Blood Wuy a abruptly turned his head and shot a fierce glance toward Little Leopard's hiding place. Little Leopard shuddered in alarm. Not daring to delay, he dragged the live animals into the valley.
"Master, this is-!"
Before he could finish, an invisible force pushed him away. Then Blood Wuy a swept a fingertip through the air, killing all ten animals at once, sucked in their blood in a single gulp, and sat down to regulate his breathing.
Little Leopard dared not speak. He waited respectfully for a full two hours before Blood Wuy a finally opened his eyes.
After two hours of regulating his breathing, some color had returned to Blood Wuy a's pale face. He glanced at Little Leopard with bloodshot eyes and nodded. "Mm, you did very well. You gathered enough blood food in such a short time and brought it here promptly. You've been a tremendous help!"
"It was all thanks to your blessings, Master!" Little Leopard hurriedly replied. Seeing that Blood Wuy a seemed to be in a decent mood, he plucked up his courage and asked, "Master, what exactly was that monster?!"
"How should I know? There are far too many monstrous creatures between heaven and earth. If I hadn't awakened from meditation in time, dealing with it would probably have taken a great deal more effort!" Blood Wuy a sounded rather disgruntled.
"Would you like to recuperate somewhere else, Master?"
"That won't be necessary!" Blood Wuy a shook his head. "I severely wounded that creature today and damaged its vitality. It will have to recuperate in its underground cavern for some time before it can emerge again, so it poses little threat for now. Besides-!" At this point, he seemed to realize something. He merely shook his head and told Little Leopard, "I expended a great deal today. Starting tomorrow, bring more fresh blood food. Do you understand?!"
"I understand!" Little Leopard dared not say more and bowed his head in assent, though fresh considerations stirred in his mind.
"Does that sword handle well?!" Blood Wuy a suddenly asked, casting a thoughtful glance at the large black boar whose tusks Little Leopard had sliced off.
"Very well, very well! Without this sword, I could never have gathered so much blood food so quickly!" Little Leopard hastily replied.
"Good, then!" Blood Wuy a nodded. "I see some wounds on you. You didn't run into any trouble while hunting for blood food, did you?!"
Little Leopard was still fairly presentable, but while fighting the White-Scaled Python earlier, he had been scratched by branches and bushes in several places as he dodged its attacks. The wounds were not serious, but there were plenty of them. Some of the blood had already clotted, while a few deeper cuts still bled faintly. Covered in bloodstains, he looked as though he had just fought his way off a battlefield!
"The divine sword you gave me is incomparably sharp, Master. Naturally, I had no trouble!"
"That was an oversight on my part. Matters were urgent yesterday, and I needed to heal, so I didn't speak with you at length. I only gave you this Black Gold Short Sword. Though you handle it well, you don't seem to know any sword techniques. I have a sword move created by an extraordinary individual. It is tremendously powerful. Since there's nothing to do right now, I'll teach it to you. With this move, hunting won't take so much effort. However, it is profound and mysterious-even I haven't fully comprehended it. You must practice it diligently!" Blood Wuy a's eyes flickered as he stared at Little Leopard.
"Thank you, Master!" Little Leopard was overjoyed. When a windfall like this dropped from the heavens, he would be a fool not to take it. As for whatever intentions Blood Wuy a harbored, he wasn't going to worry about them now. After all, judging by what had just happened, Blood Wuy a could kill him without much effort; there would be no need for such a roundabout scheme.
Blood Wuy a was decisive as well. Once he had made up his mind, he refused to waste another moment and immediately taught Little Leopard the sword move along with its internal method.
Unfortunately, the move was indeed as profound and intricate as he had said. Little Leopard was no fool, but without any knowledge of swordsmanship, listening to this sublime technique was like listening to a heavenly scripture. Blood Wuy a explained it for over an hour, yet it did no good whatsoever. Little Leopard simply understood none of it.
Blood Wuy a was so furious that he nearly slapped Little Leopard dead.
In the end, with no other choice, Blood Wuy a spent two hours forcing Little Leopard to memorize the sword move and its internal method by rote. He also made him memorize some of his own insights and experiences, then drove him out of the valley before his temper erupted.
"Bring more blood food. Easy for you to say! Why don't you try it!"
After leaving the valley, Little Leopard grumbled to himself. One word from the boss, and those beneath him had to run their legs off. Blood Wuy a had simply opened his mouth and demanded more blood food-five more animals at a stroke. Had today's hunt looked too easy to him? As Little Leopard stewed, a strange noise came from his belly, followed by overwhelming exhaustion. Even his steps began to falter.
Little Leopard hurriedly braced himself against the rock wall beside him and took a shallow breath. "Forget it. No point thinking about all that. I'll go back and rest first. Today really wore me out. I've spent far too much energy!"
Indeed, this one day had felt longer than an ordinary year. First he had traveled through the rain, only to be abducted by Blood Wuy a midway, leaving his nerves taut throughout. Then Blood Wuy a had taken him as a disciple, taught him martial arts, and sent him hunting for blood food. His only rest thus far had been a brief session of breathing regulation in the cave at Halfway Cliff that afternoon, and even then he had been studying the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art. His mind had remained under intense strain, and the hunt had consumed a great deal of physical strength, yet he had not eaten a single bite of dry rations or drunk a single mouthful of water. Now that the day's work was done and no great danger threatened him, he naturally relaxed. Once he did, immeasurable weariness swept over him. If he kept forcing himself onward, his body would probably collapse.
"I'd better go back and rest. Eat some dry rations, drink some water, and get a good night's sleep!"
