Exotic Beast

Lu Family Courtyard, with its gray tiles and blue bricks, counted as impressive in Kaoshan Village.

The morning chill hadn't yet lifted. Second Old Lu rubbed his hands together and said to Old Master Lu:

"Dad, I just heard from the villagers—Eldest Brother's family bagged another good catch yesterday! A Red-bellied Golden Pheasant!"

Old Master Lu was surprised. "Eldest Brother? Wasn't he sick? It's only been a few days—can he already go into the mountains?"

"It wasn't Eldest Brother who got it," Second Old Lu said, a hint of sourness in his voice. "It was that kid Lu Chuan! The little bastard went into the mountains alone and came back with two good catches in one day—besides that pheasant, there was a fat rabbit too!"

"Lu Chuan?" Old Master Lu's eyes flickered with surprise. "That kid... has that kind of skill?"

Second Old Lu's tone turned dismissive: "So what if he got them? Being a good hunter just makes him a decent trapper. What future is there in that? Nothing compared to our Lu Tao—he's the one who's going to become a Martial Artist!"

At the mention of his precious grandson Lu Tao, Old Master Lu's wrinkles spread into a smile: "That's right, that's right!"

Thinking back to Instructor Liu from the Martial Arts Hall praising Lu Tao's bone structure as passable, Old Master Lu felt as sweet as if he'd eaten honey.

"If Tao'er really becomes a Martial Artist, even just at the entry level," Old Master Lu squinted, calculating, "that's still five taels of silver a month in pay!"

"You said it!" Second Old Lu agreed, his eyes darting. "Dad... that pheasant... is a good thing... what do you think?"

Old Master Lu's face showed a flicker of temptation.

But then, the cold look in Lu Chuan's eyes from yesterday surfaced in his mind.

This time, it was the kid's own kill... The old man shivered inexplicably.

"Forget it." Old Master Lu finally waved his hand. "Eldest Brother's family has had a rough winter. We'll... talk later."

Second Old Lu was a bit disappointed but didn't dare defy him: "You're right, Dad. Oh, by the way, Instructor Liu rewarded two Qi and Blood Pills. Tao'er took one last night."

"Oh?" Old Master Lu perked up and asked quickly, "How was the effect?"

Second Old Lu was instantly excited: "Incredible! After Tao'er took it, even in the dead of winter, his body was burning hot. He practiced a set of punches, and steam actually rose from his head! No wonder they say Martial Artists aren't ordinary people—this pill is miraculous!"

"Good, good, good!" Old Master Lu clapped and laughed. "That Snow Fox wasn't wasted! Let Tao'er work hard. As long as he can hold his own in the Martial Arts Hall, our old Lu family will have hope!"

Having made up his mind to learn martial arts, the next day at the crack of dawn, Lu Chuan's family each got busy.

Mother Lu wrapped the Red-bellied Golden Pheasant in old cloth and set off early for the city.

Her trip had two purposes: first, to sell the pheasant for the best price possible, and second, to inquire about the various Martial Arts Halls in the city, especially the cost of taking on disciples.

Lu Chuan had specifically told her to ask about halls that taught Weapons and Equipment, not Fist and Foot Techniques.

After all, his Golden Finger could only work by recording weapons.

Lu Chuan himself checked his Bow and Arrow, ready to head into the mountains.

Learning martial arts required money, and the mountain forest was currently his fastest way to get resources.

Before he left, Lu Danian called him over.

After a night of deliberation, the man's face showed even deeper exhaustion.

By the bedside, Lu Danian's voice was hoarse.

"Chuanzi, I thought it over all night. You're right—right now, learning martial arts is the only way out, the only way to live like a real person."

He paused: "With your Second Uncle's family being as greedy as they are, next time you get something good, they'll find some excuse to snatch it again, just like they did with the Snow Fox!"

He stared hard at his son: "I can't... just watch them suck the Bone Marrow out of our family again!"

Lu Chuan nodded firmly: "Dad, if you can think that way, our family has hope."

"Be careful in the mountains," Lu Danian warned. "In this deep winter, the prey are all cunning and hard to find. Remember, your first priority is to take care of yourself and build up your health. That's the foundation."

