44 Out of the frying pan right into the fire

Any wolves that were previously inside the burning building had already retreated.

The mortal man and his daughter clutched their weapons as they decisively rushed up to Chi Yan.

It was at this time that through the burning entrance of the building someone barged in and attracted everyone's attention. He had a tall and muscular body, his skin dark gray like iron, also having a metallic luster to it.

It was Chi Shan.

Chi Shan's eyes flashed as he noticed that Chi Yan was still safe, still staying inside the burning building. He shouted as he ran in, "Chi Yan!"

Chi Yan raised his eyebrows, positively surprised by Chi Shan's timely appearance. It was about time!

Chi Shan noticed the hole in the wall that Chi Yan made and the two exchanged silent glances. He nodded his head and squeezed himself through the hole first, beginning to lead the way.

The flames had already surrounded the bed and spread through most of the room.

Chi Yan didn't hesitate and ran out through the hole next, and then the two mortals followed.

As Chi Yan looked around the area again, he saw that lightning wolves had already begun to gather and started attacking them.

Just like before, he began sending out fireball rounds in all directions. At the same time he had the fire snake float near him to intimidate or kill any wolves that came into mid-range, following this basic strategy of his Gu set.

With Chi Shan acting as a vanguard and a close-range fighter attracting attention, the fight against lightning wolves became much easier.

Chi Shan, Chi Yan and the two mortals behind began to swiftly rendezvous around the house, following Chi Shan's lead.

Chi Shan, who fought in the front, only paid attention to Chi Yan from time to time, disregarding the other two, but Chi Yan was simply too good to allow the two mortals to die under his watch due to these ordinary crippled lightning wolves.

The four soon joined up with Chi Dan and Chi Suo on the main street. Gu Yue Shi He and Chi She were also there, fighting together in a group of four.

The truth is that Chi She had a strong movement Gu, so when running he could be even faster than these sickly wolves, and could still navigate in the night thanks to his scouting Gu; at one point he rejoined the team.

Gu Yue Chi Dan, Chi Suo, Chi She along with Shi He were originally surrounded by a large pack of wolves, but after Chi Shan and Chi Yan joined them, the situation quickly turned around.

Chi Yan kept up his fire snake in a shortened version mostly to illuminated the surroundings and in intimidation, while at the same time annihilating wolves after wolves with waves of ranged Rank 1 Fire Pellets.

Apart from the powerful support of Chi Shan and Chi Yan, thanks to the light from the fire snake, the other members also had a much easier time slaughtering any wolves that assaulted them.

The rain of Chi Yan's fire pellets that were being sent out non-stop was in particular by far the most devastating for the assaulting wolves.

Ten minutes later all of the attacking wolves were annihilated and the remaining ones frantically retreated into the darkness of the night.

More than a hundred wolf corpses, maybe two hundred, littered the ground around the group just in the close vicinity.

"Finally over!" Gu Yue Shi He let out a loud breath of relief.

"So many lightning wolves attacked this mortal hamlet we were staying at. Our luck was really bad," Chi Suo said with a cold voice.

"It isn't yet the time of the wolf tide, so a small beast horde must be forming close to our Gu Yue Village. But the amount of wolves that attack tonight is quite peculiar," Chi Dan said as he rubbed his stubble, frowning.

Chi Shan and Chi Suo also had perplexed expressions.

With the amount that attacked, the entire hamlet was suddenly crushed. The only people that survived were the six Gu Masters, while the only mortal left alive in sight were just the two that followed Chi Yan.

Such coordinated wolf pack attacks only happen close to the eruption of the main wolf tide with clear earlier warnings, so the veteran group members couldn't help but feel that something was not right.

Crippled lightning wolves most of the time hunt in smaller packs, because they lack a leader - a beast king.

Earlier the group of Gu Masters was under the constant assault of lightning wolves, so they didn't have time to think, but now that they considered their situation, they felt suspicious.

Chi Shan finally said, "These are all crippled lightning wolves and not mixed beast groups. I have a bad feeling about it. It isn't impossible that this pack was provoked by one of the other Mountain Villages."

