The young man, in his thirties, wore a blue round-collared robe and a scholar's cap, exuding the presence of someone who had held office for a long time. He smiled and said, "Xiuchun, are you still thinking of eating people? Times are hard with the demon transformation happening, so let's not be too tense."
He looked at Chen Shi and Li Tianqing with a gentle expression and said, "We are also here to hunt for prey, and we mean no harm."
He took the lead, walking along the edge of the mountain path, and the others followed suit, passing by peacefully without any conflict.
Once they were gone, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing relaxed a bit. Li Tianqing remarked, "That young man seems quite friendly."
Chen Shi was puzzled, "That person seems to be from the Zhao family in the provincial capital. Strange, I didn't know there were good people in the Zhao family."
Li Tianqing laughed, "You have too much prejudice against noble families. There are righteous people among them, not all are as bad as you think."
Chen Shi nodded, admitting his bias.
The young man and his group of maidservants seemed to be enjoying a leisurely outing, with the girls chatting and teasing each other, occasionally daring to flirt with the young man.
The young man was named Zhao Ziyu, the eldest son of the Dark Jade Manor. He had come to Heavenly Yang Mountain with the manor's head, Zhao Yanlong, but got trapped in the mountain.
He was known for his good temper and didn't mind the maidservants' teasing, a trait Zhao Yanlong didn't appreciate.
As they moved forward, they heard voices again. The maidservants gathered around Zhao Ziyu and approached. In the valley, there were some young students, around thirteen or fourteen, dressed like scholars, working on cutting up a large exotic beast.
The beast was as big as a cow or horse, with a horn and scales, and signs of burning around it, indicating it was quite formidable.
The children had injuries, showing they had struggled to take down the beast.
Nearby, a man in his thirties, carrying a bookcase, was instructing them on how to cut up the beast. He seemed to be a private tutor.
"Young master, they seem to be students from a private school," a maidservant said with a smile.
The maidservant named Xiuchun approached with a smile, but the tutor became alert and signaled the students to be on guard.
The students hurriedly activated their divine altars, watching her warily.
Xiuchun smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, we are also trapped here and came to hunt because we were starving. We had no luck finding prey. Could you spare us some?"
The tutor remained cautious, "Miss, please stop."
Some of the students, with soft hearts, said, "We came out to hunt because we were worried about people in the village starving. We can only spare you a few pounds of this Fire Elephant Rhino."
A female student said, "Sir, why don't I give them my share? They seem quite pitiful."
Xiuchun was both surprised and delighted, bowing deeply and saying, "Thank you so much!"
As she bowed, an invisible sword energy from her divine altar slashed off the head of the female student in front of her, and then cut another student in half!
Simultaneously, three other maidservants, who had prepared their divine altars, stepped forward, pointed their fingers, and unleashed sword energy, instantly decapitating four or five students!
The tutor's eyes turned red with rage. He shouted, activating all his talismans, and charged at Zhao Ziyu, yelling, "Run!"
Though he was at the Divine Fetus Stage, his cultivation was deep, nearly reaching the golden core Stage. When he activated his talismans, even the maidservants' Midnight Demon Slaying Sword couldn't break through.
He realized Zhao Ziyu was the leader, so he attacked him, knowing the maidservants would protect him, giving his students time to escape.
Zhao Ziyu waved his hand, signaling the maidservants to disperse.
The maidservants understood, retreating without attacking the tutor, instead chasing the fleeing students, allowing him to charge.
Zhao Ziyu smiled, a divine altar appeared behind him, and the divine fetus within opened its mouth, releasing a golden orb of light, boundless yet spherical.
This was known as the golden core.
The tutor was crushed under its weight, collapsing to his knees, trying to stand but unable to resist the pressure of the golden orb's light, rendering his talismans useless.
"Crack, crack!"
The tutor's bones broke under the pressure, his flesh crushed into pulp, his bones turned to powder, only his skull remained intact.
The difference of one stage was like heaven and earth.
