novelraw Chapter 60: Half a Month Later
Chapter 60: Half a Month Later
In the dead of night.
Within the jungle.
With a dark moon and a brisk wind, it was a good day for murder and arson.
Goats were not common in the mountains.
Mountain goats were more frequently found further down the foothills, living close to rock faces.
But this one might have gotten lost. On the mountainside, a lone goat was very eye-catching.
Li Qi's waist was slightly raised, his right hand gripping a knife, aimed at the goat's neck.
At this moment, he was a full thirty meters away from the goat.
But that was enough.
He only needed a second for the blade to pierce the goat's carotid artery. He was just waiting for a good opportunity.The goat lowered its head, munching on the withered grass beneath its feet.
Li Qi swiftly raised his hand, his entire body like an arrow released from a bow.
The blade pierced directly through the goat's neck, but it didn't fall immediately as Li Qi had expected.
In this world, even a lone goat was not something to be trifled with.
The goat let out a bleating cry, then sprang forward with a burst of last-gasp energy.
Goats were naturally skilled at climbing rocks, capable of leaping five zhang and bounding forward. Ordinarily, no ordinary person could ever catch one with their own skill.
In almost an instant, this goat, with half its head severed, left Li Qi far behind.
"Damn it!" Li Qi put away his knife, his legs churning, desperately chasing after the sprinting goat. Although this goat was unlikely to survive, before it died, it might run four or five li. Li Qi dared not chase that far at this point; encountering a ferocious beast would be life-threatening.
In the mountains, there were not only goats but also jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.
Normally, when walking on main roads, there were villages nearby, so various fierce beasts wouldn't dare approach.
Because main roads weren't specially built paths, but rather common routes and mountain gorges frequented by people between villages and towns.
There were originally no roads in the mountains; more people walking made them. These safe and smooth routes were discovered by generations of villagers, and nearby fierce beasts or other dangers had long been cleared out, making it convenient for villagers and merchants to use and travel.
Even the wild beasts had learned their lesson and would not easily approach these places, because this was human territory. For many years, countless people came and went; eating people here might occasionally succeed, but would definitely result in being hunted down and killed.
So, if there were no accidents, these roads were not dangerous, or at least not dangerous for Li Qi.
But if this goat ran off to the side, covering four or five li and entering the deep mountains, that would be a different story.
In the deep mountains and ancient forests, there were not only fierce beasts but also potential demons.
However, Li Qi didn't want to give up his current prey. One goat could provide a hearty meal- no, more than one meal, enough for him to eat for three days. Moreover, the goat's horns and hide could fetch a good price.
Li Qi swiftly followed behind the goat, but the goat was simply too fast, and the distance between them grew wider and wider.
He had no choice. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind and decided to give up the chase. Chasing any further would be too dangerous and not worth it.
"Sigh, my blade technique is still a bit weak," Li Qi stopped, shaking his head.
His blade technique was too poor. Relying on a knife and the burst of Carp Flowing Intent, he couldn't even cut off a goat's head.
However, giving up the chase didn't mean giving up on the goat.
He blew a sharp whistle.
The piercing whistle cut through the night sky, emitting a sharp shriek!
Then, an extremely mighty neighing sound came!
A horse neighed into the night sky, its long cry echoing through the mountain forest!
At this moment, a splendid horse swiftly swept across the mountainous terrain, its speed far greater than the goat's!
Clouds formed beneath its hooves, and the wind whistled as it galloped through the mountains at terrifying speed!
A goat could leap five zhang and vertically climb a ninety-degree rock face as if it were flat ground.
But this horse, it could fly!
With clouds following its hooves, the steed leaped directly fifteen zhang, meaning one jump could cover nearly fifty meters!
From afar, it looked almost identical to flying.
In just a few bounds, the steed caught up to the goat, leaped into the air, trampled the goat directly to the ground, then raised a hoof and kicked the fallen goat vigorously, sending it flying into the mountain wall, where it immediately lost its breath.
The goat finally stopped. With its windpipe severed by the knife, its previous frantic run had caused large bloody bubbles to appear around its mouth. Now, having been kicked twice, it no longer had the strength to run and soon breathed its last.
The horse landed, kicking and stamping joyfully, neighing towards Li Qi in the distance.
"Coming, Old Horse!" Li Qi shouted loudly, using both hands and feet to move through the mountain forest. His speed couldn't compare to the goat's or Old Horse's, but it wasn't slow either.
Soon, he reached Old Horse, lifted the goat onto his shoulder, mounted the horse's back, and patted Old Horse's neck: "Let's go, let's go back and find Miss Shen."
Old Horse neighed affectionately twice, then began to run.
Even in the mountain forest, this dragon steed still ran incredibly fast and with effortless ease.
When sprinting, it could even cover thirty zhang per second, which is over ninety meters per second, meaning a speed of two hundred miles(324km) per hour. With wings attached, it could take off and fly.
Even without sprinting, carrying a person and traveling slowly to conserve energy, covering eight hundred li a day was effortless.
That's right, Old Horse's injuries had healed.
At this point, it had been exactly seventeen days since Li Qi was severely wounded.
Over these seventeen days, Li Qi had trained relentlessly day and night, completely disregarding fatigue and muscle damage. Whenever such conditions arose, he would continuously use Great Forest Wood Qi to fully heal all injuries, and then continue his strenuous training.
In these past ten-plus days, with the help of sufficient water sources and water Qi, his Carp Flowing Intent had achieved initial mastery. Although it was still an unranked level, it was much stronger than his former self.
At the very least, he was no longer someone who relied solely on brute force for combat. He now possessed martial arts, and over a dozen wisps of internal Qi flowed through his meridians, ready to be unleashed at any moment, providing a burst of five thousand jin of power.
This was a skilled five thousand jin, a completely different matter from the brute force of the Bull Strength Art. Combat techniques played a significant role in duels between two individuals.
He specifically tested it with stones. If he used the Bull Strength Art in conjunction with Carp Flowing Intent, he could easily lift and throw a twenty-thousand-jin boulder.
According to Shen Shuibi, although neither the Shaman Dao nor the Martial Dao were at a ranked level, their complementary nature gave Li Qi an edge and he also possessed a military long saber of decent quality imbued with malevolent Qi and military Qi.
Using all of these, and activating the Bull Strength Art, he was now capable of directly contending with ordinary ninth-rank wandering cultivators without falling into a disadvantage.
In other words, he could now work as a bodyguard or security guard, professions that relied on martial prowess for their livelihood.
During this period, his food supplies also ran out, so he had to rely on hunting for sustenance.
Then, Li Qi discovered that he was now capable of hunting with his martial arts.
Mountain goats and red foxes, which he couldn't even touch before, he could now stealthily approach, heavily injure, or even kill with a single strike!
For this, Li Qi was brimming with satisfaction.
He could finally count himself as 'someone'!
(Chapter End)