After burying the Master of the Black Demon Fortress, Qin Feiyang and the Wolf King continued to pursue the old man in black.
A wolf's vision and sense of smell are naturally superior to that of humans. Especially towards blood, wolves are extremely sensitive.
The old man in black was bleeding the entire way.
Following the scent of blood, the Wolf King led Qin Feiyang, relentlessly tracking the injured man.
The Black Demon Fortress had been burned to ashes.
But the fire was not yet extinguished; it was rapidly spreading towards the surrounding forest!
Within a radius of five hundred meters, everything had turned into a sea of fire, dyeing half the sky red!
All the traps were reduced to ashes in the inferno.
The old man in black escaped into this area.
Here, the acrid smoke and scorching heat not only quickly evaporated the blood but also disrupted the Wolf King's sense of smell.
Soon, the pair arrived at the fiery area.
Qin Feiyang stood on a hill, gazing at the sea of flames ahead, and asked, "Did he go in there?"
The Wolf King beside him nodded.
"This Old Bastard, he's really crafty."
Qin Feiyang frowned. Now, it would be difficult for the Wolf King to continue tracking the old man by scent.
"GRR!"
The Wolf King ran down the small hill, then turned back and let out several low growls at Qin Feiyang, signaling for him to follow.
Qin Feiyang ran down and, led by the Wolf King, carefully entered the inferno.
Terrible heat waves swept towards them.
In an instant, both human and wolf were drenched in sweat.
The Wolf King sniffed carefully, moving slowly forward.
「Less than an hour later.」
They emerged from the sea of fire, and a river came into view.
This was the same river they had crossed on their way.
The old man in black was on the verge of death, slumped beside a stele, his face as white as a sheet.
The dagger in his lower abdomen had been pulled out, but he was still bleeding.
He noticed Qin Feiyang and the Wolf King but did not flee, seemingly lacking the energy to do so.
Qin Feiyang and the Wolf King exchanged a smile and walked towards the old man in black.
The old man in black looked at them and frowned. "I have already left. Why are you still chasing me?"
Qin Feiyang said, "Because you're an assassin from the Black Demon Fortress. Only when you're dead can I rest easy."
The old man in black said, "You saw the situation back then. If you let me go now, I guarantee that I will leave Iron Bull Town forever and never appear before you again."
"You're too dangerous. I can't trust your words."
Qin Feiyang shook his head, a murderous glint in his eyes. Gripping Blue Snow, he charged at the old man in black.
The Wolf King also leaped, baring its sharp fangs as it pounced!
"So I can't even fool you, Qin Feiyang. You're truly not simple. I will settle this score with you later."
The old man in black gave a sinister smile and dived into the river.
"Not good!"
Qin Feiyang cried out and quickly jumped into the river after him.
The Wolf King followed closely.
But after a while, Qin Feiyang surfaced, his expression somber.
A little while later, the Wolf King also emerged from the water, shaking its head at Qin Feiyang.
"This old devil is even trickier than I thought," Qin Feiyang said to the Wolf King. "But he can't stay underwater forever. Let's get to the bank first."
He called to the Wolf King, and they swam towards the opposite bank.
Next, both stood on the riverbank, closely watching the water's surface. The slightest ripple or bubble would send them diving in to check.
However, they waited until the sun rose, but the old man in black never surfaced.
No blood emerged from the water, and with the current flowing, the Wolf King couldn't track him either.
"AWOOO!"
The Wolf King looked at Qin Feiyang with a low howl, as if asking what to do.
Qin Feiyang's eyes flickered. If this man had drowned, his body would have floated up by now. But he still hasn't appeared. There's only one explanation: he escaped! But how on earth did he manage it?
"PHEW!"
He let out a long sigh, looked down at the Wolf King, and smiled. "We'll deal with him slowly when we run into him again."
When he first set out, he had only planned to teach the Black Demon Fortress a lesson.
But now, with the exception of the old man in black, everyone else was wiped out. He was quite satisfied with this outcome.
The Wolf King grinned, as if to say that this experience had been quite thrilling.
Qin Feiyang chuckled, cleaned Blue Snow, sheathed it, and then took out the Qiankun Bag.
The treasures in this Qiankun Bag are the biggest haul from this mission!
However, when he checked the Qiankun Bag, he suddenly froze.
The Wolf King looked at him quizzically.
Qin Feiyang didn't explain. He knelt on the ground and emptied all the gold coins from the Qiankun Bag.
After carefully counting them, there were only a hundred gold coins!
What's going on? How can a notorious assassin organization have so few gold coins?
Qin Feiyang frowned.
The Wolf King was also completely puzzled.
Logically, the wealth accumulated by the Black Demon Fortress should be substantial, filled not just with gold coins but also with elixirs, weapons, martial arts manuals, and so on. But there was nothing in this Qiankun Bag. So destitute? Is this really an assassin organization? No, something's not right! The old man in black and the Master of the Black Demon Fortress wouldn't have killed each other over a mere hundred gold coins. There must be other treasures, just not stored in this Qiankun Bag.
Qin Feiyang said, "White-Eyed Wolf, shall we go back to the Black Demon Fortress and look around?"
