Not long after entering the forest, Qian Youxue and her group saw corpses scattered everywhere, some barely recognizable as human. However, upon closer inspection, they realized these were the work of swords and blades; there were no signs of being torn apart by spirit beasts.
Mei'er had been living in the Qian family mansion all along, and this was the first time she had ever seen such a bloody scene. Her face turned deathly pale.
Yun He and Qian Youxue, unfazed by the situation, both sensed something was amiss. Even if they encountered hunters, they would at most steal their spoils, not be this ruthless. There were no signs of beast bites on their bodies, indicating it was all done by humans.
Yunhe went forward to examine a relatively intact corpse. Judging from the things left behind, the person was a bounty hunter.
Bounty hunters are paid to find elixirs, magical medicines, or even more exotic items for their clients. The higher the bounty, the higher the requirements for the bounty hunter. Bounty hunters are divided into six ranks, from lowest to highest. The one lying on the ground has only one star on his wrist badge, indicating he is the lowest rank.
"Where do these bounty hunters work?" Qian Youxue had heard of bounty hunters before and asked Yun He curiously.
Yunhe thought for a moment and said calmly, "Most of the bounty hunters in Wucheng come from the auction house. Besides auctioning elixirs and medicines, the auction house also offers these kinds of missions, but they are all relatively ordinary missions. If they have higher-level needs, they will go to the Hundred Sparrow Pavilion. The pavilion master is a mysterious figure, and the orders placed there are for missions where the true identity cannot be revealed."
Hundred Sparrow Pavilion!
Qian Youxue scratched her ear, thinking she'd heard Wu Xie mention this name before. "Could these be things that hunters are fighting over?"
"That's probably true, but the methods are a bit too cruel. Master, we need to be careful." Yunhe had often seen things like this before; there were many ruthless monsters among the bounty hunters.
Mei'er and Qian Youxue nodded in understanding. The group continued walking into the woods for about half an hour when they heard a strange bird call and stopped in their tracks.
Qian Youxue clearly remembered hearing this sound when she encountered the Ghost Ox that night; she never expected that this thing would come out in broad daylight.
Cluck cluck...cluck cluck cluck...
As the birdsong grew clearer, a small black eagle flew overhead and perched on a large tree not far from them. Its sharp eyes were fixed on them, as if waiting for a sumptuous feast.
"How can there be a black eagle in broad daylight?" Yunhe looked at the black eagle with a puzzled expression, his eyes filled with a frightening intensity.
wrong!
This is not the one we encountered that night; this one is clearly much smaller.
Qian Yingxue looked at it carefully, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Do you think anyone would tame one and keep it by their side?"
Upon hearing his master's words, Yunhe suddenly realized: "Yes, these were deliberately trained by someone, we..."
Before they could finish speaking, the surrounding bushes rustled, and several burly men appeared before them. The leader was a one-eyed man who held a large knife.
Seeing that they were three beautiful women, he looked them up and down with a disgusted gaze: "Oh, three pretty little heiresses, brothers, you're in luck today. It's been a long time since I've tasted a woman. Be careful when you make your move, don't break them."
Hehehe...
The people behind him burst into laughter, leering at the three women in front of them who looked like little lambs.
Mei'er nervously swallowed, while Yunhe cautiously looked around to avoid being ambushed. Qian Youxue saw the group, adjusted her mask, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"Make your move!" The one-eyed man, who had been grinning just moments before, suddenly changed his expression.
Upon hearing the order, they all swarmed around. Qian Youxue, who had originally intended to summon the Yin-Yang Sword, had a new idea. Since they were out for training, she should first test her true strength; this would greatly help her improve.
"Sister Mei'er, don't be distracted." Yunhe called out worriedly as she engaged one of them in combat. After a few moves, she realized that the opponent's cultivation level was not high, and within two moves, she had knocked the person to the ground.
After hearing this, Mei focused on dealing with the two people who pounced on her, and managed to handle them with a little effort.
Qian Youxue, on the other hand, was fighting the one-eyed man with her bare hands. The one-eyed man's knife was very fast. At first, he was still playing around, but when he saw his brothers being beaten down one by one, his eyes became more murderous, and his knife was no longer as merciful as before, with every strike aimed at vital points.
Qian Youxue remained calm and collected, quickly identifying the flaw in the One-Eyed Dragon's attack. With a single palm strike, she sent him flying several meters. The One-Eyed Dragon's body crashed into a large tree before sliding to the ground.
"Heroine, spare us! Heroine, spare us!" The burly men, who had been so smug, all knelt on the ground begging for mercy.
Yunhe didn't think it was a good thing that they could take down these guys so easily; it seemed unlikely that these rookies could rob a bounty hunter.
So Yunhe grabbed a burly man by the clothes and asked, "Tell me, where are your accomplices?"
"In, in that..." The big man stammered, unable to finish his sentence, before being glared at by another man next to him and shut his mouth.
thump!
Qian Youxue kicked him from behind, and the person she was signaling to immediately lie on the ground and start eating dirt.
“If you won’t talk, then we’ll use you as bait to capture spirit beasts for us,” Mei’er said from the side.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qian Youxue realized something was wrong. She turned around sharply, but the black eagle that had landed on the tree was gone. Then, she sensed an unusual aura: "Be careful, a spirit beast is really coming."
"Heh... Scared now? Release us now, or our king will make you suffer a terrible death." The one who was eating dirt wiped the dirt from the corner of his mouth and suddenly became proud.
snort!
Qian Youxue raised her head aloofly, and several silver needles flew out of her hand, striking several burly men. The men, finding themselves unable to move, showed expressions of terror on their faces.
Yunhe glanced at his master, then knowingly pulled up the dazed One-Eyed Dragon and leaped onto a large tree. Once up in the tree, the One-Eyed Dragon's mind cleared considerably.
Sensing the approach of the spirit beasts, Qian Youxue and Mei'er found a large tree and jumped up. A short while later, several hungry wind wolves appeared, and upon seeing the living creatures before them, they pounced on them.
ah……
The tearing roar shook the forest. These wind wolves had probably not eaten for days, and in no time, the carcass was completely devoured.
The one-eyed man nearly popped his other eyeball out, trembling as he watched the scene unfold, terrified that the girl would throw him down.
Coo coo... coo coo...
A hawk's cry pierced the sky, and the well-fed wind wolf, as if receiving a command, turned and galloped back the way it came, disappearing into the forest with practiced ease.
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