White Deer

At last, he no longer had to set out on foot. Riding a horse not only saved strength, but was much faster as well.

When the White Swan Horse ran at full speed, Chen Sanshi felt as though its hooves never touched the ground, as if he were flying through the sky.

They had to be covering a thousand li a day, right?

Before he could even estimate the time, they had already reached Yanbian Village. He called Zhao Qiao along and tied the horse in front of his house.

The mountain forests were rugged and filled with wild beasts, so naturally they could not ride horses up the mountain.

The group arrived by the stream.

"Uncle Zhao, how about we cross the river with Stone?"

Wu Da finally could not endure it any longer. "This mountain doesn't belong to them. Why should they stop us from going?"

"Uncle, I think it'll work too."

Scratching his head, Zhuang Yi said, "If we follow Brother Chen, they definitely won't dare do anything to us."

"No!"

Zhao Qiao was firm. "You're not allowed to cause trouble for Stone."

He shoved the two away.

Chen Sanshi did not interrupt.

It was not that he feared trouble.

Face-to-face, the martial arts school people indeed would not dare do anything to Zhao Qiao and the others.

But what about after they parted ways?

Chen Sanshi needed to train and fight in wars. He could not possibly spend all his time protecting them.

Unless he could truly make the martial arts school people fear him from the bottom of their bones.

Clearly, it was not yet time for that.

After parting with the group,

Chen Sanshi headed straight into the depths of North Mountain.

He did not stop even when he encountered prey along the way. He went all the way to the mountaintop, where he stood high above and surveyed the surrounding peaks.

One mountain, crimson from top to bottom, was particularly eye-catching.

The mountain was covered in maple trees, like a vast ocean of fire.

Generally speaking, deer ought to prefer living in lush forests with abundant food.

But exotic beasts were called exotic not only because of their unusual bloodlines; their requirements for their habitat could also be different.

Since he had turned several green mountains upside down without finding anything, he might as well give it a try.

The two mountains were not far apart, perhaps a dozen or so li.

As Chen Sanshi approached Maple Mountain, he discovered quite a few people from Tailei Martial Arts School nearby.

Among them was Wei Xu, whom he recognized, as well as several others who appeared to hold higher status.

This group had gathered here, so they must have discovered something. It meant he had not come to the wrong place.

Sure enough, once he got closer, he heard their discussion.

"Yesterday afternoon, right on the mountainside, Fifth Master almost caught the White Deer!"

"But that beast's hearing is astonishing. From dozens of zhang away, it sensed someone approaching. It jumped several meters high and vanished in the blink of an eye."

"But it has to still be on this mountain."

"Fifth Master said we don't need to catch it ourselves. As long as we help find its approximate location, we'll be richly rewarded."

"..."

Even though they kept their voices low, Chen Sanshi heard every word with perfect clarity.

It could leap several meters high?

No wonder White Deer sinew could be used to make heavy bows.

Since it had appeared, it would definitely have left traces behind.

No matter how tiny the trace, he could find it.

He immediately had a target and hurried toward the mountainside.

"Why is he here too?"

When Wei Xu spotted the armored youth, his heart could not help tightening. "Senior Brother, he's the one I told you about last time—the one who hunted a Great Worm to death alone and even shot me with an arrow. Damn it, what if he finds the White Deer before us?"

"Then what are you standing around for? Hurry up and search! Our towering wealth all depends on the White Deer!"

No joke—if they truly cured the old master's injury, even being given a single shop would mean they would not have to worry for the rest of their lives.

On the mountainside,

the dense maple forest was carpeted with blazing red fallen leaves.

Several arrows were embedded in the ground, clearly evidence of a failed hunt not long ago.

Chen Sanshi crouched down and searched inch by inch around the arrows.

Soon, he found a strand of snow-white fur on a red maple leaf.

Ordinary deer fur was rather stiff, as thick as needles.

But White Deer fur was soft as cotton, even finer than down.

Every thirty paces or so, several strands of such fur appeared.

He passed through several stretches of forest in succession, tracking from the mountainside to the other side of the peak, until the path before him ended and all that remained was a cliff.

