The relationship between Qianye and Nighteye was difficult to explain. It was even harder to summarize it to Zhuji who had suddenly become intelligent. Laughing helplessly, he tried to talk his way out, but the little lass wouldn’t let him off no matter what. She questioned him repeatedly, and it seemed she was going to pursue this without relent.

Having no other choice, Qianye used his final trump card of threatening to throw her into the cabin.

Only then did the little girl become more obedient. But from how her eyes were shifting about, it would seem that she had thought of some new tricks. Fortunately, she still liked hanging around Qianye despite growing up, even more so than eating beast meat. She would listen if Qianye threatened to drive her away.

Her mischief, however, left Qianye unable to cultivate in peace. He simply sat there thinking about Nighteye.

Dragging on this kind of relationship wasn’t the way to go. Neither Song Zining, Zhao Yuying, Ji Tianqing nor Li Kuanglan said it to his face, but they had been hinting at it for a while now. It was better to make a decision sooner than later.

But was he to leave her just like that?

Did he have to make a choice between friends, brothers, and his lover? Qianye hiding in the neutral lands was just a form of escape. He didn’t want to be between a rock and a hard place.

Nighteye was destined to return to Evernight.

At the thought of this, Qianye’s chest would hurt so bad that he could hardly breathe. Their meeting in the Great Maelstrom wasn’t his intention, so much so that he hoped they had never met there. There was a fear in the depths of Qianye’s intuition—it seemed the more he met her, the closer it was for them to part.

The Sacred Mountain was a distant dream, but their parting was close at hand.

After defeating Zhang Xuance and suppressing the heavenly monarch’s residence, Qianye didn’t know what he should do anymore. Although he did have some plans when he asked for the title of Tidehark City Lord, just the thought of it gave him a headache and deprived him of all motivation.

In the cold depths of the void, upon the Martyr’s Palace, this was where he belonged.

He had come to understand the Pointer Monarch’s mood back in the year. Parting while alive or through death, no one could tell which was more painful.

The Martyr’s Palace moved slowly into the depths of the void. Qianye wanted to stop people from finding him, including Nighteye.

…

In the Ancient Totemic Castle, the Wolf King was just rushing out of the steam-filled bathroom. He grabbed the bathrobe from a maidservant and wrapped it carelessly around himself. “Any news?”

His attendant replied, “The heavenly monarch’s residence has just dispatched two documents. Also, Zhang Xuance has been released. Qianye left Southern Blue, but his destination is unknown.”

The Wolf King frowned in apparent displeasure. “More missives?”

The attendant said carefully, “Great Chief, this is the first time in two months that they’ve sent a letter.”

The Wolf King snorted. “Is two months all that long?”

Not daring to retort, the attendant simply followed the Wolf King into the study. There were two werewolf generals waiting anxiously.

The Wolf King became even more displeased. “What’s the matter so early in the morning? I don’t have food for you here!”

One of the generals said, “Great Chief, there are a lot of things in the tribe that require your attention.”

“What’s so important in the tribe? It’s not even time to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.”

The general said with a bitter expression, “We can handle small matters, but you need to decide on a new shaman.”

The Wolf King was surprised. “What? Didn’t we just get a new one? Three months ago, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, just three months.”

“Why do we have to change then?”

“He said he would sense the call of a powerful existence whenever he tries to communicate with the ancestors. It has been preventing him from receiving the guidance of the ancestral spirits. He tried to resist the mysterious calling and received injuries in two out of three ceremonies.”

The Wolf King’s expression shifted slightly. “Where did this calling come from? Is it a void colossus, an ancestor from the origins of our bloodline, or something else entirely?”

“He didn’t make it clear, either. The source of this calling is completely empty and further investigations yielded nothing.”

The Wolf King looked shocked. “Call of the wild!”

“Great Chief, what is the call of the wild?”

The Wolf King sighed while shaking his head. “Nothing. It has nothing to do with us, so don’t mind it.”

“Yes, sire.” The werewolf general heaved a sigh of relief.

The Wolf King smiled. “I said it has nothing to do with us because we’re too weak to be a part of it. An event that will change the entire continent usually follows such a call. How can I not worry?”

The werewolf general said cautiously, “Is the call related to us werewolves?”

“Yes, but it’s not just us. Even if something happens, those fellows from the Summit of Peaks will shoulder this burden. It’s not our turn to worry.”

Seeing the Wolf King rather composed, that werewolf general felt more at ease.

The Wolf King said after some thought, “That little fellow must be quite talented to have sensed the call of the wild. Take good care of him. There’s no need to replace him, and there’s no need to summon the ancestral spirits these days since there’s nothing important going on.”

