themonasnovels Chapter 4 Born
Chapter 4 Born
This wasn't Mo Zheng's first time killing someone.
In the original world, I also killed some people while carrying out missions.
So he didn't feel uncomfortable at all; he just had a clearer understanding of the world.
This is a world of martial arts.
With a sharp blade in hand, the desire to kill arises spontaneously.
Even a minor dispute can escalate into a killing.
If he didn't have psychic powers, and that handful of lime had gotten into his eyes, he would probably be the one lying here right now.
As for their backgrounds—the Black Sand Gang and martial artists who had entered the country—Mo Zheng was not worried.
In this desolate wilderness, where wild animals roam, who can prove that the two men's deaths are related to him?
Their bodies would be devoured by wild beasts, and these traces would be destroyed by various wild animals.
He crouched down and began the necessary procedures after the murder: touching the body.
On Zhang Li's body, he found twenty taels of silver notes and three taels of loose silver. As for Hu Laowu, he only found five taels of loose silver and nothing else.
That's true, nobody would bring so much money out to kill someone for no reason.
Although that bow and dagger could be sold for some silver, Mo Zheng dared not sell them.
Once he gets his hands on this, I'm afraid that as soon as he comes down the mountain, everyone will know that he killed those two people.
Twenty-eight taels of silver is no small sum, not to mention the red fox.
Thinking of the value of the fox nailed to the tree, Mo Zheng hastily tidied up the scene and hurriedly walked out of the forest.
However, as soon as he stepped out of the woods, the scene before him made his eyes widen in horror.
Seven or eight wild dogs were gnawing on the fox carcass, which was torn to pieces. How could it possibly fetch a good price?
It's important to know that fox pelts are only valuable when they are whole; damaged pelts are significantly less valuable, let alone those that are torn and shattered...
Needless to say, these stray dogs must have come looking for the smell of blood.
"My money..."
Mo Zheng felt a pang of heartache; twenty taels of silver! A full twenty taels!
He went to great lengths, killing two people before finally managing to get a little over twenty taels of silver.
But right before his eyes, twenty taels of silver disappeared?
How could a poor man with less than three taels of silver bear this?
"Give me my money back!"
Mo Zheng, brimming with murderous intent, swung his sword at the wild dogs, pushing his Thunderclap Sword Technique to its limit. The thunderous sounds were like the murmurs of the grim reaper from the underworld, making him even more excited than when he killed Zhang Li and the other two.
Unexpectedly, these stray dogs seemed to sense the danger, and none of them fought back. Instead, they scattered and fled into the distance. Even though Mo Zheng chased after them for a while, he only managed to kill one of them, which slightly vented his anger.
After a busy day, Mo Zheng ventured deeper and deeper into the Da Cang Mountains, but he never encountered any prey as valuable as the red fox. He only managed to kill two pheasants and a wolf before darkness fell.
Walking on mountain roads late at night is clearly unwise.
He was looking for a cave to rest when he saw a faint firelight and smelled the aroma of meat.
Following the firelight for a short while, a dilapidated wooden hut came into view. It looked like a camp built by hunters who went into the mountains, for them to spend the night and store their prey.
Mo Zheng stepped forward and knocked on the door. A person opened the door, and it was a martial arts school disciple. There was more than just him inside; seven or eight people were sitting around the fire, all of them martial arts school disciples.
They were roasting two plump wild rabbits, presumably their catch from the day.
Most of these martial arts school disciples came from wealthy families and were equipped with weapons and bows and arrows. Although most of them were only at the Qi and Blood Realm, with several people working together, they could lure, hunt, or set traps, and even wolves and tigers would die at their hands.
"Who do you think it is? It turns out to be the younger brother of the son-in-law."
The man sitting in the middle of the fire laughed and said, "Come in quickly. This desolate wilderness is not like home, where you can have your sister-in-law's money to feed you."
Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this, looking at Mo Zheng with mocking expressions.
Mo Zheng frowned slightly, and his original intention to go in vanished instantly.
He didn't say a word, and turned to leave.
People look down on him, so he naturally has no need to associate with them.
Not far from the wooden house, he found a cave, put some wood and stones to block the entrance slightly, and then started a fire to roast a pheasant.
He achieved minor success in Qi and Blood cultivation three days ago.
The changes brought about by the breakthrough in realm are obvious. The physique becomes stronger in all aspects, the speed and reaction are all faster, and even the strength is far beyond that of ordinary people, and can lift a 400-pound stone.
His mental power has grown even more astonishingly, and he can now move a boulder weighing thousands of pounds!
As for swordsmanship, although it is also improving rapidly, the gap between the minor and major mastery levels is too great. It will probably take at least half a year to reach the major mastery level.
