Honey Badger

"Alright, since Brother Lin has already arranged a place to stay, I won't linger any longer. Remember to gather there after noon. Also..."

Zhang Ding leaned closer to Lin Sheng, lowering his voice as he spoke slowly.

"Brother Lin, you should be more careful around Ma Qiang from now on. Though he has yet to enter the Body Tempering realm, he is close. He has always been arrogantly proud, and now that he suffered such a crushing defeat at your hands, with his petty and narrow-minded nature, he will likely bear a grudge against you.

"Though he himself is nothing much, he has a capable elder brother behind him—the captain of Beast Hunter Hall's Third Squad. His strength has reached the initial stage of the Muscle Forging realm, and he is even slightly stronger than Captain Wang. Of course, Brother Lin, there is no need to worry too much. This is Beast Hunter Hall. He neither will nor dares to truly do anything to you. Just be careful."

After offering a few reminders, Zhang Ding turned and left, leaving only Lin Sheng standing there, lost in thought.

"Ma Qiang..."

Only after a long while did he raise his head, gently chewing over the name, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face.

"Hah, before I've even properly started, I've gotten myself into more trouble. Why are there so many good elder brothers in this world..."

He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head slightly.

Back in the county town, Liu Ergou had a good elder brother in the Muscle Forging realm. Now, in Beast Hunter Hall, there was another good elder brother in the Muscle Forging realm.

Thinking back on the previous owner's ten-odd years of life, it seemed he had not caused as much trouble as Lin Sheng had in these past three months.

Yet when he thought about it carefully, how many of these troubles had he ever wished to provoke?

He merely wanted to live well, to steadily and safely grow stronger. How had so much trouble come knocking at his door?

"Cultivation is all about contention. Unless one is willing to bow one's head and play the lesser man, letting others knead and pinch them as they please, trouble is unavoidable..."

Lin Sheng murmured softly.

"Even if I don't go looking for trouble, trouble will eventually come looking for me. Since it can't be avoided, I can only solve it..."

Though Zhang Ding had said before leaving that, within Beast Hunter Hall, even if the other party bore resentment toward him, he would not do anything.

But what about outside Beast Hunter Hall?

He had never been someone who believed in goodness or human nature. On the contrary, in a world like this, no amount of caution was excessive.

"Hah... Looks like I need to increase my strength as soon as possible. Then, even if they truly have some little schemes in mind, I'll be able to handle them."

Shaking his head, he cast aside the jumble of thoughts in his mind, adjusted his state of mind, and prepared for the afternoon's official trip into the mountains.

From Zhang Ding, he had already gained a certain understanding of Beast Hunter Hall.

Beast Hunter Hall had fewer than two hundred members in total, divided into nine squads.

Each squad had roughly twenty to thirty people. Their captains were all experts who had entered the Muscle Forging realm. Among the remaining members, there were at least five Body Tempering martial artists, while the rest were quasi-martial artists who had learned the basics of the Raging Bull Fist.

Above the nine squads were one chief hall master and two deputy hall masters, all genuine experts at the major accomplishment stage of the Muscle Forging realm. Tian Hu was one of the two deputy hall masters. That was the structure of Beast Hunter Hall's strength.

After casually eating lunch outside, it was nearly noon. Lin Sheng then headed toward the gathering point.

Quite a few people had already arrived at the gathering point. Zhang Ding was among them, standing at the front of the group with five men. Clearly, the six of them were the Body Tempering martial artists of the Ninth Squad.

After nodding to them, Lin Sheng consciously moved to the back of the group.

Before long, more people filed in. Ma Qiang also sauntered in, clutching his jaw. When he spotted Lin Sheng in the group, his expression immediately darkened. In the end, he merely shot him two cold looks before standing off to one side.

After waiting a little longer, Wang Sanyang's solid, sturdy figure strode in with the imposing air of a man seated firmly upon a horse.

His gaze swept across the crowd before he spoke.

"Since everyone is here, I'll explain this mission. Our target this time is a group of honey badgers. According to the intelligence, there should be around twenty of them..."

Wang Sanyang explained the mission's details to everyone. When those below heard the name honey badger, their expressions all relaxed somewhat.

"Honey badger? What is that?"

Lin Sheng was rather bewildered. This was his first time hearing that name. Judging from everyone's reactions, however, it was probably not anything formidable. This mission likely would not be too difficult.

"Alright, it's getting late. Prepare to set out."

Not long after, Wang Sanyang finished his instructions and turned to leave, with the others following behind him.

Yangping Mountain.

Creak. Standard-issue ancient black riding boots stepped onto the ground, and scattered rotten branches snapped at once, letting out faint, crisp cracks.

"I didn't expect this mission to involve honey badgers. Brother Lin, it's your first time up the mountain, and your luck is quite good."

Zhang Ding walked at the front with a relaxed expression. Behind him were Bai Lu and three other hunters.

The others were also spread out nearby in groups of five.

"Brother Zhang, what kind of beast is this honey badger?"

Lin Sheng seized the moment to ask the question in his heart.

After all, he still had no idea what a honey badger actually was. Now that they were already in the mountains, he naturally needed to learn more.

"You don't know about honey badgers?"

Zhang Ding was first taken aback, but he quickly understood. Slapping his forehead, he laughed and said,

"I forgot. Brother Lin, you worked in the slaughterhouse before. The slaughterhouse only had domesticated livestock like rock sheep and hairless pigs. It's only normal that you wouldn't know about this thing."

"A honey badger is a somewhat unusual kind of badger. It is slightly smaller than a rock sheep, with two horns growing from its head. It is rather fast and quite timid, so it is not especially threatening. It is easier to deal with than most ferocious beasts in the mountains. But its value is much higher than that of rock sheep. The smooth, soft fur covering its body is excellent material for winter clothing for the young ladies of wealthy city households. A complete badger hide sells for around fifteen taels of silver."

"Fifteen taels of silver!?"

Hearing that figure, Lin Sheng could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

The hide of just one honey badger was worth more than a year's wages for skinning at the slaughterhouse.

The value of the beasts in Yangping Mountain truly exceeded imagination.

Seemingly noticing the surprise on Lin Sheng's face, Zhang Ding smiled and continued.

"What, that already startled you? Brother Lin, do you know why our Town Mountain Tower can become one of the few major powers in Lin'an County?"

Seeing that Zhang Ding deliberately wanted to keep him in suspense, Lin Sheng readily played along.

"Could it be because of Yangping Mountain!?"

"That's right! Yangping Mountain is an extremely crucial factor." Zhang Ding seemed to enjoy this feeling of lecturing others. Added to his naturally chatty personality, he kept talking nonstop as they walked.

The three older men behind them, however, wore expressions of complete familiarity, clearly having seen this more than once or twice.

"Our Town Mountain Tower's Old Master Ouyang not only possesses outstanding strength, but also exceptionally keen vision. Fifty years ago, he spent a great sum to bring the operating rights of Yangping Mountain under Town Mountain Tower."

"Yangping Mountain is filled with strange beasts. These honey badgers are merely ordinary livestock among them. More than half a year ago, Beast Hunter Hall's three hall masters set out together and captured a Red-bellied Spirit Snake in the mountains. That was a genuine spirit beast, and it caused quite a stir even in the county town."