บท 17: Spying
บรรณาธิการ: Sparrow Translations
"Black Sand Palm!"
In the secluded valley, a man swiftly stretched out his right palm and left a very clear palm print on a target board.
"My power has improved again? Not bad!"
Fang Yuan kept his palm and felt excited that his experience bar was more than half filled.
He became more familiar as he trained. He was completely fascinated with the feeling of himself getting stronger after every training.
"If the stats for martial arts isn't as hard to improve as the one for botany, I would have attained [Black Sand Palm (Level 5)] easily!"
"Of course, nutrition is also a priority…."
It was noon. Fang Yuan had Pearl Jade Crystal Rice for lunch and sighed while eating.
If it was other normal families, they wouldn't have an abundant supply of Pearl Jade Crystal Rice like him.
Also, how could one endure the repeated tough training for the Black Sand Palm? Unless one was talented enough to enter a Sect and be cultivated, it would be almost impossible for one to become a powerful martial artist.
"Besides….. practising martial arts is also beneficial for the body…."
The physical body of a martial artist would be as strong as a rock. As one's foundation of his techniques got stronger, he would be able to achieve greater things in future.
Fang Yuan suspected that the reason why he was able to master Black Sand Palm so quickly was not because of his increase in magical energy.
"Soon, Master Wenxin's tea tree will have fully grown tea leaves and Vermillion Jade Rice can be harvested… Even though Grandmaster needs this Spiritual Rice, there should be enough left!"
Fang Yuan felt hopeful.
His martial arts improved a lot faster with the presence of the spiritual plants.
The reason why Fang Yuan was in a rush to master his techniques was to be able to protect himself from any danger in future.
"The comprador from Spirit Returning Sect, Song Zhigao?!"
If it was Lin Benchu or the Zhou siblings, it would mean no harm. However, this comprador from Spirit Returning Sect showed hostility, causing Fang Yuan to be more cautious.
Although he looked like he did not have any hard feelings against anyone, he did not seem like a fool. He wouldn't allow someone to be spying on him easily.
"An amount of effort is still needed to complete a tasking once and for all!"
His future and skills in martial arts depended on this spiritual plant.
....
It was night time.
A few shadows appeared at the outskirts of the secluded valley.
"Comprador Song said that this is the place?"
A man in black observed his surroundings and then cursed softly, "The environment here is so harsh. Only the savage can live in such conditions!"
"This is the place definitely. It shouldn't be wrong!"
A huntsman carrying a giant steel fork was beside him and said, "I have been here before to trade with Master Wenxin's disciple for animal skin and herbs…."
He sighed in between his words.
"Why? Is reminiscing the past making you hesitate to do it?"
The leader, who was the man in black, laughed.
"How can that be? Ten golden leaves are equivalent to the lives of ten villagers. Dealing with this teenager is a piece of cake"
The huntsman laughed and gave an evil look. "In my opinion, why even bother spying on him. We should just charge in and kill him straight away. We will then leave the body in the forest and let it rot till only left the bones!"
"I agree with that but Comprador Song will not be happy about it. We are instructed to let him be ruined and condemned by the public. Then that is when we can take action!"
The man in black said in a deep voice, "Who let that poor kid be in the way of Comprador Song's magnate?!"
"Magnate?!"
The people around consist of a few villagers and huntsmen living nearby and pirates. Seeing that the leader was hiding something fiercely, no one dared to question further.
"This is it. Our mission today is just to investigate the situation in the secluded valley and also to find out if the boy has any hidden agenda!"
The leader said, "Most importantly, of course, is to not leave any of our traces behind!"
"Understood!"
A few of them laughed ferociously and gathered in the secluded valley.
The surroundings were pitch dark. Even though there was light coming from the moon, the visibility was too low. Still, these people did not dare to reveal their positions to prevent any attacks.
The resistance in the secluded valley was not that strong and plus, they were dealing with just one guy. Hence, these people were more relaxed.
"Hmm….This is the secluded valley? This place is actually pretty good to live in….."
"There is a flower garden and a spring. This looks normal. Let's go take a look at the back….."
The group of them split up and found the farm at the back of the valley.
"Looks like there is something behind the shrubs!"
The ones who spotted something were experienced huntsmen and thieves.
"Oh?"
