Mending the Pen After the Wolf

BOOM! A mere ten seconds later, the heavenly fire finished brewing and plummeted from above, its magnificent, vast crimson swallowing everything in sight. Thick, rolling flames churned outward. The ruined village, the countless spiders, and even the colossal calamity beast slumbering deep beneath the earth were all incinerated into charcoal. Not a single bone remained to be seen—only an expanse of barren waste. Just like the White Nation; just like the Mid-Continent. "To think that after coming all this way, what we've ended up doing the most is this sort of thing..." Tong Shan shook his head. "Let's go." Ji Jue started the car. After a moment of silence, he spoke up: "Brother Shan." "Hm?" From the back seat, Tong Shan looked over at him with a faint, half-amused smile. "Don't tell me you're about to say it wasn't my fault?" Ji Jue shrugged. "You took the words right out of my mouth. I don't have high emotional intelligence and I'm short on pretty words, so just consider yourself consoled." "Thanks, I feel so deeply comforted. You really have a way with words." Tong Shan sighed softly. "Don't worry, I haven't gotten so full of myself that I think every tragedy is my personal responsibility. It's just a shame... watching something that could have been saved burn to the ground right before my eyes." "Spoken like true Tianyuan," Ji Jue remarked. "Yeah. An inexplicable sense of mission, an incurable burden of responsibility, and a lust for control carved straight into the bone—that's Tianyuan for you." Tong Shan shrugged with a self-deprecating chuckle. "When you look for a wife in the future, don't pick anyone from Tianyuan. Even I find it obnoxious." "Right, exactly!" An Ning nodded vigorously. "White Stag is so much better, Brother Ji Jue. As long as we can have fun together, I don't mind doing anything." "Haha—" Ji Jue rolled his eyes. One was a nagging mother hen who claimed he shouldn't pick Tianyuan while worrying over every single triviality himself; the other was a feline creature who sang the praises of White Stag while only ever thinking about having fun... Mentally exhausting. And so, with one assignment wrapped up, they set off once again. In the deepening twilight, the storm struck once more. Little Niuma bounded merrily across the wasteland before vanishing into the wilderness. Then came another barren plain, another rift valley, another mud pit... They gradually grew accustomed to the lifeless desolation. Over the course of just two days, they had completed nearly a full circuit around the White Nation. Most of their efforts proved entirely fruitless. On the rare occasions they did eliminate a few calamity beasts, they received no gratitude in return. All they encountered were abandoned towns, suspicious and defensive ruined villages, and nomadic encampments that raised rifles to aim at them from several kilometers away. Within this sparsely populated, turbulent wilderness, the chaotic and savage ecosystem of four hundred years ago still endured. There was no generosity or kindness here—only cold detachment and hostility. Fortunately, Tong Shan didn't have many of these tasks on his plate to begin with. Most of the time, he only needed to personally verify the situation and screen for hidden terrorists and wolves. For the former, sweeping the area with telekinesis from dozens of li away was enough to settle the matter. As for whether anyone was harboring terrorists, asking a couple of questions was all it took to get an answer. Tong Shan hailed from an Aether lineage, after all; seeing through lies had long become pure instinct for him. As for the wolves, they had An Ning along as their designated laborer. Unfortunately, terrorists were few and far between, and not a single wolf was to be found. Ji Jue felt as though this entire trip was mostly a waste of time. He might as well treat it as sightseeing. They had even taken a detour, driving Little Niuma off-road up the highest peak in the White Nation to take in the eternal glaciers and pure white snow capping the summit. They had even visited the battered ruins of the sacrificial temple at the sanctuary of imperial audience on the mountaintop. After four hundred years without maintenance, battered by wind and rain, it had long since fallen into ruin, leaving nothing behind but its stone foundation. Naturally, they found nothing. Over more than four centuries, it had been looted more times than anyone could count. If the foundation hadn't been too heavy to haul away, not even that would have survived... "It's said that back when the Eternal Imperial Dynasty still stood, those who lacked the qualifications to enter the Imperial City were permitted—after accomplishing great deeds—to fast, bathe, and scale the peak barefoot. Once they reached the mountaintop, they could look out from here and gaze upon the Imperial City and the high tower standing at the very center of the Mid-Continent." Tong