Chapter 5: The Difference Between the Blood Wolf and Yellowdog
Perhaps he had been quite startled, because as he continued to rub the back of his neck, Cold Blade Blood threw a question at Flashing Light Blood about the Blood Wolf that had entered the forest together with the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
“Right, I was wondering about that myself. Honestly, when the Vice Cult Leader brought that thing out, I thought he was going to release it into the Ghost Lotus Sect and let it run wild.”
“Well, if it was a Blood Wolf that blades and spears couldn’t pierce, even the Ghost Lotus Sect would’ve had a hard time dealing with it.”
“Exactly. I figured he’d let that monstrosity devour a few people alive to set the mood…… Now I really don’t know why he brought the Blood Wolf out at all.”
“By the way, was the Blood Wolf always that docile? It’s completely a mutt. How is that thing supposed to be the Blood Wolf that chews tigers alive?”
At Cold Blade Blood’s muttering, Flashing Light Blood let out a snort of laughter.
“It must’ve been beaten senseless. Didn’t you see how the Blood Wolf flinched every time the Vice Cult Leader’s hand moved? That thing was scared it was about to get hit again.”
“Really? I didn’t notice that. I just saw it wagging its tail whenever the Vice Cult Leader rubbed its neck.”
“Ah! That’s because if it didn’t, it got beaten. Saying a mutt has to act like a mutt…….”
At Flashing Light Blood’s words, Cold Blade Blood shook his head.
“Treating a Blood Wolf like a dog… the Vice Cult Leader really is something else.”
“Still, thanks to that, incidents of cultists being slaughtered by the Blood Wolf have disappeared. These days, there are quite a few among the cultists who praise the Vice Cult Leader for that.”
“Well, until the Vice Cult Leader captured it, the cultists really did suffer a lot.”
About half a year ago, a strange creature suddenly appeared in the Central Plains.
The true identity of the monster that had existed only in legends before abruptly revealing itself was the Blood Wolf—a beast with the body of an ash-gray wolf, eyes completely filled with black, and blood-red stripes wrapped around its head.
As its name suggested, this monster lived by consuming blood, craving not only the blood of animals but also human blood.
At first, damage occurred among civilian households around the Sichuan region, and eventually casualties began to appear even among martial artists who stepped forward to hunt and kill the monster.
This was due to the Blood Wolf’s trait of being impervious to blades and spears.
Its hide was so tough and strong that even the weapons of martial artists could not penetrate it.
Meanwhile, the damage caused by the Blood Wolf spread beyond Sichuan to Gansu, and eventually to Qinghai.
Qinghai, called the land of the demonic path, was practically the front yard of the Bright Cult. With the word ‘cult’ in its name, it was only natural that the Bright Cult had its own followers.
Of course, matters of religion were handled separately by the Guardian Venerable, but it was undeniable that they too were part of the Bright Cult.
And among those followers of the Bright Cult, those living in Qinghai ended up becoming victims of the bloodshed carried out by the Blood Wolf.
The Guardian Venerable immediately requested the Cult Leader to resolve the matter, and martial warriors of the Bright Cult were promptly dispatched under the Cult Leader’s command.
The problem was that, due to its blade-impervious nature, even the warriors sent by the Bright Cult continued to fail in killing the Blood Wolf.
It wasn’t as though the Bright Cult had only sent weaklings.
By then, the Bright Cult already knew the reasons why martial artists of the Hundred Paths had failed to slay the Blood Wolf in Sichuan and Gansu.
Thus, from the very beginning, all of the Thirteen Bloods were mobilized for the Blood Wolf subjugation operation. Would anyone believe that Sword Energy and Blade Energy were flying everywhere just to capture a single wolf?
Even so, the hunt failed because even weapons imbued with Sword Energy and Blade Energy could not pierce it.
Meanwhile, the damage to untrained cultists continued to increase, and just as voices began calling for the deployment of the Five Demons, who could use Force Energy, the Vice Cult Leader suddenly stepped forward.
It was an event that shocked everyone, as the Vice Cult Leader had not left his residence once over the past five years.
