"Keep these matters to yourself; don't speak of them to anyone else," He Lingchuan reminded Skinny. "The authorities haven't made an official announcement, so don't go talking about it at home either. Too many loose lips in your household."
Several days had passed since the incident in the Chifeng mine tunnel, yet Panlong City remained calm on the surface, with no grand scandal revealed to the public.
That meant it was handled behind closed doors, hidden from public knowledge.
Skinny sighed and nodded. "True enough. Ordinary folk like us have food and drink—why worry about all that? It's not like the gold in the mines would be handed out to us anyway. Let Commander Zhong headache over it."
"Didn't you get a reward for reporting it anonymously, though?"
"That I did." Skinny puffed up with pride. Just as he was about to brag once more about his sharp eyes, a startled cry and a howling shriek suddenly pierced the air outside!
The shriek sounded like the howling of wolves yet resembled the wailing of vengeful ghosts—anything but human. Anyone hearing it felt an urge to clap their hands over their ears.
He Lingchuan and Skinny exchanged a glance, shifted their footing, and bolted outside.
***
Wen Daolun stepped out of the Martial Review Hall, two guards immediately falling in behind him.
He patted his sleeves and realized he was missing something important. "Oh, how did I forget my lecture notes?" He hurriedly pointed to one of the guards. "You, run back to my residence and fetch them. They're on my study desk, labeled 'Hall of Immortal Inquiries.'"
The guard acknowledged the order and strode off.
"Getting old. Can't even remember such a little thing," Wen Daolun said, pressing a hand to his brow. "Without notes, how am I supposed to talk smoothly for an entire hour at the Hall of Immortal Inquiries?"
Wen Xing looked back toward the Martial Review Hall, his heart brimming with yearning. "I wonder when I'll be qualified to enter the North Courtyard for sparring."
"Focus on performing well in the patrol squad first." Wen Daolun's thoughts turned to his aging mother's endless admonitions. The Panlong Wasteland was too perilous; she insisted he keep Xing'er safe as a patrolman on the Chipa Plateau.
The old matriarch cared only about domestic peace. Slower advancement in merit didn't matter; safety came first.
Wen Xing murmured, "My joining the patrols won't draw criticism on Father, will it?"
"One shouldn't shun recommending one's own kin." Wen Daolun patted his youngest son's shoulder. "You passed the martial examination and entered fair and square. What right does anyone have to criticize?" At that, he let out a long sigh.
Puzzled, Wen Xing asked, "What is it, Father?"
Wen Daolun lamented, "If everyone possessed a pure and loyal heart, how could Panlong City have so many troubles?"
The Wen residence was quite close to the rear gate of the Martial Review Hall, so father and son strolled along the riverbank while waiting for the guard to return with the notes.
Panlong City was crisscrossed by seven or eight internal rivers and numerous tributaries. Unlike the South Gate Square with its hot springs, most of these waterways froze solid in this weather, blanketed under a thick sheet of ice.
As the two passed a small bridge, a gray stone larger than a millstone lay crouched at the base of the bridge pier. Though its placement seemed a bit odd, the passing pedestrians paid it no mind.
Who would bother looking at an ordinary slab of rock beneath a bridge?
Yet as Wen Daolun strolled past, the stone suddenly stirred. In an instant, it sprouted hands, feet, long limbs, a head, and a tail...
As if borne on a breeze, the monster leaped from beneath the bridge arch straight at Wen Daolun. It slammed into him and immediately reached to snap his neck.
Its hands were like eagle talons, the veins on their backs rigid as steel rods. Finishing off a mystic like Wen Daolun would require nothing more than a single snap.
Fortunately, though Wen Daolun staggered from the impact, a burst of white light flashed before him, conjuring an illusion of frost in the air. The monster was deflected directly backward, crashing hard against the bridge.
A defensive magic artifact had been triggered.
Pedestrians screamed in terror and scattered of their own accord.
Hard ice formed over the monster's claws and gaping maw. Only now could its build be clearly seen—resembling both a monkey and a cat, hairless all over. Upon making contact with the wooden bridge, its body naturally took on a dark brown hue.
The creature could shift color and was an expert at camouflage.
With two violent shakes, the monster shattered the ice. The remaining guard surged forward to attack while Wen Xing shielded his father and retreated.
Yet the creature moved with terrifying speed, almost impossible to track with the naked eye.
The guard managed to hold out for only seven or eight breaths before a flick of its tail sent him flying.
Wen Daolun seized the opportunity to toss out five bamboo talismans. Four yellow talismans stood erect around the beast of their own accord, while the final green talisman hovered four feet above its head.
Having batted the guard aside, the monster lunged toward Wen Daolun again, only to bounce off an invisible wall of air before taking two steps.
Wherever it struck the wall, faint white marks appeared, and the struck part of its body rapidly froze over. If not cleared quickly, the frost spread over its entire form.
This technique was "Draw the Ground as a Prison." Wen Daolun combined it with ice-freezing arts to restrain foes with greater effect.
The more frantically the monster slammed against the barrier, the thicker the ice grew, making its movements increasingly sluggish.
Yet nobody noticed that an insect had silently crept out from a dark alley behind the Wen father and son.
Calling it an insect hardly did it justice; it was larger than an adult man's palm and resembled a cricket, though its head was pointed like an awl.
It hopped forward several paces, leveled itself at Wen Daolun's back, and fired three sharp spines with a sharp hiss!
Wen Xing glanced back just in time to see it emerge from the shadows of the wall crack. Without a second thought, he threw himself behind his father.
Three soft thuds sounded as the spines struck Wen Xing.
Wen Daolun whipped around in horror, catching his son in his arms.
