Chapter 4

The heavy rain poured down, and the children running wildly in the village were drenched, their faces still showing traces of tears mixed with the rain.

"Ha, ha, ha..." Finally reaching his destination, the nine-year-old child, after running such a distance, was panting heavily.

However, what delighted him was that he had finally returned to the front of his home. As long as he pushed open this last barrier, he could enter and jump into his parents' warm embrace, indulging in their affection. Now, Gu Xuyao was like an injured young beast, and only his parents' tongues, filled with magical power, could lick his wounds.

"Father... Mother..." He pushed open the door, his voice full of grievance and dependence, unable to express all his words.

"Boom!" A thunderclap echoed in the heavy rain. At his age, he should have been afraid of thunder, but looking at the empty house, he had already forgotten his fear.

"Father... Mother... Where are you..." Perhaps they had just gone out, but he knew that at this time, his parents would not leave this house, especially with the heavy rain outside.

Staggering into the house, he searched for his parents in the small space, but the room was not only very quiet but also very clean. Except for the wet marks he brought in, the house seemed as if no one had lived there.

Finally, he noticed something different in his home, a new piece of paper.

He gently opened it. The ink marks seemed freshly written, and the elegant handwriting was something he had never known his parents could produce.

"Willows rise in misty waves, evening reflections merge into the bay, crossing the vast sea endlessly, the setting sun and rising moon create an illusion..." He had studied in a private school and learned to read, but he could barely understand the poem on the paper, feeling utterly confused.

"Boom!" Another thunderclap echoed, followed by a wave of thunder. He screamed loudly, blood seeping from his ears. He fell to his knees, helplessly covering his ears, but the thunder roared into his heart, his fragile heart about to burst!

"Ah!"

Gu Xuyao sat up in bed, breathing heavily, his sweat soaking the bed. His heart was pounding violently.

"Xuyao?" A woman's voice came, and soon a middle-aged woman appeared at the door of Gu Xuyao's room. "Had a nightmare again? It seems particularly severe today." The woman did not seem surprised but gave Gu Xuyao a warm smile.

Gu Xuyao looked at the woman at the door, saying nothing, still not having recovered from the nightmare.

The woman was Zhang the blacksmith's wife, named Xiulan, once a well-known beauty in the village, a perfect match for the young Zhang the blacksmith.

"Get up and wash up, it's time for breakfast!" The woman turned and left, seemingly accustomed to Gu Xuyao's behavior.

Watching the woman leave, Gu Xuyao's heart gradually calmed. He got out of bed and went to the window. It had rained outside, and the red mud ground was dotted with pools of water, the bright red color resembling the resentment left after a bloody battle.

"Another nightmare, for twelve years..." Gu Xuyao clenched his fists, only then realizing he was holding a piece of paper. It turned out he had fallen asleep last night reciting the poem on the paper.

"What does this poem mean? What is the connection between my parents' sudden departure and this poem..." The heavy rain twelve years ago had taken away Gu Xuyao's hope of cultivating and also his parents and his childhood.

"Xuyao, come for breakfast..." As he thought, the woman's voice came again.

Gu Xuyao responded, put the paper back in his belt, put on a piece of clothing, and left the room.

"By the way, Xuyao, I heard you hunted a red lion yesterday. Do you remember what I said last time?" Zhang the blacksmith glanced at Gu Xuyao and said softly.

"Speaking of that, I almost forgot!" Gu Xuyao ran back to his room and soon came out with a dirty piece of clothing. "Uncle Zhang, here are the red lion's teeth and claws. You said that using the claws and teeth of ten red lions to temper a weapon could enhance its power. Is that true?"

Whether as a hunter or a blacksmith, Zhang the blacksmith was a top expert in his field.

"Of course! Leave your axe here. Don't go hunting today. I'll make it come to life again tomorrow." Zhang the blacksmith smiled confidently, very sure of his skills.

"Leave the axe... " Gu Xuyao thought for a moment. Enhancing his weapon's power was something he desperately wanted. The red mud area was vast for mortals, and the variety of beasts was numerous. Although Gu Xuyao's hunting skills were high, some creatures could not be dealt with by skill alone; he needed a weapon that could penetrate hard shells.

"Alright! The axe is in my room. Uncle Zhang, I'll leave it to you. I'm done eating!"

Seemingly thinking of something, Gu Xuyao took three long spears from Zhang the blacksmith's forge and walked out.

