Chapter 920: Truthflower and Dark-Eyed Bird

“Xun xun?” Little Treasure floated in front of his beastmaster, holding a dark crystal in his claws. He chirped curiously, as if asking,

what’s this?

This is…?

Qiao Sang stared at the black crystal in Little Treasure’s claws, uncertain for a moment.

When it came to special items or ores used by certain beasts, she only studied them when needed. For now, her focus had been on pet beasts, not materials.

“This is a Tungsten Corpse Crystal.” Mikayla said as she approached. Her gaze flicked over Little Treasure with a complicated look.

“It’s an evolution item for some Ghost-type beasts.”

Tungsten Corpse Crystal!

So this was a Tungsten Corpse Crystal!

She hadn’t expected such a thing to appear inside the Grave Spectre’s head, it felt just like defeating a boss and getting rare loot.

Delighted, Qiao Sang realized that even though its grade wasn’t high, an item like this wasn’t easy to find. She immediately said, “This will be your evolution item. Keep it safe.”

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure brightened, quickly removing his ring and carefully placing the Tungsten Corpse Crystal inside.

Mikayla kept her usual calm expression and said nothing.

Although a Tungsten Corpse Crystal was tempting even to some B-rank beastmasters, the Grave Spectre had been defeated entirely by Qiao Sang. As someone who hadn’t contributed, Mikayla knew she had no right to say a word.

“Qing qing…”

At that moment, Qingbao floated over and gently held Qiao Sang’s bloodied hand, her expression full of worry.

Qiao Sang blinked, her heart softening. She was about to speak when a faint blue light shone over her hand.

Her wound healed visibly within seconds.

Mikayla watched the closing wound, her expression growing complicated.

She was sure the Grave Spectre hadn’t hurt Qiao Sang.

Did she… dig her nails into her hand herself to fight her fear?

“Qing qing!”

When the blue light faded, Qingbao held up Qiao Sang’s healed hand, visibly happy.

Far off, Yabao limped toward them, barely managing to stand.

Qiao Sang’s eyes softened with distress. Before she could speak, another blue light flashed across Yabao.

She sighed in relief, then suddenly remembered something. Her hands formed seals, and she summoned Gangbao.

“Gang Zhan…”

Gangbao, who’d been resting in the Beast Codex, had recovered a bit. When she saw the Grave Spectre’s fallen body, she let out a breath of relief.

“Heal Gangbao too.” Qiao Sang instructed.

“Lu Di.”

Lubao nodded, the gem on her forehead glowing again with that same soft blue light.

Gangbao’s wounds quickly disappeared.

“Drink some energy potions first. Once you recover a bit, we’ll move on.” Qiao Sang said.

Though she hadn’t entered many secret realms, she knew one thing: when a particularly strong beast ruled an area, it was its territory, and there usually wouldn’t be another boss-level beast nearby.

That Grave Spectre was clearly the area’s boss.

Now that it was gone, resting here was the safest option.

All around were fallen Corpse Imps. Not far away lay the huge Grave Spectre’s body. Though they were dead, staying here still took courage. Yet Guo Ruiqi, beyond relief for surviving, also felt a deep sense of safety.

That safety came from Senior Qiao.

Climbing down from his Sleep Bird, Guo Ruiqi cleared a spot under a tree.

“Senior Qiao, you can rest here.”

Qiao Sang nodded and sat cross-legged.

The Sleep Bird quickly followed, staying near this human made it feel much safer.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure busied himself taking out energy potions from his ring and handing them to Yabao and the others.

Mikayla sat beside Qiao Sang, glancing around before saying, “This time, it’s really thanks to you.”

Qiao Sang blinked, suddenly remembering this hired teammate hadn’t helped at all earlier. She turned and asked, “Why didn’t you attack just now?”

Mikayla already had her excuse prepared.

“The Nightmare Aura affected me badly. Later, when Qingqing Ni used Wind Form to disperse it, I recovered a bit and managed to give some commands, but…”

She paused, glancing regretfully at the Sleep Bird with a faint sigh.