Shan stood atop the cracked paving stones where faint decorative patterns still lingered, looking up toward the distant lands shrouded in gray haze and a pitch-black sea of clouds. All he could see was a black breach that pierced from the earth straight into the heavens. It was like a broken, twisted rift. That was the final lingering scar left upon the world by the Tower of the Heavenly Pillar when the dynasty fell so long ago. Even today, that rift stood planted in the very heart of the mortal realm, impossible to disperse. It was from that very spot that the Emperor and the Tower of the Heavenly Pillar had plummeted beneath the Vortex. When the absurd fantasy that sought to dominate everything dissolved into nothingness, it had left behind an indelible wound upon the world. "Quite a spectacular sight, isn't it?" Ji Jue snapped two photos with his phone to mark the visit. After An Ning dragged him into a round of selfies and he finally finished indulging her, he dusted off his pants and prepared to leave. He wasn't some refined scholar; he couldn't even recite more than a few lines of classical poetry, so he had no real inclination to wax nostalgic over past and present. Still, the moment he recalled the massive load of unresolved debts tying him to the Eternal Imperial Dynasty, he felt an urge to just renege on the whole thing. Unfortunately, there was no dodging it. "..." Amid the silence, he cast one final look back. To An Ning and Tong Shan, it was merely a jagged, broken rift. Yet through Ji Jue's eyes, it appeared entirely different... After a fleeting trance, he seemed to glimpse the ferocious silhouette of a broken tower behind the fissure. The shadow of the tower writhed like an incoming tide, gradually seeping out from the rift into the mortal realm. But beside that towering shadow, in an even deeper abyss, something else seemed to lurk. The only feature he could clearly discern was a pair of eerie eyes. Its shifting, amorphous outline resembled a stillborn embryo one moment and a flayed beast the next. Yet no matter how its form changed, the insatiable hunger and greed burning within those eyes never diminished in the slightest. The shadow of the tower, and the voyeuristic gaze of the wolf. Even long after they had driven away, a faint weight lingered over Ji Jue's mood, refusing to lift. Tong Shan, on the other hand, had grown used to the bumpy ride and had dozed off once more. He slept like a baby. When he finally opened his eyes and checked the road conditions outside, he perked right back up. "Aren't we going the wrong way? Did you take a wrong turn?" Their final destination, the Spring Gathering, should have been to the north. "If we went north, we'd miss the whole show," Ji Jue said, shaking his head. "The Spring Gathering isn't there." "Is there a problem with the Security Bureau's map?" Tong Shan grew instantly alert. According to intelligence received by the Security Bureau, members of the White Nation Restoration Front were expected to appear at this local nomadic gathering, which took place once every few years. That was why they had been dispatched personally—so they could confirm their presence and make the arrests. If even the map was wrong... "No, strictly speaking, it's not wrong. But the location marked on your map was where the Spring Gathering was held *last* time," Ji Jue explained. "The reason it's called the Spring Gathering is because the market follows the surging subterranean springs. The location and timing are different every single time. "When the groundwater will burst up from below, how long it will flow, and where it will erupt are never fixed. "That's why the gathering only happens irregularly once every few years, and the location keeps shifting. Only the nomads who survive in the nearby settlements keep track of that kind of news. Outsiders wouldn't be able to find the way even if they wanted to. "Your informant probably isn't a local; he likely just caught wind of some rumors and came running to you for cash. And even if someone knew, they wouldn't share that sort of information with you 'Federation folks.'" Tong Shan was momentarily baffled. "Then how do you know all this so clearly?" "As long as you stay on good terms with the Church of Chongguang, getting information is always pretty easy." Ji Jue grinned and patted his chest, where the Sublime Virtue Badge gleamed brightly. "Elder Longge knows a lot of people. For something like this, all he had to do was ask around, and the whole picture was clear in an instant. "Besides, the person he asked happens to be building lighters in my factory." "..." Tong Shan was struck speechless. He let out a long sigh. He had thoroughly come to appreciate just how wild Ji Jue's connections were. In a godforsaken place like this, the identity of a Security Bureau operative was purely a negative status effect. Never mind him—among the locals, even Lin Shouyi's words might carry less