Chapter 31: The Mysterious White Wolf

Zhong Di assessed the situation and chose not to step forward and help. He couldn't intervene in the fights involving Liu Ming and Wang Gui, who were all at the ninth level of the Xiantian stage. Trying to intervene there would be suicidal. Only with Tang Xiaoyou could he potentially lend a hand.

Tang Xiaoyou had just declared that Zhong Shan was at the third level of the Xiantian stage, while Zhong Di himself was at the fourth level. Knowing Zhong Shan well, Zhong Di understood that Zhong Shan would never reveal his true strength lightly. Thus, he dared not engage Zhong Shan in combat. Gradually, he withdrew from the battlefield, hiding in the background.

The more Tang Xiaoyou fought, the more anxious he became. Zhong Shan, supposedly at the third level of the Xiantian stage, wielded his blade with uncanny precision. It was as if every strike targeted the weak points of Tang Xiaoyou's sword.

"Shoot! Shoot the arrows!" Tang Xiaoyou shouted to the incoming Tang family archers.

Arrows could still affect those who had just entered the Xiantian stage, but for someone like Tian Ling'er, who had already formed true essence, they were useless against the dense aura surrounding her. Zhong Shan, however, hadn't yet cultivated true essence. His body only emitted a faint protective aura of true qi, which was insufficient to block the arrows.

While he couldn't block them, Zhong Shan could still dodge. The speed of a Xiantian expert was far beyond what these archers could aim at. As a volley of arrows rained down, Zhong Shan leaped, swiftly moving towards the small wolf. A second, denser volley of arrows followed, aimed directly at him.

Seeing the thick barrage, Zhong Shan realized he couldn't dodge it all. A fierce determination gleamed in his eyes.

"Demonic Body Tempering Art!"

His muscles suddenly swelled, rapidly expanding to shield his body.

When Zhong Shan had initially drawn his large blade, the Zhao family servants had scattered in fear, dropping the small demon wolf.

The wolf had been in a deep sleep but was jolted awake by the fall, feeling immediate pain. As it awoke, it saw the chaotic battle in the courtyard. Then, a rain of arrows, a sight it had seen humans use before, shot towards it.

Are they finally going to kill me? Just like the other wolves, will I be shot dead by these human arrows?

Grandfather, won't you come save me? They are going to kill me. I'm going to die. Grandfather, Grandfather!

Despair filled the demon wolf's eyes as it watched the arrows speeding towards it. Regret flooded its heart. If only it hadn't run away, it wouldn't be dying now, wouldn't have met these evil people.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Suddenly, the wolf heard an angry roar. The rain of arrows vanished from its sight, blocked by a massive human body that had moved in front of it. That body embraced the wolf tightly.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

The demon wolf felt the human's body tremble as arrows struck it repeatedly. Each tremor was a sign of an arrow hitting its flesh.

He's using his body to shield me from the arrows? He's saving me? Is he the good person Grandfather always spoke of? A good person?

"Zhong Shan!"

In the distance, Tian Ling'er's anxious voice called out.

Zhong Shan leaped to a corner of the courtyard, gently placing the demon wolf in a safe spot before springing back into the fray.

"I'm fine!" Zhong Shan shouted to Tian Ling'er.

Gripping his large blade, he swung ferociously at Tang Xiaoyou.

"Mountain-Cleaving Strike!"

Under the Demonic Body Tempering Art, Zhong Shan unleashed twice his normal strength. Pouring all his power into the strike, his blade sliced through the air with a surge of red killing aura, slashing towards Tang Xiaoyou.

Seeing Zhong Shan's bloodthirsty eyes, Tang Xiaoyou felt a fear he had never experienced before. His entire body trembled as he raised his sword to block the blow.

"Clang~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~."

"Slice~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~."

Tang Xiaoyou's sword shattered, and his body was cleaved in two. Blood sprayed across the courtyard, splattering everywhere.

With a fierce expression, Zhong Shan lifted his gaze towards the archers. Terrified, the archers had already lost their nerve. Despite having shot so many arrows at him, none had seemed to affect him. Had his body been made of steel? The archers scattered, vanishing without a trace.

"Retreat!" Liu Ming, having been defeated by Zhao Suoxiang, shouted to Wang Gui. His figure flashed as he leaped onto a rooftop, disappearing from sight.

Wang Gui followed suit, fleeing swiftly.

As for Zhong Di, he had vanished early on.

Tian Ling'er, concerned for Zhong Shan, ran to him the moment Wang Gui left. Seeing the numerous holes in his back, she worriedly asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zhong Shan shook his head.

Tian Ling'er quickly pulled aside his outer garment. Seeing the truth, she found that indeed, he was uninjured, with only a few red marks on his back. Those marks, rather than diminishing him, seemed to add to his masculine charm.

Masculine charm? Tian Ling'er blushed, quickly covering him up again.

"Zhong Shan, are you alright?" Zhao Suoxiang asked.

"I'm fine," Zhong Shan replied, shaking his head.

"Zhong Shan, you are the most extraordinary person I've ever seen. A third-level Xiantian expert, yet you managed to kill a fourth-level one with a single strike. When you form your true essence, I must challenge you to a duel," Zhao Suoxiang said with a laugh.

