Awakening

The situation reversed instantly.

Those phantoms hovering between life and death were torn to shreds one after another by Wei Ke, a half-human, half-wolf creature. The flying flesh and blood quickly turned to ashes before hitting the ground.

But these phantoms seemed to feel no pain or fear, dragging their broken bodies as they tried to get closer to Wei Ke.

Wei Ke continued his hunt, but they kept approaching, one after another, seemingly without end.

This scene was like countless sheep attacking the only wolf present.

Wei Ke, however, showed no fear. His eyes were filled with murderous intent, causing him to roar and howl incessantly.

He attacked, attacked, and attacked again, as if he wanted to turn this hunt into a massacre.

What's even more astonishing is that Wei Ke seemed to feel no fatigue whatsoever. His movements didn't slow down at all over time; in fact, they became even faster and more ferocious. He should have been exhausted before being attacked.

At the same time, Wei Ke's body is also undergoing constant changes.

Its fingers grew longer and longer, its body hair grew more and more, and the sounds it made became increasingly unlike those of a human.

This scene also caught Bai Wei's eye.

Or rather, this is what Bai Wei wanted to see.

The Little Wolf that Wei Ke was looking for had always been here.

However, it cannot be released yet.

Bai Wei silently calculated the time in his mind. Finally, when all four of Wei Ke's limbs had landed on the ground, he slowly took out the Music Box.

"It's almost time."

He walked toward Wei Ke.

Wei Ke, who was hunting, heard footsteps.

He turned around abruptly, staring intently at Bai Wei, who was slowly walking towards him. His eyes, which seemed to be stained with blood, showed no sign of thought.

"Wei Ke," Bai Wei said to Wei Ke with a smile, "It's time to wake up."

"Roar!"

Wei Ke roared and charged straight at Bai Wei, his posture exactly like a wolf on the hunt.

"Don't you remember who I am?" Bai Wei deliberately maintained a certain distance so that he could speak slowly and deliberately. "I am Father Ulu, have you forgotten?"

As if he couldn't hear Bai Wei's words, Wei Ke didn't slow down at all. In almost an instant, he rushed in front of Bai Wei and pounced on him fiercely.

But Bai Wei simply turned his body slightly to the side, easily dodging Wei Ke's attack, while grabbing his arm in mid-air, then twisting it and using the force to press down.

Wei Ke was slammed to the ground with a thud.

"I am Ulu, Father Ulu," Bai Wei said again. "Remember? I saved your life; we made a deal."

Wei Ke was still roaring and immediately tried to break free from Bai Wei 'Bai Wei restraints, get up from the ground, and fight back.

But Bai Wei had already taken advantage of the situation and stretched out his foot, stomping hard on Wei Ke's head.

In an instant, Wei Ke's wolf-like half-head was buried in the mud, completely suppressing Wei Ke.

But Wei Ke was still struggling and showed no sign of remembering anything.

However, this was also within Bai Wei's expectations.

His name was not enough to awaken Wei Ke's humanity.

So, Bai Wei took out the Music Box that had been wound up beforehand and threw it directly next to Wei Ke's ear.

The Music Box played a familiar melody.

The moment the melody began, Bai Wei noticed that Wei Ke's scarlet pupils narrowed slightly.

It really worked.

Bai Wei couldn't help but smile.

He did not let Wei Ke's efforts of listening all day go to waste.

However, the strange look in Wei Ke's eyes lasted only a short time before it was swallowed up again by ruthless killing intent.

Hmm... it seems that one day is not enough.

Bai Wei wasn't surprised; he hadn't expected to wake up Wei Ke so easily.

After all, it's only a day.

The fact that Wei Ke was able to react to this was already a pleasant surprise for Bai Wei.

Since that's the case, Bai Wei looked around and saw that the phantoms that had been almost completely killed by Wei Ke had regrouped and were slowly approaching them.

Meanwhile, Wei Ke's wolf-like transformation was becoming increasingly severe, and his strength was growing. Bai Wei's suppression of him with only one hand and one foot was no longer as effective.

