Chapter 44: Which Uncle Is Gong Moran?

"What did you say? What on earth happened to my mother?" Xiao Tong hurriedly took two steps forward, running up to the bandit and asking with deep anxiety.

"She might already be... already dead! You have no idea, that Serpent Emperor sucked everyone dry until they were like withered firewood!! Everyone who hasn't returned is basically dead without an intact corpse! Your mother might also have—"

"You're lying!" Xiao Tong's mind went completely blank, plunging him into utter panic as he instinctively shouted, "That's impossible! Mother said she would handle it alone and then come back! She couldn't possibly—"

Overwhelmed and at a loss, the tears that had been welling up in his eyes suddenly spilled over.

What should he do? What on earth should he do?!

That idiot mother of mine really got into trouble... She really got into trouble!!

What should I do? Could mother actually...

No, impossible! Mother must still be alive right now! She won't die... She wouldn't leave Xiao Tong behind... She must still be alive!

So right now... right now...

"I'm going to find my mother!" Unable to restrain himself any longer, Xiao Tong frantically grabbed the bandit by the collar and demanded, "Where is the Serpent Emperor's cave? I'm going to find my mother!"

"Little master, calm down! You have no idea how terrifying that Serpent Emperor is! She will mercilessly suck away all your vital life force—"

"Stop talking nonsense with me! I'm asking you where the Serpent Emperor's lair actually is? I'm going to save my mother!"

"You can't go! If you go, you're just walking to your death! Besides, your mother is most likely already dead! Why go and throw your life away?"

"You're talking utter nonsense—"

Panicked and enraged, tears filled Xiao Tong's eyes as his small fists clenched so tightly they crackled.

No... she won't die... That idiot mother wouldn't abandon Xiao Tong!

"You're talking nonsense... You're talking nonsense!" Xiao Tong muttered unconsciously, his voice trembling more and more.

"...He isn't talking nonsense." Suddenly, a voice came from the roof, startling the already panicked Xiao Tong.

He jerked his head back and looked up at the roof, the sight before him almost causing him to suffocate—

A pitch-black, cat-like demonic beast sat proudly and calmly on the eaves, conversing with them with total composure.

This is... the Soul-Eater Beast?!

How could it appear here?

Xiao Tong drew a sharp breath, abruptly taking two steps back as vigilance instantly took over!

"Soul-Eater Beast? Why are you here?" Xiao Tong's words were laced with terror. With his mother's fate currently hanging by a thread, was he about to perish at the hands of this insane demonic beast as well?

The Soul-Eater Beast narrowed its eyes without the slightest trace of expression on its face. Seeming to read Xiao Tong's inner thoughts, it replied indifferently, "Don't be afraid. I've already completed my advancement, so there's no need for me to kill you. Besides... I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Xiao Tong frowned suspiciously, his eyes filled with incomprehension.

"That's right, but this is all at Gong Moqin's behest; I am merely following orders," the Soul-Eater Beast replied calmly. "However, this fellow isn't wrong—kid, you'd better not rush over blindly right now, or else not only will you fail to save your mother, but you'll also throw away your own life for nothing!"

"But my mother, she..." Xiao Tong was just about to say something when the Soul-Eater Beast interrupted him unceremoniously, "Her aura hasn't vanished, and she has only passed out; there's no need to panic too much."

Though he didn't know why the Soul-Eater Beast would know such things, hearing it say this caused Xiao Tong's anxious emotions to calm down considerably.

At that moment, the bandit poked his head out and asked, "Wait a minute, this Gong Moqin you just mentioned, which Gong Moqin is it? Could it be... could it be..."

"...Or else how many Gong Moqins do you think exist in this world?"

The Soul-Eater Beast cast a cold, disdainful glare at him. "From now on, this deity is Gong Moqin's contracted divine beast; naturally, I must obey his commands. So right now, I am here to help you seize the primordial core."

"But... but wasn't Gong Moqin dead long ago?" The bandit still didn't understand and continued to ask.

As for Xiao Tong, he understood even less. Which uncle were they actually talking about?

"Who is Gong Moqin?" Xiao Tong raised his head and asked in confusion.

"Little master, you've never heard of Gong Moqin of the Southern Xi Kingdom?"

"Never heard of him." Xiao Tong puzzledly shook his little head, looking at the bandit uncomprehendingly.

"Back in the day, Gong Moqin was practically a legend in the Southern Xi Kingdom! He once belonged to the royal faction of the Southern Xi Kingdom, and he was also a rare talisman master. Usually, he would wield his divine brush, 'Shattering Wind,' and slay countless demons—he was simply beyond description in terms of awesomeness!"

"What's so great about that?" To the bandit's surprise, Xiao Tong crossed his arms with disdain and said smugly, "My godfather can do all those tricks too! What talisman master, what divine brush, and killing demons—my godfather can do all of it! And my godfather is even more handsome and richer than him!"

"You... your godfather is a talisman master too?"

"That's right."

"This... how is that possible?!" The bandit's jaw nearly dropped to the floor, as if this brat was just bragging!

"What's impossible about it? One day I'll take you to meet my godfather, and he's definitely a hundred times stronger than that Gong Moqin you mentioned..."

As the two of them were arguing, the Soul-Eater Beast could finally bear it no longer and interrupted, "Enough! Neither of you say another word!"

Hearing this, Xiao Tong and the bandit instantly stopped. They listened as the Soul-Eater Beast continued, "Do you still want to save your mother, you damned brat? Right now, while your mother hasn't suffered any major harm yet, I can't guarantee whether she'll freeze to death in an ice cellar a moment from now!"

"What? An ice cellar?!" Xiao Tong's focus shifted back, and he was utterly shocked—the Serpent Emperor actually locked his mother in an ice cellar?!

Could they be any more ruthless? If they didn't rescue his mother soon, she might really freeze to death alive in that ice cellar!

"If you want to save her and secure the primordial core, honestly follow my arrangements. We must strive for a swift and decisive battle!"