The Transformation Complete, Meeting a Benefactor

Li Dao first walked over to the two wolf cubs holding a teacup filled with precious blood.

The pitch-black wolf cub instantly grew alert, shielding the pure-white wolf cub behind it.

The moment Li Dao raised his hand, a dull, low growl rumbled from the black cub's throat.

"Quite feisty, aren't you?"

Ignoring the warning, Li Dao reached out directly and grabbed the black cub.

"Awooo!"

The black cub snapped its jaws shut around Li Dao’s outstretched hand, thrashing its head to bite down hard.

"Cut it out!"

With a flick of Li Dao's finger, he gave the cub a sharp tap on the head, leaving it completely dazed.

Picking the black cub up, he brought the teacup right up to its snout.

Catching the scent of the precious blood, the black cub snapped out of its daze instantly.

From a distance, it might have been able to exercise some self-restraint, but with the essence practically touching its nose, no amount of willpower could overcome raw physical instinct.

It poked out its tongue and began eagerly lapping at the precious blood in the cup.

Perhaps governed by instinct, it stopped drinking after consuming about a third of it.

Its eyes immediately took on a drunken, glazed look, and its limbs went limp as it slumped powerlessly in Li Dao's palm.

Seeing this, Li Dao placed the black cub gently on the table and waited quietly.

After a few minutes, the cub on the table suddenly stirred.

Its entire body began to twitch involuntarily, and then, the exact same transformation that Yuanbao had undergone previously took place.

Old fur shed for new, old teeth replaced by new ones, and old claws swapped for sharper ones.

At the same time, Li Dao sensed a subtle, invisible connection forming between himself and the black cub.

A few moments later, the black cub finally blinked awake.

This time, when it looked at Li Dao, the fierce and hostile demeanor from earlier was entirely gone. Instead, its eyes radiated an innate closeness and affection, much like a hound that had been raised for years.

Li Dao also got a clear look at the black cub's transformed appearance.

Its fur, which had previously lacked luster, was now as dark and glossy as polished jet ink.

Running a hand over its body, he noticed that even its frame had grown slightly larger. More importantly, he could sense that the black cub, much like Yuanbao, had undergone an evolutionary leap in its bloodline. Its true potential would undoubtedly manifest as it grew.

With the success of the black cub's test, Li Dao knew his precious blood experiment was a triumph.

The precious blood could transform not only creatures the size of Yuanbao, but also large beasts like wolves—it simply required a larger quantity of blood.

At this thought, Li Dao murmured to himself, "I wonder what kind of effect the precious blood would have if used on humans."

The thought vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

There was no suitable subject around to test it on right now, and he certainly couldn't use Jiuer as a guinea pig.

Next, Li Dao used the exact same method to feed the precious blood to the pure-white wolf cub.

Perhaps sensing a bond through Li Dao, the black cub showed no resistance when Li Dao touched the white one, even nudging it forward to encourage closeness.

On the other side.

Emboldened by the success with the black cub, his confidence soared.

Without hesitation, he fed the precious blood to the two Gyrfalcons as well, a process that required him to draw his own blood once more.

Perhaps sensing that Li Dao's actions were beneficial to them, the two Gyrfalcons offered no resistance and remained entirely docile.

Five minutes later.

The roster of creatures blessed by the precious blood now included another wolf cub and two Gyrfalcons.

Just like the black one, the white wolf cub's fur turned dazzlingly snow-white. But while the black cub retained a cool and haughty aloofness, the white one was lively and endearing.

No sooner had its transformation finished than it bounded straight onto Li Dao's shoulder to show its affection.

The two Gyrfalcons had also undergone dramatic changes.

Their bodies were larger, and their talons far sharper.

Crucially, their original yellow eyes had suddenly turned a brilliant gold, giving them an exceptionally majestic and formidable appearance.

"Awrooo!"

At that moment, the black wolf cub suddenly let out a low, muffled snarl at the two Gyrfalcons.

Seeing this, the white wolf cub joined in. After all, they were wolves; when they tried to look fierce, they actually carried quite a bit of presence.

The two Gyrfalcons reacted in kind. Confronted by this sudden hostility, they ruffled their feathers and assumed defensive postures.

It was then that Li Dao remembered these creatures had a deep-seated enmity—their parents had been killed by each other's lineage.

Previously, their intellect had been too primitive to express such hatred clearly.

