"Swoosh!"
The arrow left the bowstring, shooting towards the distant rear.
Chen He followed suit, turning around.
"Hiss!"
The arrow struck right into the oil-green body of the giant snake, resembling a vine.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
"The giant snake, in pain, hissed loudly. Its body, as thick as a human thigh, loosened, and the man entangled by it fell to the ground with a thud.
The man, who fell into the grass, had his body crushed, blood flowing from every orifice, dead beyond death.
"Beast, seeking death!"
Only then did Dongfang Wutian realize what had happened, his anger flaring up.
His own guard was attacked and disabled right in front of him, leaving him feeling utterly humiliated.
With a golden knife in hand, Dongfang Wutian swiftly rushed to the rear of the group, leaping up and swinging his knife.
"Splurt~"
"The golden knife didn't pierce the snake's body. The giant snake writhed and convulsed among the green vines, then fell to the ground, silent after a while.
The grass was stained with blood!
"Protect the young master!"
"Young master, be careful!"
"Young master, are you alright?"
"The group of guards gradually regained their senses, gathering around Dongfang Wutian.
But no one paid attention to the dead man.
Dongfang Wutian glanced at the chaotic, oil-green vines overhead, then said, "It's fine!" after confirming there were no signs of life.
Chen He, with keen eyesight, felt a shiver down his spine as he watched the scene from afar."
"I must find a way to enhance my strength; I feel too weak and insecure.
Although Dongfang Wutian lacks combat experience and reacts slowly, he is a martial artist, and killing that giant snake is as simple as cutting vegetables.
Chen He reluctantly averted his gaze from the corpse of the giant snake, feeling regretful.
If only he could offer a sacrifice, he would be able to transform his flesh and blood strength to the limit of human capability.
But he couldn't just approach the corpse of the giant snake for no reason."
"The venom has entered his body; he won't survive."
As the hunter's voice rang out, Chen He turned his head to look down.
Three steps ahead, a purple-faced man frothed at the mouth, barely clinging to life.
The hunter used a spear to lift his pants leg, revealing a soft-bodied strange insect attached to his calf.
The strange insect was half a foot long, with a head the size of a thumb, but its belly had swollen to the thickness of a human arm.
The strange insect was still reveling in the pleasure of sucking blood.
The hunter took out an arrow and pierced the head of the strange insect, causing it to twitch a few times before dying.
[Discovered corpse: Ordinary person, just deceased, meets signing conditions]
[Discovered corpse: Bloodthirsty insect, just deceased, meets signing conditions]
With the prompt on the panel, Chen He felt relieved and directly signed the contract, one for himself and one for the insect.
He glanced around, noticing everyone's attention was on the deceased man. Then, he silently took two steps back.
Sacrifice!
[Sacrificed. Received 32% of the martial skill "Black Tiger Blade Technique" mnemonic, 20% of flesh and blood, and 10% of below-average comprehension].
[Martial Skill: Black Tiger Blade Technique [Complete] (Not yet initiated)].
[Your martial comprehension +10, current progress: below average 10/100]
[Sacrificed (bloodthirsty insect), gained 26% of scent perception]
[You gained the skill: Scent Perception (Fur)]
Performing the sacrifice with ease, Chen He smoothly accepted the feedback. Sensing the complete mnemonic of the Black Tiger Blade Technique in his mind, he felt delighted.
He clenched his fists, realizing that his strength had surpassed that of ordinary people by a large margin, and his physical condition was almost identical to his past life.
His body, honed for years as a standard combat athlete in his past life, had no trouble fighting a dozen normal, sturdy men under fair conditions.
After integrating the bloodthirsty insect's scent perception, he found his sense of smell enhanced. Sweat, the smell of decaying leaves, and especially the blood odor of living creatures, became more sensitive to him.
"Continue moving forward," came the emotionless command from Dongfang Wutian at the rear.
The group resumed their journey.
With the loss of two individuals in quick succession, the atmosphere within the team became tense and somber.
