"Netherworld Wolves."
Yu Xiaogang pulled Tang San behind him, his other hand already pressed against Luo Sanpao's back. "Don't move. They're testing us."
Tang San stared at the green eyes. "There are a lot of them."
"Which is why you can't charge in."
Sweat beaded on Yu Xiaogang's forehead, but he forced himself to hold his ground. "Until the alpha shows itself, stay inside the snake-repellent powder circle."
Tang San asked quietly, "Does snake-repellent powder work on wolves too?"
"No."
Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth. "But there are plenty of venomous insects outside the circle. If you step out carelessly, you'll be the first one in trouble."
Ji Yuan heard everything clearly from the sole of Tang San's shoe. The Spores he had released had already relayed the wolves' positions.
More than twenty ordinary Netherworld Wolves were spread across three sides. The real problem was the alpha behind the bushes.
It made no rush to pounce.
It was waiting for Yu Xiaogang to expose an opening.
Yu Xiaogang knew that too, and his expression grew uglier by the moment.
A Sleeve Arrow slid from Tang San's cuff. "Teacher, I can shoot the closest one first."
"Wait."
Yu Xiaogang watched the Netherworld Wolves at the front. "They haven't attacked yet. If you make the first move, the whole pack will pounce."
Tang San kept his finger on the trigger. "We can't wait forever, either."
"Listen to me."
Yu Xiaogang had barely finished speaking when a Netherworld Wolf burst out on the left. A gray shadow skimmed the grass as it lunged for Tang San's calf.
Tang San raised his hand to fire.
Yu Xiaogang shouted first, "Sanpao!"
Luo Sanpao's belly swelled, and his round body thrust forward.
"Thunderous fart, Heaven-Shattering Earth-Rending Luo Sanpao!"
A muffled boom burst from behind Luo Sanpao. A yellow wave rolled left, sending the lunging Netherworld Wolf tumbling into a bush. It snapped a branch and lay still.
Tang San never fired the Sleeve Arrow in his hand.
He looked at Luo Sanpao, his expression complicated.
Yu Xiaogang's face grew hot, but he said stubbornly, "Never mind how ridiculous the move sounds. It works."
Tang San nodded. "Teacher, I wasn't laughing."
Ji Yuan watched coldly from the sole of the shoe.
Crude as the method was, it could buy them some time.
The poisonous gas scattered the wolves in front, but the pack did not retreat.
Several Netherworld Wolves circled behind them, their paws making little sound on the dead leaves.
Tang San's ears twitched. He fired a Sleeve Arrow over his shoulder.
A soft thud came from the bushes behind them, followed by a pained yelp.
"Good," Yu Xiaogang said at once. "Don't chase it!"
Tang San lowered his hand. "They're trying to surround us."
"That's what wolves do."
Yu Xiaogang took out another bottle and scattered powder in front of himself and Tang San. "Sanpao can do that once more, but he'll be weak afterward. We have to hold out until they lose their nerve."
Ji Yuan shifted his senses toward the alpha.
It had not moved. A low growl rumbled in its throat as it watched Tang San.
It smelled fresh blood on Tang San, and it sensed how weak the young Soul Master was.
The beast had picked the choicest meat.
Irritation rose in Ji Yuan.
Tang San could be hurt. He could be pushed to his limit. But he could not be torn apart by a pack of wolves.
Tang San was Ji Yuan's blood supply. Beasts had no right to sink their teeth into him.
The wolves moved again.
This time they lunged from both front and rear. Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to make Luo Sanpao release another cloud of poisonous gas. The yellow wave surged forward, leaving their rear exposed.
Tang San turned and launched into the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, dodging a Netherworld Wolf's claws. His short blade slashed across its belly.
The smell of blood spread, and the surrounding wolves' eyes grew fiercer.
"Back inside the circle!" Yu Xiaogang shouted.
Tang San had just turned when the bushes to his side burst apart.
The alpha finally struck.
It was a size larger than the other Netherworld Wolves, with black-tinged fur along its back. It sprang straight for Tang San's neck.
Tang San's Sleeve Arrow was empty, and his short blade was in his right hand. He did not dare bring out the Clear Sky Hammer with his left, so he twisted and sent his Blue Silver Grass winding toward it.
The Blue Silver Grass caught the alpha's foreleg, but it snapped with a single yank.
Tang San's eyes darkened. Another Hidden Weapon slid into his palm.
Yu Xiaogang's face changed. "Tang San, duck!"
Tang San did not duck.
The alpha was too fast. Ducking would not save him.
Ji Yuan waited until the alpha was above Tang San's head before releasing a trace of the high-level aura he had hidden at the edge of the Clear Sky Hammer's essence.
It was a Simulation of the aura he had retained after enduring his time near Tang Hao.
Heavy. Savage. Laden with the promise of slaughter.
The alpha faltered in midair. Its forelegs drew in and its head jerked aside. Its jaws, which should have closed around Tang San's throat, passed beside his shoulder instead.
Tang San seized the opening and fired a Sleeve Arrow from his other cuff.
A silver streak sank into the alpha's throat.
The alpha crashed to the ground. Its claws kept gouging the dirt as bloody foam welled from its throat.
The other Netherworld Wolves gathered around their fallen alpha, growling low. Then one turned and fled into the forest.
