Chapter 60: Half a month later

In the dead of night.

In the jungle.

With a dark moon and a strong wind, it was a good day for murder and arson.

Sheep were uncommon in the mountains.

Goats were more often found further down the mountain, living by the rock faces.

But perhaps this one had strayed; a lone goat on the mountainside of the forest was very eye-catching.

Li Qi’s waist was slightly raised, his right hand had drawn his woodcutting knife and was ready, aimed at the goat’s neck.

At this moment, he was a full thirty meters away from the goat.

However, it was enough.

He only needed a second for the blade to pierce the artery in the goat’s neck; he was just waiting for a good opportunity.

The goat lowered its head, gnawing on the dry grass beneath its feet.

Li Qi swiftly raised his hand, his entire body like an arrow released from a bowstring.

The blade directly penetrated the goat’s neck, but it did not fall down immediately as Li Qi had expected.

In this world, even a lone goat was not an easy thing to deal with.

The goat let out a mournful bleat, and with a final burst of energy, it leaped forward rapidly.

Goats were naturally skilled at climbing rocks, capable of leaping five zhang (about 16 meters) in a single bound and moving by jumping; ordinarily, no ordinary person could ever catch one by their own skill.

In almost an instant, this goat, with half its head severed, had left Li Qi far behind.

“Damn it!” Li Qi put away his woodcutting knife, his legs moving like the wind, desperately chasing after the fleeing goat. Although this goat was unlikely to survive, before it died, it was very likely to run four or five li (about 2 kilometers) away. Li Qi didn’t dare to chase that far at this point in time; if he encountered a ferocious beast, it would be life-threatening.

The mountains contained not only goats but also jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.

Normally, when walking on main roads, there were villages nearby, and various fierce beasts dared not approach.

This was because the main roads were not specially constructed paths, but rather the routes and mountain gorges that people frequently traveled between villages and towns.

There were no roads in the mountains originally; when many people walked, roads appeared. These safe and smooth routes were explored 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 wild beasts learned their lesson and would not easily approach these places, because this was human territory. For many years, countless people came and went; occasionally succeeding in preying on people here, but they would absolutely be annihilated.

Therefore, if there were no accidents, these roads were not dangerous, or rather, they were not dangerous for Li Qi.

But if this goat fled sideways, running four or five li into the deep mountains, that would be a different story.

In the deep mountains and ancient forests, there were not only fierce beasts but also possibly demons.

However, Li Qi also did not want to give up the prey in front of him. A goat could provide a full meal—no, more than one meal—enough for him to eat for three days, and the goat horns and goatskin could be sold for a good price.

Li Qi swiftly followed behind the goat, but the goat was simply running too fast, and the distance between them grew wider and wider.

He had no choice but to weigh the pros and cons in his heart, deciding to give up the chase. Chasing any further would be too dangerous and not worth it.

“Alas, my knife technique is still a bit lacking,” Li Qi stopped and shook his head.

His knife technique was too poor; relying on the woodcutting knife and the burst of Carp Current Intent, he couldn't even cut off a goat's head.

However, giving up the chase did not mean giving up on the goat.

He blew a sharp whistle.

A piercing whistle tore through the night sky, emitting a harsh shriek!

Then, an extremely majestic neighing sound came!

A horse neighed in the night sky, its long cry echoing through the mountains!

At this moment, a swift horse streaked across the mountainous terrain, moving much, much faster than the goat!

Clouds formed beneath its hooves, and the wind whistled, as it galloped through the mountains at an astonishing speed!

The goat could leap five zhang and climb a ninety-degree rock face as if it were flat ground.

But this horse, it could fly!

With clouds accompanying its hooves, the steed leaped fifteen zhang (about 48 meters) in a single bound, meaning one long jump could cover nearly fifty meters!

From a distance, it looked almost indistinguishable from flying.

In just a few leaps, the steed caught up to the goat, leaped up, and directly trampled the goat to the ground. Then, it raised its hooves and kicked with all its might, sending the fallen goat flying to crash against the mountain wall, where it immediately lost its Qi.

The goat completely stopped. With its trachea severed by the woodcutting knife, its strenuous run earlier had caused a large amount of bloody foam to appear around its mouth. Now, after being kicked twice, it no longer had the strength to run, and it breathed its last shortly after.

The horse landed, happily stomping its hooves, and neighed towards Li Qi in the distance.

“Coming, Old Horse!” Li Qi shouted loudly, using both hands and feet to traverse the mountain forest. His speed couldn't compare to the goat or the Old Horse, but it wasn't slow either.

Soon, he reached the Old Horse, lifted the goat, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and mounted the horse’s back, patting the Old Horse’s neck: “Let’s go, let’s go back and find Shen Guniang.”

The Old Horse neighed affectionately twice, then began to gallop.

Even in the mountains, this Dragon Steed still ran incredibly fast, and with ease.

When sprinting, he could even cover thirty zhang (about 96 meters) in one second, which is over ninety meters per second, or nearly three hundred twenty miles per hour; he could take off with a pair of wings.

Even without sprinting, carrying a person and traveling slowly to conserve energy, covering eight hundred li (about 400 kilometers) in a day was effortless.

That’s right, the Old Horse’s injuries had healed.

At this time, seventeen full days had passed since Li Qi was severely injured.

Over these seventeen days, Li Qi trained diligently day and night, completely disregarding fatigue and muscle damage. Whenever such conditions appeared, he continuously used Great Forest Wood Qi to heal all injuries, and then continued his rigorous training.

Over these past ten-odd days, with the help of sufficient water source and water Qi, his Carp Current Intent had reached 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 fought solely with brute force; he also possessed martial arts. There were more than ten wisps of inner Qi flowing through his Meridians, ready to erupt with five thousand jin (about 2500 kg) of explosive power at any moment.

This was five thousand jin with technique, which was a different matter from the brute force of Ox Strength Technique. Combat techniques played a significant role in a fight between two people.

He had specifically tested it with stones: if he used Ox Strength Technique in conjunction with Carp Current Intent, he could easily lift and throw a giant boulder weighing twenty thousand jin (about 10,000 kg).

According to Shen Shuibi, although both his Shaman Dao and martial Dao were not yet at an unranked level, because the two complemented each other, and Li Qi also possessed a military long blade of considerable quality, stained with Evil Qi and military Qi.

Using all of these, and activating Ox Strength Technique, he was sufficient to contend head-on with an ordinary Ninth-Rank Loose Cultivator, without falling into a disadvantage.

In other words, he was now capable of being a bodyguard or a security guard, professions that relied on martial prowess for a living.

During this period, his food had also run out, so he had to rely on hunting for meals.

Then, Li Qi discovered that he was already capable of hunting by relying on his martial arts.

Goats and red foxes, which he couldn't even touch before, he could now stalk, severely wound, or even kill with a single strike!

Regarding this, Li Qi was full of pride.

He, at last, could be considered a person!