Afternoon had already set in, the scorching sun baking the earth, as a caravan forged through a boundless sea of yellow sand.
Heavily laden carts sank several inches into the sand, yet the draught beasts pulling them and their specially crafted wheel hubs allowed them to advance at a steady, if sluggish, pace.
This was the Undercurrent Sea, the most infamous part of the Tengtada Desert. There were no imperial highways maintained by the court; every step carried the danger of plunging into quicksand and meeting an untimely end. Yet the brutal terrain also ensured that this dead zone was free from border army patrols—and entirely devoid of the high and mighty lords from the Directorate of Celestials.
Ever since the Marquis had closed the border trading fairs with Dachao twenty years ago, this place had naturally become one of the smuggling routes leading into Dachao territory.
Every year, countless merchant guilds used this route to transport various goods north of the desert.
As one of the "lead eagles" who had operated here for over a dozen years, Chao Hanbiao knew this route like the back of his hand. Wrapped in a black scarf atop the lead camel-horse, he swept his gaze across the more than twenty wagons of varying builds trailing behind him and shook his head slightly.
A "lead eagle" was not the leader of a caravan, but rather an intermediary for smugglers.
The Dachao had a massive appetite for goods from Great Yan; once spices, refined salt, tobacco, tea, silk, and fabrics were hauled across the border, they could be sold for two to three times their original price, raking in exorbitant profits.
Profits like that naturally made smaller caravans eager for a slice of the pie, but they lacked connections to enter the trade. His role was to assemble these small caravans, lead them alive to the Dachao, locate reliable buyers to offload the goods, and take a commission from the proceeds.
The caravan he was guiding this time consisted entirely of newcomers running the route for the first time. They were clumsy, undisciplined, and completely out of sync. After leaving Zhenxi Prefectural City, they had stopped and started for nearly half a month, yet were still wandering within the Undercurrent Sea.
With a quiet sigh, Chao Hanbiao reached into his robe and pulled out a crumpled map. He had just squinted under the blazing sun to study it closely when the faint sound of hoofbeats came from behind.
The moment he caught the sound, Chao Hanbiao tightened his grip on the map and dropped his hand to the saber at his waist.
This map was the treasure his livelihood depended upon, charting the various routes he had mapped out over a dozen years. In the wrong hands, his role as a lead eagle would become obsolete.
Looking sideways, he saw a dark-skinned youth riding toward him. Slipping the map back into his breast, Chao Hanbiao let his gaze turn cold beneath the black scarf.
"Shopkeeper Bai, what is it?"
Beads of sweat dotted the young man's sunbaked forehead. Wiping his brow, he murmured, "Master Chao, we've been marching for more than half a day. The brothers behind are saying they can barely hold on, and the pack-horses need feed and rest."
Hearing this, Chao Hanbiao furrowed his brow imperceptibly beneath the scarf. Casting a glance back at the utterly exhausted caravan men, he replied coldly, "At this rate, you won't make it out of the Undercurrent Sea in another month. Do you all want to die in this wasteland?"
The dark-skinned youth looked somewhat embarrassed. After a moment's hesitation, he pointed toward a spot roughly twenty zhang ahead of the caravan.
There, seven or eight figures were marching abreast.
The youth lowered his voice. "Master Chao, seven or eight of those camel slaves are dead already. If this batch dies too, with only the few we have left, it'll be even harder to make our way through later."
The Undercurrent Sea was riddled with quicksand, and "camel slaves" were slaves tasked with carrying heavy loads ahead of the caravan to trigger the traps, acting as living pathfinders.
Ordinary livestock was difficult to train, demonic beasts were too expensive, and using human lives to test the ground proved far more cost-effective.
At those words, a flicker of hesitation crossed Chao Hanbiao's eyes.
Although the large quicksand zones within the Undercurrent Sea rarely shifted drastically, unexpected hazards cropped up every year.
If these camel slaves really were wiped out, it would become a serious headache. They still had to make the return trip, after all, and buying new slaves in Dachao cost far more than in Zhenxi Manor.
Exhaling a breath of hot air, Chao Hanbiao pulled the reins to halt his mount. Pointing westward, he called out to the caravan behind him in a clear voice:
"The sun is blazing hot, and resting out on the open sands will only sap your strength. There's an oasis about ten li from here. We'll rest and regroup there."
The dark-skinned youth quietly committed this detail to memory—information regarding oases was hard to come by. Behind them, the caravan erupted into cheers and began to turn. With the promise of rest ahead, the entire convoy sped up considerably.
The youth remained at Chao Hanbiao's side, flattering him and probing for tales of his smuggling runs. Unfortunately for him, Chao Hanbiao was exceedingly cautious; right up until the caravan reached the oasis, he divulged not a single scrap of useful information. Teach the apprentice, and the master starves.
Seeing that his efforts were in vain, the youth chuckled and stood up, cupping his hands toward Chao Hanbiao, who had already closed his eyes to rest.
Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to recall something and asked out of curiosity, "Right, Master Chao, since you know this route so well, why not form your own caravan? Wouldn't that bring in coin much faster than being a lead eagle?"
Hearing that, Chao Hanbiao slowly opened his eyes. This time, he gave an ambiguous answer:
"Run it a few more times, kid, and you'll find out for yourself."
The youth frowned slightly, then chuckled, pulled a hundred-tael banknote from his robe, leaned down, and offered it with both hands.
"I hope Master Chao might enlighten me."
"Keep your silver. I only take what's due to me."
