CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42 SCAPEGOAT_1

A man and a wolf took cover in a thick forest, gasping for breath.

That was close!

Unexpectedly, the old man in black was a terrifying War King!

This was tricky.

After catching their breath, the Wolf King looked at Qin Feiyang with a questioning expression.

"Whew!"

Qin Feiyang exhaled deeply, then fell silent.

The strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain obviously wouldn’t work.

And the opponent was a War King, an insurmountable adversary.

What should they do to successfully get those medicinal herbs?

After contemplating for a long time, Qin Feiyang couldn’t come up with a perfect solution, so he took the Wolf King, circled around to another side, and hid on a mountaintop, closely watching the old man in black.

Hundreds of breaths passed.

The Wolf King turned its head to look at him, its eyes reflecting confusion.

"There’s no other way; we can only wait now," Qin Feiyang whispered. "I don’t believe that old geezer will stay in the medicinal field forever."

The Wolf King nodded. Time was on their side; if they waited long enough, an opportunity would eventually present itself.

Another hour passed.

A faint rumbling noise suddenly sounded.

Qin Feiyang looked at the Wolf King, puzzled.

The Wolf King grimaced sheepishly.

Qin Feiyang realized what was happening and said with a laugh, "Go ahead, just don’t make too much noise."

They hadn’t eaten anything for ten days while secluded in the old castle, and after leaving, they had hurried to Black Bear City without stopping. Unsurprisingly, both he and the Wolf King were feeling a little hungry.

WHINE...

The Wolf King then growled softly a few times, as if reminding Qin Feiyang to be careful, before slipping away quietly.

However, less than fifty breaths later, the Wolf King was back by Qin Feiyang’s side.

"That was fast?" Qin Feiyang was surprised.

The Wolf King shook its head, stretched out a forepaw, pointed to the foot of the mountain behind them, and started to growl softly.

At this, Qin Feiyang was utterly confused. "Just take me there," he said.

But the Wolf King didn’t go down the mountain. It turned around and stared intently at the jungle below.

Qin Feiyang followed its gaze but couldn’t see anything unusual.

Just as he was about to ask, two figures suddenly emerged from the jungle into his line of sight.

"Why have they come here too?" Qin Feiyang exclaimed in surprise.

They were the two young men they had encountered in the valley.

"Do they want a piece of the pie too?" Cold light flickered in Qin Feiyang’s eyes. "To think they’d try the ’mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind’ gambit. They’re truly courting death!"

"Move lightly, don’t alert that Old Bastard."

"I know, you don’t need to remind me."

"But where on earth is this Qin Feiyang hiding?"

"This place is full of desolate mountains and wilderness; there are plenty of places to hide. Who knows where he is? Let’s go up and see."

Muttering to each other, the two men began to climb toward the mountaintop where Qin Feiyang and the Wolf King were.

"How do they know my name?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

The Wolf King turned to look at him, as if asking what they should do.

After a moment of contemplation, a cold smile touched Qin Feiyang’s lips. He took out the Euphoria Flower, planted it in the soil, and after briefly covering his tracks, he and the Wolf King slid down the other side of the mountain.

"Quick, follow me."

After entering the dense jungle below, Qin Feiyang led the Wolf King quickly towards the waterfall.

A dozen breaths later, Qin Feiyang was hiding behind some bushes near the waterfall, watching the mountaintop.

The Wolf King looked at him, puzzled.

"If an opportunity doesn’t present itself, we’ll create one," Qin Feiyang explained in a low voice. "I’ll use the Euphoria Flower as bait, inciting those two to fight and draw away the old man in black."

His only worry was that the two young men, out of fear of the old man in black’s power, would hold back and wait until they left this area to fight it out. That would mean his plan had failed. Of course, even if the plan failed, it wouldn’t mean he’d lose the Euphoria Flower. He could always just snatch it back from them.

At that moment, the two young men, moving with extreme caution, finally reached the mountaintop.

An entrancing floral scent instantly assailed their nostrils.

"What a fragrance!"

"It’s the Euphoria Flower!"

The two men saw the Euphoria Flower at the same time and were instantly ecstatic.

One of them was about to pounce on it.

"Jiang Wei, wait!" the other man quickly cautioned in a low voice.

"Wait?" Jiang Wei paused, then sneered, "Mu Fei, do you still want to compete with me for it?"

Mu Fei sneered inwardly. What an utter blockhead. He then said in a low, serious voice, "If we fight here and alert that Old Bastard, forget the Euphoria Flower; we’d be lucky to escape with our lives!"

Hearing this, Jiang Wei felt a surge of belated fear and asked, "So, what do you suggest we do?"

Mu Fei said, "Let’s pick it first, and then we’ll decide who gets it after we’ve left this place."

Jiang Wei thought for a moment and agreed, "That works, but let’s be clear first: who will hold the Euphoria Flower? I certainly don’t trust you with it."

