At five o'clock in the morning, the sky was slightly bright.

Between the two opposite and steep cliffs to the west of the coyote tribe, black shadows are rapidly jumping from the raised rocks on the left to the crevices on the right, flying down in a zigzag pattern.

Tall, muscular, adult werewolves jumped at the front, and young werewolves followed, moving as nimble and swift as a flock of rock sheep.

Dean, who was standing on the edge of the cliff, withdrew his gaze and turned to the bird beside him,

"Where do the seeds of the tribe go when they go down the mountain?"

Asuka said reluctantly, "A sparsely populated town in eastern Oklahoma. Years ago, the priest bought several large houses over there and let people live there for a period of time every once in a while. ”

"Prescient." De Kayden lamented, "What kind of life will these children live in the future? ”

"After they left their hometowns, they were all the time, so they couldn't live together, and after a few days, they would quickly disperse across the country," Asuka said, "and then try to rebuild the tribe when it develops." ”

"Human society is not as simple and stable as in the mountains," Dean Mo held a cross dart in his palm, recalling his experiences along the way, "As an alien, you will encounter all kinds of dangers and temptations, and your life is far more difficult than that of ordinary people. ”

"This must not happen!" Cayden interrupted their discussion, took their hands and headed east, "Find Grey Shadow!" Grey Shadow will become the new Alpha Wolf and lead the tribe again! ”

"You forgot? The tribe has spent months searching almost the entire mountain range, and has found nothing. My previous search also ended in failure, and it was absolutely useless to wander around without a head. Dean glanced at the two of them, threw them away, and the cross dart flew down into the gray mist of the cliff with a "whoosh", and then flew back into his palm with a whirl, "Do you have any new ideas or plans?" ”

Asuka lowered her head in silence, her thick eyebrows tangled up with a look of distress.

With his blond hair, Cayden spun around in place several times like an ant on a hot pan, almost stepping out of a row of big holes in the grass under his feet and balding his hair.

"Asuka, have you found the cemetery where the warriors are buried?"

"Several times, no clues, didn't you go to see it when the six warriors were buried before."

"Then let's go to Lucinda's grave!" Cayden looked at the two of them, "Gray Shadow had to go to worship every day before he disappeared, and maybe he would leave some clues there. ”

The bird nodded, took the form of a wolf, and ran to the east beyond the cliff.

Cayden galloped alongside her, and Dean leaped and flew in mid-air to follow, trying to mimic the strong stone, clumsily constructing wings out of life energy instead of telekinesis.

The dawn splits a crack in the dark curtain of the sky, and the morning sun casts warm sunlight on the verdant mountains,

The three of them climbed several hills, waded through small rivers that floated like shining ribbons of moss and verdant mountains, and passed elk, goats, ocelots, and gray wolves drawing water.

Finally, we came to a quiet and beautiful hillside.

Even though it's autumn, there are still large expanses of white mimosa, golden osmanthus, and lilac hibiscus that smell in the air.

In the middle of the flowers, there was a pile of coarse graves piled with pebbles, surrounded by a few pieces of jewelry, large patches of withered flowers, and clumps of weeds popping out of the pebbles because no one had taken care of them for more than two months.

Cayden walked over to the grave bag and looked at it in a daze,

"My mom was buried in it."

He crouched down and picked up the gold jewelry, wool shears, and withered flowers that were placed by the grave, and turned to the two of them,

"I've seen it in old John's photographs, and these are Lucinda's favorite pieces of jewelry, the wool shear, the tool she's most skilled at using on the farm."

"Gray Shadow always remembered her favorite, and went to great lengths to help her get to the mountain." Asuka saw that Cayden looked sad and smiled and said, "Do you have an ocarina?" I'd like to play a song for Grey Shadow in honor of Lucinda. ”

Cayden took the ocarina from his bosom and handed it to Asuka, who brought it to his lips and played it, a little jerky at first, but quickly became proficient.

The desolate, distant music echoes through the hillsides.

Kayden listened for a long time, wiped the corners of his eyes,

"Man, there's something wrong with this grave." Dean retracted God's perspective from his grave bag and wondered, "There's only one pendant in it." ”

"What do you mean?" Cayden was shocked, "Lucinda's urn isn't buried inside?" ”

Dean shook his head.

Cayden hesitated for a second, gritted his teeth and quickly pulled at the pebbles, opening the grave bag completely, only to be surprised to find only a striking pale pendant with a crystal bottle the size of a fingernail, and the bottle was empty.

