"What's the deal with this scorpion? Did you raise it?" Xiao Feng asked.
He had originally intended to simply help a delicate young girl along the way, but now he discovered that she seemed to be hiding some secret, one that appeared to be related to Demonic Beasts, which piqued Xiao Feng's interest.
Xiao Linger turned her back to him, ignoring him.
Seeing Xiao Linger act this way, Xiao Feng didn't care and picked up the map to study the path ahead.
"The mountain peak on the right is the Domain of a Lightning Leopard. Further ahead in the valley, there is a swamp filled with poisonous insects, and in the forest on the left, there is a pack of Wind Wolves. That's about it for the surrounding area."
Xiao Linger's voice suddenly rang out.
Xiao Feng looked up. The young woman hadn't turned around; she must have heard the sound of him flipping through the map.
Gazing at the young woman's back, Xiao Feng muttered under his breath, "What is this? A twisted psyche combined with tsundere tendencies?"
"How strong is the Lightning Leopard?" Xiao Feng asked.
Xiao Linger remained silent.
"If you won't speak, then I'll have you lead the way," Xiao Feng continued.
"Suit yourself." Xiao Linger's tone was unfriendly. She then found some dry grass to spread out, curled up against the tree trunk with her knees to her chest, and seemed prepared to sleep.
"Hey, it's just past noon. Get up, we're moving on." Xiao Feng began packing his things, preparing to set off.
Xiao Linger opened her eyes, her expression unreadable. "If you want to travel, go on your own. I'm tired and need to rest."
Xiao Feng thought for a moment, said nothing, and began setting up the tent and tying the bell ropes...
By evening, Xiao Feng had finally managed to light a campfire, but Xiao Linger suddenly ran over and extinguished it.
"Are you tired of living, lighting a fire in the Magical Beast Mountain Range!" Xiao Linger pointed at Xiao Feng's nose and scolded him.
"Can you talk properly!" Xiao Feng's face darkened. He threw down the fire stick and glared back.
The two had a slight age gap, but their heights were similar; Xiao Feng was only half a head shorter than Xiao Linger. Because he was standing on a rock, his presence was more imposing at that moment.
"I feel like it!" Xiao Linger didn't back down at all, sticking her neck out. "If you're not satisfied, then kill me!"
"Crazy woman." Xiao Feng muttered, then ignored her.
It didn't matter if there was no fire; the contents of his storage ring were ridiculously abundant.
His wife loved him deeply, there was no helping it!
While munching on a small snack, he glanced at Xiao Linger. "Why are you so familiar with this place?"
Xiao Linger said nothing.
"If your answer satisfies me, this will be yours."
Xiao Feng dangled the sleeping bag, swaying it back and forth in his hand.
Xiao Linger looked back, hesitated for a while, and finally spoke. "Little Purple told me."
"This thing could talk?" Xiao Feng looked astonished, appearing as if he regretted killing the scorpion had he known it could speak.
Xiao Linger gave Xiao Feng a look of disdain. She didn't explain anything and went straight to grab the sleeping bag.
"Let go! You said you'd give it to me if I told you the reason!" Xiao Linger gripped it tightly, her strength immense.
How could Xiao Feng let go? "I said it had to satisfy me!"
"You don't keep your word!" Xiao Linger wrapped one end of the sleeping bag around her hand, clearly intending to tear it up if he didn't give it to her.
"A Tier 2 Demonic Beast definitely can't talk!" Xiao Feng seemed to understand why Xiao Linger looked at him with disdain. "How did it tell you?"
"That's another question! Are you going back on your word!" Xiao Linger didn't yield an inch.
"Fine." Xiao Feng wasn't in a hurry. He gradually reduced his strength and warned, "I'm letting go."
Despite this, Xiao Linger still fell. However, she didn't care. After getting up and checking that the sleeping bag wasn't damaged, she began to lay it out.
Xiao Linger didn't eat dinner. Xiao Feng didn't give her anything, and she didn't ask for it, as if her body didn't belong to her; she didn't care at all.
Night fell, and the two went to sleep separately.
Late at night, Xiao Feng noticed Xiao Linger sneak out of the sleeping bag. He initially thought she was trying to escape, but it turned out she was collecting the scorpion's corpse, dragging it into a patch of sand, burying it, and then setting up a marker.
Xiao Linger knelt before the marker, weeping softly. "Little Purple, you are my only friend. Don't worry, once I fulfill my agreement with him, the next time I meet him, I will definitely avenge you!"
She cried for a long time, her suppressed voice echoing through the valley, chilling to the bone. Only when she couldn't cry anymore did she wipe her eyes, glance at the motionless tent, and then cautiously return to the sleeping bag.
After the sun rose, Xiao Feng crawled out of the tent and stretched. Seeing no movement from Xiao Linger's side, he shouted, "Hey! Time to wake up!"
Only then did Xiao Linger groggily crawl out of the sleeping bag.
Washing up, breakfast—half an hour passed by the time these were done.
"I'm hungry. Give me something to eat." Xiao Linger reached out toward Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng tossed her another piece of dry rations and a bottle of water.
"Why are you eating bread while I'm eating this?" Xiao Linger frowned, very displeased.
"Heh..." Xiao Feng sneered and said nothing.
Ten minutes later, the two set off.
The sleeping bag was bundled up and carried on Xiao Linger's back; she didn't want Xiao Feng to keep it, insisting on carrying it herself.
The two walked toward the mountain peak on the right.
At the foot of the mountain, Xiao Feng stopped. "You go first."
Xiao Linger didn't say a word, holding her head high as she walked upward. As she brushed past Xiao Feng, she left behind one sentence: "Wait here."
Xiao Feng watched the young girl's somewhat stubborn back and pursed his lips.
