Bang! Leonard Lei slammed his fist onto the wooden fence. Huge, scalding tears rolled down his cheeks, pouring from his eyes. All this time, he had been shuttling between Woodfield and Grant City, stockpiling food. He'd only seen Yvonne May two or three times.
"Everyone's already gone. What's the point of getting angry?"
Lucille Xing said, her face clouded with worry.
"Maybe even I, a former slave, have it easier than she does. Once she goes back, her life will be completely controlled by others—like a corpse."
Sebastian Zhao squatted by the fence, while Phoenix Yu stood nearby, smiling helplessly.
"Yvonne May is really great. If only she could stay here longer—maybe I'd have a chance."
A few pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
"I'm just joking, don't be so upset. At least when she goes home, she's still part of the Grant Family. As long as she gives birth to a son, she'll be fine."
"I actually wanted to stop her, but I couldn't. I couldn't say anything, and I couldn't decide anything."
Joseph Qiao muttered gloomily.
"Listen up, none of you are allowed to mention Yvonne May in front of Yuna Ji. They've been close since childhood."
Lucille Xing said, and everyone nodded.
With a startled cry, someone tumbled out of the palace gate beside the aviary. Everyone looked over—it was Lona Long.
"Yuna, where are you going?"
Lona Long called out, and everyone sensed something was wrong. They rushed inside the palace. Joseph Qiao spotted a petite figure running straight west.
"Quick, give the order to the soldiers—everyone, chase after her!"
Lucille Xing shouted, and Leonard Lei yelled as well. The whole palace was thrown into chaos.
At the western wall, there was a small hole. A petite figure squeezed through—Yuna Ji grinned, gazing at the bright moonlight. Ahead was a wide road, completely empty. She dashed across it.
"If I go this way, I can catch up to Sister Yvonne May."
She hadn't gone far when Yuna Ji froze—the road ahead split in two. She clutched her head, looking troubled.
The road split into two paths. Yuna Ji raised her hands.
"Left or right?"
Suddenly, Yuna Ji remembered something and darted down the left path. She recalled that the left side of the aviary faced Jiang Territory, and Yvonne May had to go there before returning to the May Domain.
Soon, Joseph Qiao led soldiers with torches in pursuit, heading straight down the right road. He didn't know that Yuna Ji had taken the left path—a trail used for hunting, though game had been scarce lately and few ventured into the mountains.
After a while, Yuna Ji felt thirsty. She looked around—the road had narrowed and was sloping upward. She grew a little scared, but mustered her courage and pressed on. She had only one thought: find Yvonne May. She'd meant to head toward the aviary, but overheard Lucille Xing and the others talking about Yvonne May.
Though she couldn't understand what they were saying, the only thing she knew was that Yvonne May wouldn't be coming back.
"Hmph! Sister Yvonne May actually dared to trick me—she said she'd only be gone for a while, that she'd come back. Hmph, big liar."
Yuna Ji stomped along the mountain path, but she was already tired and scared. The autumn night was chilly; luckily, she'd dressed warmly before heading out.
There was hardly a road left ahead—just weeds and thorns everywhere. The woods were open, but the terrain was steep and difficult to cross.
Her stomach rumbled. Yuna Ji was hungry now—hungry and thirsty, and she had no idea where she was.
"Just a little farther and I'll find Sister Yvonne May. She always gives me delicious food."
Thinking of this, Yuna Ji wasn't so scared anymore. She kept walking, now heading downhill—the slope was gentle. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a stream. Excited, she ran down to it. In the moonlight, the little creek sparkled. Yuna Ji rushed over and gulped down plenty of water. Her fur shoes and pants were covered in weeds and thorns.
"If only there was something to eat."
Yuna Ji stood up and looked toward the gentler woods ahead. Just as she was about to enter, she suddenly froze in terror, her body going limp and unable to move. A low growl sounded, and in the woods, a pair of scarlet lights appeared.
A wild beast, exhaling white breath, its body pitch-black and nearly twice the size of Yuna Ji, crouched low and crept closer step by step.
"Run!"
Yuna Ji sprang up and tried to run, but the beast lunged at her from behind.
Yuna Ji screamed as the beast knocked her to the ground. Its mouth gaped, throat rumbling, then it grabbed her and lifted her up. Tears welled in Yuna Ji's eyes—she dared not make a sound. The beast held her, and she had no idea what it would do next.
Just then, a figure swooped down from the night sky toward the river. A piercing cry rang out—the beast holding Yuna Ji was pecked by something and yelped in pain, releasing its grip.
