Chapter 7

Just then, a cool breeze blew in his face, making Yuan Ming slightly more清醒.

He looked ahead and saw that the forest ahead had suddenly opened up, revealing a dark green river about ten zhang wide at the end of the tree shade.

The river water was somewhat murky, with rolling waves and a strong current.

After estimating the distance, Yuan Ming realized that with his strength, it was impossible to leap across. However, when he looked down, he saw that the number of green wolves chasing him had increased from two to five.

"Jumping across might kill me, but not jumping... I will definitely die, and die even more miserably." Yuan Ming knew he had no choice.

He stepped on a horizontal branch of an ancient tree, swaying up and down, using the movement of the branch to build up strength.

Once, twice, three times...

"Go!"

With a low shout, he bent his legs and pushed off the branch, propelling his body forward.

In mid-air, his body was taut, and his uninjured left arm extended as far as possible, reaching for a branch of an ancient tree on the opposite bank.

Unfortunately, his strength was limited, and in his injured state, leaping seven zhang was his limit, far from the ten zhang needed to reach the branch.

Yuan Ming's body fell into the water with a splash, struggling for a moment before being swallowed by the rolling, murky waves and disappearing into the river.

The green wolves on the opposite bank howled in frustration for a long time before turning and leaving one by one.

...

In the murky river, Yuan Ming's body was swept to the bottom by the undercurrent, colliding with jagged rocks on the riverbed. His shoulder and chest wounds reopened, and dark red blood flowed out, forming streaks of red silk in the water.

Yuan Ming endured the pain and the feeling of drowning, struggling to grab onto a rock on the riverbed and pull himself to the surface, greedily taking a deep breath of air.

The river water, mixed with dead branches and leaves, continuously splashed on his face, blurring his vision.

Yuan Ming wiped the river water from his face and saw that he was less than two zhang from the riverbank, but there were no rocks in the middle of the river for him to climb onto. If he rashly entered the water, he might be swept to the bottom again by the undercurrent.

As he was thinking about how to cross to the opposite bank, the wound on his chest suddenly started to hurt again.

Yuan Ming didn't pay much attention, planning to dive back into the water and feel his way to the opposite bank along the riverbed.

However, the wound on his shoulder also began to hurt intensely, starting from one spot and quickly spreading.

The pain was no longer limited to his chest or shoulder wounds; even the parts of his body that were not injured began to hurt. He realized something was wrong.

Yuan Ming took a deep breath, his body sinking, and opened his eyes in the water. When he looked at his body, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He saw that his chest wounds were covered with nearly a hundred palm-sized fish, each with a tail wagging, frantically trying to squeeze into his wounds and tear at his flesh.

"Oh no, these are piranhas!"

Ordinary fish generally wouldn't attack such a large living creature, but the only fish that could launch such a fierce attack were piranhas.

Although there were fish biting other parts of his body, those areas were not wounded and were covered with fur, so it wasn't a big problem.

When he reached out to pull the piranhas off his body, a large group of fish bit him before his hand even got close.

At the same time, a large black shadow was swimming toward him from downstream in the murky water.

Yuan Ming knew he couldn't delay any longer. After taking a deep breath, he sank back into the water, grabbing onto the protruding rocks on the riverbed and slowly making his way to the opposite bank.

The black shadow, realizing he was trying to escape, sped up and approached him.

Yuan Ming finally reached the base of the opposite bank and began to climb up. Behind him, the water broke with a splash, and the black shadow was closing in.

He didn't dare to hesitate or even look back, grabbing onto the riverbank and leaping up, just managing to jump onto the opposite bank as the black shadow reached him.

The black shadow missed and lingered in the water for a moment before sinking back into the depths, disappearing from sight.

Yuan Ming lay on the riverbank, his chest heaving as he panted heavily.

He reached out and felt his side, relieved to find that the blood storage bag was still there.

Although he knew it wasn't the time to rest, the intense fatigue and the feeling of relief after surviving the ordeal made it difficult for him to get up.

After resting for a moment, Yuan Ming managed to sit up. He then noticed that his body was still covered with long, black-scaled piranhas.

The wounds on his chest and shoulder were particularly infested with fish.

Yuan Ming grabbed one of the piranhas, enduring the pain as he pulled it off his body. When he looked at it, he saw that its mouth was filled with sharp, saw-like teeth, still snapping at the air, its ferocity undiminished even out of the water.

