Frightening Off the Wind-Chasing Leopard

The Wind-Chasing Leopard took a few slow steps forward, coming fully into Chu Heng's view.

It was nearly the size of a full-grown dog, with gray-brown mottled fur that hid it well among the tree shadows. Muscles bulged beneath its coat, and its limbs were powerful, yet its paws made almost no sound on the thick layer of rotting leaves.

Chu Heng stayed alert, his eyes fixed on the Wind-Chasing Leopard. Its green, slit-pupiled eyes locked onto him in turn. It curled its lips to reveal rows of sharp teeth, and a low growl rose from its throat. Even from more than ten meters away, its hot, rank breath reached him.

He had prepared himself for this, but now that the pressure was bearing down on him, part of him still wanted to retreat.

They faced each other for a long while. At last, the Wind-Chasing Leopard lost patience. Its hind legs drove into the ground, scattering rotten leaves as it shot toward him like a gray blur.

Its claws spread, glinting coldly as they went straight for Chu Heng's shoulder.

Chu Heng hurriedly sidestepped and rolled away. The force of the leopard's charge swept past him, whipping his clothes.

Its first strike missed. The moment it landed, the Wind-Chasing Leopard turned and lowered its body again, weaving through the trees as it tried to circle behind Chu Heng.

Chu Heng tracked it with a cold gaze and kept retreating until his back met a thick tree. Safe from an attack from behind, he dropped his pack and drew a short blade from it.

The leopard lunged at him in an instant. Chu Heng turned aside and raised his arm, slashing toward its head.

But he was too tense. His swing went off course, and instead of cutting the leopard's head, he struck it with the flat of the blade. He had put all his strength into the blow. The blade slammed into the side of its face with a dull thud, but its skull held firm. The strike only made it jerk its head aside in pain and let out an angry shriek.

The Wind-Chasing Leopard grew frenzied. Its attacks came faster, claws flashing again and again. Chu Heng could only dodge and weave, using the trees to block it.

The cracking wood drowned out what he could hear, and flying splinters obscured his sight. As he dodged, a claw caught his forearm, leaving several bleeding gashes. Pain shot up his arm and through his body, and the blade flew from his hand.

The sounds of the fight spread through the forest. Several other Soul Beasts emerged from hiding, though none joined the battle. They were clearly waiting for Chu Heng and the leopard to wound each other so they could claim the spoils.

Chu Heng glimpsed the shapes appearing one after another, and a chill seized him. Yet his mind grew clearer. If he lost his composure now, he would have no chance of surviving.

Chu Heng forced himself to stay calm. The Wind-Chasing Leopard could not. Sensing the others nearby, it gave a short roar, gathered strength in all four limbs, and sprang into the air. Its whole body left the ground, jaws opening wide as it lunged straight for Chu Heng's throat, intent on ending him with one bite.

At the last possible moment, Chu Heng threw himself forward and snatched up the fallen blade. Before the leopard landed, he spun around and leapt.

The Wind-Chasing Leopard hit the ground before the force of its leap had spent itself. Then a weight crashed onto its back, and the pressure made it stumble.

Chu Heng had landed on the leopard's back, but the stumble nearly threw him off. Before it could react, he raised the short blade high and drove it toward the vulnerable spot at its neck.

Thud.

The blade sank into the Wind-Chasing Leopard's body, but the expected spray of blood never came. In pain, it twisted violently and flung Chu Heng off its back. Then it scrambled up and turned to face him.

Damn it!

Chu Heng knew he had made the wrong choice. Afraid his blow would lack power, he had tried to stab through its throat instead of slashing it. But the leopard's movement had thrown off his aim. He had failed to deal a fatal wound and lost his only useful weapon.

Chu Heng quickly glanced around and was surprised to find that the other Soul Beasts had retreated during the fight. They seemed to have grown wary of him.

If I can scare them off like this, that would be best...

Chu Heng searched for a way out of his predicament, but the Wind-Chasing Leopard made its choice first.

With a shriek, it watched Chu Heng as it backed away. Only when it had put enough distance between them did it turn and race off, vanishing into the trees.

The surrounding Soul Beasts concealed their presence again and returned to hiding.

Once the area fell quiet, Chu Heng retrieved his pack. He took out gauze and bandaged his wounds, then ate and drank to restore his strength, keeping watch all the while. When he was done, he decided to leave and find a suitable place to make a temporary camp.

As the boy's footsteps faded, Su Xianling slowly rose from her perch high in a tree.

Su Xianling had watched the entire fight.

That Wind-Chasing Leopard was roughly seventy to eighty years old, strong enough to rank among the finest Hundred-Year Soul Beasts.

Chu Heng's fight with it had lasted only a few exchanges, but in that setting, life and death could be decided in an instant. Under such pressure, he had quickly steadied himself, responded to the leopard's attacks, and struck back. Frightening it into retreat was an excellent outcome.

Meanwhile, Chu Heng endured the throbbing pain in his arm as he skirted a low-lying patch of dense brush. After searching for a while, he found a small terrace beside the Giant Rock.

A huge slanted slab jutted outward, forming a natural roof that would shield him from dew and rain. The terrace stood slightly above the surrounding ground, and with rock at his back, a Soul Beast would have fewer ways to catch him by surprise.

Only after confirming that no Soul Beasts had dens nearby did Chu Heng limp onto the terrace. He cleared away the debris and dropped onto the exposed earth.

"Sister, you really got me into trouble..."

Chu Heng muttered to himself, then shook his head with a wry smile.

He did not dare light a fire for fear of attracting a powerful Soul Beast. But entering a meditative state without precautions was too dangerous.

So he forced himself up, gathered some dead branches nearby, and stuck them in rows around the spot he had chosen to rest, forming a rough fence.

It would not stop anything, but a Soul Beast approaching him would have to break the branches. The noise would wake him and give him time to prepare.

With everything ready, Chu Heng sat cross-legged and began to meditate.