Immortality Begins with Krypton Life

Chapter 272 Tracing the DogBefore his words had even faded, he raised his foot and kicked Zhuifeng.

Zhuifeng immediately let out a miserable yelp. Its small body was sent rolling twice across the ground from the kick, its four little legs kicking wildly. It took a long while for it to scramble up, tail tucked between its legs, whining incessantly.

Ling Xiaoning’s face instantly flushed red. He didn’t even know how he had managed to rush forward. By the time he came to his senses, he was already standing in front of Jiang Yuheng, his chest heaving violently, his lips trembling as he spat out words one by one.

”You... what right do you have to hit it? It’s still so small, and it didn’t even bite you, it just brushed against you. Was that really necessary?!”

Jiang Yuheng glanced at him sideways and said coldly,

”Does a mere beast deserve to yelp in my presence? Get lost!”

Ling Xiaoning did not move. He stood his ground with clenched fists, his eyes rimmed with red.

”I won’t leave. You must give me an explanation today.”

A trace of impatience flashed in Jiang Yuheng’s eyes. Too lazy to waste any more words, he raised his hand and struck with his palm.

Although Ling Xiaoning’s Wind Chasing Steps had reached Minor Achievement, it was simply not enough against an old hand like Jiang Yuheng who had been in the Demon Suppression Division for many years. Before he could even dodge, he was struck in the chest, sent flying sideways, and crashed heavily to the ground.

His chest burned with excruciating pain, and it felt as though several of his ribs had broken. He lay on the ground, coughing for a long time before he could barely scramble back up.

Yet, that strike had completely enraged Zhuifeng.

Seeing Ling Xiaoning get hit, the little black dog let out a whimper and, regardless of the danger, lunged at Jiang Yuheng. Its small body leaped up, jaws snapping toward his lower leg.

Jiang Yuheng sneered and raised his leg, kicking Zhuifeng far away. Yet, Zhuifeng scrambled up and lunged again, only to be kicked away, then rushed forward again, and was kicked again...

This happened several times; Zhuifeng was covered in injuries, yet it refused to retreat.

Jiang Yuheng was clearly annoyed. He grabbed Zhuifeng by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up. Zhuifeng’s four little legs kicked wildly in the air, but it could not break free.

”A mere beast, and you dare to bite me?”

Jiang Yuheng held onto Zhuifeng, but his gaze fell upon Ling Xiaoning.

”Go back and tell Chen Mu that I’m taking this beast. How I deal with it is my business.”

With that, he strode away, carrying Zhuifeng. Ling Xiaoning tried desperately to stop him, but he received a few more punches and couldn’t get up for a long while, left only to watch helplessly as Jiang Yuheng’s figure disappeared into the night.

Afterward, clutching his chest, he searched the streets for half an hour. He searched from the entrance of the Demon Suppression Division to the West Market, and from the West Market to the city gates. He asked every passerby he encountered, but he couldn’t find a single trace of Zhuifeng.

With no other options, he stumbled over to find Chen Mu.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu’s expression remained unchanged, but the air around him suddenly turned several degrees colder.

Qi Huan, originally slightly tipsy, was jolted sober by the sudden chill. He looked at Chen Mu’s expression and then at Ling Xiaoning’s disheveled state, his brows knitting together.

”Is that little thing the same dog that went missing back in Qinglin Town?”

Chen Mu nodded slightly without a word, but Qi Huan understood.

He had heard Liu Ziming mention the matter of the dog before. Back in Qinglin Town, Chen Mu had personally rescued the mother dog and its cub from Li Daniu’s home. The mother dog had since disappeared, leaving only this little creature, which had followed Chen Mu all the way from Yunmeng to the Prefecture.

Although the dog wasn’t valuable, it held a different significance for Chen Mu.

Qi Huan took a deep breath, his mind racing.

”How long ago did that bastard Jiang take the dog?”

Ling Xiaoning’s lips trembled as he tried hard to recall.