He was about to throw the piranha away, but the growling in his stomach reminded him not to do something foolish.

Yuan Ming chuckled, "You bite me, I eat you, it's only fair."

With that, he forced himself to put the fish in his mouth and bite down.

The raw fish meat, mixed with bones, spines, and scales, was crushed bit by bit, making a "crunch, crunch" sound. He then tasted a slightly sweet and fishy flavor.

Yuan Ming thought he would feel uncomfortable, but to his surprise, he didn't dislike the taste and even found it somewhat appealing.

One palm-sized fish was not enough to satisfy his hunger, so Yuan Ming began to pull fish off his body one by one and eat them.

In no time, he had pulled off and eaten about fifty to sixty fish, which somewhat alleviated his hunger.

Looking at the blood seeping from his chest and shoulder wounds, Yuan Ming suddenly realized something.

The two green wolves that had chased him, the swarm of piranhas in the water, and even the black shadow in the water, had all been attracted by the blood from his wounds.

He quickly got up and scooped up some mud from the riverbank, smearing it over his wounds to cover the scent of blood, and then left.

In such a hostile environment, staying in one place for too long before finding a safe place to rest was not a wise move.

As the sun set, the entire forest was cast in a large shadow, welcoming the night earlier than other places.

Yuan Ming carefully searched the forest for a long time and finally found a cave partially buried in the ground, about five li from the river.

The cave was originally a pit, covered by two large boulders that had rolled down from the mountain, forming a roof.

Yuan Ming carefully examined the cave and found that the space inside was about two zhang square. Although it wasn't spacious, it was just enough for him to fit.

The two boulders forming the roof were tightly sealed, with gaps at the front and back.

The entrance was obvious, and the gap at the back was about three to four feet wide, large enough for medium-sized animals to enter.

Yuan Ming searched the forest for a long time and found some appropriately sized rocks to block the gap at the back of the cave.

However, he couldn't find any rocks of the right size to block the entrance.

Finally, he brought a large tree root that had been split by lightning from a distance and used it as a temporary door to block the entrance.

To be safe, Yuan Ming tied the tree root with a vine, securing the other end to his wrist. If the tree root was moved, he would be alerted.

After everything was set, Yuan Ming slowly lay down on the ground. Despite the overwhelming drowsiness, he forced himself to stay awake.

He listened carefully to the sounds outside and used his hands to trace the route he had taken while escaping, recalling the details of his battles with the black bear and the green wolves.

After going through these memories, he began to try to recall the fragmented memory of his performance in the square.

"Who am I, really?"

With this question, Yuan Ming slowly drifted into sleep.

In his dream, Yuan Ming found himself back in the training ground, wielding a long spear and practicing a fierce spear technique.

At the edge of the training ground, a vague shadow appeared, tall and imposing, but with indistinct features, standing with his hands behind his back, silent.

Yuan Ming stopped practicing and tried to approach to see the person's face, but heard a sudden angry shout: "Don't stop!"

Instantly, Yuan Ming woke up.

Sunlight was filtering through the gap in the cave entrance, shining on his face. It was already morning.

Yuan Ming felt as if he had only slept for half an hour, and the drowsiness had not completely gone away.

However, he still managed to sit up, instinctively rubbing his eyes with his furry hands.

After regaining some energy, he untied the vine from his wrist and was surprised to find that the wounds on his chest and shoulder had already healed and scabbed over.

He had expected it to take at least three to four days to recover, but it had only taken one night.

"It seems that when I transform into a furred beast, not only do my strength and speed increase, but my recovery ability after injury is also enhanced." Yuan Ming was increasingly satisfied with his new body.

At the same time, he became very interested in the "Blood Qi Technique" mentioned by the Fire Elder.

"Grumble..."

"Not only do I heal quickly, but I also get hungry quickly." Yuan Ming got up, moved the tree root blocking the entrance, and walked out of the cave.

The sunlight illuminated the forest, the leaves were green, and a gentle mountain breeze was blowing, gradually dispersing the thin morning mist. The only sounds were the clear calls of birds, making the surroundings seem peaceful and beautiful.

However, Yuan Ming knew that beneath this tranquility, countless dangers lurked.