Wolf Travels a Thousand Miles

Wolf Travels a Thousand Miles, Liangzhou Prefecture.

The wind and sand were always fierce.

The flags atop the city walls had curled at the edges, drooping lazily.

This place was not the administrative seat of Longyou Circuit, yet it was even more important than the seat itself.

All because of that government office standing north of the city, which never saw daylight year-round, with evil-warding wind chimes hanging from its eaves.

Commandery Government Office, rear hall.

The hall was quiet.

A middle-aged man in a dark robe sat behind a broad desk, holding a scroll and reading it with rapt attention.

Steady footsteps sounded outside the door.

A young man wearing a fitted black uniform embroidered with crimson patterns entered. His back was as straight as a spear, and the hilt of the Horizontal Blade at his waist was wrapped in tightly wound leather cord.

The young man stopped three paces before the desk and cupped his fists in a bow.

"General."

Wei He did not look away from the scroll. He merely gave a faint grunt.

"What is it?"

"Urgent report from Lanzhou."

The young man said in a low voice, "Half a month ago, six villages under Jincheng County in Lanzhou were slaughtered in a single night. Not one survivor remained."

"What did the demonic aura examination reveal?"

"The demonic aura soared into the heavens and did not disperse for three days. According to the local soldiers who survived, when that creature struck, Sword Qi crisscrossed the air. Its methods did not resemble those of ordinary demons. And it called itself..."

Wei He finally put down the scroll in his hand, lifted his head, and glanced at Liu Chen.

"Called itself what?"

The young man's expression turned somewhat strange. "It called itself... the Black-Clad Sword Immortal."

"..."

Wei He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"A Sword Immortal?"

"These days, the demons talk bigger than the last."

He extended two fingers and lightly tapped the desk.

"But... for the demonic aura to remain for three days... this demon has entered Bone Resonance."

The young man's heart tightened.

The Bone Resonance Realm!

A Great Demon of that caliber had its sinews and bones ringing in unison, with divine abilities born of itself. It was no longer something ordinary Imperial Guards could handle.

"General, you mean..."

"Gather a squad. You and Xu Nian will lead it personally and make a trip to Lanzhou."

"Yes, sir!"

Wei He looked out the window, as though something had come to mind, and casually asked, "By the way, has that prisoner sent from the Capital City some time ago left the pass yet?"

The young man was stunned for a moment before realizing whom he meant.

"You mean... the one Pei Changqing was escorting?"

"Mm."

The young man thought for a moment. "Judging by their pace, they should have reached Guangwu County yesterday."

"Guangwu... it is not far from Jincheng County."

He paused.

"Let us hope that kid Pei Changqing is lucky enough not to run headfirst into it."

The young man frowned.

Pei Changqing was a Team Leader, and his skills were considered fairly good even within the Regional Command.

But if he encountered a Great Demon in the Bone Resonance Realm...

It would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

He hesitated for a while but ultimately could not hold himself back.

"General, there is something I do not understand."

"Speak."

"The Jiang Family case was settled long ago. Why deploy people from our Demon Suppression Bureau to escort her personally?"

The rear hall fell into dead silence once more.

A long time passed.

Only then did Wei He turn around, his face expressionless.

"Why do you think?"

"...This subordinate does not know."

"Then do not ask."

"..."

The night deepened.

The wind outside the window never seemed to stop.

Jiang Yuechu lay in bed with her eyes open, staring at the beams overhead.

The Horizontal Blade lay beside her. Though it occasionally pressed against her through the scabbard and made her uncomfortable,

compared to her own safety, that little discomfort was nothing.

Her mind was a complete mess, and she simply could not fall asleep.

After a long while.

She suddenly sat upright.

With a crisp smack.

She slapped herself.

Jiang Yuechu, Jiang Yuechu, since when had you become so indecisive?

Could thinking about this and that make flowers bloom?

At the turn of a thought, the Ancient Scroll opened in her mind.

[Dao Cultivation: 200 years]

Her gaze fell upon the two Demon Creature Scrolls that had already been recorded.

Now that she held so much Dao Cultivation in her hands, she unexpectedly could not decide how to use it.

Should she continue pouring it into Tiger Mountain God, or try Green-Faced Gentleman instead?

