Hu Meng sneaked away from the shadows near the cave, heading back down the mountain with a thoughtful expression, 'A new kind of spirit herb that we can reliably grow ourselves is a big deal... I'm still going to attack Yin Xiu once he reaches the bottom of the hill for refusing to tell me though.' His eyes glowed with a mischievous light at the thought.
He crouched down next to the path that Yin Xiu would pass in preparation. Not long after he had perfected his hiding place, the thin purple-haired teenager emerged at a leisurely pace. Hu Meng's muscles tensed as he crouched down, building an explosive amount of force into his legs. 'Now that he's reached the last stage of body refinement he can withstand more force hehehe.'
Ensuring his claws were retracted, Hu Meng lunged forward rapidly with hardly a sound. Yin Xiu's figure enlarged rapidly in his vision as a smile was about to form at the successful hunt of his friend, Hu Meng was then suddenly left speechless. Yin Xiu bent his body forward extremely lithely, almost appearing boneless. Hu Meng dazedly passed over Yin Xiu helplessly before he felt his paws sink into the leaves as they landed on the ground.
"Well look who it is, my good friend Hu Meng. You'll have to try harder next time it seems." Yin Xiu straightened back up with feigned nonchalance as he taunted the still confused black tiger. The cold sweat on his back particularly noticeable in the brisk autumn air.
"It can't be, how... how could you dodge me." Hu Meng's golden eyes were wide open in shock as he stared at Yin Xiu as if he was some strange creature and not the person he had been living with for almost a month.
"I anticipated you would retaliate against me, so I was on guard the whole way down the mountain." Yin Xiu's smile grew more smug as he watched Hu Meng's expression collapse even more. Just as he was about to lay on even more jibes he noticed Hu Meng's eyes develop a slightly dangerous glint before he quickly changed his words. "Ahem... I still wouldn't be able to dodge you if I was unprepared, so you don't have to be to upset about it." Yin Xiu coughed awkwardly as he patted Hu Meng's shoulder with a bit of tension. "If you look on the bright side it means that I've gotten to know you pretty well as a friend." He reassured Hu Meng as best as he could to lessen the inevitable lesson he would probably instill on him in the near future.
"We still have two days until we move against the stone-armed baboons right?" Hu Meng growled lowly as he raised his head to look deeply at Yin Xiu. "Umm... yes?" Yin Xiu's tone became much softer in an instant as he began to dread the next words that Hu Meng might say.
"You're only going to be practicing your weapon skills these next few days right?" Hu Meng's voice becoming more and more sinister the further the conversation went. Yin Xiu nodded stiffly in response "Good." Hu Meng left immediately after saying the last word, his movements forceful as if taking out his anger on the ground with every step.
Yin Xiu then found himself alone in the silent forest. An ominous feeling pervading the air, as if something was constantly watching his every move. In Yin Xiu's imagination he could practically picture a pair of golden eyes in the shadows, just waiting for him to let down his guard. With trepidation he made his way to the clearing that the duo use for practice. Every leaf hitting the ground and each of the frequent gusts of wind making him subconsciously jump.
A day and a half passed as Yin Xiu repeatedly practiced his form and usage of needles in combat. He threw them while stationary, while running, while dodging at tricky angles, at increasingly further distances, his accuracy improving drastically with each repetition. Every needle burying themselves deeply in the wood of the trees he had selected for practice. The force of his throws even more pronounced after his increase in cultivation. The whole time, he never saw even a hair of Hu Meng. Still, he kept his up his guard knowing that the tiger would immediately strike if he slipped up even a little bit.
Finally, the sun began to set on the second day. As he dragged his tired body and even more tired mind back to finally get some sleep. When he reached his makeshift bed of leaves he saw Hu Meng lazily stretched out not far away with a sarcastic grin, observing the fatigue on Yin Xiu's face with relish. "Hu Meng get that shameless look off your face!" Yin Xiu exploded, his still tense nerves snapping at the blatant mockery.
Hu Meng snorted disdainfully as he inspected his claws nonchalantly. "Yin Xiu I hope you learned your lesson for daring to mock this lord." Hu Meng then sat up with a regal aura. Naturally displaying his innate disposition as a predator at the top of of the food chain.
Yin Xiu rolled his eyes as he shuffled over to the bed before laying out with a sigh, almost immediately slipping off into a dreamless sleep.