The Wolf King turned to a different general. “What business do you have?”

These two werewolves were great generals under the Wolf King. One was in charge of internal affairs and the other, external. The latter’s business had a lot to do with the heavenly monarch’s residence.

For some reason, the Wolf King would fly into a rage whenever he heard people mentioning the heavenly monarch’s residence. This werewolf general knew that he wasn’t welcome at the moment, but he braced himself to say, “Great Chief, the heavenly monarch's residence has dispatched a missive that requires an immediate reply from you. The messengers are still waiting in the castle.”

The Wolf King’s snort shook the entire study.

However, his fury wasn’t enough to drive that general away. The Wolf King also knew that the people from the heavenly monarch’s residence wouldn’t be waiting for a reply if the message wasn’t important. He suppressed his anger and picked up the two letters, examining the seal on them. “Humph! These people sure know how to posture. Do they think they’re all Zhang Buzhous?”

No one dared to continue on this topic. It was fine if the subject was unrelated to their scope of work, but the werewolf general had to deal with the heavenly monarch’s residence quite often. He couldn’t be as frank as he wanted.

The Wolf King tore open the public document and opened its seal. His expression was fairly interesting as he read the contents of the letter. He reread the short missive thrice before putting it down and turning toward the two werewolf generals. “You all know about this?”

“About Qianye becoming the city lord of Tidehark? It’s spread far and wide now.”

“Why did I not know!?”

“You…”

The Wolf King had never appeared these days, so how could he know?

Seeing their difficult expressions, the Wolf King waved his hand. “Fine, fine! So many things have happened while I was relaxing for a couple of days!”

He picked up the other document but wasn’t in a rush to open it. He paced around the room for a bit, saying, “Speak, what exactly happened with this Qianye.”

The two generals exchanged glances. They pushed and poked at one another until finally, the one in charge of external affairs said, “Reportedly, Qianye’s condition for releasing Zhang Xuance was to give him that position.”

“Oh, is it reliable?”

“Should be, yes.”

The Wolf King patted the letter meaningfully. “Say, is this Qianye being overconfident, or has Zhang Buzhou underestimated him?”

The werewolf generals looked at one another but didn’t really know how to reply.

As they saw it, Qianye’s way of handling things was no different from courting death. Extorting a bit of money from Zhang Buzhou was fine because the heavenly monarch might not bother with some fortune leaking out. Asking for the Tidehark City Lord position, however, was just crazy. That title was just nominal, yet occupying seats one shouldn’t was no different from seeking an early demise.

The Wolf King was no longer jittery. He waited patiently for the two to reply.

The general in charge of external affairs said, “This brat chose Tidehark. T-That’s like snatching meat from your jaws.”

The Wolf King broke into a laugh. “I thought so too in the past, but I no longer have any interest in the city after the Great Maelstrom passage incident. It’s not so bad if someone else will shoulder this burden in my stead. What do you think?”

The general in charge of internal affairs was more neutral because this didn’t affect him that much. He said, “This person must not be underestimated. He has a great deal of support, and many major powers from the Empire seem to be protecting him as well. Additionally, he would often defeat stronger opponents and escape successfully from impossible situations. He might have other plans by asking for the city lord position.”

The Wolf King broke into a laugh. “Defeating stronger opponents and escaping, are you talking about me?”

The general felt rather awkward. “I didn’t mean that. Qianye sent Su Modao fleeing immediately after his return, and I heard the old man was injured quite badly. He still hasn’t recovered now.”

That was a new piece of information. The Wolf King said in surprise, “That old thing was injured? Very good, I’ve hated him for a while now. Humph, that old undying thing has no ability but keeps climbing up by licking boots. All he does each day is talk about how those of a different race will be disloyal, humph!”

The two werewolf generals also looked angry. They had often suffered similar circumstances at the heavenly monarch’s residence, and that was also why they were extremely harsh toward the humans under their rule.

The Wolf King said while opening the second letter, “I can already guess what’s inside.”

He scanned the letter briefly before tossing it to the two generals.

The letter asked the Wolf King to find an opportunity to kill Qianye but not to cause too much of a ruckus.

The two generals understood the first part because it only served to confirm their guesses. The latter part, however, was a bit confusing.

The Wolf King said indifferently, “Zhang Buzhou himself recognized him as city lord. It wouldn’t do his name well if he killed the man soon afterward.”

The two werewolf generals came to understand the reason behind the instruction, but that also left them with more questions.

The Wolf King thought about it for a moment. “Qianye wants to shake Zhang Buzhou’s reputation! What exactly is he thinking?”