Golden Silk Rat

Early in the morning three days later.

Shi Mu arrived alone in the vast mountains where he often hunted beasts, carrying a huge bundle nearly half his height. After crossing seven or eight hills in succession, he finally reached the edge of an unusually lush bamboo grove.

He spent half an hour circling the hundred-acre grove several times. Only after spotting some traces did he set down his huge bundle near one side of the bamboo grove, quickly pull out a small iron shovel, and begin digging a trap in the nearby ground.

Strangely, Shi Mu dug with great care, as though afraid of making too much noise.

By the time he finished digging a pit the size of a water vat and over a zhang deep, it was already noon.

Shi Mu took several bottles and jars from the bundle, poured some unidentified powders and liquids into the bottom of the pit, then covered its surface with slender branches. He fetched a great many bamboo leaves from the grove and laid another layer over the branches, then scattered some dust on top.

With that, the clever trap was complete.

Shi Mu surveyed his handiwork, looking satisfied.

He had learned this method of setting traps, as well as the substances scattered inside them, from the Zhong Craft Secret Manual. Otherwise, even though he had trained his blade technique to Seven Slashes in One Breath, his chances of succeeding this time would have been lower still.

Then he glanced at the sun hanging high in the sky, gauged the time, and without another word took a paper packet from his clothes. When he opened it, a lump of golden dough was revealed.

Shi Mu poured all the unidentified liquid from a small bottle over it.

At once, an indescribably rich meaty aroma rose from the dough.

"I hope this bait recipe I got from the old hunter in the city really works. The ingredients alone cost thirty taels of silver."

Shi Mu muttered to himself and flicked his wrist. The golden dough drifted lightly down into the center of the trap.

Then he took a black wooden blade and an unusually large emerald-green cloak from the bundle. He threw them over himself, tossed the bundle behind a nearby boulder, and returned to the edge of the trap to lie facedown, without moving a muscle.

From a distance, the area around the trap looked empty. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

Shi Mu held his breath. The warm air escaping his nostrils was barely visible. He stared unblinkingly at the bamboo grove, and the information he had gathered surfaced in his mind once more.

The Golden Silk Rat, also known as the Medicine-Seeking Rat, was a rare beast found only in Quanzhou. A variant of a common mottled mountain rat, it would bite the other pups in its litter to death as soon as it was born. Three months later, once golden fur grew along its back, it could find medicinal herbs and swallow them on its own.

After a year, when its entire body had turned golden, the Golden Silk Rat reached full maturity. Its innate power would then awaken completely, allowing it to easily locate rare medicinal herbs. If tamed, it was practically a born master of herb-gathering. It was always in high demand, yet almost impossible to buy—even tens of thousands of taels of silver would often fail to secure one. Few were ever put up for sale.

Shi Mu had discovered this famed Golden Silk Rat of Quanzhou by accident, while chasing a wild fox near the bamboo grove. He had been both startled and delighted.

But at the time, he hadn't acted rashly.

Although the Golden Silk Rat wasn't a spirit beast, it was naturally timid and cautious. On top of that, it ran as fast as lightning and could use its astonishing speed to conjure illusory images out of thin air to mislead people. If the first strike missed, the chances of catching it again were next to none—unless one was a martial expert with astonishing lightness skills.

Whenever Shi Mu came to this stretch of mountains to train, he had set aside time to study the Golden Silk Rat's habits.

Now that he had trained his Wind-Galloping Blade Technique to Seven Slashes in One Breath and learned how to set traps and prepare anesthetic drugs from the Zhong Craft Secret Manual, he had finally decided to make his move today.

Just as Shi Mu was setting his trap to catch the Golden Silk Rat, in a hall at the Jingang Martial Hall in Feng City, a gray-haired old man addressed Wang Tianhao in front of him with ill-concealed annoyance:

"What are you up to now? I sent you to the Jin Family to see if there were any young women you liked. Who told you to injure several of their direct descendants?"

"Uncle Xu, how can you blame me? They said they wanted me to give them some pointers on martial skills. I just didn't hold back for a moment. Besides, aside from Shi Yuhuan, the Jin Family's people are all useless. None of them could even withstand one of my moves. They wasted half a day of my time." Wang Tianhao covered his mouth and yawned, looking completely unconcerned.

"You little brat! The Jin Family is our Wang Family's ally in Quanzhou. I sent you there to meet a prospective bride. Who told you to fight? Now I have to clean up your mess and personally apologize to the Jin Family Patriarch. Starting today, you're staying here. You're not allowed to leave the martial hall until you master the 'Heaven-Mixing Stance' of the Fang Fire Spear Technique." The old man surnamed Xu glared fiercely at Wang Tianhao, then spoke with helpless resignation.

"I don't mind. The Four Great Martial Halls' competition is in half a month, and I need to conserve my strength anyway," Wang Tianhao replied with a grin.

"Hmph. With that careless attitude of yours, I'm not too optimistic about your performance in the competition," Uncle Xu snorted.

