Chapter 7: Encounter

Outside the village, it was pitch-black, the scenery difficult to discern. Few people came out at this time.

“Uncle Yang?” Not far from the village, Qin Ming spotted a stocky man.

Yang Yongqing was surprised. “Little Qin, the Shallow Night hasn’t arrived yet. You’re heading out this early?”

“I wanted to try my luck in the wilderness, see if there are any frozen mountain beasts,” Qin Ming replied.

Yang Yongqing laughed. “We had the same idea. I just did a loop outside the mountains, but unfortunately, I came back empty-handed.”

Qin Ming was taken aback. This middle-aged man with a full beard was actually returning from the outside. He was certainly up early.

“How could Uncle Yang be the same as me? Don’t tell me you’re tracking some rare, spiritual prey?” He knew that Yang Yongqing was very formidable, one of the few New Lifers in Twin Tree Village.

The two had just exchanged a few words when they noticed a dark figure moving in the distance.

“A Mountain Patroller,” Yang Yongqing whispered.

In the age without a sun, the wilderness was exceptionally dangerous, requiring highly skilled people to patrol the mountains as a warning system.

A man in leather armor appeared. He was quite tall, carrying a bow and arrows and clutching an iron spear. His long hair was unbound, and his entire being radiated a wild strength.

“Brother Shao,” Yang Yongqing greeted him proactively.

Shao Chengfeng nodded. He was around forty years old with exceptionally sharp eyes. He stopped nearby and said, “Going out with you at such a young age, don’t tell me that’s Er Bingzi?”

“Er Bingzi is from the next village…” Yang Yongqing explained.

“Your Twin Tree Village is really lacking. You haven’t produced a single New Lifer in the golden age for decades,” Shao Chengfeng said bluntly.

Yang Yongqing, however, felt this was normal. Looking across the entire region, very few could achieve New Life at fifteen or sixteen. Talent couldn’t be forced.

He spoke up, “I really didn’t see it in his early years, that Er Bingzi was so formidable. I heard that after he recently made up for his body’s deficiencies, his physical quality improved by another level.”

Shao Chengfeng nodded. “Indeed, very impressive. I just don’t know if he can compare to the top talents in that bright city far away.”

“It’s difficult. Different lands nurture different people.” Yang Yongqing was somewhat emotional. He had witnessed the prosperity of the city and knew the brilliance brought by high-level power books.

“True.” Shao Chengfeng acknowledged the reality of the situation. “I heard that two extremely remarkable youths have appeared there, surpassing all previous New Lifers of the golden age. A boy and a girl, they’ve stunned the entire region.”

“Truly a land of spiritual grace.” Yang Yongqing felt only envy, not jealousy, because those places were very far from them, and there was no basis for comparison.

Qin Ming listened intently the whole time without interjecting.

After a brief stop, Shao Chengfeng disappeared into the night.

No one knew what level of beings inhabited the depths of the dark mountain range, or how many dangerous clans there were. It required Mountain Patrollers to monitor the outer regions and provide early warnings.

Qin Ming spoke, “Are all Mountain Patrollers formidable figures? Do they have to enter the mountains every day?”

“Some people are very responsible,” Yang Yongqing replied.

Qin Ming was startled. Did this mean some people were very irresponsible? He hadn’t expected this bearded, burly man to answer so subtly.

“The situation in the mountains is very wrong right now, too dangerous. I reckon it won’t be long before the higher-ups launch a ‘Mountain Sweeping Operation,’ and some disciples from prominent families should follow. Little Qin, you need to work hard, strive to achieve New Life in the golden age.” Yang Yongqing patted his shoulder and said, “If by any chance you’re noticed by one of the noble ladies who come down, you might just change your fate.”

The two parted ways, and Yang Yongqing returned to the village.

Qin Ming digested the news as he headed into the wilderness.

His speed was incredible. He moved through the chest-deep snow as if breaking through waves, sending snow splashing to both sides of the path.

At this time, the night was not so thick. The Shallow Night arrived, and the mountain forest became faintly visible.

Qin Ming stood outside the mountains, raising his guard, because no one knew what dangers lurked in the areas that couldn’t be seen clearly.

Gurgle. His stomach rumbled, his body once again sending out signals of hunger. He had forcibly suppressed it when he met an acquaintance on the road earlier, but now it was completely ineffective.

