"Cassie, what do we do now?" Luna Cui asked anxiously, looking at Cassie Cao. The others also turned to Cassie.
Usually, whenever something happened, Cassie Cao was the one to make decisions. Now, faced with this crisis, everyone naturally hoped Cassie would take charge.
This kind of situation wasn’t uncommon—it happened often. Whenever a group of Griffowls attacked a martial arts squad, laborers were almost guaranteed a dead end. Only a lucky few ever escaped with their lives. And this time, the beasts were even more vicious flying Griffowls; survival odds were worse than one in ten thousand.
Joe Di didn’t understand what was happening here at all, so he too looked at Cassie Cao.
Not far away, screams continued to echo. Sometimes, the Griffowls weren’t even interested in eating people—they’d snatch up laborers, fly them high into the sky, and drop them to their deaths.
Cassie Cao made her decision almost instantly. She pointed toward the direction of Tianhuang District and said, "We’ll escape toward Tianhuang District—right now!" With that, Cassie led the charge toward the edge of the open plain, heading for the tall grass.
The scene was utter chaos. Though Cassie’s group of five fled in a different direction than the others, nobody paid attention. Even if they noticed, they’d only think Cassie’s team was panicking and running blindly.
As the five dashed into the grasslands at the edge of the plain, the distant screams grew fewer and fewer. Without even looking back, they knew more and more people were being killed by the Griffowls.
Fear gnawed at all five—the distance they’d managed to escape was nothing to a Griffowl’s line of sight.
Suddenly, Joe Di said, "I don’t think we can keep running. If we do, we’re headed straight for death."
Suddenly, Griffowl habits surfaced in his mind—these flying beasts were experts at spotting moving targets. Their eyes were like radars, locking onto anything that moved.
"Joe, what should we do?" Luna Cui was the slowest runner, and she knew if the Griffowl came, she’d be the first to die.
Joe Di pointed to a weed-choked ravine in the distance. "Let’s jump straight into that ravine. The weeds will hide us, and the Griffowl won’t see. Once the Griffowl leaves, we can come out safely."
"But I heard Griffowls can smell people from dozens of miles away. Jumping into that ravine is just asking to die," Andy Hou muttered, hesitating.
Joe Di shook his head. "I don’t think that’s true. Griffowls don’t hunt by smell—they rely on their eyes."
Cassie Cao realized it too—if they kept running, they’d be killed by the Griffowl for sure. Joe Di’s plan was their only option. She led the charge toward the ravine. "Everyone, jump in!"
With Cassie Cao leading, nobody hesitated. Everyone followed her, leaping into the ravine one after another.
From the outside, the ravine was choked with weeds and brambles. Once inside, it was five or six meters deep. Andy Hou had bad luck—he landed on a stone and broke his leg. Still, he gritted his teeth and didn’t make a sound.
The bottom of the ravine reeked of rot—years of wild grass mixed with stagnant water. As everyone landed, they felt miserable, and some even sensed leeches crawling on their legs.
But with their lives on the line, no one dared to speak, not even to breathe loudly.
The distant screams faded, then stopped altogether. The five knew this meant the laborers had all been killed by the Griffowls. As for the martial artists, they were much faster—likely already safe.
Time crawled by. After three hours, Andy Hou couldn’t hold out any longer and gasped, "Cassie, my leg’s broken. Can we go out now?"
Cassie hadn’t replied when Joe Di said, "Not yet. I sense the danger isn’t over. Let’s wait a little longer."
No one argued with Joe Di. He’d saved their lives by telling them to jump into the ravine. The old rumors said Griffowls hunted by scent, but that was clearly wrong. If Griffowls could smell people, the five of them would’ve been discovered long ago.
A faint rumbling sounded, then quickly faded into the distance.
Marlon Mao said admiringly, "Joe, you were right. If we’d left, that guy on the motorcycle would’ve spotted us and we’d be dead for sure."
If there were a large group of laborers, they might be sent to Tianhuang City. But with just the five of them, and one injured, nobody would bother. If they couldn’t be sent to Tianhuang City or Tianhuang District, they’d be eliminated.
Andy Hou grumbled, "Those bastards—riding motorcycles here, aren’t they afraid of attracting even fiercer beasts?"
Joe Di’s sense of danger faded, but he said, "We can go now, but we need to hurry. Give it a few more hours and someone might find this place."
"Joe’s right—we need to go now," Cassie Cao agreed.
The Griffowls really couldn’t find them, but some beasts hunted by scent—if those showed up, they’d be out of the frying pan and into the fire. And even if no beasts came, if the people from Tianhuang City found them, they’d be discovered for sure. With all their instruments, finding a few people hiding in a ravine was child’s play.
When the five struggled out of the ravine, nearly everyone was covered in leeches. Andy Hou had it worst—over twenty leeches clung to him.
After cleaning themselves off, Cassie Cao said, "Marlon Mao, carry Andy Hou. We’re heading for Tianhuang District right now."
Marlon didn’t need Cassie to ask—he’d already picked Andy Hou up. Night had fallen, and the five took advantage of the darkness to rush into Tianhuang District.
......
As Joe Di’s group fled into Tianhuang District, a major incident rocked Tianhuang City. It wasn’t the martial squad being attacked by Griffowls—that happened every year and wasn’t worth mentioning.
The big news was the search for a legendary doctor—Joe Di. There were two portraits: one of Joe Di before he disguised himself, and one after.
No matter how careful Joe Di was, his image climbing the cargo truck was caught on surveillance and posted everywhere in Tianhuang City—even on major websites.
As for influence, Dr. Eugene Yu, director of Tianhuang Martial Hospital, ranked only fifth.
The strongest force in Tianhuang District was the Grandwild Alliance, led by Martin Grandwild. The Alliance boasted many top experts, and rumor had it some surpassed the Sky Stage. It was said Martin Grandwild himself had broken through to that level.
Martin Grandwild hadn’t always had that surname—he changed it after founding the Grandwild Alliance in Tianhuang District.
At the top floor of the tallest building in Tianhuang City—the Tianhuang United Council headquarters—eight people were gathered. Each was powerful enough to shake the district with a single command.
Seated at the head was Martin Grandwild, leader of the Grandwild Alliance. Despite his imposing reputation, he looked gentle and scholarly, like a bookish youth. Martin sat at the head not just because he led the Alliance, but also as vice-chairman of the Tianhuang United Council.
Beside him sat Mayor Cal Lane of Tianhuang City, while Dr. Eugene Yu was relegated to the edge.
"Mayor Lane, I heard Joe Di’s whereabouts have been discovered?" Martin Grandwild asked softly, his gaze settling on Cal Lane.
Everyone knew why Martin Grandwild was searching for Joe Di—his son, Samuel Grandwild, suffered from the same illness as Zeng Family’s daughter: after cultivation, his vitality collapsed, leaving him barely alive. Joe Di had saved a similar patient in Jinhai, so it was no wonder Martin was desperate to find him.