Volume One: The Dragon Rises from the Wild Chapter Seventy: The Nature of the Wolf

The sound of distant voices drifted on the wind.

In the grass atop the hill, Yu Ye looked toward Bai Zhi, who was gazing back at him. Though they were close enough to touch, there was no trace of the awkwardness that once lingered between them. Instead, a grave seriousness settled over their faces as they exchanged a silent nod.

The conversation from afar came in snippets, sometimes clear, sometimes muffled, now present, now gone. But cultivators’ hearing was far sharper than that of ordinary folk; it was not difficult to catch a word or two.

From phrases like "Chenqi," "overseas," "a master," and "Tiger Leaping Gorge," it was easy to deduce who the speakers were.

Those four were cultivators from Qizhou, who had learned from Chenqi about the place where an overseas master perished, and, carrying a map he had drawn, came to explore the Spirit Jiao Valley.

That was the gist of it.

As for the overseas cultivator’s remains, Chenqi had burned them to ash, leaving not a trace behind.

“Your senior brother is truly wicked!”

“My master has already expelled him from the sect. He is no longer my senior brother!”

“If you meet him again, what will you do?”

“What else? Take revenge, of course. He betrayed his master and ancestors—his death would be well deserved. But I’m not his match. Would you help me?”

“I cannot.”

“Why not?”

“You’d get your revenge, but who will avenge the blood debt owed to my family’s village?”

“He'll only die in the end—what’s the difference? Never mind, let’s speak of the present.”

“We’ll wait a while longer. There’s no need to rush.”

“If those four pass by here, what then?”

“If it comes to that, we’ll split up and flee for our lives.”

“You’re known across the land as the Life-taking Youth—how can you flee without a fight?”

“If I can’t win, of course I’ll run. As for that so-called reputation, it’s nothing but rumor and slander, meant to ruin my name—and you actually believe it!”

As they spoke in hushed tones, Bai Zhi cast him a sidelong glance.

She knew Yu Ye wasn’t lying.

Just as when she first saw him kill outside Xingyuan Valley—shocked, bewildered—she saw him, alone, ambushed by two Qizhou cultivators. Calm under pressure, he displayed countless tactics and slew one of them on the spot. His cunning, his ferocity, his uncanny stealth, and his unrivaled sword aura—all these made him a rare match even in the Great Marsh. And yet, he was only sixteen, a boy who, a few months ago, had been imprisoned in the Mo Ya Cave of Mount Xuanhuang, subject to her whim. What had happened in these short months, for a wild youth to become a master of cultivation? In that moment, she believed even more firmly the words her master spoke before death. That was why she aided him at any cost, without regard for consequence—because she knew they would ultimately prevail.

And that Life-taking Youth and the boy before her seemed almost like two different people. Perhaps she was familiar with this young man; perhaps she admired the wild Life-taking Youth more. For now, she could not tell which was his true self.

“They’re not leaving… sigh—”

A bonfire flared on a distant hillside, several miles away. Four Qizhou cultivators sat around the flames, clearly intending to spend the night there.

Yu Ye sighed and said, “Miss Bai…”

Bai Zhi corrected him, “Call me Senior Sister!”

“Miss Bai!”

“Senior Sister!”

Yu Ye cut her off before she could correct him again, saying hastily, “I’ll call you Bai Zhi or not, as you please!”

“Very well.”

To his surprise, Bai Zhi agreed, saying, “As long as you hold me as your senior sister in your heart, what does a title matter?”

“It doesn’t matter to me…”

Before Yu Ye could finish, he changed the subject: “I meant, can we circle around this place to avoid those people? Otherwise, the longer we stay, the more likely something goes wrong.”

Bai Zhi pressed her lips together in a smile and pondered. “The mountains are high, wild beasts abound—detouring won’t be easy.”

Yu Ye buried his head in the grass in frustration. “I’m not afraid of beasts, but by daybreak, there’ll be nowhere left to hide…”

A sudden roar echoed from afar, making the vast valley tremble.

A foul wind swept across the night sky.

Yu Ye started in alarm and looked up.

There, atop a distant peak several miles away, the crescent moon had just risen, its silver light revealing a white beast, head raised in a thunderous roar. Its deep, booming voice shook the land—a king surveying all beneath it.

Bai Zhi whispered in his ear, “The King of Beasts in Tiger Leaping Gorge—the White Tiger.”

“The White Tiger?”

“I’ve heard from my elders, that tiger appears in spring and autumn, lies dormant in winter and summer, and is rarely seen. Its appearance always brings bloodshed.”

“Those fellows are in for trouble, then—ha!”

Yu Ye could not hide his schadenfreude.

The bonfire must have drawn the White Tiger’s attention, and the four Qizhou cultivators were camped at the mountain’s base. He and Bai Zhi were hiding miles away. If blood were to be spilled, it would have nothing to do with them.

“The White Tiger may not be a match for cultivators, especially four adept in the art…”

Bai Zhi’s doubts were cut off as another howl rang out.

Beneath the moon, beside the White Tiger, a second white shape appeared—a wild white wolf, throwing its head back and howling at the sky. Its cry lacked the tiger’s power but was plaintive and piercing, echoing for miles.

At once, other wolf howls rose from all directions.

“Oo—”

“Oo—oo—”

“Oo—oo—oo—”

Yu Ye and Bai Zhi’s faces both changed.

