Chapter 85: Attack in the alley

The sharp dagger hissed through the cold air, aiming straight for Ugo’s exposed spine.

But...

Before the cold iron could pierce his flesh, a hunting blade slammed against the dagger.

The metallic clang echoed sharply between the stone walls.

Oshan Dew stepped between them, cutting off the attacker.

With a clean, swift movement of his other hand, Oshan drove his second knife into the guard’s shoulder.

The man shrieked, dropping his weapon as Oshan twisted the blade and slammed him down into the dirt.

But the alley was narrow, and the remaining guards were desperate.

Another black shadow lunged from the side, a concealed short blade slicing outward.

Ugo pivoted his torso flexibly, but the edge still caught his cheek.

A thin line of crimson bloomed across his skin. Ugo didn’t even have time to wince.

He used the momentum of his turn to deliver a heavy punch into the guard’s jaw, knocking him out cold.

Seeing Ugo draw blood, the final two guards ignored the others and rushed at Moon, their iron batons raised for a lethal downward strike.

Moon took a step back.

As the first baton descended toward his head, Moon tilted his torso a fraction of an inch to the left.

The sharp iron grazed past the edge of his bamboo hat, striking nothing but empty air.

Before the guard could recover his balance, Moon caught the man’s extended wrist. Using the guard’s own forward momentum, Moon spun on his heel.

His dark cloak swirled outward like a silken wave, blinding the second attacker for a split second.

With a fluid twist, Moon slammed the first guard’s arm downward, driving the man’s own elbow into his ribs with a dull crunch, before sweeping his leg outward.

The guard crashed heavily onto the cobblestones, his breath knocked out of him.

The second guard lunged through the folds of the shifting cloak, but tripped the moment he got near, without knowing how he tripped.

Moon’s eyes flashed behind the shadow of his hat.

His gaze landed on the leader, who sneakily backed into a corner.

He became alert and shouted in a suppressed voice, "Catch him! Don’t let him go!"

But it was still too late.

He had already scrambled backward, thrown a smoke pellet onto the cobblestones, and leaped up toward the low roof of an adjacent wooden shed.

Axe lunged forward to grab his ankle, but a sudden slice from the leader’s hidden wrist-blade forced him to draw back his hand.

The edge grazed Oshan, who had stepped up to assist, leaving a deep gash across his forearm.

Blood quickly soaked into Oshan’s coarse sleeve.

By the time the smoke cleared, the leader had vanished over the rooftops.

"Let him go," Moon exhaled sharply. "It’s a pity I can’t release my spiritual qi," he mumbled helplessly.

He didn’t try to fight, precisely because he wanted to keep his spiritual power hidden. His Qi was so unique in this realm that as soon as it leaked, anyone with a modicum of power would know who he was.

The other five gravely injured black-clothed men wanted to take this chance to flee, but Axe, Ugo, and Oshan chased them together.

After a few more quick exchanges with the other five, they finally managed to put down all of them. They were already half dead by the time Moon chopped on their necks to make them senseless.

Ugo turned to Moon, huffing and taking deep breaths. A long cut now split his cheek, giving his normally gentle demeanor a touch of ruthlessness.

"This is bad. We got exposed."

"Not yet," Oshan grunted in severe pain, pressing his hand against his wound as he tried to stand. "They will still suspect us as a mere hunter group."

Axe nodded.

Out of the three of them, only he was still unyielding and uninjured.

"That group didn’t seem ordinary. They are probably from those two packs we met before. Either Evan or Lyra is suspecting us. But since we didn’t use our innate power, it will be hard for them to verify our true identities."

Moon remained silent, his gaze falling on the blood and the bodies lying in the mud.

He reached into his satin satchel and pulled out three small porcelain vials.

He tossed them to Axe, Ugo, and Oshan.

"Drink. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Axe snorted in displeasure. "I want your pill," he demanded shamelessly.

"Then hurry up and collect all the herbs I need rather than lazing around. I am not your nanny," Moon sneered, ignoring the teasing he stepped toward the center of the alley.

With a flick of his wrist, the space around the five unconscious guards distorted. The air rippled like water, and a rusted iron gate materialized for a brief fraction of a second.

Before any onlookers on the main road could notice the anomaly, the five bodies vanished from the alley, sucked into the spatial realm.

"We will interrogate them once we settle down," Moon said, adjusting his bamboo hat. "Let’s go."

They slipped out of the alley, blending seamlessly back into the crowded market road.

Moon led them through a series of chaotic streets. He extended his divine sense to scan for any other spying eyes or stalkers.

After ten minutes of walking, they spotted Nox standing near a herb stall at the edge of the road.

Marina was beside him.

Nox looked up, his eyes widening slightly beneath his mask as he noticed the blood on Ugo’s cheek and Oshan’s sleeve.

Before Nox could utter a word, Moon pressed his finger against Nox’s lips. "Shh, not here. Let’s go back."