This is already an extremely fast cultivation speed.
Whether it's qi and blood or swordsmanship, an ordinary person would need to practice for at least two or three years to achieve a minor level of mastery, and it would take more than ten years to achieve a major level of mastery. How long did it take Mo Zheng?
After roasting the pheasant, Mo Zheng enjoyed a delicious meal with the dry rations and water he had brought. Then he extinguished the fire and began to meditate and rest.
In the desolate wilderness, he dared not fall into a deep sleep alone, otherwise, he feared he would wake up to find himself a wild animal's meal.
As midnight approached, without warning, Mo Zheng suddenly opened his eyes.
Just now, for no apparent reason, a sense of danger welled up in his heart, making him feel that something was wrong.
After he awakened his psychic powers, his six senses became extremely sharp, and any sense of danger he felt was never a delusion.
What exactly is the danger?
He didn't know, but he gripped his long sword tightly and looked out of the cave.
Just then, a loud scream suddenly came from the wooden house in the distance:
"Ah! You beast, get out of here!"
"Run! Run!"
"Help me! Help me!"
……
Amidst shouts and cries, Mo Zheng, by the moonlight, saw several figures fleeing from the house, looking disheveled and exhausted.
However, the next moment, several large cat-like beasts with long horns chased after them and pounced on the group at great speed. No matter how their weapons struck their bodies, they were unharmed. In the blink of an eye, they had killed all the martial arts disciples and began to devour them on the spot.
Mo Zheng's heart jumped into his throat.
What kind of beast is this? It's completely unfazed by weapons!
Those people weren't familiar with Mo Zheng and even looked down on him, but two of them had also reached the minor stage of Qi and Blood cultivation.
With the strength of four or five hundred pounds, he was completely unharmed when he was struck with a weapon!
Ok?
Suddenly, Mo Zheng felt a chill run down his spine, and alarm bells rang in his mind. He looked closely and saw that a large cat with horns on its head had appeared at the entrance of the cave.
The big cat stared intently at Mo Zheng with its bright green eyes. The next moment, it used all four legs to propel itself into the air and pounced straight at Mo Zheng!
Thunderclap Sword Technique!
Without any hesitation, Mo Zheng exerted all his strength to the limit, and channeled all his mental power into the longsword. With a thunderous clang, the longsword struck the big cat like a silver lightning bolt.
boom!
With a dull thud, sparks flew from the large cat's body. Under the blow of more than 1,400 pounds of force, it howled in pain and was sent flying through the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
However, Mo Zheng showed no joy on his face. He saw the long-horned cat stand up with a simple flip, and upon closer inspection, it was completely unharmed.
Click!
A faint cracking sound came from the longsword, which was worth two taels of silver, and a noticeable crack appeared on it.
run!
Seeing this, Mo Zheng didn't hesitate at all, and darted out of the cave like a rabbit.
No way! He used all his strength, his longsword almost shattered, but he still couldn't do anything to this monster. If he didn't run away, wouldn't he be courting death?
What kind of monster is this? Could it be one of those mythical beasts that everyone talks about?!
When the long-horned cat saw Mo Zheng running away, it immediately bared its teeth and chased after him.
It was incredibly fast; with each flip of its four claws, it moved like a bolt of black lightning, rapidly closing the distance between itself and Mo Zheng.
So fast!
Seeing this situation, Mo Zheng hurriedly used his mental power to enhance his legs, which greatly increased his speed, but he was still a step slower than the big cat.
Unfortunately, if his mental power were stronger, he could fly by manipulating objects, and no matter how fast the monster was, it wouldn't be able to catch up to him in the sky.
With a sigh of admiration, Mo Zheng ran while keeping an eye on the movements of the long-horned cat. When it got close enough, he used his telekinesis to manipulate a wooden stake and smash it down hard.
The big cat was focused on Mo Zheng's pursuit and didn't notice the wooden stake flying towards it. Caught off guard, it was hit hard on the ground and fell into a daze.
By the time they came to their senses, Mo Zheng had already darted into the woods, and in the darkness, there was no way to find any trace of him.
The big cat stood still, perhaps out of fear of the pain inflicted by the two previous attacks, or perhaps because it truly couldn't catch up. It only let out two unwilling roars, but didn't pursue any further.
Run! Run!
Mo Zheng dared not stop for even a moment, and desperately ran towards the outside of Da Cang Mountain.
Even though he had realized that the monster was not chasing him, he still felt no sense of security.
They fled for about half an hour before finally spotting the lights of a temporary camp.
Mo Zheng felt a little relieved.
With the owner, Du Feng, in charge of the camp, it's definitely safer than other places.
He quickly headed towards the camp, identified himself to the night watch disciples, and then rushed towards Du Feng's tent.
