Chapter 10: Dongshan Marsh

At the edge of the forest outside Xifu City.

Ji Ning, Mo Wu, and the maidservant Qiuye sat astride three black jiao beasts. The black jiao beast resembled a leopard, with faint leopard patterns on its body and ox horns on its head; it was an extremely fierce beast. It could traverse mountains and ridges as if on flat ground, and was extremely fast, making it an excellent mount. Of course, it was still inferior to a tamed demon beast.

Given Ji Ning's status, using such a mount was considered quite low-key.

“Xifu City.” Ji Ning turned his head to look back, gazing into the distance at that enormous city—the place where he had grown up.

“Let’s go!” Ji Ning shouted.

He tapped the black jiao beast’s belly with his heel, and the beast immediately leaped forward and dashed out. Behind him, Qiuye and Mo Wu also rode their black jiao beasts and followed.

…

Winter passed and spring arrived.

In a forest overgrown with weeds, several dozen men dressed in animal skins were advancing cheerfully. More than half of them carried loads on shoulder poles.

“Uncle Dala!” Among them, a young boy who looked immature and held a long spear said excitedly, “Before, you refused to take me to Dongshan Marsh, saying it was too dangerous. But this time… there was hardly any danger, and we caught so many fish—enough for our tribe to eat for a long time!”

Beside him, a man as burly as a black bear laughed: “Ayi, you brought us good luck. This trip to Dongshan Marsh, not a single tribesman died—that’s very rare. But you mustn’t underestimate Dongshan Marsh because of this. Dongshan Marsh is one of the major gathering places for great demons within ten thousand li, and of course, the fish in Dongshan Marsh are endless.”

“Ayi, this is your first time fishing with us. Go a few more times, and you’ll know how dangerous it is. When you get back, be sure to train your body and refine your qi. Only the strong can live long.” A one-armed man beside him also laughed.

“Ayi is not young anymore. This time when we go back, we should find him a woman. Get a few good furs and trade with a neighboring tribe for a woman with a big backside who can bear children.”

“Find a few more women and have more children.”

The men all teased the boy.

At that moment, lurking in the thick brambles not far away was a demon beast with black fur. It had smooth hair, a supple body, and resembled a leopard. Its eyes faintly glowed green. Its body was over two zhang long, and its mane was very stiff, like a fan of sharp spikes.

It was waiting, waiting for an opportunity.

“Don’t you worry about that—I’ll find my own,” Ayi said, his face flushed red, and he shouted back.

“Haha, he’s embarrassed!”

The men laughed.

Suddenly—

“Roar!” A huge black shadow pounced out, directly lunging at a tribesman holding a long spear who was walking on the far edge.

“A demon!” The tribesman roared and thrust his spear forward swiftly. This thrust, honed from childhood and backed by decades of tempered inner strength, carried immense power. “Pfft!” The huge shadow’s claw lightly slapped the spear, knocking it aside.

“Quick!”

“Kill!”

Several nearby tribesmen roared and thrust their spears fiercely. As a small tribe without profound immortal or demon techniques, long weapons like spears and lances were favored by many. They only needed to practice simple moves like thrusting and parrying every day; after decades of hard training, the power was extraordinary.

“Whoosh!” Stepping on the spears, the huge shadow lightly leaped and pounced toward the center of the group of tribesmen.

These tribesmen often went to Dongshan Marsh to fish, so they chose a return route that was relatively safe, rarely encountering demon beasts. But deep down, they were still very cautious. Those carrying loads were in the center, while the stronger ones, armed only with weapons, were on the periphery.

“It’s a han beast!” the one-armed man shouted. “Careful!” As he spoke, he brandished his single-blade knife and charged straight at the huge shadow.

“Demon, die!” The most burly man, ‘Uncle Dala,’ who looked like a black bear, also swung his long-handled battle-axe and charged at the huge shadow.

“Kill!”

Every tribesman went berserk.

They all knew the reputation of the han beast. Just now, six strong tribal warriors had attacked together, but the han beast had easily trampled their weapons and leaped toward the center. This made them all realize… this han beast was probably a fearsome demon that had reached the Houtian realm. Today, some of them might die.

“Roar~~” The han beast roared again, no longer striking and retreating as before, but charging madly.

Clang!

The one-armed man was sent flying backward. The burliest man, Dala, roared with rage and swung his battle-axe. The han beast clearly sensed that this axe-wielding human was the greatest threat. Ignoring the other tribal warriors, it directly struck the axe with its claw, knocking it aside. Still, the axe slashed into the han beast’s belly, leaving a huge wound. But the han beast’s abdominal muscles tightened, and even the blood that flowed was minimal—mainly because the axe cut wasn’t deep enough. The han beast roared, its hooves and claws stomping on the axe, then opened its fanged maw to bite at Dala.

“Uncle Dala!” The still-dazed boy Ayi cried out in alarm.

“Da!”

“Da!”

The surrounding tribesmen were all frantic.

Suddenly—

“Whoosh!” A streak of light like a meteor, crossing a great distance, instantly drilled into the han beast’s head, then flew out from behind its skull, and finally burrowed into a tree that would take two people to encircle. The arrowhead even emerged from the other side of the tree.

