Night Watch

"Looks like this group's sect trial has something to do with this Man-Fiend…" Yuan Ming mused for a moment before following them.

The group searched all night but found nothing.

"Hey, beast slave, did you really see a Man-Fiend?" As dawn broke, the group stopped searching. Kuntu, displeased, asked Yuan Ming.

"What Man-Fiend?" Yuan Ming feigned ignorance.

"The monster you described last night!" Kuntu said angrily.

"If I hadn't seen the monster, how could I have described it?" Yuan Ming retorted.

His words silenced Kuntu, leaving him with no excuse to get angry.

"According to the sect's intelligence, Man-Fiends shouldn't be active in this area," Bada said.

"Perhaps the situation has changed. The information from the Executive Hall might not be entirely accurate," Chen Wan said.

Yuan Ming hesitated for a moment before speaking, "If the Man-Fiend you're talking about is the monster I saw last night, then someone already encountered it last year."

"What did you say? Last year… where?" Chen Wan quickly asked, while the others looked at him with various expressions.

Yuan Ming then recounted Hagon's attack to them.

"How is that possible?" Yang Chan looked incredulous.

Kuntu turned to look at Wubao, who gave a subtle nod, vouching for Yuan Ming's account.

"If that's true, then the Man-Fiend has been active for longer and has a wider range than the sect told us. This is not good news," Chen Wan said, her expression becoming grave.

"Then… should we report it to the sect?" Bada tentatively asked.

"Report it? Why report it? We're the only ones who know this information, isn't that better?" Kuntu countered.

"If we don't report it, other fellow disciples might be attacked unexpectedly," Chen Wan said.

"Junior Sister Chen Wan, don't forget, this trial is crucial for us to become inner disciples. If we go back to report this and delay our progress, and someone else gets there first…" Kuntu pondered.

He didn't directly refute Chen Wan, but his words caused her expression to change.

Seeing that Chen Wan had nothing more to say, Kuntu's lips twitched, revealing a disdainful smile.

Afterward, the group slowed their travel pace, searching for the Man-Fiend while continuing their journey.

However, even after spending two extra days than planned, they still didn't encounter the Man-Fiend again.

"Rumble…"

A thunderous roar erupted, and a streak of white lightning flashed across the sky, briefly tearing open the dark, gloomy firmament.

Drizzle began to fall, and the previously quiet mountain forest was soon drowned out by the sound of heavy rain. The air filled with the scent of dust and grass.

Kuntu looked up at the leaden clouds that had gathered so low they almost touched the treetops. He guided his Green Wolf to Chen Wan's side.

"Junior Sister, looking at these clouds, this rain doesn't look like it'll be light. It's also getting late. Why don't we find a place to rest and wait for the rain to stop before continuing our journey?" he asked.

"Yuan Ming, are there any suitable places nearby to shelter from the rain?" Chen Wan asked, looking at Yuan Ming.

Along the way, she had come to appreciate Yuan Ming's skill in leading them.

Under Yuan Ming's guidance, although they hadn't found the Man-Fiend these past few days, they hadn't encountered many Fierce Beast attacks either, allowing them to make good use of their time.

Although Kuntu, Yang Chan, and the others still looked down on this Furred Beast Slave, they also subconsciously cast questioning glances at him.

"I haven't been to this area before, so we'll just have to look around," Yuan Ming said.

Chen Wan wasn't disappointed and nodded, continuing their journey.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, the thunder grew more frequent, and the rain intensified.

The daylight in the mountain forest had dimmed, and the surroundings were misty and dark, with the temperature dropping significantly.

Just then, Yuan Ming spotted a large patch of dark shadow in the forest ahead. He wiped the rain from his face and peered intently. A flash of lightning illuminated the area.

"There seems to be a house over there," Yuan Ming pointed at the dark shadow and shouted.

He then led the group towards it.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a dilapidated building.

The lower half of the building's walls were constructed of stone, while the upper half was made of adobe. The plaster had peeled off significantly, leaving the walls covered in pits and holes of various sizes.

"This style of building looks like a temple worshipped by savages?" Wubao, who had been largely silent in the group, suddenly spoke.

The temple had no door, only an empty archway. The interior was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Yuan Ming reached into his robes, preparing to take out a fire starter for illumination, when he heard a "whoosh" sound. A fist-sized fireball floated into the temple.

"Fireball Spell?" Yuan Ming instinctively looked back and saw that Chen Wan had cast it.

Immediately after, with another "whoosh," three or four more fireballs flew into the temple, illuminating the interior brightly.

