Catch a Rabbit to Eat

The Xiao Family's Mercenary Group had a large number of members. Third Elder personally selected twenty men to head to the outer region of the Demonic Beast Mountain Range and hunt Demonic Beasts.

Among these twenty, there were four Dou Shi. Even the weakest of the rest were Seven-Star Dou Zhe.

After the group had been organized, six carriages slowly departed from Wutan City, bound for the Demonic Beast Mountain Range.

Xiao Shuang merely changed into a different set of clothes before setting off with the group. The carriages carried tents and food, while the remaining space was left empty for the spoils they would bring back to the Xiao Family.

The journey was one of rough meals and sleeping under the open sky, but with Third Elder, a Da Dou Shi, present, their safety rose dramatically.

As they passed through a small patch of forest, Xiao Lei's eyes lit up. He hurried to Xiao Shuang's side and said, "Young Master Xiao Shuang, how about I catch you a rabbit to eat?"

Third Elder sat in the carriage with his eyes closed. His temper had always been somewhat fiery, and the jolting journey of the past few days had made him uncomfortable. He had long wanted to rest, but with his precious grandson here, he had kept his temper well under control.

Upon hearing Xiao Lei's words, he poked his head out as well, waiting for his grandson's answer.

Seeing the old man like this, Xiao Shuang grew interested in the matter. He stood and said, "I'll go with you. We'll have a good meal tonight."

"Alright!" Xiao Lei happily went down to arrange some manpower. Before long, he returned with six men.

"Young Master Xiao Shuang, let's go. The others will set up camp here, so we shouldn't go too far."

Among these five men were one Dou Shi, two Nine-Star Dou Zhe, and three Eight-Star Dou Zhe.

With such strength, they could probably defeat some Second-Tier Demonic Beasts with ease. Catching a rabbit was rather overkill.

Xiao Shuang said nothing more and took the lead into the forest. Seeing this, Xiao Lei waved his hand, and the others surrounded Xiao Shuang in a protective formation.

"Heh heh, Young Master, just watch what us brothers can do. You won't need to lift a hand against such low-level Demonic Beasts."

Xiao Lei smiled. His senses were the sharpest among them, and he quickly discovered his first prey.

"Look, over there is a First-Tier Demonic Beast, a Tiger-tailed Leopard. It already has some intelligence and is quite cunning."

Not far from the group, a black leopard stared at them, its tail swaying behind it.

With a wave of his hand, the two Eight-Star Dou Zhe exchanged glances before moving in from the left and right to close in on the Tiger-tailed Leopard.

The Tiger-tailed Leopard also sensed their intentions and immediately prepared to retreat.

"Attack!"

The moment it showed signs of backing down, Xiao Lei drew his longsword and hurled it viciously at the Tiger-tailed Leopard.

The Tiger-tailed Leopard had just leapt aside to dodge the sword when the Eight-Star Dou Zhe on either side attacked together. Pale yellow Dou Qi gathered in their hands, forming powerful strikes.

One of the Nine-Star Dou Zhe was not idle either. He immediately drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed straight at the Tiger-tailed Leopard's heart.

With nowhere to run, the Tiger-tailed Leopard's ferocity was aroused. It let out a roar and opened its bloodied jaws toward the neck of the mercenary on its right.

The mercenary on its left seized the chance and drove his blade into the Tiger-tailed Leopard's lower jaw.

Such a life-for-life attack could naturally not succeed against a group assault. The mercenary on the right merely tilted his head to evade the attack, then stabbed his blade into the Tiger-tailed Leopard's right eye with a backhand motion.

Under their coordinated assault, the Tiger-tailed Leopard, which possessed only First-Tier strength, collapsed weakly to the ground.

One mercenary grabbed the Tiger-tailed Leopard by the tail and slung it over his shoulder. He smiled at Xiao Shuang. "Young Master, what do you think?"

"Very impressive." Xiao Shuang nodded approvingly, then drew a dagger from behind his back and began digging into the Tiger-tailed Leopard's skull.

"Heh heh, thank you for the praise, Young Master." The mercenary grinned foolishly, only for Xiao Lei to lightly punch him in the chest and scold with a laugh, "You idiot, don't get carried away in front of the Young Master!"

As they chatted, Xiao Shuang felt his dagger strike something hard. With a flick of the blade, he dug out a Demonic Core stained with blood.

"Tsk, my luck isn't bad."

"Haha, it has to be the Young Master. A First-Tier Demonic Core is worth quite a few Gold Coins!"

The group laughed, then threw the Tiger-tailed Leopard's body onto the ground and hacked it into pieces with a few strikes.

"What is this?" Xiao Shuang asked in confusion.

Xiao Lei smiled as he explained, "Didn't we say we'd catch a rabbit for Young Master to taste? This is bait for catching rabbits."

It turned out that First-Tier Demonic Beasts known as Crimson Blood Rabbits loved meat. However, these Demonic Beasts were weak and could not possibly hunt other Demonic Beasts, so they would pick up the corpses of Demonic Beasts that had died not long before to satisfy their cravings.

Crimson Blood Rabbit meat was delicious and beloved by many mercenaries.

Moreover, these Demonic Beasts bred quickly and existed in great numbers. With just a little bait, they could usually catch dozens of them.

Xiao Shuang nodded. He had never been one to meddle in matters he did not understand, so he stepped back a few paces and hid nearby with Xiao Lei.

A rustling sound arose as dozens of blood-red rabbits ran over to the Tiger-tailed Leopard's corpse and began feasting without hesitation.

"These Demonic Beasts are not very intelligent, and their bodies aren't particularly tough, so they're easy to catch."

Xiao Lei explained softly from the side, then gave the other Dou Shi a look.

The two exchanged glances and launched their attack together. Their Dou Qi directly knocked the Crimson Blood Rabbits unconscious.

"Haha, we've got them."

Xiao Lei laughed loudly, but he did not recklessly seize the rabbits. Instead, he had another mercenary draw his saber and slash through all the Crimson Blood Rabbits.

"It would be troublesome if these things woke up. Better to deal with them directly."

Xiao Lei turned and explained to Xiao Shuang. Their earlier attack could stun the Crimson Blood Rabbits, but it could not kill them.

After all, they were still First-Tier Demonic Beasts. He had not reached that level of strength.

"This rabbit meat is delicious, Young Master. Just watch my cooking skills!"

When they brought the rabbits back to camp, they found that the tents had already been set up. Third Elder was sitting in place, holding a cup of hot tea.

The bonfire had already been prepared, and large amounts of high-tier Demonic Beast droppings had been scattered around the camp. This could effectively prevent low-tier Demonic Beasts from entering their camp and causing unnecessary losses.

The mercenaries sat together happily. Aside from a few men, each held a flask of wine.

Those few were preparing to patrol the camp, so they naturally could not drink.

He tore off a rabbit leg and presented it to Xiao Shuang as though offering a treasure.

"Young Master, give it a try."

The smile on Xiao Lei's face was so honest that one could hardly bear to refuse him.

"Alright." Xiao Shuang smiled as he accepted the rabbit leg. After taking a bite, he nodded in satisfaction.

The night passed peacefully. After packing up the tents and loading the carriages once more, Xiao Shuang and the others continued on their journey.

Their next destination was the town closest to the Demonic Beast Mountain Range: Qingshan Town!