"Oh? Does that mean some impressive fighters have appeared in the other martial halls?" Wang Tianhao perked up and hurriedly pressed him for details.

"You really are a martial arts fanatic! If I didn't tell you, you probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight." Uncle Xu looked both amused and exasperated.

"Heh, Uncle Xu, you understand me better than anyone." Wang Tianhao put on a fawning smile.

"As far as I know, Feihong Martial Hall seems to have brought in an extraordinary genius from somewhere else, hoping to change its usual last-place ranking. I hear he isn't a bloodline warrior, but was born with the Thick Earth Physique," Uncle Xu said gravely.

"The Thick Earth Physique? The defensive body that's famous for taking a beating?" Wang Tianhao finally looked surprised.

"Heh. As long as you know how frightening the Thick Earth Physique is. In my opinion, with your current level of the Fang Fire Spear Technique, you may not be able to break through his defenses." Uncle Xu chuckled.

"Maybe I really can't break through the defenses of a Martial Disciple with the Thick Earth Physique. But I know one Martial Disciple in Feng City who definitely could. If he could take part in this martial hall competition, it'd be truly spectacular." Wang Tianhao pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Oh? Do you mean the 'Fierce Fist' you mentioned a few days ago?" Uncle Xu's eyes flashed.

"That's right. I saw him in action myself. His strength was definitely over a thousand catties; otherwise, he couldn't have snapped iron with his bare hands." Wang Tianhao answered without hesitation.

"Mm. From what you say, the Fierce Fist's brute strength could indeed counter the Thick Earth Physique to some extent. Unfortunately, only Martial Disciples under eighteen can compete this time. Since this Fierce Fist is the leader of a small gang, he's probably over the age limit." Uncle Xu spoke without committing himself.

"Yeah. If not for that, I wouldn't have left so easily back then. If Fierce Fist were really my age, I'd have to fight him properly and defend my title as Feng City's number one Martial Disciple." Wang Tianhao nodded, then spoke with arrogant pride.

Uncle Xu was at a loss for words.

His nephew was good in every way, except that he showed off a little too much.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Seven black blade-shadows swept past, shattering several clusters of pale-yellow afterimages before finally striking something solid.

"Squeak!"

The golden-furred beast, no bigger than a fist, shrieked and dropped from midair, landing right in the giant pit that had been exposed below.

Shi Mu, who had suddenly darted out from the side to launch a sneak attack, was overjoyed. He hurriedly tossed aside his wooden blade, reached into his sleeve, and flung his hand forward. A huge net shot out, covering the top of the pit once more.

"Thud!"

The golden beast shot up from the bottom of the pit and crashed into the freshly placed net, falling back down.

After it had rammed the net more than a dozen times, the force of its charges gradually weakened, until at last the pit fell utterly silent.

Only then did Shi Mu cautiously approach and peer into the pit.

The golden beast lay motionless amid the multicolored sticky fluids at the bottom.

Only then did Shi Mu truly relax. He turned toward the nearby boulder, rummaged through his bundle, and quickly pulled out a small iron-wire cage. Then he eagerly headed back to the pit.

But the moment he turned around, his expression changed drastically.

A man in a green robe with a sword on his back had appeared beside the pit, which had been empty just moments before. He was shaking his head as he inspected the struggling golden beast in his hand—the very Golden Silk Rat that should have been unconscious in the pit.

"Senior, who are you? This Golden Silk Rat should belong to me, shouldn't it?" Shi Mu's heart pounded. He glanced at the golden beast in the man's hand, then took a deep breath before asking.

"What, youngster? You think this old man stole your prey?" The man in green turned around and spoke coldly.

Only then did Shi Mu get a clear look at him. The man was a Daoist who appeared to be in his thirties, but his brows swept up toward his temples and his eyes were as sharp as blades, giving him an intense, killing aura.

"Senior, you're clearly an expert, but this Golden Silk Rat really did take all my effort to catch..." Shi Mu forced himself to get a few words out, then suddenly felt an icy chill rush toward him. In an instant, his body felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar, his limbs numb and rigid.

This mysterious man in green had attacked Shi Mu without a word.

"Heh heh, the renowned Cold Abyss Sword actually intends to rob and kill a Martial Disciple for his treasure. If I spread word of this, I wonder how many people would believe me."

Just as Shi Mu could no longer move at all and his mind was beginning to grow hazy, a voice as melodious as heavenly music suddenly rang out.

(There will only be one update today. There's no helping it—this new book completely steps away from the usual cultivation-novel style. I have to rethink everything, from the world system to the descriptions of fights and techniques, so as long as I maintain the quality, I just can't write quickly in the early stages. But I promise I'll create a whole new world of fiction for everyone. As for speed, I'll do my best to write more without staying up late, but I don't dare promise a set number of updates per day anymore. Sigh, my frail body really can't take it. Still, I've been having a great time writing this new book these past few days. It even feels a little like I've rediscovered the feeling I had when I first started writing the opening of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality!)