Yuan Ming walked into the temple and found it empty, with almost no furnishings. Thick dust covered the ground and walls, making it appear desolate and ruined.

Turning around, he saw a three-foot-tall altar with a clay statue of a deity.

The statue was unlike any ordinary deity. It had a broad back and a narrow waist, with two heads and four arms. Instead of exuding solemnity, it appeared sinister and eerie.

Yuan Ming looked closely and saw that the two heads he carried on his shoulders were not human. One was a fox's head, and the other was a wolf's head.

The statue was also severely damaged. Exposed wooden supports and straw could be seen everywhere on its body, suggesting it had been abandoned for a long time.

"Good, good... the roof isn't damaged. We'll rest here for tonight," Bada said, looking around the surroundings with apparent satisfaction.

"Wubao, go out and get some meat. Yuan Ming, you're in charge of gathering firewood and starting a fire," Kuntu commanded.

Wubao quickly responded and ran out, and Yuan Ming obediently went to collect firewood.

Not long after, two bonfires were set up inside the temple. Kuntu and a few registered disciples sat around one, while Yuan Ming and Wubao sat opposite each other by the other.

Wubao was diligently tending to the wild boar roasting over the fire, while Yuan Ming rested with his eyes closed, not saying a word.

At this moment, Kuntu suddenly looked towards Yuan Ming's side and called out, "Yuan Ming, you'll be on watch for the first half of the night. Go guard outside."

Yuan Ming opened his eyes upon hearing this, got up, and walked out.

The rain was still drizzling outside, and the muffled sound of thunder occasionally boomed, illuminating the night sky.

Yuan Ming arrived outside the doorway and leaned against the wall. The short, shallow eaves above his head couldn't block all the rainwater, and soon, a large part of his body was soaked.

The cold mountain wind cut through him, and even Yuan Ming felt a bone-chilling cold. His earlier sleepiness had completely vanished, and he could only stare with wide eyes into the dark, mountainous forest night.

The sound of Chen Wan and the others talking came from inside the temple. Yuan Ming listened attentively and soon grasped the gist of their conversation.

It turned out that Chen Wan and her group were not the only registered disciples entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains. At least a hundred registered disciples from the entire sect were participating in the trial.

Their objective in the trial was to hunt Man-Fiends.

From Kuntu's words, it seemed their performance in this trial was related to whether they could catch the eye of the sect elders and become their personal disciples, meaning inner disciples.

Although Yuan Ming wasn't entirely sure, he could guess that this was a tremendous honor. Otherwise, these people wouldn't risk such great danger to enter the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

In the dark, rainy night, the moon was hidden, making it difficult to tell the time.

Yuan Ming suddenly smelled a rich aroma of roasted meat coming from inside the temple and immediately wrinkled his nose as he looked inside.

He saw Kuntu and the others sitting together, still chatting. The wild boar roasting over Wubao's bonfire had turned golden-red all over, emitting a glossy sheen and sizzling with oil, making one's mouth water.

"I didn't expect this guy's cooking skills to be so good," Yuan Ming couldn't help but praise.

But just then, he noticed that Wubao was sweating on his forehead, his expression somewhat tense, and his eyes kept darting towards Kuntu and the others.

As he was wondering why the guy was acting so suspiciously, Wubao suddenly turned his head and looked towards him.

Yuan Ming immediately turned around, his back to the temple door, pretending to be diligently keeping watch.

After a pause of two breaths, Yuan Ming suddenly turned his head back and saw Wubao tremblingly taking out a small porcelain bottle from his embrace. He pulled out the stopper and sprinkled the liquid inside onto the roasted wild boar.

"What is he doing?" Yuan Ming wondered.

He wrinkled his nose and sniffed carefully again but detected no unusual smell. Combined with Wubao's guilty demeanor, he knew it wasn't seasoning, and his confusion grew.

"Could he be poisoning it?" Yuan Ming's brow furrowed deeply.

Just then, Wubao's gaze shifted back towards Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming had already sensed it and had turned around, his mind racing with various thoughts.

"Even if Wubao is that bold, he wouldn't dare poison these registered disciples, would he? Unless he doesn't want to live?" Yuan Ming's mind worked rapidly.

But it was clear that anyone who could form a faction and become a leader wouldn't seek death for no reason.

Yuan Ming's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to turn back to report the matter, a sudden alarm bell rang in his mind:

"That's right, Wubao wouldn't want to die. The only reason he dares to do this is that someone must have instructed him. Then, that person..."

Yuan Ming's gaze swept around, finally settling on Kuntu.