Nox’s ears turned red for no reason suddenly. He shook a big sack and mumbled beside Moon, "I have already bought what you need."

Moon looked at the bag and suddenly felt that keeping a helper like this for his entire life would not be a bad thing.

Regardless of his thoughts, he remained alert because of the previous attack.

Moon didn’t take the direct path to the outskirts where Margarita had purchased the courtyard.

Instead, he led the group into a labyrinth of narrow alleys, changing directions at every intersection and leaving some illusion arrays that would not be detected by this world’s witchcraft.

At the junction of three alleys, Moon stopped.

The air suddenly distorted, and they vanished from the place.

When they reappeared, it was near their courtyard.

"Whoa! You know magic?" Marina’s cheerful voice broke through the quiet road.

Moon chuckled at her surprise.

He could only transport a small distance, and that was the same array he had learned for fleeing in the Last Hole.

"They can’t track us this far," Moon muttered, looking at the front yard. "Let’s go inside."

The place here was quiet, and the distance between each resident’s courtyard was quite far.

The yard Margarita had bought was at the edge of the city outskirts, nestled against a gray stone wall that separated the outer district from the alpine mountain—a perfect place for them to flee at any time.

The courtyard was modest, surrounded by a high, weathered brick wall covered in dry winter ivy.

A heavy oak gate stood at the entrance, secured by a simple brass lock.

When Moon pushed the gate open, the hinges groaned softly.

Inside, a small, square stone pavilion stood still.

The ground was paved with uneven, moss-covered slate tiles, with a dry stone well sitting in one corner.

An ancient plum tree stood near the well, its bare branches spread wide over the yard.

Three medium, interconnected wooden houses bordered the courtyard with two small cabin, their paper windows intact but coated in a thin layer of dust.

It was a secluded and rundown place.

Oshan unslung his hunting satchel, dropping it onto a wooden bench.

Marina took off her veil, her eyes looking around curiously. "It’s much better than Master Fang’s house. I will clean it up for you, brother," she said cheerfully.

Moon shook his head in amusement. "No need, little sister. Others will do that. You go choose your room first."

Moon walked into the center of the stone pavilion, pulling off his bamboo hat.

He looked at Axe and Ugo. "Axe, Ugo, clean your wounds and assist Oshan. Nox, stay by the gate and stand guard."

Moon turned his gaze toward the space in the middle of the courtyard. He sat there cross-legged.

He turned to all of them and said, "Give me a brief silent moment. I need to place a protective array here, in case someone intrudes."

Nox nodded.

Axe and Ugo went inside to do their own work, with Oshan Dew following behind.

Moon closed his eyes, drawing a breath as he sank into meditation.

He let his consciousness drift inside the Lupine palace.

In the next breath, the stone pavilion faded, replaced by the Lupine Palace.

The moment he stepped inside, he felt like he had come to another place. He looked around the once iron-clad vault and was speechless.

In the center of the vault, the Pool of Gengjin Spirit Marrow bubbled softly, its metallic golden liquid releasing a dense, warm Yang vapor that filled the air.

Curled up on a soft velvet cushion near the pool were the two little wolf pups—Leo and Rio.

The red-furred pup, Leo, was snoring softly with his tail wrapped over his snout, while the frosty-white pup, Rio, opened one icy-blue eye, letting out a tiny, dissatisfied huff at the disturbance before burying his nose deeper into the velvet to absorb the nourishing Gengjin warmth.

Floating near his giant Nightshade Gold statue, the spirit of Warlord Lupine was pacing back and forth in mid-air.

The old general looked utterly exasperated.

Right beside the golden pool, draped in a pearlescent silver glow, sat the ethereal figure of the Moon Goddess.

She was lazily tracing her fingers through the air, sending floating bubbles of silver spiritual dew drifting toward the pups.

"You brat! Finally, you’re here!" Lupine shouted the moment Moon’s spiritual form materialized.

His old, raspy voice cracked with indignation. "Tell this woman to leave! She has been treating my sacred war vault like her personal tea parlor and using my pool to float her ridiculous silver bubbles!"

The Moon Goddess scoffed softly, not even bothering to look up as she gently patted Rio’s tiny white head.

[Quiet, old hound,] she smirked. [Your ancient weapons have been sitting in the dark for tens of thousands of years. You should be honored my divine aura is keeping the rust off your armor.]

"Honored?!" Lupine sputtered, his red pupils flaring. "My vault is an ancient battle sanctuary, not a wolf pup nursery!"

Moon sat on another rock, though he didn’t even know where they had found it. His lips twitched as he watched the two ancient beings bicker.

"You look quite energetic today, Venerable Lupine," Moon said.

Looking at the pups who were being so well taken care of, he smiled at the Goddess.

"I see you’re keeping them well-nourished."

Lupine grunted, crossing his arms over his chest as he hovered beside Moon.

"Hmph! The red one almost tried to chew on my Gengjin pool edge earlier! If it weren’t for them being your mate, I’d have tossed them out long ago!"