Free Web NovelChapter 2: Beating the Wolf
Third Blindy!
Li Yan could already guess what it was. Ordinary creatures never had that type of stench.
Could it really be as the villagers said? Has Third Blindy started treading the Dao??
Cautiously taking the bow off his back, he slowly nocked an arrow. Gesturing for Heidan to crouch, he took small steps forward, keeping his movement as steady as he could.
The difference in skill was obvious from how both of them moved.
There had always been many martial artists wandering the Guanzhong Plains. There had also been plenty of skirmishes of different scales in the region, which had resulted in a longstanding martial tradition with plenty of practitioners.
The Li Clan’s Fort was a good example. In the past, it used to be an actual military fort, and many kids there started practicing martial arts at a young age. Even a simple martial art like the Red Fist had been spread far and wide, and almost every village had its own rendition.
Heidan was no different from the other kids. He had practiced both long spear and fist techniques from a young age. The shaft of the spear he carried on his back had long since been polished smooth.
But when he walked, he still stepped on his heel, then shifted to the ball of the foot. No matter how hard he tried to tread lightly, the grass would still rustle under his feet.
Meanwhile, Li Yan moved completely differently. The tip of his toes would land first, and he would hold his bow and arrow steady. He moved as nimbly as a cat, in perfect balance. Not a sound could be heard as he crept forward.
Keeping perfect balance while moving quickly—a perfect mix of stability and agility.
Heidan looked at Li Yan in envy. Yes, one needed to put in hard work when it came to practicing martial arts, but talent was just as important. He felt that even if he put in the work for the rest of his life, he wouldn’t be able to match Li Yan’s ability to move silently through the fields.
The villagers praised Li Yan mostly because of his veteran grandfather, and his late bladesman father. After all, how capable could a fourteen-year-old be for them to admire him for his abilities? But Heidan knew better. He had once secretly watched Li Yan train, and he had been simply awestruck at the latter’s amazing talent. That was why he had sought Li Yan for help the moment the incident happened.
Lost in thought, he saw Li Yan suddenly halt. He craned his neck out to take a peek, and his eyes widened.
There had been many earthen walls built around the Li Clan Fort when it was an active military fort, but now, those walls had been reduced to rubble.
At the darkest hour before dawn, visibility was poor. All they could see was a massive shadow squirming through the gaps, but they could tell exactly what it was: a large, mangy wolf stealing a pig.
Its sharp teeth were clamped onto the pig’s ear as its tail lashed around like a whip. Soon, the pig started to follow its head.
Pigs weren’t mindless fools. When they were seized by the butchers during the New Year slaughter, they would shriek in terror and fight back with all their might. However, the pig with its ear in the jaws of the wolf didn’t dare to squeal even with blood dripping down its face.
As it approached, it became clear the wolf only had one good eye; it was none other than Third Blindy! It had actually dared to sneak into the village in the morning!
Also... why didn’t the dogs in the village bark when the beast came in?
The strange scene before them made Heidan’s scalp prickle, but his hatred quickly overpowered his fear. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he slowly pulled the spear off his back.
Li Yan was equally surprised by Third Blindy’s presence, but instead of agitation, he grew even calmer. He gestured for Heidan to hold steady, then slowly raised his bow and took aim. He did not release the arrow, however; instead, he adjusted his breathing. A cold gleam appeared in his narrowed eyes.
His greatest passion in the years since his arrival in this world had been practicing martial arts.
Martial arts here resembled the traditional external martial arts of his former world, with nothing related to spiritual qi. There were, however, plenty of qi-related techniques, specifically, breathing techniques. This made sense; with a steady qi flow, one could focus their strength properly.
Li Yan’s silent advance earlier was a perfect example. His mind had been steady and his breathing unhurried. Every muscle and tendon had moved in accordance with his will. That was how he achieved harmony and moved so perfectly.
This simple act of breathing properly was not to be underestimated. It was the essence of martial arts.
