Lovers Finally Reunited

"The Golden Bell can't hold much longer." Tang Yuan looked at the increasingly dim barrier.

"Let's charge out and fight them!" Jiang Ruoyun flung the wooden stick in her hand, striking a wild wolf not far away and knocking it back several yards. She then grasped a long whip, ready to fight at any moment.

If the wolves had not been controlled, what had just happened would clearly have stirred their instinctive fear or rage. Yet these wolves showed no reaction at all, as though the one sent flying had not been their companion. They still bared their fangs and gathered closer.

"Protect your heart meridians." Tang Yuan gestured, then let out a resounding eagle cry. The roar spread in all directions and, astonishingly, halted the wolves' advance.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan exchanged a glance. Clearly, both had understood the unusual method used to control the wolves.

"Keep roaring... I'll draw the wolves away."

As Lu Feng spoke, he took out the Netherworld Bow and nocked a light arrow.

As Tang Yuan's eagle cry rang out, Lu Feng tossed an old robe into the distance. In midair, he drew his bow and loosed the arrow, shooting the old robe straight ahead.

Just as the eagle cry ceased and the wolves recovered, the old robe seemed to "flee" like a human silhouette. Some of the wolves mistook it for a real person and gave chase.

"Cover your ears and focus your minds," Lu Feng warned.

With that, he drew and nocked another arrow. This arrow was somewhat special—it was one of the Sound Arrows specially commissioned by him, and now was precisely the best time for it to show its worth.

The seven or eight wolves chasing the old robe realized they had been fooled and immediately charged back in fury. But what greeted them was an arrow streaking at extreme speed, accompanied by a sharp, ear-piercing shriek.

Even though they had been prepared, Tang Yuan and the other two were left with ringing ears by the sudden screech. As for the wolves facing it head-on, there was no need to mention them.

Tang Yuan's eagle cry had merely stopped the wolf pack in its tracks, but Lu Feng's Sound Arrow was far more terrifying. The few wolves directly hit by it were shaken limp by the piercing sound and collapsed to the ground. The wolves behind them staggered about, their fighting strength gone. The nearer wolves had their ears deafened and could not hear for the time being, while even the farther ones were greatly affected.

Sound Arrows were not especially useful and were generally used to send warnings or relay messages. But improved Sound Arrows possessed terrifying destructive power. Their piercing soundwaves might not kill an enemy, but they could deafen both ears and leave one briefly dazed. In that instant of distraction, an archer could fire a fatal second arrow.

"Impressive," Jiang Ruoyun praised. Once the first gap had been torn open in the encircling wolf pack, their defeat was declared.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan worked in concert and swiftly cleared out most of the wolves. The remaining few perhaps temporarily lost the control of the person behind the scenes and fled on instinct.

Once calm had returned, Jiang Ruoyun looked at the wolves covering the ground, some dead and some unconscious. Still shaken, she asked, "How did you discover that the wolves were being controlled?"

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan smiled at each other, each feeling a kindred appreciation for the other. In the end, Tang Yuan explained, "At first, we suspected that the person behind the scenes was using sound to control the wolf pack, but since we hadn't heard anything unusual, we dismissed the suspicion..."

Jiang Ruoyun nodded and continued listening.

Lu Feng took over. "But Brother Tang's eagle cry made the wolves stop, inadvertently cutting off their connection with the person behind the scenes. We then guessed that sound could interfere with that person's control, which led to what happened next."

Tang Yuan laughed heartily. "That's right. Though we don't know what method that person used to control the wolf pack, it definitely has something to do with sound. Perhaps it was a sound we couldn't hear."

There was admiration in Jiang Ruoyun's eyes. Both Tang Yuan and Lu Feng had performed brilliantly, and a thought arose in her mind.

Neither of them belonged in this remote Azure Dragon Town. Their futures would surely hold far broader horizons.

Yan Mingchi stood silently to one side, seemingly lost in thought. Yet he wore an expression similar to Jiang Ruoyun's, clearly won over by Lu Feng and Tang Yuan as well.

"Why did these wild wolves become like this?" Lu Feng asked. They were not mutated wolves, yet they possessed strength close to that of spirit beasts, and there were so many of them. This was anything but ordinary.

After examining the unusual features of the wolves, Tang Yuan said, "It seems these wolves were force-fed some kind of special medicine. It stirred up their beastly nature, making them violent and bloodthirsty."

"What sort of person could be so vicious?" Jiang Ruoyun said angrily.

"We'll know if we go take a look." Lu Feng pointed in the direction the wolves had fled. Nine times out of ten, their den lay over there.

"I'm afraid something big is about to happen in Azure Dragon Town," Yan Mingchi said with a sigh.

The group traveled forward for some distance when a strangely shaped cave suddenly appeared before them.

The cave was dark white, like human bones. Its shape resembled a wolf's head with its bloody maw wide open, and the entrance lay inside the mouth of that enormous wolf head.

The moment they stepped into the cave, they saw wolf bones scattered all over the ground. Some had already withered and decayed, while others still bore traces of flesh and blood.

"Why are there so many wolf bones here?" Jiang Ruoyun asked in surprise.

