Snow Wolf Howl
Fan Xinna, a merchant from Sichuan and Chongqing, spoke in a smooth, resonant voice, like a pebble thrown into a frozen lake, creating faint ripples on the desolate Longshou Plain. Several large carts, covered in thick felt and deeply rutted, stood outside the camp gate, appearing so out of place, yet so... alluring, on this scorched earth shrouded in hunger and despair.
The soldiers guarding the camp gate looked at Fan Xin's plump, smiling face, then at the heavy carts, and their Adam's apples bobbed with difficulty. Grain? Salt? Or other life-saving supplies? The governor had ordered that, under the new strict commercial tax decree, no foreign supplies were allowed to enter the camp without the approval of the tax supervisor! Violators… would be punished for aiding the enemy!
"Wait!" The guard's voice was slightly hoarse and hesitant as he turned and ran quickly toward the low-lying school.
When the news reached Xiao Yuxuan, who was toiling away on the newly reclaimed slope, sweating profusely, his pickaxe had just pried open a patch of frozen soil. He straightened up, wiped the sweat and mud from his face, and frowned. A merchant from Sichuan? Fan Xin? At this critical juncture, risking to violate the strict rules of Yan Yang, he had proactively offered a "small gift"?
A trap? Or... has the "hidden channel" that Gu Yan mentioned already been opened?
“Chen Zhong!” Xiao Yuxuan said in a deep voice.
"exist!"
"Take a squad and go to the camp gate! Keep watch on them! Without my orders, not a single needle or thread is to be let in! I'm going to see this Master Fan!"
As Xiao Yuxuan strode toward the camp gate, Fan Xin had already alighted from the carriage. He was rolling up his sleeves, observing with great interest the bustling (or rather, desperate) scene of land reclamation not far away and the framework of the simple school. His face always wore that warm smile unique to merchants, as if measured with a ruler, showing no sign of tension or weakness.
"Master Fan," Xiao Yuxuan's voice was calm and even, yet carried the imposing aura of someone seasoned in battle, "Hexi has strictly ordered that trade routes be closed. Master Fan, are you not afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself by coming here?"
Fan Xin seemed to only then notice Xiao Yuxuan, his face immediately beaming with smiles as he bowed deeply: "Oh dear! This humble one, Fan Xin, pays respects to Governor Xiao! Your illustrious name is renowned far and wide! It is my great honor to meet you today!" He straightened up, his smile unchanged, his voice lowered slightly, carrying just the right amount of respect and a hint of "you know what I mean" mystery, "I am naturally aware of Lord Yan's new decree. However, Governor Xiao's act of sheltering the orphaned and educating the common people is a great act of benevolence and righteousness! Although I am a merchant, I know that 'righteousness' comes first! This small amount of grain, salt, herbs, and cloth is truly meager, and I dare not speak of 'property'. I only consider it as... a merchant passing through who, seeing the hunger and cold here, felt compassion and left behind some 'leftovers' to help the disaster victims! Governor Xiao, please understand, this... cannot be considered a transaction, can it?"
What a clever use of the term "forgotten"! What a clever use of the term "not a sale"! Fan Xin's words were watertight, clearly stating the contents of the "small gift" (grain, salt, medicine, cloth!) while subtly avoiding the prohibition against "trade," thus embellishing his actions as a purely "righteous act." This shrewdness and audacity are far beyond that of an ordinary merchant!
Xiao Yuxuan's gaze was sharp as a knife, scrutinizing Fan Xin's round, smiling face, trying to find any trace of hypocrisy or scheming. However, Fan Xin's eyes were open and almost innocent, with only a fleeting glint of shrewdness characteristic of a businessman. His reasons seemed impeccable, even carrying a sense of generosity, like offering help in a time of need.
Inside and outside the camp gates, countless eyes were fixed on the large carts covered with thick felt. Hunger, like an invisible whip, lashed at everyone's nerves. Grain! Salt! That was their hope for survival!
"Master Fan is very generous," Xiao Yuxuan said slowly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger. "However, one cannot accept a reward without merit. Anji Camp cannot accept such a generous gift."
Fan Xin's smile faltered slightly, then widened again: "You flatter me, Governor! You flatter me! It's hardly a generous gift. It's just some humble stuff, a small token of my appreciation! If you truly feel bad about it..." He changed the subject, his gaze falling on the simple schoolhouse standing in the cold wind, his eyes revealing just the right amount of "admiration" and "longing." "I have long admired education, but alas, as a merchant, I have had no opportunity to study the classics. Today, to see you, Governor, establishing a school is a monumental achievement! How about... I consider this small gift as a donation to the school's 'tuition fee'? Consider it... adding a lamp to the literary tradition of Hexi?" He cleverly transformed his "charitable act" into "aid for education," making the reason more respectable and harder to refuse.
