"Hehe....."
The man surnamed Wang took the clothes off the corpse, shook the clothes to get rid of some of the blood stains.
"Although stained with blood, these clothes can still be sold for a little money."
After wrapping the clothes into a bundle and stuffing them into his large package, the man surnamed Wang seemed to have thought of something. He couldn't help but painfully say, "A single set of Tiger Bone Powder that penetrates into the bones costs two taels of silver. It's really too expensive!"
"The haul this time can sell for at least twenty taels of silver, which is ten sets of Tiger Bone Powder."
"Working hard just to get twenty taels of silver is too damn difficult!"
The man surnamed Wang squatted on the ground organizing his package while constantly grumbling.
Hiding in the branches, Duke understood and was also quite disgusted as he looked at the man surnamed Wang.
No trace of benevolence at all, scum.
However, the most urgent task now was still to find Thirteen. I can still track his scent.
The cat turned and walked away, jumped off the branch, and ran a few quick steps. But he stopped again and looked at the man surnamed Wang who had finished organizing his package and was now checking the corpse's mouth.
"No, I still feel upset!"
The cat narrowed his eyes and looked at the man surnamed Wang with his back facing him.
"Damn, although I have this guy to thank for letting me know the outside world is very dangerous and human malice is more fierce than beasts."
"But I still don't like the look of him."
While muttering to himself inwardly, the cat pounced out swiftly, extending his paw pads forward and pressing directly on the back of the man surnamed Wang's head.
With a crack, the man surnamed Wang who was still exploring the corpse's mouth had an expression of lingering excitement frozen on his face, but the light in his eyes dissipated as he stiffly tilted forward and fell down.
Duke raised his paw and looked. The originally pink paw pads were now stained red and white - red with blood, white with brain matter.
With ordinary concentrated power, he could leave a paw print three inches deep in a tree. How could the back of a human head compare to an old mountain tree?
Moreover, he had lashed out in anger and directly smashed the back of this man's head with one paw, killing him on the spot.
"Tsk!"
The cat, feeling disgusted, rubbed his paws in the mud a few times. Looking at the bodies all over the ground, he turned and left.
Now my heart feels much more comfortable.
After the cat left, only a pile of corpses and an ownerless package of belongings were left behind.
...
Steaming Cloud Mountain, beside a certain waterway.
"Don't come over!"
Liu Mou stood by the shore with the turbulent, piercingly cold water flow behind him. The rolling stream flowed southward along the north-south river course.
Shivering while holding a short knife, Liu Mou, who had a black and white fur wolf dog wrapped in his backpack, took a step back.
As loose rocks slid down from the edge he had stepped on, he also shuddered and walked forward two steps.
The wolf dog in his backpack stuck out a head with its eyes closed, apparently having already passed out.
"Liu Mou, someone's been watching you for a long time."
A man in brocade clothes with a pale face smiled, but his voice was extremely soft and gave people a creepy feeling.
"You little rat were trained by that old rat Qi Ling. Although the old rat can't move anymore, the fact that he could let you out means you've already graduated."
"The old rat is useless in other ways, but his eyes have always been particularly venomous."
"Moreover, the old rat would always run wherever there was money to be made. Having been under his influence as his disciple, you must have learned his rotten ways."
As the soft-spoken man said this, he pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve, wrapped it around his fingers, and wiped the corners of his mouth. He smiled again.
"But you, little rat, were about to leave the mountain shortly after entering Steaming Cloud Mountain, which does not match your or your master's way of doing things."
"There's a saying, unexpected things happening surely means something fishy. Judging from your appearance, you must have gotten hold of something good."
"Come, let me help you open your eyes."
As the soft-spoken man spoke, his eyes also narrowed. "After all, big money is good, but your paws are too small to hold onto it."
Every sentence uttered from the soft-spoken man's mouth struck Liu Mou's heart.
The extremely frustrated Liu Mou now hated that he could not give himself a few big slaps.
Although he had found a spirit dog that could be exchanged for a large sum of money, he had also been blinded by the money and forgotten his master's usual teaching to be cautious.
If he had known these eunuchs would block his way, he would have stayed still in the mountains and hidden for a few more days until the commotion died down before coming down the mountain.
But now, he had been blocked by these eunuch dogs straight away.
His master often said these eunuch dogs were smiling tigers who would suck someone's bones dry. Now that he had been caught by them, getting skinned would be the lighter punishment.
At worst, he would be robbed of both his money and his life.
"Little rat, say something!"
The soft-spoken man took a step forward, fluttering the handkerchief pinched between his fingers, just like an old madam at the door of a brothel beckoning customers.
"I..."
Liu Mou revealed an uglier smile than crying and tried to bluff, "I didn't find anything!"
