Night Hunt

The night in the West Suburbs was oppressively dark.

Li Tui carried a lantern, but its light reached only three paces ahead. He walked at an unhurried pace, his right hand resting on his waist, where a short blade pressed cold against his skin.

The lantern light swept over the field ridges, revealing the Spirit Field. The heavy grain heads swayed in the wind, and faint halos of spiritual energy shimmered above them.

Li Tui stopped beside an earthen embankment and snuffed out the lantern.

Total darkness.

He crouched and waited for his eyes to adjust. Half an incense stick later, moonlight spilled through a gap in the clouds, just bright enough to make out the ridges of the field.

Nothing stirred.

He sat cross-legged and steadied his breathing, ears pricked.

Insects chirped, leaves rustled, and water murmured in the distance.

And... something else.

Li Tui stood, but didn't hurry forward. He crouched beside a stalk of Spirit Grain that had been knocked over and felt its broken end.

The break was jagged, as though it had been torn off by force. Spiritual energy was rapidly seeping from the stalk.

His gaze darkened. If a wild beast ate the grain, wouldn't it simply chew up the stalks too? Why tear them off like this and drain their spiritual energy?

He straightened and looked toward the southeastern corner. An abandoned well stood there.

As he continued, his footsteps grew lighter.

The closer he got to the well, the more toppled Spirit Grain he found. It lay in broad swathes, the stalks all withered, nothing left but hollow husks. A faint, fishy smell hung in the air, like something had rotted.

The outline of the abandoned well came into view, its blue-gray stone rim overgrown with dead vines. The ground around it was grayish white, barren of even a blade of grass.

Li Tui crouched behind some wild brush ten paces away.

The well mouth was silent.

That fishy smell was wafting out from inside.

He waited for a quarter of an hour. Nothing stirred in the well. Even the insect chirps had grown sparse here, as though every living thing gave the place a wide berth.

Something was wrong.

It was too quiet.

If something were in the well, it should have been startled by him long ago. Unless...

Li Tui's pupils contracted.

Unless it wasn't in the well.

It was waiting for him.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the wind suddenly roared behind him!

No sound came first, only a foul, forceful gust slamming at him from behind and to the side! It came terrifyingly fast; the piercing shriek of air being torn apart reached his ears a beat later.

Li Tui didn't look back.

He drove off with his left foot and sprang hard to the right and forward! At the same time, he drew the short blade at his waist and swept it behind him with a backhand slash!

Clang!

The blade struck something hard, numbing his hand. He used the force to surge forward even faster, then landed, turned, and leveled his blade at the thing charging him.

The moon had just emerged from the clouds.

The thing stood five paces away, upright like a person and seven feet tall. Dark brown scales covered its body, slime oozing from between them and gleaming with an oily sheen in the moonlight. Its head looked like a lizard's, but not quite. Its mouth gaped open, revealing two interlocking rows of fangs. Drool dripped to the ground, sizzling as it hit.

Most horrifying of all were its eyes: blood-red, slit pupils fixed on him.

It wasn't a beast.

It was a demon.

Li Tui's heart sank. There was a Jing'an Division outpost beyond Jinan Town, and the Zhao Family's Spirit Field had defenses too. Where had this thing come from?

He had no time to dwell on it.

The demon moved.

It thrust off with all four limbs, blasting soil into the air as its body became a brown blur, hurtling straight at him! Its foreclaws spread wide, black talons ripping through the air with a piercing shriek!

Li Tui didn't retreat. He stepped diagonally with his left foot and turned sideways. The demon skimmed past his shoulder, its claw wind tearing his clothes and drawing blood.

At the same time, Li Tui swung his right arm, thrusting the short blade straight into the demon's right flank!

Thud!

The blade sank three inches before catching in its scales.

The demon roared in pain and twisted its waist violently! A surge of tremendous force nearly wrenched the blade from Li Tui's hand. He let go of it and retreated, hooking a stone with his left foot and kicking it toward the demon's face!

