Encountering a Vicious Wolf

"Thank you for telling me!" Lu Shaolin said with a smile to the shop assistant.

"You're too polite, little brother. Looking at your build, you'll definitely make it into a gang next year and secure yourself an excellent future," the assistant said flatteringly, waving his hands repeatedly.

Lu Shaolin's physique was indeed quite impressive now. He stood over 1.7 meters tall, and after the Three Absolutes Spear reached great mastery, the contours of his muscles had become even more distinct.

If not for his still somewhat youthful face, no one would have believed he was under twenty.

"Then I'll borrow your auspicious words!" Lu Shaolin said with a smile, cupping his hands.

Afterward, Lu Shaolin sank into thought.

Other than gangs, there was also the imperial court. The court had internal cultivation methods too, but no matter what world it was, becoming a civil servant was exceptionally difficult. Who wouldn't want an iron rice bowl?

He had neither power nor influence, so the imperial court was out of the question. He still had to find a way to join a gang!

The cart swayed along for half an hour beneath the early autumn sun, leaving his whole body pleasantly warm.

Lu Shaolin felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Just as he was about to take a nap, the big green donkey suddenly let out a miserable "Awoo!" and stopped dead in its tracks.

"Ah! A wolf... a wolf!" The assistant pointed ahead and cried out in terror.

Lu Shaolin's drowsiness vanished in an instant. Focusing his gaze, he saw a gray wolf the size of a small calf fifty meters ahead.

The gray wolf bore several wounds, and its eyes were fixed firmly on the big green donkey. It had clearly marked the donkey as prey.

The big green donkey brayed as it turned to flee, but how could it possibly outrun a gray wolf while pulling such a large cart?

"L-little brother... w-what do we do?" the assistant stammered, so frightened that his wits had flown to the four winds.

"What else can we do? Serve it cold! Drive the cart back two li first. I'll go meet this beast, then come find you," Lu Shaolin said with a smile, baring snow-white teeth. He jumped down from the donkey cart and walked step by step toward the gray wolf.

The assistant hurriedly whipped the green donkey, urging it to flee faster.

Lu Zhong had hunted wolves in his memories too, though none had been as large as this one. At the time, Lu Zhong's spear technique had only been at minor mastery. Now that his own spear technique had reached great mastery, this was the perfect chance to test its power!

Judging from the gray wolf's size and the wounds on its body, it might have been a defeated alpha wolf. He just did not know why it had left the mountains and forests to come here.

With his spear angled toward the ground at his lower right, Lu Shaolin walked unhurriedly toward the gray wolf.

The gray wolf watched Lu Shaolin approach, then glanced at the big green donkey slowly moving away. It leaped sideways, intending to circle around Lu Shaolin and chase after the donkey.

A beast's instincts told it that this human was not to be trifled with!

Seeing the gray wolf pounce to the side in an attempt to bypass him, Lu Shaolin shifted sideways and once again blocked its path.

Man and wolf fell into a brief standoff.

Lu Shaolin stood with one foot forward and one back, his knees slightly bent, his spear still angled to the right.

The gray wolf stared at Lu Shaolin, bloodlust blazing in its eyes. It began to bare its fangs, exposing sharp, gleaming teeth.

Then it violently kicked off with its hind legs and leaped through the air at Lu Shaolin!

Lu Shaolin's gaze sharpened. Both arms exploded with force, and with a whoosh, he brought down a Falling Star strike.

The gray wolf truly deserved to have once been an alpha. With a twist of its waist, it evaded the crushing blow, landed to Lu Shaolin's right, and slowly began circling him.

Lu Shaolin slowly turned as well, always keeping himself facing the gray wolf!

After two circles, Lu Shaolin suddenly charged forward. "Water Severing!" His spear swept horizontally!

The gray wolf instantly crouched low on all fours, then sprang backward, avoiding the sweeping strike. Yet while it was still in midair, Lu Shaolin directly changed moves.

The spear followed the momentum and drew back as he took a great stride forward.

"Skybreak!" The spear pierced the air and, in the blink of an eye, plunged into the gray wolf's throat. Blood immediately surged down the shaft.

With a bang, the gray wolf crashed to the ground. It panted heavily, its breath gradually weakening.