Hu Meng awkwardly turned his head to glance at his sleeping friend. 'Ahem, as we have a critical mission to accomplish tomorrow this lord will show mercy just this once. Yin Xiu should be grateful for my magnanimity.' He nodded in self assurance at his display of sophistry, and then disappeared into the rapidly darkening forest as night fell completely.
The next morning, the sun had turned the sky fish belly white as the forest slowly stirred to life. Yin Xiu's eyes slowly opened while regaining clarity almost immediately, as he remembered the purpose of today. He quickly patted the leaves of his body, and removed a few that had entangled themselves in his hair. 'I can't wait to buy new robes, and something to hold my hair... We should be able to go to the market soon though.' This thought instantly enlivened his motions, thinking about the prospect of wearing decent clothes for the first time in a long time.
Not long after he had prepared himself a little bit the imposing presence of Hu Fang caused him to turn his head. The massive tiger almost blinding him as the combination of her white fur, the sharp aura she exuded, and the glare of the sun resulted in an almost holy light shining off of her imposing figure. In contrast her son was the complete opposite, almost unnoticeable, slinking in the shadows nimbly. If he wasn't pacing back and forth in anticipation Yin Xiu might have honestly over-looked him.
"Good morning Yin Xiu!" Hu Meng said excitedly as the speed of his pacing increased once more."
"Good Morning Hu Meng, and Senior Hu Fang." Yin Xiu responded politely to the mother and son. Hu Fang nodded back "When we go over I will challenge the patriarch of those baboons openly. Normally other spirit beasts would try and honor one on one challenges for territory, but that shameless bastard won't." Hu Fang's voice practically dripped with vitriol as she refreshed her expectations for the two. While she talked the group made their way towards the territory of the baboons.
"Your main role is to stop his offspring from interfering with the fight. I should be able to finish him off quickly, as I'm a major cultivation realm above him, but he's old and wily, so I can't say for certain if he doesn't have some tricks to use. Even if the fight ends quickly though, this is a good opportunity for the both of you to train yourselves. I will only step in if you truly need me to. Understood?" Hu Fangs massive head observed both of their nods of understanding before being satisfied. "Let's pick up the pace, I want to get this over with quickly."
The group's speed instantly accelerated through the densely packed trees, Hu Fang slicing through anything that stood in her way, Hu Meng playfully weaved through the foliage, and Yin Xiu was twisting in a strange way to dodge the tree limbs as he struggled to keep up with the two spirit beast's pace.
Around fifteen minutes later, a hot summer air hit their faces as they crossed over into the territory of the stone-armed baboons. Almost immediately a howling call spit the air, as one of the baboons that was on guard warned of the approach of enemies. The trio ignored the baboon as they beelined deeper into the forest quickly coming to an area with a medium sized lake, a large tree growing tall on its bank. A massive brown baboon sat at the very top of the tree. His figure was imposing his long arms packed with sinewy muscles encased in rocky protrusions, but some of his hair was already turning white with age. He looked at the approaching Hu Fang with a grave expression on his face, detecting an unusual feeling coming off of the massive tiger that he couldn't quite understand yet. His clansmen quickly leaving the tree to surround the trio at a distance, while waiting for their patriarchs instructions.
"Hu Fang why do you dare to enter my territory after the last time? Was one humiliation not enough?" He attempted to mock in an effort to mask his uneasiness.
"Both of us know that if you hadn't threatened my child that day you would have had your head removed from your body years ago Wu Shitou. Otherwise, why wouldn't you have tried challenging me again? Well, besides the fact you are a massive coward that is. I've been waiting for so long just to ensure both you, and your clan are wiped from the Nine Heavens, and today is that day." Not deigning to talk to her enemy any further Hu Fang attacked abruptly, her claws bursting out with five piercing cold lines of Qi, forming a claw shaped attack that radiated a piercing feeling. Yin Xiu's eyes teared up just witnessing the attack from a distance.
Wu Shitou hurriedly crossed his arms to block the fearsome attack before being struck down from the top of the tree with a crack. The tree canopy toppling to the forest floor as the incomparably sharp Qi sliced through it without any resistance. Wu Shitou, howled in pain as he fell rapidly towards the forest floor, bloody lines emerging immediately on his previously impenetrable stone arms.
'Stage five!!' Was the only thought flashing in his stunned mind.