weight than Director Ji's. Between the Federation Security Bureau and the Church of Chongguang, even an idiot among the locals would know whom to trust. That was what you called a stellar reputation! "Anyway, just don't mention your Security Bureau affiliation later. Leave the talking to me!" Ji Jue whistled. "If we find the Restoration Front people, let's try not to start a fight inside the market. The locals were nice enough to give us face, so let's not make a mess of their place." "Don't worry, I get it." Tong Shan sighed. "The local nomads are basically all Restoration Front sympathizers anyway. Why would I be stupid enough to blow my cover? "If a fight really broke out, there's no telling whose side they'd take." Ji Jue shrugged and held his tongue. Though he found it astonishing that a piece of trash like the Restoration Front could actually have supporters, putting himself in their shoes, what else was a powerless local supposed to support? The dogshit provisional government of the White Nation? Or the Federation and the Empire? When forced to weigh multiple evils, who wouldn't choose the lesser one? Besides, when faced with suffering, people always sought an explanation. Those who deceived themselves were a minority in the end. Besides, did anyone really not understand where their misery came from? For the common paupers and nomads at the bottom of the ladder, life had certainly been hard back when the White Nation still existed, but they could at least scrape together enough to fill their bellies. Once the Federation and the Empire arrived, however, even the extra misery heaped upon them wasn't enough to chew on. Faced with forced labor in the mines and the marrow-sucking extortion of the provisional government, how could they not harbor resentment in their hearts? The nomads of the wilderness didn't care about grand politics; when push came to shove, they grabbed their rifles and fought. If driven to the brink of starvation, anyone could become a member of the Restoration Front... BOOM!!! The ground suddenly shook. Amid the rumbling ahead, a scalding column of water erupted into the sky through a steaming crack in the stone. Within the swirling mist, a rainbow materialized against the heavens. "Whoa—" An Ning's eyes widened. She raised her phone and snapped a rapid flurry of photos. After brewing her thoughts for a long while, she finally squeezed out a compliment: "Pretty!" That was what happened when you lacked culture—you didn't even know how to properly praise something. Ji Jue shook his head and said nothing. Because even someone with culture couldn't come up with much better... Tong Shan, on the other hand, was struck by inspiration and recited several poetic verses, only to be completely ignored and ostracized by both Ji Jue and An Ning. *Hah, Aether, always showing off!* Little Niuma continued forward. As they rounded the mountain ridge, the rumbling grew louder and louder. Nestled in the gap between two mountains, within a wind-sheltered basin, a brand-new lake had already formed. Right in the center of the water, a massive column rose high like a grand fountain, scattering ten thousand gleaming flecks of shattered rainbow beneath the rare sunlight. In just a few short days, a refreshing blanket of green had spread out from around the lake. Vast herds of cattle and sheep grazed across the grass, lazily basking in the sun amid an unending chorus of bleats and lowing. Nourished by the spring water, the barren earth had rapidly sprouted with new life. Even a few withered old trees showed traces of green. Flocks of birds plunged from the sky from time to time, skimming the water to snatch up small fish spewed from the underground river. It was as if even the ubiquitous natural disasters had made a rare point of avoiding this place once the surging spring appeared. Amid this scene brimming with vitality, the lakeside market was bustling with activity. After growing accustomed to desolation and ruin, witnessing the oasis before them felt so intoxicatingly beautiful that it left them speechless. "Take pictures, take pictures! Brother Ji Jue, take a picture of me!" An Ning shoved her phone into Ji Jue's hand and hopped out of the car. She casually scooped up a passing lamb, hoisted it into the air, and happily struck a pose. Once the photo was taken, she pulled Ji Jue in for a selfie as well, practically bubbling over with joy. They wore Mid-Continent-style robes and relied on Little Niuma's deliberately distressed, battered body panels as a disguise. Mingling among the assorted vehicles modified by scavengers, they blended in effortlessly. People bustled to and fro across the market. Tents stood clustered in dense clusters all around, loosely divided into several distinct districts. Nomadic settlements had always existed on horseback, constantly relocating with the pasture and water. The emergence of the surging spring was undeniably a grand occasion; every nearby