CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38 REGRET TOO LATE_1

AWOO!

Inside the ancient castle.

The Wolf King growled at Qin Feiyang, as if asking whether they should save Lo Qingzhu.

"Don’t rush."

Qin Feiyang whispered. Lo Qingzhu’s background is complicated; those people from the Lin family are probably just trying to scare her. If we run out now, it would only drag Lo Qingzhu into this.

「Outside!」

Upon hearing the threatening words of the man in black, Lo Qingzhu showed no nervousness. She smiled brightly, "Senior, I truly do not know where Qin Feiyang is. He knocked me unconscious, and by the time I woke up, he was already gone. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Lin Family Head or the Third Palace Master. Besides, I want to settle accounts with him myself; why would I protect him?"

The man in black looked at her for a moment. Seeing no signs of deception, he didn’t make things difficult for her. "If you find Qin Feiyang, you must inform us immediately."

"Alright."

Lo Qingzhu nodded.

With a wave of his hand, the Iron Hawk beneath the man in black spread its wings and soared into the sky.

PHEW!

After watching him leave, Lo Qingzhu sighed in relief.

How on earth did that guy leave? She looked around, puzzled, then turned and walked towards Iron Bull Town.

The Lo family mother and daughter aren’t so bad after all, Qin Feiyang muttered to himself. No matter what they did initially, once they knew the truth, their first thought was to apologize. Meanwhile, the Third Palace Master and the Martial Palace Hall Master did nothing. That’s the difference between people.

Similarly, this incident had also made him see Lo Qingzhu in a new light. Even though I couldn’t see what was happening outside, the fact that she managed to dismiss that man in black with just a few words speaks volumes about her extraordinary intelligence.

He pulled out the Qiankun Bag, a radiant smile spreading across his face. Just when I was worried about not having Qi Gathering Pills, Lo Qingzhu sent them over. For my current situation, this is like a lifeline in desperate times. These Qi Gathering Pills should be enough for me to replicate the first stroke of the ’Restoration’ character. The first stroke is a horizontal one.

He decided to act immediately. He walked to the iron box, preparing to bite his finger.

But at this moment, the Wolf King suddenly growled at him, its eyes filled with urgency.

"What’s wrong?" Qin Feiyang looked down at it, confused.

The Wolf King growled a few times. Seeing that Qin Feiyang still didn’t understand, it bit his trousers and tugged hard.

Now Qin Feiyang understood. The Wolf King wants to go out. But what for? The Lin family is still searching the mountain range; what if we run into them?

The Wolf King tugged more fiercely, even tearing his trousers.

Reluctantly, Qin Feiyang put aside the thought of copying the ’Restoration’ character and appeared in the open area with the Wolf King.

"AWOO!"

The Wolf King let out a low howl, then darted towards the jungle on the left.

"Wait for me!" Qin Feiyang growled softly and hurriedly gave chase.

「The jungle was a mess!」

Beast carcasses were strewn everywhere, and the pungent smell of blood filled the air.

"Those people from the Yan City Lin family have gone too far!" Qin Feiyang clenched his fists, his face as grim as water. I consider myself ruthless, but compared to these people, I’m not even one percent as vicious!

AWOO!

The Wolf King suddenly stopped beside a pile of rubble, howling incessantly.

BANG! BANG!

Qin Feiyang slammed his palm forward, sending the stones flying.

Once the rubble was cleared, Qin Feiyang stood utterly stunned.

Beneath the pile of stones lay a white wolf!

The white wolf was covered in blood, long dead!

Qin Feiyang finally understood what the Wolf King was doing. It’s looking for its pack!

The Wolf King walked over to the white wolf. It lifted a front paw, nudged the lifeless body, and whimpered, a sound like a call to a loved one, a mournful dirge echoing...

"Damn it! Lin family of Yan City, I swear I’ll have you erased from the Great Qin Empire sooner or later!" Qin Feiyang’s eyes were bloodshot. Gritting his teeth, his face was a mask of terrifying ferocity.

"AWOOO..."

The Wolf King suddenly threw its head back and let out a heaven-shattering howl, its sorrow piercing the sky.

Qin Feiyang was shocked to see two glistening teardrops in the corners of its eyes!

His heart quaked. He quickly went to the Wolf King’s side, stroking its head. "Brother Wolf, I’m sorry," he said, his voice thick with self-reproach. "It’s all my fault. If it hadn’t been helping me find Uncle Yuan, it wouldn’t have died so miserably..."

"Whimper."

The Wolf King growled softly a few times, then shook its head, a terrifying glint in its eyes.

At that moment, Qin Feiyang instantly understood. The Wolf King is saying it has nothing to do with me. It’s all the Yan City Lin family’s fault. It wants revenge!

"Brother Wolf, don’t be impulsive. With our current strength, seeking revenge against them is simply courting death. Let’s wait until we find Uncle Yuan," Qin Feiyang hurriedly advised.

Suddenly, he grabbed the Wolf King and, with a thought, entered the ancient castle.

In less than three stars, an Iron Hawk swooped in, circling overhead.

The man in black standing on the Iron Hawk surveyed the area below, his brow deeply furrowed.

Strange. I clearly heard a wolf howl just now, yet there’s only a dead white wolf here?

He searched the area thoroughly. After confirming there was nothing else out of the ordinary, he rode the Iron Hawk away.

「A moment later.」

Qin Feiyang reappeared with the Wolf King.

After burying the white wolf, the Wolf King resumed its frantic search for the other white wolves.

Qin Feiyang followed, wanting to speak but hesitating. We’ve run for so long without encountering a single living beast. It strongly suggests the other white wolves have met a grim fate. But I don’t have the heart to say it.