Du Feng, who was sound asleep, was woken up. He was initially a little annoyed, but after hearing Mo Zheng's report, his expression immediately became tense.
"Go and invite Constable He here. Tell him we have something urgent to discuss," Du Feng said to the night watchman.
The semi-annual field assessment is not just a matter for the martial arts school, but also for the entire Shangyin County.
To show that the county government attaches great importance to this matter, the Shangyin County government will send a team of constables to help. Constable He will be the leader of the team, and he is a ninth-rank official.
"A large, horned cat with jet-black fur and spots, invulnerable to knives and spears?"
After hearing the whole story, He Youqi, the head constable, like Du Feng, turned extremely ugly.
"Master Du, if what your disciple says is true, this is probably a first-tier demonic beast, the Black Horned Leopard. These kinds of demonic beasts like to live in groups, and the two of us alone are probably no match for it," said Constable He.
"The monsters of Da Cang Mountain usually only roam the deep mountains and never attack people. Why are they appearing on the outskirts this time?" Du Feng frowned.
Ordinary disciples of the martial arts school are not usually valued, and since it was a monster attack, it can't be blamed on Du Feng. What he's more worried about now is why the monster appeared on the edge of Da Cang Mountain. If it attacks the county town, then it will be a real problem.
"The reason for this is probably only known to you, my disciple."
Officer He looked at Mo Zheng with some suspicion and asked, "All the other disciples who were with you died. How come you were the only one who survived?"
Du Feng was also a little puzzled. He knew that Mo Zheng's martial arts cultivation was mediocre, and he had just entered the Qi and Blood Realm. Even fighting wild beasts would be difficult for him, let alone escaping from the clutches of a demon beast.
"Master Qi, Constable, this disciple does not know why these monsters appeared here. As for surviving, this disciple's Qi and Blood broke through to the Lesser Completion level a few days ago, and my swordsmanship has also improved, which is why I was able to escape when the Black Horned Leopard was not paying attention."
Having said that, Mo Zheng drew his longsword and casually swung it. Thunderous sounds erupted inside the tent, and the wind from the sword howled, causing the curtain at the door to rustle loudly.
Upon seeing this, Du Feng and the others' expressions changed slightly. Such a powerful sword wind and thunderous sound proved that Mo Zheng was not lying and had indeed achieved minor success in swordsmanship and qi cultivation.
Although achieving minor mastery of Qi and Blood and minor mastery of swordsmanship are not particularly remarkable achievements, the fact that they appeared together in an ordinary disciple of a martial arts school indicates that Mo Zheng does have some talent in martial arts cultivation.
Especially swordsmanship. Unlike stance training, which can be mastered through practice and resources, swordsmanship requires a certain level of comprehension. Very few people in the entire martial arts school can even achieve a minor level of mastery in a single external martial art.
Having achieved minor mastery of Qi and Blood, and possessing strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, one indeed has a chance to survive if the demon beast is not paying attention.
"Master Du, your disciple is quite promising," Officer He praised.
"good."
Du Feng nodded. If he remembered correctly, this son-in-law's son had only been practicing martial arts for about half a year. Judging from this progress, there was a good chance that he would be admitted to the family's martial arts academy before the age of eighteen.
He used to look down on the other party.
"According to the rules of the martial arts school, disciples who have achieved minor success in Qi and Blood can receive one Qi and Blood Pill for free. In addition, since you have rendered meritorious service in reporting the news, you can ask your senior brother for two Qi and Blood Pills when you return."
"Thank you, Master."
Mo Zheng couldn't help but show a hint of joy on his face. Qi and Blood Pills were good things, each one worth ten taels of silver!
Du Feng made two shots right away; he really gained a lot from this assessment.
After that, there was nothing more for him to do. Du Feng and Constable He discussed it and led all the personnel of the temporary camp back to the county overnight.
Mo Zheng finally relaxed completely after the main group returned to the county.
Having not revealed my psychic abilities, I've managed to get through this hurdle.
I'm so tired...
After getting down safely, Mo Zheng felt a splitting headache and his whole body was sore and weak, which was caused by excessive consumption of mental and physical energy.
Although this trip to Dacang Mountain was only one day, it was much more exciting than his life over the past two or three months.
They faced life-or-death crises twice.
If Hu Laowu's arrow hadn't hit the fox, he probably wouldn't have been able to use his telekinesis and would have died.
As for the first-tier demonic beast, the Black Horned Leopard, it was even more terrifying. His longsword almost broke in two, but he still couldn't break through its defenses.
This is only the first order; are there stronger second and third orders later on?
Don't argue, or you'll never know.
However, it was obvious that the waters of this world were very deep, and his limited mental power was barely enough to protect himself.
……