nownovels Chapter 20: Re-exploring the Outskirts of the Wolf's Den
Chapter 20: Re-exploring the Outskirts of the Wolf's Den
The night was as dark as ink, the moon was hidden and the stars were few.
This was the night before the plan was to be carried out. As agreed, Uncle Zhang and the others had secretly contacted more people in Blackstone Town and quietly moved their families and valuables to a relatively safe place. Butcher Li and Widow Liu even secretly hid some simple weapons—kitchen knives, axes, sharpened wooden sticks, and some caltrops and nail boards that Uncle Zhang had hastily made.
Lin Yan and Su Qingyao need to complete the second step of their plan on this last night: infiltrate the outer perimeter of the wolf's den and set up bait.
The two changed into the most practical attire—dark, tight-fitting clothes, their hands and feet bound tightly with strips of cloth to prevent noise or snagging on branches. Lin Yan carried a new knife specially made for him by Uncle Zhang; the blade was thick and heavy, and had been repeatedly tempered. Although still rudimentary, it was several times stronger than the rusty, standard-issue longsword he had previously carried. Su Qingyao carried a specially made leather pouch containing alluring incense, a dimensional-crossing talisman, a berserker powder, and some emergency medicine and talismans.
"Are you ready?" Lin Yan asked in a low voice.
Su Qingyao took a deep breath and nodded. Her leg injury had mostly healed; although it still ached slightly, it no longer affected her mobility.
The two pushed aside the wooden planks leading out of the cellar and silently disappeared into the night.
This time, they chose a more concealed route—instead of exiting through the town gate, they climbed directly over the section of the town wall on the west side that was not yet fully repaired. Two veterans on night watch were dozing off, their snores particularly loud in the quiet night.
Lin Yan and Su Qingyao, like two nocturnal raccoons, easily scaled the town wall and landed in the bushes outside.
Looking back, Blackrock Town slumbered in darkness, with only a few scattered lights like candles about to go out. This town, after tomorrow, might be reborn, or perhaps... it would utterly perish.
"Let's go." Lin Yan withdrew his gaze, turned around, and ran towards Canglang Mountain.
Su Qingyao followed closely behind.
This time, they were much faster than before. Lin Yan had fully adapted to the strength and speed of the peak Body Tempering stage, easily leaping several meters with each bound, landing as lightly as a feather, making almost no sound. Su Qingyao's movements were even more exquisite. Although her cultivation was not as high as Lin Yan's, she appeared more agile and graceful as she moved through the forest, as if she had merged with the darkness.
Half an hour later, the two arrived at the foot of Canglang Mountain.
The air here was colder and more gloomy than in town, filled with a faint, fishy smell—the scent of demon wolves. The forest at night was more dangerous than during the day, as countless nocturnal demons began to stir, and eerie cries and rustling crawling sounds echoed from the darkness.
"Be careful," Lin Yan said in a low voice, "stay close to me."
Su Qingyao nodded, her right hand already reaching for the short sword at her waist.
Lin Yan closed his eyes, carefully recalling the scenes he had seen in the demon wolf's memories—the location of the cave entrance, the surrounding terrain, the routes of the patrolling wolf pack…
"This way." He opened his eyes and chose a relatively secluded path.
The path was hidden behind dense bushes, and there were obvious trampling marks on the ground, indicating that monsters frequently passed through. But now it was late at night, the time when most monsters were resting, making it safer than those open areas.
The two climbed up the path.
Su Qingyao occasionally took out the small compass—the Demonic Aura Tracking Compass—to confirm the direction. The compass needle trembled slightly, pointing to a certain direction deep in the mountains and forests, where the demonic aura was most concentrated—the location of the wolf's den.
The higher you go, the stronger the demonic aura becomes.
The stench in the air was almost nauseating, and scattered wolf fur and dried blood began to appear on the ground. Occasionally, small bone fragments could be seen, whether from wild animals or...humans, it was unclear.
Lin Yan's face was icy as he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly.
After walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they suddenly heard light footsteps ahead.
Lin Yan immediately pulled Su Qingyao behind an ancient tree and concealed their presence.
A moment later, three blue-furred demon wolves slowly emerged from the woods. They were five feet tall at the shoulders, with robust bodies, and their eyes gleamed with an eerie green light, clearly on night patrol.
The three-headed wolves stopped less than ten feet away from where the two were hiding. One of them raised its head and sniffed the air, as if it had sensed something unusual.
Lin Yan held his breath, and the Soul Devouring True Essence within his body slowly circulated, ready to erupt at any moment.
But the wolf just circled around in confusion a few times, and ultimately, seemingly finding nothing, it slowly walked away.
"That was close." Su Qingyao breathed a sigh of relief.
"They're very sensitive to the smell of blood," Lin Yan said in a low voice. "We don't have any wounds, but they might still be able to smell the bloodstains on our clothes. We need to be extra careful from now on."
The two continued forward, but with even greater caution.
Another half hour passed, and the view ahead suddenly opened up – they had climbed to a relatively flat high ground halfway up the mountain.
Looking down from here, one can see a huge natural cave entrance a hundred feet below. The entrance is about three zhang high and five zhang wide, hidden by dense vines and bushes, making it extremely difficult to spot without prior knowledge. On either side of the entrance, two enormous demonic wolves lie in wait, their eyes gleaming with an eerie green light in the darkness.
This is the entrance to the wolf's den.
"This is it." Lin Yan lowered his voice and pointed to the entrance of the cave. "According to my memory, the Bloodfang Wolf King and most of the demon wolves are sleeping inside. There are also some patrol teams on the perimeter; the one we just encountered was one of them."
Su Qingyao carefully observed the surrounding terrain.
The cave is located below a steep mountain wall, with a relatively open slope in front, covered with low shrubs and weeds. A stream flows gently to the left, and a dense ancient forest is to the right.
"We need an observation point." Su Qingyao looked around and finally fixed her gaze on a rock wall protrusion about fifty feet above the cave. "It's higher up there, with a wide view, and the rocks will block the view, making it harder to be spotted."
Lin Yan followed her gaze and saw that the protruding rock face was indeed a good spot.
"Can we go up?"
"Sure." Su Qingyao nodded. "I learned a simple rock climbing technique from the Demon-Slaying Manual, so this level of rock face shouldn't be a problem."
"Alright, let's use that place as our base."
The two moved cautiously toward the rock face.
They avoided two more patrolling wolf packs along the way and arrived at the bottom of the rock wall without any major incidents.
The cliff face was steep, about ten zhang high, and its surface was covered with weathered cracks and protruding rocks. Su Qingyao took a deep breath, her body leaping up like a nimble ape. She grabbed a protruding rock with both hands, lightly touched the cliff face with her toes, and darted upwards a little further. In a few leaps, she had already landed lightly on the platform at the top of the cliff.
Lin Yan secretly admired it. This kind of movement technique had transcended the scope of ordinary martial arts and was more like some kind of immortal cultivation method.
He didn't possess Su Qingyao's exquisite agility, but with his peak Body Tempering strength, climbing this rock wall was effortless. Using both hands and feet, he clung to the rock face like a gecko, quickly climbing upwards and reaching the platform in half the time it took Su Qingyao.
The platform is small, about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) square, and is conveniently hidden by several protruding rocks, making it difficult to spot from below. Standing here, one can clearly see the entrance to the cave below, as well as a large area around it.
"This place is very nice." Su Qingyao nodded in satisfaction.
She took out several small flags and some special powder from the pouch and began to get busy.
"Are you going to set up a formation?" Lin Yan asked.
"A small 'concealment array' and a 'soundproof array'," Su Qingyao explained as she set it up. "The concealment array can hide our presence and form. As long as we don't make too much noise, the demon wolves below will have a hard time finding us. The soundproof array can prevent our voices from being heard."