Let's stop here for the first time.

Bai Wei pulled out the "coagulant" he had previously obtained in the Yade Town and swiftly inserted it into Wei Ke's neck, injecting the full dose.

Wei Ke's eyes widened instantly, and his body stiffened abruptly.

"It's time to wake up, Wei Ke."

Bai Wei said to Wei Ke with a light laugh.

"It's dawn."

Wei Ke's eyes closed little by little.

Before he was swallowed by darkness, he saw the small Music Box in front of him, its silver spring slowly turning.

Then, he lost consciousness.

When Wei Ke opened his eyes, the dawn sunlight was already shining on his face.

Daylight broke.

Wei Ke felt his mind was blank and had no idea what was happening.

Then, he heard the sound of a clockwork being wound up.

Then the melody with its mechanical sound slowly came in.

Wei Ke turned his head and saw Bai Wei sitting leisurely on the cart, playing with the small Music Box, just like before.

...previously?

Wei Ke's head started to ache.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked.

"What else could have happened?" Bai Wei said with a smile, "You collapsed from exhaustion halfway through pulling the cart."

"... Did you collapse from exhaustion?"

"Yes."

"Then why does my head hurt so much?"

"Because he landed headfirst," Bai Wei said casually, "He immediately passed out."

"...Huh?" Wei Ke frowned deeply. "Is that so?"

Bai Wei countered, "Otherwise what?"

"No, no!" Wei Ke tried to recall, shouting as he did so, "I encountered those things!"

Yes, Wei Ke vaguely recalled some fragments.

After nightfall, Bai Wei suddenly disappeared.

He was then targeted by countless phantoms, and then...

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, Wei Ke the hand he had been covering his head, and stared blankly at it.

In his hazy memory, he was killed by those phantoms.

But now, he is perfectly fine, except for a slight headache, he has no injuries at all.

What exactly happened?

"You mean those things?" Bai Wei said casually. "It seems you weren't completely unconscious at the time; you did see some of them."

Wei Ke looked up at Bai Wei: "What do you mean?"

"Just stand up and look around, and you'll see."

Wei Ke didn't know what Bai Wei meant, but he still stood up and looked around.

Then her eyes widened.

Because around them were layers upon layers of human-shaped ashes, as if they had been burned through.

"This is..."

As Hunter who grew up in this land, how could Wei Ke not know what these things were?

These are the remains of those phantoms after they were "killed".

There are so many...

Wei Ke immediately looked at Bai Wei, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Were all of these things disposed of by him?

Bai Wei didn't explain, but simply smiled and waved his hand, instantly creating a gust of wind that scattered all the piled-up ashes, causing them to disappear into the air.

This move also shocked Wei Ke, who couldn't help but ask, "How did you do that?"

What do you mean?

"... How exactly did you deal with those things?" Wei Ke chose the more important question. "In most cases, they are impossible to kill; Hunter can only repel them. As far as I know, the only ones who truly possess the means to kill them are..."

"Wildfire Cultist?"

Wei Ke nodded.

"Hehe," Bai Wei said with a smile, "We Rhine and Wildfire have been fighting for so many years, it's normal for us to know some of their techniques, right?"

Even Wei Ke found this explanation somewhat far-fetched, but it wasn't entirely untenable.

Wei Ke hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can you teach me?"

"Well... no way." Bai Wei shook his head, then gave Wei Ke a meaningful look. "But I don't think you need it either."

Wei Ke didn't quite understand what Bai Wei meant, and just assumed that it was a reason Bai Wei made up to reject him.

But what he didn't notice was that when Bai Wei used magic to blow away the ashes on the ground, similar dust from under his fingernails was also blown up by the wind and disappeared into the air.

"Tell me about those things," Bai Wei said with a smile, "Those illusory figures lingering in the night."

Wei Ke looked at Bai Wei with some suspicion. "Didn't you already know how to kill them? Why are you asking me?"

"It's just to see if the intelligence we have matches."

