Quarry and Promise

"Materials delivered right to my door—what kind of gibberish are you muttering?!" Without hesitation, Ji Jue stoked the blood flames of Pan Ying once more until the blade burned an incandescent red, nearly beyond endurance... It had scared the living daylights out of him! For a split second, he had genuinely thought that dog bastard Wolf of the Heart had descended in person, and he had been fully prepared to detonate Pan Ying regardless of the cost. Turns out it was merely a parasite—and it dared to covet him? The sheer audacity! Amid the erupting blood flames, liquid-silver light converged, binding and entangling layer after layer. Then Three-Phase Alchemy detonated, dragging all spiritus inward into a collapsing vortex! The Wolf of the Heart was formless and immaterial. If it managed to flee from this body, there was no telling how much chaos it would cause. Even if just a sliver of its thought lingered, it might possess someone the moment their guard dropped. Who the hell could live like that?! Black fire reflected from his soul burst forth from the silver radiance, completely engulfing and smothering the skewered Wolf of the Heart. The viscous black flames dissolved every shred of spiritus and matter. Within that uncontrollable chaos, everything would lose its original form, leaving no trace behind. The Wolf of the Heart roared in fury, thrashing wildly in unforeseen agony. The face pierced by Pan Ying lunged forward violently, ignoring the excruciating tearing of its soul, and snapped its jaws toward Ji Jue inches away! A hair's breadth away. Just a little more, and— *Crack!* A beam of light plummeted from the sky! Hunting Finger: Flying Light! At this crucial juncture, An Ning had chosen Projection toward the Wolf of the Heart. Yet what she hurled was no longer a streak of Flying Light, but... herself, carrying the full brunt of her remaining strength! No strength was needed, nor technique. The higher Beckoning ability of the Hunting Finger lineage had only ever been one thing: [Projection]. For the target it was applied to, size and weight meant nothing, nor was there any distinction between inner and outer. Crude as it was to drive that power in reverse, hurling herself as a weapon, An Ning soared into the heavens and tore through the air. Her remaining left hand rose, fingers clamped into a blade. Bearing the very last wisp of glimmering light, she thrust forward ruthlessly, piercing right through that face all the way to her elbow until she finally gripped that invisible heart. She clenched her fist, and Flying Light detonated! Finishing blow! *Boom!* Amid a wretched shriek, the fledgeling Wolf of the Heart was dragged completely into the silver vortex, everything dissolving into nothingness within the black fire. It was over. Yet as they fell from midair, Ji Jue looked up and finally saw... ...that mangled face of torn flesh. In An Ning's eyes, wisps of crimson gradually emerged... spreading and expanding rapidly, steadily swallowing the last sliver of light within her soul until it was entirely engulfed. In a brief instant of stunned realization, she seemed to understand something. Or perhaps she had already prepared herself the moment she leaped into the sky. She simply gave Ji Jue one last smile. Carefree and cheerful. She said, "Goodbye, Brother Ji Jue." With that, the faint glimmer preserving her soul surfaced at her fingertip and plunged toward herself. The hunter unleashed a fatal strike against the final wolf! Without the slightest hesitation! Faster than her, however, was Ji Jue. One final time, he provoked the bloody light of Pan Ying. Mid-fall, he propelled himself toward An Ning, lunging out and snatching her wrist in his grip. Dissociation Art! A violent surge of spiritus rammed into her body, washing across soul and matrix in roiling shockwaves, forcing everything to a dead halt. Annihilating the Flying Light. In that final instant, what An Ning saw was a ferocious expression she had never seen before. Grim, rabid, ready to devour anyone in its path! Just like... ...a wolf? Chunjun inverted, its reflection cloaking his soul. Black flames erupted from the steel, and the thorn-like Wolf Blood Oath abruptly stretched and expanded. A wolf that belonged to no Great Sin manifested, opening its jaws toward the hunter inches away. It bit down on her neck, thirstily sucking, greedily feasting. For the first time, Ji Jue invoked the power granted by the Kingdom of the Woods. [Plunder]! Plundering every drop of bloody light and wolf venom from her soul, baring its fangs against the newly sprouted Wolf of the Heart! He wrenched it out violently, ignoring the phantom wails, forcibly swallowing every wisp of spreading wolf blood, ripping away and digesting the oath before it could imprint upon her soul—caring nothing for how severe the resulting trauma might be. Until he had snatched back what was his from the jaws of another wolf! *Boom!* Holding An Ning, he slammed onto the ground. The final recoil of flames cushioned most of the impact, but Ji Jue rolled clumsily through the mud, feeling as if every part of his body was on the verge of shattering. He didn't even have the strength to climb back to his feet. With the death of all enemies, the domain and seal shattered with a crash. Once more, he saw the blood-red sky. And An Ning. In a daze, she opened her eyes again. As if waking from a long dream, she stared blankly at Ji Jue. When memories of the nightmare flooded back, a faint, dim glimmer—as though abandoned—seemed to surface in her hollow eyes. Her lips parted as if to speak. Yet in the end, no sound came out. Only her gaze grew steadily colder as she stared at the defenseless wolf before her! "Aren't you going to say something, Brother Ji Jue?" she finally asked. "Hmm..." Ji Jue pondered for a moment, looked at her, and offered a sincere evaluation: "I have to say, you look much cuter like this than when you were putting on airs with that farewell." *Crack!