Chapter 190: The Pepper-Scented Stalker
"AWOOOOOOO!"
"AWOO AWOO AWOO~"
Tang Wen collected this month’s supplies and, without another word, returned immediately to the Beast Taming Garden.
By evening, the Sand Wolf had successfully become a High-level Exotic Beast.
It excitedly let out a series of howls.
"Howling, howling, howling! What’s all that noise? You’re disturbing the peace!"
A woman shouted, her tone impatient.
From the sound of her voice, she had some training in Martial Techniques.
Wu Hao’s face darkened. "I’ll go shut her up!"
In his eyes, this was his own failure.
He had allowed some random person nearby to ruin Tang Wen’s good mood.
"Hey! Forget it." Tang Wen waved his hand magnanimously. "The Sand Wolf probably won’t quiet down tonight anyway. It’s a good opportunity to take it out and let it stretch its legs."
"Stretch its legs? You mean leave the city. Alright, I’ll call the brothers to come with us!"
Tang Wen couldn’t refuse.
Guarding Tang Wen was the daily mission for Wu Hao and his team.
He had wanted to leave the city alone, so he had to add, "Bring some drinks and tents. We’ll stay out for a night. Being in seclusion has made my head spin."
"Alright." Wu Hao went to prepare.
Several months had passed since the drought began.
And the situation had not improved.
It was just that with the arrival of autumn, the temperature had dropped quite a bit.
Before setting out, Tang Wen took the Azure Stone Slab from the pool in the Beast Taming Garden and stuffed it into a cushion.
Throughout the entire process, even with the Sand Wolf standing guard, he couldn’t resist constantly looking around.
He kept feeling like someone was watching him.
At night, they left Ganshan City.
The cool night wind rushed to greet them.
Everyone cried out in delight.
Normally, in Ganshan City, their status wasn’t high, so they had to act with caution.
Out in the wilderness, they suddenly felt the vastness of the world.
Even their moods began to relax.
Tang Wen, however, was not in such a good mood.
Not long ago, the crows had spotted General Zhao and Qian Dong at the Four Seas Camp.
Naturally, the crows had also discovered their portraits on the notice board.
So, he had come out now wanting to see the two of them.
They covered dozens of li in one stretch.
They arrived at a stretch of flat grassland.
Everyone cheerfully pitched their tents.
They took out various prepared meats, built a simple stove, and started grilling, putting a pot of bubbling red hotpot on to cook.
Starlight, grassland, and the CRACKLE POP of burning firewood.
The aroma of roasting meat wafted through the air.
A gentle breeze made it exceptionally pleasant.
A few casks of wine were opened; it was low-alcohol beer.
In the world of Martial Artists, it was basically considered a soft drink.
Tang Wen rested his head on the cushion hiding the Stone Slab, gazing at the swirling river of stars in the sky.
Mutton, ribs, and beef tongue were served one after another.
They ate their fill of grilled meat and hotpot.
Gazing at the myriad stars in the sky and the brilliant Milky Way.
Everyone was talking and laughing, completely merry.
Amid the chatter and laughter, Tang Wen suddenly raised his cup and said, "Tomorrow, let’s go to the Four Seas Camp and have some fun."
Everyone’s eyes lit up, and they all broke into knowing smiles.
"Great! We’ll sleep here for the night, and first thing tomorrow, we’ll accompany our Young Master Tang to the Four Seas Camp."
Tang Wen nodded. "Being in seclusion has been too dull lately. When we get to the Four Seas Camp, everyone gets three hundred taels for expenses."
Hearing this, everyone beamed with even greater delight.
Of course, Tang Wen wasn’t the one paying.
The Black Water Gang would reimburse it.
After finishing the drinks they had brought, everyone, slightly tipsy, returned to their respective tents.
Soon, snores rose from all around.
Seeing that they were asleep, Tang Wen crept over to Wu Hao’s side.
"What’s up?" Wu Hao grabbed his clothes and draped them over his shoulders.
Tang Wen didn’t hide it from him. "I’m going to ride the Sand Wolf ahead tonight. You guys can catch up in the morning."
"No way."
"Why not? With the Sand Wolf, I can escape even if I run into danger. You all should be the ones to be careful."
"This... How about I go with you?"
"Cut the crap."
After a brief argument, Tang Wen mounted the Sand Wolf and left.
Wu Hao muttered, "Couldn’t even wait one night? Ah, to be young and so impatient."
At that moment, in Ganshan City, a Black-tailed Crow opened its glossy black eyes.
Like a sharp arrow, it shot into the sky, flying toward the Four Seas Camp.
