A Pyrrhic Victory

Ye Tong, covered in blood, stood before the inn's entrance. Although the previous volleys of arrows had given him a brief respite, the appearance of the Black Lions signaled that the true crisis had only just begun.

The Black Lions' levels were not uniform.

The dozen or so Black Lions at the forefront were all Level Three Fierce Beasts; the nearly hundred Black Lions behind them were Level Two Fierce Beasts. However, even these fierce beasts alone were enough to tear apart and devour everyone present.

Devour?

Ye Tong's eyes lit up, and he suddenly shouted, "I have a way to resolve this crisis, but I need Medicine Slave and Meng Jia to protect me."

Medicine Slave roared, "No problem! Meng Jia, my Young Master always keeps his word. If you don't want to die, come and protect my Young Master with me."

Meng Jia's mind raced, but looking at the situation, even without any confidence in the seemingly frail youth, he acted with a "leap of faith" mentality. He repelled a Level Three Black Lion and charged towards Ye Tong.

Ye Tong didn't know if Meng Jia had chosen to believe him, because after shouting that sentence, he had immediately slipped into the inn. Without hesitation, he took out the Dark Dagger and slashed open his own wrist.

Blood gushed out like a spring, carrying a few black impurities, splashing into two bowls.

"Sizzle..."

With over half a bowl of blood released from each cut, Ye Tong tore a strip of silk cloth, sealed the pressure points on his wrists, and used his Vital Energy to stem the bleeding. He skillfully wrapped the wounds with the silk cloth, tied them tight, then grabbed the two bowls and sprinted to the door, shouting, "Sprinkle this blood on everyone, and on the bodies of those who died in battle. Quickly."

Medicine Slave instantly understood, exclaiming in horror, "Young Master, it's your blood?"

"Yes, hurry!" The loss of blood made Ye Tong feel a wave of weakness, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Hurry!"

Medicine Slave moved with incredible speed, instantly reaching Ye Tong and snatching half a bowl of blood. With a flick of his fingers, drops of blood were flicked onto the surrounding people. Then, without engaging the fierce beasts, he moved quickly.

Meng Jia didn't understand Ye Tong's intention, but seeing Medicine Slave's actions, he quickly grabbed the remaining half-bowl of blood and, mimicking Medicine Slave, sprinkled it on his companions, even on a few corpses.

The battle was not over.

In just half an hour, including Ye Tong's group, the nearly sixty-person contingent was reduced to less than twenty survivors, all of whom were heavily wounded.

"Bang..."

Ye Tong's body was sent flying by a Level Two Black Lion, while the middle-aged woman was also swatted away by another Level Three Black Lion's claws, leaving several bloody gashes on her back.

The next moment, the somewhat unsteady Level Three Black Lion lunged at the little girl, its sharp teeth sinking into her neck.

"Pfft!" A dagger pierced the lower jaw of the Level Three Black Lion.

The Level Three Black Lion roared and released its bite. With a swipe of its claws to the little girl's head, it sent her flying.

"Yan'er..."

With a heart-wrenching wail, the middle-aged woman, ignoring her own injuries, rushed to her daughter's side. Despair filled her eyes as she saw the flesh torn from her daughter's neck, with large amounts of blood gushing out.

"Mom..."

The world before the little girl's eyes had turned a bloody red. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavier and heavier. She heard her mother's cries and wanted to comfort her, but no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer make a sound.

She smiled.

Even though it was an ugly smile.

This was the last thing she could do as her consciousness faded. She remembered her mother had always said she loved to see her smile, no matter what. She thought her smile might comfort her mother...

"Yan'er, no..."

The middle-aged woman's tears flowed like a torrent. Amidst her heart-wrenching cries, she didn't see a Black Lion pounce behind her.

Suddenly, Black Lions began to fall to the ground, roaring, growling, twitching, and gradually losing their lives.

Ye Tong was forced against the wall by a Black Lion, but he remained incredibly calm. He keenly observed the Black Lion's body sway and its attack speed suddenly slow. Seizing the opportunity, he thrust his long sword into the Black Lion's eye socket.

In less than half an hour, all fifty to sixty Black Lions lay dead.

The other Black Lions, startled by this sudden turn of events, hesitated in their attacks. Finally, with the roar of one Black Lion, they all turned and fled back into the forest.

The ground was littered with corpses and blood.

Ye Tong quietly watched the scene before him, without the joy of surviving a disaster. Instead, his heart felt exceptionally heavy.

He didn't know most of these people, but recently, he had fought alongside them, struggling for survival.

He was still alive, but the mangled corpses on the ground, the cultivators who had been devoured by the fierce beasts, would never see the sun again.

"Is this the law of this world? The strong prey on the weak, survival of the fittest?" Ye Tong asked himself inwardly, but there was no one to answer him.

The other dozen or so survivors were also stunned by the sudden change, but their survival brought them expressions of excitement.

