Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
“Wolf Grandpa, do you want to lead the way?” Zhong Li asked cautiously.
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf retained his lofty and inviolable bearing in front of the others. He cast an indifferent glance at Zhong Li before stepping onto the island like he owned the place.
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was very sensitive to odors, especially the smell of blood. He followed the scent while the Foehn Hunter Squad stuck close together behind him.
“Oh my, this is f**king disgusting,” Xie Hao suddenly shrieked.
It gave the others quite a fright. They quickly looked at Xie Hao and noticed him stepping on something. He was wiping it off the grass nearby.
“Did you step on dog shit?” Zhong Li burst out laughing.
“I have no idea what it was. It’s pitch-black!” Xie Hao pulled a long face.
“Stop talking!” Gu Ying’s had a sensitive nose, too. She looked around herself carefully.
The team did not dare to chat any further. They continued to follow the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.
“Did we come to the wrong place? I don’t see any cave here,” Big Nose said.
The island was not huge. They did not find the entrance of a cave after going around the island. They only saw a bunch of rocks. They wondered where the smell of blood had come from.
“This is strange, I clearly remembered my mentor telling me that there’s a cave here,” Zhong Li scratched his head.
“Awooo!”
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was close to a few boulders. He was sniffing at the rocks as if he had discovered something.
Gu Ying watched the Flying Creek Snow Wolf carefully. She noticed him reaching out his sharp claws to dig at the rocks. His claws were slicing them in half, as if they were made of mud!
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf eventually dug open a hole. The rocks above collapsed, revealing an opening. A strong smell of blood assailed their nostrils!
“There really is a cave here!” Xie Hao exclaimed.
“But why is the entrance sealed up?”
The Foehn Hunter Squad was being extremely cautious. Their ranks were not high, and they were well aware of how dangerous a cave like this could be. It was common to find high-level demon creatures in a place like this. They would normally retreat if they found a place like this. It was natural for Hunters to be alert, especially those that spent most of their time in the wild!
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was different. The danger level was nowhere enough to threaten him. He went inside the cave and suddenly lowered his head, as if he had found something.
The Foehn Hunter Squad waited outside the cave. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf soon returned, carrying a person with his mouth!
The man that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf brought out of the cave was covered in blood. It was difficult to even recognize his face. To everyone’s surprise, he was still alive. He was struggling fiercely even as the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was holding him with his mouth, yelling and screaming frantically.
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf placed the guy in front of Gu Ying. He could not have cared less about him.
“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, I saw nothing, I saw nothing!” The man seemed to be mentally unstable, and kept babbling nonsense.
“Isn’t this Wu Dong? Wu Dong, it’s us, we are from the Foehn Hunter Squad! I’m Gu Ying!” Gu Ying quickly comforted him after recognizing who he was.
“Don’t kill me, I swear I didn’t see anything, don’t kill me…” Wu Dong had not recovered from his fear. He was curling up in the corner and trying to squeeze into any gap nearby to seek protection.
The Foehn Hunter Squad exchanged glances with one another. They had no idea what to do with Wu Dong.
Their hearts clenched upon seeing his reaction.
They had known Wu Dong for a long time. He was a man with a pleasant laugh and had drunk with the members of the Foehn Hunter Squad in the past. Gu Ying ended up dragging him back to Lan Jin after he was too drunk.
Since then, Wu Dong was too ashamed to talk to the members of the Foehn Hunter Squad, but they always mentioned it whenever they saw him.
However, Wu Dong seemed to have lost his mind completely. He was begging and curling up instinctively to stay alive. As a Hunter, he knew none of the two actions would guarantee his safety, but he was already suffering a mental breakdown!
“Let’s wash his wounds. We’ll wait until he’s able to calm down,” Gu Ying said.
“Mm, we seriously have no idea what happened.”
The Foehn Hunter Squad was a little worried after seeing Wu Dong’s condition. Something terrifying must have happened on this island, or the Cangjin Hunter Squad would not have ended up like this. Their Foehn Hunter Squad might share the same fate! The only reason they were willing to stay was because the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was sitting calmly behind them.
“Is there anyone else inside?” Gu Ying asked the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sniffed and turned around. He patted Wu Dong with his claws.
“He’s the only one left?” Gu Ying guessed what the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was implying.
The truth was, Gu Ying would not dare to enter the cave. First, a member of the Cangjin Hunter Squad was eaten by the Carnage Poisonous Salamander, and now Wu Dong was mentally unstable.
