"Awoooooo!"
"Howwwwwl~"
After collecting this month's supplies, Tang Wen immediately returned to the Beast Taming Garden without another word.
By evening, the Sand Wolf had successfully evolved into a Superior Exotic Beast.
It excitedly let out continuous howls.
"Yapping away! What's all this racket? Disturbing the peace!" A woman's sharp voice rang out, clearly impatient.
From the tone, she was clearly a Martial Practitioner with skills.
Wu Hao's expression darkened: "I'll go shut her up!"
In his view, this was his own failure - allowing nearby riffraff to disturb Tang Wen's mood.
"Ah, forget it." The latter waved magnanimously. "The Sand Wolf probably won't quiet down tonight anyway. Perfect timing - I'll take it out for some fresh air."
"Fresh air? You mean leaving the city? Fine, I'll gather the brothers to come along!"
Tang Wen couldn't refuse.
Providing daily protection for Tang Wen was Wu Hao's squad's assigned duty.
Originally planning to leave the city alone, Tang Wen added: "Bring some liquor and tents. We'll stay out overnight. All this secluded training has left me dizzy and bleary-eyed."
"Understood." Wu Hao went to prepare.
Now, several months had passed since the drought began.
Yet the disaster showed no signs of easing.
Though with autumn's arrival, temperatures had dropped considerably.
Before departure, Tang Wen retrieved the [Azure Stone Slab] from the Beast Taming Garden's pool, stuffing it into a cushion.
Throughout the process, even with the Sand Wolf keeping watch around them,
He couldn't help frequently glancing about.
A persistent feeling of being watched nagged at him.
Night fell as they left Mountain Chasing City.
Cool night winds brushed against their faces.
The group exhaled in relief.
Within Mountain Chasing City, their status wasn't particularly high, forcing them to tread carefully.
But in the wilderness, the world suddenly felt vast and open.
Even their moods lightened considerably.
Tang Wen, however, didn't share this buoyant feeling.
Not long ago, crows had spotted General Zhao and Qian Dong at Four Seas Camp.
Naturally, the crows had also discovered the wanted posters.
Thus, his current excursion aimed to meet these two.
They raced dozens of miles in one go.
Arriving at a flat grassland,
The group cheerfully pitched their tents.
They took out prepared meats of various kinds, built simple stoves, and began roasting meat while boiling a crimson hotpot.
Starlight, grassland, the crackling of burning firewood.
The aroma of grilled meat wafted through the air.
Caught by the breeze, it was exceptionally pleasant.
Several barrels of low-alcohol beer were opened -
Basically considered soft drinks in the Martial Practitioners' world.
Tang Wen rested his head on the cushion concealing the stone slab, watching the swirling Milky Way above.
Lamb, ribs, and tongue were served in succession.
Between the barbecue and hotpot,
Gazing at the starry sky and brilliant galaxy,
The group chatted and laughed merrily.
Amid the revelry, Tang Wen suddenly raised his cup: "Tomorrow we'll visit Four Seas Camp for some fun."
Their eyes lit up, faces breaking into knowing masculine grins.
"Perfect! We'll sleep here tonight and accompany Young Master Tang to Four Seas Camp first thing tomorrow."
Tang Wen nodded: "I've been too cooped up lately from secluded training. At Four Seas Camp, everyone gets three hundred taels spending money."
Hearing this, their smiles widened further.
Of course, this money wouldn't come from Tang Wen's pocket.
The Blackwater Gang would reimburse it.
After finishing the brought liquor, half-drunk, everyone returned to their tents.
Soon snores rose in chorus.
Once certain they slept, Tang Wen crept to Wu Hao's tent.
"Something wrong?" Wu Hao grabbed his robe, draping it over himself.
Tang Wen didn't hide it from him: "Tonight I'll go ahead on the Sand Wolf, and you can catch up tomorrow morning."
"No way."
"What's the problem? With the Sand Wolf, I can escape any danger. You all should be more careful."
"This... How about I come with you?"
"Enough talk."
After some back-and-forth, Tang Wen mounted the Sand Wolf and left.
Wu Hao muttered under his breath: "Can't even wait one night? Still so young, always in such a hurry."
Meanwhile, in Mountain Chasing City, the Black-tailed Crow opened its jet-black eyes.
Like an arrow, it shot into the sky, heading toward the direction of Four Seas Camp.
