Chapter 7: The Hunt Begins
Ye Wen bowed gratefully to the old guard, then led Ah Yin into the Soul Hunting Forest. The old guard watched them disappear into the trees, his gaze tinged with sadness, and sighed.
"Why the sudden kindness, Old Li?" the younger guard asked. "You don't usually go out of your way to help people."
"Life's hard for commoner Soul Masters like us," the old guard replied. "I hate seeing the suffering in this world, so if I can help kids like those two, even a little, I will."
Hearing this, the younger guard only shrugged, indifferent, and continued to stand watch.
Ye Wen and Ah Yin walked for over an hour without encountering a single soul beast, which made them start to relax and joke a bit.
"This Soul Hunting Forest is really disappointing. We've been walking for ages and haven't seen a single soul beast."
"Yeah, I'm beginning to think this is just an ordinary forest."
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
Suddenly, a sound came from a nearby clump of Blue Silver Grass. The two, who had just been laughing, tensed immediately. They each drew their hand crossbows from storage and aimed toward the sound, watching closely.
After a few tense moments of silence, however, nothing else stirred in the grass. Ye Wen began to wonder if it had just been the wind.
"Better safe than sorry."
Operating under a "shoot first, ask questions later" philosophy, Ye Wen pulled the trigger.
A shrill cry rang out.
Ye Wen let out a sigh of relief. His instincts had been right something was hiding in that thicket. He quickly reloaded the crossbow, fitting another bolt in place.
Peering closer, he saw a small white figure struggling within the grass.
"A Needle Haired Rabbit under a hundred years," he said. "Good thing we spotted it. If those needle like hairs had hit us in a sneak attack, we'd be seriously injured."
Having identified the creature, Ye Wen tugged Ah Yin along and left. A soul beast this young and unsuitable for his needs wouldn't provide him with the soul ring he was after. Besides, aside from its meat, the rabbit's hair was bristly and tough, hardly worth the effort.
To avoid attracting other soul beasts with the rabbit's dying cries, Ye Wen decided not to linger.
After walking some time further, they finally reached the small creek the old guard had mentioned. Ye Wen and Ah Yin climbed a nearby tree to hide, shrouded by dense leaves, and sprinkled a scent masking powder over themselves.
It was nearly dusk, and the forest was most dangerous at nightfall. Watching the sun sink lower, they quietly enjoyed the calm before the action.
"Ah Yin," Ye Wen began, "earlier today, that rabbit hadn't done anything to us, but I still shot it. Does that bother you at all?"
Ah Yin gave him a strange look. "What a funny thing to ask," she said.
"I killed one of your kind right in front of you," Ye Wen explained. "Doesn't that affect you?"
Ah Yin looked at him calmly. "Not really," she replied. "Even before I took on human form, as the Blue Silver Emperor, I started as just Blue Silver Grass the lowest of the low in this world. From the moment we sprout, we endure countless harms, even though we haven't done anything wrong.
"So, when I became the ten thousand year Blue Silver Emperor, I understood the true nature of this world survival of the fittest. Instead of hoping for mercy from others, it's better to make ourselves stronger.
"So don't worry, Big Brother. Besides, while humans may view me as a soul beast, I don't see myself that way. The term 'soul beast' wasn't created by my kind; it's what you call us. Even though I leave a soul ring when I die, we don't consider ourselves part of the soul beast world.
"To be honest, even if soul beasts were wiped out, do you think my Blue Silver Grass kin would go extinct? Not unless the world itself is destroyed. We'll always be here, part of the earth."
Ye Wen chuckled, feeling reassured by her words. Killing that Needle Haired Rabbit had been his first act of taking a life in this world, and he'd felt a pang of guilt, especially thinking of Ah Yin. But her words made him realize he'd been caught up in flawed thinking. Grass and rabbits were hardly "kin," after all. His guilt and protective instincts had just gotten the better of him.
He reminded himself that Ah Yin was not the same as that "innocent" Xiao Wu from the original story, who had naively begged Tang San not to hunt soul beasts, only to later ignore the massacre of her own kind after ascending to godhood.
"Look, Big Brother! Isn't that the soul beast you were looking for?"
Hearing Ah Yin, Ye Wen's gaze followed hers. Fifty meters away, a woolly creature that looked somewhat like a sheep was slowly emerging from the forest.
Ye Wen narrowed his eyes, examining it carefully. There was no doubt this was indeed the Qingnang Beast he was after. The way to identify these creatures was by the sharp horn on their head, which grew in segments every hundred years. The one before him had exactly four segments.
While the distance made it difficult to determine its exact age, Ye Wen knew he couldn't let this chance slip by.
It was time the hunt had begun.
Ye Wen raised his hand crossbow, aimed through the sight, and let his training and instinct guide him. At fifty meters, he was confident in his aim. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
The bolt struck, and the Qingnang Beast collapsed instantly.
Ye Wen's shot had pierced straight through its eye sockets, skewering both eyes. The beast died instantly, without so much as a whimper, succumbing to brain death in an instant.
A few moments later, a yellow soul ring materialized above the beast, signifying a century old soul ring.
However, neither Ye Wen nor Ah Yin moved to collect their prize just yet. Instead, they waited in silence, observing carefully. They weren't the only ones who liked ambush tactics many solitary carnivorous soul beasts enjoyed lying in wait for weak or injured prey.
(End of Chapter)
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