5: Chapter 5: Mountain Chicken

Ye Jing continued his journey from Liu Village.

He followed the winding mountain road northwest for over ten li, until a deep ravine suddenly split open within the folds of the Qinling Mountains.

That was Duantou Ao.

It looked like a gap hacked out of a hundred-zhang-high mountain ridge by a giant axe; the cliffs on both sides were as steep as if they had been sliced, with grayish-brown rocks exposed and ancient green pines embedded in the crevices.

The bottom of the col was a large, irregular depression, like a giant stone bowl set among the mountains.

Because the area was in the shade, sunlight rarely reached inside the col, and it was permeated year-round by a light, damp mist.

Ye Jing walked up along the mountain terrain ahead; his goal was the unique wild game of Duantou Ao—the Mountain Delicacy Chicken.

It was said that these Mountain Delicacy Chickens were the descendants of pheasant spirits tainted by Immortal Qi, and they were swift and difficult to catch.

Even the most experienced hunters of Liu Village had rarely managed to catch one.

This kind of chicken was more than twice the size of a normal pheasant, with a golden crest and purple-gold feathers that were extremely magnificent and rare.

Only at high noon when the sun was strongest and the sunlight shone into Duantou Ao would it appear on the mountaintop to forage for food.

Ye Jing had seen them when he was young, but he had never caught one.

The flesh and blood of the Mountain Delicacy Chicken were highly nourishing and popular among Martial Artists, selling for a high price of two taels of silver each in the city.

Now that the tax silver was pressing, although he wasn't sure if he would encounter a Mountain Delicacy Chicken on this trip, he had to try anyway to be satisfied.

As the wind blew through the woods, it made a wailing sound that mixed with the cries of unknown birds, echoing in the empty mountain col below.

Hearing it made Ye Jing's heart tighten.

He advanced toward the summit along the edge of the col, needing to be careful with his footing; one misstep and he would fall into the central depression, and a fall from a hundred-meter-high cliff meant certain death.

On the way, Hei Feng followed closely behind Ye Jing, ears pricked up, alert to his surroundings.

Along the way, Ye Jing actually caught a wild rabbit, which he took as a good omen, and he summoned his strength to continue climbing upward.

Ye Jing looked up and saw that the sun had already risen, its light shining into the dark Duantou Ao.

That meant it was almost noon!

Ye Jing didn't rest for a moment and headed straight for the summit.

He nervously gripped his bow and arrow, pushed aside layers of cogon grass, and finally saw a flash of golden light at the open mountaintop.

The open summit didn't have impenetrable woods; instead, a patch of knee-high grass grew there.

And that flash of golden light that made Ye Jing's heart race happened to land in the grass less than twenty meters away from him.

It was a Mountain Delicacy Chicken, a size larger than an ordinary pheasant, covered in purple feathers that shimmered with fine halos under the sun, and even the tips of its tail feathers were tinged with a faint golden light.

It flew down and lowered its head to peck at grass seeds, its golden crest swaying gently with its movements, looking very much alive.

Ye Jing suddenly held his breath; the hand holding his bow and arrow slowly relaxed as his thumb brushed against the arrow shaft.

He had come this way specifically for the Mountain Delicacy Chicken, but he hadn't expected to actually run into one!

Because Ye Jing's physical body had been strengthened by the Immortal Light, his vision was now much sharper than before.

He could even see the texture of the Mountain Delicacy Chicken's wings.

His heart instantly grew warm: a mountain delicacy like this, which had absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, could have its feathers used in medicine, and its meat was a premium tonic!

In Ye Jing's eyes, this Mountain Delicacy Chicken had already turned into two taels of silver.

Hei Feng also noticed the presence of the Mountain Delicacy Chicken, and Ye Jing whispered, "Hei Feng! Circle around behind it! We'll flank it from both sides!"

He moved his steps slowly; his strengthened body made his movements light and steady, each step landing in the gaps of the grass to avoid making noise.

Suddenly!

The Mountain Delicacy Chicken raised its head, seemingly sensing something.

Its golden eyes scanned the surroundings alertly, and its golden crest stood up.

Ye Jing immediately froze his movements, keeping even his breathing extremely slow as sweat quietly seeped from his palms.

The Mountain Delicacy Chicken was extremely sensitive; the slightest mistake would startle it into flight.

After a long standoff, the Mountain Delicacy Chicken lowered its guard and continued pecking at the grass seeds.

Ye Jing took the opportunity to move two steps forward; when he was no more than two meters away from the Mountain Delicacy Chicken, he immediately took out his slingshot and fired a stone at its head.