His stomach was churning with acid. Gazing at the gloomy, dense forest, he tightened his grip on his hunting fork and, with a flash, rushed in.

He passed the mutated squirrel’s habitat, crossed over the low mountain, and went further than last time.

After going a little deeper into the mountain forest, he found many tracks, such as shattered animal bones and huge hoof prints. He didn’t have to worry about the snow being too thick to walk through; many creatures had already trampled out some small paths.

A whimpering sound came, like a woman crying, which was quite abnormal in such a desolate forest.

Qin Ming suddenly accelerated, searching for the source of the sound in the mountains. He soon approached his destination.

In the pitch-black forest, pairs of green eyes looked over. The area was filled with shadowy figures, at least a dozen creatures.

Someone who didn’t know the truth might have been frightened by the crying sound earlier, but for someone who walked the wilderness year-round, this might be an opportunity.

Qin Ming charged over with his hunting fork. A flapping sound immediately arose as a dozen or so creatures swiftly took to the night sky, all scared away.

This was a type of carnivorous night bird, two feet long, that liked to live in groups. Their cries sounded like mournful weeping. They hunted various small animals for food and sometimes attacked humans.

Qin Ming rushed to the spot in an instant. What a pity, he thought. On the ground was only a pile of bloody bones and a few pieces of blood-stained, tattered animal hide. A roe deer had been completely eaten by them.

His attempt to snatch food from the birds’ beaks had failed. He turned and left, wary of being attacked by these carnivorous night birds.

In an open area where the trees were sparse, the ground was stained with blood. There were beast claw prints larger than the mouth of a sea bowl; it was likely the feeding ground of a large predator.

As for the leftover remains, they were probably dragged away by other carnivorous creatures.

Just as Lu Ze had said, even the outer regions of the mountain forest had become dangerous now. One could only imagine what the depths of the mountain range were like.

Qin Ming remained on guard and left the bloody scene.

A moment later, he discovered many hoof prints in the snow. His spirits immediately lifted, and he followed them.

In the darkness of the night, more than twenty dark figures stood ahead. None of them were small, and gathered together, they had a rather oppressive presence.

“Blade-horned Deer!” A look of joy appeared on Qin Ming’s face.

In the past, deer herds rarely appeared in this area.

He took down his bow and arrow and aimed at a large stag.

These were not docile deer. Adult males all had six horns, distributed on the sides and front of their heads, all flat and sharp like six steel blades. If one were to be struck by them, a fatal, bloody hole would surely appear.

Even some predators didn’t dare to charge them head-on, always attacking from behind. If a person were to fall into such a herd, the outcome would be tragic.

Qin Ming drew the stiff bow into a full moon. With a whoosh, the iron arrow shot out as fast as lightning, piercing the stag’s lung.

Blade-horned Deer were always fierce and dared to fight against all kinds of predators. After being hit by the arrow, this large stag did not flee. Instead, it immediately charged in Qin Ming’s direction.

The herd, after a brief disturbance, also galloped after it. Snow splattered, and the sound of hooves was dense. The entire mountain forest trembled slightly.

Qin Ming did not panic. He drew his bow again, still hitting his mark precisely. The iron arrow was very powerful, burying itself completely, causing the large stag’s body to sway a few times.

He put away his bow and arrow and calmly climbed a very thick, large tree, hiding several meters up.

In the dense forest, it was difficult to aim at prey after climbing a tree, as many branches obstructed the view.

After running for a while, the large stag staggered, unable to hold on any longer. With a thud, it collapsed in the snow.

The herd was startled and stopped in its tracks, then galloped away with a rumbling sound.

Qin Ming waited for a moment. No dangerous mountain beasts appeared. He jumped down from the tree and approached with his hunting fork.

This dark brown Blade-horned Deer was exceptionally magnificent, weighing a good seven hundred jin. It hadn’t even lost weight during the winter.

He was very satisfied with such a harvest.

The forest was dangerous, not a place to linger. He dragged the Blade-horned Deer and immediately rushed back the way he came.

He was experiencing the benefits of “New Life.” With his greatly increased strength, he could pull such heavy prey and move quickly through the snow without feeling tired.

The wilderness had a wide variety of trees, like larches and spruces, often dozens of meters tall, soaring into the night.

The mountain wind grew stronger, whipping up many snow particles that stung his face.

In the howling cold wind, Qin Ming broke out in goosebumps. A pair of large, furry paws had settled on his shoulders from behind.

