A Chance Encounter with Xue Mei

Two horses traveled side by side along the road, their hooves rising and falling unevenly as they moved at a very slow pace.

Mountain ranges stretched endlessly, with deep, secluded woods and grasses.

A burst of hoofbeats broke the silence along the winding mountain path.

Several birds perched atop the trees fluttered their wings in alarm as the hoofbeats drew closer, flying off into the distance.

As Gu Fengchen rode along, he suddenly frowned. He caught a sharp scent of blood in the air.

"It seems we've already run into that pack of Tiger Hounds."

In an instant, Gu Fengchen leaped from his horse and sprinted toward a certain direction within the dense forest.

Gu Fengchen did not actually need to ride a horse, but if the village guide rode ahead while he trotted along behind on foot, it would look cheap no matter how one looked at it.

This was not about maintaining an image. Absolutely not!

Still, for rapid movement over short distances, directly circulating Dou Qi was clearly faster.

He covered several hundred meters in the blink of an eye. By then, he could already hear cries of battle all around him, and a terribly gruesome scene came into view.

Before his eyes were hideous monsters that resembled both tigers and dogs. There were densely packed masses of them, numbering at least several hundred at a glance.

Several mercenaries were desperately protecting a carriage.

No, they were not mercenaries. They looked more like guards!

A sharp bark rang out as a Tiger Hound pounced toward the carriage!

A well-trained guard immediately stepped in front of the carriage.

The Tiger Hound's sharp claws pierced his chest. The young man, who sported a full beard, clutched his bleeding chest and collapsed.

Every one of these Tiger Hounds had menacing fangs and bloodshot eyes, with foul-smelling saliva constantly dripping from their mouths. One group besieged the carriage, while the rest gnawed on the corpses of the fallen guards.

It had to be said that these guards possessed quite solid combat discipline.

At once, they drew Wooden Shields. Amid the heavy thuds of shields being planted, the shields encircled the carriage and temporarily held back the Tiger Hounds' assault.

But there were simply too many Tiger Hounds. Every so often, their claws would stab through gaps in the formation and pierce a guard's neck, drawing a muffled groan.

Gu Fengchen frowned. The situation was far from promising.

The strongest among these guards was only a Nine Star Dou Practitioner. If this dragged on, total annihilation was inevitable.

Clearly, this group had likely only come to wander around the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range and had not intended to venture deep inside.

Gu Fengchen made a rough estimate. There were eleven Dou Practitioners present in total. With such a lineup, they should have been able to retreat unscathed even if they encountered danger in the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

It was just that there were far too many Tiger Hounds attacking this time, and several of the leaders were clearly second-tier Tiger Hounds.

Second-tier Tiger Hounds were easy to identify. Their fur was entirely black, and they had not joined the battle at all. They merely chewed on bones in their mouths as though watching a show, carrying themselves like big bosses.

After making a brief judgment, Gu Fengchen knew these Tiger Hounds were no match for him.

The next moment, he leaped into the pack of Tiger Hounds!

Countless Tiger Hounds immediately bared their fangs and claws as they lunged at Gu Fengchen.

Golden patterns surfaced around Gu Fengchen's body. He grabbed the dog head of a second-tier black Tiger Hound in each hand—an actual dog head, literally—and, as if pressing down scarecrows, slammed one Tiger Hound heavily into the ground, efficiently sending it back to town.

The pack of lackeys surrounding the black Tiger Hound all stopped their charge.

Though these Tiger Hounds were not particularly intelligent, they had lived in the Magic Beast Mountain Range for years and possessed the most primal instinct to seek advantage and avoid danger.

However, just as those Tiger Hounds wanted to retreat, the remaining second-tier black Tiger Hounds let out furious barks. The Tiger Hounds instantly stopped backing away and pounced toward Gu Fengchen once more.

Sharp claws and fangs came straight at Gu Fengchen.

Gu Fengchen had initially intended to use the Forest Strolling Technique to evade them, but he quickly realized that those seemingly incomparably sharp claws felt like nothing more than scratches to him.

The Tiger Hounds attacked Gu Fengchen like a group of children fighting, wildly striking at him, yet they could not even break his skin.

Gu Fengchen thrust out his right palm and smashed one Tiger Hound's head into pulp with a single strike.

The remaining Tiger Hounds were completely dumbfounded, including the few second-tier Tiger Hounds.

Although second-tier Tiger Hounds could not take human form and possessed little intelligence, they still went through a series of rapid mental reactions.

What the hell...

What was this...

Didn't they say there wouldn't be any experts here?

And what kind of method had their opponent used?

They stared at their companions' corpses, utterly bewildered.

Killed with one palm strike?

The only thoughts left in the remaining Tiger Hounds' minds were two words.

Screw you...

At last, all the Tiger Hounds could no longer endure it. They let out cries and scattered in every direction.

Gu Fengchen slowly let out a breath and did not chase after them. There were too many Tiger Hounds; he could not kill them all in a short time anyway.

Soon, Gu Fengchen looked toward the wounded mercenaries. They were already bandaging one another's wounds and burying their companions' bodies where they lay.

At that moment, a woman stepped down from the carriage.

She was not very old and wore a silver robe. Her eyes and brows were as clear as an icy spring upon a snowy mountain.

Gu Fengchen carefully examined her. She had a delicate face and slender, elegant brows. Of course, the most eye-catching feature was the silver-robed woman's long silver hair, which fell to her waist.

The silver strands looked remarkably vibrant. They were not white, but pure silver, radiating a faint luster.

There was a faintly proud expression between her brows.

Gu Fengchen furrowed his brow and thought carefully for a moment, but could not immediately recall her identity.

The silver-haired woman parted her crimson lips and supplied the name for him.

"My name is Xue Mei. Thank you, expert, for coming to our aid."

Xue Mei?

Gu Fengchen was dazed for a moment, then remembered.

Xue Mei, disciple of Frank, the Guild Master of the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild.

One of the foremost beauties in the Original Work.

Her first appearance in the Original Work had been when Xiao Yan went to take the Tier 1 Alchemist assessment.

To be honest, Gu Fengchen himself was rather surprised. He had not encountered more famous women from the Original Work, such as Ya Fei and Yun Yun, yet he had run into Yaoye and Xue Mei instead.

Compared with the other women, neither of them lost out in looks. It was just that they truly had very little screen time, especially Xue Mei, who was practically a background extra and a perpetual supporting character.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Fengchen extended his hand and shook hers. "I'm Gu Feng, owner of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Xue Mei."

This was a perfect opportunity for the Myriad Medicine Pavilion to establish ties with the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild. Gu Fengchen, who was full of little schemes, definitely would not let it slip away!

If he could sell Medicinal Herbs directly to the Alchemist Guild in the future and form an industrial chain, Gu Fengchen would surely earn a great many Gold Coins!

Although Gu Fengchen looked down on those people who possessed extraordinary power yet only thought about making money,

In Gu Fengchen's heroic dreams over the years, once one had gained extraordinary power, the very least one should do was uphold justice and save beauties in distress.

As for saving the world, he could save it if he had the time.

But anyone who turned down money was an idiot!

Besides, Xue Mei was a rich fool with more money than sense. It would be unforgivable not to fleece her a little.