Chapter 190: Chapter 180: Sweeping the Mountain
It was the ninth day of the fourth month, the day of the mountain sweep.
The sky was just beginning to lighten as the disciples of the Water Mirror Department gathered on the training grounds, speaking in low voices.
"Senior Brother Liao, have you ever drawn blood?"
"Does killing two mutated beasts count?"
"Doesn’t count. Have you killed a person?"
"No, I haven’t..."
When Zhao Lin arrived, the disciples were discussing whether or not their hands had been bloodied.
Most had only ever killed mutated beasts. Only Guo Enze had killed a man—a fugitive—last year while visiting family and assisting a constable with a case.
Seeing Zhao Lin walk over, Zhang Xiaoshan inquired, "Junior Brother Zhao, have you ever killed anyone?"
Zhao Lin silently did the math. The number of bandits who had died by his hand was at least eighty, if not a hundred. The figure startled even him.
But bandits didn’t count as people, so he answered, "No, I haven’t killed a single ’person’."
"Me neither."
Zhang Xiaoshan sized up Zhao Lin, asking curiously, "Junior Brother Zhao, what’s that weapon you’re carrying? Why does it look like a fork?"
The disciples of the Wuxiang Institute all aimed for the Blood Realm and didn’t pay much attention to weapons practice. Most used common weapons like sabers, spears, swords, and staves.
Zhao Lin, with an iron ruler hanging at his waist and axes tucked on his left and right, looked particularly distinctive.
"This weapon is called an iron ruler. The parts on the sides are handguards. You can use it like a sword or a short staff."
Zhao Lin explained with a smile.
"I thought I’d seen it somewhere before. The city constables use them..."
As the two were talking, the Water Mirror Elder arrived at the training grounds, and the disciples instantly fell silent.
"Everyone’s here. Let’s move out."
The Water Mirror Elder confirmed everyone was present, then led the disciples down the mountain.
They traveled north, and after a little over an hour, they arrived at the foot of Yuanze Mountain.
Yuanze Mountain wasn’t high and had gentle slopes. It was shaped like an open fan, running from east to west, with a number of peaks of various sizes on its summit.
Zhao Lin glanced at the third peak from the east. ’I hope that strange fish is still alive,’ he thought. ’Mutated beasts that can discharge electricity aren’t easy to find.’
Only Wuxiang Institute disciples were participating in this mountain sweep; no outer courtyards were involved. The disciples from the five departments arrived one after another.
The Gold Stone Elder said calmly, "Once you enter the mountain, remember to hunt only mutated beasts and vicious beasts. Take their left ear as proof of your kill."
"Do not wantonly slaughter docile creatures like deer and goats."
With that, he waved his hand. "Go on. The sweep will last two days. You just need to be back by tomorrow afternoon."
This time, no one rushed up the mountain. They headed up in twos and threes.
"Junior Brother Zhao, want to team up?" Zhang Xiaoshan asked Zhao Lin.
"Sorry, but I prefer to work alone."
Zhao Lin politely refused.
He had more important business on this trip and couldn’t conveniently team up with others.
...
The mountain forest was quiet and secluded. The morning mist was just beginning to lift, and the crisp chirping of birds occasionally broke the silence.
Zhao Lin followed an animal trail through the undergrowth, moving lightly and quietly, examining the tracks on the ground as he went.
Animals in the mountains, big or small, would leave hoofprints or paw prints whenever they moved about.
An experienced Hunter could determine the animal’s species, sex, and whether it was leaving or returning to its lair based on the shape, size, and direction of the prints.
This skill was called "tracking," a must-have for any Hunter. Zhao Lin had learned some of its intricacies from Head Hunter Zhou Pao.
There was a proverb in tracking: "In spring, watch the soil; in summer, the grass; in autumn, the frost; in winter, the snow."
From the signs of soil being forcefully churned up, Zhao Lin deduced there was likely a wild boar or a Bristleboar nearby.
