Chapter 22: Strange Ability

The corpse of the wolf crashed at Xin, Xin crashed into a tree; both trembled, the boy made a heavy gasp and fell to the ground.

Hairy grey head, its mouth open, bleeding, drooling and swallowing the sabre, with eyes rolled and white was uncomfortably close to him.

Everything went a bit wrong. With his experience at how fast a wolf can be Xin swung the sabre, with all his remaining might, a bit early.

Too early, it didn't crash at the head vertically how he was planning; instead, the beast impaled itself on it with the force of its ran.

Maybe it was luck, he thought now, still gasping. It would've been harder to crush the skull his way.

The kid put his leg on the wolf's head, grasped the sabre tighter and hit the beast hard. Its body fell to the side, and a reddish and wet sabre, with some liquids dripping from it, mostly the brain mush, shined in the sun.

Xin's eye turned to the wolf: It was still twitching, especially the right head. After death reaction, probably. The brain was in the middle one…

At some point, Ying Zheng appeared before the boy with an unusually annoying grin on his face.

"Not so bad, kid. But be more careful next time, forest fires are bad for nature."

Xin was too tired to pay him attention; he stood up, supporting himself with the sabre, and looked at the shaking animal. The tip of the sabre touched the neck of the remaining head, Xin bent down slightly and it went through. Blood splashed out. It was easy, like cutting an orange.

Nevertheless, he could feel the bones and veins: they were like slight vibrations that passed through his hands to the body and finally the mind.

Then the blade went into the earth. The wolf stopped struggling; the last light flashed in its eyes.

Xin felt a strange hole in his chest, like he stepped over something, made some mistake and there was no turn back now. Why did he… did it just now? It was obvious: he was just finishing it. It was already dead. Yet it wasn't what he was thinking while cutting. He wasn't thinking at all at that moment.

The boy looked around, his gaze lost as if searching for something. He met the eye of Ying Zheng. The smile has vanished from his face.

"Come on." He said lifting the wolf and putting it on his shoulders.

"Let's get going, the girl probably woke by now." And so he walked and Wei Xin made several steps after him, dragging his sabre on the ground. Then he stopped and wiped his face with his hands, now red and sticky. After that, he ran to catch up.

…

Along the way, when they were nearing the camp, Xin started touching passing trees and leaves and even sat down once to wipe his hands from the blood. For some reason, he was trying to do it so Ying Zheng won't see. The sun was slowly falling; finally, they saw two piercing golden lights staring at them. Xin shivered, Yin Zheng went on with a smile.

"Why have you locked me?" Asked Maha in a hoarse voice.

"Very sorry. I don't know any "external defense only" formations. Had to use the "Cage". Anyway, here you go." He touched the circle of light and the shroud covering the girl dissipated.

"Good." She stood up and looked at the wolf's carcass already lying to the side, then at the red stains on Xin's martial robe.

"What were you doing?" She asked while frowning.

"Hunting. You know, for food. We can't eat sunlight like you." Answered Ying Zheng.

"I see." She said and then added:

"Sometimes I forget that you are an animal."

"Is that a compliment?" With his forefinger shining Ying Zheng drew a new formation.

It was the same that he did the previous night, also the one that Xin used. Only a bit bigger and with several lines different.

"We've wasted a bit more time then I hoped, so we'll spend the night here."

The girl sat down closer to the formation and looked at the sky; Xin did too. The moon was gliding over the bleak-golden sky.

"Hey, kid. Want to learn flaying?"

Xin suddenly felt tired. His body felt heavy, his meridians were dry, and in general, he really didn't want to do anything now. Still, the boy looked at the stinking wolf and at Ying Zheng who playing with a knife in his hand.

He must see it, he thought and walked to the beast. Then sat, or rather crashed to the ground. Painful. Should he even be sitting or is it done while standing? No matter.

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The boy opened his eyes wide, staring at the beast, feeling the scent of blood.

Then he noticed a strange silence. Ying Zheng wasn't talking, just observing him.

"I've changed my mind. Go rest, I'll do it."

Xin was surprised; Ying Zheng sounded unusually calm, even serious.

"Go, go." He waved his hand.

Xin, feeling relieved but unwilling to admit it went back to the formation. He crossed his legs and started restoring his Qi.

It wasn't the best possible move, actually. In case of fatigue, it is better to rest before cultivating. However, Xin was a special case.

The Qi started surging from his Spirit Root. It felt like a cold water. The soreness was slowly washing off. It was some kind of ability of his body, but he wasn't sure what was the reason for it. He's read many manuals to clarify, but he found only similar cases, no same.

Well, whatever. It was good, right? Soon he was absorbed into that pleasure.

His Meridian System was slowly filling with Qi. One fourth, one half...

When he was almost full, he suddenly felt some fragrance. His mouth watered immediately and he felt like someone punched his stomach from inside. Right, he still hasn't eaten anything. The boy opened his eyes.

The formation was much brighter now. Wait, no, it just got dark while he was cultivating. He hasn't even noticed how much time has passed. On the glowing formation, there was a large pan full of meat with a generous amount of seasoning.

"Almost ready, give it five minutes." Said Ying Zheng that was sitting to the side. Xin started searching for the girl with his eyes. He found her a bit farther, in the woods, almost indiscernible in the shadow with her eyes closed.

Ying Zheng said just five minutes. Didn't sound like much, but when you count, it's quite long. And Xin did count. At last, when the large piece torned under his teeth he tasted a truly great meal. Strong blood flavor, something special to Spirit Beasts, reminded him of home. One of the seasonings was also the same. He suddenly felt nostalgia. It made him eat a bit slower, but not too much.

"I've added as many seasonings as I could but wolves are natural stiff." Said Ying Zheng, lowering his plate after eating only a half of it.

Xin tried eating more carefully. Yes, it was stiff. Still, everything goes well with hunger. It took him twenty minutes to finish his portion and two more. Then he felt full. He looked at Ying Zheng, who has been silent all that time and started waiting for him to speak. It was obvious that he wanted to say something. It was also the second reason why Xin was eating so slowly.

"So." Said Ying Zheng, staring straight into his eyes.

"Have you noticed?"

"What?" Asked Xin quietly. Wait, does he need to be quiet?

"Sky Deer, the wolf's prey."

Xin remembered it, but not well. Blue horns, right… The sign of a Sky Deer. Generally harmless animal.

"Something wrong?"

"Well, first of all, it was young. Very young. They born large but this one's horns were dark-blue. They get lighter with time so that one was just a child. Now the question is, how did it got separated from its family?"

Xin thought about the whole situation. Yes, it was strange. He tried to answer the question:

"Maybe the wolf scared them? Sky Dears are harmless creatures, right?"

"There's some truth in what you're saying. But you still wrong."

Was that a good or bad evaluation? Xin wasn't sure.

"Yes, they are harmless. But they are also selfless. Sky Dears have deep family bonds, the mother will rather sacrifice itself than abandon its child. But there was no other deer around. And remember, Three-Headed Wolves are solitary creatures, they don't hunt in packs."

"Then…" Xin thought for a bit.

"They were killed by someone else?"

He came to the only logical conclusion.

"Bingo." Ying Zheng snapped his fingers.

"I've checked the carcass of that deer. The wolf killed it, but before that, someone else had injured it. And what is the most important: apart from the injuries it was also poised."

"Poised?" Xin suddenly remembered something. Poisoned... poisoned... just like…