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded, indicating that there was no one alive inside the cave!
The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did pick up the scent of other creatures. Their numbers were not low, and they seemed to be feasting. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf would not recklessly enter a narrow cave like this, especially since some of the areas were underwater. The environment was not favorable for him.
“We’ve done our best, and managed to save someone. Let’s leave if there’s no one else alive in the cave. We should tell Fan Mo and let him deal with the rest,” Xie Hao proposed.
They had done everything they could. They would only get themselves killed if they decided to investigate the cave!
Gu Ying agreed that they should leave as soon as possible, especially when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was behaving like the cave was extremely dangerous.
“How about him?” Gu Ying asked Xie Hao.
“He’s just overwhelmed by fear. He should be back to normal after treating his wounds and getting some rest,” Xie Hao was familiar with the art of healing, even though he was not a Healer.
“Let’s go then.”
“Mm, this island is giving me the creeps.”
—
—
The team brought the injured Wu Dong back with them. The boat headed back to Minghu Outpost.
Wu Dong was unconscious. He had stopped blabbering, perhaps able to tell that he was no longer in danger.
“He should be fine after he wakes up… it’s getting dark. It’s not safe to be traveling on the lake now. Let’s set up some tents on the Single-Line Island. We’ll head back to Minghu Outpost tomorrow morning!” Zhong Li said.
“Mm, fine, Wu Dong needs some rest too.”
——
The Single-Line Island was a special island that almost every Hunter at the Thousand Islands Lake knew about. The island was located at a relatively safe spot on the lake. There were no demon creatures in the water nearby, and the island was free of them. Most Hunters that were returning from the Thousand Islands Lake would choose to stay on the island for the night before going back to Minghu Outpost. Therefore, the island was already lit up with tents by the evening.
The Single-Line Island had a lot of tents, as usual. They most likely belonged to the Hunter Groups that were reluctant to give up on hunting Salamander Demons. Perhaps they had earned a fortune after they figured out a way to break through the Salamander Demons’ shells!
The Foehn Hunter Squad began setting up their tents after they arrived at the island.
“Yo, brother, your wolf looks pretty sick. It must be at least a Great Warrior-level creature!” a Hunter nearby came and greeted them.
Hunters were used to hanging out together when they were in the wild. It was easier for them to look after one another.
“Great Warrior-level creature? You’re joking. Let me tell you, he can kill Commander-level creatures like they are little chicks!” Xie Hao responded proudly.
“Keep bluffing!” the Hunter laughed.
“I’m being serious,” Xie Hao said seriously
“Ask him to show me some moves then, if he’s really that strong. I will offer you this jar of wine if you’re not lying. If you are, you will have to give me the number of that pretty lady in your team,” the Hunter said
Xie Hao glanced at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, who was already asleep. He was deeply troubled. Would the creature simply slap him to death if he asked him to show off some moves?
“Huh? The badge you are wearing looks familiar. I saw two people wearing the same badge on this island. Are they from the same team as yours?” the Hunter asked.
“Are you referring to this? It’s a temporary badge that a Seven Star Hunter Master gave us…” Xie Hao said.
“You’re such a liar, a Seven Star Hunter Master?” The Hunter clearly did not believe Xie Hao. If there was really a Seven Star Hunter Master here, why would they bother doing quests in the Thousand Islands Lake? Was there anything here that would catch a Seven Star Hunter Master’s attention?
—
Xie Hao chatted with the Hunter for a while. After he was done, he went to look for the other two with the same badge.
Every Hunter that was hired for the quest was given a temporary badge. It was a sign that they were all working on the same quest for the same employer. They were teammates for the time being.
Xie Hao did not expect to see any other teammates on the island. He decided to visit them to see if they had discovered any clues.
Xie Hao went to the back of the island and saw an isolated tent. The tent was delicate, obviously costing a lot of money. The tent was lit up, and he could see the outlines of a man and a woman projected onto the tent by the light.
“Hello, you two, I am Xie Hao from the Foehn Hunter Squad. Why are you two here? Where is the rest of your team?” Xie Hao went up to the tent and asked.
“Xie Hao?” Li Yumei blurted out.
Lu Zhuo flipped the tent up and looked at Xie Hao, who had paid them a surprise visit.
“Holy crap, why is it you two?” Xie Hao was dumbfounded.
Xie Hao was not fond of them, just like the rest of his team. He did not expect to stumble into them here. How unlucky!
Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei were wearing strange looks. After all, they could not help but be on alert when someone found them here, not long after what they did.
