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Ma Lin didn't know what the creature was, but he knew it was an enemy that had to be taken care of, and now was a good opportunity.
He took out a large piece of smoked meat from his bag and threw it to Old Hu, who chewed and swallowed it, then another piece followed. After eating two pieces, Old Hu's spirit was much improved.
Ma Lin, on the other hand, wasn't hungry at all.
Then the man and the tiger, one in front and one behind, circled around the monster. It too circled, fearing an attack from behind, especially with such a big cut on its belly.
As it turned, its movements became more sluggish, and blood spurted from the wound.
Old Hu seized the opportunity to bite its other hind leg, then leaped away.
Sure enough, that leg was also limping.
It tried to walk a couple of steps, then lay down.
With its size and injuries, once it lay down, it should no longer think about getting up. It was done for.
But it started to cry out, terribly desperate, each sound carrying far.
Ma Lin and Old Hu continued to attack, one in front and one behind.
Finally, Ma Lin saw his chance and chopped through its spine, mainly relying on the sharpness of the dagger. The dagger cut through wood like slicing through tofu.
He then moved forward and successfully cut its throat; blood spurted from its neck, and within seconds it was dead.
A similar roar came from the distance, with no telling how many miles away.
Ma Lin turned and ran. Old Hu followed behind him.
Ma Lin didn't run very fast because Old Hu was injured.
After running about five or six miles, another furious roar came from the south—it must be the dead monster's companion realizing it was dead.
Were they social creatures? And did they understand revenge?
Regardless, Old Hu and Ma Lin kept running towards home.
When tired, they would rest. If Old Hu couldn't run anymore, Ma Lin would go up to him and apply more medicine to his wounds. The medicine was indeed very powerful, nearly visible in healing Old Hu's wounds, which he seemed to understand.
They finally made it home and saw a group of very fat sheep drinking water by the creek, unlike any local sheep.
Using his "servant's fleeing technique," Ma Lin rushed forward with a burst of speed, slaughtered one with his canine dagger, and dragged it back to the courtyard. Then he carried several buckets of water back.
Old Hu also entered the courtyard and bolted the door. Ma Lin rested on a wooden stump, while Old Hu lay on a pile of dry grass.
Even now, Ma Lin felt his heart pounding, not daring to go far, only cutting a lot of wood nearby, slowly dragging it home, and cutting plenty of tall grass, also carrying it home in bundles.
During lunch, they ate slowly together with the door shut. Old Hu consumed nearly twenty pounds of smoked meat in one meal.
Ma Lin just felt a little uneasy.
In the afternoon, he went back to hauling wood and cutting grass.
Then, in the northwest corner of the courtyard, he built a wooden cabin with a roof above and a very clean layer of grass underneath.
By evening, he had only managed to enclose the walls.
After dinner, he lit torches and continued building the house.
After checking twice, the courtyard door was very sturdy.
By 9:30 or almost 10:00 p.m., the cabin was finally complete. He laid down dry grass and called Old Hu to try it out. Clearly, he liked it.
He placed a bucket of clean water next to the cabin, washed his hands and feet, and then went back to rest in his cave.
Old Hu never dared enter his cave, even with the door open, as it seemed to be because of the sheep-headed demon statue inside.
Ma Lin went to bed early.
In the middle of the night, there was a lot of noise outside. Ma Lin got up and heard several massive creatures walking around and roaring outside his fence.
His fence was just over three meters high.
The massive monsters stood over four meters tall, their eyes able to see into the courtyard.
They were the companions of the creature he had killed that morning.
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If they took a leap and lifted their front legs, their heads would soar over five meters high, a terrifying sight indeed.
But they were at a loss when it came to the thorn wall.
This was a demon thorn bush, which Ma Lin had consecrated with many blood-sucking monsters.
Old Hu cautiously peered outside from his wooden hut, yet his expression was calm, seemingly convinced they couldn't do anything to the wall.
That tiger was almost cunning as a human.
The several colossal creatures all looked extremely angry, roaring vigorously at Old Hu, who leisurely drank water and ate his meat.
He realized his wounds had fully healed, putting him in a very good mood. He must have thought he had found a great companion. Previously, he only considered Ma Lin a good cook, but now he realized he was also a skilled medic, which surely meant easier days ahead.
However, Ma Lin was afraid these monsters would charge at his thorn wall. With their size and strength, if they went berserk and charged without care, they could potentially break through.
After pondering for a long while, he lifted the "Slave's Book" and spent one hundred and fifty contribution points. He stepped into the courtyard and recited a long spell towards the demon thorns.
"Demon Thorn, I, the servant of the Great Demon Egg Ma Lin, now bestow upon you a name and lineage, evolve, and protect my household."
It took over ten minutes to completely pronounce the spell.
There were a total of five monsters, each massive in size. Their eyes peeked over the top of the wall, but they couldn't understand what Ma Lin was doing.
The thorn wall responded to the spell.
It began to evolve.
Not only did it grow thicker and sturdier, but the shapes and colors of its branches and leaves also changed subtly, and the thorns became even sharper, with increased toxicity.
Ma Lin finally felt at ease; if those creatures tried to ram the thorn wall, they would undoubtedly get the worst of it. The wall would devour them and Ma Lin could take the opportunity to launch an attack.
He went back to sleep.
The monsters waited until dawn but couldn't find a way in, then they retreated.
In the morning, Ma Lin cooked his own food and threw a few pieces of smoked meat to Old Hu. After they had eaten their fill, Ma Lin checked and saw Old Hu's wounds had fully healed. The tiger seemed quite pleased by this and grew even friendlier towards Ma Lin.
Opening the gate of the courtyard, Ma Lin went out for a patrol and, seeing no trace of the monsters, he took Old Hu to the Stone Bamboo Forest in the north. They rang the gong to summon the skeleton demon apes and then vanquished them.
The skeleton demon apes were becoming quite formidable, and Ma Lin could have been injured or even potentially disabled if he wasn't careful—that's why he had stopped the task for the past couple of days.
But now with Old Hu's help, the fight became much easier.
Old Hu, with thick skin and strong flesh, would entangle the skeleton demon apes while Ma Lin used his dagger to eliminate them.
The battles were slow, but they greatly enhanced Ma Lin's combat capabilities.
That day, they eliminated a hundred skeleton demon apes. Old Hu sustained minor injuries, and Ma Lin applied some medicated powder which stopped the bleeding in two minutes.
It was apparent Old Hu found the activity rather amusing. On one hand, it detested those skeleton demon apes; there used to be one nearby that could hunt tigers. On the other hand, it enjoyed the battle and sought to practice its combat skills in this manner.
Now Old Hu had become Ma Lin's follower. Having joined forces to kill that monster and then taking refuge from five others in Ma Lin's home greatly increased the tiger's regard for him. He thought hanging out with Ma Lin wasn't half bad.
He was also willing to carry Ma Lin around on his back, swiftly covering ground.
Whether it was the meals or the comfort of living, he was quite satisfied.
One night later, Ma Lin was in the yard, carving a stake with his dogtooth dagger.
He aimed to sculpt a statue of the Great Demon Egg to place in the courtyard. Ma Lin could earn thirty contribution points for that and it would also confer additional defensive power to his demon thorns.
It was particularly ugly; Old Hu lay nearby, snoring. He had nothing to do and was bored stiff.
Then, from afar came the terrifying roar once again.
It sounded like five or six giant monsters.
Weren't they incapable of breaking through the thorn bush?
Ma Lin was greatly surprised in his heart.
But he dared not go out to look.
After a few minutes, six big fellows indeed came. They surrounded his little courtyard, their eyes looking over the top of the wall.