Chapter 360: Chapter 360 - 352: Prince Jiuli, Long Time No See

"What?" Shen Tang paused, turning her head to look at him.

Shen Li approached her, his alluring lips moving slightly, as if there were many things he wanted to say but didn’t know how to begin.

Eventually, he narrowed his charming crescent eyes and jokingly asked, "I’m curious, Xiao Tang’er, which Beast Husband do you like the most?"

Shen Tang rolled her eyes, lazily saying, "Boring~ You stopped me just to ask me this question?"

Honestly, she hadn’t really thought about that question. For the peace of the household, she tried her best to keep things balanced.

Shen Li’s long and enchanting fox eyes gazed at her, full of tender affection, and he coaxed in a low voice, "It’s just the two of us here right now, no one else is around. Can’t you humor me a bit, Xiao Tang’er?"

Shen Tang looked up into his captivating eyes, feeling her soul drawn in. She paused, then softly laughed and asked, "How would you like me to humor you?"

"Do you love me?"

Shen Tang replied without hesitation, "I do."

The two words floated lightly, seemingly too frivolous, not serious enough. Shen Tang held his hand, raised an eyebrow and smiled brightly, "We’ve been together for so long, why ask this suddenly? If I didn’t like you, I’d have discarded you long ago, I wouldn’t have been with you last night, and why would I have come here with you?"

"Some things go unsaid because we both understand them, no need to say them specifically."

Shen Tang admitted she initially approached the Beastmen for strategic purposes, but after spending so much time together, sharing hardships and surviving together, these feelings had solidified through trials.

They were her support, the trusted backs she could entrust.

Shen Tang knew Shen Li had many secrets, knew he was hiding things from her, but everyone had secrets; she also hid many from them.

Shen Tang didn’t care about his secrets, as long as he stayed by her side, that was enough.

Shen Li stared at her blankly.

When the female smiled, her eyes curved like crescents, bright and shining, captivating as stars in the dark cave.

She seriously said, "If possible, I wish you could stay by my side forever."

"Then, Brother Li, I also want to ask you a question, do you love me?"

Shen Li’s fingertips curled slightly, his crimson lips parted slightly. Before he could speak, his face suddenly changed. He reached out and shielded Shen Tang behind him, his gaze sharp as a knife looking in a certain direction.

"It’s an ambush!" he murmured lowly.

Before he finished speaking, hundreds of shadows burst from the cracks in the cave walls, completely surrounding the two of them, exuding a chilling murderous aura.

Their expressions changed slightly, quickly shifting into a battle stance; the intent wasn’t friendly!

Opposite them came more than a hundred people, all wearing tight black robes, masks covering their faces, brimming with killing intent.

The style of their clothing differed greatly from that of the Night Glow Empire.

Dark red patterns were embroidered on their clothes, resembling the totems of the Fox Clan upon closer inspection.

More terrifyingly, the strength of this group was exceedingly powerful.

The arriving hundred plus were all Eighth Rank Beastmen and not lacking in Ninth Rank Beastmen. The leader, a tall and thin man, made Shen Tang’s hairs stand on end, filled with trepidation.

This overwhelming pressure, she had only felt when Xue Yinzhou broke through to the Tenth Rank!

Shen Tang held her breath, her whole body cold and filled with suspicion.

When did this group appear?

She was at least at the Peak of Eighth Rank, possessing powerful spiritual power, yet she hadn’t detected anything from beginning to end!

And... how did they find them?

Had they been lurking in the underground relic all along, or had they followed them here?

Thinking of the latter possibility, Shen Tang felt chilled to the bone, urgently asked the system, "When did this group arrive? Why didn’t you give me any warning!"

The system answered with a crying face, "Host, it’s not that I didn’t want to warn you, the power on these people is very mysterious, I couldn’t detect their presence, they must have smuggled over with some sort of concealing item, definitely not persons from within the Night Glow Empire!"