"It can't be!" Asuka put down the ocarina, crouched beside Cayden, and grabbed the pendant in disbelief, "I once saw Gray Shadow bury the urn in it. Yes, this necklace has always been carried with him, inseparable, on the day of his disappearance I clearly saw him on his body, how could it appear in the grave? ”

"I've seen it from blood memories, too," Cayden said, staring at the pendant, "why is it gone, which was supposed to contain gray ashes?" Stolen? ”

"Impossible! Grey Shadow had told the wolves in the vicinity to guard the lonely grave, and the animals would not come near it. Asuka decisively denied, "If it is stolen by man, then it should be stolen from the more valuable gold jewelry outside the tomb first, not the ashes." They also couldn't afford to refill the graves. ”

"There's only one possibility." Dean's eyes narrowed, and he thought, "It was Gray Shadow who personally took all of Lucinda's ashes, and on the day he disappeared!" ”

"Why?" Cayden and Asuka blurted out at the same time,

"If you're going to be away from home and don't come back for a long time, or even never," Dean stared into Cayden's eyes, "will you take with you what you hold dear to life?" ”

Kaiden nodded subconsciously, and a hint of abruptness flashed in the bird's green eyes,

"What do you mean—"

"That's right, I think we've been walking into a misconception all along," Dean circled around the open tomb, "We always thought that it was some supernatural creature or force that forcibly took Grey Shadow away, and never considered another situation, it was Grey Shadow who left the tribe on his own initiative!" ”

"He took the initiative to remove all traces of himself and took his wife's ashes with him before leaving."

Hiss –

Kayden's breathing became rapid.

And Asuka suddenly got up, frowned and looked at Dean,

"You mean that the Grey Shadow left the mountains on his own, without informing the priests, anyone from the tribe?"

"Maybe he has his own reasons."

"I don't believe it!" Asuka looked at Dean with a low wolf-like hissing in his throat as if the sacredness in his heart had been tainted and tensed, "Grey Shadow is the most powerful and pious warrior of the tribe, and he has made a promise to all the members of the tribe that the rest of his life will be used to serve the coyote Coty and will never abandon us silently!" ”

"And it didn't happen to the other three missing fighters."

"Go back to the tribe and ask!" Kayden took a deep breath and put the necklace around his neck, "Gotta figure it out!" ”

……

The trio returned to the tribe along the same route and again questioned the families of several other missing fighters.

But they didn't take their most cherished items with them before they disappeared, unlike Grey Shadow.

Dean told the priest his guess again, and a faint light flashed in the priest's deep eyes.

"My son, Grey Shadow, has been the most selfless warrior and will never abandon the tribe, although he has violated the rules to marry the women outside."

The priest's tone was heavy,

"If he took the initiative to leave, then he must be paying for the whole tribe."

……

The three of them left the cave.

Dean nibbled on a piece of roasted lamb and asked, "How do you find it next?" ”

"It's like we're finding a different stone in the mountains, and there's little hope." Asuka looked at the sun in the sky, the time officially entered the afternoon, the warriors of the tribe began to polish their minions, form a formation of wolf dogs, and use the gifts of the mountains and forests to create various traps to prepare for the upcoming fierce battle, everyone no longer had a smile on their faces, and the atmosphere of the whole tribe was solemn, "And we have little time left." ”

Cayden bowed his head in deep thought.

"Experience has taught me that if you really can't see where the future is headed, try to look back." Dean glanced over Cayden and Asuka and sat on the grass in a meditative gesture, "We might as well go through everything we have experienced since we entered Dogtown, maybe there are some key details hidden in it, and we have overlooked." ”

……

The three of them spent half an hour, sitting in the birch forest outside the tribe, collecting their thoughts.

Kayden suddenly came to his senses, "Remember, around the time of the disappearance, the dog town in the valley also broke out wolfing!" They all happened more than two months ago. ”

Dean's eyes lit up, "We guessed at the time that there must be some kind of connection between the two cases. ”

"It's all the same murderer behind them?" Asuka asked tentatively,

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Cayden slammed his fist, "Since we don't have a clue about the whereabouts of Grey Shadow, we might as well deal with the wolfification disease first, and maybe we can learn from it." ”

There was no other way, the three of them had to try.

"It's too late to go to Dogtown now, let's reminisce about the wolfing disease." Dean recalls what he had seen in Dogtown, "The sick townsfolk are full of inexplicable affection and obedience to Cayden, and obey any orders Cayden. ”

"There's a slight improvement in their fitness."

"After the moon rises, a mysterious wolf howl is heard, and an unquenchable craving for raw meat appears. The temper is also gradually becoming irritable. ”

"We suspected at the time that these patients were slowly transforming into werewolves."

