The mountain wind was cold. WHOOSH~ Chen Ku took a deep breath, making a decision. His sense of smell was so keen he could tell that the person who had fought the sixteen wolves was dead, and those dozen or so wolves also seemed to have been mostly killed. SNIFF~ He sniffed again, ensuring no other scent remained.
Finally, he made up his mind to go and take a look.
It was only three miles away.
Chen Ku arrived at a dense forest below a hillside, near a small stream. On the far bank of the stream, unmistakable bloodstains covered the ground. He observed carefully from a distance, seeing the bodies of a dozen wolves. Some had their backs broken, others their muzzles snapped or legs shattered, and still others bore knife wounds. HOWL~ He heard the cries of wolves whose bodies were twisted into unbelievable shapes—their mournful, tragic whimpers.
Yet, even so, these beasts were still struggling. He was shocked, a chill running down his scalp.
This must be the difference between humans and beasts, then. A person with such severe injuries, facing certain death, would give up if they lost their will, just waiting to die. A beast, however, simply doesn't overthink; it fights tenaciously for survival out of instinct.
Chen Ku recalled some news from his previous life. Stray cats and dogs, guts spilling out, would still persist in drinking water. Even if the water just flowed out of their stomachs, they still clung to life.
He watched from the opposite bank of the stream for a long time, reassuring himself that his sense of smell was not mistaken. Even if some wolves weren't quite dead, they posed no threat to him; they could only whimper softly, lying there struggling. And the person was no longer breathing.
Gathering his courage, Chen Ku clutched his sickle and walked over.
Once he crossed the stream, characters suddenly appeared from the Transformation Diagram, making him instinctively tense up and look around.
["The Diagram Master has encountered Chong Sha from wild wolves, which intend to harm the Master. Suppress and kill them to obtain their Evil Qi."]
But he quickly realized it wasn't because more wild wolves were hidden nearby. It was... AOW!
Chen Ku locked eyes with a wild wolf four or five meters away. Its belly was slashed open, intestines spilling out, and its front leg was broken. It was a wolf close to death but not yet dead. Its eyes were ferocious. Despite its grievous injuries, it still bared its bloodied canine teeth, fixing Chen Ku with a terrifying gaze, as if choosing someone to devour!
Chen Ku stared back.
"AOW..." the wild wolf let out a weak growl.
After a moment of silence, Chen Ku wasted no words. He raised his sickle and stepped forward, striking at the wolf's neck. A fatal blow, sending it on its way.
Soon after, a wispy, grey-white shadow of the wild wolf emerged from its body and entered Chen Ku's forehead between his brows.
["Diagram Master has slain a wild wolf, obtaining a strand of 'Wild Beast Level' wolf Evil Qi."]
AOW!!
The other wolves, not yet completely dead, saw Chen Ku's swift action. They either lay on the ground or struggled to stand, their eyes glinting with a wild, beastly desire to attack. But dealing with these wolves, who had only a few breaths left, was easy for Chen Ku. He finished them off with one sickle stroke after another.
["Diagram Master has slain a wild wolf, obtaining a strand of 'Wild Beast Level' wolf Evil Qi."]...
A total of seven gasping wolves were easily dispatched by his sickle.
Turning his attention back to the Transformation Diagram in his mind, Chen Ku was delighted. There's such good fortune... He saw the seven strands of Evil Qi coiling beneath the Transformation Diagram.
["Diagram Master: Chen Ku"]
["Awakened Diagrams: 1"]
["Possible Transformations: 1 (Skinny Dog Evil Qi) 7 (Wild Wolf Evil Qi)"]
[Should I cultivate the Wild Wolf Transformation?]
(Note: Cultivating the Wild Wolf Transformation will cause it to replace the Skinny Dog Transformation within the First Transformation Chart.)
Chen Ku pondered. The differences in habits and innate strength between dogs and wolves aren't significant. Growing a "wolf nose" seems unnecessary, especially since the Skinny Dog's sense of smell far surpasses that of ordinary canines, possibly due to a demon bloodline. These wolves look like common wild wolves. Perhaps...
He shifted his gaze to the Skinny Dog Transformation.
[First Transformation · Skinny Dog Transformation]
[Current State: Shape Shifting]
[Already Shape Shifted: Nose (Sufficient Evil Qi, can continue Shape Shifting)]
[Needs nine more strands of same-level Evil Qi to achieve the "Shape-Shifted State"]
[Needs thirty-six more strands of same-level Evil Qi to achieve the "Transformed State"]
Now that he had seven more strands of Evil Qi, he could push the level of the Skinny Dog Transformation a bit higher. However, this is the wilderness, and the transformation process is extremely painful. It's better to wait until I get back home to continue.
At this moment, Chen Ku looked at the wild wolves he had dispatched and couldn't help but cast his gaze toward the dead man. I was merely finishing them off. Killing these nearly breathless wild wolves took no real effort. It was all because this man fought sixteen wild wolves alone... What kind of person could do that?
Chen Ku had already guessed his identity: a Martial Artist. Only someone who practiced martial arts could possess such ability.
He stood three or four zhang away from the dead man, sickle in hand, and advanced cautiously. He had already seen it clearly and smelled it too. The man was long out of breath. Chunks of flesh had been torn from his legs and arms, revealing bones and tendons. He lay there, his left arm jammed into a wolf's mouth, impaling it. Half of his arm was still entangled with the dead wolf. But Chen Ku still remained very careful as he approached. After seven or eight steps, once Chen Ku saw that the dead man's neck and throat had been bitten through, only then did he feel reassured and came to stand before the corpse.
He looked down at the man. Bitten to death by a pack of wolves, his death was tragic and his face beyond recognition. However, he wasn't wearing the short garments of the common folk but a long robe. A basket was on his back, and a wood-cutting knife lay nearby.
Was he also here to gather herbal medicines? Chen Ku first reached for the basket to look inside. This is... Inside the basket lay a few herbal medicines, quietly resting. No Treasure Herbs. Clearly, for a Martial Artist without a Dog Nose like mine, Treasure Herbs aren't something one can just find and pick.
However, among the few herbal medicines in the basket, Chen Ku noticed one in particular... Soul Lost Grass. Chen Ku was slightly startled. This isn't an herbal medicine; it's poison. Master Li had told him about many herbal medicines and poisons in the mountains, so he recognized it at a glance.
This Poisonous Herb is said to grow on graves. If eaten by mistake, it can cause hallucinations and fainting. I've heard that people of the lower echelons in Jianghu often grind it to make 'Drugs,' though it's non-lethal. It's said to affect animals too, so some hunters like to use it as bait, sprinkling it on meat to catch precious game. This Poisonous Herb might be useful later.
Chen Ku placed it back into his own basket. Then, he hesitated for a moment before crouching down and reaching into the dead man's robes, checking his sleeves and chest.
Sure enough, there was something. Inside the sleeve was a purse containing Small Change of Silver worth two or three Money, which was equivalent to more than two hundred Wen Money. There was also something in his chest: a small, yellowed booklet, dog-eared and wrinkled from being flipped through constantly. It was clearly carried on his person and read often to end up like this.
Although Chen Ku's predecessor hadn't attended a private school, the family owned a few books before his brother Chen Xin got into trouble, so he could recognize some simple characters. The characters on the yellowed booklet clearly read: [Ten-Section Brocade Thousand Catties Great Strength Technique].
Chen Ku's heart beat a little faster. Is this... a Martial Arts Manual?