With a pop, Lu Shaolin pulled out his spear.

Wolf blood spurted forth at once.

The light slowly faded from the gray wolf's eyes. After twitching a few times, it went completely still!

"Whew..." Lu Shaolin slowly let out a breath.

He had experienced life-and-death situations in his previous life, but this was his first time fighting a beast face-to-face. It had looked simple, yet in truth, it had consumed quite a bit of mental and physical strength.

He crouched and touched the wolf's corpse, but the system gave no notification. Lu Shaolin was somewhat disappointed. It seemed only things like demons and monsters could increase Source Points.

He swung his spear twice, shaking the blood from it, then turned and hurried back the way he had come.

He chased for a full li before finally catching up to the donkey cart.

In such a short time, it was impressive that the assistant had managed to run this fast!

"Little brother? You're all right?" the assistant cried out upon seeing Lu Shaolin.

Then fear appeared on his face as he peered behind Lu Shaolin.

"Stop looking. The vicious wolf has already been killed by me," Lu Shaolin said with a faint smile.

"Y-you killed it? Such a huge gray wolf! Little brother, you're amazing—truly amazing!" The assistant gaped in astonishment and exclaimed endlessly.

"I'm a hunter to begin with, and I had a suitable weapon in hand. It's nothing remarkable." Lu Shaolin waved a hand and sat beside the assistant.

"Let's go. Head back!"

"Right away! Sit tight, little brother! Hyah!" The assistant was immensely excited. He swung his whip, and the big green donkey turned around and headed forward again.

Before long, the donkey cart reached the gray wolf's corpse.

The assistant jumped down from the cart and circled the wolf's body, clicking his tongue in wonder. His family lived in the county town, and though he had heard many tales of demons, monsters, and strange spirits, he had never actually seen one.

This was also the first time he had seen such a large wolf.

"Little brother, I'll help you lift the wolf onto the cart," the assistant volunteered.

Lu Shaolin smiled. Together, the two of them lifted the wolf, which weighed around a hundred jin, onto the donkey cart.

"Little brother, with skills like yours, when the gangs recruit members next year, you'll definitely be among the very best." The assistant gave him a thumbs-up.

"Mm. We should hurry on," Lu Shaolin nodded and reminded him.

"Got it." The assistant climbed onto the donkey cart.

Lu Shaolin stepped up as well.

The donkey cart continued toward Panshan Village.

"Little brother, I still don't know what to call you. My name is Li Cai." The assistant introduced himself.

"Lu Shaolin!"

"That's a nice name. From now on, I'll call you Brother Lu."

"Anything is fine."

The two chatted as they traveled. Another half hour passed before the donkey cart finally reached the village entrance.

It was already noon. Every household was either eating or seizing the time to rest.

The donkey cart slowly made its way toward Lu Shaolin's home. Once it turned at the fork ahead, it would arrive.

"Oh my, isn't this the Li family's little wife? Haven't seen you in a while, and your figure's filled out quite a bit. Look at that ass! Come over and let your big brother pamper you!" Just as they reached the fork, a frivolous voice rang out.

Lu Shaolin looked ahead and saw two men sitting outside his home.

One had a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, with a lanky, thin body.

The other had a face full of flesh and a sturdy build.

After thinking for a moment, he recognized them as the village's hooligans: Li Sanbao and Wu Cheng.

Wu Cheng was the nephew of the village head's wife from her maternal family. He had come to Panshan Village three years ago and spent every day idling about.

Li Sanbao lived alone and was equally good-for-nothing.

The two had fallen in together. If they were not teasing young wives, they were up to such mischief as stealing chickens and dogs.

What was more, Wu Cheng knew a few moves. Ordinary villagers were no match for him, and out of consideration for the village head's reputation—as well as fear that angering him would lead to him hounding them day after day—they all chose to let matters rest.

The only people the two had never dared provoke were Lu Shaolin's family. After all, Lu Zhong was a hunter and more skilled than Wu Cheng, so they had kept to their own side of the river and well water, never meddling with each other.

Bang!

The Li family's young wife, whom the two had been harassing, hurriedly shut the courtyard gate while clutching a wooden basin.

"Hahaha!" The two men laughed smugly.