The moon is above the treetops; the heaven and the earth are still. (T/N: 4-word expressions are popular in Chinese. I donât know if thereâs something deeper to it. They are way out of my league to translate.)
Chu Ye held onto a sturdy branch and made use of the moonlight to steadily walk on the forest path. Her six senses did not miss any abnormalities in the forest.
She was halfway through the forest but had only encountered 2 wolves, a fox, and 3 hares. Of course, none of these small wild animals had the ability to escape from Chu Yeâs clutches, especially the two wolves, whose deaths could only be considered as miserable.
âHelpâŚâ Suddenly, a cry for help faintly sounded ahead of her.
Chu Ye, who had been feeling bored, lightly perked her left ear. After picking up the prey she got from this path, she quickly ran towards the area where the voice came from.
Actually, in her heart, Chu Ye wasnât so willing to run with such heavy prey. However, even though Boling Yiliâs grandfather is the head of Lu Village, his family was quite poor. The matter was that they cannot help Boling Yili and her mother.
In their eyes, Lu Shi was a married-off daughter that cannot be retrieved. Now that she had been sent back to their home by her husbandâs clan, their household at the village had lost face. They had long regarded Lu Shi as a disgrace, and if they werenât afraid that the villagers would gossip, it was likely that Lu Shi would already be kicked out of her home.
How could those relatives be reliable?
This was why Chu Ye believed that people can only rely on themselves.
With these prey in her hand, she was convinced that she can exchange them for some money in case of emergencies.
While lost in thought, she reached the source of the sound. Then, the ever-so-calm Chu Ye suddenly disappeared.
Because she saw something that she hated to the bone⌠a tiger.
In the distance, a boy covered in mud looked stunned as he faced an adult âcloud-patterned tigerâ.
The cloud-patterned tiger seemed to have suffered many injuries. There was blood on many areas of its cloud-patterned snow-white fur. On the tigerâs back was a mystically twinkling silver ring of light, similar to a halo.
A first-grade magical beast? Chu Ye abruptly stopped in her tracks.
In the Autonomous Wizard Continent, for ordinary wizards, warriors, and even magical beasts, after they have successfully cultivated, a ring of light would appear behind their backs whenever they fight, with the number of rings signifying their rank.
Without a doubt, this cloud-patterned tiger with one ring of light was a first-grade magical beast.
Silver represented the wind system; red represented the fire system; blue represented the water system; brown represented the earth system.
This first-grade magical beast possessed a silvery-white halo, so to be more accurate, it was a first-grade wind-type magical beast.
âSave meâŚâ The boy eventually discovered Chu Yeâs arrival and his eyes brightened with hope.
The cloud-patterned tigerâs mouth was already wide open, ready to bite into the boyâs head.
The moment before her death in her previous life flashed in her mind, when the two tigers pounced toward 001.
âNo!â Chu Ye screamed in anger. She rolled from her spot and came to the young boyâs side. With a violent thrust, the branch in her hand was ruthlessly inserted into the throat of the tiger.
âWuâŚâ The tiger gave a mournful roar, going mad from the pain.
Chu Ye didnât retreat and took the boyâs twin daggers from his hands. Her petite body gracefully jumped onto the back of the tiger. And in the next second, the two daggers vanished as they were stabbed into the eyes of the tiger. Blood immediately spurted out.
âRaaaaawwwrâŚâ No living creature would be able to bear the bone-biting pain of having their eyes impaled. The cloud-patterned tiger went berserk.
Chu Ye jumped down from its back. She was only a few meters away from where it was violently thrashing, but its eyes were already blind. Even if the surrounding trees were destroyed, it would still not be able to find Chu Ye and the young boy.
Chu Ye singlehandedly supported the boyâs waist and helped him back away from the scope of the tigerâs violent attack.
At this time, the young boy was struck dumb. He blinked at Chu Ye.
He didnât expect such a beautiful young girl to be this fierce and vicious!
But she acted more viciously from the rear.
Chu Ye ignored the boyâs fearful gaze. She bent over to pick up a fist-sized stone on the ground, threw it at the dagger that was deep in the tigerâs left eye.
Followed by a sharp sound signifying something getting hit was the tigerâs miserable wailing.
This was because Chu Yeâs hidden weapon, the stone, hit the hilt of the dagger and caused it to go deeper into the cloud-patterned tigerâs eye, which was already lodged into its bone to some extent.
But the vitality of a magical beast couldnât be underestimated. Even though it received such a serious injury, the tiger still didnât die. However, it had no chance of escaping. The second, third, and fourth stone were thrown in succession, and each one accurately hit the same spot, the hilt of the dagger.
It was pitiful to see this cloud-patterned tiger, who had just been promoted to a magical beast, suffering like this. The rocks nailed the dagger deeper into its eye, causing it to further penetrate into its skull. In the end, it died from cerebral hemorrhage.
âCan you still walk?â Chu Ye indifferently looked towards the mud-streaked face of the young boy. Her composure made it seem like everything that took place a moment ago had nothing to do with her.
The boy distractedly shook his head before nodding. âI can walkâŚâ
âGood,â Chu Ye grunted. She picked up the game/prey that she previously collected and turned to leave.
âWait!â He couldnât help but call out.
âIs something the matter?â Chu Ye turned her head and coldly gazed at him. A terrifying aura could be felt from her.
âNo-nothingâŚâ He quickly waved his hands. He was at a loss on what to do and could only blankly stand in place, watching the girl walk farther and farther away until she couldnât be seen anymore.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the people in the village were used to waking up before sunrise and resting after sunset.
By the time Chu Ye returned to the Lu Village, most of the villagers had already closed for the day and gone to bed. Only a few small shops were still settling their accounts for the day. The faint candlelight swayed in the night wind.
Guided by her memories, Chu Ye came to the only meat shop in the village and startled the shop owner when she threw all the hunting game she had been carrying the whole time onto the ground.
âHow much money can be exchanged for this?â Chu Ye asked simply.
The shop owner was named Lu Wang. He had suntanned skin and a tall and robust body. Looking at the number of bloody animals on the floor, he asked with amazement, âSeventh little sister, how did all these prey come to you?â
Boling Yili was the Boling clanâs youngest Seventh Miss, which was why the villagers in Lu Village were accustomed to calling her seventh little sister.
âPicked them up,â Chu Ye dimly answered.
Boling Yili had lived in this village for 6 years. Although she usually didnât like to talk with people, all the villagers could recognize her, and they also knew her character. Donât even mention this big of a wolf, Boling Yili would previously not even dare to step on a tiny ant.
This was why she lied so as not to draw unnecessary suspicion.
Lu Wang didnât believe her. He peered into the girlâs eyes and felt that she wasnât the same as before, but as to how she was different, he couldnât tell. For the moment, he didnât dare to ask more. He respectfully gave Chu Ye 30 copper coins.
[1] Originally indicated the tinkling sound of a bell⌠but why? It doesnât fit in English so I changed it.