One Cat, Two Ways

"There shouldn't be any more trouble," Rossi said. Seeing Wu Youren clustered together with the others didn't strike him as odd in the least. "We should be able to get a good night's sleep today. Why don't you sense things out?" The Jin youth gave a slight nod. "No pressure. That should be all." The female knight looked grave, however. "We slew an avatar Guizu outside just now. No one let down your guard." That creature's actual strength didn't match either hers or Rossi's, but it could manifest multiple avatars. Under normal circumstances, driving off this avatar Guizu would have satisfied the two of them. However, wiping out all its avatars carried a strong chance of unexpected yields—much higher than killing other types of Guizu. That was why the two had cooperated, ultimately executing and eradicating this Guizu completely. It wasn't surprising that an avatar Guizu could influence and control so many leopard cats. Yet what the female knight was thinking was: this Guizu had likely tracked them all the way from Suotu, clearly nursing an old grudge. In that case, if one could pursue them, why couldn't there be a second? She had heard the youth's words as well. It wasn't that she distrusted him, only that at a time like this, staying more alert never hurt. In other words, after their brief cooperation, a difference in perspective emerged once more between the two groups. Still, this did not affect the bigger picture. Everyone's main focus remained on staying vigilant and trying to make it through the night first. Next, the two knights also heard that the large leopard cat had nearly transformed into a Guizu. Ordinarily, this was nothing new; at most, it proved that Wu Youren's perception was truly astounding and his strength was decent. Yet after listening, both knights grew rather grim, and the female knight stated that the situation in Suotu had truly blown up. She belonged to the Intelligence Bureau and had wider access to information than ordinary knights. The Guizu that had pursued them from the town not only traveled this far and controlled packs of leopard cats, but could even induce Guizu transformation... Add to that the two martial academy squads already lost in Suotu, and the heavy casualties suffered by her own team. This matter would not be resolved easily. Fortunately, the Intelligence Bureau possessed vast amounts of Guizu intelligence. Bad as the present situation seemed, when viewed across the whole of Great Liang, it was not that extraordinary. After that, the carcasses of leopard cats scattered everywhere gave off a pungent stench of blood, attracting some nocturnal carnivores. Most of the beasts that arrived were small, but there was also a python, and besides that... remarkably, even an owl! Some small animals posed little threat, yet they would trip the alarms, leaving everyone unable to get proper rest for the rest of the night. Finally enduring until dawn, Rossi began taking inventory of the leopard cats slain the day before. He possessed an ability that could roughly determine whether any Guizu aura lingered in the killed beasts. Although these leopard cats had once been controlled by Guizu aura, for Guizu aura to linger in their carcasses required a process of corrosion. At the end of the day, as carnivorous beasts, leopard cats had quite vigorous blood-qi; burning them all to cinders would be a real waste. Furthermore, while owl meat was rather unpalatable, python meat didn't taste bad at all. As Rossi picked through the pile, the female knight was doing the same—during the second half of the night, they had also slaughtered some small animals. She even made a request, hoping Rossi would sell her the corpses of the leopard cats tainted by Guizu aura. The Intelligence Bureau had techniques for handling these pieces, and crucially, they could use them for various experiments. The price, however, was vastly reduced. For instance, for the large leopard cat Wu Youren had killed, she was only willing to offer five silver dollars. If this leopard cat hadn't been tainted by Guizu aura, it could have fetched at least twenty silver dollars. Once tainted, the price was cut in half. Add to that the fact that she had delivered the final strike to finish it off on the spot, so half off of half off made it five silver dollars. From this battle, aside from netting some food, Rossi could pocket at least fifty silver dollars. Regrettably, the avatar Guizu he and the female knight had joined hands to slay yielded no good loot. Wu Youren took no part in clearing the battlefield, keeping to himself and cultivating. The female knight couldn't help asking, "Does this kid always train this desperately?" "Naturally," Rossi replied without hesitation. "Those from Red Pine Martial Academy are always like this." "Hmph, as if our outfit doesn't have anyone from Red Pine Martial Academy," the female knight scoffed dismissively. "Among the eight intermediate martial academies, your Red Pine barely counts as mid-tier." "His combat strength isn't fake, at any rate." Rossi held Wu Youren's combat capabilities in high regard. "I'll grant you that much," the female knight nodded, glancing at the youth again. "The main thing is... he's also rather sneaky!" In truth, Wu Youren had reaped such massive gains that he had no choice but to continually circulate his internal breath or hold standing stakes to practice his fist techniques. That large leopard cat had granted him a twofold harvest—eating one cat two ways. Although this trip out had been quite perilous, the gains were rock-solid. Money aside, those experience points alone were worth at least half a year of bitter cultivation! Mainly, he lacked a status panel and didn't know whether these experience points could be stored permanently, so digesting them as quickly as possible was best. If failing to absorb them in time caused them to dissipate, that would be a terrible shame. Once broad daylight broke, Rossi lit a fire and began preparing breakfast. What he and Little Wu carried were portable dry rations, which could easily be munched on raw without fuss. Still, since conditions permitted, wasn't a hot meal with some broth far more inviting? Unlike the two of them, the female knight's group had an off-road vehicle and had brought self-heating meals, which were clearly on an entirely different level. She even extended an invitation to both of them: "Come, try some of our food?" "Had it before, nothing special," Rossi replied. "Little Wu, want to go try some?" "No," Wu Youren uttered just two words, sitting obediently beside Rossi—he was a person of firm stance, after all. The boy was named "Little Wu"? The female knight had finally gleaned a little something. Yet to her, this really didn't matter. She was currently very busy, mainly coordinating matters concerning Suotu. Once she had free time, a casual inquiry would reveal everything about the youth. Just as she had said earlier, the Intelligence Bureau had colleagues from Red Pine. Before breakfast was even finished, her smartwatch buzzed again—her superior was contacting her once more. By noon, two more members of the female knight's team departed on a motorcycle to continue assisting the reinforcement team's investigation. After lunch, Rossi asked Wu Youren how many more days he planned to stay. Only now did the three remaining members of the female knight's party realize that between the two travelers, the youth's opinion took precedence! Wu Youren really disliked being in the limelight like this, but there was nothing he could do; he couldn't control Rossi. In any case, once they returned, an investigation by either party would expose him completely, so there was no point fretting over it. He stated that they could stay at most three more days, and if nothing new developed, they could head back. Rossi felt a tinge of regret. He felt they could easily have stayed several more days, as he hadn't earned enough from this excursion yet. It certainly wasn't a loss, but he hadn't made much either. The motorcycle, ammunition, blood-qi supplements—which of those didn't cost money? Yet he couldn't say this to Little Wu. For a dignified knight to urge an apprentice knight to stay—if word got out, what would people think of him?