“Put him down,” said Yun Jiuge as she quickly got A'ze to lay A'fei's body flat on the ground. She then fished out her Lightning Fire Needle and used it to stop A'fei's bleeding before examining his injuries carefully.

“What happened?” Zi Shang asked A'hui.

“We found the location where the human-wolf hybrids are living at, and we wanted to sneak our way in to check out the area. However, we didn't think that they'd be in possession of the repeating crossbows used by the human-snake hybrid clan. A'fei was. .h.i.t by an arrow as we tried to escape,” replied A'hui with remorse. A'fei would not be injured if he had been more alert back then.

“No worries. The arrow that hit A'fei did not carry any poison on it. He'll be fine after getting some rest,” replied Yun Jiuge. She felt a weight lifted off her chest after she finished examining A'fei's body.

“A'ze, I want you to carry A'fei back first. A'hui and Advisor Jun will lead us to the human-wolf hybrids' lair,” Zi Shang ordered.

A'ze was very reluctant to leave, but he did not dare to disobey Zi Shang's orders either. He could only give in and leave the place with A'fei in tow.

“How are you feeling, A'hui? Do you want to rest a bit before heading over?” Yun Jiuge noticed that A'hui did not look well.

“I'm not tired. I'm just thinking that the human-wolf hybrids must be on full alert now, given how they spotted us earlier,” A'hui said with a frown.

“You don't need to worry about that. Just bring us to a spot near their lair. We'll find a way to enter from there,” Zi Shang replied.

“Alright then. I'll bring the two of you over.” A'hui and Advisor Jun carried Yun Jiuge and Zi Shang on them and flew towards the east.

As they flew towards the human-wolf hybrids' lair, Yun Jiuge noticed that the lands beneath them were looking more barren and charred. The Death Qi surrounding the area was incredibly strong as well.

There should not have been any human-beast hybrids living in such a desolate place. Why are the human-wolf hybrids living here? Are they not afraid of being eroded by the Death Qi? Yun Jiuge wondered to herself.

Even if they are not afraid of being eroded by the Death Qi, the issue of food still remains. Where do they go to find food?

The more Yun Jiuge thought about it, the more confused she became. However, it was quite inconvenient to ask Zi Shang such questions as they were flying. She could only ask them after they landed.

“We're almost there. Let's fly closer to the ground to avoid being detected by them,” A'hui said before he swooped close to the ground.

Zi Shang did not wait for A'hui to land. He immediately released his hands that were holding onto A'hui's body and leapt to the ground. Once there, he shouted at Yun Jiuge, “Jump!”

Yun Jiuge jumped into his embrace without hesitation.

“The human-wolf hybrid clan's lair is located about a mile ahead,” A'hui said after he landed next to them.

“Only the two of us will make our way over. You two can return to Eagle Cliff,” said Zi Shang. He waved his hands and beckoned the pair to leave at once.

“We can't let you do that. It's too dangerous. Elder Bai has instructed us to always stay by your side,” answered Advisor Jun hastily.

“This is an order.” Zi Shang did not bother explaining further. He wanted Advisor Jun to leave at once.

Advisor Jun was caught between a rock and a hard place. He did not dare to disobey Zi Shang's orders, but he was afraid that he would get scolded by the Elder when he went back.

“Don't worry. I'll be fine with Ye Zi around. There's something more important that I want you to do right now,” said Yun Jiuge, who was gentler compared to Zi Shang.

“What's this more important task that you speak about?” Advisor Jun asked. Leaving while being entrusted with a mission and leaving empty-handed were two completely different things altogether!

“I want the two of you to speak with the human-rabbit hybrid clan and tell them about our plans to build a city. If all goes well, the human-rabbit hybrid clan could be reunited at the city tonight,” Yun Jiuge said in a serious tone. She then continued, “The human-rabbit hybrids are very important to us. You must take care of them just like how you would take care of us.”

“Don't worry, Lady Yun. We understand that,” replied Advisor Jun. He thought it was quite risky to leave the task of protecting the human-rabbit hybrid clan to A'gu when they left the cave earlier. This was a good opportunity to check in on them.

In the whole time that Yun Jiuge spoke to Advisor Jun, A'hui remained expressionless and did not utter a single word. It was evident that he was just going to obey whatever Yun Jiuge said.

