Chương 12: A Small Test of Skill, Eradicating the Wolves

Deep within the Great Ridge Mountains. Uncle and nephew, Li Tie and Song Que, were surrounded by a wolf pack. His eyes coldly fixed on the ground ahead, Song Que reached into his shirt, pretending to grab something. In reality, he retrieved a few fist-sized stones from his Storage Space. Aiming directly at the loudest, closest beasts, he hurled them with all his might. After such a long period of continuous strengthening, just what kind of power did Song Que possess now?

The stones shot out like cannonballs, carrying terrifying kinetic energy as they hurtled toward the wolf pack. The distance was only about ten meters. With a few sickening thuds and whimpering yelps, two wolves howled miserably and scrambled backward. An unlucky third was struck squarely on the head. It only had time to let out a weak whimper before collapsing to the dirt, blood continuously leaking from its mouth, ears, and eyes. One look was enough to tell it wouldn't survive the day.

Following a long howl from their leader, the wolf pack hastily retreated, hiding securely behind the tree trunks. Nearby, Li Tie's eyes were as wide as saucers. What kind of freakish strength is this? You can throw stones like that?! Why didn't I know about this over the past few years? He hurriedly pressed for answers:"A'niu, how did you do that? Where were you hiding the stones? Why didn't I see them?"

Grandmaster Song was extremely satisfied with his handiwork, especially the beast currently bleeding out on the ground. Daring to stand before this granddaddy, glaring and growling? You must be tired of living. He gave Li Tie a half-hearted excuse:"Uncle, you taught me how to throw stones, and I just practiced according to your teachings, that's all. Fortunately, I always have the habit of carrying a few stones on me just in case." Saying that, he reached into his shirt and pulled out two more stones.

Seeing this, Li Tie didn't push the matter further, choosing to believe Song Que's words. Even if you broke his head open, he could never imagine the existence of a Storage Space. Looking at the two stones in Song Que's hands, he sighed:"It's a pity you couldn't carry more." Old Li then pointed forward and said:"I just noticed the Wolf King commanding the pack. If I'm not mistaken, that robust wolf over there is the leader.

If you could have killed it just now, that would have been great; the pack would fall into chaos immediately." Following his gaze, Song Que looked into the distance, where a cluster of wolves stood. Surrounded by them was the largest of the pack—undoubtedly the Wolf King. He felt a bit troubled. The distance was too far. He could throw a stone that far, but the force behind it would be greatly diminished. Not to mention the issue of accuracy; even if it hit, it wouldn't inflict any real damage on the Wolf King.

If it decided to hide, killing it would be even more difficult. Staring at the Wolf King, Song Que's mind raced with calculations. Seeing his expression, Li Tie panicked:"A'niu, don't do anything foolish! We just need to wait it out. There's no rush." Song Que nodded, but he didn't take the warning to heart. His mind was continuously running combat simulations. He knew that if he didn't teach these wolves a lesson today, the two of them might not find a way out.

Looking at the Wolf King, he saw it proudly raising its head, looking at him with eyes full of contempt. Grandmaster Song's temper flared. Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward slightly, gathering his strength. The distance to the Wolf King was about fifty meters. The space in between was open, with no trees or wolves blocking the path. Silently making up his mind—knowing he only had one chance—Song Que kicked off the branch, dropping down and sprinting forward at full speed. The Tesseract spun wildly.

He saw the objects on either side blurring backward, while the chaotic howling of the wolf pack seemed to unfold in slow motion. After sprinting about thirty meters, he threw the knife in his right hand with explosive force. The blade spun, shrieking like a propeller as it tore through the air toward the Wolf King. Under the beast's panicked and bewildered gaze, the knife buried itself deeply into its chest. The Wolf King collapsed on impact.

Its eyes bulged with unwillingness, glancing around nostalgically as if wanting to hold onto the Great Ridge Mountains just a little longer. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. It takes longer to describe than it did to happen. The entire process was so incredibly fast that Li Tie, standing nearby, hadn't even processed it before the Wolf King had already breathed its last and hit the ground. Song Que wasn't idle either.

As soon as the knife left his hand, without even waiting to see the result, he veered sideways, took a few running steps up a tree trunk, grabbed a nearby branch, and vaulted himself higher into the canopy. Only then did he have the leisure to look at the Wolf King. Seeing it collapsed in a pool of blood, he excitedly clenched his fist. Success. In your next life, if you reincarnate as a wolf, keep your eyes peeled. Whenever you see the dashing, jade-like Grandee Song, make sure to stay far, far away.

Old Master Song couldn't help but send a final, taunting remark to the fallen Wolf King in his mind. By now, the wolf pack had fallen into complete chaos. They howled continuously. One group surrounded the Wolf King, while another charged to the base of Song Que's tree, baring their fangs, growling, and frantically clawing at the trunk, desperate to climb up and tear him to shreds. Seeing this, Song Que gave a cold snort. Three stones instantly appeared in his hand. The wolves weren't entirely lacking in vigilance.

