Chapter 671 – The Phantoms of the Northern Wasteland, Lady Yu in Pursuit of Lord Yu - Part 2

Another 15 years slipped by.

Huyan Ah had now brought the family’s business all the way into the former imperial capital, the Central Capital.

Once the grand heart of the Human Emperor’s domain, the city now wore its glory like a faded crown. War had taken its toll, and decay had crept into its bones.

The palace stood mostly empty, tended only by a few aging eunuchs and palace maids. Over time, these servants began smuggling out “forgotten treasures” to quietly sell on the black market.

Huyan Ah paid close attention to this.

The family believed that before the Princess of the Central Capital left, she must have entrusted the Beast King’s Sutra and the beast fang to the then-Emperor Xuan, Ying An.

And under normal circumstances, an emperor would have safeguarded them.

But Emperor Xuan had died suddenly, and in the chaos that followed, four emperors from his bloodline perished one after another. The legacy that should’ve been passed down securely, vanished and lost in the turmoil.

Even so, there was still a good chance that the items had never left the palace.

By now, though, Huyan Ah wasn’t holding out much hope. The old matriarch’s story had always sounded a little too mystical, and after 30 years of fruitless searching, he was driven less by expectation and more by habit, and a stubborn sense of duty he couldn’t seem to shake.

Then, one day, a palace eunuch slipped out of the royal grounds and made his way to a back-alley pawnshop, a known drop point for illicit goods.

The shop’s owner, knowing that Huyan Ah, operating under his alias

Master Hu

, was currently in the Central Capital, sent word right away.

Huyan Ah rushed over to the pawnshop nestled in a narrow lane off Divine Bird Avenue. He made his way into the back room, where a fresh batch of treasures smuggled out from the palace awaited inspection.

He casually picked through the items, selecting a few dainty trinkets he could gift to the wives and daughters of nobles after a little polishing.

But then his eyes locked onto something, and his pupils shrank.

Amidst the pile of baubles and gold, he spotted a block of reddish-brown amber. Encased inside was a single fang, its origin unknown, clearly not from any common animal.

And beneath it, carelessly used as a prop to level the table, was a worn-out book. Its cover was cracked, and in the center was a square seal, faint but unmistakable.

His gaze flicked across it, then darkened. He grabbed the book and flipped through it roughly.

Just a glance. Two at most.

His heart began to thunder in his chest. This was it. This was

it

.

The Beast King’s Sutra!

As a core member of the Huyan Clan, Huyan Ah was deeply familiar with their wolf-taming techniques—and here, in this battered old volume, were not only the methods he recognized, but also more advanced knowledge he'd never seen before.

There was no doubt about it.

He had just laid eyes on the Beast King’s Sutra, the thing he’d been hunting for three decades.

The pawnshop keeper, clueless to the storm raging inside Huyan Ah, mistook his frown for displeasure. Eager to smooth things over, he said, “These palace folks, I swear, they’ll pawn anything. That ragged old book was clearly just used to level a table, but they still brought it in. Disgraceful.”

Huyan Ah tossed the sutra aside with a scoff and waved his hand in mock irritation. “Whatever. They’re risking their heads sneaking this stuff out, I get it. Can’t be easy.”

He sighed dramatically. “And I know it’s hard for you too. Trying to move this kind of risky merchandise.. it’s not worth much, and it’s dangerous business.”

The shopkeeper nodded vigorously. “Exactly, Master Hu! Business is tough these days. I rely on your patronage to keep the doors open!”

Outside the family, Huyan Ah never used his real surname. To the world, he was Master Hu.

Playing the part, he straightened up with a hearty grin, sweeping the entire bundle of goods into his arms. “Fine. I’ll take the lot. Doesn’t matter if it’s junk, feels like you and I were destined to do business. Let’s call it a gesture of friendship.”

The shopkeeper beamed with joy and scrambled to fetch his abacus. The final deal was sealed for 300 taels of gold.

A mere 300 taels of gold for the Beast King’s Sutra and that mysterious beast fang... Life’s twists of fate are truly beyond imagining.

Though Huyan Ah had finally secured the long-sought treasures, he remained calm. After weaving his way back north with the trade caravan, he delivered them safely into the hands of the Huyan Clan’s main household.

But the beast fang? It had long since lost its power.

And most of the Beast King’s Sutra? Also useless. Time had eroded much of its potency.

Still, it wasn’t entirely worthless. The sutra preserved detailed records on taming skills and the natural instincts of wild animals.

Beyond wolves, it spoke of training tigers, elephants, and more.

Now the clan’s new leader, Huyan Hai, sat studying the sutra closely. His brows furrowed as he flipped through the fragile pages, sighing under his breath. The sutra still had value, yes, but far less than he’d hoped.

Beside it on his desk lay another book, one he’d practically worn through, the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon.

No miracle had come to this so-called

reincarnator

.

Huyan Hai, reborn with the memories of a previous life, still couldn’t decipher the mysteries of its breathing method or the elusive power known as the Qi of the Mountains and Rivers.

Frustrated and restless, he rose from his seat and wandered outside. Without realizing it, his steps brought him to one of the wolf pens.

Inside, the pack snarled and paced, but something caught his ear, a handler muttering to himself while tossing meat to the wolves. “Strangest little pup I’ve ever seen...never seen one like it.”

Huyan Hai approached.

The man heard footsteps, turned his head, and upon recognizing him, stood up straight in alarm. “Clan Head!”

Huyan Hai asked, “What’s strange about the pup?”

The man quickly backpedaled. “Ah, I was just rambling nonsense...”

Huyan Hai’s expression softened into something warm and approachable. He smiled. “We’re all family in the Huyan Clan. If there’s something, you can tell me.”

Encouraged, the handler leaned in and led him around the side, pointing quietly toward a small wolf pup in the back of the pen.

“Look, Clan Head,” he whispered. “See that one? There’s something...off about its eyes. Like it’s thinking, like it’s

aware

. Most people wouldn’t notice, but I’ve raised more pups than I can count. I spotted it right away. And that’s not all. This little thing...it

pretends

.”

He chuckled under his breath. “If it notices someone watching, it changes. Acts like a normal pup.”

He glanced at Huyan Hai. “Don’t believe me? Watch.”

With that, the man grabbed another hunk of meat and strode out front.

The moment he did, Huyan Hai saw it with his own eyes, the pup’s gaze shifted. It blinked, and suddenly, its expression was that of an ordinary wolf cub. Blank. Animalistic. All trace of intelligence gone.

Huyan Hai’s pupils constricted, then narrowed with sharp interest.

He hurried forward, scooped the pup into his arms, and returned to his own tent.

Setting the cub on the table, he offered it a piece of meat.

At first, the pup hesitated, shy and cautious. Then, as if making a decision, it began to eat, exactly as a wolf would.

As it chewed, Huyan Hai leaned in, his lips brushing close to its ear.

Softly, he whispered, “Actually... I’m reincarnated too.”

The moment the words landed, the wolf pup froze, body stiff as stone.

That moment of stillness did not escape Huyan Hai’s notice.

And he couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.

The disappointment over the ineffective Beast King’s Sutra, the useless beast fang, and his inability to decipher the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon, all of it was, for the time being, washed away in sheer delight.

That door!

Keeping it had been the right choice after all!