On the way to Shi Yunfeng's courtyard, Shi Hou's steps grew unsteady.
That familiar feeling had returned.
It was as though a hole had opened inside him, and his vitality was pouring out through it.
Shi Hou frowned and reached out to steady himself against a low wall.
"Skinny Monkey?"
A little head wearing a tiger-head cap poked out through Shi Yunfeng's courtyard gate.
Shi Hao was happily gnawing on a golden-roasted meaty bone. When he saw Shi Hou, he froze, even forgetting to chew the meat in his mouth.
"Why do you look so awful?"
Little One put down the bone and ran over in a few quick steps, standing on tiptoe to feel Shi Hou's forehead.
"You look like a female ghost sucked out your yang energy. Your face is completely white."
Shi Hou's heart lurched.
Completely white?
His current physique had been built on two hundred thousand jin of blood qi. Forget turning pale-even draining a basin of blood from him wouldn't change his complexion.
Unless...
An ominous premonition shot straight to the crown of his head.
That hollowed-out feeling was all too familiar.
Even those three atavistic bird eggs hadn't been this ruthless last time.
This time was worse-more than a hundred times worse.
Without bothering to answer Shi Hao, Shi Hou instantly sank his consciousness into the Stone Pot beside his ear.
Inside the murky gray space, a pitch-black lump had appeared out of nowhere among the radishes and cabbages.
Like a black hole, it was ravenously gulping down the gray mist drifting around it.
Fuck!
Shi Hou swore inwardly.
He hurriedly pulled up the system panel.
The long number that had once filled him with pride and reassurance was now ticking down at a heartbreaking speed.
[Current Blood Qi Value: 158000]
Gone.
More than fifty thousand, all gone.
Barely ten minutes had passed since he finished harvesting the vegetable patch and walked over here.
Had his artery been slashed open again?!
"Get out here!"
Shi Hou's eyes instantly reddened. With a thought, he thrust his right hand into the void.
He seized the black lump and slammed it into the ground.
Bam!
Dust flew.
Without even looking at it, Shi Hou turned his hand and gripped the void.
Humm!
The enormous Stone Knife appeared out of thin air, gleaming coldly.
"Suck my blood, will you? I'll chop you into sashimi!"
Grinding his teeth, Shi Hou raised the blade and brought it down at the black thing on the ground.
The wind howled around the blade. He held nothing back.
"Watch out!"
A pair of small hands shot over and clamped tightly around Shi Hou's arm.
Shi Hao's strength was tremendous. That grip forcibly stopped the Stone Knife in midair.
"Skinny Monkey, have you gone crazy? That's Kang!"
"Kang?"
Shi Hou paused, easing his grip as he took a closer look.
The black lump rolled over once, belly up.
Its color had changed, but that build, that damned snoring, and the huge snot bubble expanding and shrinking at its nostrils with every breath...
It really was that pig.
"What's going on? What's all this racket?"
Hearing the commotion, Shi Yunfeng came out of the house in a beast-hide robe, leaning on his walking stick.
The old man jumped at the sight of Shi Hou holding a blade, radiating murderous intent.
"Chief, this pig's turned into a monster."
Shi Hou planted the blade in the ground and pointed at the black pig, his finger trembling.
"I was harvesting vegetables just now, and somehow I scooped it up too."
"In just that little while, this bastard devoured a huge amount of blood essence!"
Clutching his chest, Shi Hou looked utterly anguished. "So, so much! Enough to burst everyone in our village three times over! This damned money pit!"
Shi Yunfeng's eyelid twitched.
He didn't understand the exact figures, but Shi Hou looked as though his own son had died. Clearly, the cost had been steep.
"Don't panic. Let's take a look first."
The old chief waved a hand, signaling Shi Hou to calm down.
He stepped forward, crouched, and carefully examined the black pig still sleeping soundly on the ground.
Shi Hao also leaned in curiously and poked Kang's belly with a finger.
At a closer look, all three froze.
Kang had originally had pink skin with green scales, looking cheerful and adorably stupid.
Now its entire body was black as ink. Its once-fine scales had become thick and coarse, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.
Most striking were the little Flesh Wings on its back, which had once served only to make it look cute.
They had grown several times larger. Their membranes spread wide, their bone spurs vicious, like a pair of demonic bat wings.
"This is..."
Shi Yunfeng reached out to touch the edge of a bat wing. It was sharp as a knife and actually cut his finger.
"A mutation."
The old chief stood up and looked at Shi Hou with a complicated expression.
