The thick, blood-red setting sun struggled to paint one last streak of orange across the rolling canopy of the Sunset Mountains, but its light could not pierce the shadowy kingdom below, woven from thousand-year-old trees and gnarled vines. The air reeked of ironlike blood, damp, rotting earth, and the rank musk of beasts' glands—a scent that made the heart tremble.
The battlefield lay in a clearing where the light barely reached.
The recent clash with the Shadowless Leopard pack had been as brutal as a scene from hell. The bloody struggle had temporarily subsided, leaving behind only wreckage and heavy breathing. The six swift, savage shadow-killers had met very different fates.
In the middle of the clearing, the largest Shadowless Leopard was bound tight in several layers of tough, oil-soaked rope netting, like a giant moth caught in a spiderweb. Each time it struggled, the ropes dug deep into its glossy black fur, creaking with a teeth-grating rasp. Fury and humiliation blazed in its eyes as a low, stifled growl rumbled in its throat. Its sharp claws tore uselessly at the restraints, only tightening its confinement. Beneath it, crushed shrubs and moss had been stained dark red.
Not far away, another, slightly smaller Shadowless Leopard lay on its side, silent and still. A massive wound slashed diagonally from its shoulder blade to its belly, gaping open, deep enough to expose bone, with its innards faintly visible. Thick blood still welled from the gash, gathering into a small, steaming pool. Its once-glowing, icy green eyes stared blankly at the dimming sky, frozen in death with the pain and resentment of its final moments.
A third had been trussed up like a dumpling in coarse hemp rope, while several men, still shaken, held down its twitching body. The ropes had sunk deep into its flesh, leaving clear grooves. The leopard seemed to have injured its spine; its hind legs dragged uselessly, but its forelegs still clawed frantically at the earth, gouging deep trenches. Broken whimpers, mingled with pain and fury, spilled from its mouth. The shrill, piercing cries echoed through the now-quiet woods, making the carnage seem all the more dreadful.
Yet the price of victory was just as stark. Nearly everyone who had joined the hunt was wounded and in bad shape. A burly man clutched his arm, its skin split and slick with blood, and leaned against a giant tree. His face had gone pale from blood loss, while sweat the size of beans, mixed with blood, trickled down his skin. Another young man had three deep claw marks on the outside of his thigh, reaching to the bone. The makeshift bandage was already soaked through; he gritted his teeth, his body trembling faintly from the pain. One more had a shoulder reduced to a bloody mess, as if a piece of flesh had been torn right off. His companions hurriedly sprinkled wound powder over it, and every touch made him suck in a sharp breath and stifle a groan.
Along with the stench of blood, the air was thick with sweat, fear, and the relief of having survived. Heavy breaths rose and fell, mingling with the wounded men's pained groans and curses at their injuries. Exhausted, they leaned on one another, the shock of the fierce battle still lingering in their eyes as they warily scanned the shadowy woods around them, as though new claws might lunge from the darkness at any moment.
Amid this grim scene, the leader—the largest Shadowless Leopard, with the deepest, glossiest coat—witnessed the fate of its companions, especially the subordinate bound in rope and crying out in despair. Bone-deep hatred and a trace of... almost human resentment burst from its dark green eyes. It suddenly threw back its head and let out a deafening roar, brimming with grief and resolve, drowning out its subordinate's pitiful cries. Then its powerful hind legs exploded with strength, and its massive body turned into a black bolt of lightning that merged with the shadows!
It did not charge in a straight line. Instead, it cunningly used the forest's tangled terrain for cover—gnarled roots, fallen rotten logs, and thick ferns. Its figure flickered in and out of the patchy light, moving so fast that only a blurred afterimage remained on the eye. It deftly dodged the flashing blades and ropes the men tried to use to intercept it, then made several dizzying leaps and turns before breaking through the encirclement like a ghost. It plunged headfirst into the impenetrable thicket at the edge of the clearing, like a giant beast's gaping maw. With branches and leaves shuddering in a rustle, the shadow that promised immense value and potential danger quickly vanished into the deeper heart of the Sunset Mountains.
"It got away! The head leopard got away!" someone roared in frustration, his voice tinged with vexation and a faint, hard-to-hide fear.
After a brief, deathly silence, Zhao Si's slightly shrill, rousing voice broke the quiet. He pushed away the companion supporting him and staggered a step toward the center of the clearing, fixing his burning gaze on Yan Xiao Liu. His face held a mixture of greed and feigned urgency. "Sixth Brother! Did you see that? That beast leading the pack was no ordinary animal! Its speed, its strength, its cunning—and that indescribable, savage aura it carried—I'll stake my head on it, it was absolutely a First-Order Demon Beast! A real demon beast!"
