Gray Egg

Ye Qin silently estimated its value. That little plant with a dewdrop on one of its leaves might be worth about one Silver Leaf. That was enough to make the risk worthwhile; it could make things much easier for him over the next few days.

Ye Qin quickly turned his head and surveyed the sky around him. A few eagles circled in the distant blue, and none seemed to have noticed him. He couldn't help feeling secretly pleased. He only had to descend another two or three zhang to reach the protruding rock.

He loosened the thin rope around his waist. Gripping the thick rope tightly with both hands, he slowly made his way down.

Within moments, Ye Qin had planted one foot on the rock. First, he picked a few ordinary medicinal herbs nearby and put them in the small herb basket hanging from his waist. Then he edged toward the rock's rim, ready to pick the little plant with the dewdrop.

As he gazed at the little plant, now within arm's reach,

a strange feeling stirred in Ye Qin's heart. The plant seemed to contain some mysterious spiritual energy, filling him with an uncontrollable sense of wonder.

He couldn't help laughing at himself. Quickly shaking the wild thoughts from his head, he focused on digging up the herb.

Picking such a rare little plant required great care. Since he didn't know its medicinal properties, he couldn't tell whether its most valuable part was the leaves, the stem, or the roots. So he planned to dig up the whole plant, roots and all, with the soil around it.

With practiced ease, Ye Qin pulled a small herb-gathering knife from the sheath strapped to his right thigh. Taking care not to damage the plant's delicate roots, he dug away the soil little by little around them.

To his surprise, although the stem and leaves at the plant's base were only as thick as his little finger, its roots were nearly half a chi long. It took a full quarter of an hour to dig it up with the soil still clinging to its roots.

Screee!

A sharp eagle's cry rang out in the sky behind him.

Ye Qin started at the sound, and a sudden sense of foreboding rose in his heart. He had been so focused on digging up the herb that he'd spent too long at it and forgotten this was an eagle's nest. He had only just turned around when he caught sight of a gray blur hurtling down from the sky, trailing a fierce gust of wind.

Without a moment's thought, Ye Qin flipped his wrist and thrust the herb-gathering knife backward at the blur. "Pfft!" The gray shape failed to dodge. He had no idea where he'd struck it, but it let out a miserable shriek, then plunged off the cliff with Ye Qin's knife, vanishing into the deep mountain gorge below.

Ye Qin sucked in a sharp breath of pain, his mouth almost tearing open. In its death throes, the gray shape had beat its wings violently, nearly breaking the bones in his right forearm. Its sharp talons had also raked several deep, bloody gashes into his skin.

Ignoring the pain in his right hand, he didn't dare waste a moment. With his left hand, he snatched up the green plant and stuffed it into the small herb basket at his waist. Then he prepared to climb back up at once. There were several eagle nests here, and more than one eagle. He had to get away as quickly as possible.

The gray eagle's dying cry had already alerted the others nearby.

Eagle cries filled the sky as several gray blurs swooped toward him.

By now, Ye Qin had given up all hope. He had no time for regrets. He knew he couldn't climb to the mountaintop while a flock of gray eagles swarmed him. He was already in a dead end. He had to turn and fight—it was either him or the flock.

He steeled himself and instead stood on the protruding rock with his back against the cliff face. He lashed himself firmly in place with the thick rope, then drew his last weapon: a small, somewhat blunt woodcutting hatchet hanging at his lower back.

He faced the gray eagles head-on.

Ye Qin silently circulated Gathering Qi and Focusing Spirit within his body. The wisp of qi born in his dantian flowed through his right forearm, easing most of its searing pain. This inner cultivation method not only gave him tremendous powers of recovery, but also sharpened his eyes and quickened his movements, making him many times stronger than before.

Although he had never learned any powerful offensive martial arts, he was exceptionally practiced in the most basic motions of chopping, stabbing, and cleaving. Otherwise, he would have died long ago in some nameless mountain gully.

Four or five gray eagles swooped toward him.

In an instant, Ye Qin had clearly read their gliding paths through the air. Two were flying fastest, already less than thirty paces away, while the other three lagged behind.

Take them on one at a time!

The thought sprang into his mind without the slightest hesitation.

The instant the two gray eagles reached him, Ye Qin took aim and swung the hatchet hard across his front. Thwack! Crack! A single blow cleaved the two gray eagles in half, and they tumbled off the cliff.

Their head-on collision also slammed him against the cliff face. His whole body felt as if two enormous iron hammers had struck him. The impact was even harder than the First Senior Brother's punches. Blood surged up his throat and sprayed from his mouth. With a thud, he dropped to one knee on the rock, his head spinning. If he hadn't been tied to the rope, he would have toppled right off the cliff.

Seeing their companions killed in the blink of an eye, the three remaining gray eagles froze in shock. They let out mournful, furious cries and circled in the air. Their eyes were blood-red with rage and agitation as they glared at the culprit who had invaded their nest and slain their companions.

After a few breaths, Ye Qin caught his breath. His eyes were bloodshot, and a bone-chilling killing intent showed in his gaze. He gripped the hatchet in one hand and faced off against the three gray eagles.

Before he was ten, Ye Qin had followed his father into the mountains to hunt dozens of times. There, he had learned a simple truth: only the fiercest beasts survived in the mountains. Turn your back and run, and death was the only road ahead. Three years ago, when he had wandered through the wilderness with Da Niu, he'd dared to fight greedy old wild dogs in the dead of night, risking his life. Now he was fourteen, and his body was many times stronger than before. How could he fear these three gray eagles?

But the violent impact had left Ye Qin's whole body almost rigid. If the three gray eagles swooped in now, their powerful iron talons would tear him to shreds in an instant.

Yet the three gray eagles had been frightened by the ferocity he'd shown and failed to seize their chance to attack. They dared not launch an assault, only circling outside their nest.

Ye Qin didn't dare climb, either, and expose his back to the eagles.

He seized the chance, remaining on one knee atop the jutting rock as he silently circulated his inner cultivation method, relaxing his stiff muscles and tendons and regaining his strength to fight.

After several hours of facing off, the sun gradually sank, and a bone-chilling wind swept across the cliff. At last, the three gray eagles lost patience. They cried out mournfully once more, as if they knew they couldn't beat the enemy occupying their nest. With a beat of their gray wings, they turned and flew toward the distant peaks.

Ye Qin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He released his death grip on the hatchet and hung it back at his lower back, then wiped the dried blood from the corner of his mouth. Looking over his body, he saw at least seven or eight bloody gashes left by the eagles' talons, already dried by the wind.

He gave a bitter smile.

Damn beasts. He'd nearly died here today. For the sake of picking that rare little plant, he had almost thrown his life away. He truly didn't know if it was worth it.

Having taken over this patch of eagle nests and driven away all the gray eagles, Ye Qin was safe for the time being. He sat cross-legged on the rock and rested for a while, recovering enough strength to climb to the mountaintop before nightfall.

Now that he had relaxed, the foul stench of the eagle nests inevitably reached his nose.

Thinking of how those gray eagles had nearly killed him, Ye Qin's anger flared. He reached out and dug the nests out, intending to destroy them. To his surprise, one of them held a gray egg.

"Huh, this egg's a bit strange—all gray and drab. Well, I was just wondering what I'd have to eat tonight. I might as well use it to whet my appetite."

He casually stuffed the egg into the small herb basket at his waist.