Chapter 333: 332 “Do you want to go with me?

When Shane had arrived at the Jijiale family’s home, he was welcomed by the entire family and escorted in with great respect, making quite an impression.

But when it was time to leave, Shane was unexpectedly seen walking out alone, desolate. To those unaware, it might have seemed as if he had done something wrong and had been chased out by the Jijiale family.

It was only when Shane had stepped out of the Jijiale family’s gate that the young girls who were with him appropriately reappeared.

“Are you done with everything?”

Ai Yi yawned, looking a bit sleepy as if she had just woken from a nap, and glanced at Shane with a hint of laziness as she asked.

Lasha, leading Jade, also slowly approached and came before Shane.

Shane immediately directed his gaze toward Jade.

“?”

Jade tilted her head slightly, seeming a bit puzzled.

This was because the look Shane gave her was different from before.

In Shane’s eyes emerged thoughts of contemplation, doubt, and resignation, emotions that not only puzzled Jade but also confounded Ai Yi and Lasha.

“Is something wrong?”

Ai Yi, though not particularly interested, still asked.

“…Nothing.”

Shane thought it over but did not choose to elaborate.

Although he had read that ancient book and knew somewhat why Triss was so wary of Jade’s existence, he was still not sure if Jade was the entity mentioned in the book. There was no need to make it so clear.

Now, rather than the origins of Jade, what troubled Shane more was how to take care of this little girl.

Was he really supposed to abandon her?

But could he do it?

Clearly not.

Perhaps others might do so, but Shane, while not exactly a good person, simply couldn’t bring himself to abandon such an innocent little girl.

Even if having Jade with him might lead to trouble on the road ahead, with You Lin there, the Holy Sword, and Ai Yi, Shane did not need to worry like Triss and others, full of hesitation and concern.

So…

“Let’s leave it up to her to decide.”

That’s how Shane decided, and he crouched down in front of Jade.

Jade’s gaze had been following Shane the entire time. Because of their height difference, she had to look up when Shane was standing, but as he crouched down, her gaze slowly shifted downward until it was level with his.

The young girl stared intently at Shane, silent and eerily calm, as though she was waiting for Shane to speak.

Shane smiled at her then spoke out.

“Little one, do you want to come with me?”

Shane met Jade’s gaze, looking straight into her amethyst eyes, and asked.

Beside them, although Ai Yi and Lasha didn’t know what had happened, they understood that since Shane had asked, he intended to keep the young girl with him.

The two remained silent out of respect for Shane’s decision, quietly waiting for Jade’s response.

Jade, however, paused slightly, either surprised by Shane’s invitation or not understanding what he meant.

Only Shane, who had maintained eye contact with Jade, noticed that, for a moment when he extended the invitation, the young girl’s eyes revealed a glimmer of disbelief.

Clearly, no one had ever said such a thing to her before.

Jade remained shocked and unresponsive.

Shane was not in a hurry and did not speak again, just quietly waiting.

That caused ripples to finally appear in Jade’s eyes.

Time passed, the ripples in Jade’s eyes faded away.

Then, Jade nodded her head, accepting Shane’s invitation.

Shane smiled.

“Good.”

He then stood up, as if no longer hesitating, and announced.

“Let’s set off now, to Cosmos.”

Hearing this, Ai Yi and Lasha exchanged a look, neither opposed, and nodded in agreement.

Jade kept her quiet and unassuming demeanor, but the look she gave Shane took on a new quality.

“You Lin!”

Shane called out to the sky.

“Roar!”

A dragon’s roar resounded immediately, and a shadow descended like a meteor, streaking rapidly with hot air and gales, arriving before Shane and the others.

Shane and his party quickly climbed onto You Lin’s back.

Before long, You Lin spread its wings and soared away.

Their destination, the northern city, Cosmos.

…

On the day Shane left, a group of people appeared in an ownerless grave site in the wilderness of Jeliteli.

There were men and women among them, all with varying appearances but some unified physical traits.

For example, they all had a pair of beast ears and a beast tail; some with wolf ears and a tail, others with pig ears and a tail, some with cat ears and a tail, and some with leopard ears and a tail. Their attire was primarily made of animal hides, exuding an aura of wildness.

Without a doubt, this was a group of Beastmen and even more, they belonged to different Beastman Races.

In front of the group, leading them was an enchanting woman with fox ears and a tail.

Anyone who saw this Foxman woman would surely be astonished, right?

Because the Fox Clan’s Beastmen held a very special status within the Beastman Race and were rare, having been unseen for many years.

Yet now, a Foxman woman appeared here, and if the news had spread, it would have undoubtedly caused an uproar.

However, the Foxman woman, accompanied by a group of Beastmen, had a heavy and frosty expression, seemingly in a very bad mood.

