Chapter 125: Little Thief, Don't Run

"My Lord, are you alright?"

Chu Ping's voice was laced with worry. Perhaps influenced by his loyalty, he felt less anxious about his own injuries than he did seeing his Lord hurt. This feeling was akin to seeing a family member injured; if he stumbled and scraped his knee, he would simply brush it off, but if an elder in his family fell, he would be deeply concerned, fretting over whether they were truly hurt and insisting on a medical checkup even if they claimed to be fine. It was the visceral fear of a loved one coming to harm.

"Shh!" Ye Da quickly made a silencing gesture. He had finally managed to get Xiao Bai to fire an air bullet to draw the attention of the Giant Macrophage Pitcher Plants. If he were to respond to Chu Ping now, he would essentially be exposing his own position. Those plants might divert their focus back to him. While his partially petrified skin could withstand a small amount of corrosive nectar, he shuddered at the thought of the liquid seeping into his unprotected areas—his body, his face, or even his more sensitive regions.

The pain was excruciating. Even the areas protected by his petrified skin felt as if they were being seared by chili oil. If that corrosive nectar were to touch his bare skin... Ye Da gasped and accelerated his descent. He had to be quick. He needed to secure these troublesome spoils and get back to dry land to wash off the acid.

"Squelch! Squelch, squelch!"

The Giant Macrophage Pitcher Plants turned in unison toward the site of the air bullet's explosion, spraying frantically as if determined to kill the intruder. Ye Da seized the opportunity to drop to the bottom. However, in the time it took him to descend, the nearest circle of plants sensed something amiss and began to swivel their heads in his direction.

"Damn it, that was only twenty seconds!" Ye Da realized he had underestimated the plants' ability to track air currents. Desperate, he prepared to petrify a shield to protect himself, but just as the plants opened their petals to strike, a sudden "BOOM!" erupted.

Xiao Bai had fired another air bullet ahead of schedule, blasting away a different pitcher plant. The plants that had been closing in on Ye Da immediately turned their heads back, focusing their assault on the site of the new explosion.

[Beast Core +1]
[Giant Macrophage Pitcher Sac +1]
[Giant Macrophage Pitcher Fruit +1]
[Giant Macrophage Pitcher Nectar +1]

Ye Da swept his hand rapidly over the glowing orbs scattered on the ground, and they instantly vanished into his storage bag. Whether it was his intense focus or a stroke of luck, he found that he could collect the beast cores directly into his inventory rather than absorbing them.

"BOOM!"

As time passed, another air bullet exploded nearby. The violent shockwave sent Ye Da, still dangling in the air, swaying uncontrollably like a kite in a gale. Along with the air currents came a flurry of snow and corrosive nectar. The stinging sensation on his skin intensified, heightening his sense of crisis. He had to move faster, or he would be disfigured.

Just as he finished collecting the last of the spoils and reached for the bronze treasure chest, he found it gone.

"Strange?" Ye Da scanned the area. "I remember it being right here. Where did it go?" Had it despawned? He scratched his head, unable to fathom the mystery. But with the situation as it was, he couldn't linger to ponder the vanishing chest. He quickly used his grappling hook to begin his ascent.

"My Lord, someone is there!"

Halfway up, Chu Ping pointed in a certain direction and shouted. Ye Da looked up and saw a figure in a red hood, sneaking away toward the edge of the flower field while clutching his bronze chest.

*My treasure chest!*

No wonder he couldn't find it; some little thief had stolen it! Unfortunately, Ye Da was still inside the floral valley and dared not speak. He pointed at the thief and made a throat-slitting gesture, signaling Chu Ping to take the intruder out.

Chu Ping understood immediately and shouted to Xiao Bai, "Xiao Bai, hurry! Shoot that thief!"

"BOOM!"

Xiao Bai opened its mouth and fired a fully charged air bullet. The projectile streaked across the field, prompting the pitcher plants to spray at each other, but the bullet moved too quickly for any of their jets to hit it. The hooded figure, seemingly sensing the air current, turned back just as the projectile reached within twenty meters.

"Blub!"

The figure opened its mouth and spat out a bubble. It drifted lazily toward the air bullet, eventually enveloping it entirely. The projectile, which should have exploded on impact, was trapped inside the soap bubble, drifted a short distance further, and then came to a complete, eerie halt. The bubble looked exactly like the loot orbs that appeared after killing a monster.

"Blub, blub."

The orb shivered like jelly, then went "pop" and vanished. It was as silent and harmless as a real soap bubble.

"What kind of skill is that?" Chu Ping stared in disbelief from the ridge.

Ye Da finally climbed up to the top. He glared at the thief who had stolen his chest and sneered, "I don't care what skill that is; anyone who steals my things is going to die!"

"Whoosh!"

Ye Da summoned his psionic bow without hesitation. He notched his most powerful psionic arrow; he refused to believe that a strange bubble skill could trap his lethal shot.

"Whoosh!"

A breeze blew past, knocking the thief's hood off. Ye Da and Chu Ping caught sight of a woman with long, golden-brown curly hair, phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, and cherry-red lips. At first glance, she was alluring, but the mole beneath her eye and her icy gaze gave her an air of cold detachment.