Tenglin had weak aggression and slow movements. In theory, it shouldn’t have been difficult to handle once its position was exposed. However, as a demonic beast with infinite potential, no one could predict who would ultimately prevail until the very last moment.
Yaoshou were creatures that even innate experts had to handle cautiously. These mercenaries, however, were all at the acquired realm, with the strongest among them, Zhou Tong, only reaching the peak of the acquired realm.
“Uncle Zhou?”
Ming Ren looked warily at Tenglin, which was coiling around the tree trunk and climbing upward again. “Maybe we should detour.”
“Boss, we’ll follow your lead.”
The mercenaries all looked at Zhou Tong, waiting for his decision.
“Er…” Ming Ren hesitated, unable to speak clearly, clearly reluctant to provoke Tenglin. Unfortunately, he was completely unfamiliar with the situation in the hunting zone, so even as the employer, he dared not easily issue orders.
After a brief consideration, Zhou Tong raised his head, his heartbeat slightly quickening. “Young Master, it’s rare for yaoshou to appear in the outer hunting zone. There might be medicinal plants nearby, perhaps even Shuiyun Bamboo or Jackal Tigers.”
Ming Ren was momentarily stunned, staring at Zhou Tong. “Uncle Zhou, do you have a way to deal with Tenglin?”
Zhou Tong instinctively clenched his fist. “Although Tenglin is a yaoshou, it shares some weaknesses with ordinary venomous snakes. As long as we’re careful, there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Hmm,” Ming Ren pinched his chin, looking more serious. “Alright then, but everyone must be cautious. If it’s really too difficult, don’t force it.” Few noticed that at the moment he spoke, a flicker of displeasure flashed in Ming Ren’s eyes.
Zhou Tong took a deep breath, raised his hand, and whispered to the mercenaries, “Brothers, follow my commands. Don’t be afraid—it’s just a strange-looking beast.”
“As long as we capture it, all of us can stay home comfortably with our families for the next half year.”
At these words, the noisy crowd erupted into an excited “Yes!” Their blood boiled with the lure of great profit, even forgetting the danger.
“Approach slowly!”
With a wave of his hand, Zhou Tong signaled, and the mercenaries immediately scattered. But as they moved forward, they all froze in shock.
“Let’s keep moving.”
Li Tan, looking tired as if he might fall asleep at any moment, had somehow appeared beneath the crooked tree. The Tenglin, which had terrified everyone, was now held by him like a toy, its body trembling.
“This…” Zhou Tong furrowed his brow, sensing something was off. His tone grew more cautious. “Young man, you previously said Tenglin was a yaoshou—could it be you were lying to us?”
Ming Ren was so shocked his mouth wouldn’t close. “Brother Li, how did you capture Tenglin?”
The mercenaries, barely recovered from their shock, all stared at Li Tan, especially at the captured Tenglin.
Li Tan chuckled, pointing at Tenglin. “Strange that I could catch it?”
Zhou Tong’s tone grew heavier. “Young man, you practically have no cultivation at all. How can you catch a yaoshou? Or is this beast not even a yaoshou, or even a fierce beast?”
Li Tan was an ordinary person. Yet over the past few hours in the hunting zone, amidst such dangerous circumstances, he had shown no panic like Ming Ren, and even seemed at ease. This anomaly had previously been ignored, but now, with Tenglin captured, it was brought to the forefront.
“Brother Li,” Ming Ren looked back and forth between Li Tan and Zhou Tong, confused and sensing the tension in the air.
“Hehe, didn’t I say before? Tenglin moves slowly. What’s so hard about capturing it?”
As Li Tan spoke, he flung Tenglin forward.
“Scatter!”
Seeing Tenglin flying toward them, Zhou Tong was so terrified his soul seemed to leave his body. He practically rolled backward to a seemingly safe distance. Ming Ren was also badly frightened, nearly falling to the ground. After all, he was a frail scholar who had spent his days buried in books—how could he handle such a scene?
“What are you trying to do!”
Zhou Tong was truly furious this time.
“What’s there to fear?”
Li Tan calmly stepped forward. The mercenaries cautiously retreated, but Li Tan stopped near the coiled, hissing Tenglin, which was now displaying its threat.
“Sir, what was your purpose for joining our group?”
Zhou Tong stared intently at Li Tan.
At that moment, Tenglin, whose head had been swaying slowly as if barely attached to its body, suddenly lunged forward. Its movement was so “slow” and “hesitant” that no one could even clearly see the action.
Yet in the next second, Zhou Tong’s face turned pale as Tenglin appeared once again in Li Tan’s hand. Li Tan’s thumb and ring finger pressed slightly, forcing Tenglin’s mouth open. A drop of black liquid dripped from its fangs, landing on a small flower on the ground. Before their eyes, the flower withered and turned into a puddle of pus with a “gurgling” sound. The space fell into a silence so complete that one could hear their own heartbeat.
“Just who exactly are you?”
Zhou Tong’s face turned slightly pale.
To catch a yaoshou so effortlessly—could this young man Li Tan have already reached the innate realm?
To have stayed beside him all this time under the guise of an ordinary person, the danger was no less than being targeted by a pack of fierce beasts.
“What are you all so tense about? I’m just an ordinary person.”
Li Tan noticed the abnormality and spoke frankly.
But Zhou Tong didn’t believe him. His suspicion only deepened. “Sir, you claim to be an ordinary person yet capture yaoshou barehanded. Doesn’t that sound too absurd?”
“Frog at the bottom of a well,” Li Tan looked at them with a faint smile. “Since you doubt me, I’ll take my leave. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday.”
With a bow, Li Tan decisively turned and left.
“Wait, Brother Li!”
The situation changed too quickly for Ming Ren to react.
“Young Master, don’t.”
Zhou Tong grabbed Ming Ren, who was about to stop Li Tan. “This man’s true nature is unknown. He must not stay with us—it would be a great danger in the future.”
Before Ming Ren could act, Li Tan had already disappeared into the dense forest.
“Uncle Zhou, you’re too sensitive. Although Brother Li concealed many things, isn’t that only natural?”
“Never intend to harm others, but always be cautious.”
Zhou Tong insisted firmly.
“If Brother Li wanted to harm us, he could have simply stayed silent just now.”
Ming Ren sighed helplessly, plucking a leaf and tossing it forward. It touched the remaining venom and instantly turned into black liquid.
“Although I haven’t cultivated, with this toxicity combined with its speed, do you think any of you could have handled it?”
Zhou Tong exchanged glances with the mercenaries beside him, speechless.
They all knew clearly—they couldn’t have handled it. If Li Tan had remained silent just now, this place would have become their graveyard. In other words, their previous actions were indeed suspecting ill intentions where there were none.
“Although it’s a pity, Uncle Zhou, don’t think too much about it. Brother Li probably intended to leave just now.”
Ming Ren thought, pinching his chin.
“Why do you say that, Young Master?”
Zhou Tong asked, puzzled. At this moment, his inner attitude toward Ming Ren had also subtly shifted to greater respect.
Ming Ren smiled slightly at the vines where Tenglin had once been, offering no explanation.
“There’s no need to say more. Let’s continue on our way. If fate allows, I believe we will meet Brother Li again.”
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