Ordinary men might chuck rocks around daily or swing their spear, practicing techniques and strengthening themselves, but that wasn’t enough. In real combat, their breath was unsteady and their mind fell into turmoil. When their heads were blank, all they could do was flail around.
The exact same applied to archery. No matter how strong the bow was and how much one practiced, correct breathing was the key to good control. Only then could one hit the target, and that was all that mattered.
Third Blindy was certainly unusual, or even special compared to other wolves, but it had still fallen into a trap and lost an eye. In other words, it was still flesh and blood.
They had been downwind this whole time, which was also why they’d managed to catch a whiff of it first. The fact that they moved quietly, along with the fact that Third Blindy was occupied with stealing a pig, had allowed them to close the distance to within a hundred paces.
Li Yan believed that if he managed to hit the wolf, a single arrow would be enough to take it out.
The bowstring stretched taut, and the tip of his arrow was scarily stable as it pointed straight at the wolf.
Suddenly, Third Blindy’s fur bristled, and it snapped its head up.
Shit! It noticed us!
Li Yan wasn’t clear how he had messed up; perhaps the wolf had discovered his killing intent, but there was no time to think. He released the bowstring, and the arrow shot out in a blur.
He was aiming for Third Blindy’s neck.
There was a common saying: Wolves have a bronze head, an iron tail, and a tofu waist. The abdomen between the ribcage and the hips only had the spine as support; their belly was unprotected, and it housed vital organs.
There was also an even better target, which few people knew. The part of the skull between the eyes and the nose was the weakest bone of a wolf, and a direct blow would knock the creature unconscious. If Li Yan managed to send an arrow straight through it, Third Blindy would die for sure.
Naturally, it was impossible to hit such a perfect spot, and since Third Blindy was a strangely strong wolf, Li Yan had decided to aim for its neck instead.
Whoosh!
The tip of his arrow sank into its fur. Yet at the last second, Third Blindy had twisted its body, causing the arrow to miss. The arrow penetrated its right leg instead and blood sprayed everywhere.
Li Yan didn’t utter a single word; he nocked a second arrow, ready to let it fly.
The first shot had failed to kill the wolf, but the arrow stuck in its leg would greatly affect its movements. As long as he acted fast, Third Blindy wouldn’t be able to escape.
But the next thing that happened shocked him.
Third Blindy didn’t flee instantly. Instead, it leaped over the wall behind it and tried to yank out the arrow stuck in its leg with its teeth.
Holy shit, that guy is crafty!
Tossing his bow away, Li Yan quickly ran toward it. He moved like an arrow, and his hand moved toward the hilt of his saber.
His saber was three chi long and under two cun wide.[1] It had a somewhat unique shape and a narrow guard that didn’t seem to work for its logical purpose of protecting the hand. It was a sharp and nimble blade, a specialty of Guanshan Town known as a Guanshan blade.
It was the mark of a true bladesman who roamed the Guanzhong Plains.
Li Yan rapidly covered the hundred paces between them. He accelerated, causing a cloud of dust to billow behind him. His left thumb pushed the guard of the saber, loosening the blade from the scabbard, and his right hand gripped the hilt.
Still, he did not draw his blade yet. He was waiting for the right distance to use a technique passed down in his family, the Waist Strike. It resembled the quickdraw techniques of the Eastern islands in his previous life, although there were some differences.[2]
The Waist Strike was for catching enemies off guard and cutting them down with lightning speed. He could conceal his killing intent until the moment he drew his saber, and when he sheathed it again, all that would remain was a corpse.
Third Blindy was a creature of flesh and blood, but its intelligence was astounding. Li Yan knew he couldn’t measure it according to ordinary standards.
If he drew his blade too soon, the creature would instantly sense his killing intent. That was why he chose to use Waist Strike. He would strike at the last instant, like a beast revealing its claws mid-pounce.
By the time Li Yan started charging, Third Blindy had already bitten off the arrowhead and pulled the shaft out of its leg in a rather human-like manner.
Ordinary men would have found such a wound unbearable, but Third Blindy seemed unaffected. It bared its fangs, wrinkling its nose, and its lone bloodshot eye narrowed. It leaped onto the wall at a speed that made its silhouette blur, then sprang off of it.