settlement had gathered here, seizing the opportunity to trade what they had for what they needed. Even though the goods on offer were nothing more than second-hand wares from various regions, low-grade medicines, digital devices, and clumped flour and rice, it felt less like a market and more like a festival. Every sun-spotted, weathered dark face wore a smile. Traditional White Nation dance music blared from battered loudspeakers, and children chased one another between the stalls. At the sight of new customers arriving, the vendors hawked their wares with even greater vigor. Ji Jue remained silent, saying nothing. He strolled through the market, taking in his surroundings like any other newcomer. Yet the smile on his face slowly stiffened. Until, at last, he could no longer smile at all. He stayed silent, his hand instinctively gripping An Ning's arm in an iron clasp, refusing to let the girl—whose hair was standing on end all over her body—lash out. "Brother Ji Jue!" An Ning's eyes widened. The smile was gone, replaced by dead seriousness. Ji Jue didn't speak. He lifted his head, staring at each and every smiling face. He parted his lips, wanting to speak, but no sound came out. All that met his eyes was a bustling, lively scene. Yet as the crowds came and went, every single smiling face was entwined with wisps of crimson threads. Entangled in the soul of every single person. Without exception. A faint malice was slowly surfacing beneath those smiling faces. An unbearable hunger churned within every hollow soul, prickly as needles against his back. It sent a bone-chilling cold straight through Ji Jue. *Smack!* A running child bumped into Ji Jue and tumbled to the ground. After scrambling back up, the boy looked up at Ji Jue's face and froze. "Mister...?" The tender child tilted his head in confusion, studying the faint twitching of Ji Jue's expression with a hint of fear. "Are you okay?" Ji Jue remained silent, looking down at him. After a long while, he tried hard to smile, but the corners of his mouth refused to lift. *Yes, I'm fine.* That was what he was supposed to say, yet no matter what, he couldn't force the words past his lips. *Stop being a hypocrite, Ji Jue.* A cold voice inside his mind told him, over and over again: *Stop playing pretend!* And so, Ji Jue closed his eyes. A silent, hollow smile touched his lips. "Kill them all," he said. "Kill every single one of them. Leave none alive." In that instant, Ji Jue finally released his grip. The shackles were gone. *Crack!* An Ning swept her hand without hesitation. The dazed child froze on the spot. His expression of confusion and fear stiffened as a crimson line of blood surfaced across his neck. Only after he toppled backward did the blood spray forth. Immediately after, An Ning flicked her hand again. Beams of faint light shot from her fingertips, streaking away and darting through the air like birds. In an instant, dense crowds of people collapsed like scythed wheat. Agonized shrieks rang out, rising and falling in waves. Terrified screams, frightened wails, and heart-wrenching cries calling out the names of the departed echoed across the field. Beneath the massacre, the sprawling market transformed into an inferno in a heartbeat. Yet had it truly become an inferno only just now? Or had it happened long before this...? Amid the shrieks and weeping, Ji Jue bent down. He reached out and touched the child's corpse in the mud, where familiar crimson surged forth. Not merely blood, but a poison steadily venting from the dispersing spiritus... So familiar. "Bloodthirst Syndrome..." Ji Jue rubbed the crimson on his fingertips, staring at it with rapt attention. As if suddenly enlightened, he let out a soft laugh. "You really are a genius, Shehri—" No one answered. Only a low echo gradually surfaced beneath the wailing, like grinding teeth and hungry panting. Amid the field of crimson and corpses, bodies that should have been lifeless began to twitch impossibly. Spasming violently, they scrambled back up from the ground once more! Their pupils turned milky white, completely hollow. Nothing remained but a wash of crimson. Shaking violently, they crawled on the ground. Rapidly mutating gums thrust out from their mouths, and razor-sharp fangs and claws grew in rapid succession. In the blink of an eye, their true forms were revealed! Stage Three of Bloodthirst Syndrome! —Aberrant Creature: Ghoul! At this very moment, under the observation of the Mirror of Contained Forms, the entire market had long been shrouded in crimson. Beneath the seemingly normal veneer of days of celebration and trade, the latent Bloodthirst Syndrome virus had silently spread and proliferated. The elderly, the children, the men, the women—without exception. All of them were terminally infected, the sickness running deep into their marrow. Their flesh and souls had been utterly hollowed out, leaving behind only a deliberately preserved "shell" on