Eddie had never rushed down a road like this in his entire life, but he didn't feel tired. Even carrying Sophia on his back and dashing dozens of kilometers along the mountain path, Eddie didn't feel any fatigue.
It was his anger and anxiety that kept him going. He thought, "Fourth Mother and Little Frost must be safe. If anything happens to them, I fear I'll truly become a bloodthirsty demon."
At first, Sophia was lying on Eddie's back, but when she saw how hard he was working and how he was drenched in sweat, she suppressed her sorrow and started running alongside him.
However, her speed was not enough, and she couldn't keep up. She reached out her little hand for Eddie to hold, but she still struggled to keep pace.
Eventually, Eddie summoned the Blood Queen to carry Sophia. Although the Blood Queen wasn't exceptionally fast when carrying someone, Sophia's weight wasn't too heavy, so she could barely keep up with Eddie's speed.
When the Blood Queen slowed down, Eddie would carry Sophia on his back again, alternating between the two methods.
During this long journey, Eddie realized that he lacked a particular companion: a mount. Mounts were not typically needed, but in certain situations, they could be invaluable.
After hours of continuous running and scent tracking, Grey Wolf led Eddie and Sophia straight towards Skinny Dog Ridge. Just as the ridge appeared in the distance, the sky darkened, and heavy rain poured down.
The scent Grey Wolf had relied on gradually vanished, washed away by the torrential rain, causing it to lose its direction. It could no longer locate Fourth Mother and Little Frost.
Sophia cried out in despair in the pouring rain, tightly hugging her brother, and sobbing uncontrollably. Eddie tried to console her, saying, "We will find a way, we will find a way..."
He hated the heavens for this situation but refused to give up. He would not yield, especially when it came to rescuing Fourth Mother. Even if they had to defy the seemingly insurmountable odds, he would keep fighting.
This wasn't like a regular battle. When facing the Phoenix Fairy, Eddie had a chance to save his life. She wouldn't kill him outright, or she could have done so already.
He chose to bide his time and preserve his strength. However, when it came to rescuing Fourth Mother, he couldn't afford to wait.
If he gave up, their lives would be in danger. So, regardless of the circumstances, he couldn't give up; he had to rescue Fourth Mother and Little Frost.
Now that the scent had vanished, and there were no more traces left behind by Fourth Mother and Little Frost, Eddie was at a loss.
He turned to Little Wenli and said, "Little Wenli, do you understand what I mean? Treat this tracking as a part of the battle."
" Use your instinct for combat to find Fourth Mother and Little Frost. Do you understand? "
"We'll follow your instincts to find Fourth Mother... "
"If that doesn't work, then we'll have to search for Longblade. But I hope we can find Fourth Mother first. "
"I saw traces of a carriage on the way here, and it looked heavily pressed into the ground, so someone must have taken her away. "
" You need to sense it carefully. Where is Fourth Mother?"
Little Wenli nodded in understanding. However, when she pointed in a direction, it was towards White-Stone City.
"No, that's not right. I know Fourth Mother's home is in White-Stone City, but she's already been abducted. Don't you understand? "
"We have to find her; she's been taken away. Do you understand? We need to find Fourth Mother and Little Frost. Use your senses, think carefully, and tell us where Fourth Mother is."
Eddie felt that if even Little Wenli couldn't find her, he would have to enter a dream and ask the Sword Spirit, Sister Supreme, for help. No matter what, he had to find Fourth Mother.
"...". Little Wenli's finger stubbornly continued to point in the direction of White-Stone City.
"Oh my god, this is wrong! That's White-Stone City; we just came from there. We need to go to Skinny Dog Ridge. Do you see that mountain in front of us? Fourth Mother should be inside there. Concentrate and sense it, where is she?" Eddie was growing increasingly anxious.
"...". Despite closing her eyes and concentrating for a while, Little Wenli's finger still pointed towards White-Stone City.
"What are we going to do, Brother? How do we handle this?" Sophia felt torn between Grey Wolf leading them to Skinny Dog Ridge and Little Wenli's insistence that Fourth Mother was in White-Stone City.
"Is she really in White-Stone City? Or is it somewhere along the way? How far is it?" Eddie was conflicted as well. His rational mind told him to trust Grey Wolf since they hadn't gone wrong so far.
However, he knew that Little Wenli wouldn't cause confusion at a crucial moment like this. She had always been obedient and had an incredibly strong combat intuition with precise judgments. Eddie felt that he should trust Little Wenli more.
But once he turned back, it might lead to a grave mistake.
Eddie stomped his foot, making a decisive choice to return to the academy with Sophia. He decided to ask the crafty old fox to go to Skinny Dog Ridge on his behalf, preferably to capture Longblade.
Meanwhile, he would use a teleportation scroll to return to White-Stone City. If Fourth Mother was still there, it would be perfect.
Sophia was overwhelmed, but she agreed with Eddie's plan.
Eddie quickly took Sophia and rushed towards the small building where the headmaster's office was located.
Strange formations, pillars, and intricately trimmed flora obstructed Eddie's path. Under normal circumstances, navigating through this maze-like obstacle course would have been challenging. However, Eddie couldn't afford to waste time now.
Ignoring everything, he summoned his strength and simply broke through, creating chaos along the way. As he ran up the stairs to the second floor, he realized that the gravity increased with each step.
By the time he reached the second floor, it felt almost ten times stronger. Eddie was surprised; it seemed that the headmaster was far from ordinary.
But Eddie couldn't dwell on this at the moment. He pushed open the door, but even after breaking it down with his Ashen Demon Blade, he still couldn't enter.
It was as if an invisible barrier was protecting the room on the second floor.
