Chapter 49

Su Yue hadn’t even finished his word when a bone-chilling cracking sound came from above, sending a shiver down his spine. 

Outside, the wind and snow raged, and where the pack of wolves passed, not a single cun of grass remained.

Ning Shiting lay in a secluded hut, beside him crouched an ancient white wolf with pale rims around its pupils.

On the ground was a large patch of frozen, blood-red ice.

The surroundings were silent, with only the gradually weakening sound of the wind. It seemed as if, even in his sleep, he sensed that no one had been by his side for a long time, or perhaps his mind was still preoccupied with some unfulfilled promise.

He wasn’t used to such quiet. The quieter and colder it became, the more he resisted. The moment the wind stopped, Ning Shiting suddenly opened his eyes.

"Yinbian...?"

He saw the white wolf, who had been diligently guarding him, and tried to reach out to pat the wolf's fluffy head. But as soon as he lifted his right hand, intense pain shot from the wound, causing his entire hand to tremble uncontrollably.

The assassin’s strike had nearly severed half the bones in his palm. The Soul Returning Incense was working to heal his body, but the toxins that had accumulated in the Poison Jiaoren’s body for years were battling the incense’s spiritual power. Even the Soul Returning Incense, the very pinnacle of the four Ancient Divine types of incense struggled to fully heal him due to the dozens of poisons Ning Shiting had been exposed to since childhood, many of which weakened or destroyed spiritual power.

In this struggle, even the incense couldn’t have a significant effect.

How many more years could this frail body last? Eight? Nine?

In his previous life, by the time the Qing Wang ascended, Ning Shiting's body had already been in terrible shape.

At that time, Gu Feiyin had searched for many ways to extend his life, but had stubbornly refused to use the Dust-Repelling Pearl from the Immortal Emperor’s Imperial Seal.

The Dust-Repelling Pearl could cleanse all poisons, but if used on him, his identity as a Poison Jiaoren would be completely erased. Back then, Gu Feiyin had made enemies on all sides and still relied on Ning Shiting’s presence to intimidate others, so he had never allowed him to use the pearl.

Ning Shiting hadn’t known the pearl’s effects at first. It wasn’t until he was gravely ill and familiar sect members were searching for remedies for him that a doctor told him, “Since Gongzi is by the Qing Wang’s side, why don't you know that the Dust-Repelling Pearl could cleanse a Poison Jiaoren’s toxins, allowing you to live like a normal person?”

He never got the chance to ask Gu Feiyin about this. Or rather, by the time he learned about it, he no longer wanted to ask. Years of admiration and loyalty had been slowly worn down by repeated evasion and broken promises.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Ning Shiting scanned the area, wondering where Hulu and Lingjiao had gone.

He struggled to tear off a corner of the blanket beneath him to wrap around his wrist, but his right hand couldn’t move, and his other hand was weak from blood loss. After several failed attempts, Yinbian stepped in, tearing off a few long strips of cloth with its mouth and helping Ning Shiting tightly bind his wrist.

After this, Ning Shiting rose, intending to go outside and ask about the situation. He walked for a while without seeing anyone, but suddenly a few of the estate’s water elementalists rushed over, shouting from afar, “Gongzi!”

Ning Shiting stopped and saw that the approaching men looked pale with fear. Sensing something had gone terribly wrong, he immediately asked, “What happened?”

“Wolves... wolves!”

One of the water elementalists grabbed Ning Shiting’s sleeve, about to describe the tragedy at the city gates. But when he lifted his eyes, he saw the enormous ancient white wolf leisurely following behind Ning Shiting. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

If, in the past, the power of ancient wolves had only been the stuff of terrifying legends and nursery rhymes told to the people of Immortal Continent, then today, many would bear witness to their truth.

Su Yue had never believed in these legends.

He thought that although ancient white wolves were intelligent, they could ultimately be controlled by humans. He believed that the people of the Western Continent feared these wolves only because they had been scared by tales and lacked proper countermeasures, a failure of leadership.

The white wolves of Spirit Mountain and the Immortal Chief’s Residence had long harboured a grudge against each other. It wasn’t just because Gu Tingshuang was affiliated with the Shizi’s Residence they opposed, but also because Su Yue had arranged for the hunters.

Those who had previously hunted and killed the lone, exiled wolves on Spirit Mountain had angered this pack. They had merely been waiting for an opportunity to strike back.

When the commotion outside began, Su Yue and his men were the first to notice the unusual movement. His initial response was to call for guards, but no one came to his aid, and the others had fled in fear of the wolves.

As the howls grew closer, Su Yue began to panic. Throwing aside the decorum of the Immortal Chief’s Manor, he ordered his men, "Go, go, go, we must leave immediately."

Then the howls drew nearer.

Su Yue wrapped himself in a cloak and, with the help of two attendants, hurriedly stepped outside. However, as soon as he exited, he was so terrified he almost lost his soul—

The wolves weren’t far away. The moment he stepped out, he came face to face with one!