Cradling his saber against his pack-horse without shifting an inch, Chao Hanbiao glanced at him and said leisurely, "You're eager to get ahead, so I'll give you a word of advice. Your line of work pays well, but walk along the river long enough and your shoes are bound to get wet."
The youth paused, then murmured thoughtfully, "Master Chao, you mean..."
"What you're doing right now is snatching food from the mouths of the big shots. Your caravans may be small, but many a little makes a mickle, and you undercut the prices of their goods. If you ever cross paths with them in this desolate, godforsaken place... heh."
"With our petty scraps, surely those lords wouldn't bother with us?"
"The big shots won't, but there are always small fry under them. Don't let your greed get out of hand. Know when to walk away."
With that, Chao Hanbiao waved his hand, signaling him to leave.
The youth was about to speak when a bloodcurdling shriek from within the oasis pierced the tranquil sky, snapping the eyes of everyone in the caravan in that direction.
Beside the clear lake of the oasis, a snow-white wolf lay napping with narrowed eyes. Beside it, a burly man had been cleaved clean in two at the waist, entirely lifeless, blood pooling from the mirror-smooth severed edge.
A demonic wolf!
Chao Hanbiao drew his saber and sprang to his feet in an instant, staring at the beast with suspicion.
He could hardly be considered unfamiliar with the demonic beasts of the Undercurrent Sea, yet he had never laid eyes on a wolf demon pure white from snout to tail.
While he deliberated, the caravan guards drew their broadswords one after another, and several quicker ones even charged toward the wolf demon.
These were men who lived by the blade, having killed countless men and even more demons. But the bizarre scene that followed instantly seized the heart of every single person present.
The three men rushing the white wolf seemed to collide with an invisible mesh. In an instant, their burly bodies were sliced into countless grid-shaped cubes, which rolled quietly across the sand carried by their forward momentum.
"……"
The battle cries died into absolute silence.
Everyone stared at the dozing white wolf, but not a single soul dared to make another move.
Chao Hanbiao exchanged a glance with the dark-skinned youth, and both began to back away slowly in unspoken accord.
This white wolf was a demon, and a terrifyingly powerful one at that.
Seeing the two of them moving, the hundred-odd people present began making subtle maneuvers as well. Some crept backward, while others attempted to lead their mounts away with the cargo. Rustling noises inevitably broke through the quiet of the oasis.
And then,
everyone who made a sound shattered into pieces.
This unheralded butchery instantly drained the will to resist from these men, accustomed though they were to life and death.
Flee.
Forget the goods. Make no sound. Just slip away quietly.
Yet unfortunately,
the moment one man backed up to the edge of the oasis, he too shattered into pieces without the slightest warning.
Mounds of flesh piled up like small hillocks, reds and whites soaking into the yellow sand.
In an instant, the hundred-odd people stood rooted like statues, not daring to twitch a single muscle.
The stars shifted, and the setting sun waned over the desert.
Only when twilight completely sank beneath the horizon did the white wolf lazily rise from the ground. Under the rapt gaze of the crowd, it sauntered over to the oasis's clear lake, bent down, and lapped a few mouthfuls of fresh water.
Just as everyone silently prayed it would depart, the snow-white beast leisurely settled back down and resumed its nap.
Stars emerged, and a crescent moon hung high in the sky. Right as the caravan members sank into despair, a flippant female voice suddenly rang out above the oasis:
"Finally found you! That really wasn't easy! Eh? What's the deal with these people?"
Following the voice, an incomparably magnificent woman in a black gown quietly descended by the oasis.
Looking at her face, an instinctive gleam of awe surfaced in the dark-skinned youth's eyes, yet it was surpassed by the joy of having a chance to live. He instinctively opened his mouth to cry for help, but before a word could escape, the woman's next words carried a hint of disgust:
"Who gave you permission to look at me with such disgusting eyes? How repulsive."
With that, the dozen-odd burly men around her who had looked her way were instantly blasted into mists of blood.
Not a bone remained.
Having done this, Tianye watched as the remaining men cast their gazes downward in terror, and only then shifted her eyes onto Linlang.
And without anyone noticing when,
Linlang had already risen to its feet, its eyes gleaming with an eerie, chilling light as threads of intertwined purple and gold slowly surfaced across its snow-white fur.
Seeing this, Tianye felt slightly curious. Walking forward, she raised a slender hand, dangled the pendant given to her by the Divine Maiden before its eyes, and said with a chuckle:
"Why is the big doggy angry? I'm here to take you to see your master, you know."
Yet to her surprise, even after seeing the pendant, Linlang remained locked in combat readiness, the aura radiating from its body climbing steadily higher.
Pondering for a brief moment, Tianye showed not the slightest trace of tension. Crossing her arms, the jewel's chain dangling from her index finger, she tapped her cheek lightly, blinked her lovely eyes, and curved her crimson lips into a smile:
"I've examined this pendant, and it doesn't look like a fake, so the doggy shouldn't be snarling at me. That means there's only one person nearby who could put it on such high alert and also detect my presence..."
With that,
a morbid excitement surfaced in Tianye's clear gold eyes. She slowly turned her gaze, following Linlang's line of sight into the air above.
There, a woman in white stood quietly, transcendent as an immortal, her pale gold pupils devoid of all emotion, her wide skirts dancing in the wind beneath the moonlight.
The moment their eyes met,
Tianye waved at her with a beaming smile, radiant and playful:
"Master, we haven't seen each other in so long. How could you lock onto me with your qi dynamic the moment we meet?"
Chapter 635