This leap took it close to two zhang high in the air, and its timing was perfect—it would crash straight into Li Yan.
Wild beasts like Third Blindy honed their killing abilities in the wilderness, and wolves were apex predators for a reason. When a pack surrounded their prey, they would keep harassing and probing it until, finally, the strongest wolf lunged. With a single bite to the throat, it would slay their prey, and the pack would then rush over to rip it to shreds. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Lone wolves acted in a similarly tactical manner. They often hid by the roadside and suddenly darted out, using the element of surprise to take down passersby and animals they saw as prey.
This was precisely what Third Blindy was doing now—using the wall to launch a surprise attack. Normally, its prey would flee in fear, or raise its head in fright. Either way, they would expose their neck. Once its fangs sank into the prey’s throat, it didn’t matter how massive the prey was.
However, Third Blindy wasn’t hunting normal prey. Though he could sense the beastly stench carried by the wind, Li Yan grew even calmer. He narrowed his phoenix eyes, and a chill flashed through them. As Third Blindy descended, Li Yan’s gaze locked onto his target. He twisted his upper body slightly and bent forward.
The instant they crossed paths, he flicked his right arm. A cold light flared as his Guanshan blade slashed upward. Blood blossomed in the air.
Third Blindy crashed onto the ground with a gaping wound on its neck. Blood sprayed like a fountain as its limbs thrashed about.
Li Yan landed five meters away with his back to the wolf. He flicked his blade once, shaking off the blood on it, then sheathed it in one smooth motion.
“What a slash!” Heidan ran over, cheering all the way. The duel had lasted but an instant. Even so, his palms were drenched in sweat and his heart pounded in fear from watching the interaction.
Meanwhile, Li Yan didn’t turn around to face Heidan after sheathing his blade. It wasn’t because he was trying to look cool, but something else entirely.
His expression sank as he touched his neck.
There was a wound there. It was just a scratch, barely breaking through his skin, but it was bleeding. Had it been just a little deeper, that blood would have come from a severed artery.
As it turned out, Third Blindy was indeed made of flesh and blood, but its reactions far surpassed those of ordinary wolves. When Li Yan’s blade reached its neck, its claws had also connected.
“Brother Yan, are you alright?” Heidan asked nervously as he jogged over with his spear in hand. freёwebnoѵel.com
“What could possibly happen to me?” Li Yan replied casually.
He finally turned around, and at that moment, a strange thing happened. The wound on his neck vanished! The blood that had dripped from it looked like it had splattered from Third Blindy’s wound instead.
Seeing nothing amiss, Heidan heaved a sigh of relief and stared at Third Blindy, who was lying on the ground.
It was a ferocious creature indeed. Its blood stained the ground and it was clearly unable to move any longer; yet even though it barely had any life left, it glared at Li Yan with venomous hatred. It was as though Third Blindy wanted to carve the face of its murderer into its memory.
“Beast! Die already!” Rage filled Heidan’s heart and his spear tore through the air to stab straight into Third Blindy’s only functioning eye and into its brain.
Even so, Third Blindy struggled for some time before finally going limp.
Suddenly, Li Yan frowned. Something felt off.
Third Blindy couldn’t be more dead, but the stench still remained. In fact, it was getting stronger by the second and seemed to be spreading in all directions.
The smell was so thick it seemed to condense, but it disappeared the next moment.
Perhaps he was mistaken, but Li Yan suddenly felt a chill creeping down his spine. He carefully inspected the surroundings, but he couldn’t see anything unusual.
“Heidan, do you smell something rotten?”
“Huh? No, I don’t.”
1. The chi and cun are traditional units of measurement, now standardized to 33.3cm and 33.3mm respectively. ☜
2. The raws use the word 東瀛 (dōngyíng, “eastern ocean”), which historically refers to Japan. As for what we rendered as “quickdraw,” the original word is the Japanese term battōjutsu, i.e. the art of drawing the sword and cutting in the same motion. ☜
