The night was black as ink, and heavy darkness shrouded the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Only the occasional flash of lightning across the sky briefly illuminated the jagged silhouettes of trees and the damp, rotting leaves. The forest was filled with the wet chill left by the rain, mingled with the raw sweetness of earth and vegetation. From time to time, low growls from magical beasts sounded in the distance, deepening the sinister atmosphere.
Xiao Yan curled up inside the hollow of a large tree. He had loosely covered the entrance with dead branches and vines, leaving only a narrow gap for air. A coarse beast hide lay over him—he had "luckily" stripped it from a dead rank-one demonic wolf that afternoon. Now he was "shivering," as though frightened by the cold mountain night.
"Whew... so cold..." he murmured, deliberately softening his hoarse voice. He rubbed his hands together "vigorously" and burrowed farther beneath the hide.
But beneath this facade of "fearing the cold," his emperor realm soul spread silently across a ten-mile radius like the keenest radar. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's encampment lay in a mountain hollow three miles to the northwest. Bonfires blazed there, and he could faintly hear the noisy calls of drinking games and the clinking of bottles.
The Otherworlder named Li Ming should have been somewhere in that camp.
At dusk, Xiao Yan had deliberately slowed his pace, "tailing" the Wolf Head Mercenary Group from a distance. He had watched Captain Wang lead his men back to camp, and had also seen them escort Li Ming back as a "live captive"—presumably to interrogate him about any other valuables he might possess.
[System notification: Target Otherworlder (No. 073) is currently in the central tent of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group Camp. Status: bound. Vital signs stable.] [Mission requirement: Eliminate the target. Death must qualify as an "accident" or be "caused by another party." Direct action that leaves traces is prohibited.]
Xiao Yan tapped his fingertips lightly against his knee, gazing toward the Wolf Head Mercenary Group Camp through the gap in the tree hollow.
Sneak into the camp and kill him directly? No. Although the Wolf Head Mercenary Group was not particularly strong overall, its perimeter had both open and hidden sentries, and Dou Shi-level experts guarded its core. If he exposed his presence, he could easily bring the flames down on himself.
More importantly, the system demanded that he "leave no traces." The best approach was to let Li Ming die at the hands of someone within the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, or... borrow the claws of magical beasts.
His soul power focused again, meticulously scanning every corner of the camp. Soon, his "gaze" settled on a pile of supplies beside the central tent—spare weapons, dry rations, and several crudely made Signal Flares were stacked there.
Signal Flares were a common means of communication for mercenary groups in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. When ignited in an emergency, they released fireworks of a specific color to call for help or give a warning. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's flares also seemed to contain a powder that attracted low-rank magical beasts, intended to "divert attention" when the mercenaries were surrounded.
An almost imperceptible smile curved Xiao Yan's lips.
His opportunity had arrived.
He slowly closed his eyes. His emperor realm soul condensed into an invisible thread, as fine as the most delicate strand of spider silk, and silently extended through the night toward the camp. This soul thread was exceptionally well concealed. Even a Dou Shi expert would be unable to detect it unless their soul perception far surpassed their cultivation realm.
The soul thread passed the sentries on the camp's perimeter, slipped through the flickering bonfires, and landed precisely on the pile of supplies, winding around one of the red Signal Flares.
The Signal Flare's fuse was made of dry hemp cord coated in flammable grease. Xiao Yan manipulated the soul thread like a nimble finger, gently nudging the fuse while injecting an exceedingly faint trace of soul power into it. This power would produce no energy fluctuations, but at a chosen moment, it could make the fuse heat up on its own.
With everything done, he withdrew the soul thread as though he had never acted at all.
Now, he only needed to wait for the right moment.
Inside the central tent, Li Ming was bound to a wooden post, his face mottled with bruises. He had clearly just been tortured. Captain Wang sat at a wooden table opposite him, toying with a dagger and glaring viciously at him. "Boy, if you don't tell me the truth, I won't hold back anymore! Aside from that lousy talisman, you really don't have any other treasures?"
Li Ming panted, his face filled with humiliation and fear, but he gritted his teeth and refused to talk. He knew he could never expose his identity as an Otherworlder. The information he possessed about the "plot" and "heavenly flames" was his last trump card.
"I told you, I'm just an ordinary hunter. I found that talisman..."
"Found it?" Captain Wang sneered and kicked Li Ming in the stomach. "You can just find a Flame Talisman lying around in the Magical Beast Mountain Range? Do you take me for a fool?"
Agonizing pain made Li Ming curl up, cold sweat pouring from him. Despair filled his heart. Had he known things would end like this, he would have starved to death rather than provoke the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Just then, a sudden commotion rose outside the tent.
"Captain! It looks like a pack of magical beasts is approaching from the northwest!" a mercenary called, his voice tinged with anxiety.