Xiao Yuxuan remained silent. Every word Fan Xin uttered was precise and to the point, cornering him. Refuse? That would chill the hearts of those in power and cut off this potential lifeline. Accept? If the news leaked, Yan Yang would undoubtedly use it as leverage to accuse him of "colluding with unscrupulous merchants, smuggling contraband, and defying the law!" The consequences would be unimaginable!
Just then, in this delicate and tense standoff, a small, thin figure ran from the direction of the school construction site. It was Atu! He was wrapped in Xiao Yuxuan's old cloak, his little face red from the cold, and he was clutching a handful of oddly shaped stones he had just picked up. He seemed to be attracted by the commotion at the camp gate, and curiously approached Fan Xin's carriage, his little nose twitching unconsciously.
Suddenly, A-Tu's gaze fell on a flattened, mud-covered oil paper package on the snow at Fan Xin's feet. The package seemed to have once contained some kind of smoked meat or pickled fish, retaining a strong, exotic aroma. A-Tu's little nose twitched a few times, and his expression instantly turned strange. He looked at the oil paper package, then at Fan Xin's round, plump face, his small brows furrowing tightly.
Xiao Yuxuan noticed A Tu's unusual behavior and a thought struck him.
Fan Xin also saw A Tu, and his face immediately lit up with a kind smile. He took out a delicate piece of Bashu rice cake covered with frosting from his sleeve, bent down and handed it to A Tu: "What a clever young man! Here, try this, it's a good thing from Bashu!"
A-Tu didn't take the tempting rice cake. He pointed to the flattened oil paper package at Fan Xin's feet, timidly yet with a childlike stubbornness, and asked in a low voice, "Master...Master...this...this oil paper...smells so good...is it...is it the 'fire rattan pepper' of Western Qiang? My...my dad used to go to the west...bringing it back...the smell was so strong..."
A-Tu's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, exploding in Xiao Yuxuan and Fan Xin's ears!
Fire pepper! A spice with an extremely spicy and uniquely strong aroma, a specialty of Western Qiang! Fan Xin is a merchant from Sichuan and Chongqing, so how could his goods packaging have such a strong aroma of Western Qiang spices? Moreover, judging from the degree of damage to the oil paper and the mud stains, it was obviously recently discarded!
For the first time, a noticeable crack appeared in Fan Xin's smile! The muscles in his round, plump cheeks twitched almost imperceptibly, and his hand, offering the rice cake, froze in mid-air. A fleeting look of surprise and panic flashed in his eyes, though it was instantly masked by a deeper smile. But how could it escape Xiao Yuxuan's hawk-like eyes?
"Hehe, young man, you have a really good nose!" Fan Xin chuckled twice, quickly took back the rice cake, and subtly kicked the oil paper package into the deeper snow. "Perhaps it accidentally picked up the smell of some Western Qiang merchant caravan on the way. The Sichuan-Chongqing trade routes are a melting pot of all sorts of smells..."
Explain! He's covering it up!
Xiao Yuxuan's doubts instantly reached their peak! Fan Xin, this "traveling merchant from Sichuan and Chongqing," had just been to Western Qiang! He might even have just come from the secret passage in White Wolf Valley! Was he the "Salt Horse Man" that Gu Yan mentioned? Or... another trap set by the Beast Head Sect?
"Master Fan," Xiao Yuxuan's voice suddenly turned cold, like the chilly wind of Longshou Plain, "I accept your 'small gift'! Chen Zhong!"
"exist!"
"Unload the carts! Inventory! Register all grain, salt, medicine, and cloth, and dedicate them to the public property of Anji Academy!" Xiao Yuxuan's eyes flashed like lightning as he stared intently at Fan Xin. "Master Fan is a man of great virtue, donating to support education. I am deeply grateful! I would like to invite Master Fan to the camp so that I can... tell you in detail about the local products of Sichuan and Chongqing, especially... the fire vine pepper of the Western Qiang!"
"This..." Fan Xin's smile finally faltered, and a fine layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "This humble...this humble caravan still needs..."
“The caravan is being taken care of! Mr. Fan, please!” Xiao Yuxuan’s tone was unquestionable, carrying an invisible pressure. Several guards immediately stepped forward, seemingly respectful but actually forcefully “inviting” Fan Xin to stay.
