Chapter Ninety-Eight: Fragrance in the Night of Fading Stars and Setting Moon; A Carriage Startles the Little Snowball

Under falling stars and setting moon, a night fragrance drifts; a passing carriage startles the little snowball.

The white wolf was incomparably faster than Han Moyi's horse. Before the desert sun had even set, Han Moyi and Ma Ruobing could already see the caravan route cutting through the sands.

After following the caravan route for a short while, they spotted a few small buildings standing solitary in the distance amidst the vast sands. That, naturally, was the White Pagoda Inn.

The desert was nothing like the Central Plains. Many who lived here spent their entire lives without ever leaving, and those who traveled through were mostly fur traders and peddlers.

The hearts of the two travelers grew increasingly heavy. If they had not seen a carriage after all this time, they might have to wait at the White Pagoda Inn for days, or perhaps even longer. For Ma Ruobing, who was desperately worried about her younger sister, Ma Ruoxue, such a delay was almost too agonizing to contemplate. Still, there was a silver lining to not encountering any carriages along the way.

Had any carriage crossed paths with this white wolf, which was as massive as a small hill, the passengers would surely have been frightened out of their wits. If word of a giant wolf near the White Pagoda Inn spread, it might be weeks before another carriage dared to pass through.

As the White Pagoda Inn drew near, Ma Ruobing suddenly spoke up, "Let's not go over just yet."

"Why not?" Han Moyi asked, looking at the inn right before them in confusion.

"Do you want to scare the people inside to death?" Ma Ruobing retorted testily.

"You're absolutely right. Miss Ma, you think of everything," Han Moyi said, slapping his forehead and nodding in agreement.

Steering clear of the inn, the two travelers and the wolf found a secluded spot to settle down first.

Han Moyi retrieved some rations from his pack, sharing them with Ma Ruobing and the white wolf. After eating a quiet meal, they waited silently for night to fall.

Exhausted from the long journey, Han Moyi soon succumbed to his fatigue and drifted into a deep sleep.

When he finally opened his eyes, he found that the desert night had completely set in. Unlike the previous night, which had been bathed in cool, watery moonlight under a frosty galaxy of stars, tonight the desert was pitch-black. Dark clouds shrouded the sky, and the only illumination came from the faint glow of the White Pagoda Inn in the distance, where lanterns flickered fitfully in the dark.

Looking around, Han Moyi realized that Ma Ruobing was nowhere to be seen, and even the white wolf had vanished. He mused to himself that perhaps Ma Ruobing, finding this spot too dark, had gone ahead to the inn where the lights were brighter, leaving him to sleep because he looked so peaceful. But on second thought, the white wolf couldn't possibly enter the inn. Where could it have gone? Had it returned home?

The more he pondered, the more unsettled he became. A sense of foreboding weighed heavily on his chest.

Suddenly, he caught the faint sound of footsteps behind him. Without a second thought, Han Moyi spun around, only for his body to turn cold as a sudden chill swept through his veins.

Standing in the pitch darkness was a shadowy figure, staring intently at him. In her hands, she held a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun, and its dark, hollow barrel was aimed straight at his head!

"Don't be afraid, it's me," the shadow spoke. The voice sounded familiar. Looking up, Han Moyi realized the figure standing before him was none other than the eldest Miss Ma, Ma Ruobing.

"My dear Miss Ma, do you have any idea that people can scare others to death?" Han Moyi let out a breath of relief, then immediately grumbled at her.

"Do you think you could have dodged if I had fired just now?" Ma Ruobing asked out of the blue, instantly making Han Moyi tense up again.

"Look at how cowardly you are. Why would I need the Demon-Slayer Musket to kill you?" Ma Ruobing mocked him, slipping the Demon-Sealing Musket back behind her waist. Her belt was specially designed, making the bulky firearm look effortless to carry; from the front, one could not tell at all that she had such a lethal weapon concealed behind her back.

"It's just a common fowling piece, yet you call it a Demon-Slayer Musket. How flashy," Han Moyi retorted, eager to reclaim his dignity after being mocked.

Fortunately, Ma Ruobing chose not to argue, understanding his youthful pride. Han Moyi, believing he had won the exchange, felt quite pleased with himself.

"By the way, where is Snowball?" Han Moyi finally remembered to ask about the white wolf.

"Isn't it right behind you?" Ma Ruobing answered without hesitation.

"How is that possible?" Han Moyi muttered disbelievingly as he turned around. Less than a foot behind him, a pair of glowing green emeralds hung suspended high in the air above his head. Looking closer, they were no emeralds, but the glowing green eyes of the white wolf.

"Why do you both love sneaking up behind people like ghosts?" Han Moyi complained, having been startled yet again. His soul felt as though it were about to escape his body.

To his surprise, the white wolf and Ma Ruobing exchanged a knowing look, as if the girl and the beast had planned this prank together beforehand.

Inside the White Pagoda Inn, Old Wang, who was in charge of the lanterns, and Old Li, who managed the rooms, huddled close to a brazier, drinking wine and chatting idly.

