After half an hour, Zixin and Hope walked back to the cabin at a slow rhythm. Just like before, a slender ray of moonlight lit the path ahead almost as though it was guiding them.
Zixin paused, not because he admired the night but because he heard a bunch of cracking branches. Upon shifting his gaze, his eyes dilated as he bit his lips.
A pack of wolves rushed at them, their mouths dripping with saliva. Zixin's heart skipped a beat, turning back to look at Hope, whose expression froze.
Hope shook her head, shouting at Zixin, "Follow me! There's no point in entertaining them."
And with one swift move, Hope dashed forward, followed by Zixin's pauses, his mind turning into a whirlpool and splitting, sending half his mind into the White Palace.
A surge of strength rushed into his body as the Body Enhancements strengthened him. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed forward, following Hope's lead.
Time seemed to slow down, almost unbearable as the wolves ran with bloodshot eyes. Zixin sighed, his body trembling under the pressure.
However, one particular wolf managed to outrun him, catching up with ease. Zixin's lips twitched as he recognized the wolf; it was the one whose eyes he crushed.
How is it still alive?! I swear I crushed its skull. Did it survive even that? Zixin's thoughts raced at the sight of the wolf.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, concluding: It managed to track me down? It remembered my scent, waiting for the moment when it would finally have the chance for revenge–intriguing.
The wolf pounced at him; however, Zixin had already expected this. Upon concentrating his strength into his legs, he jumped, the wolf missing him by a thread.
Taking the opportunity, he stretched his leg forward, using the momentum of his fall to land a downwards kick on the wolf.
The wolf's eyes rolled back as life was sucked from its body, perishing on the spot.
A second later, he landed on the ground and glanced back, noticing the large gap between him and Hope. Shifting his gaze in front, he saw that the gap between him and the wolves was only a few meters.
As he grit his teeth, a sudden thought crossed his mind: Why not use Snowdrop on the Wolf Lord? Wouldn't that give me enough information to come up with a decent plan?
Zixin's eyes flashed with silver light as his legs dug into the ground, launching his body a second later.
Hordes of wolves lunged at him, their howls echoing throughout the mountain. Hope's steps halted, her gaze drifting back, and her heart dropping at the sight before her.
She shouted, her heart beating an erratic song, "Zixin!"
Wolves pounced on him, their mouths wide open, salivating with scarlet eyes. Zixin grabbed forward, taking grip of a wolf's mouth and swinging it at the other wolves.
Chaos erupted as wolves crashed into one another. Seeing the opportunity before him, Zixin stepped forward, using the wolves below as stepping stones.
And with each step, he would leap forward, crushing the wolves beneath him into a mush of flesh and blood.
The Wolf Lord watched closely, its eyes locked onto the mortal before it.
Taking one last leap of fate, Zixin reached forward at the Wolf Lord, his sweat pouring down like a river.
Inside the White Palace, his hand grabbed his Heart, the rust-woven key.
As soon as his fingers brushed past the Wolf Lord's fur, a sudden jolt of electricity shot through his body. But before he could even recover, a flood of memories rushed forward inside his mind.
He spat out blood as his mind was engulfed by the tide of memories.
…
My eyes opened, my vision filled with my mother's gentle expression. Her warm embrace took me into a slumber.
Upon opening my eyes again, all I noticed was the absence of my mother. I howled, a surge of tears rushing through my eyes.
But suddenly, I heard a voice–a wolf's pleading howl! Although I didn't understand why, my body erupted with fury, my legs digging into the ground with each step I took. My speed rose and rose until I escaped from my home, but my body froze at the sight of my mother's unmoving body–her corpse!
Taking a step back, my body trembled, but it soon dissipated as a surge of rage erupted from my body.
Sniffing the nearby area, I found the scent of humans. Without a moment's hesitation, I rushed forward, salivating with each step.
My body momentarily froze at the sight of the Hunters' blood-dripping sword.
My mind went blank, my rage overwhelming my body, almost collapsed in an instant.
Suddenly, a surge of energy surged throughout my body, an energy that seemed to originate from the land I stood on. My muscles grew, my bones shattering and regenerating by the second.
An evil smirk formed on my lips before lunging forward with all my strength. With my mouth wide open, I rip one of the humans' heads off.
"Huh? What the… There was a survivor?!" The other man screamed, his legs trembling and falling to his knees.
"Are you kidding me? It's my unlucky day, isn't it?" The man mumbled, his legs running before his mind could even think.
I rushed forward, my mouth wide open. Lunging ahead, I bit his hand off, crushing his skull with my foot. A fountain of blood painting my body with a scarlet hue.
Day after day, I would take my time, gathering energy from the land, gaining even more strength until I rose to my position.
With strength as my weapon, wolves gathered around me, my mind synchronizing with theirs, enabling me to control them as I wished.
…
Zixin puked out blood, his mind recovering from the Wolf Lord's memories.
How unexpected, how could a wolf have this many human-like qualities? Zixin's thoughts raced.
Zixin's body fell, but the Wolf Lord caught him, its troops backing away as it glared at them.
Hope ran, her eyes filled with a mix of worry and fear.
The Wolf Lord placed Zixin beneath him, observing as his eyes lit up with a flash of golden light. The Wolf Lord watched with keen interest, lowering its head to Zixin's level.
This monster–no, wolf is no different from a human. Sigh, are creatures born from Restrictions naturally intelligent because this is truly unexpected. Zixin commented internally, his heartbeat returning to normal.
Upon scanning his surroundings, he noticed the formation of the wolves, which was an encirclement, leaving him with no probable escape route.
The Wolf Lord stared, a sliver of surprise escaping its grasp.
His gaze drifted towards Hope, who wore a regretful expression, his thoughts wandering on their own: Strange, seeing her in this much pain is painful. Forget it, as long as we both manage to survive this encounter, we could still carve our own paths.