"Baa..."
Just as Xu Taiping was nearing the trap, he suddenly heard a sheep bleat.
"Could I really have caught a Yellow Sheep?"
Joy immediately welled up in Xu Taiping's heart.
Roast Yellow Sheep tasted far better than wild boar, especially with the perilla leaves from his Spirit Medicine Garden.
Looks like I'm in for a treat tonight.
Thinking this, he hurried toward the trap.
He reached the trap.
When Xu Taiping saw that the branches covering it were gone, he felt even more certain that something had been caught inside.
"Grr..."
Just as Xu Taiping leaned forward to see whether the animal in the trap really was a Yellow Sheep, a beast's low growl suddenly sounded behind him.
Thump!
Almost on instinct, Xu Taiping sprang from the ground, using the strength of his legs alone to leap clear to the other side of the trap.
Roar!
The instant Xu Taiping landed across the trap, a gray wolf as large as an ordinary tiger pounced onto the spot where he had just stood, snapping a nearby tree as thick as the mouth of a bowl.
"A wolf? A Demon Wolf!"
At the sight of the enormous gray wolf, every hair on Xu Taiping's body stood on end.
He had seen wolves more than once while hunting with his grandfather, but beside this one, they were like petty sorcerers before a grand master-not worth mentioning.
Awooo!
While Xu Taiping was still reeling in shock, the gray wolf leaped again, lunging at him across the trap.
Thump!
Xu Taiping dropped into a roll and successfully dodged its pounce, then drew the hunting knife at his waist and sprinted east through the Mountain Forest.
Roar!
Though he was running far faster than an ordinary grown man, he still could not match the Demon Wolf. Within a few breaths, it had caught up.
By now, however, Xu Taiping had calmed down. Rather than panic at the Demon Wolf on his heels, he nimbly zigzagged through the Mountain Forest.
His grandfather had taught him this: when faced with a wild beast in the mountains, never run in a straight line. Instead, weave and circle around it.
Crash!
Just then, the Demon Wolf turned too sharply and slammed into a tree so thick that a person could barely reach around it, snapping it clean through.
Catching the scene from the corner of his eye, Xu Taiping immediately stopped, nocked an arrow, and drew his bow without hesitation.
He aimed not at the Demon Wolf's head, but at its lungs.
Whoosh!
As the Demon Wolf rose again, Xu Taiping pulled the bowstring to full draw and decisively released his arrow.
Thud!
Whether through good fortune or the great improvement in his eyesight and arm strength since he began cultivating, Xu Taiping's arrow struck the Demon Wolf squarely!
Roar!
What Xu Taiping had not expected was the incredible toughness of the Demon Wolf's hide. His arrow merely pierced the skin. Far from killing it, the shot only drove it into a greater frenzy.
Seeing this, Xu Taiping did not hesitate. Bow and arrows in hand, he once again raced east through the Mountain Forest.
This time, the enraged Demon Wolf paid no heed to the trees in its way and smashed straight through them all.
The distance between Xu Taiping and the Demon Wolf rapidly shrank.
"Come on!"
But just as Xu Taiping reached a large tree with a strip of cloth tied to it, with the Demon Wolf less than thirty feet behind him, he suddenly stopped and drew the hunting knife at his waist. Turning toward the beast, he shouted and took a stance as though ready to fight to the death.
Roar!
Already furious with Xu Taiping, the Demon Wolf roared at this fresh provocation and leaped, baring a mouthful of fangs as it lunged viciously at him.
Thwack!
Just as the Demon Wolf was about to swallow Xu Taiping in one bite, he abruptly turned his blade and slashed through a vine on the tree beside him.
Whoosh!
The instant the vine broke, a wooden spike carved from a bucket-thick log swung out beside Xu Taiping, suspended from a stout vine, and met the pouncing Demon Wolf head-on.
Awooo!
With a wail of agony, the Demon Wolf took the enormous spike squarely in its chest, driven deep by the momentum of its swing.
Xu Taiping had originally prepared this spike for wild boars. He had never expected it to come in handy now.
Roar!
But Xu Taiping soon discovered that the Demon Wolf's hide and flesh were unimaginably thick. Even that wooden spike had failed to pierce all the way through.
"I can only give it a try."
In that moment of danger, Xu Taiping gripped his hunting knife with both hands and leaped. Disregarding whether it might throw his True Qi into disorder, he drew the True Qi from his dantian all at once and gathered it in his arms, then slashed viciously at the wound over the Demon Wolf's lungs.
Thud!
Another tremendous impact resounded through the Mountain Forest.
The strike Xu Taiping had powered with True Qi actually sliced open the Demon Wolf's lungs, sending blood spraying like rain.
Crack...
Before Xu Taiping could recover his wits, the hunting knife in his hands broke into several pieces. Both his arms began swelling rapidly, becoming as thick as an elephant's legs in the blink of an eye.
The searing pain jolted him back to his senses.
"Not good! My True Qi is running wild!"
Xu Taiping's heart clenched at the sight. He immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating the Setting Sun Glow Art, guiding all the wildly surging True Qi in his arms back into his dantian.
"Whew..."
A short while later, Xu Taiping finally restored the steady circulation of his True Qi and let out a long breath.
His heart was now filled with fear.
His impulsive use of True Qi had nearly sent its circulation spiraling out of control. The consequences would have been unthinkable.
"I remember the description of Sheep Deer Mountain saying there were never any jackals or wolves here. Why would a wolf suddenly appear, and a Demon Wolf at that?"
Xu Taiping stood and approached the Demon Wolf with utmost caution.
The Demon Wolf was already at death's door. Xu Taiping's hunting knife had opened a hole in its belly; however tenacious its life force, it could not survive much longer.
"It's almost dark. I'd better head back to the courtyard and ask the Bronze Mirror about this Demon Wolf later. I should stay away from hunting here for a while. And this time, I have to buy a Martial Art, no matter what."
Glancing at the sky, Xu Taiping decided to return first.
Though the Green Bamboo Abode where he lived was dilapidated, the Jade Slip said that a Formation Barrier had been laid around its courtyard. Ordinary beasts and demons could not approach, so it was very safe.
"Wait, shouldn't this Demon Wolf's corpse be worth some Merit Coins? Never mind. Whether it's worth anything or not, I'll drag it back first."
Just as Xu Taiping was about to leave, a thought suddenly struck him. He turned back, grabbed the Demon Wolf's corpse, and dragged it out of the Mountain Forest.
Though he still looked like a boy and his frame was somewhat slight, he was strong now. Dragging a Demon Wolf like this was no problem for him.
Not long after Xu Taiping left, a human figure with a body rotting all over emerged from the Mountain Forest.
"That stupid wolf! It couldn't even handle such a simple task!"
At the sight of the pool of blood on the ground and the thick wooden spike, the figure suddenly burst into curses.
"Now we've beaten the grass and startled the snake. Looks like I'll have to act myself to lure him out of that courtyard. I need to think of something fast. The Great King is already pressing me. If I don't bring back that brat's heart and liver soon, I'll end up as a snack to go with the Great King's wine!"
The figure stamped his feet, muttering curses.
Had Fairy Lingyue not been asleep, she would surely have recognized him.
Indeed, this figure was none other than the Tiger Wraith who had lurked outside the courtyard that night.
Before you continue