The system said, "Looking at the patterns on their clothes, those are the totems of the Yiyuan Empire; this group is likely here looking for Shen Li."

The leader of the black-clad people looked at Shen Li, whose face was grim, and let out a cold laugh, "Prince Jiuli, it’s been years, I hope you’ve been well."

Shen Li stepped forward, shielding Shen Tang behind him, his handsome face dark, "You all managed to track me here after all."

"We never would’ve guessed you were still alive. If we had known you’d hide in this little place languishing, the Empire would have sent people long ago to eliminate the root, and would never have left you this wretched life!"

Shen Tang grabbed Shen Li’s hand, urgently asking, "What’s going on here?"

Shen Li turned to her, his expression complex, unable to explain in a few words, "Tangtang, I’m sorry, I deceived you... I am sure you’ve already guessed, I’m not an orphan, I’m from the Nine-tailed Fox Clan of the Yiyuan Empire."

"But, I never intended to deceive you! At the age of nine, the Empire fell into turmoil. To save my life, I had no choice but to flee here, living anonymously as an ordinary Red Fox. But unexpectedly, these people discovered me in the end."

"Having escaped for so many years, in the end, there’s no escape."

He looked at Shen Tang with sorrowful eyes, his voice bitter yet resolute, "The past must be settled, but these matters are not related to you, I can’t drag you into this!"

Shen Li spoke softly, "They came for me. Soon, I’ll draw them away, and you must escape along the way we came!"

"Enough! A pair of doomed, miserable lovers should spare us the tragic words. Today, none of you are escaping, you’ll all die here!"

The tall, thin man leading them rasped, waving a hand, "Kill!"

Shen Li’s expression turned cold and stern, instantly unfurling nine fiery red fox tails, the tips gleaming with metallic cold light, piercing the chests of the first three attackers.

"Stay behind me!" Shen Li shouted, simultaneously sending out a palm. Violent superpower energy blasted the first three black-clad attackers, sending them crashing heavily against the stone walls.

But the enemy’s numbers were overwhelming, the leader among the black-clad people an especially terrifying Tenth Rank powerhouse!

Shen Li was outnumbered, ultimately falling to a disadvantage.

His fox tail swept like a whip, fending off wave after wave of attacks, but wounds began appearing on his body.

A flash of a knife, his left arm was slashed open with a bloody wound.

Shen Tang rapidly gathered Earth Element Ability, the ground suddenly erupted with sharp earth spikes, piercing two black-clad attackers who were about to ambush.

Simultaneously, her eyes flashed with cold light, mind focused, her spiritual power spread like a tide, instantly slowing the movements of dozens of black-clad individuals.

Shen Li seized the opportunity, swiftly flashing before those people, knife raised and lowered, blood splattered.

"Good coordination." Shen Li’s lips curved slightly, yet the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

The number of enemies exceeded expectations; they needed to break through quickly.

This group clearly realized Shen Tang’s threat, a female possessing powerful Earth Element Ability, and even able to control minds with spiritual power! To the Empire, she was certainly a significant threat!

Today, they must eliminate her as well!

A tall, skinny man stealthily moved behind Shen Tang, aiming his short sword at her back.

"Watch out!"

Shen Li’s pupil’s constricted tightly, disregarding the blades before him, turning swiftly to dive towards Shen Tang.

His fox tail shielded Shen Tang like a metal barrier, the short sword stabbed into the fox tail, blood pouring out.

Shen Li grunted, his right hand became a claw, killing intent suddenly spiking, his claws piercing through the chest of the assailant! He flung the attacker hard against the stone wall, leaving a long bloodstain.

Not far away, the black-clad leader observed this, revealing an amused smile. He took the black longbow handed to him by his subordinate, the arrowhead glowing an eerie green.

Suddenly, he drew the longbow, the arrowhead aimed—at Shen Tang!

Whiz!

The sound of the bowstring vibrating was almost inaudible in the chaos of battle.

"Tangtang!" Shen Li abruptly turned, in the split second, blocking in front of Shen Tang.