Yet now, refined by the precious blood, they instantly recognized each other as mortal enemies.

"Enough. From now on, you're all family. Cut it out," Li Dao intervened, soothing them with his voice.

If Yuanbao could understand his words, surely these four could as well.

To his surprise, however, the four little creatures seemed blinded by their ancestral hatred, and not a single one gave him a positive response.

Since talking wouldn't work, he had no choice but to...

Suddenly, the bodies of the wolf cubs and young Gyrfalcons, which had been glaring at one another, stiffened violently.

As if struck by a sudden terror, they whipped their heads around to look at Li Dao in unison.

In that instant, the human who had treated them with such warmth suddenly morphed in their eyes into an apex predator, radiating pure, unadulterated hostility toward them.

Confronted by this sudden menace from the one they trusted most, the four little ones quickly capitulated.

The two wolf cubs flopped onto the ground, whimpering softly.

The two Gyrfalcons lowered their proud necks in submission.

Seeing this, Li Dao reined in his killing intent, stepped forward, and tapped each of the four on the head in turn.

"I imagine your parents wouldn't want you slaughtering each other and following them to an early grave. So from now on, you will all get along peacefully. If anyone starts trouble, I'll simply be forced to help you find 'peace.'"

Li Dao looked down at the four youngsters and said quite seriously.

When they didn't react, he arched an eyebrow, his voice dropping an octave. "If you understand, make a sound."

"Whimper..."

"Chirp..."

The four let out pitiful, helpless cries.

Only then did Li Dao nod in satisfaction.

"Alright, stop putting on a pitiful act. Come outside with me and meet everyone."

Out in the courtyard.

Jiuer was watering the flowers with Yuanbao, though her attention remained fixed on Li Dao's closed door, utterly curious about what her young master had brought back.

The moment the door clicked open, she eagerly raised her head.

"Young Master, are those four...?"

Jiuer blinked in surprise at the sight of the four creatures, but her expression quickly melted into one of adoration. Enhanced by the precious blood, the four already-attractive animals had undergone a stunning leap in appearance, making them instantly lovable.

"I bought them when I went out today. Once I leave for the army, this white wolf cub will stay behind to keep you company and guard the house. As for this Gyrfalcon, if you miss me, you can use it to send me letters."

Originally, Li Dao had planned to leave both wolf cubs at home.

However, the black cub's aloof temperament made it ill-suited for guarding a house, so he decided to take it along to his post. Military camps didn't forbid keeping wolves, after all.

"Thank you, Young Master."

Realizing that everything was arranged with her in mind, Jiuer felt tears prick the corners of her eyes.

Li Dao reached out and ruffled the little maid's hair. With only this young girl left by his side, it would be a lie to say he didn't feel protective of her.

Suddenly remembering something, Jiuer asked, "Young Master, do they have names yet?"

"Not yet. Just like Yuanbao, you can name them."

"Thank you, Young Master."

Jiuer looked over the four youngsters, starting from the black wolf cub on the left.

"One's black and one's white, so let's just keep it simple and call them Little Black and Little White."

"As for the other two, one has deeper black and lighter white, so we'll call it Baiqian."

"The other has lighter black and deeper white, so let's call it Moqian."

"What do you think, Young Master?"

Little Black and Little White: "???"

Hearing this, Li Dao inspected the four animals. The names fit them quite well, so he nodded. "That works."

With that, he turned to the four youngsters and asked, "Did you all hear your names?"

Little Black and Little White let out half-hearted, listless whimpers.

Baiqian and Moqian, on the other hand, looked bright-eyed and spirited, clearly quite pleased with their new monikers.

...

A day later.

Outside the alley.

Li Dao led a horse by the reins, while Jiuer followed close behind, her eyes shimmering with reluctance to part.

"Go on back. You don't need to walk me any further," Li Dao said softly, glancing back.

"Young Master, I'll be waiting for you at home."

A sensible woman would never make things difficult for her man. Jiuer wiped the tear from the corner of her eye and spoke in a gentle voice.

Li Dao nodded, tucked Little Black into the pouch secured to the side of the horse's saddle, and swung himself up into the saddle.

"Hyah!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he flicked his riding crop, and the horse galloped away under Jiuer's lingering gaze.

Serving in the army came with leave anyway; it wasn't as though he was leaving forever, so there was no need for drawn-out farewells.

Before long, Li Dao arrived at the military recruitment camp in the north of the city.

