The sky gradually darkened, the night air turning slightly cool as the first lanterns were lit in Jiang Family Town.
Sitting cross-legged beneath a large tree outside the small courtyard, Jiang Long felt inexplicably restless.
Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao had not returned for an entire day, and neither had Jiang Han. This made him feel that something was amiss.
The Third Elder had ordered him to guard this courtyard, and he did not dare leave his post. He could only wait, his heart burning with anxiety.
An hour later, a tall and burly young man hurried over. Jiang Long immediately went to meet him and asked, “Jiang Xiong, have Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao returned?”
The tall, burly youth was named Jiang Xiong. He was Jiang Long’s cousin and had recently broken through to the seventh level of the Purple Mansion Realm.
Living up to his name, he was built like a bear. He shook his head and said, “No. I just went to check again, and neither of them has come back. I even made a special trip to Jiang Han’s house, but I didn’t see anyone there either.”
“Could something have happened?” Jiang Long frowned slightly, a hint of worry in his voice.
“What could possibly happen?”
Jiang Xiong shook his head. “Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao are both at the sixth level of the Purple Mansion Realm, while Jiang Han is only at the fifth level. Brother Long, don’t overthink things. I reckon those two snuck off to the gambling den in Du Family Town to have some fun. They should be back by morning.”
“Hmm…”
Jiang Long thought it over and found it reasonable. Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao had always loved to gamble, so it would be entirely normal for them to use this errand as an excuse to slip away to Du Family Town. He waved his hand. “Alright, you head back first. If they still aren’t back by morning, take Jiang Xie and the others to look for them.”
Jiang Xiong voiced his agreement and left. After patrolling the perimeter, Jiang Long returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
…
While Jiang Long slept somewhat fitfully that night, Jiang Han barely slept at all.
After digging a pit and hastily burying Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao, Jiang Han did not return to Jiang Family Town. Instead, he found a ruined temple at the foot of the mountain to spend the night.
After eating some dry rations and cultivating his Profound Energy for a while, he lay down on a broken wooden board, preparing to sleep.
It was his first time taking a life, and he had killed two people back-to-back. Awakening a powerful Bloodline Divine Ability left him highly stimulated, yet at the same time, he worried about the reaction from Jiang Family Town, his sister Jiang Li, and how he was going to hunt Phantom Mice…
All sorts of chaotic thoughts filled his mind, leaving him tossing and turning. He only managed to fall into a deep slumber in the latter half of the night.
Jiang Han woke up just as the sky was beginning to lighten.
Despite thinking about it for a long time the previous night, he still hadn’t come up with a good method to hunt Phantom Mice.
The Phantom Mouse was also a rank-one Demon Beast. It was not highly valuable, nor was its combat strength particularly great. However, as its name suggested, a Phantom Mouse’s speed was absurd.
Jiang Han had spotted Phantom Mice a few times in the past, but the beast would always flash by in an instant, vanishing before he could even react.
Over the years, he had never heard of an effective way to hunt them. This type of rank-one Demon Beast was highly alert; the moment a person entered their vicinity, they would flee immediately.
With Jiang Han’s current combat strength, using the Power of Frenzy divine ability to kill a Phantom Mouse would be effortless. The problem was that the Phantom Mouse would never give him the chance to attack. They would bolt the moment they saw him, making them impossible to catch.
“I should go buy a Profound Iron Beast Cage first!”
After some deliberation, Jiang Han could only think of one method: using a beast cage as a trap. If he could lure a Phantom Mouse inside, slaughtering it would be much easier.
After replenishing his strength, Jiang Han did not dare return to Jiang Family Town. Instead, he traveled for an hour to Du Family Town in the west.
Upon arriving at Du Family Town, he spent some silver to purchase a Profound Iron Beast Cage and some dry rations. He then hurried into the mountains, heading for Turtle Ridge near the town.
This time, his luck was exceptionally good!
Early that morning, seeing that Jiang Hu and Jiang Bao still hadn’t returned, Jiang Long had sent Jiang Xiong and three other cousins out of town to search for them. Jiang Xiong’s group had entered the mountains from the Jiang Family Town side. If Jiang Han had taken that route, there was a high probability they would have run into each other.
After entering Turtle Ridge, Jiang Han searched carefully for a long time but failed to spot any Phantom Mice. He immediately decided to move to an adjacent peak to continue his search.
He didn’t find any Phantom Mice on the second peak, either…
An hour later, Jiang Han finally discovered a Phantom Mouse on the third peak.
Swoosh!
Unfortunately, the moment Jiang Han spotted it, the little creature turned into a blur and vanished. He quickly gave chase, sweeping the surrounding area, but found nothing.
A Phantom Mouse wasn’t exactly small; its body was about a foot long, covered entirely in white fur, and it sported a barbed tail. Its speed was at least on par with a ninth-level Purple Mansion Realm martial artist, making it incredibly difficult for Jiang Han to track.
After searching for another half hour, Jiang Han spotted several more Phantom Mice on the peak. Yet, every single time he laid eyes on one, it would flash away in an instant, giving him absolutely no chance to strike.
Having run around for half the day, he was both hungry and exhausted. He ate a bit of his dry rations, then climbed a large tree to close his eyes and rest. Before long, he drifted off to sleep…
Soon, a faint noise jolted him from his dreams. He immediately opened his eyes to investigate.
He quickly spotted a Phantom Mouse in a nearby patch of bushes. The creature was gnawing on the root of a plant, making a soft rustling sound.
Jiang Han did not rashly launch an attack. Instead, he observed it patiently. A moment later, joy bloomed in his heart!
He had made a startling discovery-the Phantom Mouse seemed to seek out only the roots of a specific brown plant, showing zero interest in other flora or wild fruits.
“Excellent!”
Greatly encouraged, Jiang Han leaped down from the tree. Sensing the danger, the Phantom Mouse in the distance became a blur and instantly vanished from the spot.
Jiang Han walked over, pulled up the brown plant, and chopped off its root. He then swiftly began searching the surrounding area for more of the same plant.
The time it takes an incense stick to burn passed, and he had collected several of the brown roots. He tossed them inside the Profound Iron Beast Cage, shoved the cage into the bushes, and then climbed back up the tree to wait in silence.
He waited for a full hour!
Finally, a white blur flashed past and charged straight into the Profound Iron Beast Cage.
The moment the white blur entered, it triggered the mechanism. The iron door of the cage slammed shut with a heavy clank. The Phantom Mouse inside darted around in a panic, leaving so many afterimages that it looked as if a dozen Phantom Mice were trapped inside.
“Got it!”
Jiang Han leaped down from the tree, overjoyed as he looked at the Phantom Mouse in the cage.
“Die!”
Jiang Han thrust his long blade through the gaps in the bars, hacking wildly at the creature inside. Once he was certain the Phantom Mouse was dead, he opened the cage and extracted its Source Essence Blood.
“Refine!”
After refining the Phantom Mouse’s essence blood, Jiang Han immediately focused his mind on the Heavenly Beast Cauldron. Only after confirming that the Phantom Mouse carving on the cauldron had grown slightly brighter and clearer did he happily begin to clean up.
Carrying the cage to a nearby stream, he washed away the bloodstains. Then, repeating the process, Jiang Han set the trap once more and waited for the next Phantom Mouse to deliver itself to his door.
Over four hours later, the sky began to grow dim.
Jiang Han packed up the Profound Iron Beast Cage and headed down the mountain, fully satisfied. He had lured and killed four Phantom Mice in a single afternoon; he had the trick of it now. If he could successfully hunt six more tomorrow, he would be able to Awaken another Bloodline Divine Ability.