âWhy would you want to know the secret behind the golden light?â The Elder Rabbit asked in a peaceful voice.
âIâm not interested in making use of the golden light for my own benefit. Thereâs a wave of Demon Qi thatâs spreading throughout the Secret Realm right now, and it can turn the human-beast hybrids into senseless puppets. Only this golden light can save them when that happens...,â Yun Jiuge said.
Yun Jiuge told the Elder Rabbit about the Demon Qi and Gaga Grass on the childrenâs bodies as well as what happened to Aunt Gaga before she went on to say, âIf you donât believe me, you can ask Guoâer about them. You can also ask the members of the human-eagle hybrid clan and the human-snake hybrid clan.â
âElder, what Lady Yun has said is the truth. She cured the children from the human-eagle hybrid tribe. I saw it with my own two eyes,â Guoâer said at once.
âYouâre truly a benevolent person,â Elder Rabbit complimented Yun Jiuge once more before he heaved a sigh and continued, âSadly, I donât know where the golden light in our bodies comes from. The truth is, I only learned about its existence from you earlier.â
âThe human-rabbit hybrid clan has always lived in the depths of the grasslands. Our ancestors have always told us to keep the fact that we can take on a complete beast form a secret. We were told to never let anyone else know about it,â Elder Rabbit continued.
âHave you compared yourselves against the other human-rabbit hybrids then?â Yun Jiuge asked.
âYes, we have. But, weâre not any different from the rest of the human-rabbit hybrid tribes. The food that we eat and the environment that we live in are all the same,â Elder Rabbit replied.
âWeâve also gotten married with human-rabbit hybrids from other tribes in the past as well. Their offspring are still able to transform, but their powers are much weaker. Thus, it seems like the key to our transformation is to not breed with other tribes,â he added.
The Elder Rabbitâs eyes turned a little moist as he went on to say, âA calamity has just befallen our human-rabbit hybrid clan, and most of the strong and fit members of our clan have been abducted. Only the old and weak have managed to escape using an underground tunnel.â
âWho abducted them?â Yun Jiuge asked with a serious voice.
âIt was the human-wolf hybrid clan. Sometime back they sent some normal wolves over to our clan to get an idea of our strength. However, they went quiet once we killed all those wolves. I didnât expect them to be shameless enough to put poison into the plants that we feed on!â Elder Rabbit said angrily.
âThe poison that they fed us was very odd. Our clan members who were poisoned were unable to transform. They could only try their best to shield us from the attacks and help us flee from the place.â A glint of hatred flashed in Elder Rabbitâs red eyes.
Their clan was able to avoid suffering huge losses during the Black Rain Disaster because of their ability to transform. However, they were not so lucky this time round. More than half of their clan members were in danger due to the schemes of the human-wolf hybrids.
âI donât think any of the human-beast hybrid clans are capable of putting poison into plants, correct?â Yun Jiuge was certain that it was Nangong Yueâs doing.
âDo you mean to say that it was the Divine Envoy who did it?â Advisor Jun understood what Yun Jiuge was getting at straightaway.
âThatâs a huge possibility. What do you know about that human-wolf hybrid tribe? Do you know if theyâve joined the Divine Envoyâs camp? Where are they living at now?â Yun Jiuge asked.
âIâve not heard of the human-wolf hybrid clan joining the Divine Envoyâs camp yet. There isnât a place that others can always find them at because they are constantly on the move. They follow their prey wherever they go.â Advisor Jun shook his head.
âOur clan has always lived in the depths of the grasslands. Weâve never interacted with the human-wolf hybrids in the past either,â said the Elder Rabbit.
âHowever, now that I think about it, I think there was one time when a member of the leopard clan had come to invite us to join the Divine Envoyâs tribe. They also promised to give us weapons to protect ourselves as well, but I believe we rejected their invitation.â Elder Rabbit regretted not accepting their invitation back then. If they knew such a calamity would befall its clan, they would definitely have agreed to join the Divine Envoyâs camp and get their hands on the weapons first.