"I can't explain when I hear a wolf howling." Asuka stood by a birch tree, rubbing his pointed chin, "But the five or six-year-old children in the tribe who have just awakened in the form of warriors, when they have not yet tamed the wild nature in their bodies, will have symptoms of eating raw meat and becoming short-tempered, which will last for a month at most, and the symptoms will disappear quickly. ”

"In addition, this phenomenon of obedience, in our coyote tribe, will only appear in low-level werewolves to high-level werewolves, just like civilians love warriors, warriors respect priests, and priests obey alpha wolves, level by level, very strict. All low-level tribesmen can feel the stronger and more energetic bloodlines in the high-level body, and they are eager to be recognized by these bloodlines, so they produce obedience. Asuka said in a subtle tone, "Do you understand what that means?" ”

Dean stood up and pressed the rough bark and groaned, "Are the sick townsfolk really transforming into some kind of low-level werewolf?" ”

Kayden shook his head, "No, I remember the priest said that there are only two ways for werewolves to be born, reproduction, and the transformation of the alpha wolf himself. But the townspeople would never meet these two conditions. ”

"It doesn't have to be a transformation," Asuka wrapped his hands around his trembling chest, "as long as there is an incomplete low-level bloodline in the townspeople's bodies, they can also feel the high-level bloodline of Kaiden and produce obedience." And under the stimulation of the bloodline, he made some strange moves that were in line with the wolf's nature. ”

"You mean the patient has some coyote blood in his body?" Kaiden hesitated to say this guess, and his face couldn't help but turn blue.

Asuka put her arm around him with concern, "It's just a guess, maybe the patients were cursed, hypnotized, or poisoned." ”

"We don't have time to think about anything else and keep an eye on coyote blood." "I asked all the sick townspeople in the town, they lived normally, they rarely left the town, they had never been in contact with werewolves except me, where did they get their wolf blood?" ”

Asuka pursed her lips and pondered for a moment, thinking, "If you want me to say, the most likely source is ingestion..."

"Intake?" The corners of Dean's mouth twitched, "Eating and drinking?" ”

Asuka nodded, "There are dozens of farms in the town, and there are agreements with the outside world to purchase food, and the food sources are diverse, but the water source is very single - all the townspeople drink the river water. ”

"Red River?"

"From the top of the mountains far away, from the top of the mountaintop lake, it flows through the forest, the meadows, the moss, the gushing into the valley, and the banks of the town. If something goes wrong with the river," Asuka said, "then the townspeople of Dog Town, from east to west, north and south, will gradually get sick." ”

"So the river is mixed with coyote blood?" Dean turned his face sideways, and a piercing cold premonition suddenly surged in his heart, if the inference was true.

Where does the blood in the river come from?

But he didn't ask the question.

Cayden shrunk his neck, only to feel a chill in his vest, "This is the only river that flows through the mountains?" ”

Asuka nodded, "There are a few forked sections of the river once in a while, but they will soon merge again. ”

"Is it okay for the animals to drink the water from the river?"

"We've done experiments," Asuka said, "and animals don't have severe symptoms when they drink coyote blood." ”

"Let's go, go up the river." Kayden took a deep breath and decided, "The answer may be in that place. ”

……

The rivers in this mountain range are not spectacular, the widest section is less than five meters, and it is not deep, and the river is clear in the sun, and the stone slabs that have been washed by the current for a long time are full of mottled marks.

But it has more sharp bends, the banks are twisty and uneven, and the width and height vary greatly and are more staggered.

The river clangs along with the complex undulating terrain of the mountain, and from time to time it merges with the spring water gushing out of the rock slabs, forming a natural waterfall cascading down the cliff.

Sometimes they dig into the cracks in the rocks, merge into the underground river in the mountains, and then gush out of a cave.

The trio marched up the meandering river.

Along the way, Dean practiced his skills in transforming his life energy into wings, as well as his proficiency in transforming telekinesis into energy.

At the same time, he used God's perspective to scan the banks of the river and the debris at the bottom of the river, looking for possible remnants of the Gray Shadow Four, but to no avail.

They followed the mountain river all the way from afternoon to late at night.

And Kayden seemed to sense something, and remained silent the whole time.

As the altitude rose, the temperature dropped rapidly, but not so low that snow appeared, they reached the source of the river, the mountaintop lake.

It lies in the embrace of several mountain cliffs, flat and smooth like a round mirror, the lake is blue and deep, the bright moonlight and stars in the sky are reflected on it, the stars and the moon seem to descend on the world, the scenery is beautiful.

There are several obvious gaps on the shore of the lake, and the lake water slides down the cliff along the gap, forming several waterfall-like waterfalls, and the waterfalls that pour down converge into several roots-like rivers at the bottom... Spread into the mountains and converge somewhere.