That very evening when the Vice Cult Leader appeared, the Blood Wolf was dragged in upside down, caught by its hind legs in the Vice Cult Leader’s hand.
Only then did everyone learn that even Force Energy did not work on the Blood Wolf.
This was because the Vice Cult Leader was witnessed multiple times beating the Blood Wolf while it hung upside down, using a blade overflowing with vivid crimson Force Energy.
At the very least, while Force Energy couldn’t pierce it, it seemed to inflict pain. Eventually, the Blood Wolf completely surrendered—raising both hands and feet, no, all four legs—before the Vice Cult Leader, who mercilessly beat it with bundles of Force Energy.
The reason its fur was now patchy, as it was, was also because the Vice Cult Leader had beaten it with bundles of Force Energy whenever it disobeyed.
The hide wasn’t pierced, but it was beaten so brutally that the fur itself was scorched away by Force Energy.
To be honest, the masters of the Bright Cult who witnessed that scene learned for the first time that a person could wield such thick, vivid Force Energy for such a long duration.
What was certain was that, from that point on, more people within the Bright Cult came to fear the Vice Cult Leader.
And among them were the Thirteen Bloods who had personally witnessed the Vice Cult Leader swinging those crimson bundles of Force Energy for hours on end.
As Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood shuddered, goosebumps crawling up their arms as they recalled those events, a hunt by Yul Han was unfolding deep within the forest they were watching.
That said, Yul Han wasn’t running around to hunt.
“Yellowdog. Over there, a rabbit.”
At Yul Han’s gesture, made together with his words, the Blood Wolf called Yellowdog dashed forward at terrifying speed and snatched the rabbit.
Yet something about this was strange—the Blood Wolf did not sink its teeth into the rabbit’s neck.
Though the desire to bite into its neck and suck its blood surged within it, it glanced back at Yul Han standing some distance away and forcibly suppressed that urge.
If it sank its teeth into a living creature, it would be hung upside down again and beaten half to death just like before.
That fear overcame instinct.
Carrying the rabbit back alive, the Blood Wolf wagged its tail with an expression that seemed to say, ‘I did well, right?’
As Yul Han stroked the Blood Wolf’s neck and accepted the rabbit, his expression turned troubled. The rabbit’s belly was swollen.
It was clearly not swollen from overeating.
“You’re pregnant. No matter how much the animals of the mountains may be hunted and eaten for humans, there must be limits. Go. Go and give birth to your young and raise them well.”
Muttering so, he set the rabbit down, and it bolted into the forest like an arrow.
When the Blood Wolf tried to chase after it again, Yul Han spread a single finger and shook it.
“No!”
At just that one word, the Blood Wolf, which had been about to dash out, tucked in its tail, flinched, and retreated.
Because every time the word “No” was spoken, a merciless beating had always followed.
Yet this time, Yul Han stroked the Blood Wolf’s neck.
“You listen well, our Yellowdog. Good boy.”
Whether it understood human speech or not was unclear, but the Blood Wolf looked quite flustered by Yul Han’s words and actions.
---
After half a shijin had passed while Cold Blade Blood tended the campfire and Flashing Light Blood took care of the horses, Yul Han and Yellowdog—no, the Blood Wolf—returned carrying several unfamiliar mountain fruits.
Staring blankly at the oddly shaped fruits that were neither apples nor pears, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood listened as Yul Han spoke with an embarrassed expression.
“Somehow, everything I caught today was either pregnant or traveling with young……. No matter how much humans are said to be the lords of all creation, surely we cannot eat those carrying offspring, can we?”
“Th, that’s right.”
Despite expressions that clearly did not agree at all, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood nodded vigorously, to the point of being pitiful.
In the end, the three men and one dog—no, wolf—had to quell their hunger with a few pieces of fruit and a small amount of shriveled dried rations.
For reasons unknown, the Vice Cult Leader chose not the carriage but a spot beside them, and as they listened to his soft, even breathing after he had fallen asleep, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood clutched their growling stomachs and tried to sleep.
