Chapter 1123: Chapter 1123: Successful Escape
In theory, the Eagle Queen shouldn’t be able to understand anyone except Mei Ji.
But for some reason, perhaps Qin Sisi’s expression was too earnest, or perhaps the Eagle Queen valued that egg too much, the two locked eyes for a moment, and the Eagle Queen somehow faintly grasped Qin Sisi’s intentions.
She shifted her gaze to Mei Ji, conveying her meaning and demanding that Mei Ji allow Qin Sisi and the others to leave safely in exchange for the egg’s protection.
Mei Ji was shocked. She hadn’t expected the Eagle Queen to actually understand Qin Sisi’s intentions, which made things rather troublesome.
Mei Ji was unwilling to let Ye You and Qin Sisi go. "Letting the tiger return to the mountain" was a cardinal taboo in warfare; missing this opportunity would make it far harder to eliminate Ye You’s forces in the future.
The Eagle Queen, utterly attuned to Mei Ji’s thoughts, immediately picked up on her reluctance. Driven by her love for her offspring, the Eagle Queen let out an angry screech, flapped her massive wings fiercely, and a tremendous gust of wind swept Mei Ji off her feet, sending her flying dozens of meters, landing heavily on the ground.
As formidable as Mei Ji might be, she was merely a Magic God. How could she withstand an attack from the Demon Emperor? Fortunately for her, the Eagle Queen harbored no intent to kill—she simply wanted to teach Mei Ji a lesson and force her to act according to her will.
"Mother!" Jiu Ge hurried forward and helped Mei Ji to her feet.
But Mei Ji shoved Jiu Ge aside angrily, snapping, "If you’d let me kill her earlier, none of this would be happening now."
Jiu Ge’s face instantly turned pale.
Mei Ji adjusted her slightly disheveled hair, walked up to the Eagle Queen, and tilted her head to say, "Fine, I agree. But from now on, you must ensure that your troops properly protect the Changkong family. If it weren’t for your negligence this time, how could these people have infiltrated here?"
The Eagle Queen responded with a sharp screech, her tone icy. "Do you realize how many loyal subjects I lost trying to prevent them from entering? You knew I was about to lay eggs and weak in body, yet instead of sending people to guard me, you blame us for inefficiency. Were it not for the ancestral oath, our contract would already have been severed."
Mei Ji let out a bitter laugh, her anger peaking. "Sever the contract? Dream on. You’re flesh-eating creatures. Away from Soul-breaking Cliff, you’d be hunted down as ruthless demonic beasts in no time. Without the Changkong family’s protection, what makes you think your Blood Eagle clan could have lasted so many years?"
Realizing severing the contract was no simple matter, the Eagle Queen refrained from pressing the issue further and instead said, "Let them go immediately and return my egg."
At this point, Mei Ji had grown genuinely afraid that the Eagle Queen might disregard everything and sever their contract. The losses would be too great for her clan. For now, she had no choice but to obey the Eagle Queen’s orders, allowing Ye You, Qin Sisi, and the others to leave.
That said, Mei Ji had her own plans. Even if they left the Chief Mansion, it wouldn’t be possible for them to escape Midair City quickly. On her turf, Mei Ji would figure out a way to catch them again.
Having made up her mind, Mei Ji nodded and turned to Qin Sisi. "Fine, out of respect for the Eagle Queen, I’ll spare you this time. You can leave, but leave the egg behind. If it suffers any damage, none of you will live to see tomorrow."
Qin Sisi and Ye You exchanged glances, nodding faintly to each other. Ye You signaled Qing Xun and the others with his eyes, and the group slowly made their way toward the Chief Mansion’s gate.
Mei Ji and the Eagle Queen followed closely behind, not for a second letting them out of their sight.
To ensure absolute safety, Ye You took a long time to finally step out of the Chief Mansion’s gate and beyond the range of the Defensive Array’s attacks. Only then did Ye You lean close to Qin Sisi and whisper something.
Qin Sisi nodded and shouted, "Catch!"
As the words left her mouth, she hurled the egg towards Mei Ji with all her strength. The Eagle Queen immediately flapped her wings and pursued it.
At the moment Qin Sisi threw the egg back, Mei Ji had planned to attack them. She knew Ye You’s Lightning Shield Dodge was impressive and that her window of opportunity would be very short.
When Qin Sisi threw the egg toward her, Mei Ji froze, startled. She had expected Qin Sisi to throw the egg in another direction to buy herself time to escape. Tossing the egg directly at her seemed to end the game entirely—right?
But in the next instant, Mei Ji realized she’d been wrong.
As soon as the egg left Qin Sisi’s hands, Mei Ji leapt into action to attack. However, the Eagle Queen—intent on reclaiming her egg—placed herself directly in Mei Ji’s path.
Frantic, Mei Ji shoved the Eagle Queen and shouted, "Eagle Queen, move! They’re about to get away!"
The Eagle Queen shot Mei Ji a cold glance, tucked the egg safely under her wing, and led her followers away from the Chief Mansion, returning to Soul-breaking Cliff.
From then on, her primary focus would be incubating the egg. Matters of the outside world were no longer her concern.
Once the Eagle Queen departed, Mei Ji rushed forward to search but discovered Ye You’s group was long gone, leaving not a trace behind.
Infuriated, Mei Ji clenched her teeth and immediately summoned several elders, commanding them to mobilize all guards responsible for Midair City’s security to track down any news about Ye You, Qin Sisi, and the others.
Meanwhile, Ye You had seized the brief moments when both the Eagle Queen’s attention and Mei Ji’s focus were locked on the egg, using his Lightning Shield Dodge repeatedly, traveling several kilometers away before stopping.
Ye You had one hand gripping Qin Sisi’s arm, the other holding Qing Xun’s hand. Qing Xun’s other hand clutched Yun Wang, who in turn held Yun Cheng. Effectively, Ye You had pulled four people along as he performed Lightning Shield Dodge, severely increasing the difficulty and consuming a significant amount of magical energy.
After several uses of the skill, Ye You felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
Fortunately, they were temporarily safe. Now, they had reached the outer portions of Midair City, a desolate area surrounded by acres of farmland. Tall trees lined the roads on both sides.
While the farmland seemed extensive, the crops appeared stunted and wilted—whether they could produce any yield was uncertain.
The group rested under a large tree, where Ye You distributed several Level Five and Level Six pills to everyone.
Qin Sisi asked softly, "Did you purchase these?"
"Yes," Ye You nodded.
Currently, Ye You was only a Fourth-level Alchemist. For someone his age, this was quite an accomplishment, though Ye You found it unsatisfactory.
He had long grown frustrated that his alchemy skills couldn’t keep pace with his magic power. He was desperate to improve his alchemy level, but frequent errands and unrest left him little time for practice or opportunities for breakthroughs, slowing his progress significantly.
After consuming the pills, everyone swiftly recovered their energy.
Just then, the sun emerged from the horizon, casting gentle morning light over the land, tinging everything with a faint golden hue.
