Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1608 - 1601: Bird in a Cage

Chapter 1608: Chapter 1601: Bird in a Cage

"Mom, I miss Dad." Every time he stared at the tightly closed door, Huayu Yun couldn’t help but turn his head and say to Fei Yu.

At this moment, Fei Yu was busy taking care of three mischievous children and couldn’t spare any attention for the already sensible Huayu Yun, so she simply replied, "Dad will be back soon, and you will be able to see him then."

"But, I want to go out and see why we have to keep hiding at home," Huayu Yun said, sounding somewhat aggrieved and frowning.

"It’s dangerous outside; you can’t just go out like that," Fei Yu explained with patience, "When Dad comes back, let him take us out."

"Dad doesn’t want to take us out at all." Huayu Yun felt even more upset. He looked at Fei Yu, who was busy catching a naughty little brother and sister, completely oblivious to him, which made him feel even more wronged.

"I will go out and find Dad myself, I’ve grown up and become sensible, I can go out on my own now." Sniffing, Huayu Yun fluttered his agile fox ears, muttering to himself with determination.

If at this moment Fei Yu could hear Huayu Yun’s complaints and promptly stop him, the later tragedy would not have happened. Unfortunately, Fei Yu had already been overwhelmed with busyness, taking care of four young children which was indeed a daunting task for her.

Taking advantage of a moment when Fei Yu’s attention was diverted, Huayu Yun tiptoed to the door and tried to push open the heavy bolt.

It might have been coincidence, but the bolt that was almost impossible for a child to move could now be pushed open with just a gentle nudge.

Huayu Yun strained to open the door just wide enough to slip through, and then, just like a nimble kitten, he easily passed through the gap and came to the yard, which was forbidden yet so close at hand.

It was the morning, and according to the rules, not even the children, let alone Fei Yu herself, were allowed to leave the house at this time.

Fei Yu had grown accustomed to this life of hide and seek, as after all, being part of the Demon Clan, their situation in Kyushu was just that dire.

But while Fei Yu could adapt, these children could not.

As a descendant of the Huayu Ting, this young noble from the clan showed the responsibility expected of a father. He never regarded Fei Yu and the children as outsiders, but truly treated them as his own family.

So ever since Huayu Yun was born, he had never felt the malice from Kyushu. Although he occasionally questioned this secretive lifestyle, the warmth of parental love made him naively believe that there were good people everywhere in the world.

In the courtyard, he saw the shimmering lake and the fish occasionally leaping from the water. He happily ran towards the pier, but halfway there, he was attracted by the delightful chirping of birds in the forest.

He looked up at the forest, where the dense canopy blocked most of the direct sunlight, making the forest seem somewhat ominous.

But contrary to the ominous surroundings were the birds that flickered through the forest canopy and the lively sounds of insects and birds. Huayu Yun slowly walked over, stepping on thick fallen leaves, his stability faltering slightly.

Just as he reached the bushes, the noisy chorus of insects abruptly ceased. The birds in the forest hopped through the branches, stopped their singing, and turned their heads curiously at Huayu Yun, who was equally curious.

Soon after, the lonely insects from another bushy area began to chirp frantically again.

Huayu Yun laughed merrily and took off after the sound of the insects. Startled, the insects once again fell silent, only to continue their grievances from even further within the bushes.

Huayu Yun shouted with excitement, raising his hands and running towards the deeper parts of the forest. Annoying mosquitoes and flies buzzed by his ears; he shook them off and tidied up the fluff in his ears, chasing after the increasingly distant insect sounds.

And so, without Fei Yu noticing, Huayu Yun left the hidden home and ventured into the forest.

He might encounter a hungry wild beast, mistaking him for a meal. But what was scarier than wild beasts were those human-like beasts.

Chasing the insects and birds of the forest, Huayu Yun strayed further and further from home, and successfully lost his way. When he finally stopped to catch his breath, all around him seemed alien and fearsome.

