The grizzled man didn't hold back; spiritual light flared on his hand as he moved to twist Jun Mu Bai's arm.
Suddenly, a burst of light appeared.
A layer of light surrounded Jun Mu Bai, gently protecting him and Princess Rou'er. The grizzled man tried with all his might but couldn't get close. He had no idea what grade of protective artifact this was.
"Big Brother, this kid is from Qingxu Heaven!" the subordinate responsible for abducting Jun Mu Bai reported.
"So, he's from Qingxu Heaven?"
The grizzled man sneered, his voice terrifying and cold, "No wonder even a small child has such a good protective artifact. But how long can it protect you?"
He suddenly exerted force. With a boom, the light shield remained unmoved.
Jun Mu Bai, holding Princess Rou'er, hid within the light shield, feeling the warmth from the Ping'an Pearl, his heart pounding. Although he was extremely scared, he stared fixedly at the grizzled man, his gaze never wavering.
Now he was alone and couldn't rely on the adults as usual.
He was a man, he had to protect his little sister Rou'er!
The grizzled man grew angry. "Damn it, how long can a mere protective artifact last? Once I break it, I'll wring your necks! Someone, blast it!"
As soon as he spoke, his subordinates attacked the spiritual light shield, their blasts incessant.
The white light shield remained unmoved, like a sturdy barrier, protecting Jun Mu Bai and Princess Rou'er from harm.
Princess Rou'er was no longer afraid. She poked her head out, covered her ears, and stuck out her tongue at the grizzled man, making a face. "Bah, bah, bah! You stinky turtle, you rotten bastard! When my Crown Prince Brother arrives, he'll chop you into a giant toad with one sword!"
Listening to the continuous explosions, Jun Mu Bai held Rou'er and remained silent, but his worry grew.
Eldest Senior Brother, Senior Sister Luoluo!
Please come quickly!
...
In the imperial palace, Su Luo and the others had arrived.
Chu Tianshu paced back and forth, his handsome face filled with fury. "How dare they! They dare to abduct someone from Qingxu Heaven and the Princess! If I find out who did this, I will tear them into a thousand pieces!"
When Su Luo and Li Tianjue arrived at the imperial palace, they learned that not only Jun Mu Bai was missing, but the Fourteenth Princess had also been abducted by a spy disguised as a palace servant, and her whereabouts were unknown.
Tang Xiaoguo's eyes were red with worry. "Sister Su, it's my fault. I wasn't watching Xiaobai properly..."
The thought of their junior disciple possibly being in trouble made her blame herself.
Shangxie Shaoqing had just finished relaying the situation after leaving the palace to Su Luo and Li Tianjue when the commander of the imperial guards rushed over, his face filled with panic. "Reporting to Your Highness the Crown Prince, I have already dispatched people to seal off the entire city. However, during the search, we discovered that..."
"It's not just the Princess who is missing, but many people who came to attend the Princess's birthday banquet. For example, the young princess of the Free and Unfettered King of the Beichen Kingdom, the Sixth Princess of the Xingyue Kingdom, the Young Marquis Wei of the Yunlai Kingdom, and even many descendants of sects and noble families... they are all gone!"
"What? So many people missing?" Chu Tianshu's face changed drastically.
An ominous premonition arose.
Something bad was about to happen!
"Damn it, who is so audacious to abduct the children of so many important figures?" Lu Jixing was furious, wishing he could catch the mastermind and marinate him in rotten flesh powder, making him suffer for eighty-one days before dying.
Li Tianjue's expression was solemn. He looked at Su Luo and said, "Perhaps, we misinterpreted the previous information."
Su Luo quickly reacted. "Eldest Senior Brother, are you talking about the demon sect's scheme? They aren't targeting the next Tianjiao Competition, but these children?"
"What Hong Yan said before dying is completely different from the information transmitted by the golden-eyed sparrow. It's possible they are trying to confuse us..."
Li Tianjue propped his chin with one hand, his mind racing.
If the mastermind was the Black Toad King, then abducting these children to create chaos in Yuxu City would achieve his goal. Did he intend to kill these children? Unlikely. If he wanted to kill them, he could have done it directly. Why go through the trouble of abducting them?
Regardless of the demon sect's plan, these children must be found as soon as possible. Not a single one could be missing.
Chu Tianshu said in a deep voice, "The city gates are already sealed. Those children must still be in Yuxu City, but how can we find them? Rou'er and Xiaobai must be terrified. What should we do?!"
Everyone knew that finding all the children was the priority!
As long as the children were found, those from the demon sect could be located.
Just then, streaks of colorful fireworks lit up the sky.
Chu Tianshu's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "These are the fireworks I bought for Rou'er! Rou'er must have set them off, she's signaling for help!"
Everyone became excited. Chu Tianshu immediately led the imperial guards out of the palace, heading towards the direction where the fireworks came from. Li Tianjue and Su Luo rushed ahead, moving like lightning. In less than fifteen minutes, they arrived in front of a large mansion in the north of the city.
However, it was too late.
When they entered, they found that the place was already deserted.
Inside the house, there were some signs of disarray, indicating a hasty departure. In a side room, the body of a young boy lay on the ground, surrounded by bloodstains, which tightened everyone's hearts.
Chu Tianshu immediately ordered the imperial guards to search for clues around the mansion, but with people coming and going on the streets, all traces were obscured. The common people panicked at the arrival of the imperial guards, and groups searching for their missing children were all over the city, causing chaos.
"Xiaobai, Xiaobai, where are you?"
Su Luo murmured, then suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she thought of something.
Looking at the chirping sparrows in the trees by the street, she beckoned, and a sparrow flew down from the air.
The little sparrow flapped its wings in panic in her hand. Su Luo separated a trace of her consciousness, which, like an invisible thread, merged into the little creature's body. Soon, it quieted down and looked at Su Luo with curiosity.
Huh? Why is this human a bit strange?
"Little darling, please do me a favor, can you help me find a group of children?" Su Luo communicated with the little sparrow, describing Xiaobai's appearance. "If you find them, I'll treat you to delicious food for three days, with plenty of millet and wheat, okay?"
The little sparrow chirped a few times. "Really? But how can you speak our language?"
Su Luo urged, "That's not important, just tell me if you agree!"
"Three days is too little. This is too hard. Five days, five days and I'll agree."
"Deal!"
Su Luo let go, and the little sparrow flew away.
She did the same, separating more traces of her consciousness and communicating with other birds in the trees. Soon, more birds arrived. They were all enticed by Su Luo's promise of 'eating millet and wheat for five days' and flew out to help.
Chu Tianshu and the others watched in astonishment. Did their little junior sister have such abilities?
Su Luo had no time to explain. "Let's try. I hope there's good news."
She could only communicate with a hundred ordinary animals at the moment, using their eyes to observe their surroundings, equivalent to having a hundred extra pairs of eyes and ears. Among ordinary animals, birds were more suitable than insects; they were fast and small, and could fly all over the city in no time.
"Su Luo, when did you become a Beast Tamer?"
Li Tianjue realized that he still didn't understand her. It turned out this girl had many unknown abilities.
Su Luo shook her head. "I'm not a Beast Tamer, just a small, inconspicuous ability. I hope these birds can find Xiaobai and the others."
If it were any other time, she might have felt a little proud.
But now, she only hoped that Xiaobai and the group of children were safe.