Wolves as Sparring Partners

Yun Manman knew nothing of the gossip behind her back, and even if she had known, she would not have taken it to heart.

If anyone provoked her, she would simply deal with them. Her sights had never been set on these chicken-feather trifles in the village.

Yun Manman led everyone onward at a run, finally arriving at a cave entrance where the ground was rough and pitted.

Taking in their expressions, Yun Manman whistled, then said,

"Today, your opponents are fierce and powerful, tenacious and cunning. You must defeat them or fight them to a draw without hurting them or using martial arts or internal energy. Do you understand?"

Everyone looked bewildered. What was Sister Man talking about?

Yun Zewu, Yun Ting, and Yun Xiao were rather easygoing and blunt by nature, so they stepped forward and asked outright,

"Sister Man, what sort of opponents are so mysterious and powerful that even we can only fight them to a draw?"

Yun Manman's eyes flickered, and the corners of her mouth slowly lifted. A cool, lively voice tinged with mischief rang out.

"Here they come!"

Yun Zewu and the others were still staring at Yun Manman's expression in confusion when frightened voices rose behind them.

"Wolves! There are wolves here!"

"Quick, everyone on alert! Level-one combat readiness! These are real wolves!"

"H-holy shit, isn't this a whole fucking wolf pack?"

Looking at the dozens of wolves that had suddenly appeared behind and beside him, Yun Zewu was so frightened that even his voice trembled.

Everyone shielded Yun Manman behind them, their eyes wary as they readied themselves to attack at any moment. Then they saw Yun Manman leap toward the wolves, her white robes fluttering.

Before anyone could cry out, they all froze in place, their pupils contracting in disbelief.

A she-wolf came forward affectionately and rubbed against Yun Manman's thigh with maternal tenderness.

Yes, precisely that sort of maternal tenderness, with a smile in her wolf eyes.

The little wolves beside her circled Yun Manman. The moment she crouched down, they kept burrowing into her arms and rolling around, even letting out soft little howls.

Before everyone could recover from their shock, they saw Yun Manman turn and speak to the wolf at her side.

"One-on-one for now. Once these lads get used to it, make it two-on-one."

Everyone stood in the cold wind, utterly flustered. Was Sister Man talking to wolves?

Was this wolf language? They seemed to understand every word, so why did they make no sense put together?

Then the wolf king howled a few times, and all the wolves answered with a howl before charging down from the cave toward the crowd.

Everyone scrambled to respond, then heard Yun Manman's languid, amused voice ring out.

"No hurting the wolves, and no losing. Pick up your speed and agility, and fight them with your killing techniques. Good luck!"

The scene on the uneven gravel path outside the cave immediately became too chaotic for the eye to follow, filled with shouts and cries like wailing ghosts and howling wolves.

Yun Manman crouched down and took out Returning Lotus Fruits, giving some to the wolf king and queen before feeding the wolf cubs herself.

Looking at the two identical little wolf cubs, she could not help thinking of the two little ones at home.

She thought of the resentment on the day they were born. Since she had no way to investigate its source or avoid it, she would simply leave that person no opening to strike!

"Can I discuss something with you?"

The two wolves looked at Yun Manman with brown eyes. By now, they could largely understand what she said; they simply could not speak.

"I gave birth to two little cubs too. Could you give me these two cubs of yours? I'd like the four of them to grow up together."

The wolf king and queen exchanged a look, reluctance in both their eyes. Just as Yun Manman thought they would refuse,

the wolf queen nudged the two cubs straight into Yun Manman's arms with her head.

Yun Manman's eyes widened in delighted surprise, and she confirmed again, "Really? I can take them with me?"

The wolf queen rubbed against Yun Manman affectionately again. Yun Manman broke into a soft smile that could steal one's soul.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of them, and I'll often bring them into the deep mountains to see you."

In the residence in Wuliang's county town,

Mo Beiyuan looked at the intelligence in his hand, thoughtfulness flashing through his blue eyes. Han Yu read the letter Mo Beiyuan handed him, astonishment crossing his peach-blossom eyes.

"Has Mo Sinian gone mad? He's going to wipe out entire great clans just because of a celestial phenomenon?"

Since no one had ever considered that they might be of royal blood, and the emperor had always kept every move of the imperial relatives in his grasp,

then, according to what the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had said, those twins must belong to one of the great clans.

His blue eyes deep, Mo Beiyuan looked at the shadow guard kneeling below. "Has the Imperial Shadow Guard already taken action?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, five hundred members of the Imperial Shadow Guard have left the capital. They should already be investigating now."

Han Yu had calmed down by now, and his gaze as he looked at Mo Beiyuan was grave.

"Your Highness, should we act now to save those people?"

Mo Beiyuan leaned languidly back in his chair, his blue eyes carrying the natural authority of a ruler. His icy voice held the confidence of one who could devise strategies from within his command tent.

"Leave it alone. If what the Imperial Astronomical Bureau said is true, I rather think the emperor will fail this time. How could someone like him contend with heaven's mandate?"

"You've thought this through more thoroughly, Your Highness. If Changyi weren't in seclusion, we could summon him and ask. Is Twin Stars Accompanying the Moon really so miraculous?"

Mo Beiyuan cast Han Yu a faint glance, his voice cool and clear.

"Why are you interested in this?"

At that, Han Yu leaned comfortably back in his chair, his peach-blossom eyes full of schadenfreude as he kept fanning himself with the white jade folding fan in his hand.

"Of course I am. If what the Imperial Astronomical Bureau said is true, when our emperor, who treasures his throne as much as his life, loses that seat-tsk, tsk, tsk. That scene will be spectacular."

His eyes held indignation as he looked at Mo Beiyuan.

That damned emperor sat upon the realm the Prince of the North's household had conquered and defended, yet eyed its military authority like a tiger watching its prey. Fortunately, he had no murderous intent for now. Otherwise...

Qing Yi stood behind Mo Beiyuan as well, thinking much the same as Han Yu. It would be best if someone dragged that damned emperor off his throne.

Back with the Yun Family,

this training continued for half a month.

The number of wolves each person faced rose from one to five.

Everyone's bearing changed once more, becoming steady and calm, yet carrying the tenacity unique to wolves.

Yun Manman was very satisfied with their training over this period and planned to take them into the mountains to hunt animals the next day.

After all, there was nowhere to practice killing people, so they could only kill animals. That way, their hands would not shake when they killed people.

"Discussing warfare on paper is nowhere near as important as practice. You're already qualified experts. Tomorrow, I'll take you to train in something new, which will also be your final training exercise."

"Yes."

"All right, that's it for today. Wash up and finish eating your Returning Lotus Fruits. Muster everyone in fifteen minutes, and we'll head home."

After the space upgraded, its visible area had expanded to several thousand square meters.

The full Returning Lotus Fruit tree had also come into view. One phrase alone could describe it: a huge tree laden with fruit!

Once picked bare, it needed only half a month to sprout and form fruit, so Yun Manman fed them without holding back.

Once everyone had assembled, they said goodbye to the wolf pack. On the way, they all still wanted more.

Usually, they trained until the hour of the dog before going home, but today it was only the hour of the monkey.

Yun Zewu looked around, then stepped forward. "Sis, everyone's brimming with energy right now. Why don't we go hunting today and have roast meat tonight?"

Yun Manman swept her gaze over those eager eyes. The same words were written on every face.

We're not tired. We want to go hunting.