He excitedly waved his arms and pointed to the three prey on the ground, spittle nearly flying into Yan Xiao Liu's face. "Just look at them! Could all three together be worth as much as that one? Its fur, sinews, bones, inner core... How many spirit stones could we get for them on the black market? How long could the brothers live it up on that? And besides," he said, deliberately lowering his voice, though making sure the others nearby could hear, "you hit it square in the lower back! I saw it with my own eyes. When it darted into the woods, its left hind leg was clearly dragging. It's badly hurt! Blood's still dripping from it! If we chase now, we can catch up. The opportunity won't come again, Sixth Brother!"
Zhao Si's gaze swept over his injured, groaning companions. A trace of cold indifference flashed in his eyes, then he put on an even more eager expression. "Sixth Brother, don't worry. The wounded brothers can stay here, look after one another, and guard the three beasts. The few of us..." He paused, letting his gaze land precisely on Ye Yun, Li San, and Wang Wu. "...You, Sixth Brother, Brother Ye, Brother Li, Brother Wang, and I—we're all strong on our feet and capable fighters. Five of us are enough! That beast is hurt. It can't have gone far!"
Li San and Wang Wu, the men Zhao Si had named, raised their heads almost at the same time. Li San's scar-crossed face twisted into a strange smile, showing yellow teeth. His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, and he slowly nodded, uttering just one word. "Chase." His voice was hoarse, but his certainty left no room for doubt.
Wang Wu beside him seemed more sinister. Unhurriedly, he wiped the blood from his long, curved blade with a stained cloth. Its edge reflected the cold gleam of the dying light. At Zhao Si's words, he paused and raised his eyelids. The corner of his mouth curled into an utterly wicked smile, and his eyes, like hooks dipped in poison, swept over Ye Yun's face before he turned to Yan Xiao Liu. In a low voice with the rasp of metal scraping metal, he chimed in, "Fourth Brother's right. This is the perfect time to move. Wait any longer, and the smell of blood might attract something else—or it might recover and disappear into the depths of the old forest. Then it'll truly be 'shadowless.'" He placed a heavy emphasis on the words "shadowless," giving them an alluring, dangerous edge.
Yan Xiao Liu furrowed his brow, his angular face taut with indecision. He looked at his brothers groaning in pain on the ground and at the wounds on their bodies, deep enough to expose bone. His sense of responsibility as their leader weighed heavily on him. Chasing an injured First-Order Demon Beast into the unknown depths of the Sunset Mountains was too risky. What if something else went wrong...
And yet the immense rewards Zhao Si had described, along with Li San and Wang Wu's unwavering confidence—as if the prize were already within reach—grew like weeds in his heart. A First-Order Demon Beast! That was wealth beyond hope of finding! Enough to change the fate of everyone in their little band! And it was truly injured... Yan Xiao Liu's gaze drifted toward the thicket where the head leopard had vanished. He could still make out a few fresh drops of blood on the broad leaves, glimmering dark red in the dusk. For a martial artist who had spent years living by the blade and longed to rise higher, the temptation was simply too great.
He drew a deep breath. The air, thick with blood and rotting leaves, seemed to give him the strength to decide. The hesitation in his eyes finally gave way to ruthless resolve. He swung a hand sharply and spoke with unquestionable authority. "Fine! We'll do as Fourth Brother says! The wounded will rest here, look after one another, guard the prey, and stay alert! Zhao Si, Ye Yun, Brother Li, Brother Wang—come with me! We're going after it!"
Ye Yun had been standing a little apart, silently watching it all. His handsome face showed no emotion, but his deep eyes clearly reflected Zhao Si's incitement, Li San and Wang Wu's sinister agreement, and Yan Xiao Liu's struggle as greed and wishful thinking finally won out. When he heard Yan Xiao Liu make the call, he caught the undisguised delight in Zhao Si's eyes and the knowing, malicious glance Li San and Wang Wu exchanged. Ye Yun sneered inwardly.
So the foxes are finally about to show their tails.
Without drawing attention, he tightened his grip on the knife hilt, his knuckles whitening slightly. The cold touch against his palm instantly stilled his turbulent thoughts. Those three had been watching him in secret throughout the journey, and now they were openly urging the others on. They were after far more than the wounded head leopard. What they wanted was probably more—and far more dangerous.
Good. Ye Yun thought to himself as a long-dormant force slowly stirred deep in his dantian, sending a warm current through him. Let's see what you're really plotting. With my strength... if I stay cautious, I might be able to turn the tables—or even snatch a chestnut from the fire!
He said nothing, merely nodded and set off behind Yan Xiao Liu and Zhao Si. Li San and Wang Wu moved like two silent shadows, taking up their places at the rear of the group, one on either side.
The five-man squad wasted no words. They quickly and silently pushed through the dense thicket battered by the head leopard. Following the intermittent dark red bloodstains on the ground, like talismans showing the way, and the lingering trace of a powerful predator's distinctive musk in the air, they plunged into the deeper, more treacherous forest at the heart of the Sunset Mountains, where it seemed all light could be swallowed.
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