Mu Fei raised an eyebrow and said seriously, "As long as you promise not to cause any trouble here, I’ll let you hold it."

"Fine, I promise not to mess anything up," Jiang Wei agreed readily.

However, he was sneering inwardly. Once it’s in my pocket, there’s no way I’m taking it out again!

Mu Fei said, "Quick, go pick it."

Jiang Wei slowly crawled towards the Euphoria Flower. The closer he got, the brighter the smile on his face.

But just then... A smirk touched the corners of Mu Fei’s lips.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, he sprang up like an awakening viper and ruthlessly kicked Jiang Wei in the backside.

ARGH!

Jiang Wei let out a howl of pain. Missing the Euphoria Flower by a hair’s breadth, he tumbled like a ball towards the creek below.

"Who the hell do you think you are, trying to fight me? You’re simply courting death!" Mu Fei sneered, snatching the Euphoria Flower.

The man in black shot to his feet, his icy gaze fixed on the mountaintop. "How dare you cause trouble here! Come and meet your death!"

Go to hell, Old Bastard! Mu Fei cursed inwardly, then turned and scrambled desperately down the mountain, darting into the jungle.

Meanwhile, with a SPLASH, Jiang Wei fell into the creek.

The medicinal field was just across the creek.

"Mu Fei, I’ll kill you!" Jiang Wei roared. Seemingly oblivious to his surroundings and clutching his stinging backside, he quickly scrambled ashore. A few leaps brought him to the mountaintop. Seeing Mu Fei already entering the jungle below, he hurriedly gave chase. Anger had clouded his mind, making him completely forget about the old man in black.

As for the old man in black, he stood at the edge of the terrace, his face as dark as thunderclouds. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked audibly.

He was furious at being ignored by both Mu Fei and Jiang Wei.

However, he still didn’t chase after the two.

Qin Feiyang, hiding by the waterfall, couldn’t help but frown.

It seems luring this old man away is even harder than I thought.

Jiang Wei’s furious roar echoed from the distance, "Mu Fei, if you don’t leave the Euphoria Flower today, I swear I won’t let this go!"

"Euphoria Flower!" The man in black jolted, then leaped up. Like an eagle, he soared over the medicinal field, crossed the creek, and swiftly landed on the mountaintop, his gaze sweeping the jungle below.

"Heh, trying to leave? Not without dropping the Euphoria Flower!" He gave a sinister smile, his Battle Intent flaring. He transformed into a streak of light and shot directly into the jungle, vanishing from sight.

"Brother Wolf, this is our chance! Quick!" A sly smile crossed Qin Feiyang’s face.

Man and wolf, like hungry tigers descending a mountain, rushed into the medicinal field.

Without a word, they began to frantically plunder the medicinal herbs!

It was a twisted path, but we finally lured that old man away.

...

"Humph! Still want the Euphoria Flower? Dream on!" Deep within the jungle, Mu Fei sneered continuously.

"That old geezer is after me too!" Suddenly, his expression changed as he glanced ahead.

Fifty meters away, there was a rapid river. On the other side lay a field of scattered boulders, overgrown with wild grass and dense shrubs.

Mu Fei gathered all his strength and leaped to the other side of the river. He then quickly ran into the cluster of boulders and carefully hid himself.

A moment later, Jiang Wei also sprinted past in a panic.

Behind him, the old man in black was rapidly approaching, seething with killing intent!

"Damn it, I actually forgot about him!" Jiang Wei cursed. "Mu Fei, you just wait! I’ll settle this score with you sooner or later!" He reached the riverbank and, without hesitation, jumped in, vanishing instantly.

The old man in black pursued him to the riverbank. Staring at the raging current, his face was so dark it seemed like ink might drip from it.

"Consider yourselves lucky!" After a long moment, he said in a chilling voice, then turned and sped back towards the medicinal field.

Compared to the Euphoria Flower, the medicinal field is far more important. There can be no mistakes there.

However, when he returned to the medicinal field, he was dumbfounded.

The medicinal herbs? How could they all have vanished?

"Damn it!" he roared. "It must have been a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain! You two little beasts, I’ll kill you!" Full of uncontainable wrath, he set off after Mu Fei and Jiang Wei again.

However, he didn’t notice that just as he left, a man and a wolf appeared as if out of thin air.

It was none other than the Wolf King and Qin Feiyang!

The Wolf King looked towards the mountaintop, its eyes filled with deep mockery.

"Brother Wolf, let’s go," Qin Feiyang said. "Although Mu Fei and Jiang Wei are our scapegoats for now, if they get caught, they’ll surely rat us out. Let’s hurry to Black Bear City and sell these medicinal herbs before we attract any attention."

The Wolf King grinned widely, its eyes full of cunning.

WHOOSH!!

The man and wolf altered their course slightly and dashed towards Black Bear City.