Chapter Thirty-One: The Brightness of the Light Source

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“The howling of wolves is a way for them to communicate; every wolf has a unique howl. Through their howls, they stay in contact with their companions and gather the pack together,” Hao Yun explained.

“There’s another purpose to their howling: to keep distance between neighboring packs. When one pack starts to howl, sometimes another nearby pack will respond. This way, the packs maintain a certain distance from one another.”

“But what about this situation? Wolves are howling all around us!” Hao Yun asked in confusion.

He paused after saying this, clearly puzzled, for such a scene was not common. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he looked toward the sky, where a blood-red moon hung high and bright, casting crimson patches across the ground.

It was a night of dark winds and high moon—wolves often howled at the full moon. But now, the full moon had turned red—what could that mean?

He seemed to recall reading about this in a book—perhaps The Book of Beasts, which described the habits of animals in the new age.

The red moon would sometimes appear with the full moon. Sometimes there would be a full moon but no red moon. The red moon, it seemed, was summoned during certain special times… yes!

Hao Yun lowered his head in thought, then his eyes shone as he spoke:

“The red moon is summoned!”

Wolves in the area—when the red moon appears, they go mad, and two long red fangs emerge from their mouths.

“The appearance of a red moon in the sky is a sign of wolves’ frenzy, when their mouths grow two long fangs. Normally they wouldn’t attack enemies without reason, but they’ll attack anyone who invades their territory without hesitation—”

“Let’s talk about this later; turn on the light first!” Hao Po interrupted Hao Yun urgently.

Annoyed at first by the interruption, Hao Yun quickly looked around, only to see countless red eyes circling them, as if ready to strike at any moment.

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Seeing the mass of eyes, Hao Yun panicked. He hurriedly reached into his pocket and pulled out a round object. Realizing it wasn’t the right one, he put it back and searched again.

“Don’t panic! I’ll protect you!” Hao Po reassured him, seeing Hao Yun’s flustered state.

“Okay,” Hao Yun murmured, touched by these words. He finally drew out the right object—a round black ball that quivered in his hand.

He pressed along the grooves, then tossed it into the air. The sphere hovered two or three meters above the ground, its segments slowly separating in silence along the etched lines.

“Back to back, form a circle, watch out for one another!” Hao Po instructed firmly.

It’s impossible for one person to watch in every direction—impossible in daylight, let alone at night. But two or three people standing together, back to back, could keep a constant watch in all directions. This was already a fine tactic, even better than a formal formation.

Upon hearing the command, Xiaoshan and the others immediately followed suit. They had been nervously keeping watch, but lacked a leader or a plan. Now, with clear instructions, they merged together in only a few steps.

Earlier, Xiaoshan and Ruoxi had been to the north, Hao Tian and the others to the south, only a few dozen paces apart. If another accident occurred, or if more wolves appeared, Xiaoshan alone would be overwhelmed—he had barely fended off a single wolf last time.

Now, gathered together, they only needed to watch the front and sides, no longer worried about being ambushed from behind.

The terror in their hearts faded considerably. Their grip on their swords loosened without them realizing, and they felt much more at ease.

“Awooo!”

But in the silence of the night, when only the sound of their companions’ breathing, the waves of wolf howls, and the increasing number of eyes in the grass could be heard, their nerves began to fray again.

Sweat beaded in their palms. The more they turned their heads, the more impatient their expressions grew, betraying their rising anxiety.

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“Why are the wolves howling even more now? Are there more wolves?” Hao Tian asked, noticing the growing chorus.

Everyone fell silent. The howls grew louder and more chaotic. Was it that the packs had increased in number, or was something else at play?

As the orb expanded and its facets reflected light, the area grew steadily brighter, and their vision extended further. The wolves, disturbed by this sudden illumination, began to stir restlessly, clearly unsettled by the change.

Some even let out low, impatient growls.

“Why aren’t the wolves attacking yet?” Xiaoshan blinked in confusion. After all this time, he was growing anxious.

“Know your enemy and know yourself! Wolves respect every opponent. Before attacking, they study their prey and never underestimate it. They are extremely patient—when hunting, they observe their enemy’s weaknesses. They may spend an hour watching, but the attack itself is over in three or five minutes. That’s why wolves rarely make mistakes,” Hao Yun answered.

“But we’re a tough bone to crack!” Hao Po interjected.

“The stronger the prey, the more carefully they observe. They’re looking for our weaknesses, trying to win at the lowest cost,” Hao Yun said, his voice unwavering.

“So that’s why the first wolf lunged at me?” Xiaoshan asked.

“Even if the pack works perfectly together, they still can’t take us down!” Hao Tian declared, not directly answering Xiaoshan.

“We have the light; now it’s our turn to strike!” Hao Po said calmly, as if he wasn’t concerned in the slightest by the tense situation.