It was the monster that had bitten others to death. The power from Mingren gradually drained away. The wooden stick in his hand slowly fell to the ground. His legs felt weak, and he could smell the fresh blood from the monster’s mouth.
The monster licked its lips with a hissing sound.
The sun was obscured by clouds, and the last bit of brightness in the forest disappeared. The monster’s body became somewhat indistinct, but its glowing crimson eyes hung like lanterns.
The sky changed, the sun emerged from behind the clouds again, and the forest’s light returned to a barely visible level. Behind the monster, a faint human figure appeared.
“Tsk, unintentionally achieving success when not actively trying, unable to find it when seeking deliberately, yet encountering it after giving up.”
A relaxed voice filled with laziness sounded from behind.
Mingren’s heart tightened. He rubbed his eyes, trying to see the blurry figure clearly, while the monster growled lowly and turned its head back.
The forest’s silence made the subtle footsteps strikingly clear. The suddenly appeared figure approached slowly and leisurely toward the monster, and his appearance gradually became discernible.
His long hair gently danced with the breeze, left unbound and hanging over his plain white robe. His tall figure, bright eyes, and sharp eyebrows, combined with a slight smile, exuded an extraordinary aura.
Mingren was shocked and blurted out, “Brother Li!”
This white-robed youth was indeed Li Tan, who had been tracking the beast’s trail.
“Brother Li, run quickly! This creature is extremely powerful; it has killed all of Uncle Zhou’s men!”
Mingren shouted anxiously.
Zhou Tong did not speak. He looked at Li Tan and inexplicably felt a strange chill run down his spine.
He had felt something similar when first encountering the monster, though never this intense.
Who exactly was Li Tan?
Looking forward with fear and confusion, Zhou Tong understood that Li Tan was no fool. Since he dared to step forward, he must have a way to escape.
But how could a barely grown brat possibly be a match for the monster?
Absurd. Utterly absurd.
Yet, as ridiculous as it seemed, Zhou Tong could only steady his gaze now, hoping Li Tan could repel the monster. This would surely be a bloody battle! He grabbed Mingren’s sleeve and whispered, “Quickly, let’s move further away so we don’t hinder Li Tan’s fight with the monster.”
Mingren anxiously looked left and right. Seeing the monster now had its back to him, he realized there was no time to say anything else and reluctantly nodded.
Just at that moment, however.
Bang! Suddenly, a loud noise erupted, and the monster’s massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Li Tan approached the monster’s head with the same lazy expression he started with, raised his dagger, and slashed through its softest part—the neck artery. The gush of blood marked the battle’s end.
“Eh… This…” Mingren and Zhou Tong stood there like wooden chickens, staring blankly at Li Tan as he wielded his blade, pried open the monster’s skull, and calmly extracted its inner pill.
Mingren rubbed his eyes again, trembling as he asked, “Uncle Zhou, is this really the same monster from just now?”
Zhou Tong nodded in disbelief, “Absolutely. I’d recognize it even if it turned to ash.”
Soon, the two snapped out of their shock and were overwhelmed with joy.
Li Tan collected the inner pill but was somewhat disappointed because the herb he sought had already been swallowed by the creature.
“Are both of you alright?” Li Tan asked from a distance.
“We’re fine, we’re fine.”
Mingren jumped up from the ground, his fatigue instantly gone, and stumbled toward Li Tan in three quick steps. “Brother Li, how did you manage to kill this beast?”
“Phew, the aftermath is pretty severe indeed.”
Li Tan rubbed his head, which ached from excessive spiritual energy use, and inhaled cold air faintly tinged with blood before replying, “Secret.”
Mingren nodded understandingly and then recounted in detail his earlier attack experience before hesitantly asking, “Brother Li, would it be convenient for you to take Uncle Zhou and me with you when you leave?”
He remembered Zhou Tong’s previous rudeness and feared Li Tan might hold a grudge.
Zhou Tong himself was equally nervous. He hesitated, wanting to apologize but was interrupted before he could finish.
“Such a trivial matter has already been forgotten. I’ll go collect some herbs to treat his wounds. You just stay put.”
Li Tan turned and left, naturally unwilling to dwell on such an insignificant matter.
After Li Tan left, Zhou Tong’s expression turned gloomy.
Mingren tried to comfort him, saying, “Since Brother Li said he’s forgotten, he truly doesn’t hold a grudge. Uncle Zhou, why are you still worried?
Surely you’re not afraid Brother Li will abandon us under the pretense of gathering herbs? There’s absolutely no need to think that way. Brother Li is definitely an upright gentleman.”
Zhou Tong replied, “Thank you for your kind words, young master, but that’s not what I’m afraid of.”
Curious, Mingren asked, “Then why so gloomy?”
Zhou Tong sighed with sorrow, “I regret it deeply. Why did I judge a noble person with my ignoble thoughts before? If I hadn’t driven Li Tan away and had traveled together today, those brothers wouldn’t have died.”
Mingren remained silent for a long time before gazing in the direction Li Tan had left and murmuring, “The dead cannot be brought back. Uncle Zhou, for their sake, you should strive harder to live on rather than indulge in useless grief.”
After separating from Mingren, Li Tan searched nearby for herbs. The baby eagle in his arms woke up several times but soon fell asleep again. Reflecting on Mingren’s experience escaping with Zhou Tong, he thought inwardly: Despite being an ordinary person, Mingren managed to remain fearless in crisis—he was indeed a promising talent.
“Pity he completely neglected his cultivation. Compared to Mingde, the gap is as vast as between heaven and earth.”
Li Tan bent down, gathered the final herb, and turned to leave. Suddenly, he heard something fall, and a chilling sensation surged through him like an electric current. Instantly alert, Li Tan raised his head to stare at a large tree in the southwest, his dagger already in hand.
The sound had been caused by a broken branch.
Was someone hiding in the tree, following him?
Li Tan narrowed his eyes, quietly extending his spiritual sense. At that moment, the leaves rustled, and a strangely looking monkey, startled, scrambled to another tree.
“A remaining beast that hadn’t fled yet,” Li Tan muttered, withdrawing his spiritual sense and continuing on his way.
Not long after he left, an old man with hunched shoulders and white hair dropped down from the tree the monkey had fled to. His murky eyes gleamed with ferocity: “Almost got discovered. In just two short days, how could that useless brat have changed so drastically?”
“The Li family must be hiding secrets unknown to me,” the old man muttered.
Gazing at the empty forest, the old man’s figure flickered and leapt away, soon vanishing without a trace.
Meanwhile, Li Tan had Mingren crush the herbs with stones and apply them to Zhou Tong’s wounds. After using them, Zhou Tong’s face showed astonishment as he asked, “Why is it healing so fast? It’s almost as effective as low-grade healing medicine!”
Li Tan smirked slightly and said, “It’s just a family recipe, nothing special. Don’t think too much of it. It’s getting late; we should move soon after a short rest.”
Although he hadn’t found the herb, he still had hope of obtaining it by trading the two monster inner pills at the auction.
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