Dean began to scan the lake from afar.

Not long ago, he had just improved his perception by 1 point, and even in the middle of the night when the light was dim, through the lake dozens of meters deep, he could easily detect the scene clearly.

Next to him, Kaiden looked at the lake in a daze and asked, "This is the source of Dogtown's water source?" ”

Asuka nodded, "It's beautiful, but it's too far away from the tribe, we rarely come here, and there are basically no other people coming." ”

"I'm going down and have a look." Kayden began to take off his shawl and apron.

"Together!" Asuka made a horizontal swing arm and prepared to dive.

"There's no need to go to the bottom of the lake, I've scanned it," Dean opened his eyes, stopping the two of them, "There's nothing in the lake except fish and shrimp and crabs." ”

"How did you do that?" Kayden looked at the unfathomable depth of the lake and wondered, "Can you see this?" ”

"Believe me, don't go down in vain, where are we going." Dean swept his gaze to a cliff on the other side of the lake, and behind a raised rock on the cliff face, there was an extremely hidden black opening, which was the entrance to a cave.

"There's a mysterious force inside this cavern that blocks my perception, and if I'm not mistaken, the four missing warriors are supposed to be inside. Be careful. Dean summoned the Ghost Armor, wrapped it in life energy, and flew over.

……

Cayden and Asuka cautiously approached and found a large pile of bones at the entrance of the cavern, too small to see what the creature belonged to, but there was no smell of rancidity, apparently at least a century old.

The three of them bypassed the broken bones on the ground and stepped into the darkness.

They quickly found themselves standing in a huge cave with a hemispherical rock top above their heads, and dense stalactites hanging from the top, like the tentacles of an octopus, made it feel more and more eerie.

Brown stalagmites stand abruptly in the corners of the cave in the shape of cones, some of which are taller than the three of them, carrying droplets of water that "tick" and "tick" from the roof of the cave.

"Did you hear me?" Kayden asked the two,

"The sound of water droplets?" Dean asked in a whisper,

"It's a wolf howl, can't you hear it?" Kayden listened, as if looking for the source of the sound, but it seemed to be everywhere.

Asuka shook his head and motioned to continue inside.

The ground began to slope downward, and on top of the polished rock walls on both sides, a niche appeared, in which lay a small statue made of sandstone, with a wolf's head, a slender body, deep eyes, and wisdom.

"Coyote Coty's statue?" Dean looked at Asuka and said, "Has anyone from the tribe been here before?" ”

Asuka shook his head decisively, "I've never heard of a cave here, and there shouldn't be followers of Koti here. ”

"Let's go, keep going, we're almost at the end." A hint of urgency appeared on Caydon's face, and the call in his ears grew more intense.

They groped their way through the darkness of the cave for a few hundred meters, and the sound of water droplets around them was replaced by the sound of more turbulent rushing water, and an underground river appeared in front of them.

The river was not wide, taking on a jewel-like indigo blue in the subtle light, and the torrent crashed against the slippery walls on either side, and the water droplets splashed into the air like a swarm of fireflies.

This underground river connects to the mountaintop lake outside, and follows the spiraling downward slope of the river, plunging into the darkness that cannot be seen.

When the gaze turns to the river.

Dean, Asuka, Cayden, all three of them couldn't help but hold their breath, and their pupils shot out of extreme horror—

There were four figures soaked in the river, and they were suspended motionless at the bottom of the river, as if they were frozen by some mysterious force, and did not drift down with the turbulent undercurrent.

In the indigo waters, their pale skin revealed large black and red tattoos belonging to the coyote tribe warriors.

One of them, with black hair and golden eyes, was holding a small black rectangular box in his arms, holding it so deadly that it seemed to be holding the whole world.

They were like babies sleeping in their mother's amniotic fluid, their faces serene, with a hint of joy.

But there are countless tiny cracks crawling all over the body, and wisps of blood slowly seep out, like red ribbons, drifting down the dark river...

……

The blood stained Cayden's eyes red, too.

Before his eyes appeared a rushing red river, containing the blood of the tribal warriors and his father.

From the depths of the mountains, the summit lake flows into an underground river, and then gushes out of a broken hole in a rock wall and returns to the surface.

Flowing through cliffs, forests, lush flora and fauna... Eventually cross Dogtown.

The land is watered by the animals of the mountains and watered by the plants, and the townspeople of the valley drink the water from the river and the blood of the coyotes.

Thus, wolf disease was born.

……

But why is that?

Kayden, lost his soul and walked towards the Dark River.

(End of chapter)