A barely perceptible glint of fierceness flashed in Fan Xin's eyes, but it quickly turned into helplessness and fear: "The governor has given the order, and I... I obey." He glanced deeply at the carts that were having their thick felt removed, revealing the bulging sacks underneath, and then glanced in the direction where he was being "surrounded" by his personal guards. A very subtle and elusive smile seemed to flit across the corner of his mouth.
Food! Salt! Medicine! Cloth! When the sacks were opened, revealing the golden millet, snow-white salt, neatly bundled herbs, and thick coarse cloth inside, the entire Anji camp erupted in suppressed cheers! A burning light rekindled in their hungry eyes! Although these supplies were still a drop in the ocean compared to the camp's needs, they were undoubtedly a lifeline in their dire situation! Proof of survival!
Xiao Yuxuan personally supervised the inventory and storage of the supplies, but his face showed no joy. Fan Xin's unusual behavior hung over him like a dark cloud. He "invited" Fan Xin into the drafty thatched hut that served as a temporary command post. Inside, Gu Yan remained unconscious, with Xuan Weizi tending to him. Ji Zhai also arrived upon hearing the news, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Fan Xin, who had been "invited" in, like probes.
"Master Fan," Xiao Yuxuan said bluntly, dismissing his attendants and leaving only Ji Zhai and Xuan Weizi, "Let's not beat around the bush. Your goods come from the Western Qiang. Who is the Salt Horseman of White Wolf Valley to you?"
Fan Xin sat on a simple wooden stool, rubbing his hands together. His face still wore the smooth smile typical of merchants, but his eyes flickered uncertainly. "Governor...Governor is too kind. I am indeed a merchant from Sichuan and Chongqing, but...I only occasionally go to the Western Qiang to collect some furs and medicinal herbs..."
"Occasionally?" Ji Zhai snorted coldly, his rough fingers lightly flicking the inkwell at his waist, producing a soft "clang." "The aroma of Sichuan pepper on the oiled paper package is so strong it's almost overwhelming! That's top-grade goods specially supplied by the Western Qiang Royal Court! Ordinary merchant caravans don't even have the right to touch it! You, a 'Sichuan merchant,' can 'occasionally' come across this kind of smell?"
Fan Xin's smile froze on his face.
Xuanweizi sat with his eyes closed beside Gu Yan's couch, seemingly oblivious to the confrontation before him. However, the whisk in his hand moved without wind, and a faint, ethereal aura carrying the scent of mountains, forests, and vegetation quietly enveloped the entire thatched hut, isolating it from internal and external sounds and bringing an invisible pressure.
Xiao Yuxuan stepped forward, his tall figure exuding immense pressure as he looked down at Fan Xin: "Mr. Gu Yan risked his life to bring back news that the White Wolf Valley of Western Qiang is our only way out! Master Fan, you have appeared at this time, bringing life-saving grain and salt, yet your whereabouts are shrouded in mystery! I need to know, are you a friend? An enemy? Or... do you have other intentions?!"
"I..." Fan Xin's forehead was covered in even more cold sweat. His eyes swept frantically over the unconscious Gu Yan, then over Ji Zhai's cold gaze and Xuan Weizi's unfathomable demeanor. The smooth mask of a businessman finally cracked.
Just as he opened his mouth, seemingly about to reveal something crucial—
"Whoa—!!!"
A mournful, long howl, filled with primal wildness and bloodthirsty killing intent, tore through the twilight of Longshou Plain without warning!
The sound didn't come from the wilderness! It was right next to us! It seemed to be coming from... the direction of Anji Academy!
Then came the second! The third! Countless wolf howls rose and fell, merging into a chilling symphony of death! Interspersed among them were sharp, metallic hissing cries and heavy footsteps, like hammer blows!
"Enemy attack—!!!"
"Wolves! Lots of wolves! And...and monsters!"
Suddenly, piercing alarms and terrified screams rang out outside the camp! Accompanied by the clang of weapons being drawn and desperate cries!
Xiao Yuxuan, Ji Zhai, and Xuan Weizi's expressions changed drastically! Fan Xin was so frightened that he trembled all over and almost slipped off the stool!
"It's the Blood Wolf Banner!" Xiao Yuxuan's eyes flashed with cold light! He instantly drew his sword and rushed out of the thatched hut!
The sight before them made everyone gasp in shock!
As dusk settled and snow raged, dozens of enormous wolves, their bodies gleaming with a bloodthirsty red light, surged forth like demons from hell, charging madly towards the Anji Academy construction site and the newly cultivated fields surrounding it! These wolves moved with lightning speed, their fangs gleaming white, thick saliva dripping from their mouths, and they exuded a heavy stench of blood and… an eerie aura originating from the same source as the Blood-Dripping Wolf Skull Talisman!
