In the night sky, a bird with an immense wingspan circled quietly, gliding soundlessly past the moon.
Below lay a broad river valley typical of the mountains. A frozen little river wound through several bends, and the fields on either bank lay flat and snowy white, their ridges faintly discernible beneath the snow.
The town was dark and silent. There were no living people, nor any sounds of oxen or donkeys.
Only a few cats and dogs lingered among the ruins, whimpering and refusing to leave.
The wind carried a faint scent of blood.
Across the river from the town, a broad stretch of rocky outcrops covered the slope by a river bend. Scattered remnants of snow lay over the rocks, and a pitch-black cave opened at the foot of the mountain.
Jin Si lay in a small ditch a li away, keeping his body temperature low and slowing his heartbeat and breathing as he concentrated on examining the surroundings.
Through Thermal Sensing, he saw a large mass of heat lying inside the cave, brimming with vitality.
The beast inside sensed the Demon Bird circling overhead. It emerged warily, raised its head, and bared its teeth at the night sky with a low growl. When the Demon Bird kept circling without descending, it irritably shook its mane, paced back and forth twice, then retreated into the cave.
Jin Si saw it clearly. The lion was large and sturdy, with vigorous blood and vitality. Perhaps he could eat it.
He spread his perception outward, repeatedly probing the lion's aura and injuries. Within a short while, he had roughly gauged its strength.
The creature was extremely powerful, about his equal.
In a head-on clash, neither could do much to the other. But if he caught it off guard with an ambush, the