Demon Wolf

The sun had yet to set.

Gu Sheng had already finished chopping his thousand logs for the day. Opening his status panel, he saw that the proficiency for Chopping Wood under martial arts had reached 54%.

"In just over ten more days, I can grind Chopping Wood to the perfected realm. I wonder how powerful it'll become once it reaches perfection!"

Gu Sheng felt invigorated.

Chopping Wood was currently his only means of protecting himself, so naturally he took it very seriously.

"Unfortunately, my allotted share is only a thousand logs at most. That's only because Gu He the steward and I get along well. Otherwise, I wouldn't even get this much."

Though Chopping Wood looked exhausting, it was safe and provided steady work regardless of drought or flood. Many people pulled strings to get in.

Gu Sheng shook his head and packed up his things.

As long as he finished his work, he could leave early. These days, he had more and more free time.

Once Chopping Wood broke through to the perfected realm, perhaps he could finish all his work in half a day. Gu Sheng was considering finding a good way to earn money with his remaining time. Relying solely on Chopping Wood was simply too slow a way to build up wealth.

Now that his basic food and clothing needs had been settled, Gu Sheng had begun planning for the future.

He slowly walked out of the small courtyard. The passing servants smiled kindly at him. Since Gu He regarded Gu Sheng highly, many servants had privately spread rumors that Gu He and Gu Sheng were somehow related.

One of the servants who had looked down on Gu Sheng when he first came to chop wood had even specifically brought him water once to apologize.

Gu Sheng nodded and smiled before finding Gu He.

Gu He smiled and handed him ten copper coins.

"I have some good news. The martial artists who entered the mountains have returned to the village."

Gu Sheng froze, then anxiously asked,

"Were there any casualties?"

"Only a few were injured. No one died. Gu Erniu was lucky—not only was he unhurt, he even earned some merit."

Gu Sheng said in delight,

"Thank you for telling me, Steward!"

The huge weight in his heart finally lifted. Gu Erniu had been in the mountains for half a month and had finally returned safely.

The Gu Erniu family were among the only close people Gu Sheng had left in Gu Family Village. He did not want anything to happen to them.

He hurried home. He had originally planned to put down his things and visit Gu Erniu's house, but as soon as he reached his doorway, he saw a long-missed, sturdy figure pacing as he waited.

"Brother Erniu!"

"Ah Sheng!"

Both burst into delighted laughter. Gu Erniu stepped forward and gave Gu Sheng a fierce bear hug, patting his arm.

"Good lad, we haven't seen each other for half a month, and you've gotten so much stronger!"

Gu Erniu grinned, surprise in his eyes.

Gu Sheng truly had changed a great deal.

He had once looked so frail that the wind could blow him over, but now the muscles in his arms had begun to show. More importantly, there was something extraordinary about his bearing.

He seemed calm even in danger, as though he possessed real confidence.

The wolf attack had brought Gu Sheng more than wolf meat. His spirit had also been tempered. Having personally slaughtered two vicious wolves, his courage had greatly increased.

Hearing Gu Erniu's praise, Gu Sheng merely smiled.

He led Gu Erniu into the house.

"Brother Erniu, you're finally back."

Gu Erniu could not help sighing.

"Yes, I'm finally back."

He looked directly into Gu Sheng's eyes and said sincerely,

"Thank you for everything while I was gone. If you hadn't risked your life to save them that night, your sister-in-law and Xiao Wan might have..."

As he spoke, Gu Erniu revealed a lingering look of fear. He clasped his hands and bowed to Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng hurriedly supported him.

"Brother Erniu, there's no need for this. You and Sister-in-law have treated me like a real younger brother. How could I stand by and watch you die?"

Gu Erniu shook his head.

He could tell how dangerous it had been just from Li Lian's account. Without a bow in hand, even he would have had to be extremely cautious fighting wolves, much less a fourteen-year-old boy.

He reached out and took out two wild rabbits and a pheasant, handing them to Gu Sheng.

"Don't refuse. We had a good haul in the mountains this time. Much of the game we caught was distributed among us hunters. This is just a small token from your Brother Erniu. If you refuse, it means you don't consider your sister-in-law and me family!"

Gu Erniu glared with his tiger-like eyes, so Gu Sheng accepted the game.

