Method

The two brawny men hidden in the bushes were left dumbstruck by the sight. They had not expected the kid's method to actually work.

But when they thought of the next step the kid had arranged for this plan, a chill ran down their spines.

As if by unspoken agreement, their gazes settled on the Mutated Wild Boar, amusement glinting in their eyes as though they were looking forward to what would happen next.

The boar, fighting fiercely and rolling its body around as it gradually got into the swing of things, suddenly felt that thing touch something. A burst of searing pain followed!

There's poison in there!

The boar's bloodshot eyes went wide. Its whole body shuddered, and amid a miserable scream, its legs suddenly stiffened before going limp.

Now!

A sharp whistle tore through the air from the bushes. Shen Xiu shot out, the muscles in his legs taut as he covered five or six meters in an instant.

He closed in on the stiffened Mutated Wild Boar in a flash.

At the same time, the broadsword in his hand slashed out. A howl ripped through the air, trailing a streak of afterimages.

The two brawny men inside saw only a flash of blade light, followed by spurts of blood flying in every direction.

The broadsword, charged with force for a long while, came crashing down viciously.

What answered it was the Mutated Wild Boar's shriek, ringing across the fields.

Under Shen Xiu's full-force strike, a horrifying, foot-long gash opened across the boar's back.

The great boar struggled to flee, but the poison spreading from that part of its body had stiffened its entire frame, leaving it unable to move for the moment.

Strike while it was sick and take its life. Shen Xiu's assault did not cease; his blade light flowed in an unbroken stream, becoming afterimages as blood blossoms scattered.

Under Shen Xiu's successive chops, the Mutated Wild Boar forced itself to run over ten meters, but in the end, it still died with utmost unwillingness.

The brawny men who had been blocking it from both sides arrived at his side then.

Seeing the miserable state of the Mutated Wild Boar, they were both astonished beyond measure. They could not stop marveling that Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School's disciples were indeed anything but ordinary.

This mutated boar was thick-skinned and tough-fleshed. Even if they had hacked at it themselves, they would have needed half a day, yet after spending so long on it before, they still had not managed to keep it behind.

But Brother Shen's method was truly ingenious—he had actually wrapped poison in paper and stuffed it into that white pig's insides.

Once the paper became damp, it would naturally tear apart with the movement, allowing the poison inside to spread.

Its fate went without saying.

The brawny man surnamed Li made up his mind. The next time he encountered prey he could not handle, he would give this method a try.

Everything was settled.

Shen Xiu dragged the great boar back to Li Family Manor and showed it to the manor lord, Li Yongnian, indicating that the commission had been completed.

As for the boar's final destination, it naturally became Shen Xiu's spoils for taking action. No one in Li Family Manor objected.

After dragging the boar back to the guest courtyard arranged by Manor Lord Li, Shen Xiu secretly released the Golden Cicada from his Dantian when he saw that there was no one around.

The Golden Cicada was indeed somewhat interested in this mutated boar demon. As soon as it was released, it flew a circle around the great boar lying on the ground.

Then it picked a spot and began feasting with great gusto.

Unfortunately, although the Golden Cicada, having already undergone one transformation, had gained a larger appetite, it had not grown that much larger.

Such an enormous boar, and after all that time, it had eaten less than a tenth of it.

Though it had not eaten much, the Golden Cicada's satiety had increased considerably.

That single meal increased its satiety by nearly 2%. The Golden Cicada's satiety was now 24.5%.

This was far better than those medicinal dregs.

Shen Xiu could not help wondering whether only beasts and demon beasts containing Demonic Energy were the Golden Cicada's true food.

The Golden Cicada could not finish the boar in one meal.

Shen Xiu could not simply carry it around like this, so he planned to have the people of Li Family Manor help process it and divide it into several portions.

Shen Xiu had just solved a major problem for Li Family Manor. Naturally, its people had no reason to refuse, and they quickly helped him finish the job.

The day after completing the mission, Shen Xiu packed up his belongings and the processed Mutated Wild Boar meat from Li Family Manor, preparing to leave the manor and return to Taixi City.