She moved swiftly, her fingers flying across the paper, and seven small flags were planted in specific positions along the edge of the platform, forming an irregular heptagon. Then, she sprinkled the specially made powder between the flags, chanting incantations.
As the incantation was performed, the powder began to glow faintly, and the seven small flags trembled gently. An invisible wave spread out from the platform, enveloping the entire platform.
Lin Yan immediately sensed that the surrounding sounds seemed to become blurred, and their auras seemed to be veiled by a thin veil, becoming faint and indistinct.
"It's done." Su Qingyao wiped the sweat from her forehead. "This formation can last for four hours, which is enough for us to use."
As Lin Yan experienced the effects of the formation, his admiration for the Su family's demon-slaying techniques grew even stronger.
"Next, set up the demon-attracting incense," he said.
The two divided the work and cooperated.
Su Qingyao remained on the platform, responsible for observing the activity in the cave below and being ready to provide support at any time. Lin Yan, carrying the alluring incense, went down to the ground again and began setting up traps at key locations along the mountain path.
The first spot he chose was a thicket of bushes about thirty feet in front of the cave entrance. The terrain here was slightly higher, and the wind coming down from the mountain would blow upwards as it passed through, carrying the scent of the alluring incense towards the cave.
Lin Yan carefully inserted a demon-attracting incense stick deep into the bushes, using withered leaves and soil for simple camouflage. Then, he used a specially made thin thread—made from the sinews of demonic beasts mixed with a special medicinal liquid, burning slowly and steadily—to connect the tip of the incense to a small piece of sulfur. He placed the sulfur piece upwind, about three feet from the incense tip.
"Delay ignition..." Lin Yan calculated the time.
As designed, when he ignites the sulfur flakes with a tinderbox from a distance, the sulfur flakes will burn slowly, reaching a thin thread after about 15 minutes. The thin thread will then burn for the time it takes to burn an incense stick before igniting the demon-attracting incense. This will give him enough time to retreat to a safe location, or even return to the observation point.
After setting up the first spot, Lin Yan moved down the mountain by about fifty feet and set up the second demon-attracting incense stick at another fork in the road.
This is the only route the demon wolves patrol, and because of its low elevation, the fragrance doesn't spread easily, allowing the demon wolves to stay longer.
He placed the third spot next to the stream.
The stream is where demonic beasts drink, and demonic wolves often come here at night. Lighting demon-attracting incense here can attract the wolves to gather at the maximum extent.
The three enticing incense sticks, located at three key points, form a triangular encirclement, partially surrounding the entrance to the cave.
It took Lin Yan nearly an hour to set up all the alluring incense.
He looked up at the sky; the moon was still hidden behind thick clouds, and there was still more than an hour until midnight.
The timing was perfect.
He quietly returned to the rock face platform, where Su Qingyao was nervously observing what was below.
"How is it?" Lin Yan asked.
"Everything is normal," Su Qingyao said in a low voice. "During the time you were gone, two more patrolling groups of demon wolves passed by, but they didn't find anything unusual. The guards at the cave entrance changed shifts; now there are two other demon wolves."
Lin Yan followed her gaze and, sure enough, the guards at the cave entrance had been replaced by two larger gray-furred demon wolves with a stronger aura, roughly at the mid-stage of Body Tempering.
"It seems the Wolf's Den is heavily guarded," Lin Yan mused. "But that's fine too; the tighter the defenses, the more valuable it is inside."
"The alluring incense has been prepared?"
"Yes, all three points are set up, and the delayed ignition mechanism is also in place." Lin Yan took out a specially made small bamboo tube from his pocket. "This is a ignition tube. It contains a mixture of sulfur powder and saltpeter powder. Just pull out the stopper and blow hard, and it will spray out sparks to ignite the sulfur flakes thirty feet away."
Su Qingyao took the bamboo tube, examined it carefully, and nodded.
"Tomorrow night, we'll use this to light the demon-attracting incense," Lin Yan said. "After lighting it, we'll immediately return here to observe. Once the wolf pack is attracted and the demon tiger is enraged, we'll act immediately."
