The ancestral hall went silent. The eyes of the clan lord and fifth elder fell upon Xue Ding and Xue Wu. The two brothers had little contact since Xue Ding became the Wolf King’s foster son, and most of them were in secret. Who would have a relations.h.i.+p with them and coincidentally come to seek help at such a time?

As smart people, both the clan lord and elder had already gotten an idea after listening to the report.

Xue Ding said hurriedly, “Wait.”

However, the fifth elder had already started speaking. “As I see it, we should seize that man first. Things will be troublesome if he falls into the Wolf King’s hands.”

“How can he fall into the Wolf King’s hands? Port City isn’t under his jurisdiction!” However, Xue Ding’s argument received no response.

The Xue clan lord nodded, saying, “We should indeed capture him first and observe.”

Xue Ding could only sigh as the matter had already been decided.

…

Qianye and Nighteye took their sweet time packing their things, spending almost the entire night. The courtyard wasn’t big, but there were many small things inside. The only thing truly valuable was the store of beast meat in the ice room and the wood used to build the house. However, the two found many little things they were reluctant to leave behind. For instance, wooden sculptures, handmade furniture, lamps, etc. There were so many little things here filled with good memories.

Qianye had never imagined he would be so attached to trivialities.

Yet this wasn’t a move but a long journey, so they couldn’t put them away. After repeated deliberation, Nighteye decided to take away a wooden sculpture of Qianye running through the wilderness while carrying her on his back. She simply had to have this carving despite some flaws in the knifework.

After everything had been cleared away, Qianye placed piles of firewood around the small courtyard—this home would be no more after igniting them.

“I feel a bit reluctant,” Nighteye said softly.

“I’ll build you an even better one later on.”

Nighteye sighed gently. “Dummy, that’s not the same.”

“What else can we do then?” Qianye was bewildered.

Nighteye said hesitantly, “Nothing, wherever you go, I’ll follow. That’s enough.”

Qianye was still puzzled. “I’ll bring you along of course, that’s a given.”

“Mm, okay.”

Qianye found Nighteye’s thoughts to be quite strange, but he was no Song Seven. Grasping a lady’s thoughts wasn’t his specialty, so he decided not to spend more thought on this. He ignited the torch and tossed it into the firewood pile. The Black Grove wood burst into raging flames that surged into the sky.

The flickering blaze projected its light upon the two, pulling their shadows further.

As the fire reached its peak, Qianye said with a sigh, “Let’s go, there’s no need to look further.”

Nighteye nodded. She had already etched the flames into her mind and had no wish to see their home reduced to embers.

Qianye halted his steps at this moment and, without a moment of hesitation, blasted a nearby shadow with Cui Yuanhai’s giant gun!

This was the gun’s maiden blast. Its rumble reverberated through the Black Grove and even echoed on the Eastern Sea. A shockwave spread out in all directions, causing the nearby flames to lean to one side.

Despite his strong const.i.tution, Qianye found his ears ringing from the sudden blast. This was no gun! In terms of soundwaves, even a heavy cannon couldn’t get louder than this.

The origin flames that spat out from the muzzle were several meters long, forming an incomparably magnificent fire dragon. That origin bullet itself was engulfed in flames as it smashed the target like a shooting star.

Following a cry of astonishment, a figure shot away from the shadows and, at the brink of crisis, produced a round s.h.i.+eld to protect his body.

The bullet blasted onto the s.h.i.+eld, tearing it into many pieces. Naturally, the owner wasn’t in better shape. He let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground like a kite with its strings cut.

Nighteye flitted past Qianye like a specter, a strange wiggling shadow reflected in her eyes. A wretched cry rang out from the distance as two men stumbled out of the shadows. They began rolling on the ground with their hands tightly clutching their chests.

Qianye pulled back the bolt and shook out a smoking, fist-sized round. Then, he pushed a new sh.e.l.l inside and closed the latch.

Seeing Qianye ready to shoot, a human silhouette moved across the distant treetop and fled into the distance. This person had lost confidence in his hiding abilities after seeing his companions being injured one after the other.

However, Qianye took his sweet time reloading because he was waiting for this moment. In a flash, he activated the Eye of Control, and that person’s legs were yanked back violently as though they had been la.s.soed!

The person had already jumped into the air at this point. How could he have the ability to change directions midway? He immediately fell headfirst to the ground and was sent into a daze.

Terrified, he struggled with all his might and finally managed to untangle the invisible rope around his ankles. He had just clambered up when a gun of shocking size and firepower appeared in front of his eyes.

“Bang!” Qianye smashed the target’s head with the gun, effectively knocking him out. The old man’s gun was indeed quite st.u.r.dy—it could pound a mammoth unconscious and still remain intact.

By the time Qianye had dragged this person out of the Black Grove, Nighteye had already completed a brief circuit through the forest. She shook her head at Qianye, indicating that there were no other enemies.

