Chapter 5: The Three-Eyed Well (Part 1)

As Qi Nanshan launched his attack, the combat team also charged into the lion herd.
Guo Shier stood on his horse; he didn’t need to fight—only to observe calmly. Huo Bao and the other three carried talismanic weapons, their task being to protect Guo Shier rather than engage in battle.
Xiao Feng and the others turned their horses to face the lion herd and join the fight.
“Master! Scatter that lion herd! Don’t let them gather to attack together!”
Luo Jie released his life talisman book and began firing talisman attacks. Guo Shier shouted loudly, “Grandpa Nanshan, support the Qin Wolf team!”
Wu Qing turned to look at Guo Shier amidst his busy tasks, surprised to see him standing calmly on his horse, giving clear commands. His strategy was straightforward: have Luo Jie scatter the massive lion herd so they couldn’t concentrate their attack, and have Qi Nanshan assist each combat team. If any team was surrounded by lions, Qi Nanshan would arrive promptly and, with his formidable strength, quickly kill a few lions to relieve the siege.
Only two-thirds of the people were fighting; the remaining one-third guarded the horses, ready to attack at any moment, acting as a reserve force. Once Wu Qing understood Guo Shier’s plans and commands, he felt a sense of reassurance and also launched a full-scale attack.
With Luo Jie’s team’s strength, killing hundreds of wild lions wasn’t difficult. Yet Guo Shier still felt uneasy. Qin Wolf and his group had encountered the lion herd at the periphery and couldn’t approach the camp, meaning there were even more beasts inside. He wondered: How were these beasts attacking? Was it out of instinct, or was someone directing them?
The number of wild lions was gradually decreasing. Guo Shier shouted, “Wu Qing! Wu Qing! Come here!”
Wu Qing didn’t dare delay. He responded loudly and rode back. When he reached Guo Shier, he asked politely, “Guo Shier… what’s the matter?”
Guo Shier said, “Wu Qing, I wonder… are there any signs that these beasts are being directed?”
Wu Qing’s expression changed slightly. “You suspect someone is controlling them?”
Guo Shier didn’t believe beasts would attack humans on their own, especially wild lions like those. He had witnessed the lion herd attacking frantically, as if possessed—something contrary to logic and their natural behavior.
Wu Qing grew serious. “You suspect it’s the people from the West Talisman Sect?”
Guo Shier shook his head slightly. “It’s not necessarily the West Talisman Sect. But the situation here is very strange. What do you think?”

Wu Qing was taken aback. He had thought Guo Shier was looking for trouble, but it seemed he had guessed wrong. He said, “Our Xi Fu Gate doesn’t have such methods for controlling wild beasts on a large scale… Um, Mu Fu Gate seems to have such techniques. At Xi Fu Gate’s headquarters, no one possesses this skill, but…” He hesitated for a moment.

Luo Jie asked, “But what?”

Wu Qing replied, “Elder, I don’t know if it was done by people from Mu Fu Gate, but… I’m sure that even Mu Fu Gate couldn’t make the wild lions patrol and attack on their own without any command.”

Luo Jie knew Wu Qing had no reason to lie. He nodded and said, “Since it wasn’t someone from your Xi Fu Gate, then we have nothing to worry about. Hehe, Shier, go ahead and ask any further questions you have.”

Guo Shier frowned and said, “I don’t have any more questions. Thank you.”

Wu Qing said, “You’re welcome.”

Guo Shier muttered to himself, “Then who could it be? Could it be someone from the secret realm?”

Although Luo Jie was old, his hearing was sharp, and he heard Guo Shier’s murmurs clearly. He smiled and said, “Stop guessing randomly. You should continue to give commands. The lion herd… Well, they’re really impressive. They’ve already killed all of them.”

Wild lions weren’t very useful except for their skins, so after killing over two hundred of them, only a few symbol warriors led by Qin Lang went to skin a few intact lion skins; the rest didn’t do anything.

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Xiaofeng, take two people to scout. Try not to attract the attention of the beast herd. I want to know who’s trapped inside.”

Xiaofeng called over two symbol warriors. The three of them didn’t ride horses either and quickly disappeared into the grass, moving swiftly forward.

Guo Shier asked again, “Uncle Qin Lang, is there any place here where we can hide the horses?”

Qin Lang thought for a moment and said, “If we go that way, it will take about ten minutes by horse. There’s a small grove where the horses can be hidden.”

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Qin Lang, send your men, along with Huo Bao and the others, to that grove. Wu Qing, keep your strongest assistants here, and the rest should hide with the horses.”

Wu Qing understood that this was Guo Shier’s kindness. In the upcoming battle, only symbol warriors or beast warriors had the strength to participate. He nodded and said, “No problem. I’ll arrange it right away.”

Chen Hong said worriedly, “Shier, you can’t make us leave!”