At the same time, he felt a wave of hot air behind him touch the hairs on his neck. He realized it must be a bloody maw, close, wanting to bite through the back of his neck.

He instantly hunched his shoulders, squatted down, and rolled into the snow to one side.

Even so, he drew blood. The large paws on his shoulders were very powerful, comparable to sharp iron hooks. They tore through his cotton-padded clothes and injured both his shoulders.

The snow exploded. A terrifying black shadow had been hiding in a snowdrift. It was tall and strong. After its sudden attack, it lunged forward after him.

Qin Ming reacted swiftly, moving quickly on the ground like a slithering snake, making a thrilling escape.

The ferocious black shadow pounced again, its sharp claws large enough to tear off a person’s entire face, and its open mouth revealed gleaming, sharp teeth.

Qin Ming didn’t have time to get up, but he wasn’t flustered. He calmly extended his hands and fiercely grabbed its forelimbs, holding them firmly.

The pair of terrifying claws were very close to his face, almost touching it, but they just couldn’t press down.

After facing it head-on, Qin Ming finally got a clear look at the creature.

It had a massive donkey’s head, a wide mouth, and a long black mane on the back of its neck. Its body was that of a mountain wolf. It was extremely fierce and tried to bite Qin Ming’s throat.

The scene was exceptionally perilous. The hot air from its bloody mouth sprayed in front of Qin Ming, carrying a thick, foul stench.

He remained calm in the face of danger, tightly gripping its forelimbs, using its own claws to meet its mouthful of sharp teeth, blocking it with itself.

At the same time, while resisting, he had already curled his body, retracting his legs to gather strength, and then suddenly kicked out, viciously striking its abdomen.

Qin Ming was undergoing New Life, and his strength was astonishingly great. One kick sent the several-hundred-jin mountain beast tumbling, rolling over and over on the ground.

“A Donkey-headed Wolf!” he stared at the black beast before him.

It was also called a Mountain Mongrel. Donkey head, mountain wolf body, but far more formidable than a mountain wolf. A normal individual weighed at least one hundred and eighty jin. This one had clearly mutated and weighed a good four hundred jin.

An ordinary person would surely die if they encountered it!

Its limbs were very long, and it could walk upright. Some of the local elders had seen the strange sight of a Mountain Mongrel carrying its prey while walking.

The mutated creature before him was savage and cunning. The moment it got up, it pressed the nearby hunting fork into the snow.

Qin Ming was speechless. It actually had some intelligence, knowing to separate him from his weapon.

The Donkey-headed Wolf’s eyes were vicious, its thick mane standing on end. It suddenly stood up straight, instantly becoming much taller, and roared, its presence overwhelming.

Qin Ming was not the least bit intimidated. He drew the short blade from his back and advanced. He was in the midst of his New Life transformation. If he had met it head-on, he believed he could have beaten it to death with his bare hands.

The Donkey-headed Wolf moved, bringing a foul wind that sent the snow on the ground flying. It let out a muffled roar that shook the snow from the tree branches, causing it to fall like rain.

The short blade in Qin Ming’s hand collided with its large claws, producing a crisp, vibrating sound.

The Donkey-headed Wolf stood upright, its eyes blood-red, wanting to grab him and tear at him with its teeth.

Qin Ming’s movements were like lightning. A bright flash of the blade swept past. Blood flowed from its mouth, its fangs severed.

He quickly followed up, his right leg like an iron whip, heavily sweeping across its body. With the sound of cracking bones, it let out a shrill, miserable cry.

Qin Ming pounced, pinning the four-hundred-jin Donkey-headed Wolf to the snow and raining down punches.

With a crack, he broke the Donkey-headed Wolf’s neck. It twisted to the side and stopped moving.

It was a mutated creature. Its glossy black fur was very valuable and had been preserved in relatively good condition.

If an outsider were here, they would surely be shocked. The exceptionally ferocious mutated Donkey-headed Wolf had actually been beaten to death by Qin Ming with his bare fists.

Soon, Qin Ming found a remaining iron arrowhead on its body.

He could be certain that this was likely the mutated creature that had attacked him on the road when he was raiding the red squirrel’s nest.

The distance had been a bit far back then, and he hadn’t seen it clearly, but he had hit the creature that day.

Qin Ming touched his shoulder. The wound wasn’t deep, and the bleeding stopped quickly. The process had actually been very thrilling. If his reaction had been a fraction of a second slower, not only would his shoulders have been torn apart, but the back of his neck would have been bitten through as well.

