Hell Wolf

Amid the white snow, a half-covered, half-bare girl's jade-like body was revealed. Her features were exquisitely delicate, as though meticulously sculpted. Her eyes were tightly shut; she had completely fainted.

Her waist-length silver hair lay scattered across the snow and her body. Her skin was fairer than snow, with the soft, lustrous texture of an infant's.

Ye Qiong's gaze unconsciously moved from her snow-covered upper body to her smooth, flat abdomen. Her small navel was adorable. Fortunately, the area below was likewise covered by snowflakes, leaving only a pair of slender, fair legs exposed—flawless and firm, without a trace of excess flesh.

Ye Qiong stared blankly for a while. Then the biting cold wind and icy snowflakes falling onto his neck suddenly jolted him awake.

"Do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper..."

Lowering his eyes, he resisted the urge to look again at that tantalizing sight and hurriedly took off his clothes to cover her.

By now, Ye Qiong finally understood the Army Wolf Leader's true identity. She was actually human—and an extraordinarily beautiful girl at that.

"She was most likely a Devil Fruit user with a Zoan, Mythical Zoan ability."

Ye Qiong was helpless. Who could have imagined that a Devil Fruit user would disguise herself as the Army Wolf Leader and survive in Freezing Hell?

"What should I do with her now..."

He sighed. He was the one who had injured her, so he could not simply leave her behind and walk away.

The commotion just now had been enormous. It would be troublesome if any guards came to investigate.

After loosely wrapping the girl's breathtaking body in his clothes, Ye Qiong left the snowy forest.

Not long after Ye Qiong took the girl away, a figure appeared within the snow-covered forest.

Magellan's tall, imposing body stood upon the snow, a pair of vicious bull horns rising from his head. He surveyed the site of the fierce battle. By now, the falling snow had covered many traces of the fight, leaving behind only several massive snow pits.

"As expected, they should be hiding in the Level 5 prison."

The moment he received his subordinate's report, he had rushed here immediately. Yet he had still arrived a step too late.

Freezing Hell covered such a vast area that even if they knew prisoners were hiding here, there was no way to search it thoroughly unless they truly tore Impel Down apart.

Magellan grinned. He had also become wary of Level 5, Freezing Hell. He did not believe the prisoners could hide here for the rest of their lives.

"You had better stay rats in here for the rest of your lives. Otherwise, I'll show you what true hell is!"

Before the cold gleam in Magellan's eyes could gather, his backside let out a "pfft."

"Ah, here it comes again!" Clutching his rear, he left in a sorry state.

Impel Down, Level 55.

Ye Qiong used the Space Mark carved onto Crow King's body to make a spatial jump.

"Brother Ye, you're finally back. Lunch is already—"

Hearing the sound, Crow King put down the tableware and turned around, but his voice abruptly stopped.

"What are you looking at?"

Ye Qiong glared at him irritably. At the moment, he was wearing only underpants, his upper body bare. The girl in his princess carry was merely wrapped in his old clothes, and some accidental exposure was unavoidable. In particular, her two long legs dangled and swayed, drawing the eye.

"Oh, oh!" Crow King swallowed hard and hurriedly turned away, though he could not help sighing. "Brother Ye is Brother Ye. It'd be one thing if he were stronger than me, but he even came back from a trip with a beautiful encounter. Sigh, people really are born with different fates."

Ye Qiong could not be bothered with him and carried the girl into a partitioned room.

He hesitated for a moment before finally placing two fingers against the girl's chest. Her skin was extremely cold, yet soft and supple.

After making the plant tattoo on his chest resonate, his vitality turned into a warm, cool current that flowed without end and passed through his fingers into the girl's body.

Once the vitality entered her body, he could feel her disordered breathing gradually steadying, while her heartbeat began returning to normal.

After covering her with a blanket and placing a set of clothes beside the bed, Ye Qiong left the room.

He did not notice that, at the instant the door closed, the girl's eyes suddenly opened. A cold gleam flickered in her eyes within the darkness. She touched the lingering warmth on her chest, seemingly lost in thought.

"What are you doing?"

Ye Qiong looked at Crow King, who was huddled by the door, and felt somewhat speechless.

"Uh, Brother Ye, why did you finish so quickly?" Crow King asked in return.

Speechless, Ye Qiong kicked him away.

"Be careful. That girl is very dangerous..."

After warning him, Ye Qiong saw the Night Emperor emerge from the room at the other end.