"Since it rained today, the three-eyed water dragonflies should come up from the river bottom to breathe fresh air. If I can hunt one more..." The three-eyed water dragonfly was an extremely rare beast, with three eyes, a dragonfly's body, and a fish's tail. It could swim in water and fly low in the air. In terms of aggression, it was far superior to the red lion. However, since neither water nor the sky were realms mortals could enter, hunting it was no less difficult than hunting a red lion.

"Xuyao!" A voice called out from behind him as he was about to leave.

Gu Xuyao turned around. The person was Muyu, his only friend in the village.

"Xuyao, have you heard?" Muyu's father was a carpenter, and before that, he was a fisherman, so he named his son Muyu.

"Heard what?"

"A competition! A competition held by cultivators! You didn't know?!" Muyu widened his eyes, seemingly surprised that Gu Xuyao didn't know.

Gu Xuyao frowned, not knowing what Muyu was talking about. However, he was indeed not well-informed about village news. He spent most of his time in the village selling carcasses at the market or sleeping at home. Whenever he opened his eyes, he thought about what prey would be easier to hunt that day. Gu Xuyao was a diligent hunter, which was why he became the village's best hunter in just three years after starting at eighteen.

Seeing Gu Xuyao's expression, Muyu knew the answer. This was his best friend, and he understood Gu Xuyao's routine. Without saying more, he pulled Gu Xuyao and ran towards the northern village entrance.

The village had two entrances. Gu Xuyao usually left from the southern entrance, simply because it was closest to the forest. The other entrance led out of the red mud area and was rarely used.

"Look, it's this! It suddenly appeared here three days ago, giving people very little time to prepare. But it won't affect your performance, right, Xuyao?" At the northern entrance, Muyu pointed to a piece of paper emitting a green light.

Gu Xuyao didn't hear anything Muyu said after that. He gently pushed Muyu aside, walked closer, and stared at the floating paper, as if enchanted.

"Hunting competition..." Gu Xuyao muttered. "The prize for the winner is... 2,500 spirit stones!" Gu Xuyao's pupils dilated. This was an opportunity, a chance to leave the red mud area!

"I told you, you'd be overjoyed when you saw this notice. Hehe, I know you've always wanted to leave the red mud area, though I'll be very sad..." Muyu saw Gu Xuyao's expression and knew how excited he was.

"Thank you, Muyu. I'll go now, I don't want to talk anymore!" Gu Xuyao was indeed very excited, so excited that he didn't want to listen to Muyu's chatter.

When he returned to Zhang the blacksmith's house, he met Xiulan coming out. Seeing Gu Xuyao's excited face, she was surprised, but Gu Xuyao didn't say anything to her, going straight into the house and to Zhang the blacksmith's forge.

"Uncle Zhang, do you know? The cultivators are holding a competition, a hunting competition! The winner is determined by the number of spirit stones extracted from the prey, and the prize is 2,500 spirit stones! With the spirit stones I've saved over the past three years, I can leave the red mud area soon!" Although Gu Xuyao had lived under the same roof with Xiulan for over a decade, he had never opened up to her. Now, he only wanted Zhang the blacksmith to know his excitement.

"Clang." Zhang the blacksmith was tempering Gu Xuyao's axe. After hearing Gu Xuyao's words, he didn't look up. "Such a thing, it's truly a heaven-sent opportunity."

Suddenly, Gu Xuyao thought of something, and his excitement quickly subsided. "Uncle Zhang, I..."

"I know, Xuyao, no need to say more. Go wait in the house. The cultivator judges will enter the villages tomorrow. Although the competition starts tomorrow and lasts five days, you can enter the forest tonight. I'll finish tempering the axe before sunset, hoping it will help you win first place." Zhang the blacksmith never turned to look at Gu Xuyao, continuously tempering the red lion's claws into the axe.

"Uncle Zhang, you..."

"I've known about the competition for a while, but I didn't tell you. I thought you wouldn't blame me..." Zhang the blacksmith sighed.

Gu Xuyao didn't say anything, perhaps not knowing what to say. After standing for a long time, he placed the three spears against the wall and quietly left Zhang the blacksmith's forge.

"Uncle Zhang, I've been with you since I was nine, without the bond of blood, but with the reality of being raised. I know leaving the red mud area like this is unfair to you, but..."

"Only the pain that has accumulated in my heart for twelve years must be traced to its source..."

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