Chen Sanshi lay at the edge of the precipice and looked down.

The cliff was not deep, around forty or fifty meters.

Fortunately, there were enough footholds. Relying on his body-light-as-a-swallow ability, he climbed down the cliff like a nimble ape, making quick work of it.

At the bottom of the cliff, everything changed from fiery red back to the deep green proper to a forest. Birds and beasts filled the surroundings, while flowers, grasses, and trees came in countless varieties. It was brimming with life, with all things bursting forth.

This was more like somewhere the White Deer would live.

Chen Sanshi opened the Sandalwood Box he had brought. Inside lay a glossy black lingzhi, shaped like a cloud.

A breeze drifted past, carrying a peculiar fragrance. Just one breath of it made him feel refreshed and clear-headed.

It truly was good stuff.

He placed the precious lingzhi in an open space, then lay in ambush in the woods ten zhang away. He had already nocked an arrow and drawn the bowstring to its limit.

Keeping the Two-stone bow fully drawn was an enormous drain on an ordinary person's stamina.

Chen Sanshi did this because he knew the White Deer could "hear in all eight directions." It was very likely capable of hearing the sound of a drawn bowstring. The Tailei Martial Arts School people had probably failed because it sensed them in advance.

Combined with his breath-concealing and body-hiding technique, his entire body seemed to blend completely into the forest.

At one point, birds even landed on his shoulder to rest, utterly treating him as a piece of wood.

He did not have to wait long.

About ten minutes later, a snow-white, nimble figure silently emerged from the cliff. It did not even need footholds, racing along the nearly vertical cliff face!

So it lived in some cave halfway up the cliff. No wonder no one could find it despite searching all over the mountains.

The White Deer was clearly here for the precious lingzhi.

It was initially very fast, but as it drew close, it gradually became wary.

It practically stopped at every step, but no matter how cautious it was, it ultimately failed to discover the danger lurking in the shadows.

Whoosh—

Just as the precious lingzhi was about to reach its mouth, the White Deer sensed something amiss. Yet in an instant, it leaped more than three meters straight upward.

Unfortunately, before it could leap, the Wolf-fang arrow got there first and pierced through its skull.

Thud—

The White Deer died in midair, and by the time it hit the ground, it was already a corpse.

"Such fast reactions."

If Chen Sanshi had not drawn the bowstring in advance, he might not have hit it.

After crossing mountains and ridges several times, he had finally gotten it.

The resources brought by one White Deer were enough to sustain him until he was close to Bone Tempering, saving him a great deal of time.

It was just that he might encounter trouble on the way down the mountain.

Carrying the White Deer down the mountain was no different from carrying gold bricks through a crowded market.

At first, only one or two martial arts school disciples followed from afar.

Very soon, like jackals that had caught the scent of blood, they gathered in greater and greater numbers. More than twenty people followed close behind him.

Unfortunately, Chen Sanshi was not some child.

Even with gold bricks right before their eyes, no one dared act rashly.

"Even Fifth Master couldn't do it!"

Wei Xu stared at the hole in the exotic beast's head. "How did he shoot the deer?!"

"Stop him first!"

Senior Brother Huang Tao spoke as he stepped forward.

"Senior Brother, be careful."

Wei Xu tried to dissuade him. "This man is narrow-minded and exceptionally bloodthirsty."

"Afraid of what? Didn't you say he's just a Squad Leader? I've already achieved Great Accomplishment in Blood Refining. Do I need to fear him?"

Huang Tao shook off the junior brother clutching his arm and rushed forward to block the way.

Chen Sanshi remained expressionless, knowingly asking, "Something wrong?"

"Brother."

Huang Tao clasped his fists in salute. "We plan to pool our money and buy the White Deer. We'll pay market price and make sure you don't suffer a loss. What do you say?"

"Not for sale."

Chen Sanshi spoke and moved to go around him.

"Stop!"

Huang Tao's tone grew heavier. "If you refuse to give us face today, don't even think of leaving. I advise you—"

Before he could finish, a cold flash suddenly swept past his face.

