Chapter 2: Hunting the Wolf!

Chapter 2: Hunting the Wolf!

It's One-Eyed Fang!

Li Yan had already guessed as much.

Ordinary beasts never carried that particular scent.

Could it be true, as people said, that One-Eyed Fang had gained some supernatural power?

Li Yan grew wary, unslung his bow, and nocked an arrow, signaling Hei Dan to crouch and follow him quietly.

Just this simple action revealed the difference between them.

The Guanzhong region was home to many wandering knights, and with a thousand years of wars, martial arts had never fallen out of practice. Li Jiabao Fortress, for instance, was once a military stronghold, and many of its children grew up practicing martial arts.

Even the Red Fist had its own unique style and lineage in each village.

Hei Dan, too, had practiced martial arts from a young age. During the farming off-season, the only entertainment was practicing with a long spear and boxing, and the spear shaft behind him had long been polished smooth as porcelain.

But when he walked, he always put his heel down first, then his toes, and even when moving quietly, his weight on the grass still made some noise.

Li Yan, however, was different.

He landed on the balls of his feet, his bow steady and arrow straight, moving like a cat, his spine always balanced, making no sound at all.

He combined the steadiness of a mountain with the agility of a cat, two contrasting qualities that were now perfectly united.

Hei Dan watched, filled with envy.

Martial arts required hard work, but talent was also crucial. This Phantom Step was a realm he could never reach in his lifetime.

The villagers praised Li Yan largely because of his grandfather, a former soldier, and his father, a deceased knife fighter.

After all, what could a fourteen-year-old boy really accomplish?

But Hei Dan was different. He had secretly watched Li Yan train and was amazed by his skill, which was why he sought Li Yan's help as soon as the incident happened.

While lost in thought, Li Yan suddenly stopped ahead.

Hei Dan quickly halted, peering forward, and his eyes widened in shock.

Behind Li Jiabao Fortress, there were still many earthen walls from the old military stronghold, now reduced to ruins.

The pre-dawn darkness made the light poor.

At the ruins, a large, matted, and scruffy wolf was stealing a pig.

It clamped the pig's ear with its sharp teeth, its long tail lashing like a whip, forcing the pig to walk.

Pigs were smart animals. When caught by butchers during the New Year, they knew their time had come and would scream in terror. But now, this pig, covered in blood, moved as if under a spell, not even making a sound.

This wolf had only one eye—it was One-Eyed Fang!

One-Eyed Fang had actually entered the village in the early morning.

And why hadn’t the village dogs barked?

The eerie scene sent shivers down Hei Dan's spine, but his hatred soon overcame his fear. His eyes turned red, and he slowly drew his long spear.

Li Yan was also surprised but remained calm.

He signaled Hei Dan to stay still and slowly raised his bow.

However, he didn't rush to shoot. Instead, he adjusted his breathing, squinted his eyes, and focused his gaze.

In the few years since he arrived in this world, his greatest passion had been martial arts.

The martial arts in this world were similar to traditional Chinese martial arts, with no talk of spiritual energy or true qi. However, breathing techniques were crucial.

If your breathing was steady, your strength would be concentrated.

Like when he moved silently, his mind and breathing were stable, and his muscles and tendons moved in harmony, allowing him to move like a cat.

Don't underestimate this; the essence of martial arts lies in this.

Even if ordinary people practiced with stone locks or long spears every day and learned many techniques, they would still lose their breath and composure in a real fight, their minds going blank, and they would end up using clumsy punches.

The same principle applied to archery.

No matter how strong the bow or how much practice you had, it all came down to hitting the target.

Controlling your body's strength through breathing was key!

One-Eyed Fang might be different, but being trapped and shot in the eye showed that it was still flesh and blood.

They were downwind, so they smelled One-Eyed Fang first. Moving quietly and taking advantage of its distraction while stealing the pig, they had closed the distance to about a hundred meters.

Li Yan was confident that if he hit his mark, one arrow would be enough to kill it!

Creak...

The bowstring tightened, and the arrowhead was astonishingly steady.

But at that moment, One-Eyed Fang suddenly bristled and lifted its head.

It had detected them!

Li Yan didn't know what went wrong, perhaps it sensed the killing intent, but there was no time to think.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew, fast as lightning.

Li Yan aimed for the wolf's neck.

Wolves were often called "Copper-Headed Iron-Tailed Wolves" because their spines, between their buttocks and ribs, were the only weak spot, with few bones and important organs.

Few knew that the area between its eyes and nose was the most vulnerable, a strike there could render it unconscious, and an arrow could be fatal.

But this area was extremely hard to hit, and One-Eyed Fang was no ordinary wolf. Therefore, Li Yan aimed for the neck.

Thud!

The arrow pierced the fur.