The leader then came forward and found a small pathway behind the shrubs. He was overjoyed when he found the pathway and said, "Let's go take look quickly! Be careful. This guy is full of tricks, even the bodyguards from the Zhou family who came the other time were all defeated by him…."
He spoke halfway and heard a loud biting sound suddenly.
"What happen?"
A few looked at the ground immediately and spotted a black beast. The black beast then went on to bite the leader's leg.
"A trap!"
"Damn it!"
The whole situation became chaotic.
Previously these people sneaked in quietly. Now wouldn't they be discovered if they started screaming in the middle of the night when their screams could be heard clearly in this secluded valley?
"This is unacceptable…."
A few of them looked at each other, their eyes filled with anger.
Even though the mission objective was just to investigate, they would have to take action since they were under attack.
They did not believe the rumours.
How could a teenager be able to deal with the whole group of them?
This teenager was cunning as he knew where to place the traps. The group had to be even more careful.
"Hiss!"
"Hiss!"
However, they did not expect the white ferret to appear instead of the teenager!
It was the guardian of the valley, the white Flower Fox Ferret, which pounced on them so quickly like a lightning strike.
At that moment, the Flower Fox Ferret's fur stood up and gave a hostile behaviour.
After all, whatever that was on the farm was the Flower Fox Ferret's lifeblood. How could the farm be spied on by others?
"What is that?"
"A ferret?"
"It is so big!"
The huntsman warned, "Careful everyone. This mutated ferret could belong to the teenager…."
"Heh… it's nothing much. It is just a beast and is not any different from a wild dog."
One of them who was laughing changed his complexion suddenly.
A bright light flashed by in front of him.
"What happened, Dacheng?"
Seeing that Dacheng was motionless, one of them pushed him slightly and Dacheng's body was split in half.
No one knew when he was cut in half by the Flower Fox Ferret!
"Ghost….there is a ghost!"
This bloody scene scared the hell out of everyone.
"This ferret is definitely not a normal one. It is a Spiritual Beast and a weird one!"
The huntsman's scalp became numb. He suddenly recalled the legend of Spiritual Beasts.
Judging from what happened, the ferret was able to understand what human said! Plus, with such body shape and skills, this ferret is definitely a Spiritual Beast.
"Leave now!"
A few of them looked at each other and then hurried away, leaving their leader behind.
They had no choice as their employer, Song Zhigao, was just a mere comprador. How much power could he hold? The leader, who was the man in black was the only one under Song Zhigao that was out here. The rest were all hired.
Such team was able to complete a tasking only when there were no troubles surfacing.
"Keke!"
The Flower Fox Ferret purposely slowed down and chased after the huntsman, as if it found a toy to play with.
"Damn it!"
The huntsman looked at the Flower Fox Ferret and tried to hit it with his giant steel fork.
The huntsman missed and felt a sharp pain in his right hand. A row of sharp teeth appeared in front of his eyes.
At that moment, blood splashed everywhere….
....
"This noise is killing me. It's midnight. Can't they just let me have a good sleep?"
Fang Yuan couldn't sleep through the series of screams.
He grabbed his coat and yawned while exiting the house. "Thieves? It must have been difficult for them to come to such desolated place to steal from me…."
Even though he said that, his biggest asset was still his farm and he was worried about it. He then quickened his footsteps and went to the back of the valley.
"This….."
It was truly shocking to see a scene with blood everywhere. Fang Yuan was dumbfounded and also furious at the same time. "What have you done, Flower Fox Ferret?! When will I be able to finish cleaning up this mess you made?"
"Keke!"
Flower Fox Ferret's claws were stained with blood. It was going round and round around the leader and showed an innocent look.
"Don't act innocent in front of me. You will have to help to clean up this mess tomorrow!"
Fang Yuan went around a few corpses and reached for the leader who was still panting.
This unlucky guy got his leg broken but his life spared by the Flower Fox Ferret. He was somewhat lucky.
"Don't….don't eat me!"
Of course, this guy was completely scared. He started tearing when he saw Fang Yuan approaching as if he had met a saviour. "Please spare me, sir! I was instructed by Song Zhigao. I will reveal everything!"
How pitiful!
To be bitten by a beast and die without burial, such way to die was too mentally demanding for one.
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