Chapter 46

Now, Guangjie was in a rather sorry state. Her neck was a mess of blood and flesh, and the originally white clothes were now stained red with blood. Her silver hair danced slightly with the surge of immortal energy. Guangjie’s eyes were fixed on the gray wolf, a cold smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Guangjie had no weapons in her hands, but for some reason, Wu Mian felt a chill run through him when he saw her silver hair, emerging from the depths of his heart. Gui Bu Gui, on the other hand, seemed reluctant to get too close to Guangjie. He stood far away by a peach tree, plucked a peach, and sniffed it without eating it, muttering to himself, "It’s a pity I’ve practiced abstaining from food; eating such a peach would be no different from chewing wax."

After saying this, he threw the peach to Wu Mian and said, "Tell me what it tastes like after you eat it. I haven’t used my mouth for a few hundred years, so I’ve forgotten what it feels like." Wu Mian caught the peach, bit into it expressionlessly, and then muttered, "Sour..."

Gui Bu Gui was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "At least it’s better than the honey wine you alchemists brew yourselves; that’s the real sour stuff."

"Brother Gui, it’s been over two hundred years, and you’re still as witty as ever," Guangjie said, her eyes still fixed on the gray wolf lying on the stone house. She then changed the subject, continuing, "If either of you is free now, go and finish off this Tunaogou. I was a bit careless earlier, and this she-wolf used an escape technique. I’ve already captured it, so finishing it off is no different from picking a peach."

Tunaogou! This gray wolf was actually the legendary demon beast Tunaogou. Wu Mian had only seen records of this demon beast in the family’s ancient texts, but unfortunately, the texts only contained written descriptions, not illustrations. He never imagined that when he saw it in person today, it would look no different from a wild wolf, except for its larger size.

As Guangjie spoke, Gui Bu Gui squinted his eyes and stared at the Tunaogou on the stone house for a while. Then he laughed and turned his gaze back to Guangjie, saying, "Since you’ve already captured it, a few more moments won’t matter. Please bear with it a bit longer. We have some private matters to attend to, and we’ll help you as soon as we’re done. Don’t worry, it won’t take long..."

While the old man was talking nonsense, he was already gesturing to Wu Mian. He indicated that Wu Mian should search for the things left by Xu Fu. He himself walked to the side of the stone house, completely ignoring the Tunaogou lying on top, and pushed open the stone door to enter. Guangjie, standing outside, was so angry that her body trembled. Given her temper, she would have already caused trouble for Gui Bu Gui and Wu Mian. However, all her strength was focused on controlling the Tunaogou, and she couldn’t spare any attention to deal with them.

Gui Bu Gui only stayed in the stone house for a moment before coming out. His empty hands suggested he had found nothing, and Wu Mian also seemed to have discovered nothing of interest. He was about to search around the stone house. Just as Gui Bu Gui and Wu Mian were about to move to different spots to continue their search, they suddenly heard Guangjie’s cold laugh. Her hair suddenly spread out in all directions and then gently fell back.

Seeing this, the old man couldn’t help but shiver. He suddenly turned and shouted loudly to Wu Mian, "Come back! Guangjie has released her capture technique; the Tunaogou is out of control!"

By the time Wu Mian heard this, it was already too late. The Tunaogou on the stone house suddenly moved, almost like a bolt of lightning, and pounced at Wu Mian. Fortunately, Wu Mian’s reaction was quick. As the Tunaogou pounced, countless arcs of electricity appeared around him. These arcs gathered in the direction of the Tunaogou’s pounce, and in the blink of an eye, a massive current accompanied by the sound of thunder struck the Tunaogou.

As the current hit the Tunaogou, its gray fur stood on end, but its speed did not slow down at all. Wu Mian could already smell the foul odor from the Tunaogou’s mouth. At this moment, Wu Mian’s image suddenly distorted. In the next instant, Wu Mian’s entire body disappeared from in front of the Tunaogou.

Unfortunately, this escape technique was seen through by the Tunaogou. As Wu Mian disappeared, the Tunaogou’s body suddenly turned sharply and rushed to the nearest peach tree like an arrow. At this moment, Wu Mian’s body had just reappeared under the tree. He couldn’t dodge in time and was hit full-on. Fortunately, the Tunaogou hadn’t had time to open its mouth; otherwise, a large part of Wu Mian’s body would have been in the Tunaogou’s mouth.

But he was still hit hard, and with a loud "thud," Wu Mian was thrown several dozen feet away. As he was thrown, the Tunaogou also leaped up and caught Wu Mian in mid-air. Just as it was about to bite down, the Tunaogou’s tail suddenly tightened, and its entire body fell straight to the ground.

The one who had grabbed its tail was an extremely old man. After landing his blow, the old man immediately let go and retreated. However, the Tunaogou did not continue to chase him but instead circled around, found Wu Mian’s position, and continued to pursue him.

Just as it was about to catch up to Wu Mian, the Tunaogou suddenly lost its footing, stumbled, and rolled on the ground. It then got up again.

After getting up, the Tunaogou suddenly turned and roared at the stone house it had just jumped down from. Following the Tunaogou’s gaze, they saw that Guangjie had somehow appeared on top of the stone house, her hands behind her back, a cold smile on her face as she watched the Tunaogou’s actions.

The Tunaogou finally temporarily let Wu Mian go. It stared at Guangjie, pacing back and forth, occasionally letting out a few roars. Guangjie’s eyebrows raised, and her long hair, though there was no wind, floated out in all directions. At this moment, a silver light flashed, and the Tunaogou let out a惨叫, its body falling backward and flying out. Fortunately, the beast reacted quickly, adjusting its body in mid-air and landing steadily. It then let out another series of roars at Guangjie.

"Truly a Tunaogou, truly formidable," Gui Bu Gui said, approaching Wu Mian with a smile. "Even Guang Ren finds Guangjie’s techniques troublesome, and yet the Tunaogou can only roar at her." The old man said this without any intention of avoiding Guangjie, and the white-haired woman seemed not to hear, her eyes fixed on the Tunaogou as she took a deep breath, her white hair floating in the air. Before Wu Mian could understand what was happening, countless silver lights flashed behind Guangjie.

The Tunaogou, on guard, took a half-step back as Guangjie’s hair rose, its body bending like a bow. It then suddenly leaped upward toward Guangjie. As it left the ground, its entire body disappeared into the air.

Almost at the same moment the Tunaogou disappeared, countless silver lights flashed at the spot where it had been. These silver lights moved at an incredible speed, but after the Tunaogou disappeared, they seemed to have no target, flashing for a moment before returning to Guangjie’s back and disappearing behind the white-haired woman.

"Is it an escape technique?" After the Tunaogou disappeared, Wu Mian asked Gui Bu Gui. Seeing the Tunaogou disappear, Wu Mian’s first thought was that it had used an escape technique. But a moment later, he had another feeling: the Tunaogou wasn’t trying to escape; its disappearance was just the prelude to an attack.

As Wu Mian asked, Gui Bu Gui was constantly looking around. When Wu Mian’s words landed, Gui Bu Gui’s eyes suddenly darted, and he unexpectedly pulled Wu Mian to the side. At the same time, he threw a handful of powder in the direction where Wu Mian had been standing.

Suddenly, there was a "howl!" in the air, followed by a flurry of movement, and the peach grove fell silent once again. Wu Mian realized that Gui Bu Gui had saved his life. He just couldn’t imagine what kind of treasure the old man had hidden on him, and how a handful of powder could drive back the Tunaogou. When they first met, the old man had been completely bare, with no place to hide anything. What was this powder, and where had he hidden it?