The Wolf King nodded.
Qin Feiyang quickly put the hundred gold coins into the Qiankun Bag, tied it around his waist, then crossed the river, evaded the sea of fire, entered the ruins of the Black Demon Fortress, and searched carefully.
However, after searching for an hour, they found nothing.
"There must be more treasures, just hidden in places we don't know," Qin Feiyang muttered.
Suddenly, he took out the Jade Pendant given to him by the Master of the Black Demon Fortress. He examined it for a moment, then frowned and said, "Could it be... this is a key?"
Cao Lang…
He pondered for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips. Regardless of whether there are more treasures, or if this Jade Pendant is a key, I must remain vigilant.
The man and the wolf returned the way they came.
As they neared home, Qin Feiyang once again invited the Wolf King to join him, but was rejected.
The Wolf King did not want the gold coins either.
So, the two parted ways.
Uncle Yuan had already buried the bodies of the dead white wolf and Lin Guo.
After reporting his safety to Uncle Yuan, Qin Feiyang went straight to Iron Bull Town.
Naturally, he was going to buy the Body-refining Elixir.
Despite having only a hundred gold coins, there was no doubt that for Qin Feiyang, this was a great treasure, sufficient for him to enter the realm of martial master!
And elixirs were not only available at the Elixir Palace.
Another place that held a large quantity of elixirs was the Treasure Pavilion!
The Treasure Pavilion was an independent power; not even the Elixir Palace dared to offend them easily.
For the Elixir Palace to sell its elixirs at high prices, it relied on the Treasure Pavilion's operations.
On top of that, the goods in the Treasure Pavilion were absolutely genuine.
It was just that the prices were higher than the market rate.
In the past five years, Qin Feiyang had visited the Treasure Pavilion, but the high price of the Marrow-cleansing pill had always deterred him.
Of course, he had also endured his share of humiliation from the Treasure Pavilion staff.
「At this time, the sun was scorching.」
The townsfolk were mostly huddled at home, so there were very few people on the main street.
But everyone who saw Qin Feiyang showed surprise.
The news of Qin Feiyang rolling down the stone steps of the Elixir Palace had already spread throughout Iron Bull Town.
Everyone thought he would need to rest and recover for at least a month or two.
But unexpectedly, just two or three days later, he was back in town, lively and healthy.
Moreover, the sickly appearance on his face was gone.
His face was rosy, his steps steady and powerful; he looked healthier and more spirited than before.
People found it strange. Could it be that after such a serious injury, his illness actually improved?
But Qin Feiyang was composed and didn't look the least bit uncomfortable.
He first went to a clothing shop and bought a few sets of clothes, all made of the most common fabric: hemp.
Although I'm wealthy now, there are too many things I'll need money for in the future, so I have to be frugal. Besides, after the hardships of the past five years, I don't care too much about my external appearance. As long as my clothes are clean and tidy, that's enough.
After leaving the shop, he went straight to the Treasure Pavilion.
The Treasure Pavilion was located on the southern side of the town.
In such hot weather, very few people were there.
Some of the staff were even napping on the counters.
When Qin Feiyang walked into the Treasure Pavilion, several staff members initially rose to welcome him.
But when they saw it was Qin Feiyang, they all withdrew with disappointment, their contempt undisguised.
Having grown used to such an attitude, Qin Feiyang didn't mind. He glanced around, and his gaze suddenly locked onto a certain spot.
At a counter over there stood a young man and a young woman, seemingly choosing something. A staff member was beaming, serving them warmly.
The two had their backs turned to Qin Feiyang.
But Qin Feiyang recognized the girl at a glance.
"Yiyi, it's so hot. What are you doing out here?"
Qin Feiyang walked over with a smile.
That's right, the girl was Lin Yiyi.
"It's Brother Feiyang..."
Joy welled up in Lin Yiyi's eyes. She turned to face Qin Feiyang and was about to run over to him.
But the young man next to her suddenly grabbed her arm, leaned in close, and whispered to her, "Don't forget Uncle Lin's words."
Lin Yiyi's body trembled. She instantly lowered her head, her cheeks turning a bit pale.
"Hm?"
Qin Feiyang frowned and walked over to Lin Yiyi, smiling. "Yiyi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Yiyi is fine. She doesn't need your concern."
The young man stepped in front of Lin Yiyi, looking at Qin Feiyang with disdain.
"Who are you?"
Qin Feiyang frowned.
The young man said, "Who I am is none of your business. This is not a place for you to be. Get lost!"
Qin Feiyang raised an eyebrow, about to say something.
However, at this moment, Lin Yiyi spoke, "Qin Feiyang, please leave. From now on, let's not meet anymore."
As she said this, her eyes welled up with tears.
Qin Feiyang froze.
I can't believe it. This girl, who was willing to be berated by her father just to steal elixirs for me, is actually saying such things to me now?
He looked at the young man and said in a deep voice, "Get out of my way."
The young man's lips curled into a sneer. "And if I don't? What will you do?"
The staff of the Treasure Pavilion not only made no attempt to intervene but all crossed their arms, preparing to watch a good show.