Chapter 234: Chapter 234: I’m Going to Punish You Severely

The Golden Eagle Beasts circling in the sky were quickly drawn to the commotion in the woods.

Qiao Xixi felt so dizzy from being jostled up and down that all she could do was cling tightly to Sangze’s neck, her legs wrapped firmly around his waist.

Sangze adored Qiao Xixi’s intimate closeness. With a single leap, he landed on the highest tree on the island.

The Golden Eagle Beasts, keeping an eye on the woods, spotted them instantly. Worried they were up to something, the beasts all flew toward Qiao Xixi and Sangze’s location.

Sangze merely shot a cool glance in the Golden Eagle Beasts’ direction before turning to hold Qiao Xixi, pressing her against the thick tree trunk.

"My little female, didn’t we have some unfinished business?"

Qiao Xixi played dumb. "That’s right. We still have to lure away the Golden Eagle Beasts."

Sangze chuckled, the low sound vibrating from his chest and sending a tingle through Qiao Xixi’s.

’She knew it. This guy wasn’t going to let her off easy tonight.’

Before she could even process what was happening, Sangze leaped to another large tree with her in his arms.

Startled, Qiao Xixi hugged him tightly once more.

Finally, they came to a stop in a large tree with the densest foliage.

Faint moonlight filtered through the dense leaves, dappling their bodies. Sangze reached out and tapped the trunk lightly, making the leaves RUSTLE loudly.

Hearing the sound, the Golden Eagle Beasts fixed their gazes on the tree.

Sangze carefully set Qiao Xixi down on a wide branch, then leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

"Wait for me." With that, he turned and vanished into the darkness.

Qiao Xixi hadn’t even had a chance to breathe before he returned.

’He scared me to death!’

Sangze was holding two long vines. One end of each was tied somewhere out of sight, while he wrapped the other ends—padded with beast hide—around Qiao Xixi’s legs.

"What are you doing?"

Sangze gave a wicked smirk. He ripped off his beast-hide tunic and placed it behind Qiao Xixi. She didn’t get an answer—only a kiss so urgent it felt like he wanted to devour her whole.

’These guys may have different personalities, but their kisses were all surprisingly similar—so domineering they barely gave her a chance to breathe.’

Qiao Xixi’s gaze grew hazy. ’It was so strange. This madman seemed to know all of her sensitive spots and weaknesses, always able to overwhelm her with ease!’

’They hadn’t even done the most intimate things yet, so how on earth did he know?’

Sangze lifted his head and kissed her again. This time, the kiss wasn’t domineering or wild, but a slow, savoring exploration. When her grip on his hand tightened, he knew she was aroused.

"My little female, you’ve been so bad. You really forgot me... I’m going to punish you. Thoroughly."

The branch swayed violently. A searing heat entered her, making Qiao Xixi gasp, her arms clutching him even tighter.

The vines wrapped around her legs shook violently with her movements, pulling on the other tree and causing it to sway as well.

The Golden Eagle Beasts were quickly drawn to the motion of the other tree, their attention completely diverted.

Amid the deep shadows of the trees, stray beams of moonlight dotted her sparkling eyes, reflecting the fire he felt igniting in his heart as he slowly consumed her.

"My little female..." A low growl rumbled in his throat, a sound of pure satisfaction and a love so thick it was intoxicating.

The Golden Eagle Beasts stared suspiciously at the constantly swaying tree, but after watching for a long, long time, they saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, Sunxiao and the others were rapidly digging pits along the beach.

Feiyan, for his part, was finding the sea beasts that still lived on the island and telling them to leave as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, there weren’t many sea beasts on the island. After receiving the Crystal Stones from Feiyan, they all left willingly.

Feiyan looked up and saw the Golden Eagle Beasts circling strangely over one particular spot.

"How did that crazy leopard get those Golden Eagle Beasts to stay put over there?"

Meanwhile, a few of the Golden Eagle Beasts that had left the skies above the island quickly returned to the salt fields and reported their findings to Jin Che.

A vicious, excited gleam flashed in Jin Che’s eyes.

"So they really are there!"

Huang Ying said proudly, "I told you my information was correct. Since they’re there, we can now proceed as planned."

Jin Che, having suffered at Qiao Xixi’s hands before, was more cautious. "Did they spot the Golden Eagle Beasts?"

The beastman who answered shook his head. "They don’t seem to have. We saw no unusual movements from them."

Only then did Jin Che nod in satisfaction. "We’ll surround the island when they least expect it. I refuse to believe they can escape. To be safe, I’m taking the salt fields’ most elite beastmen with me."

The beastman in charge of the salt fields looked hesitant. "But if we take that many beastmen, the salt fields will be vulnerable. What if they attack here..."

"Attack with what?" Jin Che cut him off. "This is all islands and sand. Earth Escape Beasts are completely useless here."

The beastman still disagreed, but he had no choice but to obey Jin Che.

"Yes, sir. I’ll go assemble the beastmen now."

"I’m going with you."

Huang Ying stood up.

Fenglin frowned in disapproval, but Huang Ying never changed her mind once it was made up.

Jin Che didn’t care. Whether Huang Ying lived or died was none of his concern.

As night deepened, the beastmen assembled on the beach. One by one, enormous Sea Turtle Beasts surfaced, and the warriors climbed onto their backs.

Standing atop a Sea Turtle Beast, Jin Che stared toward the island with a grim expression.

"Move out."

The force surged toward the island.

Not long after they departed, Xijing and Ximing slowly emerged from the sea.

Xijing handed the waterskin Qiao Xixi had given him to Ximing.

"Be careful."

Ximing took the waterskin and nodded gravely. "I will."

With that, Ximing scrambled nimbly onto the reef and vanished into the darkness.

Xijing listened to the sounds around him, then slowly turned toward the island.

"Xixi, I won’t let you down."

Xijing slipped back into the sea. Behind him was a countless host of merfolk and sea beasts.

The night was as still as water.

And Qiao Xixi felt as if she had melted into a puddle.

She let the male, his wildness sated, break the vines from her ankles and dress her in a beast-hide tunic.

After carrying her down from the tree, Sangze used beast-hide straps to secure her to his own body. Looking at her soft, pliant form, he stole another kiss from her cheek.

"No energy left? That’s not how you sounded when you were crying out a moment ago."

Qiao Xixi’s eyes snapped open. ’The nerve! He gets what he wants and then teases me about it!’

She opened her mouth and bit his shoulder. If it weren’t for all his creative tricks, would she have spent so much energy?

The leopard-man laughed in delight, and holding her close, began running toward the other side of the island.

"Good girl. I’ll show you something else fun."