Qing Dai spoke very seriously, even with a hint of reproach towards me.
However, I could see her concern and worry in her eyes.
It was a strange feeling, and my heart felt restless.
Not only did I not feel any resistance, but I also found myself inexplicably drawn to Qing Dai.
I touched my chin:
"It's alright, aren't I fine now?"
Seeing me smiling, Qing Dai rolled her eyes at me:
"Next time you encounter such a dangerous situation, be sure to call me in advance.
Never take such risks, do you understand."
I nodded:
"Don't worry, I understand."
Upon hearing my reply, Qing Dai seemed to sigh in relief.
Her body then began to flicker, becoming dimly lit and then bright.
This was merely a spiritual projection of Qing Dai, a phantom body appearing through the jade pendant's runes on my person.
Once her energy was depleted to a certain extent, she would vanish.
Seeing that I was safe, she continued speaking to me:
"Alright! Be careful, I'm leaving now!"
"Mm!"
I looked at Qing Dai, smiling.
Qing Dai gave me a deep look, and finally waved her sleeve.
Her entire form instantly transformed into a wisp of smoke, scattering before my eyes.
The dragon-phoenix jade pendant on my body also shifted from blood red back to its original white.
After Qing Dai disappeared, I took a deep breath.
Today was truly perilous.
Fortunately, everything had gone relatively smoothly.
Old Mo and I had only sustained minor injuries.
I scanned my surroundings. Aside from the ground littered with dead cats and the bloody remains,
that zombie had already been dealt with by Old Mo.
It lay more than ten meters away.
Old Mo was still in his weakened state, not yet recovered.
Seeing this, I walked towards Old Mo.
Old Mo was still slumped on the ground like a pile of mud.
He was indeed powerful with his techniques, but his weakness was also quite apparent.
Once the effects of his spells wore off, he would suffer a backlash from his techniques, leading to severe after-effects.
I reached Old Mo. After some time, Old Mo was still gasping for breath, covered in a cold sweat.
"Old Mo, are you feeling any better?"
As I spoke, I removed a leaf from his face.
Old Mo looked exhausted and blinked at me, speaking with great effort:
"I, I, I still need, need to rest a bit more..."
Hearing this, I chuckled.
Disregarding the scattered leaves on the ground, I sat down on the ground.
I took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff.
Seeing me smoke, Old Mo wheezed again:
"Help me, help me sit up..."
Seeing Old Mo wanting to sit up, I didn't hesitate.
I helped him up and leaned him against a nearby tree.
However, just as Old Mo leaned against the tree,
several piercing cat cries suddenly rang out from the depths of the forest.
"Meow meow..."
Having just dealt with the cat demons, the sound of cats now made me flinch.
The sudden appearance of a few cat cries made my heart lurch, and I immediately tensed up.
It wasn't just me; even Old Mo felt the same.
He looked nervously in the direction of the cat sounds.
Following that, the cat cries became even more frequent.
"Meow meow meow," they continued incessantly.
In the nearby forest, there was also a great rustling sound, indicating significant movement.
Hearing this, I stood up directly and took a few steps forward.
I wanted to see what was happening in the forest.
Old Mo, leaning against the tree, said weakly:
"What, what's going on? Could it be, could it be remnants of the monsters?"
As he spoke, Old Mo tried to get up.
However, he attempted twice and failed.
He would need at least another twenty minutes of rest to possibly recover.
"I'm not sure, don't move for now. I'll check!"
I said with a frown, also carrying a hint of tension.
But before I could move forward to investigate, several wild cats suddenly pounced out of the bushes not far away.
As those wild cats appeared, they lunged towards me.
"Meow meow..."
Their cries were piercing, and they bared their teeth and claws at me.
Seeing this, my pupils rapidly dilated.
Without even time to spit out my cigarette butt, I clenched my fists and struck out.
"Bang, bang," a few punches directly incapacitated several wild cats.
And these wild cats were living creatures, not the rotten, decaying corpse cats from before.
I was unsure why these wild cats suddenly sprang out to attack us.
But their actions gave me a bad premonition.
After I had injured a few wild cats,
more cat cries echoed from the bushes and the forest.
"Meow meow meow..."
The next moment, dozens of wild cats charged out from the depths of the forest.
"Meow meow meow," they rushed towards us.
Seeing so many wild cats, their eyes glowing brightly as they continuously lunged at us,
made me extremely wary, and I repeatedly retreated.
We weren't afraid of wild cats; we were afraid that there were still some remnants that hadn't been dealt with cleanly.
Shielding Old Mo, I said with some worry:
"We've stumbled into a cat's den; look at all these wild cats that have come out..."
As I spoke, Old Mo also looked anxious, holding onto the tree trunk:
"Help me up, we, we need to leave here..."
Hearing this, I nodded repeatedly.
I grabbed the weak Old Mo and prepared to leave the area.
But then, strange whimpering sounds echoed from the mountains.
And it wasn't just one sound, but many.
It was another group of wild beasts calling out.
The sound was very peculiar, with a very distinct characteristic.
Having lived in the mountains my entire life,
when I heard this sound, my heart was filled with confusion once again.
This sound, it's foxes...