Chapter 12: The Chase

Ji Ning instantly dashed over a mile and grabbed the leader, Blackbeard, by the collar, startling the other high-ranking members of the Firewing tribe. They all dismounted from their mounts, knelt trembling, and cried out, 'Spare us, Young Master Ji Ning!' 'Calm your anger, Young Master Ji Ning!' 'Young Master, please calm down!'

The tribal warriors behind, who hadn't been swept by the wave, saw their leaders kneeling and naturally knelt as well. At that moment, the wave disappeared, and those warriors who had been knocked down by the impact also knelt in fear.

For a moment, a vast sea of kneeling figures stretched out, with only Ji Ning standing, holding the black-bearded man.

"Slap." Ji Ning casually tossed him, sending the black-bearded man rolling twice on the ground.

"Young Master Ji Ning." The black-bearded man trembled.

"You don't recognize me?" Ji Ning looked at him.

The black-bearded man quickly shook his head: "No, no, I've long heard of Young Master Ji Ning's reputation."

"Then why did you order an attack?" Ji Ning frowned.

"I, I..." The black-bearded man didn't know how to answer, which made Ji Ning even more puzzled. This leader clearly knew his name and feared him, yet had dared to give the order earlier?

Ji Ning shouted, "I ask you, why did you attack the Blackfang tribe?"

The black-bearded man hesitated.

Another high-ranking member of the tribe immediately spoke up: "Young Master Ji Ning, the Blackfang tribe is just a small tribe. Our Firewing tribe had no desire to attack them! It was solely the chieftain's insistence. For such a small tribe, we didn't oppose him further."

"It was the chieftain's own decision."

"We all opposed it."

"Half a month ago, the chieftain, ignoring our opposition, forcibly led the tribe's warriors to wipe out another small tribe of only a few hundred people. He sold all the men, women, and children of that tribe as slaves to his friend, Zihu! Look, the one next to the chieftain is Zihu. The chieftain trusts him greatly!" A silver-haired elder in animal skins pointed to a young man with flowing hair beside Ji Ning.

Swoosh!

From the sleeve of the kneeling young man, a black light shot out, heading straight for Ji Ning, who was close by.

"Clang!" Ji Ning wore animal skins on his body, but beneath them was a protective magic treasure, which naturally blocked the strike.

"Hmph." Ji Ning looked at the young man, only to see his face instantly turn black. Several high-ranking members of the Firewing tribe, still kneeling, roared and grabbed at the young man's hands, trying to seize him: "How dare you attack the young master! You deserve death!"

"Don't touch him!" Ji Ning shouted.

But the first Firewing tribesman to rush forward had already touched the young man's hand with his right hand. The young man's pitch-black hand instantly transmitted its color to the tribesman's right hand.

"Swish!" Ji Ning pointed a finger, and a sword light flashed, severing the tribesman's right arm.

The young man collapsed limply to the ground, his skin completely black, and black blood flowed from his seven orifices. The severed hand of the tribesman, whose arm Ji Ning had cut off, also oozed black blood.

"Poison!"

The surrounding Firewing tribesmen gasped and stepped back.

Ji Ning's expression turned grave: "Such a potent poison."

"Ah!" The Firewing tribe's leader, the black-bearded man, suddenly cried out, pointing at the corpse on the ground. "It was him, it was him! Young Master Ji Ning, everything was him! He just blew a puff of smoke at me, and I was bewitched. Although I knew everything, I regarded this Zihu as my master, obeying him in my heart. Whatever he told me to do, I did. If he told me to die, I wouldn't resist in the slightest. Just now, when I heard your name, it was he who ordered me to attack. I clearly didn't dare to offend you, but as soon as he commanded, I immediately gave the order."

The black-bearded man stared at the corpse in shock and anger: "It was that puff of smoke."

The high-ranking members of the tribe were all shocked and murmured.

"What." Ji Ning was also startled.

In the entire Yanshan region, only the 'Blackfire Cult' had drugs that could control people. The Blackfire Cult's most famous item was the Sacred Fire Pill. Anyone who ate it would become utterly loyal to the cult, fearless of death! But the Blackfire Cult used the 'Sacred Fire Pill,' not a puff of smoke.

"Anyone who can concoct something like this is a very powerful shaman or alchemist." Ji Ning was secretly alarmed. He turned to the leader and said, "Tell me, what did this Zihu want from you?"

