Chapter 155: Murder and Looting

"Are Blood-Slaying Scorpions really that ferocious?" the Wolf King asked in astonishment.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have run the moment I saw them," Qin Feiyang nodded, looking quite distressed.

If only he had a pair of wolf eyes, allowing him to see in both daylight and darkness. But that was a pipe dream.

He looked down at the Wolf King and said in a deep voice, "The narrow path is extremely dangerous at night. We must hurry and rendezvous with Ling Yunfei and the others. From here on, it's all up to you."

"You want to ride on Wolf Bro's back again?" The Wolf King gave him a hostile look.

Qin Feiyang didn't waste any more breath. He simply mounted up and, with a thought, left the ancient castle.

Whoosh!

The moment he reappeared, several piercing sounds sliced through the air.

"Crap!"

The Wolf King hastily dodged to the side and bolted toward the small hill without looking back.

"What's the situation?" Qin Feiyang asked.

The Wolf King replied, "There are five more lively Blood-Slaying Scorpions right on our tail."

Qin Feiyang's heart sank. He tightened his grip on the Pale Snow blade and said, "You can't outrun them. Find an opening and take them out. Now is the time to test our teamwork."

"Can you be a little more reliable for once?" the Wolf King complained resentfully.

Although it could see, Qin Feiyang couldn't! How were they supposed to counterattack like this?

"Alright, stop complaining and find an opening," Qin Feiyang urged.

"I honestly don't know what Wolf Bro owes you in a past life to be tormented like this now."

The Wolf King leapt several times and landed atop the small hill.

The five Blood-Slaying Scorpions surged upward as well, pouncing toward the man and the wolf.

"Good opening!"

The Wolf King's eyes lit up, and it barked, "Left!"

Qin Feiyang didn't hesitate for a second, violently slashing the Pale Snow blade through the air.

Simultaneously, the Wolf King crouched low, and two Blood-Slaying Scorpions were sliced cleanly in half by the blade!

"Behind!"

Immediately following, the Wolf King let out another low shout.

Qin Feiyang twisted his arm and slashed backward in a reverse stroke!

The Wolf King jumped up at the same time, and two more Blood-Slaying Scorpions were cut to pieces!

"Above!"

The Wolf King roared again.

Qin Feiyang swept his blade upward while the Wolf King shifted a few inches to the left, precisely striking the heart of the final Blood-Slaying Scorpion!

In the blink of an eye, all five Blood-Slaying Scorpions were dead!

It looked simple, but it was actually immensely difficult. Because every time Qin Feiyang swung his blade, he was swinging blind, relying entirely on the Wolf King's coordination.

The first time, the Wolf King crouched.
The second time, the Wolf King jumped.
The third time, the Wolf King shifted left.

It was constantly adjusting their positions. And it had to be done with absolute precision, without the slightest margin of error. Only then could the Pale Snow blade deliver a fatal blow to the scorpions. Otherwise, Qin Feiyang would never have been able to kill all five.

Of course, the most crucial element was their tacit understanding. If their synchronization had been off by even a fraction, they could have easily lost their lives.

"Phew!"

Qin Feiyang exhaled deeply and asked, "Are there any more?"

"Gone."

The Wolf King stood on the small hill, turning to scan the area below.

The jungle and the stream were completely unrecognizable, strewn with corpses and blood. Fresh blood dyed the earth crimson and stained the river waters. The scene was utterly gruesome!

"Though Wolf Bro really hates to admit it, we actually have pretty good chemistry," the Wolf King muttered indifferently before turning and running back toward the narrow path.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few fierce beasts. The man and the wolf fought seamlessly, dispatching them one by one. Even so, both of them sustained varying degrees of injuries.

Upon returning to the narrow path, the Wolf King carried Qin Feiyang as they raced to catch up with Ling Yunfei and the other two.

They hadn't run far when the Wolf King spotted corpses of fierce beasts strewn along the path, their blood mixing with the rainwater to stain the ground red.

"Little Qin," the Wolf King said, "Wolf Bro has a bad feeling about this."

"What do you mean?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

"Did you not smell the stench of blood permeating the air?" the Wolf King asked gravely.

Qin Feiyang flared his nostrils and sniffed hard. His expression instantly shifted—there really was the scent of blood.

The Wolf King continued, "There are so many beast carcasses lying along this path. They might have been killed by Ling Yunfei and the others."

The hearts of both man and wolf grew heavy.

There was no moonlight. On a rainy night, it was impossible to make a torch. Ling Yunfei and Feng Ling'er were also effectively blind in the pitch darkness, forced to rely entirely on their ears. And with large numbers of fierce beasts roaming the narrow path at night, even with their ability to track by sound, the odds were heavily stacked against them.

"Haha, I actually found a good treasure!"

After running for another moment, the Wolf King suddenly laughed out loud.

"What is it?" Qin Feiyang asked in alarm.

"There's a black paulownia tree here," the Wolf King replied.

"Really?" Qin Feiyang was overjoyed.

The black paulownia tree itself held little value, but its bark was rich in oils and could be fashioned into torches. Furthermore, as long as it wasn't submerged in water, the torches wouldn't go out.

The Wolf King sighed a moment later, "False alarm. The bark has already been stripped clean, and the marks are fresh."

Veins bulged on Qin Feiyang's forehead; he really wanted to slap the beast.

Huh? Fresh marks? Could it be that Ling Yunfei and the others had stripped the bark?

At this thought, Qin Feiyang urged anxiously, "Run at your absolute maximum speed!"