"The time window is very short," Su Qingyao reminded her. "We must calculate the time for each step precisely."
"I understand." Lin Yan closed his eyes, mentally retracing the timeline of the entire plan once more:
At 11:45 AM: Light the incense to seduce demons.
At the fourth quarter of the hour of Zi (11:45 PM): The Demon-Attracting Incense begins to burn, releasing its fragrance.
At the beginning of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM): The wolf pack is attracted and gathers.
At 1:15 AM: Use the Boundary-Piercing Talisman to send the Berserk Scatter into the Spirit Spring Barrier.
At the second quarter of the hour of Chou: The demon tiger was enraged and broke out of the barrier.
At 3:45 AM: A great battle breaks out between the demon tiger and the wolf pack.
At the fourth quarter of the hour of Chou: taking advantage of the chaos, sneak into the wolf's den.
Early morning of Yin hour: The search is completed, and the wolf den is evacuated.
At 1:15 AM: Return to Blackstone Town.
At 3:45 AM: The matter is made public, and the ringleader is executed.
Every point in time must be precisely timed.
A single moment's difference could mean the difference between life and death.
"We only have one chance," Su Qingyao said softly.
"Once is enough." Lin Yan opened his eyes, a determined light shining in them.
The two stopped talking and simply sat quietly on the platform, observing the cave below.
The night wind blew through the mountains and forests, bringing a chill.
The entrance to the cave below resembles the gaping maw of a giant beast, silently opening in the darkness, waiting for its prey to walk into its trap.
And they are about to become the hunters who cast the bait.
Time passed by, second by second.
The moon finally peeked out from behind the clouds, its cool light spilling into the mountains and forests, bringing a faint glimmer of light to this dark world.
Looking at the bright moon, Lin Yan suddenly remembered his past life.
That peaceful and tranquil world, that world with parents, friends, and normal life.
If he hadn't touched that stone tablet, he would probably still be in the archaeological team, excavating ancient tombs during the day and organizing data at night, living an ordinary but fulfilling life.
Unfortunately, no if.
He came into this world, possessed the Soul-Devouring Body, and witnessed the reality of rampant demons and the cheapness of human life.
He can't go back.
Then, the only option is to move forward.
Forge your own path.
"Lin Yan," Su Qingyao suddenly spoke.
"Um?"
"If... I mean if, we fail tomorrow, will you regret it?" Su Qingyao asked.
Lin Yan remained silent for a moment.
Regret?
Maybe.
I regret not acting sooner, I regret not having a more thorough plan, I regret not being able to save more people…
But I will never regret choosing to fight.
"No regrets," he finally said. "Some things just have to be done. If we don't do them, who will?"
Su Qingyao looked at him. In the moonlight, the young man's profile was clearly defined, and his eyes were as firm as iron.
She suddenly realized that perhaps her father's choice back then was also driven by the same feelings.
Knowing the road ahead was dangerous, knowing failure was possible, knowing the price would be one's life...
But I went anyway without hesitation.
Because some things always have to be done by someone.
"I don't regret it," she said softly.
The two exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.
The night was deeper.
The array on the rocky platform glowed faintly, perfectly concealing the figures and auras of the two people.
The cave below remained calm, with the guarding wolf occasionally yawning and shifting its position to continue lying down.
The chirping of insects rose and fell in the mountains and forests, and occasionally a night bird would fly by, uttering a mournful cry.
Everything seemed so peaceful.
But Lin Yan knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
Tomorrow night, this place will become a battlefield.
And he was already prepared.
Whether he lives or dies, he will fight to the very end.
For those who were sacrificed, for the Zhou mother and son, for Uncle Zhang, for Su Qingyao, and also for... himself.
He wants to live.
To become stronger.
In this chaotic era of demons, I must forge my own path to immortality.
The mark on his chest felt slightly warm, as if responding to his determination.
The night wind grew colder.
But Lin Yan's heart grew warmer and warmer.