One-Eyed Fang had dodged slightly. The arrow didn't hit a vital spot but instead pierced its right front leg, blood spurting out.

Without hesitation, Li Yan nocked another arrow, preparing to finish it off.

Although the arrow hadn't killed it, the wound would slow it down, and with quick action, it couldn't escape.

But to his surprise, One-Eyed Fang didn't flee. Instead, it leaped over the wall and used its sharp teeth to try to bite off the arrow and pull it out.

Damned cunning!

Li Yan dropped his bow and charged forward.

His body moved like an arrow, and he grasped the hilt of his knife.

His knife, about three feet long and less than two inches wide, had a uniquely narrow guard.

It was a fast knife from Lintong's Guanshan Town.

The Guanshan Blade was the standard and symbol of Guanzhong knife fighters.

Over the hundred meters, Li Yan's speed increased, his feet kicking up dust. With a click, his left thumb pushed the guard, and his right hand hovered over the hilt, but he didn't draw the knife.

The family heirloom, a quick draw.

It looked similar to Japanese sword techniques, but it was entirely different.

The quick draw was a stealthy technique, allowing for sudden, lightning-fast strikes.

When crossing paths with an enemy, the technique concealed the killing intent, and the knife would strike and withdraw before the enemy could react.

One-Eyed Fang was flesh and blood, but its intelligence and agility were astonishing.

Drawing the knife would reveal his intent, so Li Yan chose the quick draw, like a predator pouncing and revealing its claws at the last moment.

As expected, One-Eyed Fang was no ordinary beast.

As Li Yan charged, the wolf had already bitten off the arrowhead and pulled out the shaft, handling it like a human to minimize damage.

A regular person would have been incapacitated by such a wound, but One-Eyed Fang seemed unaffected. Its fangs bared, its nose wrinkled, and its red eye narrowed as it leaped onto the earthen wall and then jumped down.

The leap was about five meters high, perfectly timed to land on the charging Li Yan.

Wild beasts honed their killing skills in the wilderness.

As apex predators, wolves often surrounded their prey, snarling and testing before the strongest one went for the throat, delivering a fatal blow, and the pack tore the prey apart.

A lone wolf relied on ambush, hiding by the path and striking when the prey or traveler passed.

Instinctively, it always found the best method.

Now, it was the same.

Using the earthen wall, One-Eyed Fang leaped from the air. Whether the prey turned to run or looked up in panic, it would expose its neck.

A wolf bite to the throat, and the prey was finished, no matter its size.

But Li Yan was no ordinary prey.

Feeling the wind from above, Li Yan grew even calmer. His phoenix eyes narrowed, and his pupils glowed with a cold light. As One-Eyed Fang landed, he spotted the weak spot, crouched, and flicked his right arm.

Clang!

As they crossed paths, the Guanshan Blade slashed diagonally.

A flash of cold light, and blood spurted.

One-Eyed Fang fell with a thud, a large gash on its neck, blood spurting, and it struggled weakly.

Li Yan, now five meters away, turned his back to the wolf, flicked the blood off his blade, and sheathed it in one fluid motion.

"Great knife work!"

Hei Dan, watching from a distance, was overwhelmed with excitement and cheered.

The human-wolf confrontation had been swift but intense, leaving him trembling and sweating.

On the other side, Li Yan didn't turn around after sheathing his blade.

It wasn't for show; there was a reason.

His face was grim as he touched his neck, finding a small cut, though only a scratch, it had bled, and it was perilously close to his artery.

One-Eyed Fang was indeed flesh and blood, but its reactions far exceeded those of ordinary beasts. As Li Yan cut its neck, it had managed to claw him.

"Brother Yan, are you okay?"

Behind him, Hei Dan ran up, spear in hand, and asked anxously.

"I'm fine."

Li Yan replied, slowly turning around.

Something strange happened. As he turned, the cut on his neck vanished, and the remaining blood looked as if it had been splashed by the wolf's blood.

Hei Dan, not noticing, breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the fallen One-Eyed Fang.

The wolf was indeed ferocious, even as it lay in a pool of blood, barely moving, it still bared its fangs, its eyes filled with hatred, as if trying to remember Li Yan.

"You damn beast, still not dead?"

Hei Dan, enraged, shook his spear, and the spearhead plunged into One-Eyed Fang's good eye, piercing its brain.

Even then, One-Eyed Fang struggled a few more times before finally stilling.

At that moment, Li Yan sensed something and frowned.

One-Eyed Fang was dead, but the unique, pungent smell was growing stronger and spreading around.

It was as if an invisible wind carried the scent, which then suddenly dissipated.

For some reason, Li Yan felt a chill down his spine, but when he looked around, there was nothing.

"Hei Dan, do you smell anything foul?"

"What? No, I don't..."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end