Having a torch allowed one to see the surrounding environment, but it came with one fatal drawback: it would attract every fierce beast in the vicinity!

The Wolf King unleashed its full speed, mud flying in all directions!

A few hundred breaths later, a faint flicker of fire appeared ahead.

"Is that them?"

With tense hearts, the man and the wolf rapidly closed the distance.

As they drew closer, Qin Feiyang realized there were over twenty figures gathered there. Clearly, they couldn't be Ling Yunfei and Feng Ling'er.

The Wolf King suddenly muttered, "Oops, bad news. Wolf Bro forgot to look at the footprints on the ground."

"Do you want to get beaten?" Qin Feiyang raged.

To overlook such crucial information—this wolf was truly unreliable.

When they were about fifty meters away from the campfire, Qin Feiyang sent the Wolf King into the ancient castle. Then, concealing the Pale Snow blade in his sleeve, he hurried forward.

"Huh?"

Hearing footsteps, the group of twenty-some people turned simultaneously to look at Qin Feiyang.

"It's them?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

In the firelight, familiar faces came into view. They were precisely the burly men in black who had invited him to form a team outside the city that morning.

Those people also recognized Qin Feiyang's true appearance.

"Oh, it's you."
"Didn't you say you weren't going to the Desert of Death?"
"Why are you here?"
"And wandering around in the dark all by yourself, you've got some nerve!"

Three burly men stepped forward, glaring hostilely at Qin Feiyang.

"Huh?"

Standing five meters away, Qin Feiyang looked over the group in black. Suddenly, he noticed two figures lying on the ground behind them. Although their faces were obscured, their clothing clearly identified them as Feng Ling'er and Ling Yunfei!

"What happened to them?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

The burly man in black sneered, "They're heavily injured. I doubt they can even stand up right now."

"Did you injure them?" A cold, sharp light flashed in the depths of Qin Feiyang's eyes.

An elderly man in green robes shook his head. "No good deed goes unpunished. We're the ones who saved them; otherwise, they would have been eaten by fierce beasts long ago."

Qin Feiyang arched an eyebrow imperceptibly, cupped his fists, and said, "Then allow me to thank you on their behalf. May I go over and see them?"

"Sure, make way."

The green-robed elder waved a hand, and the men blocking the path stepped aside.

Immediately, Qin Feiyang clearly saw the condition of Feng Ling'er and Ling Yunfei.

The two lay on the ground unconscious, their complexions as pale as paper, their bodies covered in wounds. There were even claw marks deep enough to reveal bone!

In the grass nearby lay two dead beasts, each with a fist-sized bloody hole in its head, blood still oozing out—they were thoroughly dead.

Qin Feiyang hurried forward, but the burly man in black suddenly stepped in front of him, sneering, "If you want to see them, hand over your Qiankun bags first."

Simultaneously, the others swarmed forward, surrounding Qin Feiyang in the center.

"What is the meaning of this?" Qin Feiyang narrowed his eyes, sweeping his gaze across them one by one. Every single face was filled with greed.

"Isn't it obvious?" The burly man in black shrugged, full of mockery. "If you had accepted my invitation this morning and traveled with us, none of this would have happened."

"Different paths do not seek to cooperate," Qin Feiyang said coldly.

"Are you insinuating that we're scoundrels?" The burly man's expression darkened.

"Whether you're scoundrels or not, you know best in your hearts. I advise you, and I advise all of you, to step aside immediately. Otherwise, once we return to Star-Moon City, it will be your funeral!"

"Hehe."

The green-robed elder sneered derisively. "We already know the three of you are disciples of the Martial King's Palace. But if you die here, I doubt the Martial King's Palace has the capability to investigate who did it! So, you'd better be sensible and hand over your Qiankun bags. If you do, we might consider sparing your lives."

"If I hadn't killed those Blood-Slaying Scorpions, would you even have made it here alive?" Qin Feiyang said, his face like water. "Now, not only do you not say thank you, you're trying to rob our Qiankun bags. You're even worse than dogs—at least dogs know how to show gratitude!"

"You?"

"Haha..."

"Are you talking in your sleep?"

"With your pathetic strength, you managed to kill Blood-Slaying Scorpions?"

The group burst into scornful laughter.

The burly man in black turned cold and shouted, "Cut the crap and hand over the Qiankun bags, or don't blame us for being unpolite."

Qin Feiyang nodded. "Fine, I can give you the bags, but I must first confirm whether they are dead or alive."

"Hand over the bags, and naturally I'll let you see them," the burly man replied.

"What if I hand them over and you go back on your word? I certainly don't trust you."

"Do you think you have a choice?"

The burly man waved his hand, and the others pressed in step by step.

Qin Feiyang hurriedly raised his hands and said, "Alright, alright, I'll give them to you."

"That's the smart choice. Hand them over!"

The burly man smiled, stepped forward, and reached out toward Qin Feiyang.

Qin Feiyang swept his gaze around. Before him stood only the burly man in black. Beside him were the green-robed elder and a middle-aged woman.

As long as he unexpectedly eliminated the burly man, tore open a gap in their encirclement, he could quickly rescue Ling Yunfei and Feng Ling'er.

However, since these people were robbing his Qiankun bags, it meant Ling Yunfei's and Feng Ling'er's bags had already been stolen. In Feng Ling'er's Qiankun bag was a supreme-grade Crimson Fire Glaze Pill, and he couldn't let these people profit from it.

Yet, he had no way of knowing who currently held the two bags.