Chapter 2: Encounter with Danger

  Not long after Qilin and the others left, more than a dozen armored soldiers rushed over. Romance novels updated first on 151+ Reading Network. They carefully examined the grassland stained with blood.

  "General, there's the most blood here, it seems a struggle took place, but no assassin is in sight. I only found this black cloth hanging from a tree branch, please take a look." The soldier finished speaking and held up the black cloth above his head, respectfully handing it over to the general on horseback before retreating. "I've already sent people to search around here, I believe we'll have results soon. It's just that..."

  "What's that?" The man on horseback frowned, his tone filled with strong impatience, gripping the black cloth strip in his hand, a thick murderous aura emanating from between his eyebrows. "Speak."

  "This mountain is called White Tiger Mountain, but locals actually call it Cang Lang Mountain because it's inhabited by a pack of wolves." The soldier replied cautiously, glancing at the bloodstains on the ground with his peripheral vision. "It's deep autumn now. Wolf packs are gathering to hunt for food, and the assassin not only had severe poisoning but also suffered many knife wounds. The smell of blood on him is enough to attract wolf packs. I think...the assassin was probably attacked by wolves and there's no body left."

  "Is there no corpse?" The person on horseback looked around, and when they first arrived, they faintly heard the howling of wolves. It's not impossible to say that. However, since the opponent was able to break through the layers of defense in the imperial palace, defeat several experts alone, and had excellent lightness skills, if it weren't for being poisoned, perhaps even the nine-layered imperial palace would be no match. Under the heavens, who else could have such abilities besides the current emperor's two brothers? However, everyone knows that Anbang King Ziyu is currently far away fighting enemies, and the other former king, Xiangyang King Bai Qianyi, was stripped of his title seven years ago on the day the current emperor ascended to the throne, had his tendons cut and bones broken, lost all martial arts abilities, and was demoted to a commoner. His life or death is still unknown. These two people do not have the ability to achieve this level, so who else could it be? The emperor seems to feel fear towards this assassin, and has ordered that they must see the corpse if dead, or the person if alive. "Do not be careless, carefully search, if alive, we must see the person, if dead, we must see the corpse."

  "Yes. Understood." The crowd clenched their fists and let out a loud, sonorous voice, startling the birds resting in the forest.

  Of course, it's not just birds that are startled. There are also packs of wolves.

  "This is......" All the soldiers concentrated together, staring at the wolf pack that suddenly rushed out. This was no longer ten or twenty wolves, but hundreds of wolves, each with its tongue hanging out and taking a step closer.

  The horse began to move restlessly, with a tendency to want to run away, but was tightly restrained by the person on its back, and could only retreat nervously.

  "General, we'll cover you, please leave quickly." The soldiers stood in front of the horse, ready to die to protect the general.

  "Hmph, I, Qin Xiu, a renowned general who protects the country, can't even defeat these beasts?" As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Xiu exerted force with both legs and suddenly rose into the air. He quickly drew out the sword at his waist, and the blade emitted a sharp, ear-piercing sound.

  Qilin looked back and just heard a cry that sounded like a crane, but it was absolutely impossible for there to be cranes here. Never mind, now with an injured person in tow, it's unclear whether this is good or bad luck, anyway first return to the wolf den and then figure things out.

  "Auuu..." Xiao Bai suddenly slowed down, the hair on its neck stood up, this is its alert expression. The wolves beside it also looked around vigilantly.

  "What's wrong?" Zilin knew that if it wasn't an extremely urgent situation, Xiao Bai wouldn't make such a sound. The surrounding sounds also foretold the arrival of danger, and a very ominous feeling rushed to her forehead. "Could it be... that this is within the territory of the Northern Wolf Pack?"

  How could she have forgotten? In the north, there lived a pack of wolves. Although they were scattered and numerous, although no conflicts had ever occurred, it was still dangerous. They had always been searching for food at the edge of the forest, but because this person entered the forest, it just so happened that they walked into the territory of the northern wolf pack. Damn it, how could she be so careless, only thinking about avoiding humans, without realizing she had fallen into the wolves' mouths.

  Qilin carefully observed her surroundings, and the vines that grew on the trees were numerous enough to support a person's weight. If she used the vines, Xiao Bai could rely on its intimidating power to escape smoothly. However, they now had an injured member. It was already difficult for Qilin to use the vines to leave alone, let alone with an injured person. What should she do? Qilin furrowed her brow seriously, and several escape plans appeared in her mind. The best ones all involved abandoning the injured person she had picked up. Qilin wasn't without thoughts of this, but first, she didn't know if this person was good or bad. If he woke up and bit back at her, what would she do? Second, she and this person were not related by blood or friendship. Saving him was just out of kindness, and not saving him was also reasonable.

  The black-clad man's fingers moved slightly, his eyes narrowed, and his long eyelashes were wet with dew, making them look even more profound. He shifted his body slightly, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his chest, but fortunately, he had an extremely strong tolerance, so he just took a careful breath. Of course, he also noticed the ominous signs around him. In fact, he had already seen the murderous gaze hidden in the grass, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

  "Xiao Bai, calm down." Qilin didn't know that the person in front of her had already regained consciousness. In the end, she still couldn't bring herself to leave him behind. So now it was a matter of who could hold their breath longer. Xiao Bai's intimidating power was not ordinary, as long as he didn't make any sudden moves, they should be able to stall for some time.

