With the gradual descent of the night, the world’s vitality gradually came to a standstill. Not every expert could deal with the cruelty of the frigid night in this six-times gravity region.

The giant wolf lay quietly on the ground, its luxuriant fur fluffed up in a gentle manner. There was a faint glow at the tips of each hair strand, which came together to engulf the creature’s entire body in a halo of light. This glow wasn’t simple at all—it actually blocked out most of the effects of the frigid night, and what little of the chill that got through was only refres.h.i.+ng for William of the Summit of Peaks.

Zhao Ruoxi kept on gazing at the bonfire, lost in her own thoughts. It was as though the cold of the night had been dispersed by the flames while the field of swaying red spider lilies painted the land with a hint of mysticism.

She let out a faint sigh, as though she couldn’t endure the pain and loneliness in her heart. Then, with a swipe of her hand, a jar of wine flew into her grasp.

The giant wolf’s narrowed eyes opened in apparent anxiety, not knowing whether he should stop her or not. This wine was the wine she had robbed from the natives, and there were several more jars nearby.

Even the six-armed general had fallen to the Red Spider Lily. Ordinary castles were like pulp in front of Zhao Ruoxi, with natives falling in droves with every blossom of the netherworld flowers. The few lucky survivors knew enough fear to run far.

Although William had never entered the Great Maelstrom, the werewolves were an Evernight race with ancient inheritances. Hence, his knowledge was just as deep and profound. He figured out the effects of this alcohol with just a few sniffs. He looked up, wanting to stop the girl, but he quickly recalled the stuff she had just revealed to him a while ago and felt a chill run down his spine.

Under that sweet appearance, Zhao Ruoxi was quick-witted and exceedingly vengeful.

While he was hesitating, Zhao Ruoxi had already opened the jar and was sniffing it. “Smells so bad!”

William nodded, hoping she would toss the jar immediately. However, Zhao Ruoxi poured two large bowls of wine after some thought.

She picked up a bowl and sighed. “I’ve always heard that wine can make people forget everything. I hope… I can forget him!”

She didn’t give William any time to stop her before emptying the receptacle. Afterward, she pointed at the other bowl and said, “Big Doggy, you drink with me as well!”

William’s expression was full of terror, yet he couldn’t say no to the girl. All he could do was brace himself to start drinking.

Zhao Ruoxi filled two more bowls and finished one herself. William knew he couldn’t escape, so he finished his own bowl as well.

After drinking two large bowls of wine, Zhao Ruoxi’s little face was flushed red and she became even more spirited. “As expected, drinking is quite fun! It doesn’t feel so bad anymore.”

William’s eyes were somewhat red, and his mane was fluffed up as he waved his tail about restlessly. He didn’t find this fun at all. The wine was burning his insides like molten flame—he wanted to vomit, but he just couldn’t expel the contents of his stomach.

Werewolves were naturally resistant to alcohol and medicines. The effect of this white-fruit wine was quite small on them compared to humans, on whom it might have an instant effect. Besides, William was a genius of the Summit of Peaks. He possessed outstanding talents and even more resistance to alcohol. Despite that, he felt something wrong with his body as his maturing male instincts began to stir.

He secretly became alert, knowing that he had to stop drinking. Before he could make up his mind, however, another bowl was poured out in front of him.

“Definitely the last one!” William decided internally while finis.h.i.+ng his third bowl.

The jar was now empty after three bowls each. William had just heaved a sigh of relief when Zhao Ruoxi summoned yet another jar and popped the earthen seal.

Eyes sparkling, she tossed her head back while pouring the fourth bowl down her throat. She pointed at the bowl in front of William and smiled. “Come, drink water!”

How could William be willing?

The next moment, however, a small hand grasped him by the mane and pressed him into the bowl!

The fiery alcohol gushed into his nose and mouth, burning him like a stream of fire—it was inexplicably painful since the werewolf’s nose was especially sensitive. William felt that he was about to drown, so he had no choice but to drink the spirit up to escape that fate.

Zhao Ruoxi only loosened her grip when the bowl was empty. William lay p.r.o.ne on the ground, coughing his lungs out, and only caught his breath after a good while.

He hadn’t really recovered when yet another bowl arrived in front of him.

“Come, drink!”

William finally gave in to reality and lowered his head to drink. It was difficult to eke out a livelihood in this era—it would seem there was no easy work anywhere.

“Drink water!”

“One more bowl!”

“This is the last one.”

“This is the actual last one. What did I say just now? I’ve forgotten.”

“Enough bulls.h.i.+t, drink!”

“What’s so bad about drinking water?”

“Now that’s more like it, this is satisfying.”

