Scaled Beast—Yin Lin

Lin Ming followed Shi Shanshan forward. When they reached a pile of boulders, Shi Shanshan said, "I found a cave beneath here. We'll stay here tonight and head to the Scaled Beast's vicinity tomorrow." With that, she walked inside.

Lin Ming followed her in and looked around the cave, which was about ten square meters in size. He found a spot and Sat Down. Then he asked Shi Shanshan, "Who discovered the Scaled Beast?"

Shi Shanshan was somewhat surprised by Lin Ming's question. She had thought he did not like talking. Still, she replied, "The Pei Family Mercenary Group discovered it."

"Oh? Then how did you find out?" Lin Ming asked again. He had already seen that Shi Shanshan was only a Five-Star Dou Zhe. Though her talent was not bad and she should have met Jia Nan Academy's standard of reaching the eighth stage of Dou Qi before eighteen, she was probably the most talented person in Stone Horse Town. However, it would not have been easy for a Five-Star Dou Zhe to eavesdrop on information among a group of Dou Zhes.

Shi Shanshan seemed to blush at Lin Ming's question. Or perhaps it was just the lighting, Lin Ming thought. After a long while, he finally heard Shi Shanshan say, "I overheard Pei Lang and the others talking at Chunxiang Brothel. I was discovered while following them."

Lin Ming was instantly speechless. Chunxiang Brothel was a brothel, yet she, a woman, had gone there to eavesdrop on people. The world really was full of all kinds of strange people.

Nothing happened for the rest of the night. Lin Ming began cultivating and did not ask any more questions, while Shi Shanshan did not disturb him. Just like that, the night passed.

After waking in the morning and eating breakfast separately, Shi Shanshan led Lin Ming toward the Scaled Beast's vicinity. Half a day later, they arrived at a mountaintop. Shi Shanshan said to Lin Ming, "Big Brother Lin, the Scaled Beast is in that valley. We can't get any closer now, or the Pei Family Mercenary Group will notice us."

Lin Ming looked toward the valley ahead. The straight-line distance was around four kilometers, but walking there would take at least ten. However, Lin Ming could cover that distance in less than half an hour. He could simply wait until the Pei Family Mercenary Group made its move before setting off. He was not the one leading the charge, so there was no need to hurry. Once the Pei Family Mercenary Group obtained the Scaled Beast cub, Lin Ming could just take it from them. After all, raising a Scaled Beast was no small expense. As such a kind-hearted person, he would help the Pei Family Mercenary Group save that cost. Surely they would thank him when the time came.

"Fine. We'll wait here," Lin Ming said to Shi Shanshan. They needed a form of address while traveling, so Lin Ming told Shi Shanshan that his surname was Lin and that she could call him Big Brother Lin. The face he had disguised himself with looked twenty-four or twenty-five, a few years older than Shi Shanshan, so there was nothing wrong with it.

They waited there for an entire day, but there was still no movement even by the following evening. Lin Ming looked at Shi Shanshan and asked, "Are you sure it's here? And today?"

By this point, Shi Shanshan was no longer entirely certain herself, but she still said, "This is the place I overheard, and the time was today. Unless they had discovered me long ago and deliberately fed me false information. But if they had noticed me that early, they would not have mentioned the Scaled Beast."

There was nothing else to do, so Lin Ming could only keep waiting. Near midnight, movement finally appeared. Torches moved in the distance, and there were quite a few of them. Upon seeing this, Lin Ming headed toward the firelight. Before leaving, however, he said, "Don't come with me. If things get chaotic, I won't be able to protect you. Either leave now and go back, or return to the boulder pile. I'll go there after I succeed." With that, Lin Ming rushed off at top speed.

"Big Brother Lin, I'll wait for you at the boulder pile," Shi Shanshan called after him, then headed toward the rocks.

Lin Ming arrived above the valley and looked down at the people from the Pei Family Mercenary Group. One of them said to four others, "You four, enter the cave and lure out the Scaled Beast."

The four wanted to resist, but one glare from that man made them tremble as they walked into the cave. Before long, screams rang out. One person ran out—it was Captain Chen, the man who had been addressed that way before. Behind him followed a Magical Beast covered in scales, about the size of a cow. Judging by its appearance, it was the Scaled Beast. However, its aura was only that of a peak second-tier Magical Beast, and bloodstains trailed behind it.

"Make a Move! Cast the nets and trap it!" the man shouted. One net after another flew toward the Scaled Beast. The first few nets were torn apart by the beast, but there were too many; they fell like rain and soon covered it.

"Throw the ropes! Tie up this beast's limbs and head!" the man ordered again. Lin Ming now guessed that this man was Pei Xiong, the commander of the Pei Family Mercenary Group. As Pei Xiong finished speaking, several people threw ropes toward the Scaled Beast's limbs and head. Covered by the nets and still unable to break free, the Scaled Beast had no way to dodge and was directly ensnared.

"Pull with all your strength. Second Son, go inside and find the little Scaled Beast." Pei Xiong spoke to those holding the ropes, then turned to the person beside him. That person was presumably Pei Feng, the second commander of the Pei Family Mercenary Group.

The Scaled Beast was being pulled with all their strength, but although its strength had greatly declined, it was still a peak second-tier Magical Beast, equivalent to a Nine-Star Dou Master. These injuries posed no Fatal Threat to it. Meanwhile, the man beside Pei Xiong whom he called Second Son flashed into the cave.

