Chapter 17: Into The Forest Part 5

Luo Ling instinctively reached for his back, brushing a few digits along the outline of the dagger tucked away under his shirt.

“May I know what you are implying, Lord Ping?” He inquired.

The lord smiled, ignoring Luo Ling’s obvious uneasiness.

“Beasts that are about to demonize have impeccable sense towards dangers. We’ll never find it if search blindly.” Lord Ping said. “But a beast yet to complete its demonization lacks adequate intelligence and is highly susceptible to traps.”

The cultivator paused and rummaged into his sleeves.

“As a hunter, you should know how to catch prey, right?” He chuckled much to Luo Ling’s annoyance.

“I am just a weak mortal. I’ll die.” Luo Ling said, spreading his hands wide. His eyes narrowed.

Before fully understanding the maneater, he had confidently assumed he could escape if he ever encountered it in the wild. Now, he was having second thoughts.

The strength of a 2nd-rate martial warrior might just be not enough to ensure his safety against this scourge. With Penetration and Weakness working in tandem, he might be able to kill the beast, but would it really stand still and let him use all his abilities?

Going by Lord Ping’s description, the beast sounds like it could rival a martial master. Aside from his attack power, Luo Ling was grossly outclassed in every other aspect.

Since it was a matter of life and death, he was not ashamed to admit his weakness.

“You are rather calm for someone talking about death,” Lord Ping quirked an eyebrow. “Are all nine-year-olds in your village like you?”

Luo Ling shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe… I don’t know.” He spoke. “I don’t interact much with kids of my age.”

It was difficult for Luo Ling to show fear or any other extreme emotions on his face. His memories of past life would not allow that. Being a top martial artist in Murim, not to mention losing his life to a heart-wrenching betrayal, Luo Ling had experienced too much.

The experience of despair when losing oneself in an all-consuming void while death approaches could make anyone develop a trauma. If given a chance at a second life, many would coop up in the safety of their comfort zones, never to leave again.

But Luo Ling was not like them. If he was, he’d not have made regular runs into the Hundred Beast Forest for the past six months.

He was a warrior. He was raised to face his fears and surpass them.

“You are an interesting kid, Luo Ling.” Lord Ping laughed softly.

Off to his side, Li Hong was watching the tirade with interest. Either due to his uninterest or due to his respect for the man, he had not interjected ever since the middle-aged cultivator started talking.

“Take this,” the cultivator threw something, and instinctively Luo Ling caught it between his index and middle fingers.

“This is?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Luo Ling questioned, eying the yellow paper stuck between his digits. Red squiggly lines outlined the parchment and a character for “Shield” was drawn in the middle with beautiful strokes.

“Hong, help your little friend.” Lord Ping instructed and turned his back towards them.

“Yes, master.” Li Hong said with a bow.

He whipped his head at Luo Ling and pointed a finger at the yellow paper.

“What you holding is called a Talisman. Talismans are a product of Array Studies… err,” Li Hong stopped himself from going into a long-winded rant about arrays after noticing Luo Ling’s clueless face. He cleared his throat and rephrased his wording. “All you need to know is that by slapping that paper on your body, you can create an invisible shield capable of enduring an all-out hit from a Foundation Establishment beginner.”

“Are you serious?” Luo Ling exclaimed. “This flimsy paper can block an attack from someone in Foundation Establishment?”

He eyed the talisman with a mix of surprise and disbelief.

“Unbelievable.”

From Li Hong, he obtained a detailed analysis of various stages in cultivation. Foundation Establishment had six sub-stages and were grouped into three parts— Early, Mid, and Peak. If their strength were to be compared with martial artists of Murim, Luo Ling was sure they could easily match Martial Grandmasters in raw power alone.

Now he was being told that a piece of paper could protect him from an all-out attack by a Martial Grandmaster! It was no wonder he found it hard to believe.

“Slap it on your chest and let me hit you. You will then know if it’s true or not.” Li Hong grinned, displaying his rows of pearl-white teeth.

Luo Ling took his words with a pinch of salt. Still, he did as was told.

When the piece of paper came in contact with the skin of his left hand, it caught fire out of nowhere and burned to ash before Luo Ling could even register the heat. He threw that hand anxiously purely out of instinct. But even after several seconds, no pain was felt.

“Wha-”

Li Hong’s peals of laughter reminded the transmigrator he was not alone. Although he felt embarrassed, he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he stretched his left hand at the youth.

“Is that it?” He asked. From the youth’s description, he thought he would feel empowered after activating the Talisman. But he felt no different from before. Was he being duped?

“Well,” Li Hong’s smirk raised a few warning flags in Luo Ling’s head.

He took a step at the transmigrator and rushed at him with his right hand raised, ready to throw a hook.

Luo Ling saw the incoming fist and already found a way to dodge it. But his body was too slow to obey his brain’s commands. He had not expected the chatterbox youth to have such capabilities.

Li Hong’s fist came closer to his face and Luo Ling braced himself to endure the impact. There was no time to put up a defense.

However, just when those knuckles were a few inches from making contact with his poor face, something astonishing happened. Li Hong’s fist froze in its place as if something was blocking it. Countless ripples spread out in midair with his fist as the epicenter, undulating like a surface of water disturbed by a pebble.

“See?” The youth snickered. “Even with my peak Prenatal stage cultivation, I could barely ripple the barrier. You should trust my master.”

“Okay, that’s enough talking.” Lord Ping interjected. “Luo Ling, since you’ve already used the talisman, we should hurry. Its effects will only last for an hour. We have to capture the beast before that.”

With his protection guaranteed, Luo Ling had no reason to refuse. Besides, Lord Ping had also promised to double his rewards after they succeeded in killing their prey.

And even if he wanted to refuse, he had already used the talisman. There was no going back.

“Understood.” Luo Ling inhaled a deep breath and a sharp glint appeared on his eyes. “What should I do?”

“Take this,” Lord Ping handed the transmigrator a black pellet the size of a praying bead. “When I say, crush the pellet and smear the substance anywhere on your skin.”

“What does this do?” Luo Ling asked, eyeing the pellet that bore a stark resemblance to goat poop. He scrunched up his face at the thought of letting it touch his body.

“Looks like goat poop, does it not?” Li Hong leans over and whispers, his words were meant for only his ears.

“Scram!” Lord Ping flicked at the youth’s forehead and sent him flying out of the clearing. The poor boy crashed into the bushes, his groans of pain and discomfort barely reaching Luo Ling’s ears.

“That’s a product popular with professional hunters who hunt demons.” Lord Ping explained. “It will enhance the scent of the bait. By smearing on your skin, your human scent will be magnified countless times. Even if it had some rudimentary intelligence, the beast would be unable to hold itself back from rushing here.”

Luo Ling nodded his head. He understood the plan.

“Great.” The middle-aged man nodded his head. “Now count up to ten and crush it.”

“Understood.” Luo Ling braced himself. Danger and rewards go hand in hand. Unless he was willing to take risks, his opportunity would never come.