Guo Shier said seriously, “Your strength isn’t enough. Going there would only hold everyone back… Take good care of the horses. On the vast grasslands, horses are like our legs—we can’t afford any accidents… Go.” Although Huo Bao and the others were reluctant, Guo Shier was now the commander, and they had no choice but to follow his orders. Qi Nanshan asked, “Shier, aren’t we riding horses?” Guo Shier replied, “No, we don’t need to ride. It’s more flexible this way. Besides, we’re a highly skilled team. Without having to worry about the safety of the horses, we can maximize our combat effectiveness. Uncle Luo, carry me when we set off later.” Luo Zhan agreed and went over to Guo Shier. Worried about Guo Shier, Luo Jie assigned three martial artists to protect him specifically. Soon, the horse team left, leaving behind less than twenty people. According to Guo Shier’s division, Luo Jie led one group, Wu Qing led another, he led his own group, and the rest were under Qi Nanshan’s command. The horse team gradually disappeared from sight. Qi Nanshan asked, “Shier, should we go over?” Guo Shier shook his head and said, “No, we wait. Let’s wait until Uncle Xiaofeng returns. I need to assess the situation based on intelligence. Going now… our preparations aren’t thorough enough.” After waiting for over ten minutes, Xiaofeng and the others returned silently. Guo Shier asked, “Who’s trapped there?” Xiaofeng replied with lingering fear, “I don’t know who they are, but there are many… at least a thousand people trapped. It seems to be a caravan, along with some wandering groups. I don’t know how so many people ended up there. There are tens of thousands of wild beasts outside—it’s terrifying.” Qin Lang exclaimed in surprise, “How is that possible? This place is so remote; no caravan would come here…” Xiaofeng said, “I don’t know if it’s a caravan either. But if it’s not, how could so many people gather here?” Luo Jie said, “That’s not necessarily true… it might not be a caravan.” Guo Shier asked, “Is there anyone commanding these wild beasts?” Xiaofeng smiled bitterly, “We didn’t spot anyone. All we saw were wild beasts; it’s impossible to tell if anyone is controlling them.” Guo Shier pondered for a long time before saying, “Master, Grandpa Nanshan, I think there must be something there that attracted so many people and wild beasts… Nothing happens for no reason… We have two options: leave immediately or charge in to find out what’s going on. I can’t decide right now…”

Luo Jie nodded, indicating he understood. He was well aware of Guo Shier’s concerns. If he chose to leave, he might miss something important and regret it; if he chose to enter, he might end up with nothing and even lose some people, which would also sadden him. That’s why he left the decision to himself.

Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan discussed it for a moment before calling Wu Qing over and saying, “Wu Qing, we’re going to charge in. If you think it’s too dangerous, you can take your men to the small grove to protect the horses.”

Wu Qing had no desire to enter at all. He immediately said, “I’ll go to the small grove.”

A few rune warriors from the North Rune Sect glanced at him disdainfully. Wu Qing remained unfazed, as he didn’t need to take risks. His comfortable life in Qin Guang City had long smoothed out his edges. He led his beast warriors, gave Guo Shier a nod, and turned to leave.

Guo Shier watched them walk away and said with a smile, “This guy is quite cunning.”

Luo Jie said, “Though he’s not very promising, he’ll live a long life.”

Qi Nanshan laughed and said, “Heh, if he were a beast rune master, he might be able to progress. But since he’s a beast curse master, it’s unlikely he’ll ever advance to a great beast curse master.”

Guo Shier nodded. Being a beast curse master was an aggressive profession; if one didn’t dare to fight, it would indeed be hard to progress further. His own profession’s characteristics meant that if one liked fighting, they would develop in the direction of a curse master; if they preferred crafting runes, they would develop as a rune master. If they could handle both—fighting and rune crafting—then their profession would be the best.

Luo Jie said calmly, “Ignore him. Let’s go check around and find a weak spot to break in!”

Qi Nanshan laughed and said, “Alright, I’ll clear the way at the front.”

Luo Zhan carried Guo Shier on his back, while another rune warrior carried Luo Jie. Under Qin Lang’s lead, they moved forward quickly.

The roars of wild beasts grew louder. They arrived at a small grove where the terrain was slightly elevated, allowing them to see what was ahead. When they looked out from the grove, their expressions changed slightly—Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan no exception. The scene before them was terrifying.

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo, lift me up.”

Luo Zhan lifted Guo Shier with effort.

After observing for a while, Guo Shier said, “Okay, put me down now.”

Luo Jie asked, “What do you think?”

Guo Shier said, “What’s certain is… these beasts are obeying some kind of command, but it’s impossible to determine who is giving the orders. Also, I saw talismanic beasts—more than one, at least three. Besides, the people in the camp… it doesn’t seem like they were trapped passively; rather, they entered on their own… By the way, Uncle Qin Lang, where is this place? Is there anything special about it?”
Qin Lang replied, “There’s nothing special about this camp. It’s just an ordinary resting camp. This camp is called Sanyanjing. It’s surrounded only by a low brick wall, about two meters high—not a good defensive location at all.”
“Sanyanjing?”