RPDPHW Chapter 10

Hello~ I’m thrilled to pick up this novel and continue translating from where the previous translator left off. I’ll put my best effort into translating this novel to its fullest potential!

---

After the back mountain of Bai Ning Village, several clusters of firelight flickered at the bottom of the cliff.

A large group of people gathered in twos and threes around those campfires, chatting and keeping warm.

These people were disciples sent down the mountain by He Zhengde, the master of the Qingyang Sect, to find the whereabouts of Zhong Shujin.

On a late autumn night, the back mountain was much colder than the cottages at the foot of the mountain.

“Ah, this weather is freezing! I don’t know where that female devil fell, we’ve been searching all day and haven’t even seen a trace!”

Someone immediately followed up with complaints: “Yes, this area is so big, how can we find her? Falling from such a high place, she must have been shattered. What’s there to find!”

“Alright, stop complaining.” He Wenliang, who had been following the Third Young Master He Ziqi of Qingyang Sect since childhood, was in charge of this search. He took off the wine pouch hanging from his waist, took a sip, and then threw the wine pouch to the two complaining disciples: “Have some wine to warm up, I’ll keep watch tonight. You all rest well and regain your strength, we’ll continue searching tomorrow.”

“Okay, thanks, Senior Brother!”

Faint praises echoed in the crowd.

Sitting by another campfire, Yan Zibo snorted and muttered disdainfully: “Always trying to win people’s hearts!”

Geng Haosi and Qi Yuanqing, sitting beside him, quickly bumped into him and advised, “Alright, don’t say such things, so as not to cause trouble for the Young Sect Master.”

The struggle between the Young Sect Master He Ziyi and the Third Young Master He Ziqi had been going on for a long time. Compared to the highly talented He Ziqi, He Ziyi, born of a concubine, appeared much more ordinary. Strangely, even though He Ziyi was unremarkable, Sect Master He Zhengde went against popular opinion and passed over his legitimate son He Ziqi, giving the position of Young Sect Master to his eldest son, He Ziyi.

As a result, some disciples who had long supported He Ziqi naturally harbored grievances, but due to the Sect Master’s face, they didn’t voice their complaints.

Not far away, He Wenliang cast his gaze on Qi Yuanqing and others, asking in a low voice, “By the way, Junior Brother Qi, for no apparent reason, why did you suddenly go to Bai Ning Village today?”

“In response to Senior Brother.” Qi Yuanqing stood up and respectfully said, “When the three of us were searching the back mountain today, we happened to encounter a butcher from the village who was injured by a trap. Unable to bear seeing him die, we cooperated to send him back to the village for treatment. In passing, we inquired if there had been any sightings of a woman resembling a female devil around here recently. I hope Senior Brother can understand.”

He Wenliang didn’t make it difficult for him and just nodded, saying, “Junior Brother Qi indeed shows a chivalrous spirit. I just wonder if you found any useful information during your trip to the village?”

“We asked around and learned that there hadn’t been any injured or blood-stained women who came to Bai Ning Village recently. Also, there’s only one female doctor in the village, and we even visited her house, but found no trace of the female devil. Presumably, if she hasn’t died, she must still be in this area of the back mountain.”

“Heh.” A faint mocking sound came from the crowd, followed by sarcastic remarks, “If you didn’t know better, you’d think you found the female devil and secretly brought her to the village for treatment!”

Yan Zibo angrily stood up and questioned the disciple who spoke, “What do you mean by that!”

“What do I mean?” The person stood up defiantly, “Isn’t it obvious enough? Why did the Young Sect Master specifically ask the Sect Master to let you follow? Don’t forget, the Young lady is a member of the demonic sect!”

“You!”

Qi Yuanqing restrained the eager Yan Zibo and said in a cold tone, “This fellow disciple’s words are incorrect. Although the Young Lady originally came from the demonic sect, she has now married into our Qingyang Sect, making her one of our righteous members. If it weren’t for the Young Lady’s sense of justice and severing ties with her kin, how could the female devil have fallen for such an easy trap and suffered severe injuries? In terms of credit, the Young Lady has played an indispensable role in this battle! Even if there were past connections between the Young Lady and the demonic sect, those are all things of the past!”

The person wanted to argue further but was stopped by He Wenliang.

“Enough, enough. We are all brothers here, so let’s not argue.” After persuading them, He Wenliang said meaningfully to Qi Yuanqing, “We all recognize the credit of the Young Lady in this battle. She willingly severed family ties for justice, and the Sect Master must be pleased with that. I hope Junior Brother won’t do anything foolish to tarnish the Young Lady’s reputation and disappoint the Sect Master!”

“Senior Brother, rest assured. We will not dare to go against the Sect Master’s orders!”

After the argument subsided, a few disciples were still whispering and gossiping. Qi Yuanqing could guess what they were saying without even listening.

After sitting down with Yan Zibo, Geng Haosi approached and whispered to Qi Yuanqing, “Senior Brother, does he mean to suggest that we might secretly save that female devil?”

Qi Yuanqing whispered back, “Yes, well, let’s not discuss this for now. We’ll wait until we find the female devil before deciding anything.”

After exchanging glances, the three of them tacitly remained silent.

Gradually, the surrounding voices became quieter.

Some people, unable to resist drowsiness, leaned on their companions for warmth and drifted off to sleep.

