Volume One: Dragon Rises from the Wild Chapter Seventy-One: Tiger Leaping Gorge

At the foot of the mountain.

Yu Ye and Bai Zhi stood side by side, swords in hand.

Under the cover of night, a pack of wolves surged toward them in a frenzy. Yet amidst the howling beasts, a voice cried out, and before the words had faded, their owner was already surrounded by several wolves. In a flash, sword light gleamed, flesh and blood splattered. Seizing the moment, the man broke through the encirclement and, in a few swift strides, put thirty yards between himself and the pack, before raising his voice again—

“You two cultivators are quite young—where do you hail from?”

There was little delight in the man's tone, more a trace of suspicion.

“I am—” Bai Zhi began, but Yu Ye was quicker to respond—

“My senior sister and I are from Zhongshan in Qizhou. We were separated from our senior brother earlier. We happened upon you and your companions beset by wolves and stepped forward to draw them away. We wished to help, but perhaps overestimated ourselves, ha…”

“Disciples of the Yongchuan Immortal Sect?”

“Ah… yes, that's right, ha!” Yu Ye forced a laugh.

Bai Zhi looked at Yu Ye. Immortal sect disciples? He was clearly making things up, especially with that affected laugh, so obviously contrived. Yet the stranger seemed utterly convinced and engaged him in conversation.

Yu Ye suddenly glanced back, making exaggerated faces at Bai Zhi.

She hesitated a moment.

The newcomer, a middle-aged man, had reached within ten yards. Even as he urged his flying sword to hack at the wolves, he found time to ask, “Do you know Gan Song?”

“Brother Gan? Of course…” Yu Ye replied offhandedly, stepping forward to assist. The wolves lunged at them; Yu Ye reached the man's side, swinging his sword with all his might. “Be careful, brother—”

“No need to worry!” the man replied, sword light sweeping in all directions, forcing the wolves to retreat. He formed another seal, and the sword light recoiled with sudden ferocity. Glancing at the youth beside him, he pressed on, “I heard Gan Song came here too. Have you met anyone else?”

Yu Ye seemed entirely unsuspecting, still focusing on the wolves. “You may not know, but Brother Gan is… no longer living.”

The recoiling sword light was nearly upon him, then abruptly reversed once more.

“Haha!” The man laughed loudly. “There are many visiting cultivators in this marsh; it’s impossible to know them all. You two, why not come with me and leave this place—”

He sent his flying sword forward, determined to carve a bloody path out.

Suddenly, a chill gripped him—too late to avoid it, his protective aura ruptured, and with a sickening “pop,” a hole was blasted through his abdomen. His spiritual core shattered in an instant, his soul dissipating.

He staggered, collapsing to the ground.

The wolves swarmed over him, tearing him to pieces in the blink of an eye.

Yu Ye leapt back, calling urgently, “Bai Zhi—”

A few wolves had reached Bai Zhi, but she dodged and slashed with poise, more than holding her own.

By now, the distant fires on the hillside had been extinguished. A dark mass of wolves surged from a hundred yards away, with three figures riding sword light, racing toward them.

Atop the mountain, beneath the moonlight, the wolf king’s howl echoed, long and mournful.

Yu Ye and Bai Zhi exchanged a hasty nod of understanding, then vaulted away in the direction they’d come.

“Wait, I meant—”

Yu Ye’s words were cut off as a wolf lunged at him. He swung his sword; another wolf leaped over his head. In that instant, one slammed into his back, another snapped at his sword arm, two more bit at his legs, while others pounced from above and all sides. Surrounded, he could barely fend them off, his sword unable to keep up, no room to dodge—all at once, wolf jaws clamped down hard.

In the blink of an eye, five or six wolves hung off him, while even more circled in a frenzy, the air thick with a bloody, bone-chilling wind.

With a shout, Yu Ye was forced to release his protective energy. Light flared from his body, blasting several wolves away. But one still clung stubbornly to his robe, which he dispatched with a single stroke. Seizing the moment, he sprang away, but his strength was nearly spent—he barely made it twenty yards before being surrounded again.

His spiritual power was nearly exhausted.

Yet more fearsome than the rabid wolves were the three approaching Qizhou cultivators.

Yu Ye pulled out a Fire Talisman and hurled it.

With a roar, flames erupted, scattering the wolves in panic.

He immediately slapped a Wind Talisman onto himself and darted forward again—covering thirty, then sixty yards in a flash, like a gale sweeping across the valley. In moments, his figure vanished into the night.

The three Qizhou cultivators, watching his every move, saw him escape and would not relent. Dispersing the wolves, they gave chase.

…

He crossed the valley and climbed the ridges. But as soon as he passed through a stand of trees, the power of the Wind Talisman faded.

Yu Ye's body grew heavy and he stumbled to the ground, but dared not rest, forcing himself onward.

Ahead was a cave, with a stream flowing from its mouth.

Yu Ye dove in.

A moment later, he found himself in a vast cavern—the very place where the Qizhou cultivator had fallen, and where his father had met his end.

But Bai Zhi was nowhere to be seen; only a bundle lay discarded by a crevice.

Yu Ye picked it up and squeezed into the crack. After a few moments, he hurried out another exit.

Beyond the cave lay Withered Grass Gorge.

He had come full circle.

The moon hung unchanged in the sky, the valley as silent as ever.

No white tiger here, no wolf king, no savage pack, no slaughter. It felt like another world entirely—so surreal that Yu Ye could scarcely believe it.

