Yuan Ming pulled out two long tusks from a wild boar beast and secured them with prepared bark rope, planning to exchange them for goods in Toad Valley.
Before that, however, the plump wild boar naturally should not go to waste—perfect for a sacrificial offering to the viscera temple.
Just as Yuan Ming was about to skin the wild boar, footsteps suddenly echoed from the surroundings, and he immediately gripped the White Bone Short Spear, warily looking around.
The next moment, four figures sprang out from the surrounding forests, encircling Yuan Ming.
"Friends from the Green Wolf Gang, what is the intention of rushing out ?" Yuan Ming said as he slightly frowned upon seeing these people.
"What's the matter, lad, not planning on running this time?" The leader among them, a burly man clothed in green wolf skin with dark, reddish skin indicative of his wild origins, sneered.
Yuan Ming had already dealt with these people a few times. More accurately, these people had repeatedly tried to ambush him several times before, though Yuan Ming, always on high alert, had managed to escape before they could close in on him.
This time, having finally cornered Yuan Ming, why would they easily let him go?
Yuan Ming already had an unfavorable opinion of these people and always avoided them when possible. But today, it seemed he could not avoid confrontation.
"Less nonsense, hand over those two wild boar teeth and the blood food in your Blood Storage Bag, or else next year's today will be your death anniversary," the burly leader declared.
They clearly had the upper hand in numbers and strength and did not believe Yuan Ming posed any resistance.
Yuan Ming sighed inwardly, realizing he likely would not get to enjoy the wild boar meat, and felt quite regretful.
However, he exhibited no fear; among these people, the burly leader at most reached the Qi Refining First Level, and the other three following him were not even at the first level. Even combined, they were no match for him.
He casually slung the bound wild boar teeth across his back and gently fondled the White Bone Short Spear with his fingers.
This gesture, to the members of the Green Wolf Gang, clearly signaled his unwillingness to hand over the beast teeth. They hurriedly donned their furred beast skins, ready to display the Fur Cloak Technique and transform.
Just then, Yuan Ming, who had just secured the tusks, erupted without warning. With a renewed force in his hand, the White Bone Short Spear hurled towards the leader in front of him.
Catching sight of this, the man was startled; he did not expect Yuan Ming to dare attack him. It was too late to use the Fur Cloak Technique, and the spear "whooshed" right in front of his chest.
With a "bang," a muffled sound echoed!
The man was struck hard, his body violently flung backward, smashing against a sturdy ancient tree—blood spewing from his mouth as he heavily fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the others hurriedly performed the Fur Cloak Technique.
But by the time they were ready, Yuan Ming had already leaped forward, right in front of the burly man.
He picked up the White Bone Short Spear and rested it against the man's neck, saying,
"If I wanted to kill you, just now it would have been the spear tip aimed at you, not the handle. I'm sparing your life this time so you can go back and tell your leader, I just want to hunt peacefully, don't provoke me!"
As he uttered the last line, Yuan Ming's voice sharply rose, brimming with warning.
The man, frightened, nodded repeatedly, trying to speak, but his throat was full of blood, unable to articulate anything clear.
"Looks like I went a bit too far," Yuan Ming thought to himself, picking up the White Bone Short Spear and walked away.
As Yuan Ming disappeared into the distance, the burly man spit out the blood in his mouth with force and then hoarsely said, "You dare sneak attack me while I'm unprepared… I'll surely kill you one day."
The three men accompanying him, seeing this, also dared not speak up.
"You three are useless! Double the blood food dues for the gang this month. You've got three days, no matter the method, bring it to me," he declared harshly, and then looking at the three men, his anger unabated.
"Please, Boss Zaha, show mercy!"
"Just the monthly dues we have to submit to the sect and the gang are already suffocating us!"
"Yes, the day to pay our dues to the sect is just days away. We won't manage to collect enough in three days! If we can't make the payment, it's a death sentence from the sect."
Hearing this, the three men's faces turned pale, and they immediately knelt down, pleading desperately like pounding garlic with their heads.
With their strength, hunting enough to pay the sect dues of five portions of blood food every month was already a stretch, and they occasionally suffered from raids by others, which forced them to join the Green Wolf Gang; it served both as protection and a means to overpower the fewer and rob them in turn.
Of course, the Green Wolf Gang didn't shelter the useless and also demanded its members to submit a certain amount of blood food on time every month, inadvertently increasing the pressure on its members.
"Just three days! You know the consequences if you don't deliver,"
He showed no mercy towards their pleas, needing to vent his anger somewhere.
Seeing they were knocking their heads bloody, the burly man remained unmoved. Realizing it was futile, the kneeling men stood up.
Their expressions gradually shifted from panic to calm and then turned cold. They exchanged glances and then collectively advanced towards the burly man.
