Chapter 95: Backlash Against the Master

Liu Zheng understood Reheman's hesitation at this moment.

Ahead in the Loulan Kingdom, the situation changed with each passing day.

He was responsible for the Third Prince's escort mission; if they returned to Yinzhou now to reorganize and set out again, even with reinforced troops, the back-and-forth would delay them by another month. But what if they continued forward? The Wolf Pack could launch an attack at any time, and by then, if the camels were lost, they would truly be left as nothing but bones in the desert.

Liu Zheng pondered and said, "Lord Reheman, perhaps I, Liu Zheng, have a method."

Reheman was overjoyed: "How would you instruct me, Young Master?"

Suddenly, Reheman's eyes lit up, his whole body jolted, and he stared fixedly at Liu Zheng: "Is the Young Master the Liu Young Master of Yinzhou, the Prefectural Assistant?"

When he said this, he deliberately lowered his voice, yet he still could not conceal the shock in his heart. Young Master Liu, the Prefectural Assistant—who among those traveling for trade within Liangzhou had not heard of him? It was just that Zheng Yue Ru and Liu Zheng had concealed their identities when joining the camel caravan, all to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Liu Zheng smiled slightly and gave Reheman an unexpected look. He felt that although Reheman looked rough and boorish, he was actually quite delicate in his heart, knowing that he did not want to expose his identity and deliberately lowering his voice. A sense of goodwill arose in his heart, and he nodded.

Reheman was ecstatic; only now did he realize that the frail Longyan person he had been mocking along the way was actually the famous Young Master Liu. He immediately stood up to apologize, but was pressed back down by Liu Zheng. Reheman was extremely excited and enthusiastically invited Liu Zheng to their team's rest camp. In the middle of the guards, two children were strikingly surrounded, blinking their large eyes and looking at Liu Zheng with curiosity. One of the boys looked about sixteen, while the other was taller and stronger, appearing to be the boy's personal guard.

Seeing a stranger enter, he nervously shielded the boy.

Reheman said happily: "Young Master Liu, this is our Loulan Third Prince, Halike!"

Knowing Liu Zheng's reputation, he did not doubt him and bowed deeply: "Young Master Liu, save us, and when the Third Prince reaches Loulan, we will certainly reward you heavily!"

Who would have thought that before Reheman could even finish speaking, the group of guards immediately glared at Liu Zheng.

"Reheman, have you gone mad?"

"How can the Third Prince's identity be leaked so easily?"

"How can a Longyan person be trusted so easily?"

Reheman said angrily: "Otherwise, who has a method? Young Master Liu is famous far and wide; he is certainly not such a petty person!"

The crowd did not believe him and were all annoyed; some even showed clear murderous intent, their hands on their blades, as if they were about to strike. Suddenly, the atmosphere here became tense. Liu Zheng could not help but smile bitterly; it seemed that Loulan was indeed a bloodthirsty nation where power was supreme. Even in this small team, they were so disunited and prone to infighting.

Is this the reason why, even though Loulan possesses the advantages of time and place, it cannot truly become strong enough to threaten the Longyan Dynasty?

Liu Zheng took a breath and said: "I have a way to deal with the Wolf Pack."

Everyone was shocked, then mocked: "A Longyan person, speaking so boastfully?"

"Camels fear wolves; how do you say we should deal with them?"

"You yellow-mouthed child, if it weren't for your own guards, you would have already died in the wolves' mouths!"

So many people had been trying to think of a way for the past half month, yet none had come up with one. Was someone who had entered the desert for the first time better than them? Naturally, they did not believe it.

Liu Zheng said calmly: "Everyone, it is not too late to hear me out. Lord Reheman, can you tell me in detail what is going on with that Wolf Driver?"

Before Reheman could speak, someone next to him sneered: "You don't even know this? The Wolf Driver is a messenger of the Loulan Kingdom's mysterious religion; it is said they can communicate with animals and livestock and drive animals to fight!"

Liu Zheng frowned: "Be more specific."

He certainly did not believe in this superstitious nonsense.

Reheman thought for a moment and said: "Young Master Liu, I have learned a little about it. I heard that they perform some kind of ritual, combined with some kind of medicine..."

"Medicine?"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up, his face showing joy: "That's it!"

The others looked at each other, not understanding.

Liu Zheng smiled slightly: "If I am not mistaken, this must be a contractual relationship that relies on external objects."

These people were once again left bewildered.

Liu Zheng already had a general understanding in his heart. Since ancient times, humans have domesticated animals, and from the beginning, they have relied on a contractual relationship. There are many ways to form this kind of contractual relationship. Taking animals like wolves and dogs as an example, they have several instincts, which in domestication can also be called several drives that people can utilize.

Generally, they can be divided into: feeding drive, hunting drive, pack drive, exploration drive, hierarchy drive, protection drive, freedom drive, relief drive, and sexual drive.

Among these drives, the easiest to form a contractual relationship with are the feeding drive, the relief drive, and the hierarchy drive.

Unlike wolf packs in other places, there is not much in this desert to fill the hungry wolves' stomachs, so Liu Zheng guessed that these hungry wolves had actually lost most of their hunting ability. If they want to fill their stomachs, they need this Wolf Driver to feed them!

Although Liu Zheng did not know how the Wolf Driver initially reached this contractual relationship with the Wolf Pack, in the later maintenance and driving, these drives must have had an influence.

But!

Liu Zheng smiled slightly.

In this world, there is absolutely no such thing as an absolutely reliable contractual relationship!

Especially for cold-blooded animals like hungry wolves, the so-called contractual relationship is nothing more than a matter of habit.

"Break the contract!"

Liu Zheng smiled faintly and said these four words.