"Alright, it's a promise," Zhong Shan responded heartily.

Then, Zhong Shan walked over to where the demon wolf was. He gently picked up the demon wolf.

"Zhong Shan, thanks to you, we found the demon wolf. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen it. You saved it just now, so this demon wolf belongs to you," Zhao Suoxiang said readily.

Zhao Suoxiang was a person who clearly distinguished between grievances and favors. He felt a twinge of guilt for misunderstanding Zhong Shan before, and now that the truth was revealed, the demon wolf was a token of apology.

"Okay," Zhong Shan responded without hesitation, accepting the demon wolf as his own.

Carrying the demon wolf, Zhong Shan returned to the previous courtyard where the maids had prepared water for him to wash away the blood stains.

The demon wolf was also covered in blood.

Zhong Shan brought it to the bathing area and tossed it into the pool, leaving its head outside. He didn't pay it any more attention and proceeded to wash himself.

After cleaning himself, he turned his attention back to the demon wolf. He quickly washed it in the pool, turning it over and adjusting it continuously.

"Huh, this high-level demon wolf is different. Its entire body is covered in fur, and you can't even tell if it's male or female," Zhong Shan exclaimed with surprise.

Nevertheless, he quickly finished washing the demon wolf's entire body and chuckled, "It's a female wolf. No wonder I couldn't tell."

After dressing, Zhong Shan carried the wolf out.

"Zhong Shan, you should release this young wolf. It's still so small. Let it return to its pack. Otherwise, it will starve to death sooner or later, and we don't know what it eats," Tian Ling'er immediately suggested.

Seeing Tian Ling'er's insistence on releasing the wolf, Zhong Shan felt a headache coming on. Release it? But it's a fourth-grade elixir. However, considering the condition of the young wolf, he realized that it might not survive for long. After all, he had noticed that the wolf didn't seem to eat the rice soup he had vomited out earlier at the poolside.

It might not survive for long, and once it died and its blood dried up, it would be of no use. If he took care of it, he would have another thing to look after.

Seeing Tian Ling'er's unwavering determination to release the wolf, Zhong Shan shook his head and said somewhat indulgently, "Alright, I'll listen to you."

"Zhong Shan, are you really planning to release this young wolf?" Zhao Suoxiang couldn't believe it.

"Yes."

Zhong Shan initially felt a bit reluctant, but since he had promised Tian Ling'er, he let go of his reluctance. Once a man made a promise, he must fulfill it, and that was Zhong Shan's way of doing things.

"Alright, I'll take you there," Zhao Suoxiang nodded immediately. Since Zhong Shan agreed, he had nothing more to say.

In the afternoon, the group arrived at a remote mountainous area in the north. Although Zhao Suoxiang was also at the Ninth Stage of the Innate Realm, his spear couldn't carry him like Tian Ling'er's red silk could. After all, the materials for Tian Ling'er's red silk were not easy to come by.

When they reached the small lake, Zhong Shan gently placed the demon wolf down.

"Let's go, let's go," Tian Ling'er exclaimed joyfully.

The demon wolf looked at Zhong Shan in disbelief, then at the other two, took a few steps forward, then turned around. Finally, it confirmed that Zhong Shan was really letting it go. At that moment, the demon wolf finally realized that Zhong Shan was indeed a good person, and that it had encountered a good person.

The demon wolf quickly ran up to Zhong Shan. Zhong Shan, with a puzzled expression, reached out to pick up the demon wolf, but it leaped lightly out of his grasp. It looked at Zhong Shan's left palm and licked it gently. Then, it suddenly spat out a white liquid from its mouth.

Spit?

The three of them watched in amazement at what the demon wolf did to Zhong Shan. Zhong Shan had released it, yet it still spat on him? But did the demon wolf know what it meant to spit?

After spitting out the white liquid, the demon wolf leaped away and quickly disappeared into the depths of the mountains, out of Zhong Shan's sight.

"This little wolf, even after you released it, it still spat on you," Tian Ling'er said with a smile.

But Zhong Shan didn't say anything.

Spit? It wasn't spit. Zhong Shan felt that the white liquid, when it entered the palm of his left hand, quickly permeated his body. And he had a feeling that the white liquid seemed to have merged into his bloodstream.

Shaking his head, Zhong Shan shook off his doubts.

"Alright, let's go back," Zhong Shan said.

"Okay," Tian Ling'er responded immediately.

Then, the three of them, as before, quickly left the mountain and headed back.

Unbeknownst to them, after half an hour, on a peak in the distance, a strange sight appeared.

A large wolf, a giant wolf standing two meters tall, stood on the mountaintop. And on top of this giant wolf's head was a small wolf, about a foot tall. It was the same little wolf that Zhong Shan had just released.

The little wolf stood on the head of the big wolf, watching Zhong Shan slowly disappear into the mountains. Then, the little wolf gently called out a few times to the big wolf below, as if commanding it.

The big wolf immediately responded with a few howls, as if obeying the little wolf's command, and quickly turned around, rushing into the depths of the mountains.