Huayu Yun took a deep breath, his hot blood cooling down, and fear and worry started to set in. After all, as a child who had never left home before, it was only natural that he would be afraid.

Huayu Yun clenched his fists. Although he felt helpless and terrified, he didn’t cry but rather cautiously meandered through the forest, vainly seeking the way home.

Huayu Yun walked on for an unknown length of time until the afternoon. Following the sound of water, he came to a stream and couldn’t help but kneel down to take a few sips. The biting cold water quenched his tiredness and sense of weakness, and he began to perk up, looking for the way home.

His father had taught him that as long as you follow the river, you will always encounter people.

But such a method only worked for his father, or to be precise, only for the Human Race.

One must realize that this is Kyushu, the Hell for ordinary citizens of the Human Race, and a Battlefield for slaves of the Demon Clan. Encountering other beings for the Demon Clan people is not any safer than encountering hungry wild beasts.

However, Huayu Yun did not understand all that; he simply followed the method passed down by his father and walked downstream along the stream.

Even though he was by the water, this part of the journey was not much easier than winding through the jungle. Along the way, Huayu Yun tumbled frequently, scuffing his knees and blistering the tender soles of his feet.

After finally getting past the hardest part at the upper reaches of the stream, he arrived at the confluence of the stream and the river. Here, he encountered two men similarly leaning over by the river to drink.

These were two 30-something Kyushu men, dressed in ragged clothes. Although they wore weapons at their waist, these did not pose much of a threat.

They knelt by the water, scooping up the slightly muddy water to drink without any concern.

The people of Kyushu lacked modern hygiene concepts. The habit of drinking boiled water introduced by the High-peak people and the Advance Team was limited to West Outer Heaven, and did not cross over the Thousand Peaks Cloud Top to reach the distant Kyushu.

These two men were not Cultivators, as Huayu Yun had been observing them for quite a while before they noticed someone was around.

The taller man stood up after quenching his thirst and was so startled to see the little Huayu Yun that he almost fell into the river.

"What’s up, going for a swim?" the shorter man stood up from the river bank and asked, seeing the reaction of the taller man.

"You scared the life out of me, where did this brat come from!" In shock, the tall man patted his chest and started to become annoyed and embarrassed.

"Out here in the wilderness, why is there a brat, hiss..." the short man eyed Huayu Yun warily. Seemingly thinking of something horrifying, he couldn’t help but draw a cold breath and instinctively drew the dagger from his waist.

"What are you doing?" the tall man, seeing his companion’s defensive stance, couldn’t help but turn his head to ask.

"A child appearing all of a sudden in the wild mountains and forests, it must be an evil spirit luring victims." The shorter man said with cautious care.

"All this nonsensical stuff, are you blind? Didn’t you see that’s a Demon Clan brat?" the tall man gave his companion a disdainful glance, saying with apparent scorn.

"Hello..." Huayu Yun did not know how to speak to them, so he just stood where he was, timidly waving and saying hello.

"Hey, he’s greeting us, what a rare sight." The tall man turned to his companion and remarked.

"Maybe he wants to lure us over and eat us." The short man remained vigilant about Huayu Yun’s identity.

"Always thinking all that nonsense, you’ve been listening to too many stories?" The tall man rolled his eyes again and then strode over to Huayu Yun in a bold and careless manner.

Facing the tall and sturdy man, Huayu Yun could not even take a step, let alone make any gesture, which appeared exceedingly difficult for him.

The tall man walked straight up to Huayu Yun, grabbed his clothes in one hand, and lifted him off the ground. Then, with the other hand, he roughly pulled down Huayu Yun’s pants.

"A male..." As he pulled down the pants, the tall man’s face showed a profoundly disappointed expression, muttering to himself while roughly throwing Huayu Yun to the side.

Fortunately, the area was covered with thick rotting leaves, so although Huayu Yun was thrown to the ground, he was not injured. Nevertheless, he was clearly frightened, sitting there blankly, unsure of what to do.