With a plop, something seemed to fall to the ground.

After two stunned seconds, searing pain struck. Huang Tao clutched his endlessly bleeding cheek and howled, "My ear, my ear!!!"

"Are you still buying?"

Chen Sanshi withdrew the Reed Leaf Spear and spoke one word at a time.

Because his thrust had been too fast, not even a drop of blood stained the spear tip.

"Madman, you madman!"

The martial arts school disciples were horrified. "Our senior brother didn't even do anything to you! Why did you attack and injure someone?!"

Didn't do anything to me?

Chen Sanshi sneered inwardly.

They had reservations, not because they did not want to!

This ear had not been cut off in vain.

"I'll kill you!"

Huang Tao flew into a rage. His Great Accomplishment-level blood and qi, coursing through his whole body, erupted in an instant. Enduring the pain, he drew a longsword and prepared to slash at the youth's face.

"Stop!"

At the critical moment, a sharp shout sounded.

A man around forty rushed over and blocked Huang Tao's path.

"Fifth Master!"

The Tailei Martial Arts School disciples immediately gathered around him as though they had found their backbone.

"Fifth Master, you came at just the right time."

"This brat..."

"..."

"You must be Officer Chen Sanshi of the Vanguard Banner, I presume?"

Ignoring the overlapping accusations, Fifth Master Song instead praised him. "Fine spearwork, fine courage! Surrounded by so many people, yet you still dared to strike first."

"Young Master Fifth should have seen that your people tried to force a purchase first. I was merely defending myself."

Chen Sanshi could tell that this man was most likely the fifth son of the Tailei school master.

"They were in the wrong and deserved to be put in their place."

Song Lao Wu said gravely, "However, Officer Chen, you may have heard that my father is injured and needs an exotic beast to treat his wounds. Would you be willing to sell me the deer's heart? I am willing to pay silver far above market price."

"Not for sale."

Chen Sanshi refused directly.

He had asked the medical officer about it.

The White Deer's heart was the most beneficial part for cultivation.

It was something with a market price but no available supply.

No matter how much silver was offered, it would be difficult to catch a second deer in a short time.

He still needed to use this opportunity to hurry and achieve Great Accomplishment in Blood Refining, then prepare for Bone Tempering. How could he possibly give it to someone else?

There was no need to worry that the other party would make trouble.

If they truly wanted to act, they would have robbed him long ago. Why waste so many words?

"Farewell!"

With that, Chen Sanshi carried the White Deer away.

Fifth Master Song stood where he was, watching without stopping him.

"Fifth Master!"

Huang Tao could not believe it. "Why did you stop me? You should have let me teach that brat a proper lesson."

"Idiot, I saved your life!"

Fifth Master Song spat. "He cut off your ear and you still couldn't react. How many exchanges do you think you could have lasted?"

"He... he's just a Squad Leader, isn't he?"

Huang Tao finally began to feel a lingering dread.

The highest a Squad Leader could reach was Minor Accomplishment in Blood Refining. He had reached Great Accomplishment!

"Trash!"

Fifth Master Song roared, "Several dozen men, all of you are good for nothing!

"You searched for a whole month and didn't even touch the White Deer's backside. Yet he went up the mountain and caught it right away. Trash, all of you are trash!

"Pick up your ear! I said pick up your ear!"

"This is damn suffocating!"

On the way down the mountain, Chen Sanshi felt stifled and frustrated.

The reason he had not taken the martial arts school disciples' lives was that he had long noticed Song Lao Wu watching from not far away.

That fellow was in the Bone Forging realm!

On the surface, he had not suffered any loss on this trip.

But that was only because the other side was wary of his status.

In the end, they feared Xiang Tingchun, feared the Governor's Mansion, and even feared Wang Zhi—but they did not fear him alone.

Besides.

The realm belonged to the people. Why should he have to watch their expressions just to hunt?!

Closed-door cultivation!

Only his own strength was the foundation of everything.

These people from the martial arts school were like wolves, trailing behind him all day and making Chen Sanshi uncomfortable from head to toe.

If this happened again, he would make the martial arts school's people bleed into a river!