Chapter 106: Desperate Pursuit, A Startling Arrow

Watching Wei Xiaogongzi swallow the rabbit meat, Magu finally nodded slightly.

He also picked up a piece of rabbit meat and began to eat.

Perhaps it was because he was truly starving, but after swallowing a piece of rabbit meat, Wei Xiaogongzi found that aside from the psychological discomfort, it wasn't as difficult to swallow as he had imagined.

Thus, he didn't feel as repulsed and silently continued eating.

The two of them silently devoured the entire rabbit raw.

After finishing, Magu cleaned up and stood at the cave entrance, leaning against the wall with his knife, eyes closed as he rested.

Wei Xiaogongzi went to check on his mother and found that her condition hadn't improved, which worried him.

He wanted to discuss it with Magu, but recalling how Magu had gripped his neck earlier, he felt afraid and could only sit there silently.

By now, night had fully fallen, but as a Muscle Awakening warrior, Magu's senses remained sharp.

In the darkness, he sensed Wei Xiaogongzi's movements and spoke up, "Go to sleep. Early tomorrow morning, I'll go look for medicine for Madam Wei. Worrying now won't change anything. It's better to rest and conserve your energy."

Wei Xiaogongzi remained silent for a while before asking, "Magu, tell me the truth. Can my mother really recover?"

Magu didn't answer immediately. After a moment, he said, "I don't know. As I said, I'm not a physician, and my understanding of medicine is rudimentary. Madam's injuries are severe. I can only try to find some medicinal herbs that I know of and give them to her, hoping they'll help. As for whether she can pull through, we can only leave it to fate."

Magu paused here before continuing, "It's a pity that we can't leave this place right now. Otherwise, if we could reach Old Doctor Chen, your mother's life would definitely be saved."

Hearing this, Wei Xiaogongzi's eyes lit up.

"That's right! We can send my mother to Old Doctor Chen!"

He recalled how the old doctor had saved him despite his severe injuries the last time.

If they could bring his mother to the old doctor, then she would definitely be cured as well!

Magu shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to take her there. But you know the situation outside. There are people searching for us everywhere, and we simply can't leave."

Only then did Wei Xiaogongzi react, his eyes dimming.

Yes, if they could get out, they wouldn't be trapped in this mountain cave.

"Alright, get some rest. We'll see how things are tomorrow," Magu said, seeing that Wei Xiaogongzi had fallen silent. He then continued to rest with his eyes closed.

That night, Wei Xiaogongzi couldn't sleep well.

He kept waking up from time to time to check on Madam Wei, giving her water occasionally. He dozed off and woke up repeatedly, barely getting any rest.

Magu saw all of this but remained silent.

Early the next morning, after informing Wei Xiaogongzi, Magu prepared to go out in search of medicinal herbs.

He checked on Madam Wei and saw that perhaps due to the wound medicine, her condition hadn't worsened overnight, but she was still unconscious.

However, this wasn't a good sign. The environment in the mountains was harsh.

If she remained unconscious, she might never wake up again.

With his blade on his back, Magu carefully walked through the mountains, searching for medicinal herbs that he recognized.

Finally, by a mountain stream, he found a useful herb and was delighted. Just as he was about to pluck it, he suddenly felt a warning sign and quickly dodged to the side.

The next moment, a sharp arrow almost grazed his body and embedded itself in the ground. Most of the arrow shaft sank into the soil, leaving only the arrow tail quivering slightly above the surface.

Magu's heart chilled.

If he hadn't dodged just now, his entire body would've been pierced by that arrow.

He spun around and saw a figure standing on a branch of a large tree not far behind him.

It was a sturdy young man wearing leather armor, with a quiver on his back, a large bow in his hand, and a short dagger at his waist.

It was clear that the arrow just now had been shot by him.

"Hmm? Something was able to dodge my arrow?"

The leather-clad youth was a bit surprised that his arrow had missed.

"Who are you, and why did you suddenly attack me?" Magu drew his knife and asked in a low voice.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, alert to any changes.

"No need to pretend," the leather-clad youth said. "Two days ago, you were the one who took away Madam Wei and Young Master Wei, weren't you? Tell me where they are, and perhaps I'll spare your life."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Magu denied. "I'm just a hunter who came to the mountains to hunt. I don't know any Madam or Young Master Wei."

"A Muscle Awakening hunter? Do you take me for a fool?" The leather-clad youth shook his head. "It seems I'll have to capture you first before you'll speak the truth."

