Chapter 36

After eating half a deer leg, Yuan Ming returned to the treehouse with the remaining cooked meat and found that Hagun had not yet awakened. After a moment's thought, he took out a yellow bamboo tube about the thickness of a thumb from his chest.

He pulled out the cork and immediately brought it to Hagun's nose.

A refreshing and stimulating scent immediately rushed into Hagun's nostrils, causing his nose to wrinkle sharply, and he let out a light cry, gradually regaining consciousness.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming immediately moved the bamboo tube away and sealed it again.

After Hagun woke up, he drew a sharp breath. The pain from his injuries made him grit his teeth and wince, and it took him a long time to recover. He then saw Yuan Ming standing by his side.

"Brother Yuan, you've saved me again," Hagun said, gratitude flashing in his eyes.

After saying this, he struggled to get up but was pressed back down by Yuan Ming's hand on his shoulder.

"The wound on your stomach is serious; it won't heal in a short time. Don't move for now. Tell me, what happened? Those two guys from the Hyena Hall don't have the ability to hurt you."

Hearing Yuan Ming's question, Hagun did not answer immediately. Instead, he slightly raised his head to look at his abdomen, which had already been bandaged, and then lay back down.

"If I hadn't been injured, they wouldn't have been able to hurt me. I encountered a monster," Hagun said, a hint of fear flashing across his face.

"Monster? Not a ferocious beast?" Yuan Ming's interest was piqued by this statement.

"I... I'm not sure. But that thing is definitely different from the ferocious beasts I've seen before. I don't think it's a ferocious beast," Hagun said hesitantly.

"What does it look like? Describe it," Yuan Ming said.

He had the "Common Ferocious Beast Catalog" given by Zhao Tong. Even if he hadn't seen the ferocious beasts in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, he was confident he could identify them.

Yuan Ming was curious to see what kind of monster Hagun was talking about.

Hagun took a deep breath, closed his eyes slowly, as if carefully recalling his previous experience or trying to calm himself down.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at Yuan Ming.

"The thing that injured me is only about eight feet tall, covered in white fur, with black claws. It walks upright like a human but runs on all fours, resembling a wild man or a wild beast. Most importantly, its roar sounds like a human's mournful cry, making one feel a chill down the spine," Hagun described slowly.

"Is that all?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled when Hagun stopped.

"These are just the external peculiarities. When I fought it, I found that it was as tough as iron and seemed to have no sense of pain. It didn't defend itself at all, attacking recklessly, almost suicidally. My long sword even split its neck, but it didn't dodge, taking the hit and severely injuring me with one claw. If I hadn't fallen into a waterfall and been washed away, I would have died there," Hagun shook his head, still shaken by the memory.

After listening, Yuan Ming stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

"If what Hagun says is true, it really is a monster," he thought to himself. He carefully compared it with the "Common Ferocious Beast Catalog" but was disappointed to find no match.

"Do you have any leads?" Hagun asked, looking at Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming shook his head and said, "I'm planning to go to Toad Valley. I'll ask Zhao Tong about this thing; he might know."

"Alright," Hagun nodded.

"This is one of my temporary hideouts. It's not very hidden, but no one usually comes here. Stay here tonight, and I'll keep watch," Yuan Ming instructed.

"Brother Yuan, I owe you a great debt. I will repay you in the future," Hagun said sincerely, clasping his fists.

"Let's not talk about that now. Have some food," Yuan Ming smiled, waving his hand and passing the half deer leg to him.

...

In the dead of night, the dim light of the crescent moon filtered through the gaps in the treehouse.

Yuan Ming leaned against the wall of the treehouse and eventually fell asleep, the moonlight gently covering him like a light veil, and the treehouse echoed with his soft snoring.

Suddenly, a cat's meow sounded.

Yuan Ming was abruptly startled awake, his eyes snapping open. As he instinctively tried to get up, he found himself unable to move, feeling as if his soul had left his body, unsure whether he was in a dream or reality.

In a daze, a faint, ethereal female voice began to speak, sometimes whispering in his ear, sometimes speaking through a door, distant and unpredictable.

"Strange..."

"Soul... what is it..."

"Interesting..."

The voice had an indescribable hypnotic quality. As Yuan Ming listened, his head grew heavy, his eyelids drooping, and he gradually drifted back to sleep.

Just before he lost consciousness, a small silver-white shadow flashed past the gap in the treehouse door.