Seeing someone enter the cave, the Scaled Beast went berserk. It flung away the rope around its head along with the person pulling it.

"Send more people to hold it down. The rest of you, attack with me!" Pei Xiong ordered, then charged forward with a large saber in hand.

"Big Brother, I got it! There's only one!" Pei Feng emerged from the cave and called to Pei Xiong.

Seeing its cub in a human's hands, the Scaled Beast fought back even more frantically. It had already broken free from two ropes.

"You take the little Scaled Beast and leave first. The rest of you, hold it back. Whoever can kill this adult Scaled Beast will receive ten Gold Coins!" Pei Xiong first spoke to Pei Feng, then addressed everyone else.

Hearing this, Lin Ming knew it was time for him to act. He moved in Pei Feng's direction.

Lin Ming sensed the direction Pei Feng was traveling and got ahead of him to set an ambush.

Pei Feng was rushing forward at full speed with the little Scaled Beast in his arms. He was already imagining the day when the Scaled Beast grew up and his Pei Family Mercenary Group dominated Stone Horse Town. Just then, a buzzing sound rang out. Pei Feng's mind jolted, and before he could react, he felt an immense force slam into his body.

Watching Pei Feng fly backward, Lin Ming caught the little Scaled Beast. Even he had not expected it to be this easy—one punch had settled everything. He had considered the possibility that, if discovered, Pei Feng might rather destroy the little Scaled Beast than hand it over. If that happened, Lin Ming truly would not have had a good solution. He had never expected things to go so smoothly. It seemed this Scaled Beast was simply meant to be his, Lin Ming's.

Seeing that Pei Feng was still alive on the ground, Lin Ming did not bother to finish him off. Carrying the little Scaled Beast, he left on his own.

Just before dawn, Lin Ming returned to the cave beneath the boulder pile. When Shi Shanshan saw that it was Lin Ming, she Breathed a Sigh of Relief. Then, looking at the little Scaled Beast in his arms as though she had discovered a new continent, she asked, "Big Brother Lin, can I hold the little Scaled Beast?"

Seeing Shi Shanshan like this, Lin Ming handed her the little Scaled Beast and said, "Take it. When you have time, find something to feed this Little Fellow."

Shi Shanshan took out something similar to a baby bottle from her Storage Ring and said to Lin Ming, "Big Brother Lin, don't worry. I prepared everything long ago." Seeing what she had taken out, Lin Ming did not ask further questions. He began meditating to rest, since he had been busy for an entire day and night and needed to regulate his breathing.

Half a month later, a little beast covered in silver scales, about the size of a wolf from Lin Ming's Previous Life, hopped around before a Youth. Then a woman called out, "Big Brother Lin, my family sent word that Pei Feng did not die. After that night, the Pei Family Mercenary Group found the heavily injured Pei Feng. He told Pei Xiong that the little Scaled Beast had been stolen. Enraged, Pei Xiong killed the adult Scaled Beast after losing more than a dozen mercenaries. And after recovering During This Period, they are now preparing to come after you for revenge."

Lin Ming had used the same Dou Technique when killing the Pei Family Mercenary Group's Young Commander, Pei Lang, and heavily injuring its second commander, Pei Feng. He had killed someone's son and stolen the Magical Beast they had painstakingly planned to use to dominate the town. Anyone would come looking to fight him to the death. Therefore, Lin Ming was not surprised at all by Shi Shanshan's words.

"Then contact your family and have them come take you home," Lin Ming said to Shi Shanshan.

"What about you, Big Brother Lin?" Shi Shanshan hurriedly asked.

"Me? Of course I'll play with the Pei Family Mercenary Group. I want to see whether the Pei Family Mercenary Group can last longer, or whether I can play with them longer," Lin Ming said calmly.

It had been nearly three months since Lin Ming broke through to Nine-Star Dou Practitioner, and he had long since reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Practitioner. He only lacked an opportunity to break through to Dou Master. Lin Ming hoped the Pei Family Mercenary Group could provide that opportunity—more precisely, he hoped Pei Xiong could provide it.

"You don't need to worry about me. This tiny Pei Family Mercenary Group cannot do anything to me. You should go back as well. Otherwise, if you run into people from the Pei Family Mercenary Group, it may be difficult for a woman like you to get away," Lin Ming said to Shi Shanshan.

Yes, this is only a small Stone Horse Town, and someone like Big Brother Lin merely came to a place like this to gain experience. He and I are destined to belong to different worlds, Shi Shanshan thought.

What young woman did not dream of love? As the most talented person in Stone Horse Town, Shi Shanshan naturally wanted to find the hero of her dreams. Lin Ming's appearance happened to fit perfectly. That night, when she was being pursued, Lin Ming had driven off the enemies by killing them. Although those people had brought it upon themselves by provoking Lin Ming, the result was that she had been safe. Later, after she told him about the Scaled Beast, he had taken the little Scaled Beast from the Pei Family Mercenary Group. He did not talk much, but did that not make him mysterious? Someone strong, mysterious, and who had saved her—was he not exactly what she wanted? Yet she and he were ultimately not on the same path. Thinking this, tears flowed from Shi Shanshan's eyes.

"Yin Lin, let's go," Lin Ming called to the little Scaled Beast. Seeing Shi Shanshan crying for no apparent reason, Lin Ming ignored her. Calling the little Scaled Beast Yin Lin, he walked into the forest and disappeared from sight.