"...Alright." Wei Ke was persuaded by Bai Wei once again, so he nodded and said, "We'll call those phantoms 'Corpse Ghoul'."

"Because it looks like both a corpse and a ghost?"

"Yes," Wei Ke said. "They are monsters that only appear at night and disappear during the day. When they reappear, they will attack any living thing they 'see' indiscriminately. They are not strong in combat, but... their bodies seem to not exist. Humans cannot attack them, but they can still harm humans. That's why we call them Corpse Ghoul."

"Hmm, is there anything else?"

Wei Ke shook his head. "No more."

Bai Wei clicked his tongue softly. "He calls himself a Hunter, but he doesn't know as much as I, an outsider."

"...I'm not a formal Hunter yet," Wei Ke said in a low voice. "The real Old Hunter once told me that Hunter in the Shinra era could hunt Corpse Ghoul, but after the passing of the Senro God, most Hunter have lost this ability. Unless they go to the Sacrificial Ground, they have a chance to obtain such an ability, but it's only a chance. Even that Old Hunter didn't get it."

"I see." Bai Wei nodded. "So you brought your puppy to the Sacrificial Ground because you wanted to gain that kind of power?"

"A De is a wolf." Wei Ke insisted on proving A De's point once again. "I do want that power, or rather, no Hunter would not want that power. In this land, that power means far too much."

"Indeed," Bai Wei agreed. "If you can only be chased by Corpse Ghoul in the dark, what kind of Hunter are you?"

Wei Ke pursed his lips, a fleeting sadness flashing in his eyes.

But this did not escape Bai Wei's eyes and ears.

Yes, he's probably regretting it. If he had known that pursuing this power would mean losing that little dog, he would never have embarked on this path.

Since that's the case...

Bai Wei wound up the clockwork again, and the Music Box in his hand started playing a melodious tune once more, interrupting Wei Ke's thoughts.

"Cheer up," Bai Wei said with a smile, pointing to the Music Box in his hand. "Your mission isn't finished yet, little Hunter."

Wei Ke then came to his senses.

He looked at the Music Box in Bai Wei's hand, and the image of the little girl's plea came back to him.

"Of course, I will definitely complete it."

"Remember what you said."

Bai Wei stretched and stood up.

"Well then, we should continue on our journey."

So the cart started up again, wobbling and swaying.

Half a day after they left, Lauren arrived at the location with several Pursuer.

"The smell is stronger now." Lauren stopped and felt the lingering scent in the air. "It really is that guy. They stayed here last night."

One of the Pursuer found it hard to believe. "Did they really just take the main road?"

When the Pursuer received news that it might be Wei Ke in the Yade Town, they were still not quite convinced that it could be Wei Ke.

After all, Wei Ke has always been very cautious, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to catch up after chasing him for so long.

But why did they suddenly change their style and leave so casually?

And... who was that guy who suddenly appeared next to Wei Ke?

They're called Father of the Rhine, but when have Father of the Rhine ever dared to walk so openly on their Wildfire territory?

They still had someone pull the cart and swaggered away.

The Pursuer were truly feeling that things had gone against the natural order.

Lauren didn't care. Judging from the scent, Wei Ke hadn't gone far, and they should be able to catch up soon.

Only...

Lauren smelled something else in the air.

He carefully sensed it, and then his pupils narrowed slightly.

"Corpse Ghoul, there's the smell of Corpse Ghoul ashes here."

The two Pursuer were stunned for a moment.

"Corpse Ghoul? Did he kill Corpse Ghoul here?"

"Impossible, right? He hasn't awakened yet."

"But if it wasn't him, who else could kill the Corpse Ghoul? That Father from the Rhine?"

"This..."

The Pursuer was about to speak when Lauren interrupted him.

"It is indeed him." Lauren slowly straightened up, her expression finally becoming somewhat serious. "He has indeed touched the realm of awakening... We need to speed things up."

The Pursuer asked, puzzled, "But isn't that exactly what we want him to awaken?"

"Too fast."

Lauren said softly.

"If we don't see it with our own eyes, how can we know what exactly is waking up?"