Qianye threw the unconscious fellow down and went to observe the other three. Two of them had lost their lives to the Eye of Destruction. Qianye knew from touch that their innards had been crushed despite them looking fine on the surface. The fellow who had suffered a direct shot from Qianye wasn’t in great condition, either. A shard from the s.h.i.+eld had torn through half his neck, and it would seem he was on his last breath.

Seeing that the three were no longer able to hold on, Qianye returned to the unconscious fellow while shaking his head.

Nighteye and Zhuji were crouching beside him. The former was observing his combat robes while the little la.s.s was sniffing his pockets apparently in search for food.

Qianye looked through his possessions and saw that most of them were ammunition, food, and medicines. There was nothing on him that could discern his ident.i.ty. Those with such a habit were either a.s.sa.s.sins or mercenaries on secret missions. These people were most afraid of having their ident.i.ties found out.

Finding nothing from his belongings, Qianye kicked the man awake.

“Let me!” Zhuji took the initiative to jump up and stomp on the man violently. Her small body descended like a cannon-sh.e.l.l, immediately eliciting a cry of misery from the man as he woke up. He quickly curled into a ball, almost like a cooked shrimp.

This person was just about to jump to his feet after sobering up, but Zhuji stomped him flat with one foot. His bewildered expression fluctuated rapidly, and it looked like he would lose consciousness very soon.

“Zhuji, get down! You’ll stomp him to death!” Qianye pulled the girl away by the neck. This little fellow was strong enough to tear beasts in half. How could ordinary people endure? Fortunately, this fellow was a champion of outstanding const.i.tution. That was the only reason he hadn’t been stomped to death.

After sobering up with great difficulty, his eyes were full of terror upon seeing Zhuji again. He subconsciously wanted to draw away from this little demon.

Qianye pressed down on his shoulder, preventing him from moving an inch. “Speak, what were you here for?”

The man’s eyes s.h.i.+fted about—he was just about to speak when Qianye strengthened his grip, causing the former’s shoulder bones to creak and groan. He only loosened the force after eliciting several screams.

After a period of gasping, the man asked, “Where are my companions?”

“They’re all dead, and that’s the only reason you’re alive.”

“All dead?” His mood hit an all-time low.

Qianye gave him some time to think and only watched in silence.

This was a man in his thirties, clad in night-time combat robes, and sporting a champion’s cultivation. He couldn’t be considered outstanding, but his judgment, decision, and reaction in battle were quite good. Even when he was knocked out cold by Qianye, he still managed to instinctively evade and counterattack. It was just that Qianye was too fast, far beyond the limits of his reaction.

After calming down, the man sighed. “I knew this bounty wouldn’t be that easy to take, but I never imagined it would be this hard.”

“Bounty?”

“The Wolf King’s bounty, it has spread all across the Eastern Sea.” He shot a glance at Qianye and Nighteye. “You two are the targets.”

“Are there any drawings?”

“Yes, and very life-like ones, too. However, this little princess is not in it.” He trembled a bit after looking at Zhuji. It would seem her shadow in his heart was even greater than Qianye’s own.

Qianye naturally wasn’t jealous of Zhuji. “What kind of rewards are being offered? Let’s hear it.”

“The bounty says anyone capturing Gary’s murderers will obtain six hundred thousand gold coins and those who kill the targets, two hundred thousand. Even those who provide information can obtain five thousand. Additionally, those who kill or capture the targets will become a general under the Wolf King.”

“General? Elaborate.” Qianye frowned.

“The Wolf King’s generals can rule over a territory, levy taxes, build cities, and recruit soldiers.” Seeing that Qianye wasn’t clear about the status, the man explained things in detail.

Qianye inquired more about the forces each general possessed and said to Nighteye, “It’s almost like the expeditionary army.”

“But their territories are much larger,” Nighteye added.

Qianye turned to the mercenary and said, “Such a heavy bounty, were you guys gunning for six hundred thousand or two hundred?”

The mercenary smiled wryly. “How can we have that kind of ability? I knew at a glance that this reward isn’t something we could swallow. It was just that our mercenary squad happened to be operating in the area and we were quite experienced in stealth. So, we wanted to confirm the reports and take those five thousand gold coins.”

“Five thousand? Isn’t that too little?” Qianye mocked.

“For small mercenary bands like us, five thousand gold coins is equal to two years of income. Our usual missions are just as dangerous and we risk our heads all the same. As such, we wanted to take a chance here, who would’ve thought…”

At this point, the mercenary gazed into the distant night wherein lay his three companions.

Qianye asked him more questions until he was certain there was no more information to be obtained. In the end, he let go of the man and said, “Go, tell those mercenaries and a.s.sa.s.sins that you are the last one to leave our hands alive. Those who want this bounty will have to pay for it with their lives!”