Afraid they wouldn't believe him, Liu Mou emphasized, "Really, I didn't find anything at all!"
"That can't be true!"
The soft-spoken man advanced again with his handkerchief fluttering along with the swing of his arm.
But just as he was about to open his mouth, two clear sounds were heard not far away.
"Senior brother, there seem to be people over there! Let's go take a look!"
"Junior sister, Master said we can't run around randomly. Junior sister!"
Following the two sentences spoken in succession, a young man and woman also emerged from the woods.
The girl was lively and cute while the young man had a steady temperament.
As the pair of young men and women walked out of the woods, they also looked towards Liu Mou and the soft-spoken man. Seeing the azure robes on the man and woman, the soft-spoken man immediately narrowed his eyes and put away his handkerchief.
"People from the Qingxuan Sect, let's go!"
After recognizing the background of the two people, the soft-spoken man turned and left decisively without any reluctance, in sharp contrast to his speech and demeanor.
Seeing the soft-spoken man leave, Liu Mou also heaved a sigh of relief. As he pulled at his clothes soaked with cold sweat, he looked at the approaching young man and woman and immediately piled smiles on his face. But his footsteps kept retreating.
"Oh my, it's all thanks to you two that I escaped from that villain's clutches."
Folding his hands in salute, Liu Mou bowed repeatedly in an obsequious manner, "Thank you, thank you so much!"
"I have no way to repay this tiny favor. I'd be willing to repay you two as an ox or a horse in my next life."
"Hey, don't leave!"
As the girl finished speaking, in a flash, she had already arrived in front of Liu Mou with her hands on her hips, bending from her waist to size Liu Mou up.
Liu Mou did not make a sound but stared at the girl in front of him with extreme nervousness.
After sizing Liu Mou up for a moment, the girl revealed disgust.
"So stinky, and he looks ugly too!"
"Junior sister, although he's both ugly and smelly, what he's carrying on his back is a good thing."
The young man came to the girl's side and looked at the unconscious Thirteen behind Liu Mou.
"That's just a mountain stray I happened to take a liking to and wanted to take away. How can it be anything good?"
Liu Mou denied it repeatedly, but the youth said, "Friend, what you said is not right. Although this puppy is still small, the texture of the fur on its forehead resembles three tongues of flame, its ears stand upright without drooping, and its nose tip is as black as ink."
"How can this be a mountain stray? It is clearly the Northern Spirit Dog recorded in the Record of Rare Beasts."
"Northern Spirit Dog!"
The girl suddenly shouted, "Is it that Northern Spirit Dog that can carry a thousand catties as an adult and travel thousands of miles daily?"
"It should be so."
The youth nodded with a smile. "Moreover, this spirit dog was specially cultivated by the northern barbarians. Ordinary people basically can't see it and can only glimpse its appearance in the Record of Rare Beasts."
"Even after entering our Long Life Celestial Dynasty, only the palaces of royalty and nobles or the residences of immortal masters may have the fortune to see it."
As the youth spoke, he also strode towards Liu Mou.
"Friend, you said this was a stray mountain dog. Then let me ask you, where did you find this stray dog?"
"Tell me and I'll also go look for one."
"I..."
Liu Mou's eyes dodged around. As he kept retreating without answering, in a flash in front of his eyes, the Northern Spirit Dog had already been picked up and held in the girl's embrace before he could speak.
"Oh, black back and white belly," the girl pried open Thirteen's eyelids and took a look, "bright, limpid blue colored pupils, it really is a Northern Spirit Dog!"
"Do you like it?"
The young man asked with a smile. The young girl nodded immediately, "I like it!"
"Then take this spiritual dog with you first to find your master, and I'll discuss the price with this fellow."
"Okay, senior brother, I'll go find my father first!"
The girl hugged the spiritual dog and ran off, leaving the young man and Liu Mou standing by the river.
"Since your junior sister likes it, just take it, I don't care."
Liu Mou felt things were not going well, but the young man was pressing step by step.
"No, compensation must be given, otherwise how can my Qingxuan Sect establish trust here in Yunzhou?"
As the young man spoke, a flash of killing intent shone through his eyes.
A while later, the young man turned and entered the woods. Liu Mou was nowhere to be seen, only a tuft of hair floating up and down in the turbulent river, disappearing with the current at the end of the river channel, leaving no trace behind.
Half an hour later,
"How come it's not here either?!"
Duke, who had just burst out of the woods, looked at the turbulent river in front of him and immediately clicked his tongue.
"Damn it, who the hell took Thirteen away? How did he get so far?"
The cat raised its nose, sniffing carefully for Thirteen's scent as it looked up.
"The scent is still here, keep chasing!"