Chapter 12

A small thatched cottage.

This was one of a row of more than ten thatched cottages on the southern slope of Wudang Mountain.

"Xiaoyu, come, have a drink of water first."

Qin Yu squatted on the warm kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), took the steaming black earthen bowl from the old lady, and took a sip. Instantly, a warm current rushed to his chest and stomach.

"Godmother, it's so sweet!"

He hadn't had such hot water for several days.

The old lady smiled and said, "I kept the sugar cubes you gave me and added one more for you."

Qin Yu drank the scalding sweet water in three gulps, took a deep breath, and said, "Godmother, don't keep them all. They are for you to strengthen your body. Just eat them, and I'll make more for you later."

"The old lady can't eat too much with my bad teeth," Bao Dama said with a smile, shaking her head. She took the empty bowl and went out.

A moment later, Bao Chu came in with two large earthen bowls, one with braised pork and the other with rice.

"Xiaoyu, come, have some of this ready-made food."

Qin Yu was overjoyed and snatched the bowl of braised pork.

"How can there be ready-made food? Is Godmother going to eat too?"

Bao Chu put the bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks on the kang table and said, "No. Ever since you taught me the secret of cooking braised wild boar, I've been cooking it often. One day, Master tasted it when he came down the mountain and liked it very much. Since then, he almost comes down every two days to have a bowl to satisfy his craving. So, I often go hunting for wild boars and prepare one or two bowls of braised pork every day in case Master comes. Mother is old and can't eat such rich meat."

As he spoke, Qin Yu was already using both hands, eating the meat with his left hand and shoveling rice with his right, mumbling, "Delicious... Big Brother, is Master still up on the mountain, drinking the northeast wind?"

"Don't talk nonsense! Master is a transcendent being, he practices abstaining from food and drink, and is in seclusion," Bao Chu scolded lightly.

"Right, abstaining from food! Abstaining from food!" Qin Yu's mouth was full of meat, and his words were muffled. After finally swallowing, he took a deep breath, "Big Brother, when will Master come out of seclusion?"

"I don't know, we can only wait. Rest well today, and tomorrow we'll go hunting. This year is particularly cold, so we need to hurry and get more meat for the winter."

"Alright!" Qin Yu agreed readily.

Bao Chu sat down beside him, watching Qin Yu eat ravenously with a smile.

"Master was still talking about you before he went into seclusion, saying that your foundation is solid and you can officially enter the inner gate."

Qin Yu was stunned and stopped stuffing his mouth, "I won't go to cultivate, Master knows that. Besides, I now bear a deep blood feud, how can I involve Master?"

Bao Chu sighed. He already knew about Qin Yu's plight.

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On the second day after Qin Yu arrived at Wudang Mountain, two unexpected visitors came to the mountain.

At that time, Qin Yu had just finished practicing and went out with Bao Chu to hunt wild boars, so he didn't meet these two guests.

If he had seen them, he would have recognized one of them, Xi Zhilan, who had a "one-night stand" with him in the cave.

Xi Zhilan accompanied a reserved and elegant young man up to the Tianzhu Peak of Wudang Mountain.

They came to visit Zhang Xun, the abbot of Zhongmiao Temple.

Zhang Xun broke his seclusion to receive them.

After a secret discussion, the guests left after half an hour.

Zhang Xun fell into deep thought and remained silent for a long time.

※※※※※※

Huff! Huff! Huff!

Qin Yu crouched on a branch of a giant pine tree, hearing the rapid running of a wild boar from a distance.

Unlike many fierce beasts, wild boars like to grunt while running, and their sounds are similar to those of domestic pigs, making it easier to track them by sound.

Suddenly, his face changed, and he shook his head.

It was the wild boar king!

His brother had told him that the wild boars in this area were divided into four herds, each with about ten to twenty boars. Although there were many wild boars, they were easy to hunt as long as your archery skills were good. If you could kill one with one or two arrows, the rest would ignore it and continue running, without stopping to fight the hunter.

However, there was another situation: the solitary wild boar.

This type of wild boar was either the former king defeated by a new king and driven out of the herd, or a challenger who failed to defeat the old king and was kicked out of the herd.

This one was the wild boar king.

Although it was just one, its ferocity and sharp tusks made it even more difficult to deal with than five or six ordinary adult wild boars combined. It was even brave enough to challenge tigers and black bears. Ordinary hunters with a single dog would not dare to hunt such a level of beast king and would immediately avoid it if encountered.

Bao Chu had mentioned that there was a wild boar king nearby.

Qin Yu's heart pounded, but he secretly called it a great opportunity.

Hadn't he left his brother to hunt alone to enjoy this kind of excitement?

The next moment, a large beast as strong as a bull came into view. It had a sharp snout, two shiny tusks protruding from its lips, and numerous protrusions on its rough gray skin, looking at least six or seven hundred pounds.

Fifty meters!

Forty meters!

Qin Yu slowly raised his hunting bow, the arrow already nocked. He used a specially made three-edged arrow with three sharp edges, which was very effective for bleeding.

The forest where he was hiding was carefully chosen, with few large trees and a large open area in front, allowing him to spot the prey early and calmly.

This was very important, as unexpected encounters were the most taboo in hunting. There were many fierce beasts in this forest that could be deadly.

He drew the bow!

He moved to aim!

When the prey was about thirty meters away, the bowstring was almost fully drawn, and Qin Yu released his right hand.

Roar!

Qin Yu didn't hear the beautiful sound of the string, but instead, a deafening roar.

He was shocked. What happened? Did the wild boar king spot me?

At the same time, a blur appeared before his eyes, and an agile animal pounced from the air, knocking down the wild boar king and biting its throat with a large mouth.

The wild boar king grunted loudly and struggled fiercely. It was very strong, but with its vital point bitten, it couldn't use its powerful tusks and could only roll around in resistance.

Qin Yu focused and saw that it was a leopard. The leopard, including its tail, was no more than 1.5 meters long, looking small and delicate, but it had dared to ambush the wild boar king.

A three-edged arrow was embedded in the leopard's back, Qin Yu's arrow.

Qin Yu rolled his eyes. Even hunting a wild boar has someone cutting in halfway! But he was also startled, as the leopard had been hiding in a nearby tree, and he hadn't noticed it at all, being too careless.

If it had ambushed him...

Thinking of this, Qin Yu angrily nocked another three-edged arrow and aimed at the leopard for a long time, but in the end, he didn't shoot.

The slender leopard and the fat wild boar king were now in a life-and-death struggle. The wild boar king couldn't use its tusks, but its four legs were strong, and its body was several times heavier than the leopard. After a few rolls, it had pinned the leopard under it, and the sound of the leopard's bones cracking could almost be heard. But the leopard's sharp teeth held on tightly, refusing to let go.

The white snow was already stained with blood. Most of it was the wild boar king's neck blood, but there were also a few drops from the leopard's arrow wound.

Qin Yu thought, the wild boar king is doomed, and my main target is probably the leopard, which is currently at a disadvantage.

After hesitating, he aimed his arrow at the leopard.

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