The stone whistled through the air. The demon dodged by turning its head. In that instant, Li Tui had backed away six paces, putting some distance between them.

The demon lowered its head to look at its right flank. The short blade was still stuck there, dark red blood dripping down its length. It reached out with a foreclaw, gripped the hilt, and yanked it free by brute force! Flesh buds writhed in the wound, and the flow of blood slowed visibly.

It could heal itself.

Li Tui's gaze turned colder.

The demon tossed the short blade aside, licked the blood from its foreclaw, and fixed its slit pupils on him. Its killing intent was almost tangible.

Its second leap was faster and more cunning.

It no longer charged in a straight line. It kicked off with all four limbs, darting left and right as it traced an eerie zigzag between the field ridges. Every change of direction left a blur in its wake. Its trajectory was impossible to predict.

Li Tui's nerves tightened.

He couldn't let it get close.

His footwork shifted as he moved along the narrow ridges, his body like willow fluff in the wind. Each time, he narrowly slipped away before its claws could touch his clothes. But the demon was too fast. After several exchanges, it had torn open more of his clothes, leaving fresh wounds across his arm and back.

A foul wind slammed into his face.

The demon lunged at him again, its gaping maw aimed straight for his neck!

This time, Li Tui didn't retreat.

He kicked hard against the field ridge behind him, blasting soil into the air. Instead of retreating, he surged forward and slammed into the demon's chest! He bent his left arm and drove his elbow hard into its chin!

Thump!

A dull impact.

The demon's head snapped back, and its jaws closed on empty air. Li Tui seized the opening, joining the fingers of his right hand like a sword. True energy gathered at his fingertips as he jabbed at the demon's left eye!

The demon shut its eye. Its eyelid scales were hard as iron. His finger-sword struck them, throwing off only a few sparks.

But he hadn't meant to break through its defenses.

True energy suddenly burst from Li Tui's fingertips!

It wasn't an attack, but a forceful shove. The demon's head jerked aside another few inches, exposing a patch of curled-back scales along its neck.

An opening.

At some point, Li Tui's left hand had found its way to his waist. A sharpened piece of hardwood, about a foot long, was tucked there. He'd taken it from the woodshed before coming.

Without hesitation, he gripped the wooden spike, channeled all his true energy into his right arm, and thrust with all his strength at the patch of curled-back scales!

Thud!

This time, there were no scales to stop it.

The wooden spike sank in up to its base, piercing straight through the neck bone!

The demon's body shuddered violently as it let out a shrill scream! It thrashed wildly, claws slashing about, and flung Li Tui away with its immense strength. He crashed heavily against the stone rim of the abandoned well!

Pain like a cracked spine shot through his back.

He coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam and struggled to his feet. The demon was still rolling on the ground, the wooden spike stuck in its neck. Blood gushed like a spring, smoking as it ate into the earth. But it wasn't dead yet. Its blood-red, slit pupils locked onto Li Tui as it struggled to rise.

He couldn't let it get up.

Gritting his teeth, Li Tui rushed toward the short blade.

He picked it up and turned. The demon had already staggered to its feet, blood pouring from its neck, yet it still moved with terrifying speed. It lunged at him again!

This time, Li Tui didn't dodge.

He charged straight into its attack, lowering his body. Just as the demon's foreclaws were about to slam down on his head, he abruptly ducked and slipped beneath its belly! At the same time, he slashed upward with the short blade, its edge cutting through the demon's soft underbelly!

Shrrrip!

Its belly split open.

Warm, stinking entrails spilled out in a rush. The demon let out a dying wail and crashed to the ground. It twitched a few times, then lay still.

Leaning on his blade, Li Tui gasped for breath.

He was covered in blood, his back aching fiercely. A deep claw mark on his left arm, deep enough to expose bone, was still bleeding. But at least he'd survived.