush so he had to report it to the academy.
“Why are you so annoying? Didn’t I just say I’m…” Shang’er was throwing a fit so she subconsciously lashed out. Halfway through, she came to realize something.
“Wait, where did you say you want to go?”
“Heavenly Spiral City!”
Shang’er felt ecstatic upon hearing this. Master Lin was right there in Heavenly Spiral City. This is wonderful! If she used this as an excuse to go there, surely Master Lin wouldn’t reprimand her.
Shang’er nodded at once. “Let’s take off now.”
Yang Ming felt speechless.
Shang’er had a decisive personality. Once she decided to do something, she wouldn’t waste even one second.
With a flick of her sleeve, a black gust of wind surged, carrying Yang Ming and the tiger into the air as they flew.
Shang’er only brought the tiger along because she promised to teach it some cultivation techniques. Also, it seemed like a good idea to have this tiger protect Yang Ming.
Since Yang Ming’s pet beast had been forcefully removed and thus damaging his base cultivation, even Shang’er could tell that his chances of contracting another pet beast were slim.
Almost impossible.
So, having a tiger follow him was her way of doing a good deed.
Shortly after Shang’er left with Yang Ming and the tiger, a group of people arrived outside the temple. Some of them sent their pet beasts inside. After realizing that no one was around, the humans rushed in.
Leading their group was none other than Elder Ye and Zhou Weng. There were also a few other bizarre-looking experts in their group.
“They just left. Did they perhaps sense something?”
“Maybe. We didn’t do our jobs well this time. I’ve already sent a pigeon mail to Black Envoy yesterday to apologize. All of you can leave and await further instructions.”
Once Elder Ye finished, the others nodded and scattered immediately.
Only Zhou Weng and Elder Ye were left at the scene.
They exchanged glances and the former asked, “Elder Ye, just who was it that rescued Yang Ming?”
Elder Ye shook his head. “I can’t really tell for now. They’re much too powerful so we’ll need to wait for Master Black Envoy’s instructions. Zhou Weng, let’s go back together to beg his forgiveness. Hopefully, Master Black Envoy will show us mercy for all the work we’ve done so far.”
Having said that, they both left as well.
