Chapter 31

And there was Niu Dacheng, too.

"Ah, Uncle Niu." Lin Hanxuan greeted him awkwardly. Residents of Dead City could not enter or leave after the city gates closed, and now he had been caught red-handed breaking the rules. He hoped Uncle Niu would not tattle to his grandfather.

"Lin Hanxuan, don't go running around next time. If something happened to you, how would I explain it to your grandfather?" Niu Dacheng said with a beaming smile.

That was close. Judging from Lin Hanxuan's expression, he seemed not to know that he had also had a part in attacking Peiganbo, the richest man in Dead City thought.

"Sorry, something came up suddenly and delayed my return." Lin Hanxuan wanted to muddle through like this too.

With the old man and the boy each harboring their own strange thoughts, Lin Hanxuan and Hal returned home. The two spoke briefly, then each went to sleep.

After waiting two days, Fields still had not returned. Lin Hanxuan and Hal had to report back to the academy today.

"No choice, Hal. Let's go first." Lin Hanxuan made the decision. Hal had learned Wind Walk at Saguli Academy, and with his naturally long endurance and fast running speed, he was fine, but Lin Hanxuan could only rely on the magic attached to his black cloth shoes. For Axon Town, over a hundred li away, Lin Hanxuan estimated he would have to run for around half a day. If they kept waiting and his grandfather still did not come back today, they would be late returning to the academy.

"Okay." Hal jumped down from the tree very neatly. He had originally been curled up asleep on the trunk.

"Lin Hanxuan, is Lin Hanxuan home?" A newly arrived wolfkin outside the door raised his voice and shouted. The original Dead City guard unit had suffered casualties almost to the last man, so the beastman supreme commander had specially selected a new batch of soldiers and assigned them to the Dead City guard unit. The new guard unit was made up entirely of outstanding warriors chosen from the best, and their combat power was much higher than before.

"I am. May I ask what this is about?" Lin Hanxuan opened the outer door and saw the werewolf.

"You're Lin Hanxuan?" The werewolf's suspicious gaze swept Lin Hanxuan up and down. He had thought Lin Hanxuan was an important figure, but from the look of him, he seemed far too young.

"That's right, my name is Lin Hanxuan." Lin Hanxuan repeated it once.

"You're a student of Saguli Magic Academy, right?" The werewolf did not quite believe it, so he asked one more question.

"Mm. May I ask what this is actually about?" Lin Hanxuan was growing a little impatient.

"Stinky Mouth, what are you dawdling for? Is Lin Hanxuan not home?" the guard companion who had come with the werewolf called from a distance. The sun today was beating down until people felt groggy; his companion only wanted to hurry back and report that the task was done.

"This is a message sent by someone from the Yi Family. Hurry up and take a look." The werewolf called Stinky Mouth took out a wooden message slip sealed by a specific magical frequency and handed it to Lin Hanxuan.

The werewolf turned and left with his companion, grumbling as he walked, "What's up with the squad leader, making us come deliver a letter in this blazing heat? Couldn't we deliver it later?"

Lin Hanxuan ignored the werewolf's complaints and had Hal open the wooden message slip according to the method taught at the academy. A dignified voice rang out: "Yi Lin Hanxuan, I am Yi Tianxing. By His Majesty's decree, you are ordered to arrive before moonrise at the temporary encampment thirty li east of Dead City and report to Elder Yi Yun. There must be no mistake."

"Boss, what's going on?" Hal cried out in dissatisfaction after hearing Yi Tianxing's order. Why did Boss, who was still a student, have to report to some encampment? It made him seem like a soldier.

"...No choice. Since it's the clan chief's order, I'll go take a look." Lin Hanxuan spread both hands and said helplessly.

Thunder Eagle Dahei carried Fields and the fox girl Shafu on his back, flying toward Dead City as swift as the wind and lightning. Shafu's family did not appreciate Fields's kindness. No matter how Fields tried to persuade them, they refused to leave the Fox Territory where they had lived for several generations. On top of that, foxfolk were already highly wary of humans. Seeing that the academy holiday was about to end, Fields had no choice but to give up and hurry back from the Fox Territory to Dead City.

After returning to Dead City, Fields discovered that Lin Hanxuan had left a letter on the table. The letter said that he had been sent by the Yi Family to the temporary encampment outside Dead City, and that Hal had gone with him. He asked Grandpa to send Shafu straight back to school and not go looking for them separately.

Fields set the letter down heavily and said angrily, "What a fine Yi Family. If they can't deal with me, they want to deal with Lin Hanxuan instead. Bah."

Before Shafu had figured out why Fields had suddenly gotten so angry, Fields grabbed her and pulled her onto Dahei's back again. By her ear, she heard Fields's reminder: "Shafu, sit tight. Grandpa is going to find Lin Hanxuan, then send you back to school."

"Grandpa Fields, what's going on?" After spending two days together, Shafu had become familiar with Fields and followed Lin Hanxuan in calling Fields Grandpa.

"It's nothing. Someone wants to pick a fight with me. Don't ask too much." Fields took out a silver whistle and blew it. Dahei immediately flapped his wings and rose into the air, flying travel-worn toward the temporary encampment.

Dahei suddenly landed in the military encampment, and the Yi Family defenders instantly fell into chaos.

"What are you panicking for? You don't even recognize the empire's Thunder Eagle? Everyone return to your posts and continue the work in your hands," Elder Yi Yun roared.

The temporary camp covered roughly five square li, and the garrison soldiers were busy putting up tents. There were many people, both soldiers from Axon Town's garrison and scions of the Yi Family, and Fields could not find Lin Hanxuan for the moment.

Elder Yi Yun looked at Fields coldly without saying a word.

Fields patted Dahei and said, "Dahei, go find Lin Hanxuan."

"Your Excellency, City Lord," Yi Yun said. "By imperial military law, those who trespass into a military encampment are to be executed. Did you not know?"

"Oh?" Fields raised an eyebrow and said,