Out on the wilderness, the Sand Wolf rode the wind, galloping at top speed.
Soon, Wu Hao couldn’t even see its shadow.
He didn’t overthink it, returning to his tent to continue sleeping, planning to wake up early and catch up with Tang Wen.
After leaving the group, Tang Wen’s expression turned cold.
He secretly urged the Sand Wolf, ’Faster, even faster.’
It wasn’t that there was an emergency.
Nor was it that General Zhao and Qian Dong had encountered any danger.
It was the feeling of being watched, which had been following him like a shadow ever since he returned to the Beast Taming Garden today.
’Am I being targeted again?’
The Sand Wolf was like a gust of Qingfeng.
It quickly vanished over the horizon.
Thirty li passed in an instant.
Fifty li took no more than the time to drink a cup of tea.
After running a hundred li, Tang Wen sharply sensed that the feeling of being watched had weakened considerably.
But it was still there.
Yet, the entire way, there was clearly nothing behind him.
The sky was brilliant with starlight, but equally empty.
There wasn’t a single suspicious thing.
The Sand Wolf changed direction, leaving the open plains and darting into the mountain forest.
In doing so, he deviated from his intended path.
It hadn’t rained for several months.
Many of the forest trees had completely withered and died.
A few days ago, a forest fire had burned through here.
Even now, it was hard to say if it had been completely extinguished.
Entering the forest, the Sand Wolf’s speed didn’t decrease in the slightest.
Tang Wen lay low on the wolf’s back and quietly took out several pouches of powder from his clothes.
As the Sand Wolf ran, the wrapped packets of pepper powder all scattered onto the ground.
HISS!
The Sand Wolf stopped in its tracks.
Ahead, a deep red glow emanated from beneath the dark black ashes.
The forest fire was not out.
The Sand Wolf changed direction and continued to gallop.
’It’s here!’
The feeling of being watched.
’They’ve caught up again?’
’Who in the world is it?’
Tang Wen couldn’t be sure.
’Is it an Extraordinary from the Black Water Gang secretly protecting me?’
’Or is it that Female Extraordinary?’
’Or some other power entirely?’
’If it was someone from the Black Water Gang, my action of taking out the Azure Stone Slab has already been seen by them.’
But he couldn’t just leave it.
The stone pool was no longer safe.
If he didn’t take it, he would just be handing it over to that Female Extraordinary for free.
If it was an enemy tracking him, things would actually be simpler.
"Whine!"
Leaving the fire-stricken area, they came out onto the wilderness.
The Sand Wolf changed direction again.
It slowed its pace and moved downwind.
A short while later, the Sand Wolf began to growl lowly.
It had caught the faint scent of pepper and was alerting Tang Wen.
The Sand Wolf’s abilities were wind-aspected, and it possessed a Talent for smell far superior to a human’s.
It couldn’t be mistaken.
By now, the man and wolf were a good two to three hundred li from the barbecue campsite.
There wasn’t a soul in sight, not even the shadow of a ghost.
Pepper was rare.
It shouldn’t appear in such a desolate place.
So where did this smell of pepper come from?
To make sure it hadn’t misidentified the scent, the Sand Wolf slightly altered its course again, running toward the Four Seas Camp.
With a half-tailwind, the scent of pepper was still there.
It was just getting fainter and fainter.
Now he was absolutely certain. Not only was someone following him, but they were following on the ground.
They must have accidentally stepped on the pepper powder he had dropped earlier.
’Invisibility?’
’A Dark Ability?’
...
Four Seas Inn, a small courtyard.
A pitch-black crow descended from the sky.
"CAW CAW CAW!"
The door creaked open.
The disguised General Zhao and Qian Dong walked out, one after the other.
The two men stared at the large crow before them, a guess forming in their minds.
The next second, the crow used its sharp talons to scratch a message directly on the ground: [Wilderness southwest of Four Seas Camp. Suspect tracking by Extraordinary. Tang]
"Now?"
The Brown-tailed Crow nodded repeatedly.
The two men didn’t move.
Qian Dong asked, "Where is the Blood Crow? Why didn’t the Blood Crow come?"
The words had barely left his mouth when the Blood Crow also descended from the sky.
It also wrote a similar message on the ground.
Their doubts dispelled, the two men left the Four Seas Camp and went to the Chaotic Stone Ridge outside the camp.
Two Sand Wolves of exaggerated size were lying there lazily.
General Zhao said, "I’ll go by myself."
Qian Dong’s expression was grave. "I’ll only wait one night."
"Alright."
General Zhao agreed, then mounted a wolf and galloped toward the southwest.