“Let's go!” Advisor Jun and A'hui bade them farewell before they turned around and flew away.

“If the human-rabbit hybrid clan is that important, why didn't you bring them along?” Zi Shang asked in confusion.

“I didn't bring them along because I wanted them to act as the bait,” Yun Jiuge said ambiguously.

“You suspect that there's a spy within us?” Zi Shang asked with a raised brow.

“Not necessarily a spy, but a human-beast hybrid who's being controlled right now.” Yun Jiuge could not possibly use her Spiritual Eye to inspect every single human-beast hybrid around her, so she resorted to using this amateur method.

All's well if her suspicions were for naught. But, if there were indeed spies amongst them, they would be able to capture all of them in one fell swoop using this method.

Yun Jiuge explained her thoughts to Zi Shang as they darted over to the human-wolf hybrid clan's lair. It did not take long before they reached a stretch of dark red gra.s.ses.

The gra.s.ses were about half a human tall, and its dark red color made people feel repulsive. There was a pungent stench in the air as well.

The human-wolf hybrids' lair was situated in the middle of the gra.s.ses. Based on what they could observe of the place, the human-wolf hybrids did not seem to be enjoying their lives here. There were a few huts made out gra.s.ses nearby, and it was very clear that those huts must be where they were keeping the human-rabbit hybrid clan members at. It was easy to see why A'hui and A'fei were not able to resist going closer to take a look at those huts, given how there were no watchmen around it.

“There are many human-wolf hybrids nearby. They're all waiting for us to fall into their trap,” said Zi Shang, whose eyes were sharper than those of the human-eagle hybrids'. He could tell just with one look that there were numerous shadows amongst the gra.s.ses.

“Should we charge in?” Yun Jiuge asked in a low voice.

“I'll draw them away, and you save those rabbits while they're distracted,” replied Zi Shang. He stared at the human-wolf hybrids hiding in the gra.s.ses intently.

“Okay.” Yun Jiuge crouched down lower into the gra.s.s.

A split second later, Zi Shang pounced towards the human-wolf hybrid that was the closest to him and sent it flying with just one kick.

The human-wolf hybrid was akin to a bomb that had gotten out of control. It kept hitting things along the way as it flew, and countless gra.s.ses were also flattened by his body weight.

Ohhhh! The human-wolf hybrids led out a howl and charged towards Zi Shang with their crossbows in hand.

Zi Shang's movements were as fast as lightning. Bam! Bam! Bam! He sent the human-wolf hybrids closest to him flying once again before he quietly led the rest of them into a corner.

Yun Jiuge took the opportunity to run towards one of the huts.

Once there, she did not open the door and charge inside recklessly. Instead, she poked a hole through the wall and peered inside.

She noticed a huge steel cage that was packed with numerous unconscious human-rabbit hybrids. The steel cage could barely fit all of them inside, and some of their arms and legs were left hanging out of the cage.

Thankfully, it seemed like the human-rabbit hybrids had been placed next to each other in the cage. If they had been placed on top of one another, then many of them would be suffocated to death by now.

Yun Jiuge scanned through the hut quickly and did not notice anything dangerous within it. Thus, she stealthily opened the door and slipped inside.

She was just about to open the steel cage and release the captive human-rabbit hybrids when she sensed danger behind her.

She instinctively pounced forward. Just as she did that, an arrow grazed the top of her head and created a large hole on the wall behind her.

Yun Jiuge turned to look at her a.s.sailant, and she saw a gigantic human-wolf hybrid standing before her with a crossbow.

The human-wolf hybrid had brownish-yellow hair, narrow eyes and a black nose. The muscles on its body were as hard as stones.

Its eyes were grey and clouded, and its movements were a little dull as well. It was clear that it was being controlled by someone at the moment.

Yun Jiuge summoned her Spiritual Eye and noticed that the human-wolf hybrid's brain and neck were covered by a ball of grayish light. It was in a worse state than Aunt Gaga of the human-snake hybrid clan.

What on earth did Nangong Yue do to this human-wolf hybrid? Why was it in such a terrible state?

Questions surfaced in Yun Jiuge's mind, but she did not have any time to ponder over them. The human-wolf hybrid tossed the crossbow away and charged towards her at an incredibly fast speed. It only took a split second for its razor sharp claws to appear right in front of Yun Jiuge's face.