Even more chilling was the presence of seven or eight humanoid... monsters among the wolf pack! Their bodies were crudely pieced together from twisted wood, rusted metal, and some pale, seemingly human bone-like parts, emitting a teeth-grinding "creak" at the joints! Their "heads" were magnified metal replicas of blood-dripping wolf skulls, with crystals shimmering with an eerie green light embedded in their eye sockets! These "wolf-headed war puppets" moved stiffly yet possessed immense strength, wielding rusty metal claws or heavy bone hammers. Wherever they went, the makeshift sheds were torn apart like paper, and the newly cultivated fields were trampled into a scene of utter devastation!
Chaos! Bloodshed! Death strikes in an instant!
A laborer who couldn't dodge in time was pounced on by the giant wolf. His screams stopped abruptly, and the torn flesh splattered a glaring crimson on the snow!
A wolf-headed war puppet swung a heavy bone hammer and smashed it down on the school's newly built, still damp, rubble-covered outer wall! With a deafening roar, a large hole was smashed through the wall!
"Protect the school! Protect the fields!" Chen Zhong roared hoarsely, leading a squad of soldiers armed with crude spears and tattered swords and shields as they charged forward, attempting to intercept the wolf pack and the war puppets. But how could flesh and blood withstand these monstrous creatures? In a single exchange, two soldiers had their throats bitten out by the giant wolves, or were smashed into a bloody pulp by the war puppets' bone hammers!
"Beast!" Xiao Yuxuan's eyes widened in fury! He roared, and his longsword transformed into a streak of light, lunging straight at a giant wolf that was tearing apart a child (it was A-Tu!)! The sword flashed, and the wolf's head flew off! Foul-smelling blood splattered all over Xiao Yuxuan!
"A-Tu! Hide inside the school!" Xiao Yuxuan shoved the terrified A-Tu into the broken hole in the school wall, then turned to face another giant wolf that pounced on him!
Ji Zhai moved even faster! He didn't rush towards the monster, but instead, like a ghost, charged towards the pile of grain and salt supplies that had just been unloaded and hadn't yet been stored at the construction site! Several giant wolves and two wolf-headed war puppets were also rushing towards that spot! Clearly, their goal wasn't just to kill, but to destroy the very foundation upon which Anji Camp depended for survival!
"Keep to your guns!" Ji Zhai shouted, and several unassuming black iron pellets shot out of his hand, accurately targeting the joints of the two wolf-headed war puppets charging at the front!
"Pfft! Pfft!" The iron pellets exploded, spraying out large amounts of thick, pungent black grease that instantly coated the fragile wooden and iron joints of the battle puppets! The movements of the two battle puppets immediately became sluggish and stiff, as if they were stuck in a quagmire!
Without pausing, Ji Zhai reached into the leather pouch at his waist and pulled out a three-foot-long, jet-black metal rod covered with finely engraved markings—the Mo Family's Measuring Ruler! With a flick of his wrist, the ruler made a soft "click," and a three-edged, armor-piercing spike sprang out from its tip! Like a fish, he slashed into the side of a giant wolf lunging at a grain sack, the Measuring Ruler piercing the air with deadly precision, embedding itself precisely into the most vulnerable crevice of the wolf's skull behind its ear!
"Awooo!" The giant wolf let out a short, miserable howl and collapsed to the ground!
Xuanweizi stood calmly at the entrance of the thatched hut, facing the swarming, malevolent monsters. He gently waved his whisk, chanting incantations. An invisible breeze, carrying the fresh scent of the mountains and forests, quietly spread out from him. Where the wind passed, the giant wolves, their eyes bloodshot and raging with ferocity, momentarily faltered, their madness seemingly soothed by a peaceful force. The wolf at the very front, as if drunk, staggered and crashed into a nearby wooden frame, unconscious. The old Taoist had used the power of nature to quell their ferocity!
However, the attackers' target was extremely clear! Besides killing and destruction, even more wolves and war puppets, like sharks smelling blood, frantically pounced towards—the back of the school, the banks of the Wei River! There, was the crucial point of the irrigation canal and reservoir that Ji Zhai had directed the excavation of! It was the core area marked with a blood-stained wolf's head on the "Records of the Craftsman" map! It was also the place where Ji Zhai had just discovered "Yin Fire Earth" and urgently added an isolation layer!
"Not good! Their target is the water diversion project! It's that core node!" Ji Zhai roared, his voice filled with shock and rage! The Beast Head Faction had finally made their move! They intended to take advantage of the darkness and chaos to completely detonate the deadly traps buried at the key node, burying Anji Camp along with this newly cultivated land!