They clearly remembered that this two-legged creature had used these exact stones to beat them into a desperate retreat earlier. Immediately dropping their assault, they tucked their tails and scrambled backward. But how could four legs outrun flying stones? Three wolves were honored with the grand prize. Two of them whined and fled, while one unlucky bastard had its spine shattered. Unable to stand, it lay on the ground, whimpering in agony. The remaining wolves didn't even bother with the Wolf King.

Following a long howl, the entire pack turned tail and fled deep into the forest. A moment later, not a single shadow was left. Waiting a while, Song Que confirmed through the Mountain Sparrow that there were no wolves nearby. Finally breathing a sigh of relief, he dropped down from the tree, smiled, and walked toward Li Tie, shouting:"Uncle, we're safe!"

"A'niu, be careful of a trap! Get back up the tree and wait a bit longer!" Li Tie still hadn't recovered his wits. Is that kid really A'niu? Were those really wolves, or just fakes? Since when is this kid so powerful? Maybe I have a gift for education? Teacher Li fell into deep philosophical contemplation once again. Song Que couldn't be bothered with him and shouted loudly: "Uncle, come down quickly! We have work to do." Only then did Li Tie snap back to reality. With Song Que's help, he quickly climbed down.

Looking at the chaotic scene around them, he hurriedly shouted:"A'niu, we struck it rich this time! Quick, quick, let's harvest the prey before other predators smell the blood and come looking!" Four wolf corpses lay on the ground, one was dying, and the Wolf King lay in a pool of blood further away. Harvesting so much prey at once—and species with valuable pelts, no less! Both Song Que and Li Tie were exceedingly thrilled.

The uncle and nephew hurriedly processed the wolves, delivering a swift killing blow to the dying one. When they reached the Wolf King, they were surprised to find a pup standing beside its corpse. The pup was continuously licking its mother's fur and tugging at her with its mouth, as if trying to drag her away. Li Tie was surprised:"It's a wolf pup. It must be the Wolf King's offspring." Old Li raised his javelin to finish it off, but Song Que raised a hand to stop him.

"A'niu, this kind of beast can't be tamed. It's best to kill it." As if understanding him, the wolf pup bared its fangs and glared at him. Its eyes were small, yet they already held a fierce glint. Indeed, with such wild nature, it would be very hard to tame. But who was he? The great Beast Tamer Song! Subduing this beast would be a piece of cake. He shook his head and smiled:"Uncle, it's fine. It's just a beast. If it disobeys, I'll just kill it then."

Hearing this, Li Tie said no more and shook his head:"As you wish, but you must be extra careful." The two quickly gathered the wolves and did some basic processing. In total, they obtained six intact wolf pelts and over two hundred catties of meat. Everything was stuffed into the bamboo baskets and hoisted onto Song Que's back to carry home. Since Li Tie's leg was inconvenient, he only carried the herbs and the wolf pup.

The two figures swiftly left the area, carrying hearts full of satisfaction as they eagerly headed home. Perhaps due to his joyous mood, Li Tie spent the entire journey back recounting his glorious hunting exploits from his youth. Song Que half-listened, casually responding while his mind remained fixated on the recent battle. He realized that during exploration, the Mountain Sparrow had clearly shown its limitations. Its vision and its ability to fly high and far were very restricted.

If he had a larger bird today, like an eagle, he would have spotted the wolf pack from much further away. Furthermore, his long-range attack capabilities needed improvement. Throwing stones was only effective at close range and was only lethal against smaller animals. Against beasts like bears or tigers, it would be practically useless. Perhaps it was time to find a bow. Thinking of a bow, Song Que turned to Li Tie and asked:"Uncle, if someone in the village wants to buy a bow, where do they get it?"

He clearly remembered that the ironware shops in town didn't sell bows. Li Tie, who was talking a mile a minute, paused. A moment later, he said:"Bows and arrows are contraband. No shop dares to sell them openly."

"Then where did Uncle Zhong and Zhao Hu get theirs?"

"Policies from above, countermeasures from below. As long as you use it discreetly, the officials don't want to manage it, nor can they." Li Tie chuckled, then continued:"Uncle Zhong and the others either commission craftsmen to make them or use their connections in town to buy military bows."

"They even dare to sell military weapons?"

"Heh, the military just reports them as damaged; who's going to check? But regardless of the method, they don't come cheap." As long as there was a way, that was enough. Song Que pressed on:"Uncle, do you know how to buy one?" Li Tie smiled bitterly upon hearing this:"Your father and I dreamed of owning one when we were young, and we even asked Uncle Zhong about it. Uncle Zhong knows how to get one, but the price is over thirty taels of silver. We could only dream."

He let out a wistful sigh:"But since you have the ability, A'niu, you can definitely strive for it. When we get back to the village, you can go to Uncle Zhong's house and ask him." Thirty taels of silver—one tael was equal to a thousand copper coins. For the people of Giant Willow Village, who often couldn't even eat their fill, this was an astronomical figure. But if he worked hard, it perhaps wouldn't take too long to save up this amount. With that, he set his next goal: acquiring a bow.

For someone like him who made his living in the forest year-round, such a weapon was truly a priceless treasure.