The other three members hummed solemnly, also having similar thoughts.

"Is it possible to coordinate such a large amount of wolves to attack a hamlet? At this time any crippled wolves should be quite scattered, right? And isn't it quite difficult and dangerous to pull off?" Chi Yan asked.

He just didn't think that the clans of Qing Mao Mountain had the means to do that. Perhaps during the wolf tide yes, but not in the current situation where the wolves were probably not gathered in large packs, not having beast kings ruling over them.

At this time, there should also be lots of wild beasts like wild boars and others on the mountain.

Chi Shan shook his head. "It is difficult to gather and control a large beast horde to attack a hamlet, but it is not impossible with proper Gu worms and some luck."

Chi Dan added, speculating, "There have been reports of some unusual movements in the Wolf Den. It is possible that crippled wolves have gathered not that far away to regroup. By stirring a hornets' nest and using a special beast attracting powder, with good luck it really is possible to gather the wolves and lure them to attack a village."

Chi Yan frowned. 'They all seem that it was a coordinated beast horde attack and not a random one. Is that why it didn't happen in the novel? Or is it an alternate universe or does it mean it's because of me?'

As if to answer Chi Yan's thoughts, Chi Suo smiled bitterly and said, "Junior brother, if there was an opportunity for the other two mountain villages to wipe out our team safely, then they would surely take it. You sure are dazzling, but whether you were with us or not, they would still attack."

Without even mentioning Chi Yan's talent, Chi Shan's team was one of the three top teams of the Gu Yue clan. Whether it was Qing Shu's or Mo Yan's teams, they would face the same predicament.

The three clans worked together during the time of the wolf tide, but during 'peace time' they were secretly at war.

Chi Yan lightly wrinkled his brows. He then looked into his primeval sea and noticed that it was around 67%. He has been fighting non-stop, also keeping up his fire snake, so his primeval essence remained at a similar level.

The group then gathered at a terrace of one of the mortal houses while discussing their situation.

…

A while ago.

Around two hundred steps away from Chi Shan's team a group of Gu Masters was gathered together, observing the situation within the mortal hamlet.

One of the Gu masters was squatting down with his ear touching the ground, using a scouting Gu worm that enhanced his hearing. Compared to a heat detection based Gu worm that Chi She uses, this one had a much greater scouting range.

The Reconnaissance Gu Master said, "Team leader, judging by their casual conversation it seems that they all made it out alive. The lightning wolves were all chased away."

The team leader that the Reconnaissance Gu Master was addressing was a thin and short young man. His skin was pale and he gave an impression of a patient that had just recovered from an illness, giving off a feeling of being weak and sickly.

However, despite that peron's sickly appearance everyone on the team appeared to treat him with great respect.

The Team Leader sighed and said in a lazy-sounding tone: "Sigh, it seems that Chi Shan's team is not too bad. Very well then. Their primeval essence should be completely exhausted by now. We'll go in and quickly finish them off!"

The Team Leader smiled coldly. They were sent on a scouting mission to investigate the situation at the Wolves' Den, investigating the unusual movements. Luck had it that hundreds of crippled lightning wolves were just chased out of the Wolves' Den, and then their team encountered Chi Shan's group while returning.

It was a great opportunity! If they could annihilate Chi Shan's team, along with that false A-grade kid from the Chi family, then they would earn great merits back in the clan!

…

"You two are fine, right?" Chi Yan asked the mortal man and Xiao Li who stood at the side. At this time Chi Yan's skin had already turned crimson red due to the effect of Double Ortifice Stove Gu, making him appear slightly sinister.

Despite Chi Yan's frightening strength and slightly devilish skin color, the expression of the two mortals were those of gratitude. Upon seeing the wretched state of the village, the two mortals couldn't help but be filled with gratitude toward Chi Yan.

The mortal man quickly kneeled down on the ground first and deeply kowtowed, his forehead touching the ground. "We are unharmed. Thank you, Lord, thank you for saving our lives."

The young girl did the same and followed her father, kneeling down and thanking for Chi Yan's protection.

"You're welcome," Chi Yan said indifferently, faintly smiling as if what he did was not worthy of mention.