”An... an hour, maybe more. I searched everywhere but couldn’t find it, so I rushed over to find Chen Mu, and I was delayed a bit on the way...”

Qi Huan waved his hand, cutting him off.

”Enough. You just held that dog, so there must be traces of its Demonic Qi on you.”

Ling Xiaoning was momentarily stunned. ”Demonic Qi? How could there be Demonic Qi on Zhuifeng?”

Qi Huan paused, realizing he had said something he shouldn’t have, and concocted a lie to cover it up.

”The dog is spirited. Having followed Chen Mu for so long, it’s picked up some things. Ordinary people can’t smell this Demonic Qi, but the Demon Search Division has its ways.”

As he spoke, Qi Huan took a palm-sized bronze compass from his robes. In the center of the compass was an inlaid, semi-transparent crystal, and the edges were engraved with dense runes. A very thin silver needle trembled slightly, as if ready to point toward something at any moment.

This was a unique Magical Artifact of the Demon Search Division: the Tracing Disk.

This object was more precise than the tracking disk commonly used by the Demon Hunting Division and could capture extremely faint traces of Demonic Qi. As long as the demonic entity had left behind a scent, it could be tracked.

”Hold out your hand.”

Ling Xiaoning hurriedly held out his hand. Qi Huan brought the compass close to his palm, formed a seal with his other hand, and began to chant, his voice too low to be clearly heard.

A moment later, the silver needle suddenly trembled violently before snapping toward the southwest, remaining fixed in that direction.

”Got it.”

Qi Huan looked up toward the southwest. Chen Mu didn’t waste any words; he turned and left, and Qi Huan followed. Ling Xiaoning stumbled a few steps, his chest aching with every breath, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward, refusing to be left behind.

The chase led them quite a distance away.

They passed through the West Market and sped along the official road outside the city for over ten miles before finally turning onto a remote mountain path.

The night grew deeper, and the woods on both sides became increasingly dense. Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting grotesque shadows on the ground.

Qi Huan did not walk slowly, but he kept his eyes fixed on the bronze compass in his hand. Since a moment ago, the silver needle in the center had been pointing toward the southwest, never wavering.

”We’re almost there.”

He lowered his voice and quickened his pace.

After passing through a stretch of woods, the view before them suddenly opened up.

It was a small village built against the mountain, consisting of only twenty or thirty households. In the dead of night, the doors and windows of every house were tightly shut; only one building at the entrance of the village still had its lights on.

No, that wasn’t a house.

Chen Mu squinted, eventually realizing it was a newly built temple. It didn’t occupy much space, but two large red lanterns hung under the eaves, illuminating the temple entrance. An incense burner stood at the door with incense still burning inside, wisps of smoke curled up and gradually dissipating into the night.

Qi Huan put away the bronze compass and gestured toward the temple with his chin.

”That brat, he ran quite a distance. He’s right inside.”

The three of them crept over silently.

The closer they got to the temple gate, the stronger the scent of incense became. The smell was a mix of sandalwood, cypress incense, and an indescribable, cloying sweetness that drilled straight into their noses.

Qi Huan sniffed and whispered,

”With such a heavy scent of incense, it seems this temple receives quite a few worshippers.”

Ling Xiaoning also moved to his side and whispered,

”Chen Mu, why are the lights still on in the temple in the middle of the night?”

Qi Huan didn’t answer; he only looked at Chen Mu. Chen Mu remained silent for a moment, then stepped toward the temple gate.

Pushing open the ajar wooden door, an even stronger scent of incense hit them.

The temple was small. In the center stood a shrine housing a deity statue, but it was tightly covered with a red cloth, making it impossible to see which deity was being worshipped.

The incense burner in front of the shrine was packed with incense sticks, some of which were still burning. Wisps of smoke curled around the red cloth, making the deity statue appear all the more mysterious.

But at this moment, no one had the time to pay attention to that.

Ling Xiaoning’s exclamation came from beside them.

”Zhuifeng!”