Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

Taiping County, Outer City, Slums.

"Lord Ba, spare my life, Lord Ba, please spare my life," a young man covered in blood knelt on the ground and repeatedly begged for mercy.

"Spare your life? Do you even realize what you've done recently?" Old Ba Zi sneered coldly.

"I, I, I… I don't know…" The young man was so panicked that he broke into a heavy sweat, his face twisted in a grimace worse than tears: "Recently, the game from the mountains has been scarce, so I became a woodcutter for a while, selling some firewood for a bit of food..."

As if remembering something, the young man hastily added, "I didn't know that was Lord Ba's firewood. I deserve to die, I deserve to die."

As he spoke, he slapped his own face twice with a loud smack and then quickly pulled out a washed-white money pouch from his chest, fawning with a smile: "This is the money I earned from chopping wood, all in here. Lord Ba, please show mercy, let me go as if I were a fart, I swear I won't dare to do it again."

Old Ba Zi slapped away the money pouch in the young man's hand, throwing it on the ground: "Who wants your trash?"

Old Ba Zi grabbed the young man's collar, violently pulled him close, and asked in a chilling voice, "Who did you sell the Blood Bird's Nest you got yesterday to?"

Hearing the words "Blood Bird's Nest", the young man's face paled, he then put on a forced smile and feigned ignorance, "Lord Ba, you must be joking. The Blood Bird's Nest is a mountain delicacy. I don't have such a thing."

Old Ba Zi narrowed his eyes and said, "Still playing dumb with me at this point?"

He grabbed the young man's wrist and activated his Qi-Blood, causing the veins on his arm to bulge and the muscles to tense up like tumorous lumps.

"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit, don't blame me for being impolite."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Ba Zi exerted force on his wrist and squeezed fiercely.

"Ah!"

A piercing scream erupted from the young man's throat.

His complexion turned deathly pale in an instant, his features knotted together in agony, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

Looking down, the young man saw his left wrist twisted into a twisted shape, completely destroyed.

"Mercy, mercy…"

The young man knelt on the ground, begging for life, his breathing suddenly becoming extremely labored.

"Have you thought of anything now?"

Old Ba Zi released his grip, and the young man's broken wrist drooped limply, the fingers on it twitching feebly.

The young man gasped for cold air, a look of despair and terror appearing on his face, realizing he couldn't escape today's fate.

Still, he gritted his teeth and said in pain, "I... really don't have it..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, Old Ba Zi had already grabbed his right hand, sneering, "You'd better think carefully before you speak."

The young man shuddered violently as he stammered out, "I... I'll tell you, I sold the Blood Bird's Nest to Wang Ma."

"You should have said so earlier." Old Ba Zi released his hand and patted him on the chest, "If you had spoken sooner, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."

"Then... Lord Ba... may I leave now?"

"Of course, you can, I wasn't stopping you," said Old Ba Zi as he stepped slightly aside.

"Thank you, Lord Ba, thank you, Lord Ba," the young man expressed his gratitude like someone who had survived a great disaster, hastily fleeing the place.

However, after only two steps, the sinister voice of Old Ba Zi came floating over, "But everyone in West City knows that Wang Ma and I are at odds; giving him the Blood Bird's Nest, are you trying to defy me?"

"Ah?"

The young man turned in horror, looking back in confusion.

Bang!

A crisp sound of bones breaking echoed.

His spine was smashed by a slap from Old Ba Zi.

The young man's eyes bulged as his body collapsed powerlessly, lifeless.

Old Ba Zi snorted coldly and called out, "Little Six."

"Lord Ba!"

A teenager rushed in from outside, glanced indifferently at the corpse on the ground, and then withdrew his gaze, saying, "What did you want to see me for?"

"Clean this place up, then go call some people; we are going to settle accounts with Wang Ma. Damn it, getting hold of a 'Nine Skills' book, reaching Great Perfection of Qi-Blood, and thinking oneself invincible in this world, he even dared to reach out to us."

"Alright," Little Six swiftly agreed.

Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Old Ba Zi again, "Hold on, any news from Old Three about that guy who killed so many of our brothers a few days ago?"

"Not yet, the brothers from the Outer City haven't come across him; he must not have come into town yet."

"What about his background?"

"The brothers in the city saw him heading to Wanfeng Building, but other than that, Old Three hasn't found anything. He's likely a local hunter coming into town for the first time."

Old Ba Zi puffed up his chest and said viciously, "A mere village hunter dares to lay hands on us, they don't regard us at all, it's outrageous. Tell the brothers, I, Old Ba, have always practiced vengeance for grievances; let them be at ease. Just give me a little more time, I'll definitely take revenge for the brothers."

"The brothers all know the kind of person you are, Lord Ba, but there are some complaints privately, though most still support you," Little Six said.

Many days have passed, and Old Ba hasn't shown any sign of taking action for revenge, so it's inevitable that there were some whispers and rumors among the people beneath him.

Old Ba knew someone was coveting his position, secretly inciting trouble, looking for an opportunity to replace him.

This being a matter of his future, he had to take it seriously.

…

In the woods.

"Crack!"

A goat was caught in a trap, struggling furiously.

"Got one!"

Not far from the trap, Shen Qing in a gray robe with a split skirt emerged from the forest, approaching skillfully.

He moved cautiously to avoid provoking even more relentless resistance from the goat.

By the time he reached in front of the goat, he held a reinforced rope in one hand and swiftly brought out a resilient vine with the other, skillfully tying up the goat firmly, with neat and clean movements.

The goat, now securely tied, gradually reduced its struggles, staring at Shen Qing with grievous eyes, occasionally letting out stubborn snorts.

"Goat, goat, don't blame me, you were born to be part of a dish. Go early this year, come back early next year."

Shen Qing patted the goat's head, seemingly in a good mood.

"The progress of my hunting skills feels like it's about enough for today."

A gleam of light flashed in Shen Qing's eyes.

In his vision, segments of calligraphy slowly emerged through the misty ink.

[Skill: Hunting (Small Success)]

[Progress: 202/200 points]

[Status: Upgradeable]

[Note: Continuous practice can achieve a comprehensive breakthrough. There's a certain probability that some techniques in hunting will be transformed.]

That's enough.

Shen Qing willed, "Upgrade!"

Suddenly, a flurry of complex memories surged into his mind, and a wild aura rapidly emanated from his body.

His muscles underwent subtle movements, as if after endless tempering, the lines of his muscles became smoother and stronger,

[Skill: Hunting (Mastery)]

[Progress: 2/300 points]

[Status: Not Upgradeable]

[Note: The continuous breakthrough of hunting skills has transformed the Baiting and Concealment skills; awakening new skills: Skillful Baiting, Poison Shadow. Using these skills, one can greatly increase the success rate of hunting.]

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