"Could this be a wolf graveyard?" Yan Mingchi said.

Wolves were naturally highly spiritual beasts. When they reached old age or were about to die from illness, they would silently leave the pack and seek out a place to await death alone.

But this was absolutely no graveyard of death.

"Though these wolf bones are scattered everywhere, they don't obstruct our path," Lu Feng said, gesturing at the bones before him. Amid the piles of bones, a passage could faintly be seen.

Not only did the wolf bones conceal the passage, making people think this was the entirety of the cave, they also served as markers. If an outsider entered and disturbed the bones, the owner of the cave would surely notice.

From these inconspicuous piles of wolf bones, Lu Feng inferred several things. Someone must live in this cave, and most likely alone. Otherwise, they would not have used wolf bones as a marker.

The group walked through the gaps in the bone piles. Sure enough, at the end of the bones was a narrow passage. Looking only from the cave entrance, one would never have seen this separate world beyond.

They exchanged glances, all somewhat astonished, and entered. Yet the hidden cave was empty, without anything unusual inside.

Lu Feng looked around and saw some scattered herbs laid on the ground, while a great deal of herbal residue was piled in a corner.

"This little pellet..." Jiang Ruoyun picked up a tiny mud-colored pill from the ground and said doubtfully, "This seems to be a medicinal pill."

"A medicinal pill?" Everyone was startled. Only medicine masters knew how to refine medicinal pills, and in all of Azure Dragon Town, only the current head of Shi Manor could refine a few basic spirit pills.

It could be said that medicine masters were as rare as array masters.

"The medicinal nature of this pill seems unusually violent." Lu Feng glanced at the pill in Jiang Ruoyun's hand. Normally, one could not sense the medicinal effects of such a low-grade pill without swallowing it, yet this pill was clearly crudely made and still gave off an intense medicinal aura.

Tang Yuan took it and examined it, then nodded in agreement. "Indeed. This pill is too sinister. If someone consumed such violently potent medicine, they would likely go mad and die."

"Do you think those wild wolves accidentally swallowed these pills and became like that?" Jiang Ruoyun asked.

"That's very possible. If a beast swallowed this pill, it would go mad in a short time and its strength would surge. No wonder those wolves possessed power comparable to spirit beasts." Lu Feng paused, then added, "But they probably did not swallow them by accident. Perhaps someone is using the wolves to refine vicious pills."

"Let's look around elsewhere more carefully," Tang Yuan said, agreeing with Lu Feng's deduction.

They searched the surroundings, but unfortunately found no further clues.

As they were leaving, Lu Feng caught sight of four indentations in the ground, as though some heavy object like a Medicine Cauldron had once been placed there.

"Another fruitless trip. What should we do next?" Tang Yuan asked after they left the cave.

"It can't be called completely fruitless. At least we now know that the strange changes in Sky Wolf Mausoleum are being manipulated by someone behind the scenes, and that person possesses a certain degree of skill in medicine refining," Lu Feng said reassuringly.

Yan Mingchi sighed. "Tomorrow is the day Xiao He will be buried. It's a pity the true culprit is still out there, free and easy."

Jiang Ruoyun moved closer to Lu Feng and reminded him, "Shouldn't you go take a look at Worryfree Village?"

Lu Feng gave a bitter smile. With so many matters at hand, how could he spare the attention to go to Worryfree Village?

"It's getting late. I'll go another day," Lu Feng replied.

"Wasn't Worryfree Village abandoned a hundred years ago?" Yan Mingchi interjected curiously.

Lu Feng nodded but did not say much more.

Seeing this, Yan Mingchi did not press further and instead said to everyone, "Come see Xiao He off tomorrow. After all, you knew each other once."

Shi Manor and Yan Manor had always been on good terms, so they would likely attend tomorrow. Lu Feng made his calculations, thinking this would be a good opportunity to ask Old Man Shi about some of the doubts in his heart.

As they parted, Tang Yuan once more took out the black robe and draped it over himself. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "After we return, I'll have to trouble Brother Lu again."

Lu Feng smiled calmly. Fortunately, once the Spirit Suppression Array was set up, it could be used multiple times.

The group followed the mountain path back the way they had come. When they reached the town gate, a figure appeared in the distance.

She was an exceptionally elegant and delicate woman, standing in the breeze with her head raised in anticipation. Her plain-colored dress was untouched by the slightest speck of dust.

Jiang Ruoyun was briefly startled, then cried out joyfully, "Sister Qiao..."

Lu Feng and Yan Mingchi both looked somewhat surprised. By all rights, Qiao Xue'er should have been in a Prison Manor cell at this moment.

Tang Yuan had initially been overwhelmed with excitement as well, but reason made him calm down. He avoided her gaze and even seemed to shrink back.

Lu Feng understood Tang Yuan's behavior in an instant and said softly, "Blindly running away is not the best way to solve anything. If you truly want to be with Qiao Xue'er, don't hide it from her."

Seeing Tang Yuan visibly moved, Lu Feng continued, "What a person is like at this moment is not important. What matters is what kind of change they are undergoing. If your change is to flee rather than overcome, then you will only drift farther and farther away from her."