"I know, Dad," Lu Chuan replied.

Lu Danian seemed to hesitate for a moment, then his expression turned extremely serious.

"If you can't find the book title, try searching by the author—maybe it just changed names!"

"By the way, now that you'll be going into the mountains often, with some skill on you, your courage is bound to grow. But there's one place you must never enter!"

Lu Chuan's heart tightened. "Father, what do you mean? Are there especially dangerous places in the mountains?"

"That's right. Another fifty-plus li south of the village, there's a place called Black Wind Ridge."

"Black Wind Ridge?"

"Yes. In those woods... there are Exotic Beasts."

"Exotic Beasts?!" Lu Chuan's pupils contracted.

In his memory, he'd never heard his father mention this before.

"Not your ordinary tigers, leopards, or bears." Lu Danian sank into recollection.

"When I was young, I went with a few old hunters from the village. With numbers and good gear on our side, we wanted to push deeper in..."

"That time, we brought six of the best hunting dogs—all of them masters at tracking wild boar."

"We'd barely entered the ridge when the pack went mad barking, couldn't hold them back no matter what, and then it... came out."

"It was a Savage Bear, not like a normal Black Bear. Its eyes were dark red, its hide thick and tough. Old Zhang shot an arrow at it—the arrowhead shattered, only left a white scratch."

"One swipe of its paw, and it killed the lead dog charging ahead. The other dogs piled on to bite, couldn't even pierce its fur. Six good dogs... all lost in there."

"We panicked. We went at it with Hunting Forks and Chopping Knives, couldn't hurt it at all."

"In the end, we only got out by luring it into a dug-out Wild Boar Pit, trapping it there."

The lingering fear still showed in Lu Danian's eyes.

"Later we found out that wasn't an ordinary bear. It was an Exotic Beast called a Stone-hide Bear."

"After that, I never dared set foot in that old forest on Black Wind Ridge again."

Lu Chuan realized the gravity of the situation and dared not take it lightly.

A Stone-hide Bear that swords and arrows couldn't pierce... with his current meager skills, he was far from a match.

"I suppose only a Martial Artist could handle an Exotic Beast like that."

Taking leave of his father, Lu Chuan shouldered his hunting bow and stepped into the mountain forest once more.

This time, on the road from home to the village entrance, the neighbors he met no longer mocked him:

"Brother Chuanzi, heading into the mountains again?"

"Be careful—looks like it's going to snow some more!"

"Brother Chuanzi, when I'm older, can I learn hunting from you?"

Some hunters who often went into the mountains even came up to ask for company: "Chuanzi, heading up together? We'll watch each other's backs!"

Lu Chuan refused.

Arriving again at Thicket Slope, Lu Chuan immediately focused and activated Eagle Eye.

But perhaps because the weather had grown colder, the mountain forest felt unusually still, with far fewer signs of living creatures moving about.

He forced himself to be patient, searching inch by inch.

After nearly half a day's effort, he finally spotted a gray-feathered Mountain Pheasant in a patch of withered grass—a size smaller than the Red-bellied Golden Pheasant from before.

Without hesitation, Lu Chuan held his breath, nocked an arrow, and drew his bow.

The arrow struck its target with precision.

The Mountain Pheasant fluttered only twice before going still.

Hoisting the catch, which weighed just over a catty, Lu Chuan thought about searching a bit more.

But before long, goose-feather snowflakes began drifting down from the sky.

Lu Chuan knew that staying any longer would not only yield little but might even make descending the mountain a problem, so he hurried home.

Back in the house, he set down the gray Mountain Pheasant, feeling a bit irritated.

"Half a day's work for this?" Lu Chuan frowned.

"Probably worth about one qian of silver... enough for other families in Kaoshan Village just trying to get by, but I need to learn martial arts..."

Ten qian make one tael.

Though he didn't know the exact cost of learning martial arts, he understood that this bit of silver wouldn't even get his foot in the door.

Just then, the door pushed open, and Mother Lu returned.

She carried a sack of rice on her back and pulled five qian of broken silver.