The morning mist had yet to clear, and dew hung heavy on the grass blades in the Great Wilderness.
Shi Hou had gotten up bright and early.
He hadn't called Shi Hao. Little One had become so engrossed in studying the Green-Scaled Eagle's precious technique last night that he was still swinging light blades at trees in his dreams.
"Come on. Time to work."
Shi Hou kicked Black Pig in the rump as he snored in the corner of the bed.
Kang rolled over and buried his head in his broad, black, fleshy wings. His tail flicked twice, signaling his refusal.
"Fifty thousand vitality."
Shi Hou crouched, reached out with two fingers, and pinched Black Pig by the scruff. His voice held no warmth. "If you don't earn those fifty thousand vitality back for me, I'll set up the pot, and we'll have whole roast pig today. You know my cooking skills. I could make even pig intestines smell better than dragon meat."
Black Pig stiffened.
His beady eyes opened. He looked at Shi Hou, then at the stone knife gleaming coldly beside him.
"Oink!" (Getting up right now!)
Black Pig instantly perked up, flapping his wings as he flew onto Shi Hou's shoulder.
Dazhuang, Ermeng, and Snot Boy were already waiting at the village entrance.
They all carried hide bags on their backs and bone clubs in their hands, rubbing their fists and flexing their palms in anticipation.
"Brother Skinny Monkey, are we really not calling Little One?"
Ermeng glanced back toward the village. "What if we run into danger?"
"No need. We're testing a new weapon today. Too many people, and someone might get hit by mistake."
Shi Hou waved a hand and plunged into the woods with the three boys and one pig.
In the wild woods ten li from the village.
An enormous One-Horned Wild Boar was rooting through the ground for tubers. With his coarse hide and thick flesh, an ordinary iron arrow would leave no more than a white mark.
"That one."
Shi Hou stopped, pulled Kang off his shoulder, and straightened the pig's head, aiming him at the One-Horned Wild Boar.
"Fire that blue light. Got it?"
Kang looked utterly bewildered.
Without wasting words, Shi Hou pulled a radish from inside his robe, waved it before Kang's nose, and tossed it into the distance.
Kang's eyes locked onto it.
"Oink-pfft!"
Both nostrils flared wide, and a brilliant blue beam as thick as a finger burst out.
It was blindingly fast.
The distant One-Horned Wild Boar had barely raised his head when the blue light struck.
His bristles instantly stood on end, as though an invisible hand had seized him in a crushing grip. He toppled stiffly to the ground, all four legs convulsing as he foamed at the mouth.
A faint burnt smell drifted through the air.
"Hiss-"
Dazhuang sucked in a sharp breath, nearly dropping his bone club onto his foot. "That actually works?"
Ermeng rubbed his eyes, ran over, and gave the wild boar a kick. The boar was still twitching and couldn't get up no matter how hard he tried.
"What kind of precious technique is this? There's no wound, but this pig seems unable to move."
Shi Hou walked over and examined him.
It wasn't just paralysis.
The blue light seemed capable of directly interrupting the flow of energy inside a living creature. Even a wild boar famed for his defenses became like a lump of dough after being hit, helpless before anyone who wanted to butcher him.
"Nice skill."
Shi Hou's eyes lit up.
"Everyone, move back."
Shi Hou lifted Kang.
This time, rather than simply supporting him, he changed his grip.
With his left hand, he grabbed Kang's two large ears, holding the pig's head steady and level.
His right palm slid backward and closed around Black Pig's little curly tail.
"Oink?"
Kang looked back, terror in his eyes.
This position... something's not right!
"Hold still. Let's try something big."
Shi Hou grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, his eyes blazing with fervor.
Perhaps the radish's scent had drawn them in.
A commotion stirred in the woods.
In the distance, a pack of a dozen or so Greenwind Wolves out hunting stared at the children, greed gleaming in their green eyes.
Several Iron-Beaked Eagles circled overhead as well.
Farther away, heavy footsteps suggested a herd of elephants was passing.
"Perfect timing. All meat, all health bars."
Shi Hou drew a deep breath. His arm muscles bulged as he locked Kang's body firmly in place.
