The little fox was only Tier One at present. On its own, it was no match for this tough, heavily armored Ironhide Lizard.
Chu Shaoye lowered his voice. “The Ironhide Lizard’s weak points are its belly and neck, where the skin is softer. Also, watch out for its tail—don’t let it sweep you.”
The little fox nodded and flattened itself against the ground, settling into a proper ambush posture.
“Three, two, one!”
Chu Shaoye counted down from three. As the last word fell, the little fox shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, covering nearly five meters in a single bound—a great improvement over the time it had hunted the Long-Tailed Pheasant.
The Ironhide Lizard was slow to react. Its eyesight was poor, and it relied almost entirely on sensing heat to perceive its surroundings, so for a moment it failed to respond.
The little fox was not even as tall as the Ironhide Lizard’s legs. It darted right beneath the creature’s body, lunged upward with a fierce yowl, and clamped its jaws around the Ironhide Lizard’s neck.
Stung by the pain, the Ironhide Lizard thrashed its neck wildly, but the little fox bit down tight and refused to let go.
Sharp fangs pierced the soft skin of its neck, drawing foul-smelling blood. Unable to bear the pain, the Ironhide Lizard reared up like a human and swatted wildly with its foreclaws at the little fox hanging from its chest.
Rising onto its hind legs exposed the weak spot on its belly. Seizing the opening, Chu Shaoye charged forward and plunged his short blade into the Ironhide Lizard’s lower abdomen, gripping the hilt with both hands and dragging it viciously upward.
Blood gushed from the wound, and part of its entrails spilled out as well. Driven mad by the excruciating pain, the Ironhide Lizard rolled frantically across the ground.
Chu Shaoye and the little fox seized the chance to leap back, staying well clear of its thrashing reach.
The Ironhide Lizard was remarkably hardy; even with a fatal wound, it did not die right away.
It scrambled back up and lunged at the little fox, determined to drag someone down with it before it died.
The Ironhide Lizard’s enormous mouth was packed with sharp teeth, and foul-smelling saliva and blood dripped from the corners of its jaws.
The little fox was quick and agile, and the gravely wounded Ironhide Lizard could not catch it at all. Unhurried, the fox trotted in circles around the lizard, toying with it until it was spinning in place. The source of this chapter is NovelPing.
A ruthless glint flashed through the Ironhide Lizard’s small, yellowish-brown eyes. Catching the little fox in a moment of carelessness, it whipped its iron-armored tail around so fast that it tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
Chu Shaoye’s heart tightened at the sight, and he hurriedly cried out, “Watch out!”
But it was already too late. The Ironhide Lizard had just used a skill called “Tail Sweep,” striking with the desperate resolve of a dying beast. Having let its guard down, the little fox had no chance to dodge.
The little fox was sent hurtling through the air like a shooting star, slamming with a heavy thud into a tree five or six meters away before dropping into the grass.
At that very moment, the Ironhide Lizard crashed to the ground. Having spent its last shred of strength, it lay completely lifeless.
Chu Shaoye rushed over to check the little fox’s injuries. It lay limp in the grass, blood seeping from the corner of its mouth, its eyes shut tight as faint whimpers escaped its throat.
His heart clenched. He carefully felt along the little fox’s bones and breathed a slight sigh of relief only when he found none were broken. It seemed to have suffered only internal injuries.
After all, the Ironhide Lizard had been a spent arrow when it delivered that final blow, unable to unleash the full might of a Tier Two beast.
Chu Shaoye took out a soft cushion, laid the little fox upon it, and wiped away the blood seeping from the corner of its mouth.
He released the Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse from the Beast Holding Pouch. The moment it emerged, it planted its paws on its hips and began chattering indignantly. He had not let it out for a ride in the breeze for two whole days! When they first got together, he had called it his little darling, yet in the blink of an eye, he no longer cared for it.
After squeaking away for quite some time, the Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse noticed Chu Shaoye’s grim expression. Realizing that something was amiss, it gradually trailed off.
Only then did it spot the little fox lying motionless on the cushion, its fate uncertain. Panicking at once, it scrambled onto the cushion to check the little fox’s breath.
Thankfully, it was still breathing.
The Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse looked up at Chu Shaoye in bewilderment, unsure what had happened.
Chu Shaoye reached out a finger and stroked its head. “Xuewu has suffered internal injuries. Xuebao, can you help find some medicinal herbs to treat internal injuries for him?”
The Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse nodded. As it scampered off, it glanced back at the little fox. Although this fox had frightened it at first, riding atop its head to feel the breeze had been quite comfortable.
The Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse soon vanished into the grass. Chu Shaoye did not know whether the little fellow would come back.
The Ironhide Lizard’s carcass could not be left lying there for long, as the scent of blood would draw other Spirit Beasts. Using Thousand Stars, he stripped off its back armor and stored it in his Storage Bag.
Materials taken from Spirit Beasts could be used to refine Spirit Artifacts, and some could even serve as spirit medicines. Although Chu Shaoye did not yet know how to refine artifacts, he could sell these materials for money. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Once he had finished dressing the Ironhide Lizard, Chu Shaoye built a fire, skewered the entire carcass, and set it over the flames to roast.
After a moment’s thought, he took a clay pot from his Storage Bag, fetched a pot of water from the stream, and cut off several pieces of meat to simmer into a meat soup.
The firelight flickered, and before long, the rich scent of meat began to waft through the air. Chu Shaoye checked on the little fox. It was still unconscious, though its breathing had grown much steadier than before.
A rustling sound came from the grass, and the Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse ran back carrying two stalks of Spirit Grass in its mouth.
Chu Shaoye took the Spirit Grass and stroked the Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse, which was covered all over in bits of grass. “Xuebao, thank you for your hard work.”
The Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse shook the bits of grass from its fur, climbed onto the cushion, and snuggled up beside the little fox’s neck.
Chu Shaoye went to the stream to wash the two stalks of Spirit Grass. One of them was a Tier One Purple-Stem Vine; its stem was deep purple with a flower-shaped cross-section, and it was a fairly common Spirit Grass used to treat internal injuries.
The other was a Tier Two Seven-Leaf Blood Ginseng. Its roots resembled those of ordinary ginseng except for their blood-red color, and with each leaf it grew, it advanced by one tier.
The Seven-Leaf Blood Ginseng brought back by the Golden-Striped Treasure-Seeking Mouse already had two leaves, showing that it had reached Tier Two. Chu Shaoye had not expected the mouse to find a Tier Two Spirit Grass; it must have taken quite a bit of effort.
Chu Shaoye chopped up the Seven-Leaf Blood Ginseng, roots and leaves alike, and added it to the meat soup to simmer, while putting the Purple-Stem Vine away for the time being. Since the Seven-Leaf Blood Ginseng was of a higher tier, its healing effect would be better.
As the aroma of the meat grew richer, the little fox finally stirred awake after resting for a while. It slowly lifted its head and gave two light coughs.
Chu Shaoye ladled some meat soup into a wooden bowl, set it before the little fox, and said in a cool voice, “Eat.”
Crestfallen, the little fox hung its head, not daring to look at Chu Shaoye or touch the tempting meat soup in front of it.
Earlier, it had gotten carried away and forgotten its Spirit Lord’s warnings, which was why it had been hurt. Its Spirit Lord must be angry with it.
The little fox pinned its ears flat against the back of its head. It had truly disgraced itself as a fox! Worse still, its Spirit Lord had a duel to fight in three days, and it had held its Spirit Lord back.