"That pot of yours doesn't just cause atavism in living creatures. It can mutate their bloodlines too."
"This little fellow may still be asleep, but the vitality inside it is frighteningly strong. It must have gained a tremendous boon."
As he spoke, the old chief patted Shi Hou's shoulder, his tone earnest.
"Skinny Monkey, stop grieving over the loss."
"Kang's appearance has changed completely. One look tells you it's extraordinary. It might become an extremely important battle companion for you someday."
Shi Hou's mouth twitched.
He glanced at the pig, whose sleeping pose remained just as indecent despite its new black color.
"A battle companion?"
"Chief, please don't joke with me."
Shi Hou pulled the Stone Knife out of the ground and swung it experimentally a couple of times.
"All this thing does is eat and sleep. Its only virtue is a thick hide that can take a beating."
As far as taking a beating goes, with over a hundred thousand blood qi, I can outlive it. What use do I have for it as a meat shield? he grumbled inwardly.
"I might as well slaughter it now and make some braised pork. At least I could recover a little blood qi."
As he spoke, he prepared to strike again.
"Nonsense!"
Shi Yunfeng struck the Stone Knife with his walking stick, producing a sharp clang.
"You don't know a damned thing!"
The old man glared, his beard bristling. "Kang is known as an ancient auspicious beast. Do you really think that's just because it looks lucky?"
"Without ways to defend itself and attack, a creature made of nothing but flesh and no bones would have been eaten to extinction by Fierce Beasts in the primordial wilderness!"
Shi Hou stopped, looking skeptical.
"Ways to attack? This thing? What does it do, ram people or spit at them?"
Just then, Shi Hao, who had been poking the pig's belly beside them, suddenly raised his head.
"I think it really does have one."
Little One tilted his head, searching his memory.
"I remember now. That day when I threw it out and it got stuck in the Green-Scaled Eagle's throat."
Shi Hao gestured as he spoke. "Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle was building up a Treasure Art then, and her chest was glowing. After this pig went in, I think I saw a flash of blue light on it."
"Then Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle's Treasure Art blew up inside her. That was how we got away."
Shi Hou froze.
That day, he had been too busy fleeing for his life and controlling the Stone Pot's drifting movements to notice those details.
"Blue light?"
"Yeah!"
Shi Hao nodded firmly. "The blue light looked a bit like lightning, but not quite. Anyway, the moment it flashed, Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle started convulsing."
After hearing this, a sharp light flashed in Shi Yunfeng's eyes.
"That explains it!"
"Ancient texts say Kang accompanies bountiful harvests and can also terrify evil spirits. Its cry, or some innate ability, can disrupt an enemy's flow of qi and even briefly paralyze them."
"That's an extremely rare control-type Treasure Art!"
The old chief gazed at the black pig on the ground, his eyes burning with excitement.
"Now that it's mutated, that ability has probably grown stronger. Skinny Monkey, you've stumbled upon a treasure. Stop thinking about eating all day!"
Shi Hou stared at the drooling black pig, only half convinced.
Interrupting spellcasting?
A silencing warlock?
If that was true, then paired with his brute strength, it wouldn't be entirely useless.
After all, he could only use basic attacks. What he feared most were mages who flew around in the sky, kiting him.
If this pig could shock an enemy down from the sky...
"Fine."
Shi Hou sighed and put away the Stone Knife.
"Since you've said so, Chief, I'll spare its life for now."
Then he reached out with his foot and kicked Kang's rump.
"Quit playing dead. Get up. I know you're awake."
The black lump on the ground stiffened.
Then one eye secretly opened a slit and slyly checked Shi Hou's hands. Only after confirming the blade was gone did it grunt and clamber up.
It showed neither shyness nor guilt.
Flapping its enlarged black bat wings, it wobbled into the air, expertly burrowed into Shi Hou's arms, found a comfortable spot, and went back to sleep.
Shi Hou stiffened.
So heavy.
This thing weighed at least ten times as much as before.
Shi Hou waved a hand and turned to leave, his retreating figure carrying a hint of desolation.
Fifty thousand Blood Qi Value.
How many meals would it take to make that back?
"Skinny Monkey, wait for me!"
Shi Hao finished gnawing his bone in a few bites, wiped the grease from his mouth, and eagerly trotted after him.
"What about getting revenge on Bei Village?"
"When are we going? I'm coming too!"
Shi Hou paused and looked back into Little One's shining eyes.
"Soon."
Shi Hou glanced at the dark mountains beyond the village.
"Once I've eaten back the blood qi I lost, we'll go wipe out those bastards' wolf den."
Before you continue