Though close to the golden core Stage, he hadn't formed a golden core and couldn't withstand its pressure.
Zhao Ziyu smiled, retracted the golden core, and it returned to the divine fetus's mouth. He said leisurely, "Xiuchun, there's the food. Killing those kids was pointless; we don't eat people. Now that we have the Fire Elephant Rhino, we can report back."
Xiuchun, graceful and beautiful, laughed, "You're right, young master. These country beggars trying to take our food deserved to die here."
Zhao Ziyu shook his head, teaching her, "They helped us get food, saving us the trouble of searching. We should thank them."
"Yes, yes!"
Xiuchun laughed, "We should thank them properly."
The other maidservants returned, laughing and chatting as they cut up the Fire Elephant Rhino's meat. They liked cleanliness, wiping the blood off with silk.
Some of the offal, considered dirty, was left behind, about a hundred pounds.
The maidservants packed up and left with Zhao Ziyu, carrying the rhino meat.
Chen Shi and Li Tianqing finally had some success, capturing a Mysterious Light Turtle. It wasn't big, an exotic beast that lived in the soil, disappearing with a flash of light.
Heiguo found the turtle, and Li Tianqing used the Six Yin Jade Wheels from afar, but the turtle sensed it and tried to escape, only to be knocked out by Chen Shi's punches.
They dug it out, a small victory.
They wandered the mountain, looking for more spirit beasts. Heiguo sniffed the air, barking twice.
"Heiguo found something!" Li Tianqing perked up.
Chen Shi shook his head, "Heiguo says there's a smell of blood ahead. Let's be careful and check it out."
Li Tianqing didn't understand how he could interpret the dog's barks. The dog only barked twice, the same as before, yet it meant something different.
They soon reached a valley where the smell of blood was stronger. Chen Shi and Li Tianqing each activated their divine altars. A spirit beast seemed to have been drawn by the blood but retreated upon sensing them, not tempted by the food.
They didn't chase the beast but looked ahead, seeing over a dozen bodies, limbs scattered, a gruesome sight.
Li Tianqing held back his discomfort, turning over a body lying on the ground. It was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child, a year or two older than them, with a terrified expression and wide eyes.
The blood drained from his face, leaving him deathly pale.
There were a few more bodies, around their age.
Li Tianqing frowned, "Who are they?" Chen Shi said, "Students from the private school in Bridge Bay Town."
He stood over a pile of flesh, silent for a moment, "That's the tutor from Bridge Bay Town, named Ye Hongqiu. I called him Mr. Ye. Last time I saw him, he asked if I wanted to take the county exam this year. He said he'd find a way to get me a spot."
Whenever Chen Shi visited town with his grandfather, he would sneak into the private school.
It held his dreams.
He didn't have grand ambitions, like other country folks, he believed the only way for rural kids to succeed was through education, exams, and becoming scholars.
He respected Ye Hongqiu greatly, a person who could teach him knowledge to change his fate.
People called such a person a teacher, a mentor. He looked at the scattered bodies, kids like him, hoping to change their fate through education.
But now, they couldn't.
Li Tianqing crouched, touching the bodies, still warm, and the rhino's offal, also warm.
"The attackers haven't gone far, the mountain path is hard to traverse, they've only gone about two miles."
He examined the traces left by spells, identifying them, "There were twelve attackers, using the Midnight Demon Slaying Sword and Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique. Anyone who has studied knows the Midnight Demon Slaying Sword, but the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique is unique to the Zhao family in New Township. Though it's unique, it's been spread around, my Li family has collected it too. This technique isn't as powerful as the Midnight Demon Slaying Sword, but it's more versatile."
He continued his analysis, while Chen Shi picked up a short sword from the ground near the rhino's bones.
The short sword seemed to be made from a broken long sword, wider than a normal dagger, thinner, about an inch and two tenths wide, nine inches long, with a six-inch iron handle, engraved with cloud patterns for grip.
The guard was a thick iron piece, with a brass collar attached to the blade.
Chen Shi wiped the blood off, held it, swung it, finding it awkward, then reversed his grip, finding it more comfortable.