“I didn’t expect my Sleep Bird to be even more cowardly than I thought. It was still affected by the aura.”

Sleepy Bird: ???

“Sleep!”

The bird cried in protest.

Mikayla gave it a calm sideways glance.

“Am I wrong?”

…

Apparently not.

The bird drooped its head.

Qiao Sang recalled hearing “Metal Sound” earlier, it seemed Xu Gehung had given an order. Her expression softened slightly.

But then she asked, “Why didn’t you summon any other beasts?”

Mikayla paused, then repeated her line.

“Sorry. The Nightmare Aura affected me too much.”

So her willpower’s not bad compared to others of the same rank, huh…

Qiao Sang thought to herself and let it drop.

---

After a short rest, the three continued onward.

This time, Yabao didn’t dare fall asleep. He stayed alert, scanning the surroundings as they walked.

Gangbao and the Sleep Bird flew ahead to scout.

Their journey went smoothly, no difficult beasts appeared.

When sunlight finally broke through and the weather warmed, Qiao Sang asked, “Do we need to rest a bit?”

Mikayla looked to Guo Ruiqi.

Among the three, only he needed rest now.

As he swapped his thick jacket for a T-shirt, he said, “I’ll just change my clothes. No need to stop.”

Even with Qiao nearby giving him security, he still wanted to find the Lele Seed as soon as possible and leave this cursed place.

He silently swore never to enter another secret realm again.

Qiao Sang waited patiently.

Suddenly, her ears twitched. From the grass, a small green beast, about twenty centimeters tall with a bright flower blooming on its back, stepped out.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure stared at it warily.

Recently, small creatures like this always made him nervous, they either came in swarms or had a hidden boss behind them.

“Shi shi!”

The flower-backed beast froze at the sight of so many strangers. Startled, it turned tail and ran, the flower on its back blooming as it fled.

As the petals opened, orange-red pollen drifted into the air.

Mikayla’s eyes narrowed. Then her face changed, she quickly held her breath.

Soon, the flowered beast vanished into the brush.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure relaxed.

“Senior Qiao, I’m done changing. Let’s go.” said Guo Ruiqi.

“Alright.” Qiao Sang nodded, not thinking much of the little beast, and led them onward.

Guo Ruiqi walked beside her, chatting to pass the time.

“Senior Qiao, honestly, so many famous B-rank beastmasters from our region don’t look half as young as you.”

Qiao Sang smiled.

“That’s because… they actually aren’t as young as me.”

Then she froze.

Wait, why did I say that out loud?

Guo Ruiqi nodded seriously. Then he looked at Mikayla.

“Senior Xu, are you also a B-rank beastmaster?”

Mikayla nodded silently.

“Then how come you’re both B-rank, but Senior Qiao looks so much younger and is so much stronger?” He blurted.

Then he realized what he’d said and quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

Mikayla just gave him a mild glance, she didn’t care.

After all, he was talking about Xu Gehung, not her.

What kind of truth bomb was that?!

Qiao Sang coughed awkwardly, trying to cover for him.

But what came out was, “You’re absolutely right.”

Qiao Sang: !!!

What did I just say?!

Mikayla silently looked at her. As expected, Qiao Sang had fallen victim to the Truthflower.

Only now did Qiao Sang sense something wrong.

She mentally replayed the scene, everything had been normal when Guo Ruiqi changed clothes, until that flowered beast appeared…

“What was that beast with the flower on its back?” She asked.

Mikayla answered, “A Truthflower, a low-level Grass-type beast. Its pollen makes people uncontrollably tell the truth.”

No wonder…

Qiao Sang suddenly understood.

Guo Ruiqi, hearing this, covered his mouth tighter, terrified he might blurt something out again.

It’s kind of like the Illusionweed from the Lianke region, except worse…

Qiao Sang thought, then asked, “You recognized it right away?”