“Roar.”

Uncle Dala fell to the ground, and the massive body of the huan beast crashed onto him, blood splattering all over Uncle Dala's face.

"Uncle Dala!" The young boy A Yi rushed over, almost in tears.

"It's nothing." The sturdy man gave the huan beast a hard shove and stood up, wiping his face, which was now covered in blood. "This isn't my blood; it's the huan beast's blood."

The one-armed man also came over to look. He glanced at the huan beast's corpse, then at the thick tree nearby, and his pupils contracted. "An arrow pierced through the huan beast's hardest skull and even through the black arrowwood... terrifying. And it was shot while the huan beast was leaping—such archery..."

"He's a divine archer."

"It was a divine archer who acted." One by one, the tribal men examined the huan beast's corpse and then looked into the distance. From the direction the arrow came, they judged the approximate location of the divine archer.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three figures approached from deep in the forest. The tribal men watched cautiously... and soon saw clearly: three people riding three majestic black jiao beasts. The black jiao beasts moved as if on flat ground over the rugged terrain, quickly reaching the tribal men.

"Uh..." The tribal men stared at the three in astonishment.

They rode majestic black jiao beasts and wore finely made beast-hide clothes. The one in front was a handsome youth, and beside him was an even more beautiful woman. They swore... there was no woman as beautiful as her in their entire tribe. Though dressed in a valiant manner, her beauty was undeniable. The man on the other side of the youth exuded a fierce aura that made the tribal men tremble.

"Huh." The man dismounted from his black jiao beast, walked to the thick black arrowwood, and with a *chuck*, pulled out the arrow.

"Young master." The man walked to the youth and respectfully handed him the arrow.

Ji Ning took it.

When venturing outside, although he had prepared many arrows, if he discarded one after each shot, he would soon run out. These were very good arrows... reusable.

"Honorable young master." The one-armed man among the tribal men stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for saving us. Is there anything our Ironstone Tribe can do for you?"

The other tribal men dared not speak.

Traveling with a maidservant and a manservant... this was clearly no ordinary person. Coupled with the address 'young master,' which was usually reserved for sons of chieftains of large tribes with tens of thousands of members, it was evident that this youth came from a very large tribe.

"Which of you is familiar with the Eastern Mountain Swamp?" Ji Ning asked directly from atop his black jiao beast.

The tribal men exchanged glances.

What was this young master going to the Eastern Mountain Swamp for? It certainly couldn't be just fishing like them; it must be very dangerous.

"I am familiar with it." The sturdy Dala stepped forward. "I've fished in the Eastern Mountain Swamp for decades and know it well. If the young master wishes to go there, I am willing to guide you."

"Good." Ji Ning smiled from atop his black jiao beast, casually flipped out a piece of beast-head gold, and tossed it over. "Come with me."

Dala caught the beast-head gold, his eyes lighting up. This standard ten-jin piece of beast-head gold was enough to support his child for a lifetime. He handed it to the one-armed man. "Take this back for me, give it to my eldest. If I die, take care of my three children."

"Alright." The one-armed man nodded.

"State your name." Ji Ning said.

"Honorable young master, you may call me Da!" Dala said respectfully.

"Da, get on her black jiao beast." Ji Ning pointed at Qiuye's mount. "Qiuye, come to mine."

"Yes, young master."

Qiuye leaped down and then mounted Ji Ning's black jiao beast, holding his waist from behind. Having served Ji Ning since childhood, their bond was as deep as that of siblings, and as his personal maidservant, she had long been designated as his woman, so there was no need for restraint.

Dala held his breath and carefully mounted the black jiao beast. He had never ridden such a fine mount before.

"Let's go."

Ji Ning gave the order.

Whoosh!

Ji Ning and his party rode their black jiao beasts and quickly vanished into the forest.

"Uncle Dao," the young boy A Yi asked anxiously, "Will Uncle Dala be in danger taking them to the Eastern Mountain Swamp?"

The one-armed man nodded. "They are different from us. That youth must be the child of a large tribe's chieftain, receiving the best education since childhood. That arrow was likely shot by him. He's going to the Eastern Mountain Swamp for his coming-of-age adventure! He needs to kill enough demon beasts. The Eastern Mountain Swamp is vast and complex, and simple maps are useless, so they need Uncle Dala to guide them."

"Coming-of-age? But that youth doesn't seem of age," A Yi said.

"Some people look older, some look younger," the one-armed man said.

In fact, Ji Ning was only eleven years old, but he was already over 1.7 meters tall, similar to his previous life.

"But this young master is very kind," the one-armed man sighed. "If he hadn't acted when the huan beast attacked, we might have lost a few people, and the first to die would have been your Uncle Dala! With the grace of saving our lives, your Uncle Dala knew he had to go and help guide them even if it meant death. Besides, the young master gave him such a piece of beast-head gold, ten jin!"

"Quick, quick, quick," the one-armed man suddenly shouted. "Butcher the huan beast's corpse and carry it back."

"Hurry."

"Come on."

One by one, they drew knives and swung axes, quickly dismembering the huan beast's corpse, then set off on their return journey.