Just as the Mountain Delicacy Chicken sensed Ye Jing's attack, its head was struck hard by a stone, and it let out a wretched cry, struggling to raise its wings to fly away.

In an instant, a black dog lunged out from the grass, bit the Mountain Delicacy Chicken's wing, and slammed it heavily onto the ground.

Ye Jing hurried over and saw that the Mountain Delicacy Chicken was still flapping its wings and letting out a cry.

He skillfully tied its wings and legs together and lifted it up to take a look.

It was a rooster.

"It's got some weight!" Ye Jing was in high spirits.

He immediately stuffed the Mountain Delicacy Chicken into a cloth bag, tied it tight, and even picked up the few chicken feathers scattered on the ground until it was clean.

Not a bit was wasted.

"Woof!" Suddenly, Hei Feng beside him began to bark wildly, his tail tensed straight.

Ye Jing's heart tightened. "Hei Feng, what is it? Why the panic!"

No sooner had he spoken than a bloody, cold chill shot up his spine.

It wasn't the coolness of morning dew, but a malevolent aura that could freeze one to the bone.

"Roar!"

A mountain-shaking roar suddenly exploded, and the entire forest trembled.

Hei Feng's fur instantly bristled, his black hair standing up like steel needles as he pressed himself tightly against Ye Jing's side.

Ye Jing looked up and saw a pair of large golden eyes staring intently at him from the woods nearby.

A pine tree as thick as a bowl was actually knocked askew by something.

In the next second, a giant yellow-and-black shadow lunged out.

It slammed onto the ground with a "thud"!

It was an adult tiger, a full two zhang long and more robust than a normal tiger; its head was larger than a water bucket, and its two eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty cold light.

And Ye Jing noticed an arrow stuck in the tiger's neck, dripping with blood.

"Is someone hunting here?!"

The tiger seemed to have been driven into a corner; upon seeing Ye Jing, it roared and charged over, wanting to tear him to pieces.

"Not good!"

Ye Jing turned and ran.

At that moment, the sound of horse hooves rang out.

Following that, a loud voice boomed: "Vile beast, where do you think you're going!"

Ye Jing looked up and saw an arrow fly out; it was as swift as thunder and pierced through the tiger's neck in an instant.

The tiger that had been roaring ferociously just a moment ago collapsed with a crash, without even letting out a gasp.

"Clop, clop, clop—"

By now, the sound of hooves in the forest grew more frequent.

A troop of over twenty riders dressed in uniform black martial attire slowly emerged from the mountains; two of them held red flags with a conspicuous black "Tang" character on them.

Seeing this, Ye Jing was startled and immediately remembered that this was the most famous wealthy Family in the county seat, the Tang Family.

The Tang Family was immensely wealthy, and everyone in the Family practiced martial arts; it was said that the Family head was even a First-Stage Martial Artist, a power not to be underestimated.

The Tang Family had even seized nearly half of the peaks in Qinling to provide hunting grounds for the Tang Family members' amusement.

Their hunting was also without restraint; with everyone armed with powerful bows and crossbows and hunting dogs accompanying them, they left almost no survivors wherever they went.

This made it increasingly difficult for local hunters to hunt.

Last spring, during the breeding season for wild beasts in Qinling, the Master of the Tang Family had actually surrounded and killed hundreds of foxes just to make a fox fur coat for his newly married concubine, leaving the mountains reeking of carcasses.

The people of Liu Village were resentful, but they dared not speak up; none of them could afford to offend the Tang Family.

Ye Jing had chosen Duantou Ao precisely because the terrain was treacherous and large wild beasts were scarce.

The Tang Family members were arrogant and looked down on this barren place, so they hadn't included it in their own hunting grounds.

But he hadn't expected to encounter the Tang Family hunting a tiger here, a chance meeting.

"Young Master! You are truly brave and invincible! This tiger couldn't even last a single round against you!" The first to speak in the troop was a short-bearded attendant, his face full of a fawning smile.

The attendant didn't forget to glare fiercely at Ye Jing: "You old man! Get lost already! Don't be an eyesore to the Young Master here!"

Although Ye Jing was annoyed, he knew he couldn't afford to offend the Tang Family; without saying much, he hurried Hei Feng along, leaned on his cane, and stumbled down the mountain.

The one the attendant was praising was naturally the young man in fine silk martial attire beside him; the man's face was full of arrogance, and he glanced at the departing Ye Jing, asking, "Who is that old man?"

The attendant said contemptuously, "Just a reckless, poor old man who ran all the way to Duantou Ao alone. If he hadn't happened to cross paths with you, he would have long since become a snack for that tiger!"

"Heh!" That Young Master sneered, not taking Ye Jing seriously at all, only ordering his men to carry the tiger back and leave.