"Xiaoxiao, is that you?"
Yuna Ji burst into tears. A Ninefeather Bird, only half her size, hovered in the air. The beast snapped out of its daze, howling at the sky. The Ninefeather Bird dove and pecked at it, and with a wail, the beast turned and fled into the woods.
The Ninefeather Bird slowly descended and landed by the river. Yuna Ji ran over, sobbing, and hugged its neck tightly.
"Xiaoxiao, you came to save me! That's wonderful, just wonderful!"
After a while, Yuna Ji calmed down. The Ninefeather Bird nudged her with its beak, then walked a few steps, as if signaling her to follow.
"No!"
Yuna Ji said stubbornly. The Ninefeather Bird immediately spread its wings and walked over, pecking her a few times and chirping.
"I have to find Sister Yvonne May. I must find her."
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Yuna Ji said, looking into the depths of the woods, but the Ninefeather Bird wouldn't let go, holding her tightly.
"You wouldn't understand anyway. I have so much I want to say to Sister Yvonne May. I need to tell her."
After a while, the Ninefeather Bird let go and flew off, disappearing into the distant woods. It perched atop a treetop, chirping. Yuna Ji smiled again and skipped over to it.
Night faded and the sky grew pale. The Ninefeather Bird led Yuna Ji to a huge tree, then signaled for her to climb up.
Yuna Ji was an expert at climbing trees. Since childhood, she'd followed Yvonne May on outings and often climbed to the top with her. She easily made her way up, curled up on a thick branch beside the Ninefeather Bird. It spread its wing around her, and together, girl and bird closed their eyes.
Ahead lay a river with logs laid across it. Joseph Qiao stopped.
"We've reached the border of the Grant Domain and Jiang Territory. Could it be...?"
Joseph Qiao turned and looked at the soldiers searching both sides of the road in the woods.
Now, Joseph Qiao could only think that Yuna Ji was lost. But this main road to Jiang Territory was wide and straight—she shouldn't get lost if she kept to the path.
Suddenly, Joseph Qiao remembered the road to the left outside Grant City—the path into the mountains. Alarmed, he turned his horse and ordered everyone to mount up and race back.
The woods on either side were sparse. All the way, Joseph Qiao advanced cautiously and evenly. Yuna Ji couldn't have gone far on foot. Joseph Qiao was anxious—he snapped his whip, and his horse neighed and galloped ahead.
A gentle peck woke Yuna Ji.
"What is it, Xiaoxiao? Let me sleep a little longer."
With a cry, Yuna Ji lost her balance and nearly fell from the tree. After a moment, she scrambled down, panic-stricken. But now she was so hungry her stomach hurt. The Ninefeather Bird tugged at her.
Soon, the Ninefeather Bird led Yuna Ji to a low thicket filled with small black and red berries.
"Wow, they're beautiful! Can I eat these, Xiaoxiao?"
Yuna Ji reached for the red berries, but the Ninefeather Bird pecked her hand. It picked some black berries with its beak and swallowed them.
Yuna Ji understood at once and grabbed a handful of black berries to eat.
"So sweet! They taste great! Haha, Xiaoxiao, you're so smart. I should've brought you along earlier—let you find Sister Yvonne May first, then come tell me where she is."
Three days had passed. In the hunting woods, Grant Family soldiers were everywhere. Joseph Qiao climbed the mountain, his face pale—they'd sent thirty thousand men into the mountains to search for Yuna Ji, combing every inch, but still hadn't found her.
They'd reached places even the usual hunters didn't know, but still hadn't found Yuna Ji.
"Where on earth did she go? Sigh."
Joseph Qiao sighed in frustration.
"I'm so hungry, Xiaoxiao. I want meat—I haven't had meat in days."
All around were rolling mountains. Yuna Ji had no idea where she was—there wasn't a soul in sight.
"Sister Yvonne May, you big liar."
Yuna Ji shouted, then lay on the ground. Every day, she survived on wild berries the Ninefeather Bird found for her. She was very unhappy.
A breeze drifted by. Suddenly, Yuna Ji's eyes widened and she scrambled up—a delicious smell wafted on the wind. She dashed toward a patch of woods.
"Meat! Meat stew!"
Yuna Ji shouted in delight. Ahead were three low grass huts. In the center, a steaming pot hung over a fire. Yuna Ji ran up, grabbed a ladle, and impatiently drank some soup.
"What are you doing?"
Just then, a shrill child's voice called from inside one of the huts.