Xiao Linger wasn't gone for long. Less than an hour later, he saw her coming down from the mountain.
"It's on the mountain. When I encountered it, it was sunbathing. There were no other Demonic Beasts." Xiao Linger's tone was flat, as if she had gone to visit a friend.
Xiao Feng looked Xiao Linger up and down; apart from being drenched in sweat, she didn't have a single scratch.
"Did you really see it?" Xiao Feng asked suspiciously.
Just now, he had extended his Soul force up there, only seeing Xiao Linger climb to the peak, but he couldn't see what happened afterward.
Xiao Linger sneered. "Believe it or not. If not, I can accompany you up there again."
Xiao Feng shook his head. He wanted to temper himself, so he naturally had to step into danger; whether Xiao Linger followed or not was meaningless.
"If you want to slip away on your own, you had best confirm that I am already dead. Otherwise, pray that you don't run into me."
Xiao Feng gave Xiao Linger a cold look, then headed toward the mountain peak.
Xiao Linger curled her lips indifferently, found a rock, sat down, and began to rub her legs.
Climbing along the path paved with stones, about twenty minutes later, Xiao Feng stood on the mountain peak.
Where was the shadow of the Lightning Leopard?
Just as this thought arose, his Soul perception sensed a black shadow rapidly approaching from behind. He had no idea when it had appeared there; it was extremely abrupt.
The Lightning Leopard!
Just as its name implied, its speed was truly fast. Xiao Feng didn't even have time to turn around before it pounced.
The protective shield he had barely managed to raise was shattered in an instant, and sharp claws instantly reached for the center of Xiao Feng's back!
At the foot of the mountain, Xiao Linger looked at the peak and sneered. "A mountain peak that even a Dou Master dares not approach; you are truly courting death."
On the peak, danger was closing in.
The shield resisted the fatal blow, and the strike that should have pierced Xiao Feng's body only left a wound on his back.
"Where are you going!"
The black shadow within his Soul perception range, having failed its attack and intending to retreat, caused Xiao Feng to hurriedly turn to pursue it. However, he was far too slow. Just as he turned around, he saw the Lightning Leopard disappear into the forest, and the black shadow in his Soul perception faded away as well.
Body reaction too slow, Qi circulation speed too slow, physical strength too weak, Soul force too weak...
The reflection lasted only a few seconds, but Xiao Feng's head was full of weak, weak, weak, weak, weak...
"Like this, killing the Lightning Leopard will be satisfying enough!"
A trace of madness appeared in Xiao Feng's eyes. As someone who had been able to cultivate Internal Energy in a land devoid of Qi in his past life, how could he be a well-behaved, methodical, rule-following goody-two-shoes?
Which one of them wasn't an existence with pride atop their heads?
Xiao Feng flipped his palm, and a long blade appeared. He stood it aside as a deterrent, then began to take off his upper garment, attempting to apply medicine to the wound on his back.
After narrowing his Soul perception range to thirty meters, the surrounding objects became much clearer.
Like fishing, he waited quietly.
Sure enough, not long after, that black shadow appeared once again within his Soul perception range, rushing rapidly toward Xiao Feng!
"I was just waiting for you to come out!"
Xiao Feng turned, drew his blade, and slashed fiercely in the direction the shadow was pouncing from.
Crack!
The long blade struck the Lightning Leopard's head, and then with a crisp sound... it broke.
The Lightning Leopard was startled by this unexpected attack. It retreated half a step before realizing that Xiao Feng's blade had actually broken.
The opponent's incompetence and the sharp pain in its head continuously stimulated the Lightning Leopard's mind. Its wild side completely erupted; it no longer hid its form, extending its sharp claws and baring its fangs. It wanted to tear Xiao Feng to shreds!
Cursing, Xiao Feng threw away the hilt in his hand and met the Lightning Leopard with his bare hands.
Fists against claws didn't have an advantage, but once they were close, Xiao Feng seemed to turn into a killing machine. Fists, elbows, shoulders, knees... almost every part of his body could launch an attack.
The Lightning Leopard's speed was fast, but that was only its straight-line running speed. Xiao Feng threw himself into the Lightning Leopard's embrace, one hand gripping its upper jaw, the other reaching into its throat. Enduring the intense pain, he forcibly tore its tongue out!
The scent of death spread. Having suffered a huge loss, the Lightning Leopard no longer wanted to fight. It roared silently, struggling as it tried to get away from Xiao Feng.
But how could Xiao Feng let it have its way?
"Stay here!"
Xiao Feng's entire body was already dripping with blood, his face covered in it, looking like a demon crawling out of a blood pool in Hell.
His eyes were wide with rage, his handsome face revealing a ferocious expression. He grabbed one of the Lightning Leopard's hind legs, ignoring the other hind leg constantly kicking and scratching, and gripped it with both hands.
"Ah!!!"
"Roar!!!"
Two roars rang out; Xiao Feng had already snapped and torn off one of the Lightning Leopard's legs.
"Run again?" Xiao Feng stared tightly at the terrified Lightning Leopard, closing in step by step.
...
When Xiao Feng returned, he was still dripping with blood.
Xiao Linger was somewhat surprised. "You actually survived."
Xiao Feng was expressionless, his gaze fixed on his feet. "Go up and dig out the Demonic Core."
"You... you... killed it?" Xiao Linger's eyes trembled.
Xiao Feng didn't speak, just silently watched her, the killing intent in his eyes not yet dissipated.
Xiao Linger's breath hitched. She felt as if a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood were rushing toward her, and the scent of blood on him became even more intense.
With just one glance, Xiao Linger averted her gaze. She was not afraid of death, but that did not mean she was not afraid. Xiao Feng's gaze stirred the fear deep within her heart, making her instinctively want to avoid him.