* A sound of tearing rang out. An Ning thrust out her hand, fingers like blades tearing through flesh, plunging straight into his chest to grip that metal heart. Flying Light reemerged! The faint gleam burst from her fingertips, carrying a deathly chill. It flashed once and vanished. Once hesitation took hold, even pouring in everything she had could leave behind nothing more than a negligible scratch... And so, the hunter flew into a rage. Yanking Ji Jue close, filled with anger and hatred, she opened her mouth and bit hard into his neck, using all her might to tear flesh and blood. Just like a wolf... ...leaving her mark. "You're my quarry, got it?!" An Ning raised a hand, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, glaring fiercely at Ji Jue. "If any other hunter wants to touch you, they'll have to kill me first! But if one day you truly become a wolf, I will come and kill you myself! Before that—mph..." Before she could finish, her words were cut short. That helpless face had already leaned in. Embracing her, he pressed a hand to the back of her head, brooking no evasion as he covered those bloodstained lips. Through the hunter's mouth, he tasted the fragrant wolf blood, wanton in plundering everything that belonged to him. Until hatred and fury could no longer hold, her rigid body slowly softening until no resistance remained. "Then come," Ji Jue whispered a promise in her ear. "I'll be waiting." An Ning said nothing more. After pushing herself past her limits time and again, she had no strength left to stay awake. She merely watched Ji Jue as she drifted off into a deep, unguarded sleep. Holding her, Ji Jue slowly rose. His movement hitched, his expression stiffening for a fraction of a second. He finally felt the scratch upon his heart—so deep it was carved into the steel, a swift, cursive flourish. It was her name. Just like scrawling one's name onto a prized possession. Not allowing anyone else to take it, making sure everyone could see it at a glance. [An Ning] "..." Ji Jue sighed silently and let his raised hand drop back down. Whatever, let it stay. Everyone needed a "was here" tag somewhere... Only, when he turned his head and finally noticed Tong Shan sitting on a rock nearby, casually gazing up at the sky with nothing to do, an immediate wave of embarrassment hit him. Damn it. You got front-row seats to the whole show! Sitting on a stone on the ground, Tong Shan threw him a half-smile. "Only just thought about silencing the witness? Isn't it a bit late?" "Yeah," Ji Jue shook his head. "Can you keep a secret for me?" "A secret?" Tong Shan chuckled. "Which part?" The part I've been keeping secret all along, the part you just exposed, or... the part you shouldn't have exposed right in front of me? Ji Jue sighed. "Best keep all of it secret." At that, Tong Shan smiled. Marshalling the last remnants of his psychokinesis, Tong Shan helped him gather up the scattered gear, transferred the unconscious Ji Liu and Ji Xue into the rear compartment, and restarted Little Niuma. Sitting in the back seat, he rolled up his sleeve and injected himself with the final dose of orange-red medicine. A visible flush of color returned to his pale face. Finally, he looked toward Ji Jue. "I'll have to trouble you with the rest." "Yeah. Leave it to me." Ji Jue nodded. With that, Tong Shan peeled back his uniform, revealing the bone blade driven hilt-deep into his heart—the primary reason he had managed to survive until now. Gritting his teeth, he yanked it out. In an instant, his last shred of consciousness faded away completely. Quicksilver flowed, coating his body and forcibly preserving his final thread of life. The crack-riddled armored vehicle rolled forward once again. There was no one left to block their path. Even the wolves, at this critical juncture, likely had no attention to spare for this band of runaways... Just like that, they crossed low hills and traversed the final mud pit until they finally crossed the boundary set by the Security Bureau. After an arduous journey, they drove out of the Kingdom of the Woods. Looking back at the blood-red canopy of the sky, Ji Jue couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Even if there were regrets, nothing could be done about them. Let it be. He told himself: *Leave it at that, Ji Jue.* Yet when he raised his head to look at the sky beyond the Kingdom of the Woods, he discovered that the very same scarlet haze hung over the heavens. The sky was still the color of blood. Amid a deafening roar, a squadron of bombers shrieked across the sky, dropping napalm bombs one after another onto the village below. Instantly, flames billowed outwards, swallowing everything. No wails or weeping could be heard. Only billowing fire, surging skyward like souls thrashing in vain amidst the flames. Dyeing the entire sky crimson. And so, there was no longer any difference between the earth and the heavens. Ji Jue froze where he stood. Stupefied. In that instant, he finally understood. So the sky in hell was burned red by fire. *Boom!* Amid the spreading conflagration, the Kingdom of the Woods behind them shuddered violently. A muffled, thunderous screech resonated from its deepest reaches—the roar of countless souls degraded into beasts. The Wolf of Regeneration opened its eyes. Beholding everything before it, it wept tears of blood and howled in agony!