He Wenliang wasn’t just making empty promises. After stating that he would keep watch, he dutifully stood on the outer edge of the crowd, guarding his fellow disciples against the cold.

“Howl!”

“Howl…”

“Wu…”

In the silent night, a series of distant wolf howls suddenly echoed.

“Be on guard! Everyone, get up! Quickly! Wolves are coming!”

He Wenliang shouted.

Dim green dots approached from a distance, and by the time the disciples hurriedly got up, the group of wolves had already surrounded them.

Leading the pack was a silver wolf with extremely pure fur, large in size, equivalent to one and a half times the size of the ordinary wolves following it.

Before He Wenliang could figure out how this peaceful situation had attracted the wolf pack, a chaotic battle had already begun.

Twenty people were against eight wolves, even though they outnumbered the wolves, they still couldn’t gain the upper hand, resulting in injuries on both sides.

After all, humans with flesh and blood would always feel some fear when facing these fierce beasts.

And the wolves, with their extremely agile movements, left even the more skilled disciples struggling against them.

He Wenliang originally thought that the wolves attacked them for food, but the result seemed different from what he had expected.

The silver wolf could have eaten him, but it only swiped away the bag hanging at his waist, curiously looked at it for a moment, then took it in its mouth, let out a long howl, and ran away with the remaining wolves.

Could it be that these wild wolves just came to cause trouble and then left?

If the bag contained something else, He Wenliang might have let it go and not bothered with the behavior of the wolf pack. However, inside that bag were items entrusted to him by the Sect Master – a portrait of Zhong Shujin and the Sect Master’s token.

With such important items, how could he just let it go?

“Injured junior brothers, stay here. Leave two uninjured people to look after them. The rest, follow me in pursuit!”

Qi Yuanqing and the other two were unharmed and skilled, so naturally, they joined the pursuit of the wolves.

The silver wolf, originally very agile, deliberately slowed down its movements. It led the dozen or so people chasing behind it through the forest, circling until they were exhausted from the chase. Only then did it swiftly enter a concealed cave.

“He Senior Brother, it seems like this is the wolves’ den. What should we do? Do we continue to chase inside?” 

He Wenliang stood hesitating at the cave entrance.

If this was the wolves’ den, then it could be dangerous inside. If they didn’t chase in, losing the Sect Master’s token and the portrait of the female devil, he would surely face punishment. However, if they pursued inside and something happened to his junior brothers, he would face an even more severe punishment.

What should he do?

While He Wenliang was still pondering at the cave entrance, the silver wolf had already entered the cave to rest.

“Senior Brother He, it seems like this is the wolves’ den. What should we do? Do we continue to chase inside?” asked Qi Yuanqing, who had caught up.

He Wenliang hesitated and said, “If we don’t go in, we might lose those important items. But if we go in, there might be dangers awaiting us. I’m in a dilemma.”

While He Wenliang was still hesitant, the silver wolf had already entered the cave to rest.

Just now, the majestic silver wolf outside had become docile, lying next to a black-clad woman.

Gu Qingyin wore a thin night suit, making it convenient for her to hide in the night. She squatted down, stroking the head of the silver wolf, and said with pleasure, “Da Bai, it’s thanks to you this time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to lead them here!”

Only Gu Qingyin dared to treat this silver wolf as an ordinary large dog.

She had saved this wounded wolf in the mountains when she and her master had just moved to Bai Ning Village. At that time, the wolf cub was covered in blood, and not as robust as it was now. They took care of it for quite some time before nursing it back to health. Although they occasionally released it back to the mountains to prevent scaring the villagers, they would still visit it and bring some food. The silver wolf was extremely intelligent, understanding that they treated it well. Over time, a deep bond formed between humans and wolves.

Da Bai rubbed against Gu Qingyin’s palm as if it had accepted her thanks. After a playful display, it handed the bag it obtained from He Wenliang to Gu Qingyin.

Gu Qingyin took the bag and opened it, looking at the contents under the moonlight shining through the cave.

The person in the portrait vaguely resembled Zhong Shujin.

Well, these people were indeed after Zhong Shujin!

“The skills of this artist are too poor! The actual person looks much better!” Gu Qingyin muttered a few words, then tucked the portrait into her

clothes. She examined the Sect Master’s token for a while.

She felt that the pattern engraved on the token seemed somewhat familiar, but for the moment, she couldn’t remember where she had seen it.

Not dwelling on it further, she casually put away the token and squatted down again to pat Da Bai’s head, praising, “Good Da Bai, you did well this time! Thank you! Next time, I’ll bring some meat to see you!”

The place where Gu Qingyin and Da Bai were now was the actual nest inside the cave. It was extremely concealed, specially crafted by Gu Qingyin’s master for Da Bai. The exterior nest was just a decoy to prevent anyone with ill intentions from following Da Bai and harming it while it slept.

At this moment, noises came from outside. Hearing the commotion, Gu Qingyin immediately closed her mouth and signaled Da Bai to remain silent.

Good, they were finally lured inside!

Gu Qingyin swiftly climbed up the natural wall beside her, which was a natural barrier separating the inner and outer nests. It blended seamlessly with the cave’s natural stones, making it impossible to distinguish the stone door from the interior rock wall with the naked eye.

Gu Qingyin lay on top of the stone door, observing the situation outside through the concealed opening in the stone wall.