He found a piece of cloth on the ground, tore it into strips, and wrapped it around the iron handle, layer by layer.
"Heiguo, which way did they go?" he asked.
Heiguo sniffed the rhino meat, then started following the scent.
Li Tianqing was crouched by Mr. Ye's body, measuring the ground's subsidence, "Mountain-Moving Talisman, Five Mountains Talisman, Mount Tai Talisman, none would create this pressure. The talisman's pressure affects the body, but the ground is also heavily pressed. Divine Fetus Stage doesn't have this power! It's the golden core Stage!"
Seeing Chen Shi following Heiguo, he quickly said, "Little Shi, stop! There are twelve of them, including a golden core Stage expert!"
Chen Shi didn't stop, so he chased after him, jogging while saying, "Calm down first. The difference between Divine Fetus Stage and golden core Stage is even greater than between Spirit Shrine Realm and Divine Fetus Stage! It's an insurmountable gap! We need to plan carefully!"
Chen Shi kept moving, with Heiguo running ahead.
"The others are also formidable, eleven top Divine Fetus Stage experts!"
Li Tianqing, frustrated, grabbed Chen Shi's hand, "Don't be reckless! Do you know the moves of the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique? Do you know how many of them practice the Heavenly Heart True Qi Technique or the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique? You know nothing! Stop, let's discuss."
Chen Shi stopped, assessing the terrain, "They're unfamiliar with the path, took a longer route, we can take a shortcut to get ahead of them. Tianqing, don't worry, speak slowly. I'm listening."
"Good, you're not rushing. I just examined the wounds on the bodies," Li Tianqing relaxed, following him on the shortcut, "I know what spells they used. Seven used the Midnight Demon Slaying Sword, and four, likely close to that Zhao young master, used the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique. These four women are more skilled, we need to be cautious of them."
Chen Shi reached a high point on the slope, looking down.
Zhao Ziyu and the eleven maidservants came into view, about one or two hundred yards away, the mountain path difficult, it would take them time to reach here.
Li Tianqing observed the twelve people, continuing his analysis, "We should first identify which of the eleven women practice the Midnight Demon Slaying Sword, and which practice the Flying Dragon Demon-Slaying Technique, remember their faces and characteristics, and their positions. I'll observe, I'm more detail-oriented."
"From their walking," he crouched, observing Zhao Ziyu and the maidservants' positions, "their posture, and the features of their divine altars, we can tell which techniques they practice. They'll soon change shifts, we can observe then."
Chen Shi said, "They're coming."
Li Tianqing continued observing, "Don't rush. We're just observing this time. Once I gather enough information, I'll devise a detailed strategy. This group is out for food, killing to seize it, this isn't their first time. If there's a first, there'll be a second, they'll come out again. When they do, we can set a trap, using our hunted prey to lure them. But that Zhao young master with the golden core is tricky to deal with."
Chen Shi was anxious, "They're about to pass. No, I have to act!"
Li Tianqing was frustrated, "I told you not to rush! Listen to me first! The golden core Stage is no joke, we must be extremely cautious! We can't act today!"
Chen Shi frowned, studying Zhao Ziyu among the maidservants, who hadn't summoned his divine altar or divine fetus, appearing relaxed and unwary.
Clearly, surrounded by the maidservants, he felt no need to be alert.
These people had already passed the slope, the girls carrying meat, also relaxed.
Even the four maidservants on guard were chatting and laughing.
They must be close to their residence, which is why they're so relaxed.
This opportunity was too rare!
"Tianqing, have you ever killed anyone?" Chen Shi suddenly asked.
Li Tianqing shook his head, "No. But I'm meticulous, a master at planning, skilled at winning with the weak."
"Enough talk, you and Heiguo stay here!"
Chen Shi pushed off with his feet, shooting out like an arrow, charging towards the group below!
The new book is out, urgently needing monthly ticket support! Three chapters today, totaling eleven thousand words, next chapter at eleven tomorrow morning!