The stocky man had been cursing nonstop, but when those three people grabbed his shoulders, he finally realized something was amiss. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "What... what do you want to do? Do you have a death wish!"
"It's all your fault, don't blame us..."
Soon, a piercing scream rang out, quickly muffled into a low moan.
In the jungle, a communal campsite sprawled out.
The houses, made of bluish-brown wooden planks, were nailed together using the massive branches of huge trees as their foundation. They were perched on the trees, varying in height and numerous in quantity.
On the ground below, there were only a few simple stoves surrounded by stones with a thick layer of grass ash concealing the burning fire seeds, from which faint heat waves emanated.
In one of the fire pits, a bonfire was set up with a large stone pot simmering on top, bubbling with thick white broth and exuding a rich meaty aroma.
Around the bonfire, about a dozen strong, dark-skinned men gathered.
Nearly all of them were half-naked, with half-cut beast skins wrapped around their waists, primarily made from the likes of green wolves and black leopards. Their beast skin headgear dangled behind them, clearly identifying them as Fur Beast Slaves.
At that moment, three figures hurried back to camp, directly going to the bonfire and kneeling before a seated man in the center.
The three kept their heads pressed to the ground, not daring to look up.
"Wu Bao... Gang Leader, Zaha... Zaha is dead," one of them reported, his voice tight with tension.
The seated man had scattered black hair, eyes sharp as blades, a high bridged nose with a tip slightly curved downward like an eagle's beak, and his face bore three long scars almost entirely crossing his cheeks, giving him a sinister and ferocious look.
"Who dares kill a member of the Green Wolf Gang? Which power does it belong to?" Wu Bao paused his eating to ask.
"It's not any particular force; that guy seems to be from the Central Plains and has always been a loner. Zaha had his eye on him for a long time. Previous attempts to ambush him failed as he managed to escape. This time when we finally cornered him, he turned the tables and killed Zaha," said the man, steadier now as he relayed his rehearsed account.
Upon hearing this, Wu Bao frowned, stood up from the ground, and threw the bone in his hand back into the stone pot, asking,
"Four of you against one, and Zaha got killed in return? How strong is this man?"
"Not... not sure; the opponent used just one move, and Zaha was dead..."
"A loner daring to kill our people freely shows the Green Wolf Gang has been too soft recently, making others think we are easy to bully," Wu Bao swept his gaze over those around him and slowly added.
The ones who had just hurried back bowed their heads lower, too frightened to respond.
"Gang Leader, tolerating those who dare kill our people is inexcusable. I am willing to lead men in pursuit and will ensure he doesn't escape again. If I can't bring back his head, I shall present mine instead," at that moment, a bald man walked out from beside Wu Bao, thumped his chest, and declared solemnly.
"Gang Leader, I have a different view, if it's appropriate to speak it?" At that moment, someone stepped forward from the crowd and spoke up. Notefromtheeditor:Alwayscheck*forcorrections.
The bald man turned to look at him, his eyes instantly showing a hint of disdain.
"Wulu, you've only joined the Green Wolf Gang a few days. Since when do you have the right to speak here?" the bald man chided.
Upon hearing this, Wulu just continued to stare fixedly at Wu Bao, not retorting.
"Bayin, don't rush. Let's hear what he has to say," Wu Bao intervened.
The bald man named Bayin, though dissatisfied, suppressed his feelings and looked at Wulu.
"Gang Leader, if I'm not mistaken, that Central Plains man should be Yuan Ming," Wulu stated.
"You know him?" Wu Bao asked, frowning.
"This man became a Fur Beast Slave with me, and he is quite skilled. Being able to kill Zaha from the Qi Refining First Level, I think his strength must be nearly at the Second Level by now. Rather than wasting time and effort hunting him down, it would be better to recruit him to become one of us," Wulu nodded as he spoke.
Hearing Wulu's words, the expressions of the people around subtly changed.
A guy who had only recently become a Fur Beast Slave and was already nearing the Qi Refining Second Level? The majority among them had been cultivating for years and still hadn't even reached the Qi Refining First Level.
Within the entire Green Wolf Gang, only Gang Leader Wu Bao and Vice Gang Leader Bayin, both at the Qi Refining Third Level, could surely surpass him.
In comparison, Yuan Ming was an outstanding individual.
"No, he killed our man; we can't let him go. Otherwise, if word gets out, how will the Green Wolf Gang continue to stand in the Ten Thousand Mountain Range!" Bayin immediately objected.
"Vice Gang Leader Bayin, surely you can understand, ten Zahas cannot compare to one Yuan Ming. If we can bring him over, the benefits will be much greater than killing him," Wulu looked at the bald man and spoke.
After a moment of contemplation, Wu Bao stated, "I will give him one chance. The rest is up to you, Wulu."
"I will handle it immediately," Wulu immediately bowed and responded.