Chapter 504 - 501: Withdrawal

Chapter 504: Chapter 501: Withdrawal

The figure that could stir all of "his" emotions was gone from his side. The power that had bound Jinying seemed to loosen as well.

Jinying closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the gloomy, inscrutable aura around him had subtly changed. Although his face was the same, his gaze was different.

He frowned, looking in the direction Bai Wanwan’s party had disappeared. A strange, faint pang of pain came from his heart, and a hollow feeling lingered.

He subconsciously raised a hand to his chest, his peerlessly handsome face showing confusion and a hint of intense reluctance to let go.

Every time he lost control of his body, he would experience emotions he had never felt before.

These feelings left him dazed, unfamiliar, and unsettled.

He furrowed his brow, seeming extremely unaccustomed to this sensation of being entangled by invisible threads.

To sever this budding attachment that was already troubling him, he shook his head violently, as if to fling those unwanted emotions from his mind.

Then, without hesitation, he chose the exact opposite direction from Bai Wanwan’s group and walked away, his pace quickening, almost as if he were fleeing. He never once looked back, leaving himself no room for hesitation or regret.

The wind of the open plains blew against his solitary figure, soon erasing even the last lingering trace of him.

Bai Wanwan didn’t look back. Jinying’s intentions had been too obvious, and she couldn’t reciprocate.

As the sky darkened, Jinying was long gone, and the strange, inexplicable feeling in her heart gradually dissipated with the night breeze.

She looked at her partners, whose expressions had visibly relaxed, and said, "It’s getting late. Let’s find a place nearby to rest for the night. We’ll continue our journey tomorrow morning."

"Alright," Zhu Xiu was the first to respond. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, soon locking onto a cliff wall that was sheltered from the wind.

Yin Ze naturally noticed it too. "There’s a cave over there. I’ll go check it out."

A moment later, Yin Ze returned. "There’s a natural cavern there. The entrance isn’t large, and the cave is safe and dry. We can spend the night there."

With that said, the males led the females and the cubs toward the sheltered cliff wall.

Several of the males immediately got busy, demonstrating their efficient wilderness survival skills.

Yan Lie and Jin Yi quickly cleared the loose rocks and dead branches from inside the cave. Xin Feng and Hua Han took thick, soft animal hides from their luggage and carefully spread them in the deepest part of the cave, creating a warm and comfortable temporary nest. Meanwhile, Yin Ze set up some small warning traps around the perimeter.

Soon, the once-cold cave was completely transformed, filled with a warm atmosphere.

Bai Wanwan and Shuang Hua took the little cubs, who were tired from playing and had started to yawn, inside.

The hide mats were soft and warm, carrying the reassuring scent of sunlight and grass.

The males divided the labor among themselves. Zhu Xiu and Yan Lie would take the first watch of the night, while Jin Yi and Hua Han would take the second. Xin Feng and Yin Ze would get some rest to be ready for emergencies or to take over during the day’s travel.

They tacitly chose the best guard positions inside and outside the cave entrance, their figures blending into the night.

That night, perhaps because she was about to return to her true home and see the cubs and Chou Rong she missed day and night, Bai Wanwan lay on the soft hides, too excited to sleep, tossing and turning.

Beside her, Shuang Hua, exhausted from days of travel, had long since fallen into a deep sleep, her breathing even.

Xin Feng, who had been feigning sleep not far from her, sensitively detected her movement. He rose quietly, walked to her side with silent steps, and gently caressed her cheek with his large, warm hand. "Can’t sleep?" he asked in a low voice.

His voice sounded low and pleasant in the quiet cave.

Bai Wanwan nuzzled against his warm, dry palm. "Yeah, I can’t sleep. I miss the cubs at home... I haven’t seen them in months. They must have grown a lot. I wonder if they’ve been naughty, or if they’ve gotten any bumps or scrapes, or if..."

Her voice was thick with longing and a hint of barely perceptible worry.

A mother always worries for her children when they’re far from home. No matter how powerful she was, her concern for her children always weighed on her heart.

Xin Feng’s heart instantly softened. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and comforted her softly, "Don’t worry, the cubs are safe with the Tiger Clan. With Chou Rong there, and so many powerful Tiger Clan Warriors watching over them, nothing will go wrong. They must be waiting eagerly for you to return every day."

At the mention of Chou Rong... a man with a cold, stern face, decisive in his actions, yet who only ever showed a rare tenderness in front of her and the cubs... Bai Wanwan’s heart trembled slightly.

She had to admit she missed him terribly. She missed his strong embrace, missed the fervent passion and dominance he showed at certain times, breaking through his usual stoic facade.

"Xin Feng," she asked softly, her voice laced with an urgent desire to get home, "about how long will it take us to get back?"

Xin Feng calculated the journey in his head. "It’s the warm season now, so the sea is relatively calm. If we travel at full speed without stopping, it should take a little over ten days."

He paused, then looked at her. "If you’re really in a hurry... we could have Yin Ze fly you back first by himself. He’s a Flying Beastman, so he’s the fastest."

Bai Wanwan immediately shook her head. "No, I want to go back with everyone. Besides, can Yin Ze even carry all of us?"

’She didn’t want to be separated from any of her partners again.’

"His Talent Power would be consumed very quickly if he flew long-distance carrying all of us and our luggage."

Bai Wanwan understood, and she pushed down the urgency she felt.

She snuggled deeper into the furs, making room beside her. "Then lie with me for a while. We can discuss it properly when we wake up tomorrow morning."

Originally, because Shuang Hua was present, the males had all tacitly kept their distance, none of them enjoying the special privilege of resting near Bai Wanwan.

Xin Feng looked at her expectant eyes and sighed. Even if it meant being misunderstood by the others tomorrow, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.

He carefully lay down beside her, wrapped his arm around her soft body, letting her use his arm as a pillow. With his other hand, he patted her back rhythmically, as if coaxing a cub. "Alright. Go to sleep. I’m here with you."

Perhaps it was the familiar, pleasant, fresh scent of grass and trees from Xin Feng that put her at ease, or perhaps the steady beat of his heart and his gentle pats had a magical, hypnotic effect. Bai Wanwan’s tense nerves gradually relaxed, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she finally fell into a deep sleep in his arms, a faint smile on her lips.

Early the next morning, as dawn broke, everyone woke up.

After a simple breakfast, they began to discuss the details of their itinerary.

Zhu Xiu spoke first, using a branch to roughly sketch a route in the sand. "If we rely on Yin Ze to fly, crossing this vast sea is the fastest way. Even so, flying at full power, we’ll need to stop on at least a few islands for him to recover his Talent Power. If all goes well, we should be able to reach the other side in seven or eight days."