Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath. The air was filled with the unique, crisp scent of trees, which made her mind clearer.
"Sister, are you truly content?" Her voice was light, yet it was like a needle, piercing the long-held pretense between the sisters.
Zhu Zhuyun's body visibly stiffened for a moment.
A fleeting, inscrutable glint flashed through her Netherworld-like eyes.
"What nonsense are you speaking?" Zhu Zhuyun's voice lowered slightly, carrying a tone of warning.
"We both know this is not the life we truly desire." Zhu Zhuqing took a step forward, her gaze burning as she looked directly into her sister's eyes.
"This rule of mutual slaughter is nothing more than a shackle forced upon our Zhu Family by the Dai Family to consolidate their Imperial power!"
Zhu Zhuyun's expression changed.
She hadn't expected her usually forbearing sister to suddenly utter such treasonous words.
"Shut up! Are you insane?" Zhu Zhuyun snapped sharply, but her voice carried a trace of imperceptible panic.
She glanced around, as if worried about eavesdroppers.
"I am not insane, Sister." Zhu Zhuqing's voice, however, became calmer, yet it contained an undeniable strength. "I have simply... seen clearly."
She raised her hand, pointing to the torn fabric on her chest, and then to the sharp claws in Zhu Zhuyun's hand.
"Every attack you made precisely avoided my vital points, yet was enough to keep me running desperately. You don't want to kill me, Sister. You are merely acting out a play, a show for the Dai Family to watch."
Zhu Zhuyun's body froze completely. Looking at Zhu Zhuqing's clear and resolute eyes, all pretense was utterly shredded at that moment.
"Zhuqing, you..." She opened her mouth but couldn't speak.
"Sister, we don't have to be like this." Zhu Zhuqing took another step forward, closing the distance between her and Zhu Zhuyun to less than ten meters.
Moonlight filtered through the treetops, casting long, intertwined shadows of the two sisters.
"I have found an opportunity, a chance for our Zhu Family to completely escape this fate." Zhu Zhuqing's voice carried a power that could bewitch people, yet it was full of sincerity.
Zhu Zhuyun's breathing grew heavy. She met her sister's gaze and saw an unprecedented brilliance in those eyes.
It wasn't despair, nor resistance, but a kind of hope that could burn everything away.
"What opportunity?" Zhu Zhuyun's voice was extremely dry.
She knew her sister could not possibly be joking.
Zhu Zhuqing did not answer directly. Instead, she raised her head, gazing up at the deep night sky above.
"Sister, have you ever considered that this Douluo Continent is not the entirety of the world?"
Zhu Zhuyun's heart skipped a beat. She didn't understand what her sister was saying, but a strong premonition made every cell in her body tremble.
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head and looked at Zhu Zhuyun again, a determined smile on her face.
"Sister, I will take you, take our Zhu Family, to see a world... never seen before."
The night wind howled. Deep in the dense forest, the figures of the two sisters appeared increasingly distinct under the moonlight.
A heavy shackle seemed to loosen, showing a crack at that moment.
...
In the cave, the warm yellow firelight dispelled the coldness of the stone walls, and the flickering shadows dyed everything in a layer of warmth.
Xiao Wu's crying had stopped, leaving only faint, aggrieved sobs, like a young beast that had finally found a safe nest after being frightened.
Li Yifei looked at her red, swollen eyes and nose, wondering how to cheer her up.
Nothing could comfort a person better than food, especially when starving.
Thinking this, Li Yifei took out a large chicken leg.
"Eat this." His voice was not loud, but carried an undeniable gentleness.
Xiao Wu raised her tear-laden eyelashes and looked at the chicken leg, which was bigger than her own face. Her stomach embarrassingly growled once.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red, and she asked in a small voice, "Can I... really?"
She was starving. She had been constantly traveling to evade pursuit, and her energy was long exhausted. Now was the time she urgently needed to replenish her energy.
Li Yifei nodded.
Receiving the affirmative answer, Xiao Wu no longer hesitated. She extended her still slightly trembling hands and held the large chicken leg with reverence.
She didn't gobble it down but seemed to be savoring some peerless delicacy. First, she extended her pink tongue and carefully licked the shiny skin. The taste of spices mixed with meat juices instantly exploded on her taste buds.
A satisfied sigh escaped from deep in her throat, and only then did she start nibbling small bites.
Watching Xiao Wu lying on his thigh, happily devouring the chicken leg, Li Yifei reached out and gently stroked her long black hair. The texture was soft and smooth.
Xiao Wu's body trembled slightly. She buried her little head deeper, as if trying to hide her entire face in the shadow of the chicken leg, leaving only the tips of her pink ears faintly swaying with the motion of swallowing.
Li Yifei's movements were gentle, but his gaze pierced through the thick mountain wall, landing in the pitch-black dense forest several miles away.
The reason he chose to stop in this inconspicuous cave was precisely because his Spiritual Force had already locked onto the two figures chasing each other in the woods.
Zhu Zhuqing and her sister, Zhu Zhuyun.
His fingertips slid down Xiao Wu's soft long hair, and a playful curve appeared on Li Yifei's lips.
Just as the Little Rabbit in his arms had awakened and was still shaken, on the other side, the cat's sister had coincidentally 'caught up'.
The poor little cat had to interrupt her brief rest and continue performing this drama called 'Escape'.
Of course, all the involved parties now knew clearly that this was just a play.
A play staged for the Star Luo Imperial Family to report completion.
It was just that what happened next was going to be much more interesting than anticipated.
...
Deep in the dense forest.
Zhu Zhuyun watched the figure of her sister ahead, who had sped up again but was no longer fleeing in the direction where Dai Mubai was. The heavy stone that had been hanging in her heart finally settled.
The sister... had finally seen the light.
Information regarding Dai Mubai at the Shrek Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire was not a secret to the high-ranking officials of the Star Luo Imperial Family.
Even the sister, who usually didn't pay much attention to the outside world, must have known this, let alone someone like her who had always been at the center of the vortex of power.
Not just her, but probably very few people in the entire Star Luo Imperial Family didn't know the hiding place of that good-for-nothing Dai Mubai.
The reason no one had moved to assassinate him was very simple.
Firstly, that was the sphere of influence of the Heaven Dou Empire. Rashly sending powerful experts to infiltrate could easily trigger disputes between the two Empires.
Secondly, and most importantly, Dai Mubai actively fleeing the Star Luo Empire meant that this action itself was equivalent to forfeiting his claim to the throne.