Turning Back

Moving away from the bird, Daniels's focus instantly attracted to the white flowers blooming at the center of the hall.

The flowers are white in color and look similar to four-leaf clovers.

Strikingly they are glowing faintly and are covered in faint mist giving people a sense of freshness.

'It is actually the White Clover' Daniel read a brief introduction about these flowers when inquiring about the elixirs needed for the breakthrough.

Controlling his emotions Daniel immediately plans his next action.

'Let's kill the bird first' Daniel move his focus away from the flowers and started observing the hall carefully to not miss out on any hidden predators.

After confirming that the bird is alone, Daniel approached the bird from a blind angle slowly and silently.

The bird is completely oblivious to Daniels's approach at this time.

As the distance between the two got less than five meters Daniels took a heavy step and rushed forward to kill the bird in one full strike.

The bird which got alert by the sound tried to escape from its position but failed to do so because of physical weakness.

A few minutes are required for it to regain sufficient energy but it is wishful thinking in front of Daniel.

He intentionally timed the attack to make it as heavy as possible.

A flash of blade light passed by the bird's neck followed by a sweet sound of meat cutting.

With no suspense, the head of the bird fell off from its body and blood started ejecting from its neck.

Losing the head the bird did not die instantly. It started running around the hall while flapping its wings.

Daniel who expected the situation rushed to the side of the flowers just after beheading the bird.

Every time the flapping bird approached the core area Daniel would kick it and push it away from the flowers.

This continued for a few minutes before the bird died completely.

'Finally died!' Daniel approached the dead body and choked its neck with rope to stop the bleeding. Only after this did Daniel turn towards the flowers.

Daniel had a sense of satisfaction looking at the thirty white flowers in front of him.

After a few breaths, Daniel took out a jade box that he brought with him and placed it on the floor.

Then he carefully plucked each flower and placed it in the jade box in an orderly manner.

It took him thirty minutes to complete the entire procedure.

Only after completely sealing off the jade box and securing it did Daniel breathe a relief.

'It's time to return! If I am late then people will start doubting me!' Daniel looked at the dead bird with a bit of unwillingness.

If he didn't find any treasure here then he would have surely taken the bird. But it is not a sensible thing to do now.

'Jonny will definitely find the bird pregnant once he gets his hands on the dead body! If that happens then he might push me for visiting the nest which should be avoided!' Daniel could decline to show the way to the nest but it will raise serious suspicions.

'And if I forcibly keep it myself then others will start questioning my intent! There is no easy way to take the bird back.' Daniel is not willing to take any chance in the case of the White Clovers.

'Better avoid any prying eyes for now!' Daniel thought it is better to discard the bird than to invite trouble for himself.

Next, Daniel started erasing the traces of blood to avoid any animal finding this place and then threw the dead body into the river.

After looking at the clean cave, Daniel nodded his head and turned around to leave the place.

Before the bird's body could attract any fish or animal Daniel disappeared into the forest.

….

"Did you find him?" Bell asked Lloyd who had just come back from the search.

"No! I searched the area near the perimeter but I didn't find any clues." Lloyd shook his head.

"Where would he go?!" Bell is thinking of possible scenarios.

"Johnny and others are almost done packing. If Daniel hasn't returned by then let's ask them for help." Lloyd signaled at the other members who are busy packing the meat in the wooden boxes.

"Yes! That is the best choice we have now. We cannot search such a large area by ourselves. Technically speaking they must help since we are all a team." Bell agreed with Lloyd's idea.

Just as both planning for a search a voice came from the side.

"Did they manage to kill the Kingbird?" It is Daniel who came back at full speed.

"Daniel! Thank god you are alright!" Bell is the first to sign a relief.

"Yes! It's good that nothing terrible happened to you." Lloyd is also happy to see Daniel coming back without any injury.

"I just lost the way while hunting the bird. It took me so much time to find my way back." Daniel put on a tired look and asked about the hunt.

Mentioning about the hunt Bell put on a smile, "It is a huge success! The Kingbird was very hard to catch but all members encircled it many times to trap and kill it."

"Alright! I will go to meet Johnny! You should take some rest." Daniel rushed to Johnny before he could have any doubts about his absence.

Approaching the working group Daniel saw Johnny sitting under the shadow of a tree.

"What happened to you?" Daniel is surprised at pale-looking Johnny.

"I just used the sealing talisman by forcefully pushing the Qi in my body! It will recover in a day or two! So don't worry!" Johnny gave the answer in a weak voice but his face is beaming in happiness.

'Good! He didn't sense my absence.' Daniel didn't even need to lie now.

"We will leave in a few minutes and return to the camp at full speed. It's best to reach the sect by tonight. You should tell your team to get some rest before departure." Johnny is not comfortable sitting in the wild with valuable loot.

After telling Johnny to be careful of his health Daniel returned to his group and told both of them to be ready.

Tying the goods onto their backs everyone left the nest after a few minutes.

"Let's go! Don't be too much behind!" Johnny lead the way this time.

Because of the additional load, the group took more than two hours to reach the camping area.

Without giving any time to rest Johnny urged everyone to pack everything up.

"Leader! Do we have to leave in such a hurry?" One guy in the group asked Johnny.

"Yes! It's best to return to the sect by today itself. The meat of King Bird is very attractive to many monsters. So it's not a good idea to spend the night here." Johnny gave a stern warning to everyone to dispel any thought of staying here.

'It's a good decision.' Daniel could see some leadership skills in Johnny.

Under the threat of attack from monsters and wild animals, the group rushed to pack everything up and leave here.

Within an incense stick of time, more than a dozen horses hit the road leading to the sect.