  The man in black was slightly stunned, he clearly felt the trembling of Zilin's body, but listening to her words, she was calm and fearless. This woman... how strong is her heart? Just wanting to continue observing, suddenly feeling a movement beside him, the man in black took a sharp glance, there were over ten wolves hiding there, already prepared for an attack. Can't wait any longer.

  "Ah"

  Qilin suddenly felt a tightness around her waist, and her body became light. Before she knew it, she was lifted off the ground and taken to a big tree. The little whites had already begun to fight against their opponents, smoothly entrusting the wolf pack. Some of the wolves were weaker and were surrounded, but the little whites didn't give up on any of them, covering for them. Only then did Qilin let out a sigh of relief.

  "I didn't expect you to worry about the wolf pack, but not consider your own safety." The man in black said faintly from behind his mask, after just exerting himself, his forehead was already covered with layers of fine sweat. If he hadn't aimed for this big tree, he really wouldn't have been able to bring Qilin to a farther one. Now he had to hold his breath and calm down.

  Qilin turned her head to look at the man in black, just seeing him close his eyes, apparently he was seriously injured and was regulating his breath. The wolves under the tree had already begun to gather, it seemed they were going to trap them here. Holding her breath steady, Qilin spoke up "Now, I only need to worry about myself."

  The man in black opened his eyes and stared at Qilin's ink-like eyes, which were clearly frightened to the point of breaking a cold sweat, yet she could cover it up so well. What a strange woman. "Is that all?"

  "Can't you get away yourself?" Zhi Lin knew it was entirely possible for the black-clad man to fly away on his own, and she had no reason to ask him to consider his own safety. "Looking at you, it's not just a simple injury. You've been poisoned?"

  The man in black looked at Qilin, as if asking, but spoke without emotion, just a superficial courtesy.

  Actually, Zilin was just too nervous and that's why she was looking for a topic to talk about. But the other person didn't seem to care, and she didn't have the urge to ask further. As the saying goes, the more you know, the sooner you die, and she didn't want to die yet. Although staying up here is safe, this wolf pack can easily attract those people from just now, and they might get dragged in. Moreover... this tree isn't absolutely safe either, at night snakes, insects, and rats will take them down. There's no good solution, and Little White and the others may not be able to come and support them. For now, she could only rely on these vines to slowly leave.

  "They won't come." Seeing Qilin's worry, the man in black said lightly, "You can leave with these vines yourself."

  Qilin stared silently at the black-clad man, she really wanted to use these vines to leave, very much so, had been thinking about it from the start, but "Do you think everyone can imitate Spiderman like you?"

  "Spiderman?" The man in black looked at Qilin with a puzzled expression, carefully pondering the meaning behind her words.

  "There's nothing." Realizing she had misspoken, Qilin didn't bother to explain. The sky was getting darker and stars were appearing in the sky. The black-clad man also showed no intention of leaving, so Qilin sat down on a tree trunk with a thud, and the black-clad man followed suit. Qilin took off her backpack, which contained wild fruits she had picked herself, as well as some insect-repelling fruits. She carefully applied some fruit juice to the nearby tree trunks, just in case, to avoid any unnecessary trouble. Only then did she take out an edible fruit and thought for a moment before handing it to the black-clad man. "This is probably indistinguishable from poison in this darkness, but if you die, that's not my problem."

  Qilin only heard the black-clad man hum a soft sound, and the fruit in his hand was taken away. Afterwards, there was the crisp sound of teeth biting into the fruit, and she knew that the black-clad man had eaten it. She herself also took out one, opened her mouth and bit down. But just as she took the first bite, Qilin's eyebrows furrowed from the sour taste.

  "Ptooey!" Qilin spat out the remaining pulp, starting to suspect that she had picked some kind of wild fruit. Just as she was about to throw away the fruit in her hand, someone next to her snatched it away and soon she heard a crisp sound. Qilin felt a burst of refreshing water gushing out, but she swallowed it instead. "If you're hungry, I have some here," said the person, "that's one that I've eaten before, and... it's still very sour."

  "Heh heh, no problem." The black-clothed man swallowed the last bite of the fruit and felt a surge of energy rising from his dantian to his brain, and the numbness in his hands and feet gradually disappeared. It was truly a blessing in disguise - he hadn't expected the toxic liquid on his body to be neutralized by this wild fruit. When he first ate the first fruit, the intense acidity had made him almost unbearable, but after swallowing the first bite, he felt a surge of energy bursting out, and after slightly circulating his breath, he discovered that his meridians were being opened one by one. He hadn't expected that the poison that even his own antidote couldn't eliminate would be neutralized by this wild fruit - of course, he wouldn't mind now.

  Next, neither Qilin nor the man in black spoke, and the two remained silent. The wolf under the tree still existed, but the stars in the sky grew more numerous, and the temperature began to drop sharply. Qilin felt a chill run down her spine, and with fewer animal hides on her body, she felt even colder. Usually, she would stay in the cave, snuggling up against Xiaobai's body for warmth.

  Qilin's arms were wrapped around her body, curled up into a ball, but she didn't lean even half an inch towards the side.