Sure enough, after walking a short distance, he saw a medium-sized "wild boar" under a large tree ahead. It was SNORTING as it turned over the soil, digging for roots.
Unlike a common wild boar, its tusks were longer, and the bristles on its back, each one standing on end, had a bluish-black sheen.
This was a Bristleboar in the middle of its mutation.
Ever since Primordial Qi had appeared in the world, martial artists could use it to cultivate. Animals, however, seemed to have an even greater natural advantage, with some of them spontaneously mutating into mutated beasts.
The boar before him was in the process of mutating. If it were to fully evolve, it could reach a weight of a thousand jin, just like the Bristleboar on Baitou Mountain.
"Stop digging. Come over here and die."
Zhao Lin called out, his voice not particularly loud.
Startled, the Bristleboar under the tree jerked its head up. A vicious gleam in its eyes, it stared at Zhao Lin. Instead of running, it lowered its head, pawed the ground a few times, and let out a low roar before charging.
Unhurried, Zhao Lin drew his iron ruler.
The Bristleboar’s reaction was just as he had expected.
There was a saying: first the boar, second the bear, third the tiger. This didn’t mean that a wild boar was more powerful than a tiger or a bear.
In truth, tigers are smart and know how to weigh risks. Unless they are exceptionally hungry, they will hide when they see a person.
As the other saying goes, a man’s fear of a tiger is nothing compared to a tiger’s fear of a man. This was the principle at play.
Bears weren’t particularly brave either; they would only attack when they felt threatened.
Only wild boars, with their thick tusks, foul tempers, and fearless hearts, were different.
No matter the animal, if it was provoked, a boar would always choose a head-on confrontation.
As the Bristleboar charged, Zhao Lin dodged nimbly to the side. His iron ruler swung down swiftly, striking the beast squarely on the spot just above the space between its eyes.
This was the Bristleboar’s weakest point. He had only used five percent of his strength.
BAM!
The Bristleboar lost consciousness instantly, sent tumbling four or five zhang away.
Zhao Lin took out a rope, tied the Bristleboar up securely, and shouldered it, continuing his search for the next target.
He didn’t head straight up the mountain to find the strange fish. Instead, he started by hunting.
He had once seen in a documentary that when Amazonian natives caught electric eels, they would first drive strong cattle or horses into the water to make the eels discharge their electricity at them.
Only after the eels had depleted their charge would they enter the water to catch the fish.
This was because while electric eels could release high-voltage shocks, they couldn’t do so continuously.
Zhao Lin planned to adopt the same strategy: first, he would capture some prey to be zapped by the strange fish.
The strange fish’s power was not to be underestimated. According to the notes, it had stunned a senior from the Xingyun Sect who was at the Third Layer of the Blood Realm with a single shock. A direct assault was far too dangerous.
Next, Zhao Lin caught two Armor-Keeping Beasts and one Iron Spike Lizard.
The Armor-Keeping Beast, also known as the "armored pig," resembled a large armadillo. The differences were its sharp claws, a rounder head, and light red scales covering its entire body.
Before their mutation, Armor-Keeping Beasts were docile, nocturnal animals that posed no threat to herb farmers. But after mutating, their temperament changed drastically. They preferred to be active during the day, and an ordinary person who encountered one might be attacked.
Because of the regular mountain sweeps, these mutated beasts were not very large, and Zhao Lin dealt with them easily.
Considering the strange fish probably wouldn’t discharge electricity at dead things, Zhao Lin beat the mutated beasts he caught half to death before tying them up. He then half-carried, half-dragged them toward the third peak from the east.
Along the way, he carefully avoided everyone else; otherwise, it would be difficult to explain what he was doing.
Zhao Lin circled the mountain, spiraling his way up, trying not to miss a single spot.
When he was about halfway up the mountain, the sound of water reached his ears.
He walked over to take a look and saw a pool of water about ten zhang wide. A mountain stream trickled into it.
The pool was a deep, dark green, and its bottom was not visible.
"This must be the place."