William had lost track of how many bowls he had consumed. All he could feel was his consciousness floating away and an unprecedented feeling filling his entire body. His heart was flooded with a heroic spirit, almost as though the entire continent was not enough for him to grind his teeth on—what was a little bit of water to him?

Empty wine jars piled up into a small mountain. Zhao Ruoxi’s eyes were watery and on the verge of collapse. All of a sudden, she broke down in unstoppable tears, which streamed out continuously despite her wiping them away.

She simply continued to bawl her eyes out.

After growing tired from the crying, she finally leaned to one side and collapsed into deep sleep near the bonfire.

William watched her with a worried expression, but his concern turned into puzzlement after a while. Zhao Ruoxi slept soundly, and her vitality neither slowed down nor flared up. She was just like a young, sound-sleeping girl who couldn’t stand alcohol.

William couldn’t understand. He had matched her in drinks, and his blood was already boiling despite his lycanthropic resistance to drugs and alcohol. Zhao Ruoxi was just a young girl without any origin power; why was she totally immune to the alcohol?

He got up restlessly and shook his head, but he just couldn’t quench his fiery instincts. He took a step toward Zhao Ruoxi subconsciously, but he immediately noticed a stabbing pain beneath his feet. He looked down to see a red spider lily starting to wither, and with it, some of the fur on his front paw. The skin under the fur was also stained with a patch of deathly gray.

William sobered up immediately and pulled back, realizing that he had almost lost himself to his instincts just now. The swaying red spider lily stabilized and didn’t continue withering.

William realized that be it the cold of the frigid night or the aphrodisiac effects of the white-fruit wine, everything had been neutralized by the Red Spider Lily. The power of this world might be indefensible to ordinary experts, but it was powerless against the powerful Grand Magnum.

As long as this patch of red spider lilies remained, no one would be able to approach Zhao Ruoxi.

Feeling rea.s.sured, William took another step back. He glanced reluctantly at the girl, but his eyes were bloodshot and the clarity in them was gradually receding.

William turned around and soon vanished into the depths of the forest.

Under the night sky, Tanya was beneath a large tree with her arms around her knees. She was using the most primitive method to resist the frigid night. Her face was full of joy when she saw the giant wolf walking out of the forest. “William, you…”

She hadn’t even finished speaking when the giant wolf jumped up and pressed her to the ground.

Tanya gasped in surprise, trying to stop the giant wolf from tearing her clothes. “No, we’re not adults just yet! No, don’t!”

She then saw William’s eyes. “Y-You drank that wine? How come you drank that much?”

She let out a sigh and gave up on any form of resistance, simply turning around and transforming into a large wolf. That brown coat of fur was as smooth as silk.

...

The night went by and dawn soon arrived.

Zhao Ruoxi opened her eyes but narrowed them again due to the piercing sunlight. She sat up, stretched her back, and was soon full of spirit. There weren’t any signs of her having a hangover at all. She looked about at her surroundings and her gaze eventually landed on the empty jars nearby. She exclaimed furiously, “Ha! How dare a dog steal my wine! Wait till I flay him, I love white fur!”

William was dumbstruck.

Moments later, the young girl and the giant wolf set out once again. This time, there were numerous items hanging from William"s body. In addition to a bunch of wine jars, there were also branches, leaves, and flowers, all part of Zhao Ruoxi’s collection for the day.

They hadn’t gotten very far when Zhao Ruoxi turned toward the forest with a murderous expression.

“I can’t scare you guys off even after cutting down a six-arm? If you want to die so much, I’ll help you!” she said coldly. Without any movement from her, a single red spider lily suddenly withered.

There was a whimper from the forest as the person hiding between the trees fled into the distance. Zhao Ruoxi’s killing intent surged even higher. She raised her hand with a snort, and was just about to attack again, when she felt a tug on the hem of her clothes. Looking down, she saw that the giant wolf had bitten her dress and was pulling on it.

This delay allowed the person in the forest to flee. Watching the giant wolf, Zhao Ruoxi couldn’t quite get angry with it. “You’re too soft, how did you even survive this long? No matter, just follow me and I’ll feed you well.”

William was stunned. He no longer wanted to remain beside this sweet-looking young girl who liked white fur. After knowing that, William would feel scared whenever the girl touched him.

But they were inside the Great Maelstrom where the Red Spider Lily was unimaginably powerful. William wouldn’t be able to escape her demonic claws even if he were a duke.

All he could do was lower his head and march on with his luggage.

The road ahead was long, and the end was nowhere in sight.

At a different location inside the Great Maelstrom, Song Zining was stretching after just waking up.

A charming voice beside him said, “Why are you up so early? It’s still cold.”