By this time, a considerable crowd had already gathered there.

According to the rules of enlistment, once a recruit was assigned to a major garrison, they had choices.

If they didn't wish to make the journey on their own, they could seek out the convoy specifically heading toward their assigned camp right there at the recruitment center.

Leading his horse, Li Dao searched among the numerous convoys for the one bound for the Yellow Sand Town Garrison.

An incense stick's time later.

Li Dao furrowed his brow slightly. Along the way, he had spotted convoys for dozens of different garrisons, yet he had found no trace of one heading to Yellow Sand Town.

Perplexed, he approached a garrison guard, pulled out his reporting orders, and asked, "Brother, I'm a new recruit. Could you tell me where the convoy for the Yellow Sand Town Garrison is?"

"The Yellow Sand Town Garrison?"

The guard froze, giving Li Dao a peculiar look. "You're a new recruit assigned to the Yellow Sand Town Garrison?"

"Is there a problem?"

The guard was momentarily at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to say something, but remembering instructions the higher-ups had given them just yesterday, he abruptly stopped himself.

Instead, he said, "There is no convoy heading to the Yellow Sand Town Garrison here."

"Why is that?"
"Because it's quite remote and the terrain is treacherous."

"Really?"

"Really."

A flicker of thought crossed Li Dao's eyes as he pressed on, "Then how am I supposed to get to the Yellow Sand Town Garrison?"

"Just ride there on your own horse."

Li Dao nodded. "Understood."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Watching Li Dao walk a short distance away, the guard muttered softly to himself, "What a wretched bastard, getting assigned to the Yellow Sand Town Garrison. Wonder whose toes he stepped on."

Meanwhile.

A hundred paces away, Li Dao's ears twitched, and an unnatural expression flashed across his face.

What was so strange about the Yellow Sand Town Garrison that prompted someone to say he must have offended somebody?

He had just arrived in this place and had never crossed paths with anyone; how could he have offended a soul?

Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on it.

Regardless of what kind of place the Yellow Sand Town Garrison was, he had to report for duty. If he failed to show up without authorization and was found out, he would be branded a deserter.

However, he still had plenty of time, so it wouldn't hurt to gather some information about the place first.

Shortly after, Li Dao located the tavern waiter he had met just yesterday.

Inside a teahouse.

"Sir!"

Upon seeing him, the waiter hurried over and greeted him warmly.

"I'm looking to ask you about a place today."

"What place?"

"Have you ever heard of the Yellow Sand Town Garrison?"

The waiter chuckled at the question. "Of course I have. That's the legendary 'Troublemaker Camp,' isn't it?"

"Troublemaker Camp?"

Li Dao raised an eyebrow and tossed a small piece of silver across the table. "Tell me the details."

Catching the silver, the waiter launched into an enthusiastic explanation.

As the waiter spoke, the true nature of the Yellow Sand Town Garrison gradually crystallized in Li Dao's mind.

Dangerous!

Chaotic!

A place of slaughter!

The more he listened, the more excited Li Dao became.

Who on earth had such great taste, assigning him to a place like this?

For an ordinary soldier, a place like the Yellow Sand Town Garrison would likely be an unbearable shock to the system.

But for him? Among all the military camps in Yun Prefecture, there was no better destination than the Yellow Sand Town Garrison.

Offended someone?
Pushed into the Yellow Sand Town Garrison against his will?

No, no, no—this wasn't being wronged; this was running into a benefactor.

If he ever found out who intentionally arranged for him to be sent to the Yellow Sand Town Garrison, he'd genuinely have to thank them properly.

Had he known about the Yellow Sand Town Garrison beforehand, nobody even needed to arrange it—he would have requested it himself.

With the situation clear in his mind, Li Dao's heart was entirely at ease.

After finishing his account, the waiter couldn't help asking, "Sir, did you have a friend assigned to the Yellow Sand Town Garrison?"

Li Dao took a sip of his tea and replied flatly, "Not a friend."

"Then who?"

"Me."

"Huh?"

"I'm heading out."

Before the waiter could react, Li Dao had already turned and headed downstairs.

Moments later, the waiter looked out from the second-story window to see Li Dao riding away into the distance.

He scratched his head in utter bewilderment. By all logic, anyone assigned to a hellhole like the Yellow Sand Town Garrison should be weeping with despair. Why did his "benefactor" look so utterly impatient to get there?