Xiao Yuxuan, who had just slain a giant wolf, was shocked upon hearing this! He turned sharply towards the Wei River! He saw at least ten giant wolves and three of the largest wolf-headed war puppets had broken through the weak defenses of several soldiers and pounced on the embankment of the irrigation canal! One of the war puppets raised a huge bone hammer, wrapped in dark red patterns and radiating an ominous aura, high in its hand, aiming it at the key spot marked with a wolf's head below the embankment! The eerie green light on the bone hammer flickered wildly, clearly containing terrifying destructive power!
"Stop it!" Xiao Yuxuan roared, desperately trying to rush forward! But the distance was too great! And several giant wolves were blocking his way!
Ji Zhai was also entangled with the two war puppets and was unable to spare any attention!
Xuanweizi waved his whisk, and the gentle breeze could only slightly slow down the monster's speed, but could not stop the impending hammer of destruction!
The bone hammer, wreathed in eerie red patterns, was about to crash down with immense force. If it triggered the core trap, the consequences would be unimaginable!
At this critical moment!
"Whoosh—!"
A soft, even trembling sound rang out as the air was being torn apart!
A short crossbow bolt, crudely made and with a slightly crooked shaft, shot out from the hole in the school wall like an angry fledgling!
The target was not the war puppet that held aloft a bone hammer, but the crystal in its eye socket that shimmered with a ghostly green light!
The archer was none other than Atu, whom Xiao Yuxuan had pushed into the hole in the wall! He somehow found a crossbow that Ji Zhai had given to his apprentices to practice with, which had very little power. His face turned pale with fright, and his hands trembled violently, but he gritted his teeth and used his injured fingers to pull the trigger!
"puff!"
The crossbow bolt struck the edge of the eerie green crystal with pinpoint accuracy (or perhaps sheer luck)! Although the force wasn't enough to shatter the crystal, it caused the war puppet's movement to deflect slightly, almost imperceptibly!
It was that instantaneous deflection!
"laugh--!"
A blade of light, as fast as a ghost, like a cold lightning bolt flashing through the darkness, suddenly burst forth from the shadows beside the battle puppet without warning!
The blade's target was not the war puppet's sturdy body, but its right shoulder joint, which was slightly stiffened by the interference of Atu's crossbow bolts—a vulnerable point connected by wooden tenons and rusted iron hoops!
"Snap!"
A sickening cracking sound rang out! The metal arm, wreathed in eerie red markings and wielding a terrifying bone hammer, was severed cleanly at the shoulder by this precise and ruthless strike! The heavy bone hammer, along with the severed arm, crashed onto the cold riverbank, just feet away from the crucial point! The splashed mud smeared several giant wolves nearby!
A slender, somewhat frail figure rolled out from the shadows of the fallen war puppets like a raccoon dog, landing on the embankment. He gripped a strangely styled short sword in a reverse grip; the blade was long and narrow, with a subtle curve, gleaming with a cold, bluish light in the dim twilight. His face bore the weariness and grime of a long march, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, filled with youthful vigor and… a hint of barely concealed excitement!
It was Xiao Yuxuan's son, Xiao Dingbian! He had somehow sneaked back to Longshou Plain and delivered a fatal blow to the battle puppet at the most crucial moment!
"Dad! Grandpa Ji!" Xiao Ding wiped the mud off his face and shouted excitedly to Xiao Yuxuan and Ji Zhai, who were fighting bloody battles in the distance, "I'm back! This broken blockhead is nothing special!"
However, before he could finish speaking!
"Woo-hoo—!"
A roar, more ferocious and violent than any wolf howl before, like a death knell from the deepest hell, suddenly rang out from the dark forest upstream of the irrigation canal!
With this roar, an unimaginably huge black shadow, like a collapsing mountain, carrying a bloody storm, crashed through several dead trees as thick as bowls and pounced on Xiao Dingbian, who had just stood firm on the embankment, and the key node of the water diversion project behind him!
It was a gigantic wolf-like monster, the size of a calf, covered in jet-black, needle-like mane! Its head was unusually large, and on its forehead, a blood-dripping wolf skull talisman, the size of a fist and shimmering with dark red light, was embedded in its skull like a third evil eye! The giant wolf's eyes were as red as pools of blood, and it spewed a foul, sulfurous stench from its mouth. Its four paws pounded the ground, causing it to tremble slightly!
The real killing move! The Blood Wolf King Puppet, controlled by the Beast-Headed Faction and a fusion of sinister mechanisms and the ferocity of beasts! Its forehead, inlaid with a huge bone rune, was facing the core node of the water diversion project, radiating destructive energy fluctuations!
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