âDonât worry, Elder. If it was the Divine Envoy who instigated the abduction, then your clan members should be fine.â All Nangong Yue wanted was the golden light in their bodies.
âLady Yun, I beg you. Please save those clan members of mine who were abducted!â Guoâer said emotionally as she stood at the side.
âDonât worry. Iâll definitely save them and bring them back to you. How many clan members are there left? Call all of them over!â Yun Jiuge said.
âMy clan members are all safe right now. Thereâs no need to trouble Lady Yun for that,â Elder Rabbit said in a gentle voice. It was clear that he did not trust Yun Jiuge.
âElder, Iâm willing to save your clan and treat all of you like my own. But, thereâs no point in me taking on the risks to help you out if you donât trust me.â Yun Jiuge did not have the time to persuade the timid and wary human-rabbit hybrid clan to trust her right now.
Elder Rabbit was still a little hesitant after hearing her words. Yun Jiuge seemed to be a good person, but he did not dare to trust an outsider. He was not willing to take the risk.
Yun Jiuge did not say anything when she noticed that. She simply summoned her Holy Power and touched the stone wall with her powers. The wall disappeared soundlessly in an instant, and a bunch of furry white rabbits appeared from behind the wall.
The rabbits began hopping about in panic. They were all terrified.
âDonât panic, everyone! Lady Yun means us no harm!â Guoâer yelled frantically, but her words did not seem to have any impact on the rabbits.
The Elder Rabbit did not move an inch. It did not seem to have any intentions of enforcing order among the rabbits who were in a state of panic. However, his red eyes certainly did not hide the discontent he held towards Yun Jiuge.
âLady Yun!â Advisor Jun stood next to Yun Jiuge at once. He was prepared to capture all the rabbits at her command.
âDonât worry. Let them hop around for now,â said Yun Jiuge, who was quite relaxed despite the situation they were in. She turned around and sat down before she told Guoâer, âYou must be tired. Have something to eat first.â
When she finished her words, she filled a small wooden bowl with the meat porridge that she had prepared and placed it before Guoâer.
Guoâer was not in the mood to eat initially, but the aroma of the meat porridge was simply irresistible.
She immediately transformed into a human and wolfed down the meat porridge before her. She felt a warm sensation throughout her entire body as she ate.
The look on her face as she ate must have been one of absolute bliss, because the small rabbits that were watching her from afar all started to salivate.
âXiao Xia, Xiao Ming, come over here quick! This is very delicious!â Guoâer carried the two smallest rabbits over and got them to eat the meat porridge from her bowl.
The two palm-sized rabbits were hesitant to eat initially. However, they began wolfing down the porridge just like Guoâer did earlier.
Their stomachs were much smaller when they were in their rabbit form, and thus, the two rabbits immediately transformed into a human before they continued eating.
Xiao Xia was a cute little girl who looked to be around five years old. She had long hair, a rotund face and big clear eyes. She looked very adorable.
The other rabbit, whose name was Xiao Ming, was just as cute as Xiao Xia. He had short hair, which was a sign that he was most likely a boy. Both Xiao Xia and Xiao Ming seemed to be twins.
Yun Jiuge made use of the opportunity to inspect the bodies of the two young rabbits by unleashing her Spiritual Eye at once.
She realized that there were no signs of the Demon Qi or Death Qi on their bodies. Both rabbits were very healthy.
Just as she thought, the mysterious golden light in their bodies was the solution needed to dispel the Demon Qi. There was hope for the human-beast hybrid clans in the Secret Realm.
The other rabbits standing by the side also made their way over to eat the meat porridge after being beckoned over by Guoâer and the two young rabbits.
However, only the younger rabbits took on a human form as they ate. The older rabbits stayed in their rabbit forms, and they maintained a distance from Yun Jiuge and the rest.
Elder Rabbit continued to stand rooted at the spot as the other rabbits ate. He still did not seem to be willing to trust Yun Jiuge just yet.
âElder, please believe me when I say that I mean you and your clan members no harm. If I really wanted to do something to you, I wouldnât waste this much effort to help you now,â spoke Yun Jiuge as she passed a bowl of meat porridge over to Elder Rabbit.
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