NOVEL WEB Chapter 25: Sure Shot
In the southeast region of the old forest, among the trees by the edge of the rocky beach.
Ling Yi and Zhang Lei, clad in disguises woven from vines and grass, were perched mid-way up a large tree, their arms tightly wrapped around the trunk for a secure hold.
With time flowing by the second, Ling Yi's eyes were half-closed, appearing as if in a light sleep, while Zhang Lei intently focused his gaze towards the direction of the rocky beach.
“They’re here—!”
A small voice echoed inside Ling Yi's mind, as he suddenly snapped his eyes open, casting a sharp gaze at the rocky beach.
A series of rising and falling silhouettes emerged along the northern edge of the rocky stream.
At this moment, it was only then that Zhang Lei, positioned on the neighboring large tree, noticed. He quickly gestured lightly towards Ling Yi.
Acknowledging Zhang Lei with a slight nod to indicate his understanding, Ling Yi raised his hand towards the gray figure on the branch above his head.
Patting Meow Meow's slender back, he watched it transform into a gray blur, darting swiftly between the treetops, vanishing without a trace.
Soon, it reappeared perched atop a large blue-black boulder at the rocky beach’s edge, alongside Ah Huang, who had stealthily made its way there at some point.
From his position, Zhang Lei softly inquired, "Yi, do you think Meow Meow and Ah Huang can handle it...?"
Although the trees were nearly ten meters apart, Zhang Lei knew that Ling Yi's heightened senses would catch his hushed query.
After signaling Zhang Lei to rest assured, Ling Yi put his fingers in his mouth…
Suddenly!
With a sharp whistle, two figures, one gray and one yellow, leapt across the narrow stream like lightning and ambushed the two massive brown-black shadows on the other side of the rocky shore.
These were wild boars, a herd numbering over thirty!
The targets of Meow Meow and Ah Huang’s surprise attack were two adult male boars that had just finished drinking and were turning to the edge of their herd.
The gray and yellow paws buried themselves into the weak points at the rear of these adult wild boars, and with a quick pull, red, yellow, black, and white… a chaotic mess of innards was immediately ripped out.
Before any cries of pain could be heard, Meow Meow and Ah Huang, upon hearing another sharp whistle, decisively turned and sprinted away.
Not until the two little creatures crossed the stream, running more than ten meters away, did the boar herd finally realize what had happened.
Immediately, a series of enraged squeals echoed through the rocky beach.
Led by a black-maned boar over one meter high and more than two meters long from head to tail, along with its intimidating tusks, six slightly smaller adult boars chased after Meow Meow and Ah Huang, leaving behind three adult boars and twenty or so slightly panicked young boars.
Oh, and the two adult male boars, lying in agony on the ground, barely clinging to life with faint grunts.
In the forest, Ling Yi and Zhang Lei watched helplessly as Meow Meow and Ah Huang dashed beneath the trees with seven wild boars in pursuit.
Until the silhouette of the last wild boar disappeared amidst the towering trees, Ling Yi gestured to Zhang Lei before sliding down the tree trunk to the ground.
Suddenly sprinting, the two made their way to the large, dark-green boulder where Meow Meow and Ah Huang had previously stood, and steadied themselves there.
At this moment, the wild boar herd, having just been ambushed, was exceptionally alert. Ling Yi and Zhang Lei had barely revealed themselves when they were spotted.
About twenty little wild boars let out a series of grunts, and the three adult wild boars bent their forelegs, bodies leaning forward, assuming an aggressive stance towards Ling Yi and Zhang Lei.
"Take down the small ones!"
Ling Yi curtly instructed Zhang Lei beside him, then shifted into combat mode.
After launching the first shot, Ling Yi didn't pause. His right hand moved swiftly, drawing another stone bullet from the open cloth bag at his waist, pulling back and releasing...
By the time Zhang Lei beside him had shot three rounds, hitting a young boar in the neck, cheek, and another in the eyebrow respectively, Ling Yi had already let loose eight stone bullets.
Among these eight, six struck the joints of the forelegs of the three charging adult boars, causing them to crash hard onto the ground, sending numerous pebbles flying.
"Whoosh—!"
A whistling sound followed as the ninth stone bullet pierced through the air, precisely hitting the eye of the third adult boar. Similar to the first two, the powerful kinetic energy propelled the stone bullet directly into the brain, turning the white brain matter into mushy fragments.
Having eliminated the greatest threat, Ling Yi didn’t ceasefire but continued drawing his bow and shooting stones. Alongside Zhang Lei, he targeted the small boars, now bereft of their protectors, as they attempted to scatter and flee.
As stones flew from their hands, a total of twenty-two small wild boars were felled seamlessly by the duo, each one knocked to the ground, unable to rise and escape, letting out feeble squeals.
The key difference was that four or five of these boars bore multiple scars, while the rest had injuries primarily around their leg joints.
Glancing at the field of battle results, Zhang Lei gave Ling Yi a thumbs up, sincerely praising, "Ah Yi, you're truly incredible!"
He sighed wistfully, "If only your spirit weapon was a slingshot!"
In Zhang Lei's eyes, the slingshot in Ling Yi's hand was practically a divine tool.
He had witnessed firsthand how Ling Yi could release three stones in rapid succession, each striking different targets fifty meters away, hitting gray-winged mosquitoes in mid-flight!
Astonishingly, Ling Yi had done it all blindfolded!
Zhang Lei thought that even those soul masters, grand soul masters, and soul sages probably couldn't achieve such a feat.
Sometimes, one has to admit, the gap between people can be so large it feels surreal.
Ling Yi had deeply felt this disparity in his previous life.
Facing those who shattered conventional understanding, those 'superhumans,' as an ordinary man, he often felt as if he were just a face in the crowd.
Some people have to read an article dozens of times to memorize it, while others could achieve 'human camera' status, remembering after a single glance.
The two-story building was five or six meters high. While some people would tremble when climbing a ladder, others could casually plant their feet on the wall and leap up with ease.
Fortunately, in this life, as Ling Yi cultivated the path of the mind and developed his spiritual power, he discovered that he had become one of those geniuses he once admired in his previous life.
Without delving too deeply into Zhang Lei's admiration, Ling Yi slipped his iron birch slingshot into his waist pocket, retrieved several sections of bamboo tubes from his back, and stepped towards the young wild boar.
Skillfully donning a pair of double-layered rabbit fur gloves, he pried open the mouths of each young boar, feeding each one a sip of a foul-smelling brown liquid from the bamboo tubes.
As the liquid made its way into their stomachs, these squealing boars gradually quieted down, their movements becoming stiff.
This brown liquid, a simplified version of a drug recipe Ling Yi had found online from reading novels in his previous life, was made by simmering datura flowers, raw aconite, and other common yet somewhat toxic flora.
The result? It worked quite well!
Just a small spoonful could put a full-grown rabbit at home to sleep for a whole day and night!
The only issue was the overpowering smell. It was so strong that one had to pry open an animal's mouth to get them to drink it.
Once Ling Yi took care of the twenty-two young wild boars, Zhang Lei over on the other side had already plastered the wounds of the five adult wild boars' corpses with silt mixed with aquatic plants and leaves to slow the spread of the smell of blood as much as possible.
The two exchanged glances, not minding the 'corpses strewn across the field' of wild boars on the ground, they readied their iron birch slingshots again, stepping into the forest and following the trail left by the passing wild boars.
Who knows if Meow Meow and Ah Huang succeeded in luring those seven wild boars to the trap?
(Chapter ends)
(End of Chapter)
