Aguduo, holding Jiunian, ran three or four miles in one breath.

Behind them, the sound of pursuing footsteps grew closer.

Aguduo knew in her heart that there was no escape today.

Reaching a three-way intersection, Aguduo gritted her teeth, stopped, and put down Little Jiunian.

She glanced at Little Jiunian. Suddenly faced with unexpected changes, the little one did not cry; he was an understanding child. Unfortunately, she had no way to safely hand the child over to the master.

"Little Jiunian, the pursuers are about to catch up. You take this path to the west. This road is least traveled, and there shouldn’t be many people who pass through. Find a place to hide. Until tomorrow, do not come out."

With that, Aguduo pushed Little Jiunian forward, urging him to run away quickly.

Little Jiunian stood there dazed for a moment.

"I... I won’t go. My mom said never to leave your companions behind."

Even though he had only known Aguduo and Jin Wu Old Monster for a few days, Little Jiunian already considered them his companions.

Aguduo felt a sting in her nose.

This is a good child, worthy of being Yan Jiu’s son.

He has the same strong sense of loyalty as his father.

"Silly child, you’re not leaving us behind. You... you have to go, staying here will only hold us back!"

Aguduo’s eyes reddened, and she gritted her teeth, speaking harshly.

Little Jiunian’s face flushed red with emotion.

He knew it all too well; because he couldn’t fight, just now, Jin Wu Old Monster was injured trying to protect him.

He lowered his head, holding back the urge to cry.

"Auntie Aguduo, I know you’re doing this so I can escape. I... I’ll leave, but you must take care of yourself."

Little Jiunian sniffled, hugging Chi Chi, and walked away step by step.

He walked faster and faster, eventually unable to hold back his tears. He bit his lip, refusing to cry out loud.

He was filled with hate, hating himself for not being able to fight. If he could, he wouldn’t have watched Aguduo and Jin Wu Old Monster get captured.

Desperate with sorrow, Little Jiunian ran wildly.

He had no idea how far he had run until he stumbled and fell to the ground.

The small storage bag on him flew out.

He got up, wanting to retrieve the storage bag.

Suddenly, a pair of boots appeared out of nowhere, stepping on his storage bag.

"Little ghost, you’re quite the runner."

A sinister voice floated down from above.

Little Jiunian shivered, sneaking a look to find a sallow-faced man with hawk-like eyes staring coldly at him.

That man was the Martial Artist who had injured Jin Wu Old Monster earlier.

It turned out that after capturing Aguduo, those people had not found Little Jiunian.

The leader had heard Jin Wu Old Monster and others refer to Little Jiunian as "young master," realizing this child must have high status among them, probably having some wealth at home that could be extorted. So he gave chase, hoping to seize the opportunity to extort the Heroic Society.

The leader looked down at his foot, noticing a storage bag, his eyes lit up, and he picked up the storage bag.

"Don’t touch my stuff, my aunt gave that to me."

Seeing the man about to touch his storage bag with dirty hands, Little Jiunian grew angry, mustering all his Qi and charging, head-butting the leader in the chest. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Though Little Jiunian hadn’t systematically learned martial arts, he often secretly watched his grandfather train soldiers.

Those moves were etched in his memory, and his headbutt just happened to strike the leader’s Qi center.

A sharp pain erupted in the leader’s chest, fueling his anger. He slapped Little Jiunian, sending him flying like a broken rice sack and crashing harshly onto the ground.

Chi Chi, cradled in his arms, was also thrown onto the ground.

"Leader, did you catch him?"

Several patrol envoys from the Jiu Provinces Alliance arrived.

"Useless brat, how dare you offend this envoy."

The leader’s face darkened. If not for Little Jiunian’s potential value, he would have wanted to kill this little ghost on the spot for offending him. He couldn’t contain his rage and glanced at Chi Chi.

"Shoot this little beast; I want that little ghost to know what happens when you cross the Jiu Provinces Alliance."

With that, the patrol envoys from the Jiu Provinces Alliance laughed maliciously.

One of them took out a bow and arrow, aiming at Chi Chi.

Chi Chi, equally furious, roared at the patrol envoys.

"You little beast still dare to act fierce, huh? Oh, quite a little tiger you are. That fur could fetch a nice price. Kill it, skin it, and make a warm vest for me out of it."

The leader’s eyes narrowed maliciously as he gestured, releasing the arrow.

"Chi Chi!"

Little Jiunian cried out instinctively, throwing himself forward.

The smell of blood filled the air.

Chi Chi, originally baring its teeth, felt a burst of warmth splash onto its fur, its gaze freezing, disbelief and panic flickering in its beautiful big eyes.

Little Jiunian’s delicately shaped face still bore a smile.

His chubby little hand caressed Chi Chi’s smooth fur.

"Chi Chi, I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you. Run away quickly."

With that, Little Jiunian’s body crashed heavily to the ground, a sharp arrow stained with fresh blood protruding from his back.

"That little ghost dared to give up his life for a beast. Is he dead? If so, quite a waste of spirit stone."

The people from the Heaven and Earth Alliance laughed heartily, as if Little Jiunian’s actions were the most foolish and amusing thing they had ever seen.

Utterly foolish. Beast Pets are meant to be shields in critical moments, not for one to sacrifice their life to protect them.

The leader stepped forward, kicking Little Jiunian, intending to check if he was still breathing.

But just then, a strange sound emerged from Chi Chi’s throat.

"Oh, the little beast is angry?"

The leader laughed arrogantly.

But suddenly, his eyes widened, staring at Chi Chi in astonishment.

Originally the size of a kitten, without fully grown claws, the little creature arched its back.

The crimson character "王" on its forehead shone brilliantly, emitting a blinding light.

Under that light, the peculiar tiger pattern seemed to move.

The shape resembled a dragon.

Chi Chi’s growl changed, transforming from its immature voice to a roar like spring thunder, booming all around.

Throughout the barren grass and shrubbery, angry sounds arose.

"Leader... leader... demon beasts, so many demon beasts!"

The Jiu Provinces Alliance patrol envoys, once arrogant, now shook with fear, their knees trembling.

As Chi Chi roared, numerous demon beasts emerged one after another.

These demon beasts were all fierce, high-grade beasts.

The numbers were staggering—if not a thousand, at least five or six hundred.

Such a gathering of demon beasts in the Ancient Nine Provinces was called a small-scale beast chaos!