Fleeing with the Treasure!

The area was deserted — not a soul, not a single footprint. That alone told Mo Fan this had happened long ago. The Flame Enchantress had almost certainly been knocked unconscious by the poison, then happened to wake at the exact moment he returned, and had very nearly taken her fury out on entirely the wrong people.

Mo Fan had spent nearly a full day wandering the Fire Cloud Forest. He never imagined that returning here, he would find the Fire Calamity Fruit actually stolen — and that someone had struck the Flame Enchantress such a devastating blow in the process.

The Cold Iron Spike Enchanted Gear was buried deep in her flesh; pulling it out would likely be fatal. Somehow she had found a way to suppress the ice poison spreading through her body — the only thing standing between her and death.

*What a ruthless, vicious method.*

Whoever stole the Fire Calamity Fruit had to be intimately familiar with the Flame Enchantress. They had come specifically prepared with that piece of Enchanted Gear, deliberately plotting to bring her down.

Just who had exploited the Flame Enchantress's goodwill toward humans?

Kind as she was, the Flame Enchantress was no fool. For someone to drive that lethal, poison-soaked spike straight through her back — they had to be someone she trusted completely, someone she had dropped every last guard for.

"What do we do now?" Nan Jue had struggled to believe Mo Fan until she saw the terrifying Flame Enchantress leave with her own eyes.

Lucky they hadn't tried to seize the Fire Calamity Fruit by force. The Flame Enchantress was truly too powerful for that.

"What else can we do? We find our own way back." Mo Fan gave a helpless laugh. "After that outburst of hers, whatever haunts the Fire Cloud Forest should be too frightened to show itself."

What worried him most right now was Xinxia and the others. He had no idea where they were, and could only hope they hadn't crossed paths with the Flame Enchantress in her current state.

"Hm? The Swift Star Wolf retreated to dimensional space?"

He had been so rattled by the Flame Enchantress's aura that he hadn't even noticed the Swift Star Wolf vanish.

It must have hit its absolute limit and been forced back to its own realm. Mo Fan quickly reached out through their bond, asking after Xinxia and the rest.

The Swift Star Wolf was utterly exhausted. Before drifting off to sleep, it managed to convey to Mo Fan that the group had joined another party and was heading back to Dunhuang City at full speed.

Relieved to know they were safe, Mo Fan let out a slow breath. But something nagged at him — why the sudden rush back to Dunhuang? And who was this other party they had fallen in with?

They left without waiting for me... *Could it be...*

*Damn Swift Star Wolf, don't you dare fall asleep now — first tell me whether that group were the ones who stole the Fire Calamity Fruit!*

At the Shamang River, Zhao Yulin's group — having made their preparations well in advance — crossed the treacherous waterway without incident, no Mind Element Mage required.

"Good thing I thought ahead. Crossing the Shamang River otherwise would have been a nightmare." The Bandaged Figure sat astride a Desert Fire Horse, a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes. "If the Flame Enchantress tries to leave the Blazing Plains, she has to pass through the Shamang River. The river's overlord will keep her occupied long enough for us to slip away."

"Chenying, you did well this time." Zhao Yulin rode at the front of the column, his face spread in a wide smile. "The juice of the Fire Calamity Fruit will heal your mother, and the rest of the fruit itself still has far greater uses..."

He hadn't expected seizing the Fire Calamity Fruit to go so smoothly. *Was the Flame Enchantress really supposed to be a creature of intelligence? Because as far as Zhao Yulin was concerned, she was nothing more than a dim-witted fool who had actually believed them.*

"I..." Chenying opened her mouth, then fell silent, the words dying before she could find them.

On another Desert Fire Horse, Lingling sat in front while Xinxia sat in the middle.

They had watched everything unfold, and so much of it defied belief.

From what Chenying had described earlier, the Flame Enchantress had once saved Chenying's mother and lived alongside her for several years. So when they entered the Fire Cloud Forest, it made sense that the Flame Enchantress would treat them warmly.

But none of them had known she was also the guardian of the Fire Calamity Fruit — and none of them could have imagined Chenying's mother would order Chenying to ambush her.

Honestly, the sheer ingratitude of it all left both Xinxia and Lingling feeling sick.

Then again, perhaps Chenying's mother had been so utterly consumed by despair over her disfiguring burns — so thoroughly warped by it — that she could no longer think in terms of debts or decency. Even the one who had saved her life was not safe, not when the chance to reclaim her face lay within reach.

"Lingling, what do you make of all this?" Xinxia asked quietly.

"Something feels off. I don't think this is as simple as it looks. But one thing is certain — the Flame Enchantress has marked every one of us. We have to leave, no matter what." Lingling replied.

"Mm." Xinxia gave a small nod.

The group fled without pause. Only after crossing the Shamang River did Zhao Yulin and Chenying's mother, Jiang Feng, finally allow themselves a breath of relief.

In the North Corner of the Blazing Plains, nothing could stand against the Flame Enchantress. She was the absolute ruler of that domain, without equal.

Past the Shamang River, however, things were less certain. The river had grown agitated for reasons no one could explain, and if the Flame Enchantress truly meant to pursue them, she would have to weigh whether she — gravely wounded as she was — could contend with the Shamang Bone-Serpent Dragon.

With her overwhelming aura, the mere act of drawing near the Shamang River would rouse its overlord. That alone would buy the group more than enough time to reach Shanghai.

Back in Dunhuang City, Zhao Yulin wasted no time. Knowing better than to linger, he boarded the private aircraft he had arranged in advance and they departed immediately.

Air routes fell under Safe Zone designation — plotted to avoid Demon-Beast territory, with airlines routinely dispatching capable Mages to sweep the flight paths for any lurking threats. Though aircraft did cross through Demon-Beast regions, maintaining the right altitude and concealing the energy signatures of the mechanical Magic Stones was generally enough to keep trouble at bay.

To throw off the Flame Enchantress — who might track them through the Fire Calamity Fruit's aura — Zhao Yulin and Jiang Feng deliberately flew south, making a brief stop in Xiamen before doubling back to Shanghai.

The Flame Enchantress was capable of flight, but crossing that distance meant threading through the territories of countless Demon-Beast Tribes. The overlords of those Tribes were no easy opponents — there was no reason they would simply allow her free passage.

And if she tried to follow a Safe Zone air route, the Magic Association and the airlines would detect her presence immediately, sending Transcendent Tier Mages to deal with the situation. So once they were clear of Dunhuang, they were most likely safe.

Zhao Manyan, Lingling, Xinxia, and Zhang Xiaohou had all intended to stay in Dunhuang and wait for Mo Fan, but Zhao Yulin refused to hear any of it. He took them along by force when he left.

With Zhao Yulin's strength, a thousand objections between the four of them amounted to nothing. They were essentially hauled back to Shanghai against their will.

When all was said and done, this husband and wife had done something to enrage the ruler of the Blazing Plains — and anyone who had been part of their group needed to leave Dunhuang if they wanted to survive. Even the Dunhuang Garrison might not be able to stop the Flame Enchantress.