C20 The King of Kings

"You guessed it right," the man with the unkempt hair said with a laugh. He reached out instinctively with his right hand, tousling the fur on the head of the demonic wolf resting on his leg before smoothing it back down. The wolf nuzzled his hand affectionately in response.

"Now, a lot of things are starting to make sense."

Zhang Heng murmured to himself, "Feeding demonic beasts cooked food and getting them to live in harmony with humans would seem insane to anyone else."

"But if it's the Devil Doctor Ye He, who can even bring the dead back to life, then getting demonic beasts to eat cooked food probably isn't a big deal for him."

The bald man roared with laughter, "It's not just about feeding demonic beasts cooked food. Devil Doctor Ye He has a wild imagination and exceptional medical skills."

"You must be quite shocked that these Swift Shadow Demonic Wolves have suddenly broken through their cultivation ceiling, reaching the second grade of Qi Refining."

Zhang Heng gave a wry smile. He had been surprised initially, but now, not in the least. The renowned Devil Doctor had once lived here for a long time, tinkering with the Swift Shadow Demonic Wolves in his spare time, enabling them to enhance their cultivation limits. What was so surprising about that?

There was only one thing Zhang Heng wanted to know now.

He faced the two burly men before him and asked, "So what does the renowned Devil Doctor Ye He want with me, an unknown?"

To his surprise, upon hearing Zhang Heng's question, the two men exchanged glances and then burst into laughter.

Once the laughter subsided, the bald man said to Zhang Heng, "Who told you that Devil Doctor Ye He was looking for you?"

The man with the messy hair followed up with a peculiar look, "Besides, even if he did want to meet you, I doubt you'd want to meet him."

"Isn't it Devil Doctor Ye He who's looking for me?" Zhang Heng, who had just pieced everything together, found himself plunged back into confusion.

The bald man chuckled, "You should feel relieved that Devil Doctor Ye He isn't the one who wants to see you, because..."

The man with the unkempt hair then uttered five chilling words, "He's already passed away."

Zhang Heng was stunned for a long while before he slowly regained his composure, "Are you telling me that Devil Doctor Ye He is now dead?"

"Then who commanded the Thousand Shadow Demonic Wolves to bring me here to meet him?"

The man with unkempt hair refused to divulge more, simply stating, "You'll understand once you meet him."

Zhang Heng turned his gaze to the bald man, who pursed his lips and shook his head, clearly unwilling to share any information with Zhang Heng.

"Very well, I shall meet this enigmatic figure behind the scenes."

"Lead the way."

At Zhang Heng's words, a fleeting, peculiar smirk crossed the faces of the two men.

Zhang Heng noticed it but couldn't decipher its meaning.

Without further conversation, the two men rose and led Zhang Heng towards the rear of Gray Wolf Cliff.

Shortly thereafter, they reached the base of the mountain.

Zhang Heng raised his eyes to a narrow, serpentine path that allowed only single-file passage. The path was treacherous and daunting.

He glanced at his two companions.

"Please follow us," said the bald man as he started up the path.

The man with messy hair fell in step behind him.

Zhang Heng promptly followed them up the mountain.

Though Gray Wolf Cliff stood less than a kilometer tall, its slopes were precipitous. The path coiled upwards, fraught with peril—a misstep could mean a graveless death.

After half an hour, they finally neared the summit.

Zhang Heng looked up to find the mountaintop surprisingly flat and expansive, stretching over thirty feet in diameter.

Directly ahead, aligned with the path, stood a thatched hut.

The hut's door stood wide open, allowing Zhang Heng a clear view inside.

Within the hut lay a stone bed, its edges thick with dust.

At the center of the bed, a middle-aged Taoist in a feathered robe and starry crown sat cross-legged.

His face was stern, with a hint of a scornful smile. A long beard flowed from his chin, and his hands formed a seal resting on his knees. His brow exuded an air of disdainful superiority that commanded respect at first glance.

As Zhang Heng focused his gaze, he slowly came to the realization that despite the Taoist's lifelike appearance, there was no sign of life within him.

The austere Taoist seated on the stone bed was, in fact, a corpse.

"This is the Devil Doctor, Ye He," the bald man spoke in a somber tone, approaching Zhang Heng.

"He really is dead," Zhang Heng said to himself, then inquired, "How did he die? Was he murdered by an enemy, or..."

Upon hearing Zhang Heng's question, the two men's expressions grew even stranger, and they paused momentarily.

The man with unkempt hair finally spoke, "The Devil Doctor... passed away due to illness."

"The Devil Doctor, Ye He... died from illness?" Zhang Heng exclaimed in disbelief.

He would not have been as astonished by any other response. But to hear that the Devil Doctor succumbed to illness was truly surprising to Zhang Heng.

If the Devil Doctor could die of illness, then he might as well believe that fish could drown in water.

Yet Zhang Heng had never witnessed a fish drowning. He couldn't fathom how the Devil Doctor, renowned for reviving the dead and mending bones, could possibly die from an ailment.

"The Devil Doctor knew his illness was terminal and predicted he had seven years left. He came to Pofreyae upon hearing of an artifact within the imperial secret treasury that could eradicate his stubborn disease," the man explained.

"When he discovered that the former ruler of Pofreyae was gravely ill, he intended to offer that very artifact in exchange for treating the ruler's illness. Unfortunately, the ruler stubbornly refused medical treatment."