The pack scattered.
Yu Xiaogang leaned against a tree, panting. Luo Sanpao lay on the ground with his tongue hanging out.
Tang San stood where he was. Wolf teeth had torn the clothing at his shoulder, and blood seeped from his skin.
He looked down at his Sleeve Arrow. "It veered away just now."
Yu Xiaogang pushed himself off the tree and walked over. "You reacted quickly. The Blue Silver Grass threw off its judgment."
Tang San frowned. "The Blue Silver Grass had already snapped."
Yu Xiaogang glanced at the broken grass on the ground. After a moment's silence, he changed his explanation. "Even Soul Beasts make mistakes when their lives are on the line. Don't make the outcome into something more mysterious than it was."
Tang San nodded, but his doubts remained.
Ji Yuan sneered from the sole of the shoe.
Think all you like.
You could rack your brains and still never find me.
Yu Xiaogang crouched to examine the alpha's corpse. "It's under a hundred years old, so its Soul Ring is worthless, but its materials could fetch some money. Unfortunately, we can't spend long processing it now. The smell of blood will attract other Soul Beasts."
Tang San asked, "Teacher, should we leave?"
"Clean up our tracks first."
Yu Xiaogang took some medicinal powder from his belt. "Cover the blood. We'll find somewhere else to rest."
Ji Yuan had no intention of letting the alpha's corpse go to waste.
As Tang San came over to help drag it, a small gap opened in the lining of his shoe's sole. Dark red roots slipped through the mud and pierced the wound in the alpha's chest.
They drew out the still-warm blood from its heart.
The fur over the alpha's body sagged, and the flesh around its heart shriveled rapidly.
Tang San was pulling hard when the corpse suddenly felt much lighter.
He looked down. "Teacher, why has this wolf dried out so quickly?"
Yu Xiaogang saw it too, and his brow furrowed deeper. "That's not right. A Soul Beast that just died shouldn't look like this."
Tang San remembered the Solitary Bamboo Rats they had seen earlier that day, then looked toward the withered Man-eating Flower. "Teacher, every corpse we've seen today has dried out quickly."
"There may be a bloodsucking Soul Beast active in the Soul Hunting Forest," Yu Xiaogang said grimly.
Tang San immediately grew alert. "Could it be nearby?"
Ji Yuan withdrew his roots and sent the alpha's heartblood into his main body.
The wooden thorn in the sole grew harder. Fine barbs sprouted along its edges, but they remained buried in the old cloth, hidden from sight.
Yu Xiaogang pulled Tang San up. "Don't linger. Grab our things and go."
Tang San glanced at the alpha's corpse, which no longer had much value, and did not argue.
They packed up camp, avoided the original clearing, and moved toward another gap among the trees.
Luo Sanpao walked ahead of them, listless, his cries much quieter than before.
Tang San asked softly, "Teacher, what kinds of Soul Beasts suck blood?"
"Bats, venomous insects, and a few plant-type Soul Beasts."
Yu Xiaogang scanned their surroundings as he walked. "The most troublesome are parasites. They don't necessarily attack head-on. They hide where you can't see them and drink your blood."
Tang San stopped and touched his chest. "Parasites?"
Ji Yuan immediately drew his roots in as tightly as he could.
Yu Xiaogang looked back. "What is it?"
Tang San hesitated. "Nothing. It just sounds hard to guard against that kind of Soul Beast."
"That's why you can't ignore anything unusual once you enter the forest," Yu Xiaogang said. "When we return, I'll examine you, especially your skin and meridians."
Killing intent rose in Ji Yuan, then he swiftly suppressed it.
An examination?
Go ahead.
With a Grandmaster of theory like you ready to take the blame, anything you find will be chalked up to Tang San's unusual constitution.
After they made camp at a new site, Yu Xiaogang did not let Tang San continue cultivating. He told him to rest against a tree.
Tang San could not sleep. His fingers kept rubbing the Sleeve Arrow's trigger mechanism.
"Xiao San."
Yu Xiaogang sat beside the fire. "Scared?"
Tang San shook his head. "I'm thinking about that alpha."
"Wondering why it veered away?"
"Yes."
Tang San raised his left hand, then slowly lowered it. "I keep feeling like there's something inside my body I can't control."
Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted. "Don't let your imagination run wild. Your Second Martial Soul naturally puts a strain on your body. Once your First Soul Ring stabilizes, I'll help you adjust."
Tang San looked at him. "Are you sure, Teacher?"
Yu Xiaogang met his gaze. "I accepted you as my disciple. I'll take responsibility for you."
After a silence, Tang San nodded. "I trust you, Teacher."
Hearing that, Ji Yuan stretched his dark red roots inside the shoe's sole.
Trust him.
The more you trust him, the easier it is for me to hide.
The campfire slowly burned low, and the forest fell quiet again.
But the quiet did not last long.
The Spores at the perimeter sensed a far stronger pressure. Insects in the mud began fleeing the other way. Luo Sanpao had only just lain down when he raised his head again, an anxious whine squeezing from his throat.
The medicine bottle slipped from Yu Xiaogang's hand and rolled across the ground.
He looked into the shadows between the trees, all color draining from his face.
A rank wind swept past. Every insect fell silent, and a Datura Snake several meters long raised its triangular head.
Before you continue