Chapter-Six: Blood
Is Ning Chen really nervous?
No, not at all.
When Ning Chen came to claim the Yuan Stone, he was fully aware of his family's plans. Naturally, he couldn't believe that Class C would surpass Class B in speed, so he feigned nervousness to navigate the situation smoothly.
Ordinary young people might feel tense under the watchful eyes of their elders. However, when Ning Chen arrived to accept the reward, he had no hesitation in his heart.
To divert attention from himself, he skillfully used acting to present himself as an unremarkable young man.
According to the observations of the school elders, the reality appeared to be this: Ning Chen, through sheer luck, obtained a weak-willed Moonlight Gu, refined it first, and then came to claim the reward.
His apparent nervousness during the elders' inspection further reinforced their belief that Ning Chen's success was opportunistic and dependent on his good fortune.
In truth, this was all part of Ning Chen's carefully crafted performance to remain unnoticed.
After all, how could a mere school master with limited experience outmaneuver Ning Chen, a thousand-year-old true demon?
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"Boss, tell me the whereabouts of the guest who just moved the table," Ning Chen asked as he arrived at the wine shop, holding two Primeval stones in his hands. The boss, upon seeing the stones, couldn't hide the greedy glint in his eyes.
"He's heading outside the village. Probably a hunter from the outskirts," the boss replied.
"Thank you," Ning Chen said, striding purposefully toward the edge of the village.
It was just past noon, but the cold felt as biting as winter. Ning Chen followed the overpowering trail of alcohol lingering in the air, a smell so pungent it seemed to permeate everything.
As he walked quickly, his sharp eyes spotted four small figures in the distance, faint and black dot-like. He closed the gap with urgency.
"I need to use the toilet, you go on ahead," one of the hunters mumbled, staggering slightly toward the nearby bushes, reeking of alcohol.
"Always something with you," another hunter muttered with annoyance. "Fine, we'll go on. Catch up quickly."
"I know, I know. Just go!" the man barked back, stumbling toward the bushes in haste.
His movements were unsteady; his eyes glassy and cheeks flushed from drink. A sudden gust of icy wind whipped across the clearing, stinging his exposed skin.
"Hoo~, so cold," the hunter muttered to himself, shivering visibly. "This winter's going to be tough. But at least with that share of wild boar, my wife and kids should make it through fine. Heh."
The hunter murmured to himself, and his thoughts regained some clarity. The faces of his wife and children came to mind, bringing a knowing smile to his lips.
Unbeknownst to him, steps were gradually approaching from behind.
The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz—extremely quiet.
Perhaps it was drunkenness taking hold, muddling his mind as he reminisced about his wife and children after a drink...
Five steps...
Three steps...
Two steps...
The final step...
The hunter smiled, his heart warm with love for his wife and children.
But suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck like a coiling snake.
In an instant, the hunter felt his neck pressed tightly against the bulging muscles of the intruder's arms.
Before he had time to react, the wrists of both arms had already formed a shackle. The big and small arms of his right hand clamped tightly on hunter's neck. While the elbow joint of his left hand clamped his right fist firmly, and his left hand made a gesture to press down the head forming an extremely solid naked gallows stance.
By the time the hunter reacted, he felt suffocated. His eyes regained clarity, he gritted his teeth, and grabbed his chest, arms and wrists with both hands, trying to resist this huge force.
But in the end, it was useless. The arms on the chest and neck did not waver at all. Instead, they exerted more force, which was even worse than the entanglement of a python.
The feeling of asphyxia continued to deepen, and his mind was confused due to the lack of oxygen supply to the lungs. His entire face swelled up in a large circle, turning the color like a pig's liver. The fear of death gradually eroded his sanity...
The faces of his wife and children came to mind, his wife smiled warmly and warmly, and the children's eyes were full of admiration for their father...
"Yes, I still have a wife and children, I can't die!"
There was a look of determination in his eyes, and he almost crushed his steel teeth into pieces, trying his best to resist the twisting force.
His hands struck behind him, but the figure behind him looked like a ghost. Not only did he not let go of the naked choke, he also dodged his counterattack.
Seeing that the counterattack was fruitless, there was a hint of despair in hunter's eyes., the absolute despair, the despair of death:
"Don't...ho...don't kill me, ho~, I'm willing to give you anything!"
However, the person behind him remained unmoved and continued to exert force.
Within a minute, the life under the hunter's eyes disappeared.
No air comes in, no air came out, he was completely dead.
"As expected of a damn hunter, he is so tenacious, phew~"
The person behind him was none other than Ning Chen. Ning Chen looked at the hunter's body and started groping for the hunter's body, trying to get something useful from this dead piece of meat.
However, it didn't go along with Ning Chen's wishes: except for an amulet containing a picture of women and children, there was nothing else.
Ning Chen speculated that they should be the child and wife of the deceased, and threw them away casually. He didn't care about this trash.
Then he took out the hunting knife from the hunter's back. After a crisp metal collision, the entire hunting knife was completely pulled out, and Ning Chen could see it at a glance.
The blade is sharp, shaped like a crescent moon, and has no nicks or chips. It has obviously been well cared for by its owner.
Ning Chen slashed at the air twice, weighing its weight and feel. The sharp blade pierced the cold air, adding a bit of chill.
"The sword is really good. It's enough to kill a few mortals, but it's still far inferior to the sword I had in my previous life!"
Ning Chen looked at the corpse at his feet again, with a smile on his lips and his hunting knife raised high...
"Wait a minute, why has Zhao Hu not come back after such a long time?"
Suddenly, Li Shan stopped and asked the remaining two people,
" I have no idea."
"How will I know? Maybe the old guy has a bad stomach."
Li Shan heard this and shook his head:
"No, I think something is wrong. Don't move around here. I'll be back soon."
Without waiting for the two to respond, Li Shan flew into the woods, with agility that was inconsistent with his body.
The majestic figure shuttled quickly between the woods, like an agile black bear. However, Li Shan's brows have never relaxed since he stepped into the woods. As he walked deeper into the woods, his brows frowned even tighter.
For no actual reason, a faint sense of uneasiness filled Li Shan's heart...
Suddenly, a bloody stench squeezed into his nose, and Li Shan's heart sank like Titanic.
As a senior hunter, he knew that this bloody smell was not from any animal. He was very familiar with the smell of the blood of animals, this bloody smell, it could only be from humans...
He continued to move forward, the smell of blood becoming more stronger and more tense.
There was even a faint chewing sound echoing in the quiet forest that could make anyone's heart ache with fear. It was miserable and terrifying, extremely creepy.
The sound became clearer, and the smell of the blood became thicker...