The Hunter and the Prey

In the dim and damp mountain cave, two pairs of glowing green eyes flickered incessantly.

The chilling sound of chewing and the drip of blood were exceptionally clear in the silent night.

Suddenly, the chewing stopped, and the green eyes snapped around, fixing on the cave entrance.

A moment later, the dim cave was illuminated by firelight, and two sets of footsteps echoed.

The light from the torch in his hand revealed the cave's interior in its entirety.

A wolf demon, with a wolf's head and a human's body, covered in thick fur, glared at them menacingly.

"Human... Martial Artist..."

The wolf demon spoke in a low voice, slowly straightening its body.

Its frame was tall, and its dense fur couldn't conceal its sharply defined muscles, while a pair of curved wolf legs were thick and powerful.

It certainly didn't look injured.

Sun Zhi's expression was grim, and a knot of tension tightened in his chest.

The intimidating aura emanating from the wolf demon before him was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"I thought it was those guys coming to find me. I didn't expect..." The wolf demon extended its long tongue, licking the blood from the corner of its mouth. The displeasure of being interrupted during its meal dissipated, and it spoke with a hint of excitement, "Food has actually come to my doorstep."

"Demonic creature! Sun Zhi of Qiulin County is here! If you surrender obediently, we can give you a quick end. Otherwise..."

Sun Zhi mustered his courage, remembering that Shen Lin, a master of swordsmanship, was beside him. His fear lessened considerably, and he brandished his saber, shouting sternly.

"Sun Zhi? Never heard of him! What if I don't listen to you?" The wolf demon's eyes held a hint of mockery as it spoke softly, "Are you going to cause trouble inside my belly?"

As the words fell, its thick wolf legs suddenly bulged, and a massive dark shadow shot out.

"Care..."

The wolf demon's speed was astonishing. It covered more than ten paces in the blink of an eye, appearing before Sun Zhi.

Before he could even utter a warning, he saw a dark wolf claw reaching for him and quickly drew his saber to defend himself.

His horizontal slash struck the wolf's claw but was instantly deflected. The wolf claw, its momentum undiminished, continued its trajectory straight towards Sun Zhi's heart.

Fortunately, Sun Zhi had experienced numerous life-or-death struggles. He reacted instantly, dodging to the side.

Before he could even sigh in relief, a dark shadow suddenly whistled through the air and struck him squarely in the chest.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, Sun Zhi's body flew backward, slamming hard against the stone wall.

"Gah!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale. He exclaimed in disbelief, "You weren't injured... This is... Meridian Opening Realm?!"

The wolf demon's sudden burst of speed had made him realize something was wrong.

And this tail whip that heavily injured him confirmed his suspicion.

If the wolf demon were merely at the Martial Artist realm, he wouldn't have been so easily overwhelmed.

With his physical resilience, he could withstand a blow from an ordinary Martial Artist.

"The information someone gave you is incorrect, isn't it?"

The wolf demon's eyes glinted with cunning, and it said with schadenfreude, "Do you think I don't know about the deals that old fox makes in secret? Why do you think, out of so many choices, I specifically went to his territory to buy medicine?"

He had been tricked!

Sun Zhi's heart sank. He realized that the roles of hunter and prey had reversed this time.

This creature had used itself as bait, specifically to lure Martial Artists like him.

It moved with agility, showing no signs of any injuries.

He just didn't know if that old fox from the Bai family had seen through it...

But even if he had, it wouldn't matter to him now.

Just as Sun Zhi was mocking himself and preparing to accept his fate, a voice suddenly cut through the air.

"Hey, big black dog! You're not the only one in this cave, are you?"

The wolf demon and Sun Zhi had exchanged blows, but Shen Lin had remained completely still, squatting to the side. After observing the ground, he suddenly spoke.

"What?"

The wolf demon paused, seemingly not registering Shen Lin's insulting address.

Then, it flew into a rage, abandoning Sun Zhi entirely and charging directly at Shen Lin.

Seeing this, Sun Zhi's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

He couldn't bring himself to use himself as bait to tell Shen Lin to escape quickly.

Instead, seeing Shen Lin charging to his own doom, which gave him a chance to catch his breath, he felt a surge of relief.

As for the possibility of Shen Lin winning, he had never even considered it.

After all, that was a demonic creature in the Meridian Opening Realm, with abundant demonic power that no ordinary Martial Artist could...

Before his thoughts could fully settle, the next scene unfolding caused him to instinctively widen his eyes, a look of disbelief plastered on his face.

"Roar!"

The Wolf Demon roared and swiped its claw down, seemingly intending to smash Shen Lin's head into pulp.

But in the next moment, Shen Lin's sword remained sheathed; he simply slowly extended his hand and directly grabbed the Wolf Demon's claw.

His slender, fair arm firmly grasped the wolf's claw, which was twice as thick as his arm, like an iron clamp, rendering the Wolf Demon completely immobile.

"I said..." Shen Lin said with a hint of impatience, "You have accomplices, don't you?"

The Wolf Demon didn't reply, as it was currently staring dumbfoundedly at its own claw, its expression bewildered.

Seeing this, Shen Lin stopped wasting words and lifted his foot, kicking out forcefully.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the Wolf Demon's body was sent airborne by the intense impact. However, because Shen Lin was still holding its claw, it couldn't fly away.

But with that kick, its body instantly went limp.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh..."

The ferocious wolf mouth opened, drool continuously dripping down. Its pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, as if its consciousness had already fallen into a coma.

Shen Lin muttered with some dissatisfaction, "What a hassle!"

Then, still holding the wolf's claw, he swung his arm and tossed it away.

Boom!

Stones flew everywhere as the massive wolf's body slammed hard against the stone wall. The intense pain jolted it back to consciousness, causing it to howl incessantly.

Shen Lin walked over slowly, stepping on the wolf's claw and saying softly, "I was asking you a question!"

Crack!

With a crisp sound, Shen Lin directly crushed its wolf claw, pale bone fragments piercing through the thick fur.

"Rooooar!!!"

The Wolf Demon roared madly, struggling with all its might.

But even with all its efforts, it couldn't break free.

Shen Lin's seemingly frail body was currently suppressing it firmly.

With another crack!, Shen Lin's sheathed long saber gently fell, shattering its knee. The bone-chilling pain struck again.

"I... was... asking... you... a ques-tion!!!"

Shen Lin spoke slowly, and with each word he uttered, he broke a bone somewhere on the demon.

"Aaaah, that's... that's my brother, he was... he was already killed by those people!"

The Wolf Demon understood that if it didn't answer, this pain would continue.

Therefore, despite the unbearable pain wracking its body, it forced itself to concentrate and answer Shen Lin's question.

"Who were those people?"

"Demonic creatures from Black Wind Stronghold! The leader is the fifth boss of Black Wind Stronghold, Xiong Ze!!!"

"Do you know their location?"

"They... they are usually at Black Wind Stronghold... Black Wind Stronghold is at..."

Under the torment of the pain, the Wolf Demon answered almost every question.

After questioning for a while, Shen Lin obtained all the clues he needed.

"Kill me! Kill me!"

The Wolf Demon, realizing Shen Lin had stopped asking questions, wailed incessantly.

Shen Lin simply turned and walked away, offering no response.

With such severe injuries, it would soon bleed to death, negating the need to dirty his long saber.