Was it because they were hungry? Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood, who had fallen asleep at some point, only opened their eyes when the morning sunlight reached their eyelids.
It was not yet noon, but the sun had climbed high and seemed to have been up for quite some time.
In short, they had overslept. The moment they realized that, the two, who had been blinking while lying down, jolted in shock and sprang to their feet.
What made things even more awkward was that, when they stood up, they saw that the Vice Cult Leader—already awake, though it was unclear when he had risen—had revived the campfire that should have died overnight and was hanging a kettle over it, brewing tea.
‘S, sorry, Vice Cult Leader.’
They hurriedly bowed and apologized, but no sound came out. Or rather, they spoke, yet no voice was heard.
Startled by the incomprehensible situation, the two widened their eyes. Yul Han noticed them belatedly, smiled faintly, and lightly moved his hand. Only then did the sounds of birds, and the wind brushing past the trees, begin to be heard.
Seeing Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood wearing shocked expressions at that strange phenomenon, Yul Han smiled and spoke.
“You kept tossing and turning whenever even the smallest sound was heard, so I silenced the surroundings so you could sleep well. Did you rest comfortably?”
“Wh—? Ah! Y-yes…….”
Their reply could only come out foolishly. With internal energy, it was possible to create a barrier of energy and contain the sound of a certain space so that it would not leak outside.
That much was something masters of Cold Blade Blood’s or Flashing Light Blood’s level could also do.
But to completely erase the surrounding sounds was something they had never even heard of in storybooks.
Had someone claimed such a thing, they would have dismissed it as nonsense.
And yet they had just experienced it themselves…….
So shocked were they that they stood there blankly until the Vice Cult Leader personally poured tea and held out the cups. Only then did they flinch and hurriedly accept them.
“Th, thank you, Vice Cult Leader.”
“Compared to the hardships you two endure driving the carriage all day and finding the road, this is nothing. I should be the one thanking you.”
At the sight of the Vice Cult Leader smiling as he finished speaking, Cold Blade Blood sent a transmission to Flashing Light Blood.
—Wh, what on earth is going on?
—I d-don’t know. Just drink the tea for now.
—Isn’t this hot?
—Is this the time to worry about that? We can’t just stand there spacing out after the Vice Cult Leader personally poured the tea.
—W, well…….
—Stop complaining and drink!
As Cold Blade Blood squeezed his eyes shut and lifted the teacup at Flashing Light Blood’s transmission, Yul Han’s voice reached his ears.
“There’s no need for that. Let it cool and drink it slowly. You could scald yourself.”
“Ah! Y-yes. Thank yo—”
Cold Blade Blood’s eyes flew open as if they were about to tear. Flashing Light Blood, just as shocked, asked in a voice mixed chaotically with panic and disbelief.
“S-surely…… d-don’t tell me. Y-you can hear transmissions?”
At Flashing Light Blood’s question, Yul Han smiled faintly.
“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop……. But yes. I could hear them. I apologize.”
Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood looked at each other with eyes full of shock and confusion, then hurriedly tried to bow—only to stop awkwardly halfway.
It was because they were trying to prevent the tea from spilling out of the cups in their hands due to their sudden movements.
In their minds, the urge to quickly apologize for all the things they had said through transmissions without realizing, and the imperative that they must not spill the tea personally poured by the Vice Cult Leader, were colliding.
Seeing the two at a loss, Yul Han spoke with a smile.
“It’s all right. So sit comfortably and drink your tea. Isn’t it a fine morning? The sunlight is nice, and the air is clear. Tea at times like this is said to be medicine. So let us enjoy this tea as medicine.”
After saying that, the Vice Cult Leader sat down by one side of the campfire and drank his tea, while the two watched him with complicated gazes.
That was when—
“Don’t move and hand over everything you’ve got! Or I’ll kill you all!”
At the shouted roar, a group of people came pouring out of the forest.
Looking at their appearance, Cold Blade Blood and Flashing Light Blood’s eyes filled with disbelief.