Tiger Mountain God had already reached the Vermilion-Dyeing Realm. Who knew what sight lay beyond that, or how much Dao Cultivation it would require.

If she threw these two hundred years of Dao Cultivation into it and it turned out not to be enough, leaving it stuck halfway, would that not be maddening?

As for that Green-Faced Wolf Demon...

Jiang Yuechu's mind settled upon the Shadow Copy with its green face and fangs.

They had both been recorded, yet the Tiger Demon had consumed seventy-five years, while the Wolf Demon had only used fifty.

Clearly, this Wolf Demon's foundation was far weaker than that Tiger Demon's.

But being weaker had its advantages.

It meant the Dao Cultivation needed to improve it would be less as well.

Then, she could gain another innate divine ability.

Should she seek refinement, or breadth?

Forget it.

Better to play it safe.

Jiang Yuechu made up her mind.

Her Dao Cultivation surged forth like a river bursting through a breached dam, pouring in its entirety into the Shadow Copy with its green face and fangs.

Boom—

Everything around her faded away.

[Year One: You were born on Black Wind Mountain, birthed by a Wolf Demon. On the day you opened your eyes, your mother was eaten by another demon.]

[Year Five: You cultivated more slowly than any of your brothers. They mocked and bullied you. Even your father, the Demon King, despised you deeply. In your heart, you secretly swore...]

[Year Ten: You accidentally learned that your brothers cultivated so quickly because they ate humans. Eating humans could accelerate cultivation. You tried it, and it truly worked.]

[Year Fifteen: You killed more and more humans. You began to feel that demons were born to kill humans. Humans were the spirits of all creation, beloved by Heaven and Earth. Killing them meant seizing the fortune of Heaven and Earth.]

[Year Twenty: You killed your father and became the leader of the Wolf Demons of Black Wind Mountain. You gave yourself a name: Green-Faced Gentleman.]

[Year Thirty-Five: You felt that you had reached a bottleneck and began searching for a way to break through.]

Her consciousness tore free from boundless blood-red darkness.

Jiang Yuechu abruptly opened her eyes.

Outside the window, the same waning moon hung in the sky. The room was so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat.

[80 years of Dao Cultivation consumed. Green-Faced Gentleman has reached the Vermilion-Dyeing Realm.]

Upon the scroll, a flicker of vermilion ignited in the pupils of that green-faced, fanged Wolf Demon.

[Green-Faced Gentleman successfully Vermilion-Dyed. Demon Creature gift acquired.]

[Green Cliff Echoing Shadow (Supreme)]

[Innate Talent: Wolf Travels a Thousand Miles (Green-Faced Gentleman was sly by nature. His movement technique was like a ghost's, increasing speed.)]

Jiang Yuechu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

She raised her hand, spread her five fingers in the darkness, then abruptly clenched them.

At her fingertips, the faint phantom of sharp claws flashed and vanished.

Her fist techniques became even more natural and effortless.

The new innate talent also made her feel much lighter on her feet.

Unfortunately, she had not gained a divine ability.

Jiang Yuechu's brows knit faintly, then relaxed.

So be it.

There was no need to dwell on it here.

Any improvement was a good thing.

With another thought, only one hundred and twenty years of Dao Cultivation remained on the scroll.

It certainly would not be enough for what came next.

Wait.

Jiang Yuechu frowned again.

[Realm: Late String-Hearing Realm]

"What is going on? Could my guess have been wrong?"

She had previously believed that recording Demon Creatures, or improving the Demon Creature Scrolls, could also advance her own realm.

Yet now, there had not been the slightest change.

She irritably rubbed her head.

"What a pain... There is not a single useful memory about martial arts in this girl's head. It is full of nothing but nonsense..."

Forget it, forget it.

Tomorrow, she would ask Chen Qingyuan.

Flying Eagle Sect was a martial artists' sect, after all. They should know some of the ropes when it came to cultivation.

Having decided, she lay down again and placed the Horizontal Blade beside her pillow.

Since things had come to this, she might as well sleep first.

The night breeze drifted through the window, occasionally lifting the girl's hair and brushing it across her lips.

Whenever that happened, she would shift into a more comfortable position and continue sleeping.