Upon closer inspection, in front of the Foxman woman, several corpses were being exhumed, exposed to the open air.

The corpses were those of the Magic Life beings who had collectively committed suicide in front of Shane the previous night.

It seemed Lasha had buried them here.

Now, they had been dug up.

A Wolfman Strongman approached the Foxman woman, his expression troubled as he spoke.

“It’s not here after all, Holy Daughter.”

Upon hearing this, the mood of the Foxman woman, referred to as the Holy Daughter, seemed to worsen even more.

Behind her, one after another, the Beastmen voiced their discontent in anger.

“It’s the same every time, we find a clue, and all that’s left are the bodies of Magic Life beings.”

“The person behind this is disgusting.”

“Even if they are Magic Life, creating them carelessly and then discarding them after use, it’s even worse than the Old Demon Clan Faction.”

“Stop talking; these are the usual tactics of the person behind this. How else could they keep running amok?”

“Yeah, if it weren’t for the fact that only Magic Life beings are involved in the external activities, we would have caught the mastermind behind this much sooner.”

“Ah, it’s so frustrating! I really want to drag this person out and tear them to pieces!”

The group of Beastmen was shouting with great hostility, obviously having encountered the same situation many times before, pushed to the brink of desperation and collapse.

If this weren’t the case, the leading Holy Daughter wouldn’t be in such a bad mood.

“Do you know who buried these Magic Life beings here?”

The Foxman Saintess asked the Wolfman Strongman.

“No, I don’t know,” the Wolfman Strongman replied in distress. “We’ve sniffed all around the area, but we can’t smell anything from the person who buried these Magic Life beings. It’s like they have specifically covered their tracks; their methods are highly skilled, perfect, and more undetectable than any we’ve seen before.”

“Nothing at all?” The Foxman Saintess furrowed her brows and asked, “The previous times we encountered these Magic Life beings, we didn’t run into this situation, did we?”

“Right, in the past, with our Beastman Race’s senses far superior to other Races, we’ve always managed to find some clues. We knew what these Magic Life beings had done and who they had come into contact with. Not like this time, where we couldn’t find a single trace.” The Wolfman Strongman spoke very seriously. “It must have been done by an incredibly skilled expert, no ordinary person could achieve this.”

“…Is that so?” The Foxman Saintess fell silent for a moment, then said, “Is it possible that this person is the ultimate mastermind behind everything?”

This question was not answered by the Wolfman Strongman, but by a Catman girl standing beside the Foxman Saintess.

“No, that’s not possible,” the Catman girl shook her head, countering, “Considering the consistent behavior of the person behind the scenes, they don’t care about the life or death of these Magic Life beings. They wouldn’t take the risk of exposing themselves to bury these Magic Life beings.”

“So what’s happening now?” The Wolfman Strongman immediately expressed his confusion. “Why would someone bury these Magic Life beings this time?”

All the Beastmen suddenly turned their gaze towards the Catman girl.

It appeared that this adorable Catman girl was the brains within this Beastman group.

And indeed, it was true.

“I think it might have been done by someone unrelated,” the Catman girl pondered for a while before saying, “Although they erased the traces, judging by how they buried these beings, they must have had respect for these Magic Life beings, not merely treating them as tools. It could be someone not involved who didn’t know the origins and identities of these Magic Life beings and couldn’t bear to see their bodies exposed to the wilderness, so they did all of this.”

“You’re saying it was someone unrelated?” The Foxman Saintess suddenly became worried. “Could it be that this time, innocent bystanders have been dragged into this?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Is that for real!?” The Wolfman Strongman exclaimed in shock. “This isn’t a joking matter, if we’re not careful, these innocent people involved might have sealed their fate!”

“That’s right,” the Catman girl also voiced her concern. “Perhaps what we’ve feared the most is about to happen.”

Her words made all the Beastmen’s hearts sink.

They absolutely did not want to see innocent outsiders harmed.

“We need to hurry,” the Foxman Saintess took a deep breath and declared immediately, “We have no choice, we must resort to extraordinary measures.”

With those words, all the Beastmen looked shocked.

“Holy Daughter!”

“Holy Daughter!”

The Wolfman Strongman and the Catman girl were equally anxious as they called out.

“It’s okay, enough,” the Foxman Saintess interrupted resolutely. “I can’t watch Hell unfold again. For that, suffering a little harm is not a big deal for me.”

Hearing this, the Beastmen were at a loss for words, their anger and hatred towards the person behind all of this intensifying.

The Foxman Saintess then knelt on the ground and began to assume a prayerful posture.

“—- Oh, great Life Goddess, please tell your devout follower, where does the dark disaster truly lie—-”

A layer of Holy Light suddenly flickered around the body of the Foxman Saintess.