C10 The Wolfman Valley the Wolf and the Giant

In the dead of night, Ye Kong mustered his last ounce of willpower, dragging his exhausted body to the destination marked by the cloth. Upon arrival, he collapsed onto the ground, too weary to move. He gazed up at the dark sky and wondered aloud, "Why are there no stars in the sky of the northern lands?"

The approaching army of ghouls, hot on his heels, no longer concerned him. Let them come; he had no energy left to flee.

All was silent.

Turning back, Ye Kong saw the ghouls fifty meters away, their menacing presence palpable. The Darkling Spectre's gaze was icy, yet they all stood in eerie silence, perfectly aligned and without a whisper.

Their strange behavior left him puzzled. Why had they stopped? Were they not going to kill him? Perhaps the Darkling Spectre had an epiphany, thinking him some divine warrior...

His thoughts were cut short as the Darkling Spectre in the distance drew its bow. The chill that emanated from it was so intense that Ye Kong felt a shiver despite the distance.

"This is it."

The arrow of ice, swift as a shooting star, hurtled toward Ye Kong's chest, unavoidable.

Then, a resounding wolf howl pierced the night, shattering the arrow into dust just before it could strike. Countless green eyes glowed ominously in the darkness, and suddenly, a collective roar thundered, vibrating through the valley.

The Darkling Spectre, relentless in its pursuit for over a fortnight, heard the roar, turned tail, and fled.

Ye Kong was dumbfounded. The Darkling Spectre had actually run away.

Damn! If only I'd known they feared the wolf pack, I would've hidden in the mountains. Surely the wolves couldn't penetrate my illusion?

As he pondered, his form began to waver.

With a powerful stomp, the alpha wolf struck the ground, jolting Ye Kong's body into visibility as blood trickled from his mouth. Two wolves charged at him.

"The snow wolves of Wolfman Valley?"

A realization struck him, and he hastily donned the crude battle garment.

Cloaked in the treasure robe, an aura of ancient solidity emanated from Ye Kong.

Two running wolves felt a sudden pang of fear and halted abruptly.

Witnessing this, Ye Kong allowed himself a rare smile.

"Old drunkard, you've finally come through for me."

With those words, he succumbed to unconsciousness.

Upon awakening, he was greeted by the bright, warm sunshine.

Revitalized, he nibbled on some dry rations.

Satiated, he surveyed the encircling wolf pack.

Tentatively, he stepped forward.

The wolves, in response, retreated a step.

He advanced again; they backed away once more.

Ye Kong's spirits lifted.

The unassuming battle robe was indeed a treasure!

It seemed to instill fear in the wolves.

Could he, clad in the treasure robe, capture a wolf to serve as his mount?

The thought of continuing the pursuit on foot was exhausting.

With that, he gave chase to the wolves.

As he pursued, they fled.

When he paused, they stopped.

Unable to reach the front runners, Ye Kong targeted the trailing wolves.

This time, he might have pushed his luck.

The pack didn't back down but bared their sharp fangs instead, as if ready to rip him apart at any moment.

Ye Kong halted and tried chasing in two other directions, but the wolves remained menacing.

Only when he resumed his forward march did the pack revert to normal behavior.

They encircled him, following at an even pace.

"Can I only go forward, not back? Werewolf Valley, Werewolf Valley, is it possible there are people here, not just wolves?"

What destination did the wolf pack have in mind for him?

He remembered the old drunkard's briefing.

Upon reaching Werewolf Valley, don the treasured robe and proceed straight ahead.

He decided against further testing the wolves' reactions, to avoid inciting their wrath and being torn apart by the pack.

With resolve, he pressed on, his heart pounding with trepidation in this sacred land of the snow wolves.

Beyond lay a desolate expanse, but here, life thrived in lush abundance.

The towering trees, which blotted out the sun, offered a sense of tranquility and delight.

In the Northern Kingdom, such breathtaking vistas were a rarity, which caused Ye Kong to slow his pace appreciably.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the following day that he came upon a cave.

The wolf pack nearby seemed unnerved, halting their advance a hundred meters away.

What could be inside the cave? A monster, perhaps?

What sort of creature could instill fear in a snow wolf pack that even the Darkling Spectre didn't daunt?

Then again, it might not be a monster at all.

Werewolf Valley... could it be that there were actually people here?

Was it possible that a human powerhouse resided within the cave, with the snow wolves serving as guardians?

The more he pondered, the more plausible it seemed.

Having come this far, he felt compelled to investigate.

With a determined stride, he entered the cave.

He hadn't gone more than thirty meters when a wave of dizziness hit him.

It was as if he had broken through an invisible barrier.

A sense of disorientation washed over him as a resonant, ancient voice echoed in his ears.

"Little one, welcome to the Valley of Giants."

Giants?

Ye Kong's eyes snapped open to find himself suspended in midair.

A colossal giant, hundreds of meters tall, was pinching him between its fingers.

The giant's enormous teeth gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.

Wow, so immense, so towering—could this be the giants of legend?

Giants truly existed in this world!

One of its teeth was larger than his whole body.

That tooth... it looked strangely familiar.

Oh no!

The treasured garment that struck fear into the wolves was crafted from a giant's tooth.

That explained its crude and simple construction.

The giant gently set Ye Kong down on a high platform, bringing him eye to eye with its massive head.

With a grin, the giant inquired, "You arrived in a treasured robe. Were you, by chance, mentored by the Ear Scratcher?"

"Ear Scratcher?" Ye Kong echoed, puzzled.

"Mhm, he dubbed himself the Old Drunkard. Many years ago, he stumbled into this place by accident.

I was about to flatten him with a slap when he claimed he could scratch ears.

After experiencing how pleasant his ear scratching was, I decided to let him live."

The giant chuckled heartily at the memory.

"Little one, surely you know how to scratch an ear as well?"

Ye Kong vigorously shook his head, refusing to be reduced to a mere ear-cleaning artisan.

"Hmph, if that's the case, you're of no use to me anymore."

The giant's face darkened, and his hand came down in a heavy slap.

Ye Kong hoisted the storage bag and bellowed, "This contains the materials you're after. With a single thought, I can make this storage bag explode."

"You've got spunk, I'll give you that," the giant remarked with a hint of respect. "Bring forth the tea."

A colossal cup materialized, brimming with tea that cascaded down from above.

The liquid was pleasantly warm.

Ye Kong found himself soaked to the skin.

He was about to complain when he felt a powerful energy coursing through him.

In an instant, his days of fatigue vanished into thin air.

His psychic force, too, was replenished in full.

Delighted, he exclaimed, "What is this tea?"

"It's Brave One Tea. You've come a long way, a Martial Cultivator undaunted by the might of the Giants. You've earned the title of Brave One, and with it, this cup of tea."

"Thank you."

"No thanks are necessary; it's your due. You're far more agreeable than the previous lot," the giant said with a nod of approval.

The previous lot?

Ye Kong latched onto that detail immediately.

Could it be that others, besides the old drunkard, had also ventured here?

The giant seemed to read his mind and spoke up, "After the ear-cleaner, five others arrived. Didn't they return?"

Ye Kong shook his head. "In recent years, the only one to make it back alive beyond the Great Wall was the old drunkard."

"Oh." The giant seemed lost in thought for a moment before he murmured regretfully, "The others weren't quite as skilled. A shame they met their end."

"Now then, lad, hand over the seeds!"