On the wilderness, the Sand Wolf raced with the wind at incredible speed.
Soon, Wu Hao couldn't even see a shadow of them.
Without overthinking it, he returned to his tent to sleep, preparing to catch up with Tang Wen early the next morning.
Once separated from the group, Tang Wen's expression turned cold.
He silently urged the Sand Wolf to go faster, then faster still.
It wasn't that there was any urgent matter.
Nor was it that General Zhao or Qian Dong were in any danger.
Ever since returning to the Beast Taming Garden today, that feeling of being watched had clung to him like a shadow.
Had someone set their sights on him again?
The Sand Wolf moved like a gust of wind.
Swiftly disappearing beyond the horizon.
Thirty miles passed in an instant.
Fifty miles took no longer than drinking a cup of tea.
A hundred miles raced by.
Tang Wen keenly noticed that the feeling of being watched had weakened considerably.
But it was still there.
Yet along this entire journey, there had been nothing behind him.
The starry sky above was equally empty.
Not a single suspicious thing in sight.
The Sand Wolf changed direction, leaving the unobstructed flatlands and plunging into the mountain forests.
This detour took him off course.
With no rain for months,
many trees had completely withered.
A few days ago, a wildfire had swept through this area.
It was still uncertain whether it had been fully extinguished.
Entering the forest, the Sand Wolf's speed didn't diminish in the slightest.
Tang Wen clung tightly to the wolf's back, quietly pulling several pouches of powder from his robe.
As the Sand Wolf ran,
the packaged pepper powder scattered across the ground.
Hiss!
The Sand Wolf came to a stop.
Beneath the deep black ashes ahead, a crimson glow flickered.
The wildfire wasn't out.
The Sand Wolf turned and continued its sprint.
There it was!
The feeling of being watched.
Had the pursuer caught up?
Who could it be?
Tang Wen couldn't be sure.
Was it a Transcendent from the Blackwater Gang secretly protecting him?
Or that female Transcendent?
Or perhaps some other faction?
If it was someone from the Blackwater Gang, they would have already seen him take out the [Azure Stone Slab].
But he had no choice.
The stone pool wasn't safe anymore.
If he didn't take it, that female Transcendent would claim it for nothing.
If it was some enemy tracking him, that would actually be simpler to handle.
"Grrr!"
Leaving the wildfire zone and emerging onto the wilderness,
the Sand Wolf changed direction again.
It slowed its pace, moving downwind.
Before long,
the Sand Wolf began growling frequently.
It had caught the faint scent of pepper and was alerting Tang Wen.
The Sand Wolf's abilities were wind-aligned, combined with olfactory senses far surpassing humans'.
There could be no mistake.
By now, the man and wolf had traveled two to three hundred li from the previous campsite.
Not a soul around, not even a ghostly shadow.
Pepper was rare.
It wouldn't naturally appear in such a desolate place.
So where was this pepper scent coming from?
To rule out any mistake,
the Sand Wolf adjusted its course slightly, heading toward Four Seas Camp.
With a partial tailwind, the pepper scent remained.
Though growing fainter.
This confirmed beyond doubt that not only was someone following, but they were tracking from the ground.
Just now, I accidentally stepped on the pepper I had dropped earlier.
Invisibility?
Darkness Ability?
...
Four Seas Inn, a small courtyard.
A pitch-black crow descended from the sky.
"Caw, caw, caw!"
The door creaked open.
Disguised General Zhao and Qian Dong stepped out one after the other.
The two stared at the oversized crow before them, their minds racing with speculation.
The next moment, the crow used its sharp claws to scratch words into the ground.
[Wilderness southwest of Four Seas Camp, possibly being tracked by a Transcendent. Tang]
"Now?"
The Brown-tailed Crow nodded repeatedly.
Neither of them moved.
Qian Dong asked, "Where's the Blood Raven? Why didn't it come?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Blood Raven also descended from the sky.
It too scratched similar words into the ground.
Setting aside their doubts, the two left Four Seas Camp and arrived at a rocky outcrop outside the camp.
Two exaggeratedly large Sand Wolves lay lazily there.
General Zhao said, "I'll go alone."
Qian Dong's expression turned grave. "I'll only wait one night."
"Agreed."
With that, General Zhao rode the wolf southwest.
(End of Chapter)