Hmm... Tastes Pretty Good

Sophie Sun and the Liu siblings lay sprawled on the ground, blood spilling from their mouths.

The Red-crested Golden Eagle grabbed the clothes of the man beneath it with its beak and gave a fierce tug, shredding the fabric to pieces.

The palace guard was left completely naked.

Then, with its sharp beak, it pecked at the guard’s seemingly muscular chest, tore off a large chunk of flesh from his chest and abdomen, and swallowed it whole.

Mmm... not bad.

It pecked again, ripping off a chunk of thigh meat...

The palace guard’s screams were absolutely chilling.

The Liu siblings turned pale with fear and bolted.

Sophie Sun was breathing hard too, and ordered, "Retreat! Now!"

Everyone took off running.

The Red-crested Golden Eagle kept eating, and soon, nothing was left of the palace guard but bare bones...

Grace glanced at the spotless skeleton and, not daring to go out, hunched over and quietly slipped away.

After walking for a while, she suddenly ran into Louis Lin.

When he saw her, Louis Lin ran over excitedly and called out, "Miss Grace, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Grace replied. "Sophie Sun didn't give you any trouble, did she? I was really worried about you!"

"No," Louis Lin said. "She just called me over to ask a few pointless questions, then suddenly knocked me out."

When he woke up, he wasn't worried at all.

After all, His Highness was there!

So he just left the forest on his own.

Grace asked him, "What about General Evan Xiao? Did you see him?"

"Uh... I did see him!" Louis Lin glanced at the Antler Serpent in her arms and said, "Well... Princess Xinyao was injured and needed urgent treatment, so General Evan Xiao escorted her back to find a Spiritual Alchemist. He told me that once I found you, we should head straight back to Danyang City."

"Princess Xinyao?" Grace asked in surprise. "She was here too?"

"Yeah! She was here, and she got hurt."

Louis Lin was just trying to make his story sound believable.

But the part about Princess Xinyao being injured and already escorted back was actually true.

He said it just to make his lie sound more convincing.

However, he didn’t notice that Grace’s face instantly fell when she heard this.

She’d faced life-and-death danger in the forest.

But Evan Xiao just left her behind and escorted Princess Xinyao away?

Could it be... after the Infernal Drake appeared, he rushed down the mountain so anxiously just to find her?

What was that supposed to mean?

...

Louis Lin, completely oblivious, cheerfully said, "Miss Grace, let's head back!"

Grace paused for a moment, nodded, and the two of them walked off together.

On the way, Grace entered her Sanctum, extracted the juice from the Ironbone Grass, and refined it into an Ironbone Pill, which she took on the spot.

By the time the carriage reached Danyang City, she had broken through to the fourth rank.

Spirit Practitioner, Fourth Rank—the toughness of her skin and flesh increased dramatically.

For ordinary people without a Spirit Root, a fourth-rank Spirit Practitioner is basically bulletproof—like having bronze skin and iron bones...

Once in Danyang City, the carriage went straight to the General's Manor, while Grace took her little cutie and returned to the Zhu Ancestral Temple.

By then, the six-hour time limit was long past.

Evan Xiao could have turned back into his human form already, but he just didn’t.

He stayed by Grace’s side, watching her refine pills and cultivate.

...

As soon as Grace returned, Hope and Claire finally relaxed.

The two of them were like little magpies, chattering nonstop around her.

"...Miss Grace, we were worried sick while you were gone these past few days!" Claire said.

Hope added, "That’s right! Eastwood Forest is so far away, and you went all by yourself. We’ve been losing sleep every night worrying about you."