The cricket-like beast readjusted its angle, aiming squarely at his forehead.
Yet just as it prepared to fire again, a shadow flashed from behind. Before the person arrived, blade light struck first.
He Lingchuan had arrived.
Seeing the creature retract its head to shoot, He Lingchuan knew he was more than ten feet away and feared he wouldn't make it in time. Without hesitation, he unleashed a Wave Slash.
The twigs on the ground ahead remained entirely undisturbed, yet the monster's forehead suddenly split open. Together with the spine about to launch from its brow, it was sliced in two by the shimmering arc of the blade!
With a screech, it burst into a splatter of green sludge.
Having landed the strike, He Lingchuan had no time for anything else and rushed over to seal the acupoints around Wen Xing's wounds.
"Xing'er!" Wen Daolun's focus shifted entirely to his son. The Draw the Ground as a Prison talisman array loosened at once, and the trapped monster broke free with another ram.
By then, Gale Army soldiers from the Martial Review Hall came charging out to engage it, while others formed a perimeter around the Wen father and son.
The monster attempted two pounces, only to be suppressed by superior force, sustaining multiple wounds.
Trapped in the midst of fourteen or fifteen Gale Army warriors, it had no room to showcase its prowess.
Unable to win, the creature wasted no time lingering. It turned and leaped toward the river.
Though the ice was thick, water still flowed beneath. With its camouflage gift, diving into the water gave it a strong chance of escape.
Mid-air, however, a spear shot forth like lightning. The beast had no choice but to raise its arm to block.
It was Xiao Maoliang, who had just arrived, striking in fury.
With a dull thud, its left arm was pinned to the bridge.
The creature shrieked, writhing violently until its left forearm actually detached itself. It tried to dive into the river again, but Gale Army soldiers had already loosed three or four grappling cords, dragging it back from above the ice by sheer force.
"A ferry ghost!" Wen Daolun's face turned livid. "How are there still two left?!"
Panlong City had clearly killed nine of these whelps beforehand!
Seeing the monster roaring continuously while its severed arm began slowly knitting itself together, Wen Daolun shouted to He Lingchuan, "Sever another arm and break its leg bones!"
He Lingchuan brought his blade down. Amid flying green blood, the beast lost another arm and had its leg shattered.
The sharpness of the treasured blade astonished the soldiers nearby. The monster's hide was incredibly tough; many holding magic artifacts hadn't been able to pierce it.
Wen Daolun immediately shoved a crystal into the beast's wound, heedless of the corrosive green blood burning his fingers. He pulled out a bamboo talisman and thrust it into Xiao Maoliang's hand. "A wounded ferry whelp will run back to its mother. Take this tracking talisman. Once you draw close to the crystal, it will glow!"
Xiao Maoliang understood at once. He took the tracking talisman and, upon seeing it begin to shine, signaled the men to release the beast.
Regaining its freedom, the ferry whelp loosed a savage howl at the crowd and plunged into the river.
Xiao Maoliang led his men in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Wen Daolun stuffed several life-preserving pills into his son's mouth, scooped him up, and rushed into the Du Building within the Martial Review Hall—the rest quarters for martial artists that stood between the North and South Courtyards.
This was the closest place with beds, medicine, and physicians.
The entire Martial Review Hall was thrown into turmoil.
A'luo emerged from some corner, checked Wen Xing's pulse, exchanged a few hurried words with his peers, and sprinted outside, shouting as he ran:
"Out of the way! Out of the way! A life is on the line, don't block the path!"
He actually jumped onto a carriage and dashed off.
Seeing the dazed stare in Wen Daolun's eyes, He Lingchuan knew things were grim.
By now, Wen Xing had slipped into unconsciousness, the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth entirely green. Wen Daolun wiped it away again and again, holding his forehead with one hand.
"Just now... my thanks to you." He managed to pull his thoughts together enough to thank He Lingchuan.
If not for the youth, he would have shared his son's fate. Father and son would probably be lying side by side right now.
There were too many people crowding the hall, irritating Wen Daolun. He drove most of them out, leaving only He Lingchuan and two guards.
The three spines had already been extracted and placed to the side.
He Lingchuan examined the three lethal weapons. They were about the length of toothpicks, yet bore a wood-like grain with bark-like spiral fissures across their surface.
The small creature that fired them lay on a tray as well. Going by how it felt when he cleaved it earlier, its defense was low; all its traits seemed invested purely in ambush.
The room fell dead silent. Wen Daolun kept vigil beside his son, staring blankly at him, occasionally muttering under his breath.
His voice was so slurred that He Lingchuan caught only disjointed fragments:
"Could it... come to pass now...?"
Before long, A'luo returned, bringing reinforcements with him—
His adoptive father, Grand Apothecary Helian Chen of the Elixir Office.
Upon entering the Martial Review Hall, Helian Chen didn't even pause to greet Wen Daolun before going straight to examining Wen Xing.
Pulling aside the clothing revealed that the blood oozing from Wen Xing's wounds had turned pure green. The surrounding skin had become stiff, brittle, and iron-gray, marked with fine fissures—
In short, his flesh resembled tree bark.
Of the three spines, one had struck the arm he raised in defense, one had hit his abdomen, and the last had pierced his leg.
All three areas now displayed bark-like symptoms, which were creeping outward slowly in every direction.
A peculiar fragrance drifted through the air. He Lingchuan couldn't quite place it—partly resembling honey, partly pine resin.
That such a pleasant scent emanated from Wen Xing's wounds only made the scene all the more eerie.
When Helian Chen took a step back, Wen Daolun rushed to ask, "How is he?"
Chapter 328