"Buying slaves!" The black-bearded man quickly replied. "He first bought slaves from us twice, over two thousand in total! Then he controlled me, making me swallow up small tribes and sell all their men, women, and children to him as slaves. He would arrange for people to take them away."

Ji Ning was puzzled. Why buy so many slaves? Usually, tribes bought slaves as laborers or servants, but they still had to feed them, and providing food for so many wasn't easy.

"What about his men?" Ji Ning asked. "Didn't you say he sent his men to take the slaves away? With so many men, women, and children moving through the mountains, they must be slow. We should be able to find their trail."

"We can find them, we can find them." The black-bearded man nodded eagerly. "Ten days ago, his men took that batch of slaves and headed east. Two days ago, our tribe's hunting party saw that slave caravan. I estimate they haven't gone far in two days; we can catch up quickly."

Ji Ning nodded.

"Mowu, Qiuye." Ji Ning turned to look into the distance.

Mowu and Qiuye quickly ran over.

"Young Master." The two looked at Ji Ning.

"I have business to attend to," Ji Ning said. "First, send a message to the nearest Black Armor Guard outpost, have a hundred Black Armor Guards escort you and Qingshi to Yīshé Lake. My father has arranged for dwellings to be built there. For now, stay on the island in the middle of Yīshé Lake."

"Yes." Mowu and Qiuye both acknowledged.

"As for you." Ji Ning looked at the black-bearded man. "Immediately arrange for two hunters to guide me. I want to find that slave caravan."

"Yes, Young Master." The black-bearded man quickly agreed, then shouted behind him, "Sandao, Kabu, come here."

...

Ji Ning, with two guides, rode black swift beasts, traveling day and night to catch up. The caravan, carrying several hundred people including the elderly and children, moved much slower, covering at most a hundred li a day.

"Young Master, there are clear footprints here." A dark-skinned man with braids pointed. "The tracks are so fresh, they must be less than a day old. We'll catch up soon."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

They followed the trail.

Soon, they saw a scattered group of figures. Men and women were bound by the hands, all tied to a single wooden pole, forming a line carrying it. This way, if one tried to escape, they would drag the others, and the commotion would alert the slave drivers.

"Hurry, hurry up." The escorts, holding whips and weapons, occasionally lashed out. The children were tied to mounts, with eight or ten children per mount, to speed up the march.

The men and women looked mournful, despair in their eyes.

Just half a month ago, they had been living happily in their tribe with their families. Now, they were being taken as slaves to an unknown destination.

"You two, take these three black swift beasts back. Have your tribe send them to Yīshé Lake." Ji Ning took out two pieces of beast-head gold. "You've run this errand with me; I won't treat you poorly."

"Thank you, Young Master." The two tribesmen expressed their gratitude.

Ji Ning nodded, then patted the black swift beast beneath him. He had ridden this beast while traveling, and after so long, he had grown attached to it.

"You may go." Ji Ning dismounted and began to follow alone. Since the caravan moved slowly, there was no need to ride.

...

The slave caravan advanced through the mountains. Although they encountered some demon beasts along the way, the escorts were all formidable experts, nearly all at the Houtian perfection stage, with three being Houtian perfection experts in divine body training. They easily killed any demon beasts.

"Truly strange," Ji Ning mused. "Buying slaves in large numbers, using drugs to control tribal leaders to capture even more slaves. Even the escorts include Houtian perfection experts in divine body training."

"Faster!"

"Hurry up."

"We're almost there." The escorts seemed somewhat pleased.

Ji Ning followed stealthily behind. This area was near the border between the Ji and Tiemu clans, with a mountain range ahead.

The slave caravan was being driven toward those mountains.

"Into the mountains." The caravan continued forward.

Ji Ning followed behind. Just as he reached the foot of the mountain, though it was a bright summer day, the scenery suddenly changed drastically, as if day had turned to night. All around was darkness, with only faint outlines of the terrain visible, and black mist drifting about.

Black fog filled the air, an eerie chill pervading.

"A formation." Ji Ning immediately realized he had entered a formation.

"Someone seeking death! Hahaha!" A piercing, sinister laugh echoed around. "A little human child, your flesh must be very tender. I'll eat you slowly, bite by bite."

Ji Ning stood still, looking at the endless black mist around him. He could barely see three zhang ahead, and beyond that, nothing. Both hands quickly produced two Northmoon swords.