Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
From the depths of the house echoed the sound of breaking glass.
After leading Gao Peng through three corridors and two courtyards, the man in the black leather jacket finally came to a stop.
The man didn’t turn around. He simply stood there with his back to Gao Peng.
Lines of sweat trickled down his forehead and onto his collar.
The man had set his familiar, the Black Spiked Snail, on Gao Peng as his first test. Even though it wasn’t terribly powerful, it was still an Elite-tier monster.
However, all it took was a casual look from Gao Peng, and the snail was instantly cowed into submission. Even the man in the black jacket had felt the snail’s terror the moment it locked eyes with Gao Peng through their Blood Contract.
He could tell that this boy was the real deal.
“I’ve already made a few calls to prepare for your trip to Dali Desert. We’ll be leaving tonight at ten,” said the man in a low voice.
Gao Peng nodded. There was bamboo all around him, each plant wedged into the walls just above his head. All kinds of junk cluttered the place.
“Why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ve already made the necessary arrangements. Just remember that we’ll be departing tonight at ten. Any later than that and we’ll leave you behind,” said the man.
Gao Peng narrowed his eyes, then slowly nodded at the man.
…
Night soon came.
A group of people came into the building from the other side.
There were six of them in total. Behind them stood a couple of shadowy figures completely enshrouded in layers of thick black cloth.
“Since every checkpoint on the main road is being guarded by the army, we’ll be taking a lesser-known route leading out of Chang’an city,” explained a black-robed girl at the front of the group. Her black hair was tied into a ponytail. Her eyebrows were slender, and her movements were agile and refined.
Considering how big Chang’an City was, there was no way the army had its men stationed at the city’s every exit.
They began walking towards the outskirts of the city. They could hear the occasional wail of car horns from a highway in the distance.
Without an experienced guide, they would definitely not have been able to make much headway in the dark.
After walking for two hours, they finally reached the other side of a small mountain. Under the cover of darkness, they could see the outline of a huge truck parked on the side of the road.
The black-robed girl produced a whistle from her backpack. She then let out one long whistle and two short ones.
The truck roared to life.
“Let’s go,” said the girl urgently as she rushed towards the truck.
All of them climbed into the truck’s cab, while the compartment at the back was reserved for their familiars.
Gao Peng didn’t get a good look at any of their familiars, as most of them were covered under a thick black cloth. He could only see a number of huge figures being ushered into the truck’s back compartment. One of them suddenly cried out and bumped into another familiar.
The latter shook its head and let out a deep growl.
It seemed like a fight was about to break out between the two familiars.
Suddenly, a pair of bony arms pierced through the black cloth and touched the two familiars’ heads.
In an instant, both of them calmed down.
The two familiars now stood stock still in the back compartment.
In the cab, Gao Peng sat in the middle. On his right was a woman in a dark red dress, her exposed shoulders round and smooth. She had let down her black, curly hair. Her slender legs were folded over each other to complete this picture of feminine appeal.
Realizing that Gao Peng was looking at her, the woman turned to Gao Peng and smiled at him. Her lips were painted red, two alluring arcs glistening in the darkness.
Gao Peng hastily looked away, realizing how rude it was to ogle at a woman.
The other two in the cab seemed to be acquaintances. He tried to remember what they looked like.
They were a couple. Judging from their appearances, Gao Peng figured that they didn’t look like they were in desperate need of money.
Perhaps they were just looking to have some fun and excitement in Dali Desert.
They drove along the road for around three hours. The truck jolted a bit from time to time. This wasn’t surprising, seeing that the road they were on had fallen into disrepair through years of neglect. They had to drive slowly, as there were potholes in certain parts of the road.
“Awooo!”
Suddenly, there was a chilling howl outside the truck.
Gao Peng looked out the window and saw green dots of light floating in the darkness by the roadside.
He soon made out the outlines of huge wolf-like creatures that were now chasing after the truck in rabid excitement.
No matter how fast the truck was moving, they couldn’t seem to shake off these terrifying creatures.
“I’m already driving at top speed!” cursed the driver. “We are so dead!”
With how fast the truck was moving, the wolves on both sides of the road grew more and more excited. They let out another chilling howl.
“Stop the truck,” said the black-robed girl.
The driver switched gears and slowed down the truck. Finally, it came to a complete stop.
The wolves now surrounded the truck in every direction. Their green eyes were especially unsettling.
In the back compartment, Flamy’s Lord-tier aura spread out from the bottom of its feet.
The wolves, which were slowly approaching their prey from all sides, suddenly froze up. In the next instant, all of them scampered away from the truck, yelping in fright.
“Awooo!”
“What the…” The black-robed girl, who had already braced herself for a confrontation, looked at the wolves incredulously. She then looked down silently at the unsheathed machete that she had in her hands…
“Let’s keep going,” said Gao Peng, breaking the awkward silence in the cab.
The black-robed girl blinked and looked at Gao Peng, then said to the driver, “Drive on.”
She didn’t believe that she had scared off the wolves by unsheathing her machete. She also didn’t believe that her familiar, which had only recently been promoted to Commander-tier, would be able to intimidate a pack of Elite-tier wolves.
However, she decided not to dwell on it. Her job now was to get these people safely to the edge of Dali Desert. Anything else wasn’t her concern.
After driving for half an hour, the scenery outside gradually looked even more desolate, while the plants on the roadside looked even more stunted and sparse. Under the dim moonlight, Gao Peng could only make out their misshapen shadows scattered across the barren landscape.
“We’re here. Up ahead is Dali Desert. Follow that small trail branching out of the main road, and you’ll reach a gathering spot for mercenaries and other lovely folk. It’s just outside the army’s jurisdiction,” said the black-robed girl before returning to the truck and leaving Gao Peng and the others on the road.
The earth beneath their feet was soft. A light, dry breeze blew past them.
Looking out into the distance, Gao Peng could see a vast expanse of sand with a tinge of silver stretching out to the horizon.
Dali Desert lay just ahead of them.