"This..." Zhang Heng was captivated by the story, unable to believe such an ironic twist of fate.

The former ruler of Pofreyae's refusal to seek treatment not only led to his own demise but also precipitated the decline of the Pofreyae royal family. It even resulted in the Devil Doctor, a master of medicine, perishing from an illness.

What more could Zhang Heng say at this juncture?

He turned to the bald and the unkempt-haired men, asking, "Since the Devil Doctor Ye He is truly deceased, who then wishes to meet with me? Could it be the Devil Doctor's esteemed disciple?"

Before the two men could respond to Zhang Heng's query, a thunderous boom suddenly erupted from behind the hut.

The bald man gave Zhang Heng a peculiar look and said, "You don't need my answer. You'll find out soon enough."

No sooner had the bald man's words faded than Zhang Heng caught sight of an enormous head, as large as a carriage cover, emerging slowly behind the cottage of the Devil Doctor.

It was clearly the head of a Swift Shadow Demon Wolf, yet Zhang Heng had never before laid eyes on one so immense and imposing.

As the Swift Shadow Demon Wolf rose to its full height behind the cottage, Zhang Heng realized that even the cottage's roof couldn't conceal the creature's lower legs.

In the instant he beheld the colossal Swift Shadow Demon Wolf, Zhang Heng grasped why the bald man and his companion had exchanged such odd looks when he inquired about who was seeking him.

The seeker was not a person at all, but the Swift Shadow Demon Wolf itself.

Yet, the sight of the Swift Shadow Demon Wolf only deepened Zhang Heng's bewilderment.

"Who is it? What does it want with me?"

Despite not being his first encounter with the Swift Shadow Demon Wolf, the bald man still watched the creature in awe and responded, "You're aware that there are over a hundred Swift Shadow Demon Wolf packs on the outskirts of Silverflow Canyon."

Zhang Heng nodded in acknowledgment.

The bald man gestured towards the base of the mountain and added, "Those hundred-plus second-grade yellow Qi Refining wolves down there are the wolf kings of the Silverflow Canyon packs."

Then, with a touch of awe, the bald man gazed at the enormous beast before him and proclaimed, "This one is the stuff of legends, the king of kings, the master of all wolves."

The messy-haired man, eyes wide with fascination, looked upon the sovereign of wolves and said, "A year ago, when the Devil Doctor Ye He was still among us, he mentioned that it had already achieved Perfection in the ninth grade of Qi Refining. Now, a year later, it may well have advanced to the second great realm of the brave, the chakra realm."

Zhang Heng was at a loss for words. Clearly, the formidable creature before him was not someone he could easily refuse.

"Then, please ask it for me. Why is it seeking me out? What does it want me to do?"

As Zhang Heng's question hung in the air, the demonic wolf's massive head tilted slightly, and a glint of mirth shone in its large golden eyes.

The other party seemed to grasp what he was saying.

The Swift Shadow Demonic Wolf suddenly let out a long howl to the sky and then cocked its head to gaze at Zhang Heng once more, its golden eyes brimming with a playful glint.

The bald man and the man with unkempt hair appeared to understand the message conveyed by the Swift Shadow Demonic Wolf's howl.

Given that they could comprehend the Swift Shadow Demonic Wolf's language, Zhang Heng wasn't taken aback. With the Devil Doctor Ye He in existence, what could be deemed impossible?

At that moment, their gazes towards Zhang Heng were laced with mirth.

The bald man spoke up first.

"It said it wasn't actually looking for you."

"It simply commanded its subordinate demon wolves to find a human to carry out a task for it."

The man with the messy hair chimed in right after.

"It didn't specify that it had to be you."

"It's just that its subordinate demon wolves might have thought you fit the bill, so they brought you here."

Zhang Heng: "..."

"Alright, I get it. So, in essence, I was just flattering myself, correct?"

"I must have water in my brain to think I could hunt the Swift Shadow Demonic Wolf for some quick cash!"

Zhang Heng felt so frustrated he nearly burst with vexation, but upon laying eyes on the imposing Wolf King behind the hut, his frustration vanished into thin air.

Survival was, after all, the immediate priority.

A gentleman's revenge could wait a decade; he could always seek retribution once he had advanced his realm.

As Zhang Heng eyed the Lord of the Ten Thousand Wolves before him, he quietly made his plans.

Yet, he was interrupted by another long howl from the creature.

Hearing this, the bald man adopted a grave demeanor and addressed Zhang Heng with earnest, "The Lord of the Ten Thousand Wolves has instructed me to warn you against harboring any ill intentions."

"He may not consume blood meals now, but he's acquainted with many bloodthirsty demon beasts. Should you entertain any malicious thoughts, he wouldn't hesitate to hand you over to them as a snack."

Zhang Heng was at a loss for words. Could the Lord of the Ten Thousand Wolves actually read his subtle facial cues?

It had nearly guessed his thoughts to a tee!

But of course, Zhang Heng couldn't concede to this. So he vigorously shook his head in denial.

He swiftly shifted the conversation and pressed on, "Enough with the small talk. Regardless of whether it summoned me or not, now that I'm here, you might as well find out what it wants me to do."

"One thing though, I have a single condition. Once I'm done, tell them not to seek me out again. We go our separate ways, no strings attached."