Captain Wang frowned, rose, and walked to the tent entrance. "What are you panicking for? They're just a bunch of animals. Pass the word—prepare to fight!"
The camp sprang into action. Mercenaries grabbed their weapons, lit torches, and watched the northwest warily.
Hearing the commotion from inside the tent, Li Ming's eyes flashed with an unusual light. If chaos broke out, he might have a chance to escape!
However, he failed to notice that the fuse of the red Signal Flare atop the supply pile outside the tent was quietly blackening at an extremely slow pace.
This was Xiao Yan's doing. He had calculated the timing precisely. Once the Wolf Head Mercenary Group discovered the approaching beasts, its attention would inevitably turn outward. If a Signal Flare suddenly ignited "by accident" now, no one would suspect anything inside the camp.
"Hiss..."
The faint sound of burning was almost inaudible amid the clamor.
A few breaths later, the red Signal Flare suddenly shot upward in a dazzling streak of red light, trailing a long tail of smoke before bursting in the night sky!
Whoosh—bang!
Red fireworks bloomed in midair, strikingly conspicuous.
But that was not the most important part.
As the fireworks exploded, the special powder mixed into the Signal Flare scattered as well, drifting northwest on the night wind—directly toward the approaching beasts.
The powder gave off a scent that low-rank magical beasts found irresistibly alluring.
Almost the instant the Signal Flare burst, the growls from the northwest suddenly turned savage. What had been scattered cries merged into a deafening chorus of roars, and those sounds... were rapidly drawing closer!
"This is bad!" Captain Wang's expression changed drastically. "Damn it, who the fuck lit a Signal Flare?!"
These flares were not merely for communication; their powder could attract magical beasts. Igniting one at a time like this was practically inviting the flames to consume them!
"Captain, it... it went up from the center of our camp!" a mercenary cried.
Captain Wang whipped around and stared fixedly at the supply pile, his eyes blazing with fury. But there was no time to investigate who had done it. Countless pairs of eerie green eyes were already approaching through the distant darkness. There had to be at least a hundred beasts!
"Damn it!" Captain Wang roared through gritted teeth. "Everyone, hold them back!"
He turned toward Li Ming inside the tent, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. Keeping a burden around would only get in the way!
"Boy, blame your rotten luck!"
Captain Wang yanked Li Ming away from the wooden post, dragged him out of the tent, and flung him beneath a low slope at the edge of the camp.
"Stay put! Try to run, and I'll slaughter you first!" Leaving that threat behind, he turned and led the mercenaries toward the beasts.
Li Ming hit the ground, pain wracking his entire body, but he paid it no heed. His eyes were filled with hope of escape. He struggled to undo his ropes, only to discover that they were tied far too tightly.
Just then, a foul-smelling gust swept toward him.
Several rank-one demonic wolves attracted by the powder caught the scent of a living human and lunged, snarling, at Li Ming beneath the slope!
"No—!"
Li Ming let out a desperate scream, but bound as he was, he could not resist at all.
His screams were soon drowned out by the beasts' roars and the sounds of tearing flesh.
Hidden inside the tree hollow, Xiao Yan "witnessed" everything through his soul power.
The instant he saw the demonic wolves tear Li Ming apart, he slowly closed his eyes.
[System notification: Otherworlder (No. 073) confirmed dead. Assessing the nature of death...] [Assessment result: Death caused by a magical beast attack, triggered by the accidental ignition of a Wolf Head Mercenary Group Signal Flare. No direct connection to the host. Classified as a "perfect elimination."] [Mission reward: Heavenly flames clue fragment x1 issued. Fragment information consolidated: Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map, located near Black Wind Valley in the northeastern Magical Beast Mountain Range.]
Xiao Yan opened his eyes, his gaze calm and unruffled.
An Otherworlder who had tried to alter the plot had been devoured by magical beasts in an "accident," leaving not even a trace behind. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group would believe he had died in the chaos, and the beasts would regard him as prey delivered to their jaws. No one would ever know that behind it all stood a seemingly "weak" youth.
He glanced toward the distant camp. A fierce battle was raging there, flames leaping into the sky as battle cries mingled with the beasts' roars in utter chaos.
Xiao Yan had no interest in watching the outcome. Whatever became of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had nothing to do with him.
He stood, shook out the beast hide draped over him, restored the covering over the tree hollow, then turned and headed northeast.
Black Wind Valley.
The clue to the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map was now clear. It was time to claim what belonged to him.
The night remained thick with darkness, but Xiao Yan's steps were unusually firm. His figure soon melted into the shadows of the dense forest, like a prowling hunter silently closing in on his target.
Only the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the eyes hidden in that darkness, sharp as a hawk's.
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