Wolves appeared on the surrounding peaks, rocky slopes, and in the woods—hundreds, perhaps thousands of them—streaming from every direction and gathering in the valley.

Yu Ye’s sense of schadenfreude vanished, replaced by a chill that crawled over his skin. He drew a sharp breath. “What luck is this? Not only have we run into the White Tiger, but the Wolf King and all these wolves as well!”

He was born a hunter and knew wild beasts well. That white wolf must be the Wolf King, leader of the pack.

Bai Zhi shook her head in disbelief and murmured, “Have you forgotten the rules of the winter hunt? No one is to enter Spirit Jiao Valley, and no one is to set foot beyond its midpoint. Hunting grounds are limited to Leopard Tail Gorge, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Withered Grass Gorge. The reason is the number of beasts and the danger. Now that we’ve seen it for ourselves, it’s exactly as they say.”

“Maybe it’ll be alright…”

“Hmm…”

The wolves surged in the direction of the bonfire.

The four Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed in disarray, each summoning their flying swords, but their retreat was cut off. In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by the wolf pack.

“That’s right, I remember my fifth uncle once said, even when snow seals the mountain, open flames in Spirit Jiao Valley are to be used with care. Now, in autumn, with the grass lush and green, the White Tiger must think someone is setting the mountain ablaze. Every debt has its debtor, after all.”

“Let’s watch and wait. Perhaps we can use this chance to slip away…”

Both harbored a hope for luck.

Once more, the Wolf King howled from the summit.

The wolves in the valley, as if receiving a command, suddenly rushed forward. In the darkness, gray shapes darted across the valley and through the grass, making straight for the four around the fire. The cultivators hurriedly wielded their flying swords, blades of light circling the flames. Any wolf that drew near was instantly shredded, blood and flesh flying. But more wolves followed, wave after relentless wave…

Yu Ye watched the carnage, shaken.

He had seen how fierce and cunning wolves could be, but never had he witnessed such a desperate, death-defying assault. Those four were no ordinary hunters; all were accomplished, their swordplay deadly. As long as they held their ground, it would be a massacre.

“Alas, the Wolf King is foolish, sending his pack to die for nothing.”

“If you were the Wolf King, what would you do?”

“First, I’d use a few wolves to probe their strength, keeping the four from joining forces. Then I’d have the pack attack from all sides, isolating and overwhelming them.”

“And if they use the Fire Talisman—how would the pack withstand that?”

“They couldn’t. But they’d avoid it for now, using their numbers to keep those wretches penned in. If anyone breaks through, bite them hard. Even in defeat, there’s honor. The wolf’s spirit never dies!”

“Are you describing the wolf’s nature, or your own?”

“I… Don’t twist my words. I’m warning you…”

“No harm done, just chatting…”

The battle raged in the distance, the scene overwhelming.

Yet Yu Ye and Bai Zhi lay hidden in the grass, chatting as though the chaos had nothing to do with them. But just as their argument simmered, they both turned at once to look behind.

On the hillside behind them, a mass of gray shapes emerged—a hundred wolves or more. Suddenly spotting the two in the grass, the pack paused, then bared their fangs and charged.

Exchanging a look of helplessness, Yu Ye and Bai Zhi leaped to their feet, swords flashing, sending arcs of light slashing through the air.

Blood spattered, and a handful of wolves were hurled aside.

Seizing the moment, they dashed over the hill, the wolf pack in hot pursuit. More wolves, drawn by the commotion, began to close in from afar. The four Qizhou cultivators, thinking their companions had arrived to help, tried to break through and join them.

“This is bad!”

Yu Ye muttered under his breath.

A tiger’s roar split the night, echoing through the valley and making hearts quail.

“Wait!”

“Huh?”

Yu Ye gestured, “This way’s blocked…”

“Understood.”

Bai Zhi seemed to catch his meaning, darting away at speed—straight toward a mountain hundreds of feet high. Did she intend to climb a peak with wolves on her tail?

“I meant—”

Yu Ye had no time to explain and could only follow.

A few wolves lunged to block the way and were swiftly cut down.

Bai Zhi, even faster, reached the mountain’s base and leaped upward, intending to scale the cliff. Her plan was sound: from high ground, she could escape the wolves and shake off the Qizhou cultivators. But as she sprang, before she could touch the rock face, a swarm of centipedes and vipers poured from the crevices, startling her so badly she tumbled from midair with a cry.

Yu Ye arrived just in time, reaching out to catch her.

Bai Zhi, regaining her composure in midair, twisted to land safely, but suddenly found herself caught around the waist. She struggled in panic, colliding with Yu Ye in a heap. Unable to halt their momentum, the two crashed to the ground, then scrambled up in a fluster, both disheveled.

“Such poor manners…”

Bai Zhi, embarrassed, tried to cover it with reproach.

“You’re a hunter too—you should know better. Climbing a mountain at night is asking for death.”

Yu Ye, though his cheeks flushed, was unyielding.

“I’ll defer to you…”

“Did I say to climb? With snakes and insects abroad at night, even if we lost the wolves, those fellows would follow us up—wouldn't that be even more dangerous?”

At that moment, a figure burst through the wolf pack, racing toward them.

“Thank you for your help, fellow cultivators—”

They forgot their quarrel, exchanging startled glances…