Chapter 4: A Demon Beast!

Wolf's Head Mountain.

Beneath the shroud of night, the towering peaks were swallowed in thick fog, looming like monsters poised to devour the unwary.

The chirping of insects mingled with the distant, faint howls of wild beasts.

At night, Wolf's Head Mountain was a place even seasoned hunters dared not enter.

Awooo~

From deep within Wolf's Head Mountain, waves of wolf howls rose into the air, as if answering the bright moon hanging high above.

Father and son from the Song family clung to the thick branches of a towering ancient tree, listening to the wolves below and the answering calls echoing from the distance.

Whether from fright or the cold of the night, both of them trembled uncontrollably.

Song Ming licked his dry lips, his voice hoarse. "Father, this pack of wolves has had us trapped for a full day and night. How much longer before they leave?"

Song Mugen gasped for breath, a few strands of white hair falling loose across his face, his eyelids drooping heavily. "Wolves are persistent creatures. Keeping us pinned for seven days and seven nights wouldn't be a problem for them."

Song Ming furrowed his brow, his face etched with worry. "So we just have to sit up in this tree and wait until these beasts decide to leave on their own?"

Song Mugen gave a bitter smile. "Son, climbing down is walking straight into the wolves' mouths. There's no other way…"

"But… Father, our food and water are all gone. There's no way we can hold out for seven days."

As Song Ming spoke, his gaze drifted with quiet concern to his father's chest, which rose and fell with labored effort — though he stopped himself from saying more.

It was the Miasma of the mountain — it caused difficulty breathing and dizziness.

Being trapped in the tree by the wolf pack with no food or water was bad enough on its own.

But Song Mugen had clearly been poisoned by the Miasma as well.

If they could get back to the village and find a doctor in time, he might be fine — but if too much time passed, it could be fatal.

How could Song Ming not be worried?

Song Mugen wheezed, tilting his head back to peer at the night sky, barely visible through the thick fog.

"These old bones of mine won't give out so easily. But if things haven't improved by daybreak, I'll climb down and draw those beasts away. You run as fast as you can. With any luck, the fog will lift by morning, and you should be able to make it out of Wolf's Head Mountain without too much trouble."

Song Ming's eyes went wide with shock.

"Father, what are you saying?! You want me, your own son, to abandon you and run off alone?!"

Song Mugen's expression turned cold and stern in an instant.

"The Song family can't afford to lose both its men on Wolf's Head Mountain. If we both die here, what becomes of your sister and your mother? I've lived long enough — I've had my fill of years. You're still young and strong, and you haven't even taken a wife to carry on the family line. Ming, you have to make it back alive!"

Song Ming's eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched tight. "No!"

Song Mugen snapped, "I'm still breathing, and you're already ignoring your old man?!"

"I said no!"

Father and son argued back and forth, neither willing to yield.

Until…

Mrow~!

A cat, jet black from head to tail with eyes that glowed an eerie green in the darkness, appeared beside the two of them as if from nowhere.

Song Ming noticed the black cat first. Eager for any excuse to drop the argument with his father, he seized on the distraction.

"Father, where did this black cat come from? With all those wolves circling below, it still dared to come this close?"

Song Mugen turned his head and met those glowing green cat eyes.

The mountain night was pitch black — you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Without those glowing eyes, the two of them might never have noticed the black cat at all.

As Song Mugen and Song Ming watched the cat, the cat watched them in return.

Wolf's Head Mountain was still on the outer edges of the mountain range, and no demon beasts had settled here. The black cat had swept the entire mountain with ease.

Only these two humans from the Song family had been found.

So these must be the people the deity of Song Family Village had sent her to find?

The black cat stared at the father and son, tilting her head to one side.

Mrow, mrow~ — Your deity sent me to rescue you. Follow me!

Song Ming scratched his temple, baffled. "A cat this bold is a rare sight. But there are wolves all around here — you'd better run along, little cat."

Talking past each other entirely. Pearls before swine!

The black cat let out a sigh. These mortals were as hopelessly dim as ever.

They couldn't even understand a cat's words.

Unable to communicate with the father and son, the black cat simply leapt down from the tree.

Song Ming watched the black cat jump down and land squarely in the middle of the wolf pack's encirclement, his expression stunned.

This cat isn't bold — it's just plain stupid, isn't it?

With so many wolves surrounding the base of the tree, it actually jumped straight into the middle of them?

But in the very next moment, what unfolded below left him utterly dumbstruck.

The night was dark, and visibility was poor — only blurry shapes and pairs of glowing green wolf eyes were visible.

Yet Song Ming could still make out what happened: after the black cat landed, not only was she not torn apart by the pack of green-eyed wolves —

After the black cat let out a few fierce, guttural roars, the wolf pack actually shrank back in fear.

Some of the wolves even seemed genuinely terrified, letting out low, whimpering growls.

Song Ming had no way of knowing that the wolves had been frightened by the aura the black cat was deliberately radiating.

It was the Demonic Aura of a demon beast.

In a straight fight, the black cat — who had only recently become a demon beast — might not truly be able to defeat the entire wolf pack, though she certainly wouldn't be killed by them either.

But wild wolves had no spiritual intelligence. They acted on instinct above all else.

And the Demonic Aura of a demon beast would instinctively fill them with dread.

Even so, the scene was enough to astonish the father and son.

"Father, what's happening? This wolf pack… is actually afraid of that black cat?"

Song Mugen frowned, watching the black cat drive the wolves away below, lost in thought.

After a long moment, he forced the words out through his throat.

"Ming, do you know why we hunters are only allowed to roam this part of Wolf's Head Mountain, and never venture deeper into the Falling Glow Mountain Range?"

"Didn't you tell me before, Father? The depths of the Falling Glow Mountain Range hold a great terror — it's a forbidden zone."

"Yes. But do you know what that great terror is?"

"What?"

"Demon beasts!"

Song Ming shuddered, staring at his father in disbelief.

Song Mugen continued, "When I was young, I once heard a Martial Master say that the depths of the Falling Glow Mountain Range are home to demon beasts — that it is their territory. That Martial Master also said that demon beasts are immensely powerful and as cunning as men; you cannot judge them by ordinary standards. A dog that has become a demon beast can defeat a tiger that hasn't!"

"Generation after generation, we hunters have been warned never to enter the depths of the mountain range. Perhaps our ancestors knew that great demons lurked in the depths of the Falling Glow Mountain Range."

Song Ming's heart was thrown into turmoil. He stared down at the black cat driving away the wolves, his face pale with alarm.

"Father, are you saying that black cat is a demon beast? But didn't you say demon beasts only live in the depths of the mountain range? We're still on Wolf's Head Mountain, aren't we?"

Song Mugen said nothing.

He'd already emptied out everything he knew. That was all he had.

Asking him this many questions now — how was he supposed to know?

He was just a hunter, not some Martial Master.

A thought struck Song Ming, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Father… this black cat demon beast isn't going to eat us, is it? Don't all the storybooks say that demon beasts eat people?"

"What if it's driving the wolves away to keep them from stealing its meal?"

Song Mugen: "…"