After hearing Liu Zheng's explanation of these various drives, the crowd was immediately amazed, and the way they looked at Liu Zheng changed completely. The Loulan people claimed to have a thorough understanding of these animals, but at this moment, they felt that this Longyan person in front of them understood these wild creatures even more thoroughly.

Reheman was even more excited: "Young Master, how do we break it?"

Others also asked one after another.

Liu Zheng said: "It's very simple. Just in case, we can choose to set up camp in a place in the desert where we can advance or retreat, to lure the Wolf Pack. You and I will form a small team, scatter and lie in ambush, and search for the Wolf Driver behind it!"

A fierce light flashed in his eyes: "Find that Wolf Driver, and no matter what, make sure he is injured!"

"Remember, you must not kill him. Forcibly severing the contract will only incite the Wolf Pack's protection drive and cause rage! At that time, it will easily get out of hand!"

The crowd was shocked.

"How to avoid that?"

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Weaken his contract, let it backfire on its master, stimulate their freedom drive, and make them return to the Wolf King's command! Then kill the Wolf King; without a leader, they will naturally scatter!"

The crowd was immediately convinced, and there were no more doubts in their hearts.

Reheman was even more overjoyed: "Your Highness, if there is no danger this time, Young Master Liu is a great

benefactor!"

The Third Prince, Halike, also stood up and bowed.

Reheman and Liu Zheng immediately started planning. Liu Zheng also called Qin Zhangfeng over. He believed that if the Wolf Pack attacked, the Wolf Driver must be nearby; that last howl of the wolf that day proved this matter—within one mile!

As long as Qin Zhangfeng could pinpoint his location, his skills would certainly be enough to capture him easily!

Liu Zheng had Qin Zhangfeng take out the Divine Arm Crossbow directly.

To cover a range within one mile, Reheman sent out ten Loulan experts to assist Qin Zhangfeng.

With everything arranged properly, Liu Zheng took a deep breath. Following a loud shout from Reheman, the camel caravan set off again. After traveling for a while, the Gobi Desert truly disappeared, and they entered the wilderness. This wilderness was different from the Gobi Desert; rolling heat waves rushed toward them, making people's mouths dry and tongues parched. Reheman deliberately slowed the pace, and under his suggestion, as the sun was about to set, the caravan set up camp near a small sand dune in the wilderness.

Liu Zheng looked at the setting sun, calculating the time in his heart.

Having arrived near Lop Nur, they were effectively in another time zone. In this place, the sun rises and sets later than in the interior. Therefore, sunset was already around nine o'clock in the evening.

He calculated that this Wolf Driver, after encountering resistance last time and given the long distance, surely did not have much food left to feed these hungry wolves; the camel meat from last time had likely been eaten long ago. Therefore, he must be eager to attack; in the best-case scenario, he would strike tonight!

The sun finally set, and the constant state of alarm along the way had made people accustomed to heightened vigilance.

Liu Zheng called Zheng Yue Ru to his tent to drink, which made Zheng Yue Ru both happy and shy.

"Watch a good show tonight."

Liu Zheng chuckled.

Zheng Yue Ru was startled: "What good show?"

"The pack of wolves devouring their master!"

Liu Zheng narrated the details, and Zheng Yue Ru listened with eyes full of brilliance.

At this time, Qin Zhangfeng, following Liu Zheng's instructions, was lying prone on that sand dune, motionless. The sand and gravel of the wilderness had covered his body, causing the color of his attire to blend into the wilderness; it was estimated that even under lamplight, one might not be able to tell there was a person there.

He placed the Divine Arm Crossbow in front of him, much like a sniper from later generations.

Qin Zhangfeng was very patient.

Even though his mouth was dry and his tongue parched, he kept his movements for drinking water to a minimum.

Several hours passed.

Qin Zhangfeng was just feeling sleepy when suddenly a few wolf howls came from afar, which made his spirits soar. He looked up; under the moonlight, in the wilderness, the human line of sight is very broad, and he saw the Wolf Pack rushing over from that direction from afar. In reality, the Wolf Pack was still a long distance away from here.

"There really is someone!"

Qin Zhangfeng was at a high vantage point, so naturally, he could see further.

He could vaguely see that behind the Wolf Pack, there was a human figure mixed in! That person held something like a long staff in his hand, and the largest Wolf King followed him docilely.

Qin Zhangfeng narrowed his eyes and calculated; the Wolf Driver stopped at a distance of about one mile from him, while Reheman and his men were mostly further away. It seemed this task had fallen to him once again!

The Wolf Driver found a corner and stopped moving.

He waved the long staff in his hand, and the Wolf King let out a howl, leading the pack to launch an attack!

The camp side was in chaos again.

"Wolf attack!"

"Wolf attack!"

"Everyone, be on guard!"

Reheman's side had been prepared, so when the wolves rushed over, there was no such panic as last time. Everyone held swords and blades, surrounding the camels back-to-back, and they had gained some experience in facing the wolf pack's assault.

"Kill!"

"Kill these beasts and avenge my brothers!"

The camp side began to fight again.

Qin Zhangfeng, however, had already fully drawn the Divine Arm Crossbow in his hand.

Driven by the Wolf Driver, the Wolf King was also issuing commands not far away.

Having confirmed the Wolf Driver's position again, Qin Zhangfeng crawled for a distance, and after finding a good angle, he moved like a startled rabbit, flipped up, and ran silently toward that side, the Divine Arm Crossbow already slowly raised.

"Whoosh!"

The Crossbow Bolt flew out, heading straight for the Wolf Driver's back!

【Author's Note】

There are two more chapters today, to be delivered later; continuing to add updates.