"Why is it so hard to see the headmaster?" Eddie was growing frustrated.
He was about to unleash his innate powers to break the spatial barrier and enter when a particularly soft and pleasant voice came from inside.
"Titan, do you need something from me?"
The pressure on Eddie suddenly disappeared, and he fell forward, landing flat on the floor.
He looked up and saw a slender girl hunched over a desk, busy writing something. Her long black hair cascaded down, partially veiling her delicate face.
Eddie could only see a neatly arranged bang due to the angle, and he couldn't see her face. However, judging from her fair and smooth skin and her hands like white jade, Eddie could sense that she had an extraordinary presence. She resembled an ethereal white orchid, exuding purity and elegance, like an otherworldly fairy untouched by the mortal world.
"Are you the headmaster?" Eddie had heard that the Ivy League's headmaster was a beautiful girl that nobody had seen before, but he didn't expect her to be so young, as if she were the campus belle or a diligent scholar.
"Fourth Mother..." Eddie didn't know if it would work, but he was willing to believe in her talent. He called out loudly.
A faint halo appeared in the hands of the beautiful headmaster. It then transformed into countless images.
Eddie saw a scene where Nanny Nan and Aunt Xu were pushing Fourth Mother onto a carriage, but before he could get a clear look, the image disappeared.
The beautiful headmaster suddenly cleared her throat gently. "Your heart is not calm enough. You need to maintain a serene state of mind. Call out sincerely one more time. My talent can only be used three times within a month. Don't waste this opportunity."
"Alright, alright... Fourth Mother, Fourth Mother, Frost..." Eddie tried his best to calm down. He remembered all the care Fourth Mother had given him. He pushed away all distractions and focused solely on thinking of Fourth Mother. When he shouted her name, the entire space seemed to tremble, as if an invisible shockwave was silently spreading.
The halo in the beautiful headmaster's hands shattered, and then it reassembled, projecting even more images.
There were two carriages running along the road together. One turned towards the direction of Red Rock City halfway, while the other continued towards Black Forest City.
In a flash, the carriage headed for Red Rock City stopped. Fourth Mother, dressed in civilian clothes, hurriedly got off. Two women, whom Eddie found familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen them before, helped Fourth Mother. They walked to a small bridge and boarded a bamboo raft, paddling away, while the carriage continued its journey.
Eddie suddenly realized what had happened. Fourth Mother indeed hadn't escaped to Skinny Dog Ridge but had gone to Red Rock City instead, and she had disembarked from the carriage halfway.
The scent that Grey Wolf had detected was actually a ploy by Uncle Nan and Aunt Xu, intentionally using their clothes to lure the enemy, probably to prevent them from being tracked by scent as well.
"It's still not clear, shout once more, this is your last chance!" The beautiful headmaster coughed in pain, indicating that this kind of psychic calling greatly affected her body.
"Fourth Mother!" Eddie shouted passionately one more time.
His head buzzed, as if something had struck his mind violently.
Countless images shattered and flooded into Eddie's mind.
Not only could he see with his eyes, but these same images were also being reflected in his consciousness.
The radiant halo in the beautiful headmaster's hand projected even more magical images. Eddie could clearly see that the enemies were catching up, and there were not just one or two of them; there were dozens, some of whom were experts who easily caught up.
They ruthlessly slaughtered everyone inside the carriage.
Some of the enemies continued forward, some went against the current, and some followed the river downstream, all chasing after different paths.
On the other side of the images, Uncle Nan, Aunt Xu, and the woman disguised as Fourth Mother were all captured.
Finally, Eddie saw a shadow descending from the sky towards the bamboo raft. Besides seeing Fourth Mother's terrified face, he seemed to hear the fearful screams of his little sister Sophia!
"Brother, help!" Eddie was shaken to the core. Covered in sweat, he could only escape from the mental illusion because Sophia was calling for him.
"I can sense it. Fourth Mother has been captured, and it hasn't been long. A woman who can fly has captured her and is heading towards Skinny Dog Ridge. You need to hurry and save her. I will go rescue your little sister; she should still be in White Stone City. The girl Fourth Mother was holding is not your sister because she didn't respond to your call." The beautiful headmaster waved her hand, and Eddie felt an overwhelming urge to leave the window.
"Are you... Are you okay?" Eddie saw the beautiful headmaster, her face still hidden, but it was evident that she was in great pain.
At the same time, drops of blood fell on her white clothes, creating vivid red spots like blooming plum blossoms, making a shocking contrast.
The beautiful headmaster waved her hand again, her voice sounding slightly muffled. "It's an old condition of mine; it's not a big deal. I'll rest for a while and then set off. You should hurry to save your Fourth Mother."
Eddie felt a deep sense of gratitude.
The beautiful headmaster had no personal connection to him, but she was willing to help him find someone.
She even used her talent for psychic calling, knowing it would harm her body.
Though he didn't know why she chose to help him, perhaps because all her students were so great, or for some other reason, Eddie was deeply touched in this moment.
True feelings were revealed in times of danger. When he needed help the most, she didn't ask any questions and just offered her assistance.
He vowed to repay her kindness. If she had an illness, no matter what it was, he would find the best medicine to treat her. If there was no illness, he still had to find a way to thank her for helping him find more information about Fourth Mother and even potentially saving her life.
"Now we at least know that a flying woman has captured Fourth Mother and taken her to Skinny Dog Ridge. As for little Sophia, she is hiding somewhere in White Stone City. We just need to focus on rescuing Mother now, and everything will be fine!" Eddie reassured his little sister, Sophia.
"Yes, we will definitely save Mother, I'm sure of it, Mother!" Sophia, with tears streaming down her face, shouted excitedly, her voice echoing in the sky.