Into the Mountains

Time flowed on, never stopping; all things renewed themselves and grew strong.

Almost half a month had slipped by since Di Yi chose to stay in Stone Village, and he had settled into a brief period of stability.

During that time, besides joining the villagers for their exercises every morning, he tirelessly absorbed knowledge of this world's language and writing, while learning its various commonly accepted conventions.

For instance, the span of time marked by one sunrise and one sunset constituted a day.

For instance, the time it took the nighttime "sun"-the moon-to go from a crescent to fullness constituted a month.

For instance, all living creatures had a limit to their lifespans: they began as infants, flourished in youth, and ended in old age.

Through absorbing this knowledge, he also came to understand that he was different from the people of Stone Village. Though similar in form, they differed in their inherent qualities.

For instance, he did not need to eat to sustain his vital functions.

For instance, he did not need sleep to maintain his essential vitality and spirit.

"Up ahead is some big fellow's territory. It's very powerful. Everyone, be careful. We'll go around." The Great Wilderness was far from peaceful. A group of people carrying enormous bows on their backs and broad swords made their way through mountains, rivers, and vast wetlands.

This was Stone Village's hunting party. After almost half a month of consumption, the prey from their last hunt could barely cover their daily needs anymore, so after discussing the matter, they decided to enter the mountains.

Originally, they had not wanted to venture into the mountains so soon. After all, they had no way of knowing what the Great Wilderness was like after that rainy night. But the village's food stores were running dangerously low, leaving them no choice but to take the risk.

They could only hope that they would not encounter a big fellow beyond their ability to handle, and that the effects of that rainy night almost half a month ago still lingered, frightening those restless giants into remaining in their lairs.

Fortunately, upon learning of the hunting party's plans, Di Yi volunteered to join them. His presence was a powerful reassurance, easing their worry and fear of unknown dangers.

"Some big fellow?" Di Yi walked beside Shi Yunshan. After all his learning over the past several days, he naturally knew what that meant: either a primordial remnant or a Primordial Demonic Bird, a creature of tremendous strength.

He simply had no clear idea of how strong it would be.

"Yes, a terrifying big fellow. It can easily stomp a mountain to pieces. We're near the edge of its territory, though I don't know whether it left after that rainy night." Shi Yunshan explained to Di Yi just how frightening the creature was-a powerful being no human strength could shake.

"Oh, it can easily stomp a mountain to pieces?" Those words piqued Di Yi's interest.

That big fellow might serve as a good measure of where his own limits lay.

After all, once he had learned the various commonly accepted conventions, he had understood the fundamental reason people differed from one another. Each person had different limits, altered through exercise and the subsequent practice known as cultivation.

He wanted to understand where his own limits lay. That might help him find a way to heal himself.

Unfortunately, the people of Stone Village were all weak and possessed no particularly formidable abilities. Forget stomping mountains to pieces-they could not even crush a stone with their bare hands.

Now, however, a fine opportunity seemed to have presented itself.

"Yes." Shi Yunshan nodded, adding that even if everyone in Stone Village attacked together, they would be no match for such a creature. Even gathering the fighting strength of the surrounding villages would amount to nothing more than mayflies trying to shake a tree.

Of course, he went on to add that sometimes luck favored them. They might encounter a dying big fellow and, by circling it and harrying it with attacks, perhaps bring it down. Even then, however, they would suffer grievous casualties.

"You must really need the flesh and blood of creatures like that. Interested?" Di Yi paid no heed to Shi Yunfeng's "alarmist talk" and asked this instead.

"We dream of it! The flesh and blood of a single big fellow would be a treasure trove beyond imagining!" Shi Yunshan's eyes shone.

He seemed to have fallen into a fantasy, but it was soon snuffed out as reality set in. "A big fellow like that... forget it. We don't have that kind of strength. It's not something we can take down." "What if I stepped in?" Di Yi asked.

"If you stepped in, honored guest?" Shi Yunshan recalled the scene when he first met Di Yi. Instinctively, he thought they might have a chance of success, but after careful consideration, he decided it was ill-advised.

He had only seen Di Yi "display his might" once and did not really understand the extent of his strength. He merely felt that Di Yi might stand on equal footing with a primordial remnant.

But that impression was vague and subjective. If they made a mistake, the consequences would be enormous.

Moreover, he knew those big fellows' strength very well. Casually stomping a mountain to pieces was merely their most basic display of power.

After pondering for a while, Shi Yunshan voiced his thoughts and politely declined Di Yi's offer. After all, someone who had come from afar was their guest; they could not lead him into a pit.

At the same time, he made his position clear: they had only come into the mountains to hunt. Bringing down a few giant beasts would fulfill their goal.

"All right. There's no rush." Di Yi understood Shi Yunfeng's concern. In truth, he also felt that suddenly going out to pick a fight with a big fellow was rather abrupt.

Of course, that was not because he believed the creature would pose a threat to him. After all, on his journey from the place that formed a world unto itself, he had encountered no shortage of enormous creatures, yet most had not withstood even a single exchange.

Besides, if danger existed, he would sense it beforehand, just as his subconscious had kept him from leaving that self-contained world too readily.

Here, by contrast, he felt nothing of the sort.

He had made this decision simply because his earlier suggestion felt too abrupt. These people were not strong-as he had noted before, they could not even crush a stone with their bare hands.

If a fight broke out, he would inevitably have to exert himself. And once he did, the people of Stone Village would likely be injured by shattered rock, with the worst-hit perhaps collapsing on the spot.

That ran contrary to his original intentions.

The primeval mountain forest was dense, and the air of the Great Wilderness was heavy with moisture. Di Yi followed Stone Village's hunting party as though strolling through a quiet courtyard, in stark contrast to Shi Yunshan and the others.

After winding their way around for an unknown length of time, Stone Village's hunting party finally found an excellent target.

It was an enormous wildcat, extremely alert, moving swiftly and nimbly through the mountain forest in search of prey hidden among dead trees, rotting branches, and beneath the soil.

Clearly, it was hunting for food, its attention wholly devoted to the task, unaware that while the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole waited behind.

Shi Yunshan signaled for the hunters to prepare and wait for their chance.

The members of the hunting party nodded silently at his signal, then quietly readied their weapons. Some drew their bows with visibly heavy iron arrows nocked, while others tightened their grips on their spears. All waited for the moment to ambush it.

"When it pounces on its prey, we attack." Shi Yunshan gave the order. He was an experienced hunter who knew the enormous wildcat's habits well. The instant it pounced was the best time to strike.

Clang!

Yet just then, an arrow shot from another direction. A piercing whistle tore through the air in its wake, stirring the dense forest.