Mikayla nodded. “Truthflowers are easy to spot. Their blossoms stay closed unless they’re emotional, then they bloom, releasing the truth-inducing pollen.”

Qiao Sang studied her a moment, then suddenly asked, “What’s the beast that’s been invisible beside you?”

At first she hadn’t thought much about it. But later, she realized, during their fight with the Grave Spectre, Mikayla hadn’t summoned any visible beasts. Even if she’d been paralyzed with fear, an invisible beast should’ve appeared if affected by the aura.

Unless that beast’s strength far exceeded the Grave Spectre’s, so much that the aura couldn’t affect it.

She found out

… Mikayla’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression didn’t change.

“That’s Hidden Shield.” She said smoothly.

Hidden Shield, Psychic-type, King-level beast. Born colorless, permanently invisible, timid and evasive by nature. It never makes a sound unless absolutely necessary.

Qiao Sang recalled its entry from her beast compendium. Maybe she had misjudged her.

Though King-level, a Hidden Shield’s personality could explain its cowardice.

Seeing Qiao Sang’s relaxed face, Mikayla knew she had mostly bought it. To seal the act, she said, “Hidden Shield, say something.”

After a brief silence, a faint sound came: “Pfff—”

Then it abruptly stopped.

Mikayla: !!!

Her mind raced, she realized she had held her breath, but Spengami (the beast in disguise) must’ve inhaled the Truthflower’s pollen!

Oh no! Is my cover about to be blown?!

Pfff? Why did that sound seem so familiar…

Qiao Sang’s suspicious gaze turned toward

Xu Gehung.

“Gang Zhan!”

Before Mikayla could respond, Gangbao cried from above.

Qiao Sang instantly snapped to alertness, raising her head.

Above them loomed a massive flock of black birds, each at least three meters tall.

Guo Ruiqi yelped and hid behind her.

“Yap!”

Yabao bared his teeth, ready to fight.

Some of the black birds looked down excitedly, but when others called out “Anji,” they quickly turned away and flew onward.

Darkji Birds, Dark/Flying dual-type advanced beasts. Known to hunt in packs and fight for dominance, willing to use any means necessary. They often battled among themselves for leadership, losers would be driven out of the flock.

As this flashed through Qiao Sang’s mind, the birds soon vanished, sunlight returning to the sky.

She took out her direction compass and said, “There’s likely a Darkji Bird territory ahead. Let’s change course.”

Guo Ruiqi immediately agreed. “I’ll follow Senior Qiao.”

Mikayla said nothing, fine by her. She just wanted to draw less attention to herself now.

After confirming direction, the three continued walking.

About five minutes later, Qiao Sang’s ears twitched again, rustling from nearby grass.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure had heard it too. He floated over, pushing the grass aside.

Inside lay a black bird-like beast, about a meter long. Its feathers were ragged, one wing covered in wounds, eyes wary and fearful.

It was clearly badly injured. Otherwise, given that look, it would’ve flown hundreds of meters away at first sight.

“Xun xun?”

Little Treasure pointed at it and asked,

What do we do with this guy?

Dark-Eyed Bird, Dark/Flying dual-type, mid-level beast, the pre-evolved form of Darkji Bird.

Qiao Sang thought briefly and said, “Lubao.”

Understanding her command, Lubao’s forehead gem glowed again, casting blue healing light.

“Senior Qiao, are you going to save it?” Guo Ruiqi asked curiously. After so long with them, he knew that blue light meant a healing skill.

Even he knew that helping a wild beast in a secret realm wasn’t wise, many stories told of beasts repaying kindness with betrayal, even stealing supplies afterward.

“It’s fine.” Qiao Sang said.

“It’s only a mid-level beast. Even if it recovers, it can’t hurt me.”

As soon as she said it, she realized, the Truthflower’s effect hadn’t worn off yet…

“Dark…”

In the next second, the Dark-Eyed Bird’s grateful expression vanished instantly.

“……”