Wolf Blood

Chu Danqing's gaze was on Crippled Wolf, but he did not overlook Old Wolf either.

Old Wolf's every movement had remained within his vigilance, especially after learning that these two wolves could coordinate with a cunning worthy of the word "devious."

In his eyes, Old Wolf posed a far greater threat than Crippled Wolf.

The injury to Old Wolf's left hind leg made its pounce wholly unworthy of the word "ferocious"; instead, it looked exceedingly awkward.

But Old Wolf was a beast after all—an experienced old beast at that. It snapped viciously at Chu Danqing's hand, seemingly intending to disarm him first.

Unfortunately, a beast was still a beast, and it had been driven red-eyed by hunger.

It did not understand that an inch longer meant an inch stronger.

The rusty tines of the pitchfork pierced through Old Wolf's chest and abdomen as it lunged upward.

Already scrawny, Old Wolf was flipped over by Chu Danqing's fork, then pinned firmly to the ground.

Pain made Old Wolf bare its fangs and contort its face. Limbs flailing in all directions, it tried to wrench itself free of the pitchfork.

Wolf Blood seeped out beneath its fur, and together with Old Wolf's appearance, it made for a particularly savage sight.

Two choices surfaced in Chu Danqing's mind.

The first was to use the Type One Summoning Contract Scroll on Old Wolf.

Given the current gap between their attributes, he could absolutely obtain a cunning summon.

But the instant that choice appeared, he rejected it. If it had been a wolf pup, he might have been able to tame it and slowly raise its loyalty.

More importantly, this Old Wolf had eaten people. Keeping it at his side would only leave behind a hidden danger. Better to kill it outright!

Having made his choice, Chu Danqing did not hesitate. He planted a foot on Old Wolf's abdomen and used the force to wrench the pitchfork free.

Blood erupted in an instant, splattering onto Chu Danqing's clothes.

Chu Danqing paid it no mind. Gripping the pitchfork with both hands, he used every ounce of strength he had to repeatedly stab Old Wolf in the neck.

Not until Old Wolf's neck was a bloody mess and it no longer moved.

"Whew..." Chu Danqing let out a long breath, his gaze falling on Crippled Wolf, which was struggling to crawl away.

Crippled Wolf sensed Chu Danqing's gaze as well. To avoid dying at his hands like Old Wolf, it frantically scraped at the ground with its remaining forepaw, trying to flee with all its might.

He rushed over with the pitchfork and killed it in short order.

Crippled Wolf was not within the scope of his contract either. Its impaired mobility was a fatal weakness.

"Taken care of," Chu Danqing said quietly. The hand gripping his pitchfork trembled slightly—not from fear, but excitement.

He did not have any twisted mentality. He was just an ordinary person; he had not even dared kill chickens, much less lay hands on cats or dogs.

His excitement came from the stimulating rush of heightened nerves.

"And then... a treasure chest?" Leaning against the pitchfork, Chu Danqing saw a wooden treasure chest floating above Crippled Wolf's body.

He reached out to touch it, and a prompt from Dimension Paradise appeared in an instant.

You obtained: Treasure Chest (Common Grade)

You may choose to open it or store it in your Storage Space.

"Such an easy difficulty, and a reward you can get right at the start as long as you have enough guts."

"Is this really normal difficulty?" Chu Danqing knew very little about Dimension Paradise.

He did not know whether Dimension Paradise was being generous, or whether the trial for reserves was simply this easy.

He first surveyed the surroundings. Finding no other figures or traces, he chose to open it directly.

You opened: Treasure Chest (Common Grade). Obtained: Wolf Blood, Paradise Points ×100

A portion of foul-smelling blood held in a Wolf-type bone container fell into Chu Danqing's hand.

As for the Paradise Points, they became a number on his panel, marked as the universal currency used within Dimension Paradise.

Chu Danqing ignored them for the moment. He had no use for them right now.

Instead, this Wolf Blood had corresponding attribute effects.

Wolf Blood

Type: Consumable

Quality: Common

Effect: After fully consuming it, restores 50% of Health at an extremely slow rate.

Simple and unadorned—drink it, and it restored Health. In Chu Danqing's eyes, aside from the words "extremely slow," it had no flaws.

He stored it directly in his Storage Space.

It was a fine life-saving item, as though Dimension Paradise feared that reserves might die.

"Perhaps it'll be a good boss?" Chu Danqing could not help joking to himself.

If Dimension Paradise's generosity did not change, then the atmosphere and pressure among the apostles within Paradise might not be as severe as he had imagined.

He suppressed the unnecessary speculation for now, then got up and carried both wolves.

He planned to take them to Xianghua Village. They should bring him a few pleasant surprises.

At worst, there was still some meat. Whether to build goodwill or trade for supplies, it could be useful.

Throwing them away would be a waste for nothing.

But just as he was preparing to leave, something suddenly occurred to him.

Crippled Wolf had been hiding in the haystack. Could there be some sort of gain inside?

"Fragments of the people," a phrase suddenly surfaced in Chu Danqing's mind.

Since he was already here, if there really were remains, it would not hurt to help gather them up.

He was not afraid of bones or hides. After all, he had dealt with quite a few animals.

Once in a while, he would indeed find human bones mixed among animal bones.

Inside the haystack, Chu Danqing found a mutilated skeleton, stripped of every scrap of flesh.

The bones were covered in bite marks. Based on his assessment, the person had been dead for at least seven or eight days.

Crippled Wolf had relied on it to survive until now.

"Pitiful." Chu Danqing sighed. The child was not very old, perhaps only a little over ten.

He simply gathered up the remains, and the sky gradually darkened.

"I don't know which family you belonged to. I'll ask around for you once I get to Xianghua Village." Chu Danqing collected the scraps of cloth and other scattered bits from the area; they would make identification easier later.

As for whether it might cause certain problems, he was neither an extreme saint nor cold-blooded. He did what he felt was right.

Do good deeds, and ask not what lies ahead.

So long as it was something he could help with in passing and did not endanger himself—those were his two conditions—he did not mind lending a hand.

Once he was done, wolf corpses rested on his shoulders, while his waist was wrapped in bulging bundles, making him look somewhat bloated.

Fortunately, it did not affect him much.

Yet as he rose, a sudden rustling sound came from behind him.

Chu Danqing immediately tensed up, spun around with the pitchfork in hand, and faced the source.

He saw a burly man whose features were obscured by the poor light, but Chu Danqing spotted the dagger in his hand at once.

"Who are you?!" Without a moment's hesitation, he seized the initiative and raised his pitchfork in guard.