the outside. And now, the moment that fragile shell was shattered, the so-called "self" vanished without a trace, like a fleeting illusion. The virus had fully erupted! Across the entire market, before the dense crowds could even scatter and flee, splintering sounds rang out one after another. From beneath the old corpses, ghouls burst through their shells! They ravenously gnawed upon the remains on the ground, mutating rapidly. Their crimson, hollow eyes locked dead onto the living beings present, and they pounced! Then, they shattered once more, dying completely. An Ning flicked her fingers again. Yet from the torn corpses, wisps of crimson snaked out, slithering away like living things. In countless threads, they descended upon other living creatures. Humans, cattle, sheep, birds, or beasts... In the mud, a lamb trotted past in bewilderment, looking left and right. Gradually, as more and more blood gathered upon it, a wolf-like glint emerged within its ignorant eyes! Now, Ji Jue finally understood. What the unidentified catalyst in the wolf-transformation ritual truly was... To awaken the White King's Wolf Blood Oath, what could possibly be more fitting than the boundless lingering poison that had dispersed upon the White King's fall? Under the infection of Bloodthirst Syndrome, as long as there was sufficient bait and sustenance, the host could grow and mutate at an astonishing speed. The lingering poison left in the wake of the ancient White King's demise—the fatal affliction that struck terror into the hearts of countless people—was actually a tool meant to fully ignite the Wolf Blood Oath within every soul when necessary, turning them into wolves! Just like right now. Across the vast market, pandemonium broke loose in an instant. Corpse after corpse arose anew, turning into ghouls that went completely mad beneath an uncontrollable hunger, devouring one another. And from beneath countless shattered corpses, a piercing screech erupted. A withered old man, his body covered in arms like a centipede, bathed in the blood of his kin as he howled toward the sky. Thick clusters of black fur sprouted rapidly across his entire body. Lycanthropy! Then came a second, a third, a fourth... In an instant, spurred by the deaths and catalysis of tens of thousands, wolf howls echoed in endless succession. Expressionless, Ji Jue raised his hand. Outside the market, the Dragon Mountain armor dropped to one knee. From the massive launcher rack on its back, streaks of metallic gleam surged into the sky before screaming downward. Cluster munitions bloomed midair, scattering the seeds of destruction to swallow everything whole. Flames erupted. Scorching gales swept up the remnants of stalls and corpses, tearing outward in all directions. In the span of a breath, the vast market was reduced to absolute ruin. The rising firelight illuminated his eyes. Within that boundless darkness, the ferocious glow of dim kindling flared once again. Across the scorched earth, shrieks never ceased. Sharp howls and wails echoed outward as heavily injured ghouls regenerated rapidly within the inferno, converging upon one another and accelerating their Metamorphosis under the pressure of mortal peril! And so, Ji Jue raised his hand once more. Yet a hand reached out and clamped tightly over his own. Tong Shan. "Leave it to me, Ji Jue." Tong Shan pushed his hand down, speaking softly: "This is what the Security Bureau is for." He patted Ji Jue's shoulder and told him: "Just leave it to me." Tong Shan stepped forward, unsheathing Huihao. Ascending into the heavens step by step, pitch-black ink snaked from the blade, swirling and spreading until it turned into boundless storm clouds. A bona fide natural disaster manifested beneath the restructuring of his telekinesis, blanketing the oasis that had been lush and green moments ago to rain down devastation. Like falling rain, transparent flames descended from above. Drop by drop, they covered everything. Amid the quiet crunch of shattering corpses, the ghouls and newborn wolves shrieked and wailed in futile struggle, only to have their skulls pierced by streaks of flying light, disintegrating into dust. Ashes drifted on the wind, blowing into the distance. An Ning froze, then snapped her head around. Behind Ji Jue, drifting ashes suddenly converged, coalescing out of thin air into a blurry silhouette. A heartbeat later, razor-sharp claws swept across, slashing toward his neck! A wolf! It was the wolf who had hidden within the market to spread the virus! *BANG!* In that split second, the ash-cloaked wolf sneered savagely. Its claws struck like lightning, and under the technique of Bloodslaughter, its speed exploded once again, fast beyond what the naked eye could track. *Die!* Yet in that negligible instant, within nearly frozen time... He saw it. The craftsman left behind on the ground by his teammates actually turned toward him... and cast him a look of sheer contempt!