He had expended a lot of energy. His stomach rumbled like a drum, and he was so hungry his heart pounded. He really wanted to roast a deer leg on the spot and feast.

However, starting a fire in the night was like a lighthouse in the fog, a guiding beacon. It would expose him to all the creatures in the mountain forest and was too dangerous.

Qin Ming looked at the Donkey-headed Wolf at his feet and the Blade-horned Deer not far away, then looked at the low mountain ahead. It would be quite troublesome to carry these two big guys over the mountain.

He decided to “lighten his load.”

The Blade-horned Deer and the Donkey-headed Wolf had just died, their bodies still warm. After he cut open their fur with his short blade, blood immediately gushed out, dyeing the snow red.

Although he was a handsome youth, his survival skills in the wilderness were very strong, because he had always relied on himself to live.

He moved his blade quickly, simply and efficiently cleaning out the two preys’ viscera, and immediately buried them in the snow to cover the smell of blood.

“I hope there are no dangerous creatures nearby.” Qin Ming thought it shouldn’t be a big problem, as this was already the outer region of the mountain forest.

However, just as he reached halfway up the mountain, he heard a huge commotion in the distance.

This was not an ordinary sound. It startled many birds in the forest into taking to the night sky, and many mountain beasts fled quickly.

“Did the smell of blood attract a giant beast?” Qin Ming’s brow furrowed deeply as he looked towards the distant dense forest.

The sound moved from far to near, accompanied by roars. The snow on the ground churned, and the sound of breaking tree branches came from time to time.

Soon, he saw a behemoth, as tall and sturdy as an armored vehicle, extremely ferocious, knocking over all obstacles in its path.

It was injured, its body stained with blood. This should be a defeated giant beast that had fled to this area, not coming for Qin Ming.

He sucked in a cold breath. It was actually a wild boar, frighteningly large, at least over one thousand five hundred jin.

One must know that a six-hundred-jin wild boar could be king of its clan. This one far surpassed its peers. Its whole body was covered in bristles as thick and hard as steel needles, and its snow-white tusks were longer than an adult’s forearm. Its appearance was too ferocious.

Qin Ming muttered to himself, even such a magnificent boar king was defeated. What kind of creature was chasing it?

He had originally thought this big guy would pass by the foot of the mountain and go far away, but who knew that its nose twitched, and then it actually charged up the low mountain.

It was very sensitive after being injured, and the smell of blood in the mountain forest had stimulated it.

Qin Ming realized he was in big trouble, not just because this giant beast was extremely dangerous, but also because the mysterious creature chasing it might follow.

Vaguely, he could already hear movement in the distant dense forest.

The sound of the wind gradually weakened and slowly disappeared.

The small-mountain-like boar king charged over, savage and fierce, trampling the snow into a frenzy. It crashed through everything in its path, breaking off tree branches that littered the ground. Some dead trees were even snapped at the trunk.

Qin Ming’s expression changed slightly. He climbed a large tree that would take several people to encircle, and from his high vantage point, prepared to shoot its eyes, heart, and other vital points with his bow and arrows when it got close.

The massive boar king approached, its coarse black bristles standing on end. When it raised its head, its face was clearly visible. It actually had a layer of black scales, gleaming with a cold, dark metallic luster, making it look even more狰狞 and ferocious.

Qin Ming frowned. He was completely targeted by this huge, oppressive boar king. He nocked an iron arrow on his bowstring and aimed down.

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. The mountain forest had fallen silent in an instant. All the birds and raptors that had just rushed into the night sky were gone. The fleeing mountain beasts also seemed to have disappeared. The vast dense forest suddenly had no sound at all, which was extremely abnormal.

At the same time, he saw a ball of light rise from a distant mountain peak. It was soft at first, but soon became brilliant, gradually rising higher.

At this moment, the hot-tempered boar king didn’t dare to make a single sound. It retreated silently, afraid of breaking any branches. It was as cautious as a small cat, hiding in a dark area with dense trees. Finally, it even lay dormant in a hollow, burying itself with snow.

In the era of Evernight, the sky should have been empty, perpetually pitch-black.

But in the night sky now, that ball of light grew brighter and brighter, like a bright, clear moon hanging high in the sky.

Qin Ming’s heart was greatly shaken, because he knew that it was actually an insect.

(End of Chapter)