"Old Li, I don't think anyone's catching a carriage tonight. Let's call it a day and get some damn sleep. This wretched weather is freezing," Old Wang said. He looked to be in his fifties, with dark skin and a face lined with wrinkles, showing the harsh toll of the desert winds and sands.

"Alright, we'll head back once this fire goes out," Old Li agreed, nodding. Having spent most of his time indoors, Old Li had far fewer wrinkles on his face.

"I'm going out to relieve myself," Old Wang said, standing up and brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Let's go, I need to take a leak too," Old Li chuckled, following him outside.

They didn't go far, unbuttoning their trousers right by the caravan route. A moment later, they turned back, laughing and talking.

Suddenly, Old Wang froze, pointing into the distance with a trembling finger. In a voice bordering on tears, he stammered, "Old Li, Old Li, look over there! Is that a damn ghost light?"

Thinking Old Wang was either drunk or playing a prank, Old Li refused to look in that direction and joked, "Oh, surely it's a ghost. A widow ghost, no less. I hope she crawls into your blankets in the middle of the night."

Frustrated by Old Li's disbelief, Old Wang was almost in tears. His voice grew frantic. "I don't have time to play around with you! Look for yourself! Is that a ghost light or not?"

Realizing that Old Wang must have seen something genuinely terrifying, Old Li quickly followed his gaze. Instantly, a cold sweat broke out across his back.

In the darkness, two glowing green orbs of light were slowly moving. The green light drew closer and closer, clearly heading straight for the inn.

"Damn it, those aren't ghost lights. Those are wolf eyes," Old Li hissed. Old Wang had been transferred here from elsewhere and had never seen a desert wolf, but Old Li was born and raised in the desert. He recognized the green glow instantly.

"Wolf eyes? How is that possible? Those lights are as big as lanterns! If it's a wolf, how huge must it be?" Old Wang preferred to believe in ghosts rather than such a beast.

"You idiot, don't you get it? A wolf demon is coming! Only a demon could have eyes that big!" Old Li kicked Old Wang in his exasperation. Though they were bickering, they moved swiftly, rushing back inside the inn and slamming the heavy iron doors shut, locking them securely from within.

As the two huddled in terror inside the inn, a sudden knocking echoed from the outside, followed by the shouting of a young man.

"Open up! We're here to catch a carriage!" Han Moyi shouted.

Under the cover of darkness, Han Moyi and Ma Ruobing had ridden over majestically on the white wolf's back. To their surprise, the inn's doors were tightly shut, though the lights inside were still lit, indicating that someone was home.

"Snowball, go on back. I'll come find you when I return to the desert. I promise I'll bring you some apples next time," Han Moyi said, gently stroking the white wolf's head.

The white wolf whined softly as if speaking, but it complied, turning and vanishing into the darkness in a few swift bounds.

Han Moyi knocked for a long time until his throat was hoarse, but no one came to open the door.

"What do we do now?" Han Moyi asked, turning to Ma Ruobing for help.

"Step back from the door," Ma Ruobing said, leaving him puzzled once again.

Before Han Moyi could ask what she meant, a loud gunshot blasted through the air, and the iron doors burst open.

Turning around, he saw Ma Ruobing casually blowing away the smoke rising from the barrel of her Demon-Slayer Musket.

"Could you please warn me next time?" Han Moyi complained, rubbing his ringing ears.

As soon as Ma Ruobing and Han Moyi stepped inside, the two middle-aged men, Old Wang and Old Li, fell to their knees with a thud, begging for mercy.

Fortunately, after Ma Ruobing explained the situation, Old Wang and Old Li finally believed that they were just travelers looking to catch a carriage.

Seeing how easily the two men believed Ma Ruobing, Han Moyi found it rather amusing. It seemed her stunning beauty had made them entirely forget that this fairy-like woman had just blasted the inn doors open with a gun.

Just as the four of them were about to head further into the inn, the white wolf slowly walked in from the outside. Although it had shrunk back to its small, delicate size, Old Wang and Old Li were still too terrified to speak.

"Snowball, do you want to come with me?" Han Moyi asked, delighted to see her. But the white wolf only shook its head. It slowly spat out an object onto the ground, turned around, and walked away. Before disappearing completely into the night, it cast one last look at Han Moyi, its muzzle moving slightly.

Han Moyi stood frozen in place. When the white wolf had turned back, he had distinctly heard it speak. It was the crisp, ethereal voice of a young girl, saying, "Brother Zige, wait for Snowball to come find you!"

What truly stunned Han Moyi was not just that the white wolf could speak, but that she was female and had called him "brother." Now, he finally understood why the white wolf had been so angry when he had addressed her as "brother" earlier.

Snapping out of his daze, Han Moyi looked down at the ground. The object the white wolf had left behind was a tooth—a tooth as white as pure jade.

He picked up Snowball's tooth and carefully slipped it into his inner pocket. Only then did he notice that while Ma Ruobing remained calm, Old Li and Old Wang were staring at him in dazed terror.

"If I said she was my sister, would you believe me?" Han Moyi remarked before walking into the inn, with Ma Ruobing following close behind.

Old Li and Old Wang exchanged a glance, sighed, and followed them inside.