Lin Xin also mishandled this plan for the first time, making too many mistakes; he hadn't expected the Long-Eared Tiger to be so huge. He originally thought the ancient people might have been exaggerating and that it was just a normal tiger—turns out it was massive.
Quickly, he started a bonfire with a flint at the same spot and returned under the tree to help An Ying down.
The two of them rested next to the tied-up Long-Eared Tiger.
Lin Xin tied the Long-Eared Tiger to a stout tree with a rope. The blood oozing from its wounds attracted many mosquitoes, flies, and other insects, which was quite disgusting.
"Senior brother... what should we do now?" An Ying asked weakly as he lay on his side next to the fire. Lin Xin had given him an anti-inflammatory pill containing natural antibiotics like dandelions, and had also disinfected his wounds, which should resolve without much issue.
It just looked a bit disfiguring...
Seeing the wound on An Ying's neck filled him with guilt.
Recalling the urgent moments earlier, there had been no time or room for using complicated techniques—only the most primitive, quickest, and fiercest sword techniques held any lethality.
He had just checked the Long-Eared Tiger's belly and indeed noticed a thin cut. However, the strong muscles had clamped around it, preventing much blood from flowing out.
Still not strong or fast enough...
"You rest well, with the bonfire here, other wild beasts won't dare to come close," Lin Xin reassured him as he came back to his senses.
"Yes..." An Ying nodded obediently and drifted into a weary sleep.
Lin Xin sat cross-legged by the fire, striving to keep it burning brighter; the forest was quite chilly, and despite the sunshine outside, they couldn't feel much warmth.
Watching An Ying slowly fall asleep, Lin Xin took out a prepared packet of medicinal powder and selected a red one from within. After opening it, he spread a large circle around the fire before packing up.
This was insect repellent powder, a must-have to prevent poisonous bugs—one couldn't be too careful in the woods.
This small packet of powder alone was worth three Silver, roughly equivalent to over three thousand Renminbi, and he had used about half of it in one go.
"Truly extravagant..." Lin Xin exhaled as he returned to the fire, beginning to treat his own wounds with homemade alcohol. They were mostly minor scrapes from running, but still painful enough to make him clench his teeth.
Looking at An Ying's bloodied wounds—on his back, arms, legs, neck, almost everywhere—he made up his mind to make it up to him later.
After the medicine was applied, the Long-Eared Tiger finally came out of its daze. It appeared to regain consciousness and started to groan.
Ao...
The tiger was tied to the tree, arranged as if embracing the tree, its tail also securely bound, completely immobilized.
The Long-Eared Tiger roared, trying to break free, but to no avail; the rope was too thick and wrapped around several times, leaving no room for it to exert any effort.
Lin Xin approached, holding An Ying's sword, which was evidently of much higher quality, clearly a biased gift from Master Bo Yunzi to An Ying alone.
He weighed it in his hands, the longsword about a meter long and weighing over five kilograms.
Shh!
With one fierce slash, he cut into the Long-Eared Tiger's front leg. The soft-looking golden fur surprisingly made a crisp sound when cut, a strong resistance transferring from the sword to Lin Xin's hands.
He gripped the sword with both hands and exerted all his strength.
After the Long-Eared Tiger howled in pain for a while, Lin Xin finally managed to carve a small opening.
Blood slowly flowed from the wound, soaking and reddening the fur below, and dripped onto the ground.
Lin Xin hurriedly used a prepared skin pouch to catch it, collecting for about half a minute before he managed to stop the Long-Eared Tiger's bleeding.
He spread some insect repellent powder around and took out a water pouch to wash the blood beside the wound. After disinfecting, he covered it with a layer of prepared gauze—the Long-Eared Tiger's wound was now properly treated.
Returning to the bonfire, Lin Xin quickly took out a medicine pill, looking at the dark pill. He tried to control himself, not thinking about the disgusting things inside it, nor about the possibly still alive spider eggs or parasites within.
With eyes closed, he tossed the Return to Origin Pill into his mouth and harshly swallowed a gulp of blood.
Gurgle...
The taste was full of iron, the blood thick like a milkshake, but mixed with a strong stench.
Gurgle...
Another gulp, swallowing down the not fully ingested Return to Origin Pill.
"Since Master Bo Yunzi gave me this recipe, it must be possible to succeed!" Lin Xin was determined now.
Bo Yunzi had intentionally pressed the small booklet under his Secret Technique, clearly meant for him to read.
After all, Bo Yunzi had no reason to harm him.
Lin Xin plugged the water pouch and sat on the dry leaves, silently experiencing the sensation after swallowing.
A scorching heat soon radiated from his stomach, like boiling a kettle inside his belly. Lin Xin couldn't help but curl up, clutching his stomach.
