CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 144: GOING HOME

Chapter 144 [Going Home] (6400)

The leader monster’s gaze turned this way, but Chen Yan noticed that this creature’s head was slightly tilted back, its nostrils gently flaring, as if sniffing the air...

A sudden revelation struck Chen Yan’s heart!

Scent!!

This creature has a keen sense of smell!

He suddenly understood why Du Li, despite using the Invisibility Talisman, was still detected and pursued.

The leader had already drawn an arrow and placed it on the bowstring...

Chen Yan abruptly reached out and yanked Du Li up from the ground, and with his other hand, he fiercely tore off the fur coat from his upper body and threw it far away!

He exerted force with his feet, and with Du Li on his shoulder, he dashed wildly into the forest!

Whoosh!

An arrow shot through the air, piercing through the fur coat Chen Yan threw, and pinned it to a tree!

·

The leader monster slowly walked to the forest edge, coldly raising its eyes to look at the fur coat it had pierced with an arrow.

With an indifferent expression, it tore off the fur coat, pulled out the arrow, and put it back into its quiver.

More and more monsters gathered around the leader monster.

After scanning the group of monsters, the leader monster’s eyes settled on one of them.

Wooden Bowl.

Wooden Bowl was the most frail in figure and was jostled back and forth among the monsters pursuing the runaway slaves, seemingly unable to stand steadily, yet still anxiously looking in the direction of the forest.

"Wooden Bowl!"

The leader monster spoke, and all the monsters immediately fell silent.

Wooden Bowl shivered, fearfully looking at the leader monster.

"Among the runaway savages, there is your slave." The leader threw out the fur coat, dropping it on the ground: "It’s yours, right!"

Wooden Bowl lowered his head, his body trembling slightly: "He, he chopped down many trees, many for me!"

"From now on, they are no longer your private property! The runaway slave must be put to death, it’s the rule."

Wooden Bowl raised his head, gritting his teeth: "I, I will chase them too."

"...Suit yourself." The leader monster no longer paid attention to Wooden Bowl, but ordered its clan: "Bring two Hunting Beasts! Chase along the scent! One of those two savages was wounded by my arrow, they won’t get far."

·

Chen Yan was running madly, using all his strength to run!

He spared no effort, giving his all in a frantic sprint!

If he couldn’t escape now, he would surely die, so conserving energy was utterly meaningless.

Chen Yan carried Du Li on his shoulder, running through the forest without knowing how far he’d gone—but based on his current physical condition, Chen Yan estimated his running speed wasn’t slow at all!

So, after a few minutes of running, Chen Yan confirmed there was no sign of pursuit behind him, feeling slightly more at ease, with a faint sense of safety.

However, another issue weighed increasingly on Chen Yan’s mind.

With Du Li on his back, as they sprinted, he could feel his back growing slippery—that was Du Li’s blood!

Du Li was heavily injured, bleeding more and more, and since Chen Yan had discarded the fur coat from his upper body, all that blood was sticking to his bare back.

Chen Yan wasn’t overly concerned about Du Li’s survival...

But the smell of blood was indeed a deadly problem!

He leaped over a pit in the forest, and already felt like his chest and lungs were about to explode.

Roughly calculating, he had been sprinting at full speed for almost ten minutes—thanks to his exceptionally strong physique. An ordinary person would have been out of breath long ago.

Chen Yan stopped, placed Du Li on the ground, and pulled a piece of ice from his pocket, crunching it in his mouth.

Du Li was barely breathing.

Chen Yan looked at Du Li, who was lying on the ground, staring back at Chen Yan with wide eyes.

The invisibility talisman’s effect had already dissipated.

"You’re dying. I can’t save you." Chen Yan spoke bluntly, gnawing on the ice vigorously: "You can tell me about the intelligence you’ve gathered, and I’ll bring it back for you... if I make it back alive."

Chen Yan’s words were sincere—at this moment, he had no intention of deceiving Du Li.

This human being who infiltrated the monster race had been tricked by him into escaping, resulting in such an outcome...

Regardless, he fought for human beings in the Domain Realm, to resist these alien races.

Chen Yan felt responsible for Du Li’s death—he also felt he should help Du Li bring the intelligence back!

But...

Du Li’s lips trembled, and his expression suddenly turned odd.

"I’m... dying...?" Du Li’s gaze was already somewhat scattered.

"...Yes, I’m sorry, in this situation, I can’t save you." Chen Yan shook his head.

"..." Du Li was silent for two seconds, then suddenly looked at Chen Yan with an equally peculiar gaze.

He said softly: "...I’m sorry."

Hmm?

Chen Yan was stunned.

"I lied to you." Tears streamed from Du Li’s eyes: "I... I lied to you..."

"...What do you mean?"

Du Li’s breathing was getting weaker and weaker: "There is no intelligence... The Divine Tree’s intelligence... it’s all fake, I discovered nothing, found nothing...

I couldn’t take it anymore... It was tormenting me there, I... I just wanted to leave, I wanted to go back...

So... I, I... I...

I lied to you... I, I discovered nothing...

I lied to you, tricked you into escaping with me... and deceived you into abandoning your, your mission..."

Du Li’s voice was faint, speaking in a labored and breathless manner.

Chen Yan was suddenly stunned.