Tie Niu's legs went weak with fear, and he asked tremblingly, "Did you hit him?"

Du Jianshan lowered his body and stared at the woods in front of him, his gaze sharp as a knife. He remained silent for a long time.

"I didn't kill him." He exhaled, his voice heavy like a stone hitting the ground.

"My goodness, this beast is incredibly tough!" Tie Niu wiped away cold sweat, still gripping the flintlock trigger tightly in his hand.

"Don't move, keep your eyes on the woods." Du Jianshan raised his hand to stop him.

A night wind swept into the ravine, carrying the smell of gunpowder and making one's throat dry. The sounds of birds taking flight in the distance had long since ceased; the surroundings were eerily silent, save for the gentle tinkling of a mountain spring flowing from the cracks in the rocks.

"Mountain God above, is this beast perhaps the Black Wind Mastiff?" Tie Niu's voice trembled.

Du Jianshan narrowed his eyes: "Doesn't seem like it. The Black Wind Mastiff is a size bigger than this guy, and it runs faster than the wind. This one didn't have such powerful legs just now."

"But those eyes, they were as red as lanterns..." Tie Niu swallowed again.

“Those are eyelids that were charred,” Du Jianshan said coldly. “Let’s go take a look.”

"Huh? Go now?"

"What are we waiting for? The blood will cool down in a bit, and then we won't be able to find it."

As Du Jianshan spoke, he took out a short hunting knife from his waist, squatted down, dipped it in the ash by the fire, and smeared it on his face.

Tie Niu gritted his teeth, wiped his face like him, picked up his musket, and followed.

The woods were heavy with gloom; the wind rustled the branches, making it sound like someone was laughing softly in the treetops. The two walked one after the other, stepping lightly on the thick layer of fallen leaves.

They hadn't gone far when Du Jianshan suddenly reached out! "Stop."

Tie Niu immediately held his breath.

Du Jianshan bent down and used the tip of his knife to part a clump of grass. Beneath the grass, there was a pool of dark red blood, still warm from the blood not being completely dried.

“Hit, right rib.” Du Jianshan sniffed. “Strong gunpowder smell, looks like it was grazed by a lead bullet.”

Tie Niu leaned closer to take a look, his face contorting in pain: "This blood... why is it so black?"

“The beasts in the mountains eat too much raw meat, so their blood is black,” Du Jianshan said in a low voice. “Follow them and see which way they run.”

The two followed the trail of blood, venturing deeper and deeper into the darkness. The trees overhead grew denser, blocking out even the moonlight.

"Brother Du, why don't we go back first? I've heard this mountain is dangerous!"

"What did you hear?"

“A few years ago, Hunter Zhao died in this forest. Some people said he was attacked by a mandrill.”

"Nonsense." Du Jianshan sneered, "Even mandrills are afraid of fire. If such a thing really existed, it would have been scared away by our explosives long ago."

Tie Niu was about to say something when they suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the left front. The two of them immediately squatted down.

"There!" Tie Niu pointed to a fallen tree in front of them.

"Don't move." Du Jianshan drew his hunting knife and crouched down to approach.

The firelight cast shadows on the trees, revealing a massive, dark shadow huddled behind a fallen log. Its rapid breathing and low growls, accompanied by grinding teeth, could be heard.

"That's it!" Tie Niu gritted his teeth and picked up the musket.

Du Jianshan raised his hand to stop him: "Too close, it will cause a backlash."

"Then what should we do?"

"You go right, I'll go left. Don't make a sound."

The two parted ways. The night wind rustled the leaves, like someone whispering. Du Jianshan approached step by step, his eyes fixed on the shadow.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, the beast abruptly raised its head. Its two eyes gleamed with a scarlet light in the darkness.

"Attack!" Du Jianshan roared.

Two gunshots rang out almost simultaneously! In a flash, the beastly figure leaped into the air, roared, and pounced straight at Tie Niu!

Tie Niu was so frightened that he closed his eyes! "Bang!" He was knocked to the ground, and his musket was thrown out of his hand.