"Could it be poisoning?" he panicked slightly.
But the immediate changes in his attribute panel dispelled that thought.
Originally, the attributes were 'Damage—2, Defense—1, Dodge—1, Constitution—1.'
But now, there was a faint upward arrow symbol appearing after the constitution category.
"It's working!"
His heart was gladdened, Lin Xin knew he had hope now. Although his stomach was churning painfully hot. But as long as it worked, it was something he and his junior sister had risked their lives for; he absolutely couldn't waste it.
For the next few days, Lin Xin and An Ying stayed in the same place. When hungry, they ate the dry food they brought; when thirsty, they found water nearby. Fortunately, An Ying recovered quickly, and by the second day, she was able to move freely. Although she was injured, it was only excessive blood loss—her joints were not damaged.
After she woke up, she led Lin Xin to a creek where they often drew water, and then they each took turns watching the Long-Eared Tiger and going back to the dojo to fetch some clean clothes.
Lin Xin continuously took the Return to Origin Pill and gradually felt a peculiar change in his body.
By the fifth day, the Long-Eared Tiger that had been bled and tortured was mere skin and bones, tied wearily to a tree. Its calls had turned into soft grunts.
And Lin Xin had finally reached the most critical moment.
******************
The sky was clear, with no clouds in sight.
Red Pine City resembled a square grey-white block, neatly placed in the center surrounded by dark green mountains.
At the city gates, merchants, farmers, and horse-drawn carriages came and went incessantly. One could also see large expanses of cultivated green rice fields with farmers laboring in the fields.
On a grey-white cliff far from Red Pine City, several figures clad in green outfits and wearing bamboo hats slowly climbed the cliff. They stood on the edge, looking down at Red Pine City from on high.
"How has the situation been these last few days?" The person in the lead, wearing a bamboo hat, asked in a low voice. It was a young man's voice.
"There's a strong defense—Shu Family, city guards, and even two from Plum Blossom Sect are here," replied a woman in a bamboo hat behind him. "But I reckon they will retreat in a few days. Lin Family is just a wealthy landowner; they can't afford such expenses for too long."
"I heard he has a son who is also a member of the inner family?"
"Unlikely. They say he is a senior brother of the Red Pine Sect, but with two retainers here, there shouldn't be a problem," the woman in the bamboo hat replied softly.
"That's right, it's not easy to encounter a master of the inner family." The man paused, then reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a bronze incense burner the size of a fist. It was simple in design, with no elaborate patterns, just densely packed with honeycomb-like small holes on top, continuously emitting a fine white smoke.
"The Ning Xiang is almost used up, let's enter the city first. We'll act once they pull back."
"What's the plan?"
"Follow the sect rules—leave none alive."
*************************
In the dense forest
Lin Xin sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes tightly closed, his skin flushed as if congested, revealing a multitude of tiny blood spots oozing from his pores on closer inspection.
An Ying anxiously kept watch beside him, knowing it was a critical moment and daring not to disturb him.
The campfire slowly emitted wisps of blue smoke, drifting through the treetops and slowly dispersing.
Time passed by seconds and minutes, and Lin Xin's muscles began to twitch slightly.
Following the method recorded in the Minor Return to Origin Art, along with personal instruction from An Ying, he was concentrating all his attention on his solar plexus.
Imagining all his strength and energy continuously converging there, forming a swirling sphere.
A hot stream from taking the Return to Origin Pill had condensed into a ball at the solar plexus, as if a lump had risen there.
Every so often, Lin Xin rhythmically poked the surface of the sphere with his mind, imagining his consciousness transforming into a sharp needle, fiercely jabbing at the sphere.
With each jab, a large amount of heat would disperse throughout his body, then be gathered back to his solar plexus by his will.
This cycle had already lasted for well over an hour.
Lin Xin's energy shifted from initial excitement to growing fatigue, but he persisted. This was a chance An Ying had created for him at the risk of her own life; he absolutely couldn't waste it.
Hiss...
Suddenly, a sound resembling air escaping entered his ears.
Lin Xin's spirit perked up, he opened his eyes—his bloodshot eyes glanced at his solar plexus. The lump there was quickly subsiding, and the heat in his body gradually dissipating.
"It worked!" His heart overflowed with joy.
Immediately, he saw a new icon slowly appearing in the attribute bar below his field of vision.
It was a pale red Taiji symbol. As his gaze shifted there, a message entered his mind.
'Minor Return to Origin Art—First Layer. (Damage +1, Constitution +1)'
What struck him as strange was that after entering the first layer of the Minor Return to Origin Art, four yellow plusses appeared after each of the four attributes in the attribute bar.
"Is this...? Can I add points?" Lin Xin felt as excited as if he had suddenly won the lottery, unable to contain his exhilaration.