Before he left, Li Yongnian, the lord of Li Family Manor, saw Shen Xiu out the gate and had Steward Li beside him bring out a bundle.

"What is this, Manor Lord?" Shen Xiu asked in confusion as he looked at the bundle being handed over.

Manor Lord Li grinned and said with a smile,

"You've gone to the trouble of making such a long trip, little brother. It's only a small gift, not worthy of mention."

Li Yongnian's thoughts regarding such a young talent were simple. It could never be wrong to make a friend of him.

Shen Xiu thought about it, but did not refuse.

Before he departed, Li Yongnian also gave him a warning.

"Over near White Tiger Ridge, the Crimson Fire Bandits have been roaming around lately. They seem to be looking for something. Brother Shen, you must be extremely careful on your way back."

Hearing Manor Lord Li's words, Shen Xiu immediately frowned.

Over the past few years, a group of bandits called the Crimson Fire Bandits had indeed often appeared near Taixi City. They burned, killed, plundered, and committed every evil imaginable, their methods exceedingly ruthless.

Rumor had it that the Crimson Fire Bandits were all quite skilled in martial arts. Even the weakest of their three leaders was said to possess Second Realm Muscle Tendon Training cultivation.

Their leader, The Boss Wang Jinlong, was even rumored to be an unfathomable Fourth Realm Return to Hiding expert.

Their movements were as elusive as ghosts, and their leaders possessed profound cultivation. Even the constables of Taixi City's county office found them somewhat difficult to handle.

They had once issued a summons, gathering blade-hunters from the martial world and placing bounties on the Crimson Fire Bandits' leaders. Yet they had not seen so much as a single hair of them, while quite a few of those who went never returned.

Thus, over a year ago, Taixi City's county office finally made up its mind. It dispatched skilled fighters, spent heavily to contact several martial arts school masters, and launched a thunderous assault on the Crimson Fire Bandits' stronghold.

Yet the other side seemed to have received word in advance and had fled, leaving the place empty. They only killed a few minor leaders who had failed to retreat in time.

Yang Jinhong, master of Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School, had pursued the deepest and suffered the greatest losses. Not only had he been injured himself, but he had also lost two Personal Disciples.

Only then did the other side gradually restrain itself somewhat, merely emerging from time to time to commit crimes.

After leaving Li Family Manor, Shen Xiu opened the bundle given to him by Manor Lord Li. Inside were some medicinal herbs, and beneath them lay five shining taels of silver.

For commissions from Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School, payment was handed directly by the client to the martial arts school, rather than passing through the hands of the Formal Disciples who completed the missions.

As for the ten taels of silver for Li Family Manor's commission, they had already been paid to the martial arts school earlier.

Manor Lord Li understood this clearly, so these five taels of silver were undoubtedly given to Shen Xiu separately and were not part of the original ten-tael reward for the commission.

Manor Lord Li really knew how to conduct himself, Shen Xiu thought with a smile.

Watching Shen Xiu's departing back, the manor steward looked at his own lord with some confusion in his eyes.

"This kid seems to be only at First Realm Body Tempering strength in Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School. We've already paid the martial arts school's reward—do we still need to give him another share?"

Manor Lord Li did not answer. Instead, he looked at the steward with a faintly smiling expression and asked, "You've spent these past few days with him. What do you think of him?"

Steward Li was somewhat baffled, but he still frowned in thought before saying, "He should be considered rather polite and mild-mannered, neither servile nor overbearing. He isn't as arrogant and high-handed as those people who came before."

"I have never thought much of those who become arrogant and high-handed the moment they gain a little ability. Such people may enjoy a brief spell of success, but their arrogance and recklessness will soon make them lose it.

"On the contrary, it is ordinary people like this who may reach heights beyond anything we know.

"Five taels of silver is neither too much for someone of his standing nor overly deliberate. Let it count as forging a good bond. My eyelids have been twitching lately—I keep feeling that things are not peaceful, as though something is about to happen."

The dark-skinned Manor Lord Li gazed into the distance, staring in the direction of Shanglin, the provincial city, with a thoughtful look between his brows.

Two of his more valuable batches of medicinal herbs were still on their way to Shanglin City.