It seemed to be a silver-white cat.

After a night of deep sleep, the morning light filtered through the gaps in the treehouse, shining on Yuan Ming's face, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He rubbed his temples, sat up, and couldn't help but recall the dream from the night before, finding it absurd.

But the strange sense of reality, especially the feeling of his soul leaving his body, made him doubt whether it was just a dream, leaving him unsettled for a long time.

He shook his head, got up, and checked Hagun's injuries, finding that they had improved significantly. Seeing that Hagun was still asleep, he had to wake him up.

"I need to go out. Be careful while you're here," Yuan Ming instructed.

"Go ahead, I'll be careful. You should be cautious too; the Green Wolf Gang and the Hyena Hall will likely target you next," Hagun nodded and said.

Yuan Ming nodded, opened the treehouse door, and walked out.

But as he bent down to step out, Yuan Ming was stunned.

"Is this... the silver cat?" An unexpected visitor appeared before his eyes.

On a branch extending from the treehouse, a bright silver cat, about half a foot tall, was sitting a few steps away, staring at him with golden-amber eyes.

Its small, round head, not much larger than Yuan Ming's fist, tilted up and down as if carefully examining him, causing Yuan Ming to be particularly surprised.

Thinking back to the dream from the night before, a sense of unease rose in Yuan Ming's heart.

"Was it you who spoke to me last night?" Yuan Ming asked.

The silver cat looked at him for a moment, then tilted its head slightly to one side, as if not understanding what Yuan Ming was saying, or as if looking at a fool.

"Am I really... believing in dreams?" Yuan Ming was speechless, laughing at himself.

As he spoke, his eyes flashed with determination, and he pounced like a leopard, reaching out to grab the silver cat.

Just as his hands were about to touch it, the silver cat leaped lightly, narrowly avoiding Yuan Ming's grasp, and then landed on his arm, leaping again to another branch.

Yuan Ming missed and grabbed the branch, turning to look.

The silver cat was walking confidently on the branch, giving him a disdainful look.

The way the silver cat walked was peculiar, not like other cats with their tails curled or raised, but with its long tail hanging down, covering its rear.

"Am I being looked down upon by a cat?" Yuan Ming's eyebrows shot up.

"Brother Yuan, what's wrong?" Hagun's voice came from inside the treehouse.

"Nothing," Yuan Ming replied.

When he turned back to look, the silver cat had completely disappeared from his sight.

"Come to think of it, this cat looks familiar, as if I've seen it somewhere before," Yuan Ming scratched his head, muttering to himself.

...

In front of the stone house in Toad Valley.

Yuan Ming handed over the resources he had accumulated to Zhao Tong.

"Did you get the sword technique?" Yuan Ming asked, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Zhao Tong looked at him, pursed his lips, and shook his head.

"Our Bilei Cave is not a sword school, and such techniques are rare. It's not easy to get them. I'll be honest with you; the techniques and secrets sold in the valley are actually released by the elders to exchange for resources. We disciples just earn a little running fee, and we don't have the nerve to spread techniques privately. So, what you can buy is purely a matter of luck, depending on what the elders are willing to sell," Zhao Tong explained helplessly under Yuan Ming's questioning gaze.

"Is there anything good recently?" Yuan Ming asked, having come to terms with it.

"There is..." Zhao Tong stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He rummaged through a box behind him, took out a green book, and placed it in front of Yuan Ming.

"You're lucky. This 'Invisible Step' was recently given to me by Elder Lu. The resources you've accumulated with me are just enough to exchange for it," Zhao Tong said with a smile.

"What does this technique do?" Yuan Ming asked, frowning.

"It's not an offensive technique but a movement technique, which will definitely be useful to you," Zhao Tong said in a low, mysterious voice.

"I'd like to hear more," Yuan Ming said noncommittally.

"It's a cultivation method that greatly enhances your body's agility. It doesn't increase your magical power or directly boost your combat strength, but it gives you more means to survive in close combat," Zhao Tong explained.

Yuan Ming pondered this.

After learning about the backlash of the Fur-Wearing Technique, he was eager to obtain a sword technique to enhance his combat skills, hoping to be able to slay ferocious beasts without using the Fur-Wearing Technique.

It seemed unlikely to find a sword technique, but learning this movement technique would also be a good choice.

"What's the effect of the Invisible Step when used?" Yuan Ming asked, still thinking.