At that moment Chi Shan approached him. "Chi Yan, use primeval stones. We don't know if we'll have to fight again soon."

Chi Shan handed Chi Yan a bag with some primeval stones. 

"Okay." Chi Yan took the money bag. He ignored the two mortals and squatted down, beginning to use the primeval stones along with the other Gu Masters.

However, it didn't take long before Chi She opened his mouth, "Sssssss. Five humans are approaching us at a high speed from that direction."

Chi She pointed in a direction with his finger; all this time he kept track of the surroundings.

All of the Gu Masters present immediately went on high alert and stood up.

"Friend or foe?" Chi Shan asked in a low voice.

"It's hard to say, they're rushing quickly straight in our direction. They are skinny, probably not Xiong clan's Gu Masters." Chi She could not discern the identity of the intruders just based on their body heat and body shape after all.

Chi Yan also looked in that direction, squinting his eyes. 'Five humans? They couldn't be reinforcements, could they?'

Uncaring if his scouting Gu was revealed or not, Chi Yan activated Wolf Eye Gu and his eyes turned yellow. He soon saw a group of five people rushing in their direction in the distance.

As the five grew closer, thanks to his superhuman vision, Chi Yan noticed their faces and expressions. He said, "They don't look like friends to me."

Chi Shan looked at Chi Yan and then frowned as he stepped forward a few steps with a stern face.

A while later the five figures of the attackers were visible to everyone.

"Bai Bing Yi!" Chi Shan hissed coldly as he recognized the leader of the enemy team. "It had to be you. So you were the one behind this lightning wolf attack!"

The small and pale man addressed as Bai Bing Yi faintly smiled. Using this chance to mock the Gu Yue clan, he said, "That's right. Chi Shan, you sent out a signal flare, but honestly - how much time do you think it will take for you to receive reinforcements during peacetime? Do you think you people can make it out alive now when your entire team is low on primeval essence? You're finished, just like your Gu Yue clan."

Chi Shan gritted his teeth, but Bai Bing Yi was right. 'Chi Dan's primeval essence must be exhausted right now, while Chi Suo and Chi She should be quite low as well. Chi Yan had also fought so intensely all this time and is a beginner, so he must be in a poor condition. I'm a close-range fighter, so I'm the only one with a decent level of primeval essence.'

It was clear that the situation was not looking good.

Chi Yan also frowned as his sight landed on the sickly looking young man addressed as Bai Bing Yi. He thought, 'Bai Bing Yi, he's the number one Rank 2 Gu Master of the Bai clan. In the younger generation he's only inferior to Bai Ning Bing, while his five-man team is the number one team of Bai clan. Out of everyone, we had to encounter his team!!!'

Chi Yan also remembered that in the novel during the Three Clans Alliance Bai Bing Yi's team competed closely with Qing Shu's team for the number one ranking when it came to hunting lightning wolves.

Bai Bing Yi's bunch was one of the two strongest teams on Qing Mao Mountain!

In comparison, the Xiong clan's strongest team would now include the beginner Xiong Lin and the Xiong Jiang who possessed the Roaming Zombie Gu and Chi Yan knew his trump cards, and also the predictable Xiong Li who was focused on physical strength; it would be much easier to deal with them instead!

Chi Shan gave Chi Yan a solemn look and said in a low voice, "Chi Yan, you have a movement Gu. We can die, but you cannot. You are the hope of our clan. Escape while we stall Bai Bing Yi's group."

Although Chi Shan felt fear, the spirit of self sacrifice for the clan had been long ingrained in his heart; he had the resolution to fight to the death with Bai Bing Yi and stall time just so Chi Yan could escape!

Bai Bing Yi laughed, the corner of his eye keeping track of Chi Yan's movements. "Chi Shan, even at your full strength you were merely so-so and now think you'd be able to stall us? Prepare to die!"

Bai Bing Yi began gathering water droplets in his right hand, while everyone else also began to adopt a fighting stance.

"Wait, wait, wait! You people are forgetting about something very important!" Chi Yan suddenly called out.

Everyone looked at Chi Yan.