No, we can’t continue like this; Lin family’s men are everywhere.

Qin Feiyang dashed forward, blocking the Wolf King’s path. "Stop for a moment and listen to me."

The Wolf King halted, panting, and looked at Qin Feiyang with confusion.

"Searching like this is futile. Let’s go back to the cave and wait. If they’re still alive, they’ll definitely come back to find us. But if they don’t..." Qin Feiyang trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

The Wolf King stared at him. After a long silence, it turned and ran towards the cave without a sound.

The man and wolf returned to the cave. They waited until sunset, but no white wolves came.

The Wolf King, however, hadn’t lost hope and wanted to continue waiting. Qin Feiyang couldn’t persuade it otherwise and could only stay by its side.

「The next morning.」

Qin Feiyang rose and gazed at the endless mountain range, sighing deeply. "Brother Wolf, I know this is cruel for you, but I have to say it... they’re all dead."

The Wolf King’s massive body trembled violently.

"AWOOO..."

Suddenly, it stood up, faced the sky, and howled wildly, an overwhelming wave of savage fury surging towards the heavens!

"Brother Wolf," Qin Feiyang said, also looking at the nascent sun on the horizon, enunciating each word, "I promise you, one day, we will charge into Yan City and trample the Lin family underfoot!"

At that moment, he was like a drawn sword, radiating an astonishing sharpness!

The Wolf King looked at him, its eyes brimming with tears.

"Let’s go to the ancient castle. I killed Cao Lang last time and got three hundred Body-refining Elixirs. I’ll refine all of them for you."

After entering the ancient castle with the Wolf King, Qin Feiyang immediately took out all the Body-refining Elixirs.

The Wolf King’s eyes lit up.

"Brother Wolf, we’re comrades in hardship now, sworn brothers through life and death. Don’t be polite with me, or I’ll get upset," Qin Feiyang said.

The Wolf King grinned and began to refine the Body-refining Elixirs.

Qin Feiyang also consumed a Qi Gathering Pill and continued to trace the ’Restoration’ character from the Iron Book.

Perhaps spurred by the deaths of the wolf pack, both man and wolf were exceptionally motivated!

The Lin family’s men searched the mountain range for three days and nights before finally departing.

The land for hundreds of miles around was razed. With no survivors found, it had become a desolate wasteland, a veritable charnel ground reeking of slaughter!

「Iron Bull Town.」

「Lin family!」

"You’re all War Kings, yet you couldn’t find one insignificant martial master! What use are any of you? How did I end up raising such a pack of incompetents!" Lin Han pointed at the fourteen men and roared, completely disregarding his image.

The fourteen men hung their heads, not daring to breathe too loudly. The Lin Family Head and the servants nearby were even more terrified, practically scared out of their wits!

One of them mustered his courage and said respectfully, "Family Head, I believe Qin Feiyang may have already fled."

"Fled?" Lin Han frowned, took a deep breath, and returned to his seat. After a moment of contemplation, he looked up at the Lin Family Head. "I’m returning to the Imperial City immediately. Have someone bring Yiyi to me."

The Lin Family Head looked at a nearby servant and barked, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and go!"

The servant trembled and fled the hall as if escaping for his life.

Lin Han said, "Lin Wei, Lin De, you two will remain in Iron Bull Town. If Qin Feiyang returns, kill him on sight!"

"Yes!" Two men in black stepped forward and bowed in assent.

Lin Han added, "The rest of you will return to the Imperial City with me shortly."

"Yes!" the crowd responded respectfully.

"Lin Chang!" Lin Han suddenly called out.

The Lin Family Head’s body shuddered. He knelt before Lin Han, cold sweat drenching him.

His name was Lin Chang.

"Lin Chang, originally, death was your only path to atonement for this," Lin Han said. "But for Yiyi’s sake, I can spare your life. However, from this day forward, Lin Yiyi will be my adopted daughter, and you will have no further connection to her whatsoever."

"What?" Lin Chang looked at Lin Han in disbelief.

"What? Do you have an objection?" Lin Han looked down on him, his contemptuous gaze like that of one observing an ant.

Lin Chang hastily said, "Family Head, I raised Yiyi to adulthood with great hardship. You can’t deprive me of my rights as a father!"

HUMPH!

Lin Han snorted disdainfully. "Do you think I don’t know what’s on your mind? You merely want to use Yiyi to ingratiate yourself with the Royal Family and secure your own advancement. But some things are beyond your station."

Lin Chang’s expression became extremely ugly.

That’s right! That was exactly what he had been thinking.

But now, Lin Han’s condition was tantamount to severing his father-daughter relationship with Lin Yiyi. In the future, whether Lin Yiyi married into the Royal Family or not would have nothing to do with him. He certainly wouldn’t be able to gain a share of any benefits.

How could he possibly agree to such a thing?

"Family Head..." he began, wanting to say more.

"Shut up!" Lin Han cut him off. "You have two choices now."

"First, write a contract immediately, severing your father-daughter relationship!"

"Second, I kill you right now!"

"Give me your answer within three stars."

Lin Han was blunt. After speaking, he glanced at a man in black beside him.

The man understood, drew a dagger from his waist, and pressed it against Lin Chang’s neck.

Lin Chang trembled from head to toe, his head bowed, his eyes filled with bitter unwillingness!

Suddenly, he remembered something Qin Feiyang had said to him by the lake that night.

"Family Head Lin, don’t think that by cozying up to the Yan City main family, you’ll achieve greatness. Take my advice: keep a low profile. Otherwise, you’ll end up like one drawing water with a bamboo basket—all for naught."

Those words had indeed come true.

At this moment, Lin Chang was consumed by regret. If only I had known then what I know now! Why did I ever do those things?