He asked curiously,

"Brother Erniu, what exactly did you go into the mountains for this time?"

Only because they had become closer did Gu Sheng ask this question. Otherwise, he would not have brought it up.

Gu Erniu glanced toward the door, rose to close the wooden door securely, then lowered his voice.

"It was for a demon wolf!"

"Come to think of it, the wolf attack that night was probably related to that demon wolf. We had chased it too closely, so it tried to draw attention away from itself."

Gu Sheng's heart shook violently.

A demon wolf!

He knew that this world contained not only martial artists capable of lifting cauldrons and splitting mountains or rivers, but also powerful and strange demons. Yet until now, such things had existed only in rumors.

How could ordinary people ever see such things in their lifetimes? Those who saw them had probably all died.

Yet now, Gu Erniu was telling him that they had hunted a demon wolf!

What a shocking thing that was.

Gu Sheng's interest soared.

Excitement showed on Gu Erniu's face.

"Our group had seven or eight martial artists and three hunters. Especially Lord Gu Changming from the main family—he was unbelievably fierce. They say he's even stronger than Instructor Gu Jingang. He led the team this time!"

"After entering the mountains that day, we quickly found traces of the demon wolf. But that beast was cunning and quite intelligent. It actually played hide-and-seek with us, which delayed us for so long."

Gu Sheng could not help asking,

"What did that demon wolf look like?"

"It stood over half a zhang tall at the shoulder, with silver-white fur all over its body, smooth as satin. Its eyes were blood-red, and it was incredibly fast!"

Gu Erniu still looked somewhat shaken.

"Even though we were prepared, several people were injured. Fortunately, no one died."

The image of the demon wolf surfaced in Gu Sheng's mind, and he could not help marveling.

He then recalled the wolves from that night. They had likely been influenced by this demon wolf and lost their senses, which was why they had dared attack the village.

Gu Erniu continued,

"After being delayed for quite some time, we found the demon wolf's trail again. This time, your Brother Erniu displayed his mighty prowess! I sent an arrow soaring through the clouds and struck that demon wolf hard in its hind leg, securing the situation!"

His face was full of pride.

"This time, your Brother Erniu earned great merit and even formed a connection with Lord Gu Changming. From now on, if anyone bullies us brothers in the village, we'll have someone to rely on."

Listening to Gu Erniu boast, Gu Sheng secretly laughed.

Gu Erniu was straightforward and bold by nature, so he had likely exaggerated somewhat. Still, he must indeed have earned some merit.

Gu Sheng guessed that while the martial artists had been fighting the demon wolf, Gu Erniu had happened to shoot its hind leg, making the later pursuit much easier. That was how he had earned his reward.

Gu Sheng smiled and went along with him for a few words before asking,

"I once heard the village elders say that demons are incredibly powerful creatures, even possessing all sorts of formidable supernatural abilities. But this demon wolf doesn't sound particularly powerful. Could it have been injured, or perhaps just given birth?"

Gu Sheng had seen Gu Jingang take action. Though he was extremely strong, he should not have been overwhelmingly powerful.

Even if Gu Changming was a level stronger than Gu Jingang, the difference could not be too outrageous.

Yet with such strength, he had been able to lead several martial artists and hunters to kill a demon wolf. It did not match Gu Sheng's impression of how powerful demons were.

Gu Erniu chuckled.

"You're smart, Ah Sheng. I heard Lord Gu Changming say that this demon wolf wasn't a true demon. It merely possessed part of a demon's bloodline."

Gu Sheng understood at once.

So that was it.

"Then, Brother Erniu, do you know why the village hunted the demon wolf?"

Gu Erniu shook his head.

"That's the business of the main family's lords. They won't tell people like us. We were only responsible for leading the way."

Gu Sheng nodded and smiled.

"No matter what, it's good that you returned safely. You can finally stay home peacefully for a while."

Gu Erniu nodded as well.

The harvest this time was plentiful enough to let the Gu Erniu family live quietly for a while. Hunting in the mountains sounded carefree, but in truth, it was a way of making money with one's life. One careless mistake meant being torn apart by wild beasts.

The secret to hunters living long lives was entering the mountains as little as possible.

The two chatted for a while longer. Gu Erniu looked at Gu Sheng, finally made up his mind, and asked in a deep voice,

"Ah Sheng, do you want to learn archery?"