He shook his head, forcing himself to stay alert, and kept running.

A few miles ahead lay the gorge he’d entered earlier—the only way in and out of Spirit Jiao Valley.

Once he crossed the gorge, he’d be free.

But when Yu Ye reached it, he was caught off guard.

His mount, which he’d left here, was gone.

Who stole my horse—

He wanted to shout in anger, but was too exhausted to catch his breath.

Forget it!

He would settle accounts with the thief another day.

Fuming, Yu Ye ran out of the gorge.

In the moonlight, he spotted a forest some ten miles off to his left.

He decided to hide there for a while.

At that moment, a streak of light shot across the night sky like a falling star—strange and wondrous.

Yu Ye stopped, unable to resist watching.

Suddenly, a voice shouted—

“Quick, get out of the way!”

A figure darted from behind a nearby boulder—it was Bai Zhi.

“Oh, where’s my horse?”

“It’s not here—”

“So it was you who stole my horse—”

“We can discuss that later; an expert is flying in on a sword, we have to go—”

Bai Zhi hurried over, gestured briefly, and dashed toward the gorge.

“Ah, that shooting star—”

“That’s no star, it’s a Foundation Establishment expert flying on his sword!”

Yu Ye glanced back as he retreated, and sure enough, the streak of light was headed straight for Spirit Jiao Valley. Terrified, he turned and fled.

Bai Zhi was already far ahead, leaving him a dozen yards behind.

He chased after her.

Soon they were back at the foot of the mountain.

Bai Zhi ran past the cave entrance at the base, not slowing.

Yu Ye called out, “A Foundation Establishment expert is flying overhead—our only hope is to hide underground—”

In his view, the many caves were the only way to escape their pursuer.

But Bai Zhi didn’t even look back. “The Qizhou cultivators came here to seek relics and remains of overseas masters. If we return now, we’ll be walking into a trap!”

“Then where should we go?”

“The heart of Spirit Jiao Valley.”

“What…”

Bai Zhi had a point.

But wasn’t the heart of the valley even more dangerous? Did she have some trump card, or a secret hiding place?

Yu Ye had no time to argue, hurrying after her while absorbing energy from a spirit stone and swallowing pills. Even so, he was struggling—she left him farther and farther behind, gliding away as if buoyed by the wind…

After ten miles, Bai Zhi had vanished without a trace.

Yu Ye stopped, panting heavily.

He stood upon a ridge, flanked by towering boulders and tangled thorns. Behind him was Withered Grass Gorge; southward lay the heart of Spirit Jiao Valley. In the dim night, mountains loomed, ravines twisted, forests were shrouded in gloom, and mists curled—an intimidating sight.

Bai Zhi had slipped away again!

With no one to lead the way, how could he dare to venture deeper alone? Nor could he linger, for fear of being caught by the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As Yu Ye hesitated, a voice of complaint reached his ears—

“Why are you just standing there, admiring the scenery? Come here!”

A figure waved at him from beside a boulder not far away.

Yu Ye hurried over.

The so-called boulder was actually a section of mountain peak, rising dozens of feet high. It connected to the ridge, yet stood as a landmark on its own.

On the southern side was a sheer cliff.

Above the cliff, a stone ledge jutted out like a narrow path. At its end was a cave, just over a yard wide and a few feet deep, with windswept pines arching overhead.

Below the cliff was a fog-filled abyss, a hundred feet deep.

There, in the cave, Bai Zhi sat, sword in her arms.

Yu Ye hesitated before entering, uneasy. “Is it really safe to hide here…”

“What’s unsafe about it?” Bai Zhi tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, unconcerned. “We hurried here under cover of darkness; with rocks to shield us, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s divine sense should not find us.”

“And if he does come this way?”

“If he does, he’ll search the heart of Spirit Jiao Valley first. By going the other way, we’re more likely to escape.”

“I still don’t think it’s safe…”

Yu Ye eyed the cramped cave, still uneasy.

Bai Zhi frowned. “With deadly enemies at hand, our lives on the line, why are you so indecisive tonight, so unlike yourself…”

“Wait!” Yu Ye suddenly interrupted, eyes wide. “You say our enemies are near, yet why did you abandon me? If we’re working together, how could you run off alone? And why did you use your old trick again—what are you up to?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Bai Zhi looked genuinely startled.

Yu Ye waved a hand dismissively. “Let me ask you—why did you steal my horse? You knew my strength was spent, that I couldn’t get far without a mount. Were you trying to get me killed?”

Caught off guard by his rebuke, Bai Zhi’s eyes widened. She sprang up and protested, “How was I to know you were out of energy—”

“I sent you a message—”

“You told me to use the sword talisman to kill, and I urged you to use sword energy, but you said you were exhausted—”

“Yes, I told you to adapt! Who told you to run off alone—”

“If you were so exhausted, how did you still kill that powerful enemy—”

“I barely managed it! After killing him, I had almost nothing left, nearly becoming wolf food—”

“If you were nearly eaten, how did you escape and follow me out of Spirit Jiao Valley—”

“…”

“I didn’t steal your horse; I hid it just in case. But you, pretending to be powerless, provoking me for no reason, blaming me without cause—do you think your senior sister is an easy target?”

“…”

“You called me ‘senior sister’ in front of everyone—do you deny it?”

Inside the cave, the two glared at each other, neither willing to yield.

Just then, a streak of sword light flashed across the night sky…