Edited by Aelryinth

The Winged Patrol Beasts seemed to be enraged by the recent bloodbath. They began to attack the Curtain Tree fiercely, not giving the group any chance to take shelter from the Wind of Sorrow.

Li Dexin brought two soldiers with him to engage the Winged Patrol Beasts. He was serious about wiping them out!

The problem was, considering the size of the Qinling Mountains, the numbers of the Winged Patrol Beasts were obviously going to be overwhelming. Even a bunch of Super Mages might struggle to exterminate them!

The curtains were destroyed by the Winged Patrol Beasts, including the ones Zhao Manyan was sheltering behind. He was planning to use this opportunity to make a move on Ling Fei after cleaning her wounds and helping her recover her energy. Ling Fei might have the pride of a soldier, but Zhao Manyan knew most women were only pretending to be aloof. They actually enjoyed being treated tenderly by men.

Unfortunately, even though Li Dexin and the two soldiers were trying their best to eliminate the Winged Patrol Beasts, the creatures were just as angry. They recklessly destroyed the curtains even when their lives were in danger, just to expose the humans to the Wind of Sorrow. The other Winged Patrol Beasts would soon be able to feast on their remains!

"Damn it, how did they find us!?" Li Dexin grunted anxiously.

Killing the Winged Patrol Beasts was easy, but getting rid of them was trickier than anyone had imagined!

They had no choice but to continue their journey in the Wind of Sorrow, but they were in a pinch now that most of their energy had depleted.

"We can't keep going anymore!" Zhang Xiaohou finally lost his patience.

If they kept following the brainless Li Dexin's demands, not only would they fail to rescue the person the troopers came for, they would get themselves killed too!

"This goddamned wind will stop eventually!" Li Dexin rebutted promptly

"We are currently on these Winged Patrol Beasts' radar. Even if we reach the next Curtain Tree, they are still going to attack us! You may leave if you want to bet your lives on the possibility that the wind will stop soon, but I won't risk the lives of my friends!" Zhang Xiaohou snapped back.

Li Dexin was displeased by Zhang Xiaohou's attitude. He was about to rebuke him when Advisor Xu stood up.

"We can't afford to follow the mountain path. The Winged Patrol Beasts aren't going to give up on pursuing us, either. There's only one option left: the Luling Rift Valley!" Zhang Xiaohou went on.

Advisor Xu immediately took out a map and inspected it. He said with a troubled face, "The Luling Rift Valley is meandering. It will take us at least three days to reach Mount Baiba. I'm worried about our target's safety..."

"Well..." Advisor Xu was struggling to make up his mind. He looked at Li Dexin.

"Humph, the major general of the Qinling Mountains? Why am I not impressed? It doesn't even matter if you're with us or not!" Li Dexin said arrogantly.

"Are you retarded or something? How many times did I tell you not to provoke those creatures? Everyone knows how annoying the lesser creatures of the Qinling Mountains are, yet you still insist on fighting them. It's your fault that we don't even have a place to get some rest, and you are blaming me for it!?" Zhang Xiaohou snarled.

Zhang Xiaohou normally had an even temper, but he seriously could not tolerate the unreasonable Violet Imperial Battalion commander!

He seriously wondered how the man had achieved his current rank. His existence alone had lowered the average intelligence of the army in the north!

"General Li, we are indeed in a pinch now. Perhaps we should follow General Zhang's suggestion and take the rift valley instead. It's better if we can stay out of the Wind of Sorrow. Otherwise, even if we make it to our destination, we won't have any strength left to protect our target," Ling Fei spoke up.

Li Dexin harrumphed coldly, then snorted disdainfully, "Whatever you say!"

Li Dexin sat down in a corner silently. He was radiating a violent aura.

Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Ling Fei and said, "At least you're the clever one!"

Ling Fei did not respond to Zhao Manyan's comment. A tanned soldier that had previously left to kill the Winged Patrol Beasts with Li Dexin came over to them.

The soldier glanced at Ling Fei before smiling at Zhao Manyan.

"Spill it out, what's with the hesitant look? Aren't you a man!?" Ling Fei said.

"Well, Brother Zhao, how did you treat Captain Ling's injury? Those creatures were reckless with their attacks. I was injured when I wasn't paying any attention. The wound isn't big. It's only the length of a finger. May I ask Brother Zhao to treat my injury too?" the soldier asked.

"Oh, but my trick is only useful on women," Zhao Manyan said.

Ling Fei turned around and glared at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan smiled, "I'm just kidding, where is the wound? You look perfectly fine to me."

"Well...well... it's here." The soldier seemed a little embarrassed, but he finally turned around and leaned forward. He slowly lifted the hand that was covering the wound on his right buttock.

Zhao Manyan's face immediately darkened.

Ling Fei quickly took a quick glance at him. She tried her best to maintain a stern expression as a soldier should. However, she burst out laughing when she saw the weird expression on Zhao Manyan's face...

---

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"Houzi, is the Mount Baiba they are going to near the location of the Tree of Vows?" Mo Fan asked.

"Mm, Mount Baiba is quite large. Your destination is on Mount Baiba, too!" Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

"Strange, it's too much of a coincidence if the person they are trying to save is so close to our destination. Is there something else there, apart from the Tree of Vows?" Mo Fan asked.

"Mount Baiba is the most mysterious place in the Qinling Mountains. Many demon creatures live there. No ordinary person will visit a place like that, but these soldiers of the Violet Imperial Battalion are very clumsy with their decisions. I seriously think they are going to get themselves killed rather than save the person," Zhang Xiaohou judged.

"They are panicking," Apas interrupted them as she was trimming her beautiful nails.

"Panicking? Maybe they are just concerned about their target's safety," Zhang Xiaohou said.

"Perhaps," Apas replied and proceeded to focus on her nails. It was difficult to interpret what she was trying to say from her indifferent tone.