However, this incident also had its benefits. It served as a warning to everyone, making them more vigilant and cautious.
Especially for Dongfang Wutian, being ambushed by a giant snake in front of his subordinates made him deeply ashamed. Therefore, he directly emanated the aura of a martial artist, deterring the lurking predators of the Lin family in the surrounding area.
Of course, the lives of servants were lowly, and he naturally wouldn't mourn for them.
Chen Qing was both saddened and furious. In just half a day, he had lost two trusted confidants.
He had no words for the confidant who was killed by the giant snake, after all, facing such a creature, even he himself would have been helpless.
But what filled him with deep hatred was the figure of the young man ahead.
That figure, which appeared out of nowhere, was now disguised as a member of the Dongfang family's guard team. Chen Qing didn't know what his purpose was.
To use extremely despicable and shameless means to kill Xiao Li and then strip him of his clothes, claiming them as his own — this was not only disrespectful to the deceased but also a direct challenge to himself.
As for whether the crippled beggar was alive or dead, or where he was, Chen Qing didn't care.
Indeed, just like Dongfang Wutian wouldn't care about the lives of servants.
The giant snake seemed like a test from the predators in the green vine forest or perhaps payment for safe passage from the two deceased men.
The hunting team, composed of Dongfang family guards, proceeded cautiously and successfully reached their destination.
It was a small basin with a diameter of about a mile and a bit.
The group now lay prone on the edge of the basin, on the grassy slope. Dongfang Wutian and the hunter conferred and devised a plan.
The others stared blankly at the basin below.
Chen He was also dumbfounded.
In the middle of the basin rose a yellow soil and giant rock structure, irrigated by countless tree roots that bound the earth and stones together to form small peaks.
The peaks were about twenty zhang high, with towering trees emerging from both sides and the top.
Especially the main trunks of the trees on the mountaintop, which required about ten people to join hands to embrace, with their treetops disappearing into the clouds. Their robust and developed roots entwined from top to bottom, merging with the earth and stones.
It was an extremely magical, magnificent, and peculiarly stunning sight.
At the foot of the mountain was a large cave, its entrance pitch black, hiding its true features.
But Chen He knew that their destination must be inside the cave.
The ground in front of the cave entrance was clean and tidy, except for tree roots embedded in the yellow soil, with no trees or weeds in sight.
Faint scars left by the claws and teeth of giant beasts could be seen on the tree roots.
On the other side, Dongfang Wutian and the hunter finalized their plan. Dongfang Wutian addressed the group:
"As you can see, my target is inside the cave below."
With that said, all participants will be rewarded with two hundred taels of silver by this young master. If anyone encounters any mishaps, I will personally arrange for the reward to be given to their family or descendants."
As Dongfang Wutian finished speaking, most of the guards immediately became excited, their eyes gleaming.
Two hundred taels of silver could sustain a poor person for a lifetime.
Previously, some participants had been uneasy and wavering due to the loss of their companions. If not for their fear of Dongfang Wutian's authority, they would have left already.
At this moment, Dongfang Wutian reassured everyone, boosting their morale. Except for Chen He and the hunter, the others had already pledged themselves to the Dongfang family; their lives belonged to the Dongfangs.
Some of them had even survived by selling themselves to the Dongfang family.
To be able to earn money from this operation, and two hundred taels at that, even if they died, their families could still benefit. It's worth it!
Dongfang Wutian said to Chen Qing in the rear, "Chen Qing, set up the bait now. And you, as well as you, the two of you are responsible for entering the cave and carrying out the young beasts. Wait for my command."
Chen He froze for a moment in the crowd, his body stiffening as if struck by lightning. Through the sympathetic glances from others towards himself and the other selected guard, he could tell that Dongfang Wutian was referring to him.
Damn it!
Entering the beast den to steal the cubs—this wasn't just dangerous, it was suicidal! His heart sank like a stone into icy waters, sending a chill throughout his body!