"What happened?" The Night Emperor had clearly heard Crow King's exaggerated words, hence his question.

Ye Qiong briefly described what had happened outside, then thought for a moment and asked, "Master, have you read a Devil Fruit encyclopedia? Do you know of any Zoan Fruit that can transform someone into a white wolf and also grants the ability to control black flames?"

"A white wolf transformation, and black flames as well?" The Night Emperor pondered for a moment before saying thoughtfully, "That sounds rather like a Mythical Zoan—the Devil Fruit ability of the Hell Wolf."

"Hell Wolf? It really is a Mythical Zoan?" Ye Qiong was puzzled. Mythical Zoans did not seem to be able to undergo beast transformation.

"Yes. The Hell Wolf is said to control Hell Black Flame, which combines offense and defense. Its combat and defensive power are among the best of all Zoan Devil Fruit abilities. It possesses both Zoan beast transformation and Mythical Zoan abilities, and is as famous as the Phoenix-Phoenix Fruit."

"If that's the case, then I really did bring back an incredible Devil Fruit user..."

Ye Qiong did not know whether to laugh or cry. Who would have thought that the Hell Wolf's user would keep company with magical beasts and Army Wolves?

"It is good to have another capable hand. When it comes time to break out of prison, these decaying old bones of mine will not be much help." As the Night Emperor spoke, his eyes dimmed somewhat.

"Master, can your body truly not recover?" Ye Qiong asked. He had often transferred vitality into the Night Emperor's body, but it had not had much effect.

Ye Qiong suspected that the stronger someone's physique was, the harder it became for vitality to heal them.

"It is already good enough that I have lived this long." The Night Emperor shook his head. "After I was defeated back then, sword energy invaded my body and severely damaged my internal organs. After forty years, it has become an incurable, serious old injury."

"Master, as long as we can get out, there must be a way in the outside world to heal your body." Ye Qiong spoke firmly. There were plenty of people in this world with exceptional medical skills, and there was even the miraculous Devil Fruit known as the Op-Op Fruit!

At worst, he could go to Doflamingo and snatch Law away when the time came.

"Enough. As long as you can inherit Dark Night Style and let this swordsmanship reappear across the Four Blues, what regrets would I have even if I died here?"

The Night Emperor patted Ye Qiong on the shoulder and threw back his head in laughter.

"But..."

Just as Ye Qiong was about to say something, the door to the girl's room suddenly burst open.

"Damn it! I was only delivering food! Spare me!"

Crow King shot out of the room at high speed. His entire arm was covered in Armament Haki, with black flames clinging all over it. He kept waving both hands, but the flames only burned more fiercely.

Bang!

In a panic, he drilled into the ground. His entire body smashed through the surface and disappeared beneath it.

The door opened, and the girl slowly walked out. She had already put on her clothes. She looked around sixteen years old, with a tall, slender figure.

She walked on tiptoe, her silver hair casually draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were icy, carrying the dangerous aura of a magical beast and an Army Wolf.

The moment she stepped out, she stared directly at Ye Qiong as black flames rose from her body.

"Still want to fight? You're no match for me now." Ye Qiong waved a hand.

The girl frowned slightly, but withdrew the Hell Black Flame.

She looked around. Upon seeing the opening leading out of the space, she headed toward it, seemingly intending to leave.

Ye Qiong watched her quietly without stopping her.

Only when she was nearly at the opening did Ye Qiong speak. "Do you want to become stronger?"

The girl paused upon hearing this, but continued walking away.

"Do you want to leave Impel Down?"

Ye Qiong watched her back, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips.

Just as he had expected, the girl came to a complete stop.

"As the Army Wolf Leader, you should understand the laws of Army Wolves and magical beasts very well. The strong rule. You lost to me, so from now on, you will obey my orders." Ye Qiong smiled, then added indifferently, "Of course, you can challenge me whenever you want. If you win, I will follow your lead."

The Night Emperor beside them noticed that his usually carefree and casual disciple seemed to possess a few more traces of a tyrant's bearing. His desire to control both people and circumstances was growing.

The girl turned around, her eyes like solid ice staring straight at him, as though she wanted to imprint Ye Qiong's image into the deepest part of her heart.

Then she parted her beautiful lips slightly, though her tone was chilling. "One day, I will tear you apart."

"I'll be waiting." Ye Qiong's smile grew even brighter.