Even though Su Yue tried to remain calm and quickly cast a spell while retreating a few steps, he couldn’t hide the terror in his eyes.

His spell missed, but he clearly saw and heard the wolf let out a distant, mocking howl after dodging, as if laughing at him for falling into its trap!

“This way won’t work. We’ll leave from the back entrance,” Su Yue said through gritted teeth, hands trembling as he gestured.

His tent was round and enclosed on all sides.

Holding his breath, Su Yue put away his fire lotus parasol, lifted a corner of the tent on the opposite side, and peered outside. Seeing nothing but empty snow, his face lit up with relief. “Here! We can leave through here!”

With one man leading, Su Yue in the middle, they made their way out. Just as Su Yue stepped out, he saw the man in front being lifted by some invisible force. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished.

“Wha—”

Su Yue hadn’t even finished his word when a bone-chilling cracking sound came from above, sending a shiver down his spine. Scalding blood and flesh rained down on him, and a severed head rolled onto the ground.

Above him dangled a snow-white wolf’s tail, long enough to trail on the ground, stained with traces of blood.

Then, a furry wolf’s head lowered to look at him, its golden eyes blazing as if they were on fire.

Covered in blood, Su Yue stood frozen in shock. The scene before him was so horrifying it rendered him incapable of thought.

“What should we do, Immortal Cheif...?” one of his attendants stammered. Before Su Yue could answer, a gust of wind suddenly ripped the tent off its poles.

The wind pushed them back several steps, and Su Yue, seeing his men about to scatter, quickly reached out to grab them. But just as his fingers brushed theirs, the sickening sound of bones snapping filled the air again. The white wolf dragged off another one of his attendants, splattering Su Yue with more blood.

Now completely surrounded by wolves, there was no one left at Su Yue’s side.

In a hoarse voice, he asked, “What do you want? Why are you after me?”

The wolves offered no reply, their howls eerily silent.

Sweat drenched Su Yue as he tried to summon a spell, the flame flickering and dying in his trembling hands.

He knew there was no way he could escape this enclosing ring of wolves on his own.

It was said that ancient white wolves were the most spiritually attuned of all creatures. If they could understand him, perhaps he could still negotiate his way out.

Su Yue still hadn’t remembered that he had sent those hunters to Spirit Mountain.

As his body grew colder, his mind raced. "I swear I have done nothing to wrong you. Please, let me go. If you spare me today, the Immortal Chief’s Manor will be forever in your debt. Whatever you need, I will make sure it's yours, and I pledge this on my status as the current Empress’s nephew."

For a moment, the wolves remained silent, then slowly parted, leaving a path in front of him.

Su Yue exhaled in relief and knelt, bowing his head in gratitude. “I will never forget your kindness. The Immortal Chief’s Manor will remember this debt for eternity.”

He lifted his foot to take the only exit. The wolves made no move, and he grew more confident, quickening his pace.

But just as he activated his cloud spell to rise a few feet off the ground, a gust of wind rushed behind him, followed by a heavy blow—

A white wolf leapt into the air with him, swatting him back to the ground with one paw!

The force almost made Su Yue vomit out his organs. As he lay on the ground, dizzy and disoriented, the white wolf began to play with him, pawing and flipping him over while its tail swished excitedly.

In that instant, Su Yue understood, and his blood ran cold.

The wolves didn’t let him go. They had completely turned him into a trapped prey, relentlessly toying with him.

It was like a nightmare.

The wolves let him run repeatedly, only to drag him back each time. They chased, taunted, and ground him down until he was utterly exhausted. When he could no longer flee or resist, hoping that the wolves would tire of their game and spare him, they suddenly changed tactics. They grabbed him by the collar and flung him high into the sky, tossing him around like a ball.

The terror of plummeting to the ground, the fear of being smashed to death, and the sight of the wolves’ bloodthirsty jaws looming over him forced Su Yue to fight back with every ounce of strength he had left.

He had already been out in the cold for half an hour. A normal person would have frozen to death by now, but Su Yue was drenched in cold sweat. Once the sweat dried, there was only blood—blood mixed with tears, tormenting his mind. Raised in luxury and privilege, Su Yue had never endured such torture. His sanity was slipping away, and he muttered words no one could understand.

He wasn’t sure when, but the wolves finally stopped.

Lying on his back in the snow, his leg bones shattered, several ribs broken, his mouth filled with blood, Su Yue’s numb mind accepted that this sudden peace was merely a prelude to more torment. He had no hope left.

He just wanted to die.

Through the wind and snow, a figure slowly emerged.

A wheelchair creaked across the icy ground. The person seated in it looked down at the barely human form on the ground, their gaze full of scorn.

The Translator Has Something to Say

Apologies, due to unforeseen circumstances there will be only one chapter this week.