His right hand, gripping the pig's tail, gave a hard yank.
"Open fire!"
"Ratatatatatat!"
Shi Hou supplied his own maddening sound effects, both hands shaking wildly in rhythm with the recoil.
This time, Kang was truly terrified. His tail hurt so badly from the pulling that he instinctively tried to scream.
But Shi Hou's large hand held his mouth shut, leaving all that energy with nowhere to escape except his nostrils.
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!
It was no longer a single beam.
Countless brilliant blue light bullets poured from the pig's two nostrils like a savage storm.
The firing rate was so fast that the blue light formed whip-like trails through the air.
"Awooo-urk!"
The Greenwind Wolf at the front had just leaped when three streaks of blue light struck him in midair.
Before he could even scream, his body went as stiff as a wooden pole. He hit the ground with a thud, his tongue lolling far out.
"Ratatat! Ratatat!"
Shi Hou went wild with the slaughter.
His waist and stance worked as one, his body serving as the pivot as he spun madly with Black Pig in his arms.
Wherever the pig's head pointed, blue light scoured the ground.
The Iron-Beaked Eagles in the trees had barely begun to dive when several Pig-Snout Light Bullets struck them with precision.
The fierce birds plummeted stiffly like stones, sending fallen leaves flying.
An enormous Five-Colored Deer had just emerged from the bushes on the left. Before he could grasp the situation, a dense barrage of blue light swept over him. His four legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees, eyes rolling back.
Even a passing Dragon-Scaled Elephant, as large as a house, was caught in it.
Hide as thick as iron?
Useless.
Shi Hou swung his muzzle around and unleashed a burst of "ratatat" at the elephant's legs.
The colossal beast managed only two steps before his body began shaking violently. At last, he crashed down, flattening a swath of large trees. Only his long trunk still twitched unconsciously.
Blue light crisscrossed a hundred-meter radius.
Not a single beast remained standing.
Whether they ate meat or grass, every living creature now lay on the ground, convulsing wildly.
Even several Gray-Furred Rabbits hidden in the grass hadn't escaped. They lay with all four paws in the air, their ears still trembling faintly.
"Phew-"
Only when Kang's nostrils stopped firing blue light and began belching two thick streams of black smoke instead-
Did Shi Hou finally release the pig's tail, still hungry for more.
"Overheated already?"
Shi Hou patted Kang's scorching belly, sounding dissatisfied. "Your endurance needs work."
Kang's large ears drooped, and his tongue hung crookedly to one side. His once-bright beady eyes now showed only their whites, while his four little legs kept twitching reflexively.
A deathly silence hung over the scene.
Only the occasional sound of the fierce beasts convulsing on the ground broke it.
Dazhuang stood with his mouth wide open. His jaw had actually dislocated, and he didn't even notice the drool dripping onto his foot.
Ermeng's bone club had long since fallen to the ground. Both hands clutched his hair, his gaze vacant.
Snot Boy sniffled, looked at the smoking pig on the ground, then at the prey strewn everywhere, and suddenly let out a cry.
"Brother Skinny Monkey... I want to learn that!"
Feng rushed forward and hugged Shi Hou's thigh, his face full of adoration. "That's way stronger than bone text! I want to fire a gun too!"
"No! You need to get a license first."
"..."
Dazhuang came back to his senses, glanced at Black Pig's pitiful state, and swallowed.
"Sk-Skinny Monkey."
"How about we stop for a bit? This pig... looks cooked."
Shi Hou looked down.
Indeed.
Heat rose from Black Pig's body, apparently an overload reaction from operating under such a heavy strain. A few more shots, and the fellow would probably explode on the spot.
"All right. We're done."
Shi Hou tucked Kang into his robe, retrieved the radish, glanced at the prey littering the ground, and swept a hand outward.
"Don't just stand there."
"Finish them off, drain the blood, and haul the meat."
Shi Hou walked up to the still-twitching Dragon-Scaled Elephant, grabbed a tusk with one hand, and unleashed his tremendous strength, hoisting the colossal beast straight over his head.
"We're having a full banquet tonight."
"All this flesh and blood should be enough to replenish the vitality Black Pig used up, right?"
Before you continue