Hunter and Prey

In the dim, damp cave, two green lights 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 lights turned sharply, looking towards the cave entrance.

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

The light from the torch in hand revealed the full panorama of the cave.

A wolf demon, with a wolf's head and a human's body, covered in dense fur, stared at them ferociously.

"Human... Martial Artist..."

The wolf demon uttered in a low voice and slowly straightened its body.

Its physique was tall, and the dense fur couldn't conceal its chiseled muscles, while its pair of curved wolf legs were thick and powerful.

It didn't look like it was injured at all.

Sun Zhi's face turned grim, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.

The sense of deterrence this wolf demon gave him was something he had never experienced before.

"I thought it was those guys who found me. I didn't expect..." The wolf demon stuck out its long tongue and licked the blood from the corner of its mouth. The displeasure of being interrupted while eating dissipated, and it said with some excitement, "Food has actually come to my doorstep."

"Monster! Qiulin County's Sun Zhi is here! If you surrender obediently, we can give you a quick end. Otherwise..."

Sun Zhi forced himself to gather his spirits. Thinking of Shen Lin, who was skilled in swordsmanship, beside him, his fear lessened considerably. He brandished his saber and shouted 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 said softly, "Are you going to cause trouble in my belly?"

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

"Carefu..."

The wolf demon was incredibly fast, covering more than ten paces in the blink of an eye, appearing before Sun Zhi.

Before he could even shout a warning, he saw a dark wolf claw reaching for him. He could only quickly draw his saber to defend himself.

His horizontal slash landed on the wolf's claw but was instantly deflected. The wolf claw, its momentum undiminished, headed straight for Sun Zhi's heart.

Fortunately, Sun Zhi had experienced many life-and-death battles. He reacted instantly, dodging sideways.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a black shadow suddenly whistled and struck his chest.

Bang!

A muffled thud, and Sun Zhi's body flew backward, crashing heavily against the stone wall.

"Gah!"

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

The speed the wolf demon erupted with made him realize something was wrong.

And the tail swipe that heavily injured him confirmed his guess.

If the wolf demon were only at the Martial Artist realm, he wouldn't be like this.

With his physical strength, he could withstand a blow from an ordinary Martial Artist without issue.

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

The wolf demon's eyes glinted with cunning, and it said gloatingly, "Do you think I really didn't know about the deals that old fox was secretly making? Why do you think, out of so many options, I specifically went to his territory to buy medicine?"

He had been tricked!

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

This guy was using himself as bait, specifically to lure Martial Artists like him.

He moved agilely, and there was no sign of any injury on him.

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 rang out.

"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 shown no reaction. Instead, he squatted to the side, observed the ground for a moment, and suddenly said.

"What?"

The wolf demon was stunned, seemingly not reacting to Shen Lin's insulting address.

Then, it became enraged, abandoning Sun Zhi completely and charging fiercely towards Shen Lin.

Seeing this, Sun Zhi opened his mouth but couldn't utter a sound.

He couldn't use himself as bait to make Shen Lin escape.

Instead, seeing Shen Lin courting death, he felt fortunate that it gave him some breathing room.

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

After all, it was a monster from the Opening Meridians Realm, with abundant Demon Power within its body, which was something ordinary Martial Artists could not...

Before his thoughts could fully settle, the scene that unfolded next made him widen his eyes in disbelief.

"Roar!"

The wolf demon roared and swiped its claw down, seemingly intending to crush Shen Lin's head.

But in the next moment, Shen Lin's blade remained sheathed. He simply extended his hand slowly, directly catching the wolf demon's claw.

His slender, fair arm firmly gripped the wolf's paw, which was twice as thick as his arm, like a vice, rendering the wolf demon completely immobile.

"I said..." Shen Lin said with a hint of impatience, "You should have accomplices, right?"

The wolf demon didn't reply, its eyes glued to its own paw, a look of bewilderment on its face.

Seeing this, Shen Lin wasted no more words and stomped his foot down hard.

Bang!

A dull thud echoed as the wolf demon's body was sent airborne by the powerful impact. However, because Shen Lin was holding its paw, it couldn't fly away.

But with that kick, its body went limp.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh..."

Its ferocious wolf mouth gaped open, drool dripping incessantly. Its pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, as if its consciousness had already slipped into a coma.

Shen Lin grumbled in dissatisfaction, "What a hassle!"

Then, still gripping the wolf's paw, he swung it and threw the demon away.

Boom!

Stones flew as the massive wolf body slammed hard against the rock wall. The intense pain jolted it back to consciousness, eliciting a continuous howl of agony.

Shen Lin walked over slowly, stepping on the wolf's paw and speaking softly, "I'm asking you a question!"

Crack!

With a crisp sound, Shen Lin crushed the wolf's paw, pale bone fragments piercing through the thick fur.

"Roar!!!"

The wolf demon roared madly, struggling with all its might.

Yet, despite its utmost efforts, it couldn't break free.

Shen Lin's seemingly frail physique was currently suppressing it completely.

With another crack!

Shen Lin's sheathed long saber descended, shattering its knee. The bone-chilling pain struck again.

"I... am... asking... you... a question!!!"

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

"Ahhh, that... that was my brother, he... he was already... killed by those people!"

The wolf demon understood that if it didn't answer, the pain would continue.

Thus, despite the unbearable agony, it forced itself to concentrate and answered Shen Lin's question.

"Who were those people?"

"Demons from Black Wind Stronghold, led by 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 pain, the wolf demon answered almost every question.

After 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 bleed to death soon. There was no need to dirty his long saber.