Little Leopard rallied his spirits and climbed back to the cave at Halfway Cliff. He fetched his dry rations, brought them down to the stream, and hastily ate them with stream water. Before long, having eaten and drunk his fill, he climbed back up, sat cross-legged, and began regulating his breathing and entering meditation.
That meditation lasted the entire night. When he awakened again, daylight had long since arrived.
Little Leopard woke feeling wonderfully refreshed. A night of meditation had completely dispelled yesterday's exhaustion, but his belly was empty, and hunger returned.
Walking to the cave entrance, he saw branches swaying around him and mountain mist shimmering with dripping emerald hues. A few beasts roared among the distant mountains, birds occasionally swept over Cloud Ridge, and another group of animals had gathered sometime to drink from the stream below. Judged solely by the scene before him, it was an exquisitely beautiful landscape painting, as though nature had presented him with a vision of perfect harmony.
Unfortunately, that harmony did not last. A mountain leopard suddenly sprang from the dense forest, reached the stream in a few bounds, and seized a wild goat by the neck, scattering the surrounding animals drinking there in frightened flight.
Without a second thought, Little Leopard raised his hand and sent a dart straight into the mountain leopard's left eye. The leopard howled, dropped the goat from its jaws, and fled backward. Little Leopard gave it no chance. Another Kunai flew out and embedded itself in one of its legs. The leopard wailed and fell to the ground, struggling to stand, but that was hardly so easy.
Little Leopard floated down from Halfway Cliff, pushed off with his toes, and reached the leopard. He pulled the Kunai from its eye and slit its throat. Looking at the goat it had seized, he found that its throat had already been bitten through. It lay twitching on the ground, and although it had not yet died, it clearly had little time left.
"That saved me some trouble!" Little Leopard smiled and carried the goat and leopard beneath the Great Camphor Tree. He tossed the leopard aside, then gutted the goat with a Kunai, cleaned and skinned it, lit a fire, and set the goat over it.
This was the method he had learned from Wang Tianlei and the other hunters back in the village. Putting it to use today, he found it wonderfully convenient. His only regret was that he had brought no salt.
With the goat set over the fire, Little Leopard carefully controlled the heat. Gradually, a faint aroma rose from the goat on the roasting frame and drifted into the surroundings.
Watching the goat over the fire and smelling its mouthwatering fragrance, Little Leopard's smile slowly widened. Just as he was imagining the feast he would enjoy once it was done, he suddenly felt something nudging his foot.
He looked down and froze.
"What is this thing? A squirrel? A chipmunk? Or something else?!"
At his feet, a plump, fist-sized creature was straining to nudge his foot. On closer inspection, it looked like a chipmunk. The little thing had grayish-brown fur and a bushy tail trailing behind it. It kept pushing hard against his foot, though he had no idea what it was trying to nudge.
Little Leopard frowned slightly, reached down, grasped its tail, and lifted it upside down.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak-!" Being dangled upside down clearly made the little creature uncomfortable. It squeaked strangely, paddling all four paws furiously through the air as it struggled desperately to escape Little Leopard's hand.
"What a bold little fellow!" Something stirred in Little Leopard's mind as he noticed what was unusual about it. Through his encounters over the past two days, he had gained some understanding of the mountain's wild beasts. Every one of them was sly as a ghost and exceptionally wary, deeply suspicious of anything unfamiliar. At the slightest sign of trouble, they took to their heels. How could he have expected to encounter something like this? It was no larger than his fist and did not seem particularly strong, yet it had boldly run right up to his feet and nudged him.
By now, Little Leopard had raised the creature in front of his face and finally saw it clearly. Wasn't it just a little chipmunk? Its only difference from the chipmunks on Earth was a conspicuous tuft of silver fur on its forehead, which gleamed silver in the sunlight.
"Interesting!" The little chipmunk's eyes darted about. It opened its mouth, exposing two gleaming white front teeth, and squeaked. Perhaps because it struggled too vigorously, its body actually began spinning in midair.
Little Leopard watched its struggles with interest, refusing to let go.
After spinning a few times, the little creature stopped struggling.
"Huh? Why isn't it moving?!"
Little Leopard paused in surprise. At that moment, the little creature had its back to him.
Suddenly, with a "pfft," an indescribably foul stench burst from the chipmunk.
"Fuck-!" By the time Little Leopard realized something was wrong, he had already inhaled a trace of the smell.
That smell-
Although Little Leopard had developed some resistance by now, the instant the smell entered his nose, his stomach and intestines began churning uncontrollably, and stomach acid surged upward. His hand loosened, and the little creature dropped to the ground.
"Bleeurgh-!" Little Leopard abruptly turned away, held his breath, and doubled over toward the stream before him, vomiting violently. Stomach acid spewed out in wave after wave. Fortunately, he had stopped breathing in time; otherwise, heaven only knew what might have happened.
"Hah, hah, hah-!" Even after he finished vomiting, Little Leopard did not dare breathe there. He scrambled and crawled several dozen meters away before finally taking great gulps of air. Once he had caught his breath, utterly bedraggled, he looked back-and nearly burst his lungs with fury.
People spoke of a mouse dragging a turtle, but now this chipmunk was dragging his half-roasted goat, scurrying straight into the dense forest. Who knew where that tiny body found such enormous strength? When Little Leopard looked back, he only saw the half-cooked goat sway once at the edge of the forest before the little creature dragged it inside.
"Fuck-!" Little Leopard's fury instantly blazed three yards high. He leaped three feet into the air and charged straight toward the dense forest, vowing to bring this little thief to justice!
I'm studying at the Party School and can't skip class, and I don't have a computer on hand. There's only one chapter today. Sigh...
Before you continue