Meng Jia, dragging his wounded body, approached Ye Tong. His sharp gaze meticulously examined Ye Tong, and he said word by word, "These fierce beasts... because of your blood?"

"Yes!"

Ye Tong replied calmly.

Meng Jia opened his mouth as if to say something, but then didn't know what to say.

He couldn't understand. He couldn't comprehend how human blood could poison so many fierce beasts.

Amidst the pile of corpses.

The middle-aged woman tightly hugged her daughter's body, her face filled with despair. Her daughter was her life, more important than her own life. Now that her daughter was dead and she was still alive, she couldn't accept this reality.

Why?

Yan'er is dead!

Why am I still alive?

Will she be scared walking alone? Will she miss me?

The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up with a brilliant radiance. In an instant, she grabbed the short sword beside her and, without hesitation, plunged it towards her own chest.

"Bang..."

A figure flashed, and the Medicine Slave appeared behind the middle-aged woman, knocking her unconscious.

Ye Tong suppressed the weakness spreading through his body and slowly approached the Medicine Slave. He looked at the brutally murdered little girl and the unconscious middle-aged woman, a shiver of fear suddenly running through his heart.

Power!

I want immense power!

This world is too cruel, too cruel, where the strong prey on the weak.

Ye Tong clenched his fists tightly, his eyes blazing with a soul-stirring, resolute light. He wanted to become stronger, strong enough to protect the people he cared about when facing danger, like the Medicine Slave, who valued his life more than his own.

"Young Master." The Medicine Slave sighed faintly.

Ye Tong was silent for a moment, then loosened his fists and said, "You shouldn't have stopped her."

The Medicine Slave was stunned and asked, confused, "Why?"

Ye Tong turned to look at the Medicine Slave, gazing deeply into his eyes, and said, "For some people, living is not much different from being dead. If there is a difference, it's that they endure more despair and pain than the dead. You haven't experienced the feeling of wishing you were dead, have you? The torment of the soul, the sea of suffering, the torture of the mind—this is what it truly means to wish you were dead."

Hearing Ye Tong's words, the Medicine Slave fell silent.

He suddenly realized that he had lived for nearly a lifetime, and it was as if he had lived for nothing. He, who was so much older, didn't understand this simple truth, while the Young Master, who was so young, did!

Not far away, over a dozen surviving cultivators stared blankly at Ye Tong. Even the corpulent middle-aged man who had disliked Ye Tong earlier was now dumbfounded. They never expected such words to come from a young boy.

Who was he? How could his understanding of life be so profound?

Wishing you were dead?

So this was the true meaning of wishing you were dead!

The corpulent middle-aged man, accompanied by two surviving subordinates, walked up to Ye Tong and cupped his fists. "I am Jin Qiusheng, a member of the Jin family from the county capital, known as Second Master Jin. What should I call you, little brother?"

"Ye Tong!"

Jin Qiusheng vaguely felt the name was familiar. Just as he was about to speak, a flash of realization struck him, and he blurted out, "You're Ye Tong? The young man the Tong family is trying to befriend?"

Ye Tong frowned and said, "I have no connection with the Tong family."

Jin Qiusheng thought for a moment and said, "Brother Ye Tong, our survival this time is entirely due to your blood. You have helped all of us. I, Second Master Jin, owe you this favor. When we reach the county capital, if there's anything I can do for you, just ask."

Ye Tong remained silent. He turned and picked up the little girl's corpse, heading towards the simple dwelling.

Jin Qiusheng smiled, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face, and murmured to himself, "He's got character. I like it."

"My Young Master doesn't like men," the Medicine Slave snorted coldly, returning to his frail, aged appearance. Leaning on his Dragon Head Cane, he walked towards the dwelling.

A small beast tide had brought devastating disaster.

Despite his injuries, Meng Jia continued to direct the surviving guards of the Baishun Merchant Guild in clearing the battlefield. As the bodies of their fallen comrades were buried, they began to dissect the corpses of the fierce beasts, collecting their valuable materials.

Gao Shan was dead.

That Dragon Lion Eagle was also dead.

It wasn't until dusk that another Dragon Lion Eagle, carrying eight people, flew in from the direction of Cold Mountain City and landed on the mountain peak, bringing some semblance of life back to the area.

"Ye Tong!"

A figure appeared outside the dwelling.

Ye Tong looked up and saw a weary Meng Jia. He got up and walked out of the room, asking, "Is there something?"

Meng Jia handed him a token and said, "Our Baishun Merchant Guild has a rule: any intermediate camp attacked by fierce beasts that receives assistance in defeating them will be awarded a token from our Baishun Merchant Guild. From now on, with this token, no matter which city you visit within the Sky Net Empire, as long as the Baishun Merchant Guild exists, you will receive the most sincere hospitality."

A friendship token?

Ye Tong muttered to himself, not refusing Meng Jia's goodwill.

He had experienced too much to not understand the truth that having more friends means more paths.