Another Dream?

After a dreamless night, Shen Luo woke early the next morning.

He did not know whether it was because he was tired or because returning the Jade Pillow to its original place had put his mind at ease, but he had slept exceptionally well.

Once fully awake, he felt invigorated and clear-headed. After washing up, he went to cultivate at the Jade Emperor Hall, remaining in excellent condition throughout the day.

The only drawback was that, for some reason, he had a little trouble sleeping that night.

However, after sleeping soundly again on the third night, the worry hanging over his heart finally subsided.

Several days later, night fell.

Shen Luo lit an oil lamp and sat beside the desk, leafing through Records of Zhang Tianshi's Demon-Slaying Adventures. A stack of rice paper and the hard-bristled stylus lay at hand.

Though the previous nightmares seemed to have faded far from him.

The life-saving effectiveness of the talismans in that dream had left a deep impression on Shen Luo. Thus, starting the night before last, he had continued copying the talismans attached to the book onto blank paper every evening.

Naturally, the one he copied and drew most often was the Minor Thunder Talisman, the offensive talisman he valued most.

He had not practiced this talisman much before. After all, he had not possessed Records of Zhang Tianshi's Demon-Slaying Adventures for long. Still, drawing talismans and practicing calligraphy had certain things in common. Diligent practice could never be wrong.

Yet talisman drawing emphasized the unity of qi and spirit. If one merely pursued a superficial resemblance, it was not particularly difficult and could be done with a casual hand. But to capture even a trace of its spiritual essence consumed a great deal of mental energy.

After drawing more than a dozen, Shen Luo began to feel mentally drained.

He rubbed his slightly aching brow, put away his brush and ink, and lay down on the bed. Before long, a wave of drowsiness swept over him, and his consciousness suddenly sank.

Who knew how long had passed? Just as Shen Luo drifted between sleep and wakefulness, a shrill wail suddenly sounded beside his ear, accompanied by a dense stench of blood.

Startled, he snapped his eyes open and saw, to his horror, a savage face covered in blood before him. Its eyes were wide open, nearly pressed against his own face, filled with terror.

"Ah..."

Shen Luo cried out and shoved forward with both hands. The corpse pressed against him was violently pushed aside.

Before he could understand what had happened, a foul wind that made him want to vomit came whistling down from above.

Shen Luo's pupils contracted abruptly. He saw an enormous gray wolf head, its bloody maw gaping wide as it bit down toward his throat. Strands of bloodied flesh still hung from its jagged fangs.

His mind shook violently, and his thoughts went blank. Relying solely on instinct, he twisted his body and rolled to one side. The fetid wolf jaws grazed past the tip of his nose.

Immediately afterward, he felt a crushing pain in his legs. The enormous body of the pouncing Gray Wolf had pinned him beneath it.

Back in Chunhua County Town, he had seen wolf carcasses brought down by hunters. They had been a full size larger than the biggest hunting dogs in town, yet the one pinning him down now was another third larger still.

Shen Luo forced himself to calm down, but he had no time to think about what was happening. He could only endure the crushing weight and struggle to free himself.

However, the Gray Wolf was extremely heavy, and in his panic, he could not break free at all. Instead, the wolf suddenly drew back and rose to its feet.

Before Shen Luo could pull himself away, another foul wind struck his face. The Gray Wolf had turned and bitten toward his neck again.

Now that he had calmed down, Shen Luo reacted much faster. He quickly twisted aside to evade the wolf's jaws, wrapped both arms around its neck, and rolled over, trying to climb onto its back.

But the Gray Wolf gave him no chance. It pressed its body downward and fell to the ground together with him.

Shen Luo was badly crushed by the impact, but his hands did not loosen. He locked them tightly around the Gray Wolf's neck and strained upward with his shoulders, as though he meant to snap its neck.

Naturally, the Gray Wolf would not submit without a fight. It sprang back to its feet and shook its head from side to side, trying to fling Shen Luo off.

Shen Luo knew that once he was thrown off, it would be nearly impossible to avoid the wolf's jaws again. Without relaxing his grip, he clamped his legs around the wolf's belly and hung beneath it like a monkey.

The Gray Wolf growled continuously, leaping into the air and slamming itself against the nearby wall again and again, attempting to shake Shen Luo loose.

Shen Luo had finally found purchase with both his hands and legs. How could he possibly let go?

He also let out a beastlike growl. Veins bulged on his arms as he exerted every ounce of strength in his body, choking the Gray Wolf with all his might.

The Gray Wolf struggled violently, dragging Shen Luo's body as it repeatedly slammed into the ground.

Shen Luo gritted his teeth and buried his head in the Gray Wolf's neck. He made up his mind that even if he died, he absolutely could not let go.

As the force in his hands steadily increased, the Gray Wolf was choked so badly that it exhaled more than it inhaled. Its breathing gradually grew heavy, and snorting sounds continuously came from its nostrils.

A moment later, the Gray Wolf's steps gradually weakened, and it collapsed against the base of a nearby wall.

Shen Luo's forehead and cheeks were drenched in sweat. Unsure whether the Gray Wolf was dead, he still did not loosen his hold around its neck. His left hand gripped his right arm with desperate force, squeezing it until bruises bloomed purple-blue across it. Only when the Gray Wolf in his arms no longer gave even the slightest twitch did he slowly release his hands and roll out from beneath it.

The Gray Wolf was already dead. Its scarlet tongue hung out beside its fangs, while large amounts of bloody foam spilled from its mouth.

Having survived the disaster, Shen Luo was somewhat dazed. His heart pounded in his chest, and only then did he finally get a chance to look around and try to figure out what was going on.

But the moment he looked, his expression turned even uglier.

He was standing at the edge of a broken section of city wall. On the horse path atop the wall, numerous young and middle-aged men armed with weapons were fighting dozens of enormous Gray Wolves.

The clothes and weapons of these men varied. Some wore crude armor made of iron plates, some wielded refined iron spears, and some fought bare-chested with bronze hammers, surrounding and killing wolves in groups of three or five.

Could this be another dream? Shen Luo thought blankly.

The instant he had that thought, a sharp pain suddenly flared in his thigh. When he bent down to look, he discovered that he had somehow cut his leg during the fight with the Gray Wolf. Half his trousers had already been dyed red with blood.

Shen Luo bared his teeth and was about to find something to bandage it when another foul wind swept past him. A second Gray Wolf suddenly charged out from the side and slammed viciously into him.

Caught off guard, Shen Luo felt intense pain explode from his waist. His body flew away like a torn sack, and he fell straight through a gap in the nearby city wall toward the outside.

As he plunged through the air, Shen Luo finally saw clearly that beyond the city walls lay a vast black mass: densely packed wolves. They stretched from the far bank of the moat, not only filling the riverbed but also piling atop one another as they swarmed the city wall, covering its outer surface.

Among these wolves were scattered some Black Wolves twice as large as ordinary Gray Wolves. Their fangs curved like hooks, and savage light gleamed in their eyes. They were truly ferocious beasts.

Before he could see any more, his body crashed heavily into the wolf pack.

The Gray Wolves that had been scrambling up toward the city wall immediately turned and gathered around him, crazily tearing and biting at his body.

Shen Luo had no chance to struggle at all. His legs, arms, shoulders, and neck were viciously bitten by one foul wolf mouth after another.

He felt agonizing pain throughout his body. His vision blurred, and he once more sank into endless darkness.