"Hmph!"

Before Ma Gu could finish speaking, the leather-clad youth had already reached for his arrow quiver, drawing out three arrows and nocking them to his bow.

In the next moment, without hesitation, the three arrows were released in quick succession, shooting toward Ma Gu.

"Trifecta Shot?!"

The three sharp arrows formed a triangular pattern, leaving Ma Gu with little room to dodge as they sealed off his surroundings.

Ma Gu's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the arrow technique the youth was using.

It was a famous technique, indicating that the archer had truly mastered the way of the bow.

I have to run! Ma Gu instantly made his decision. He swung his blade, deflecting one of the arrows, and then performed a lazy donkey roll to avoid the other two.

As he tumbled, he flicked his wrist, sending a hidden throwing knife flying toward the leather-clad youth's face.

"Hmm?"

The counterattack came as a surprise, and even the leather-clad youth was caught off guard.

He swung his bow, knocking the knife away, and when he looked up again, Ma Gu's figure had already disappeared into the distance, several dozen feet away.

Ma Gu hadn't even waited to see the result of his knife throw before he tumbled backward and began his escape.

As he fled, he continuously used the trees to block his figure, making it difficult for the leather-clad youth's arrows to lock onto him.

"Interesting. If you still manage to escape, where would I put my face then?"

The youth in leather chuckled softly, slung his large bow on his back, and also displayed his movement technique, pursuing Ma Gu.

Surprisingly, his speed was even slightly faster than Ma Gu's.

Hearing the sound of pursuit from behind, Ma Gu inwardly sighed in frustration.

After witnessing the youth's Trifecta Shot, Ma Gu knew that he was no match for his opponent.

Trifecta Shot was an extremely skillful arrow technique.

To be able to draw and release three arrows with such force in a short span of time, one would have to be at least a small achievement level expert in the Muscle Awakening realm.

Such an expert was a level above him, and fighting them would put him at a severe disadvantage.

Not to mention, he didn't know how many other enemies were lurking in the vicinity.

If he caused a commotion, there might be even more pursuers joining the chase.

So, escape was his only option.

But now, it seemed that even escaping wouldn't be easy.

Feeling the pursuer's footsteps drawing closer, Ma Gu felt a sense of urgency.

He had thought that carrying such a large bow would hinder the youth's movement in the forest.

But to his surprise, the youth's movement technique was so adept that he was gradually catching up despite the challenging terrain.

However, Ma Gu couldn't afford to stop, so he gritted his teeth and turned toward an even denser thicket of bushes.

This slowed him down, and the unknown thorn plants scratched his body painfully.

But he was betting that the thicket would hinder the leather-clad youth with the large bow even more.

As expected, once they entered the dense bushes, the youth's progress was greatly impeded.

The slender vines and branches kept snagging on his bow, and he dared not use force to break free, fearing that his beloved bow would be damaged.

As Ma Gu's figure was about to disappear from his sight, the youth's face twisted with anger.

"You cowardly rat, do you think you can escape like this?" he snarled.

He removed his bow from his back, took out a unique, pitch-black arrow, and nocked it to his bow, aiming carefully.

The idea to escape into the thicket of bushes was a good one.

But the youth pursuing him had forgotten one thing: without the cover of the large trees, these small bushes couldn't stop his arrows!

Having been outmaneuvered once, the leather-clad youth was now filled with rage.

This time, he didn't hold back, channeling his energy and causing his blood to surge and his bones and tendons to creak. A powerful aura rose from him.

He drew the bow to its full extent, the moon-shaped curve of the bowstring aiming directly at Ma Gu. In the next moment, he released his fingers, and a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.

The black arrow left the bowstring at incredible speed, spinning rapidly as it shot toward Ma Gu.

The whirlwind created by its spin tore through everything in its path, shredding countless leaves and grasses, forming a spectacular passage connecting the two of them.

Ma Gu felt an extreme sense of danger welling up from the depths of his being.

He didn't even have time to turn around or think; his body instinctively lunged forward.

Just then, he felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by a loud explosion in front of him. A gust of wind blew over his head, making his scalp tingle.

Ma Gu looked up and saw a deep pit in a nearby tree large enough to embrace two people. Embedded in the pit was the black arrow, its tail quivering violently.

Such a terrifying display left Ma Gu's heart pounding with fear.

Could this arrow technique really have been executed by a mere Muscle Awakening realm warrior?

Just what kind of enemies had the Wei family offended?!

At that moment, Ma Gu's heart sank into deep despair.

Chapter: Cornered

The young man in leather armor behind him had just shot an incredibly frightening arrow. It was clear that there were only two reasons for this.

One was that his opponent had been toying with him earlier and hadn't used his full strength.

His true strength far exceeded the Small Achievement level of the Muscle Awakening realm.

The other reason was that his opponent had used some kind of incredible secret technique, unleashing an arrow with power far beyond his own realm.

Either of these reasons was absolutely bad news for Magu.

It meant that his chances of escaping were now slim.

However, no matter how slim the odds, he had to try.

Waiting for death was not in Magu's nature.

He reached back and felt the bloody wound, relieved to find that he had dodged quickly enough for the arrow to only graze him, and his life was not in danger.

Sensing that his injury didn't hinder his movement, Magu jumped to his feet and continued his escape.

The leather-clad youth behind him had also caught his breath after shooting that astonishing secret arrow, feeling his body go soft all over.

The secret arrow technique taught by his master was such that even with his talent, he could shoot at most two arrows.

After shooting two arrows, his whole body would be left weak, his strength inferior even to those in the Qi and Blood realm.

Fortunately, the effect of that arrow was quite good.

Seeing Ma Gu get knocked down by his arrow, the youth felt a sense of satisfaction.

"You rat, it's a mercy that you can die by my secret arrow technique!"

However, before the leather-clad youth could even smile, he saw that the rat, who should have been dead, had jumped up and was running away again.

"Damn! I was still affected by this bush after all!"

The youth was first surprised, then immediately realized what had happened.

While his arrow had pierced through the entire bush, its momentum had been slowed down just a bit, allowing the rat to react and dodge in time.

Seeing that his all-out arrow had been dodged by someone of a lower realm, the leather-clad youth felt a surge of shame.

"You rat, I will kill you!"

His angry roar echoed through the mountains.

Hearing the murderous intent in the voice behind him, Magu's heart sank further.

He regretted even more his foolish decision to leave the team and go to the grand gathering.

If he had returned to his clan directly that day, none of this would have happened!

But now, no matter how much he regretted it, it was too late.

Hearing the sounds of pursuit resume behind him, Magu could only grit his teeth and continue his flight.

However, this time, he heard the sounds getting closer and closer, and the speed of his pursuer seemed to have increased significantly.

"Not good!"

Taking a quick glance back, Magu noticed that the large bow was no longer on the leather-clad youth's back.

Without the hindrance of the large bow, his pursuer was now at an advantage in this bush terrain.

But at this moment, it was too late for Magu to change direction, so he could only grit his teeth and run forward as fast as he could.

"Rat, you can't get away. Stop now, and I might just let you die a complete death!"

The voice of the leather-clad youth rang out from not far behind Magu.

Magu dared not answer, afraid of revealing his breath, so he just ran for his life.

After running for a few more breaths, as the sounds behind him grew closer, Magu's heart sank further into despair.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of flowing water up ahead, and a glimmer of hope emerged in his heart.

If there was a river ahead, he might still have a chance!

This newfound hope sparked a will to survive in Magu, and an inexplicable surge of energy erupted from within him, increasing his speed slightly.

"You want to escape by water?"

The leather-clad youth behind him also heard the sound of water and understood Magu's intention when he saw him speed up.

He didn't hesitate to use his secret technique again, increasing his speed and drawing an arrow from his quiver.

Just as he took the arrow in hand, the area ahead opened up, and Magu leaped into the air.

"Got you!"

The leather-clad youth used an arrow-throwing technique, sending the arrow in his hand flying.

In mid-air, Magu had no way to dodge, and the arrow pierced his shoulder, causing him to fall from the air onto a patch of cobblestones.

"This isn't a river, it's a waterfall in the mountain valley?"

Magu endured the pain and looked around, his heart sinking as he realized their surroundings.

At this moment, he was in a valley, and the sound of water he had heard came from a waterfall in the valley.

"Rat, it looks like your luck is a bit bad."

At this moment, the leather-clad youth also walked out of the woods, his face filled with mockery.

"This time, let's see how you'll run."

Seeing the leather-clad youth approaching, Magu's eyes showed despair, and the will to die appeared on his face.

"Brother Ma?"

Just then, a surprised voice rang out from the side.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end