59: Chapter 59 The Man Fishing by the River

With a flip of his palm, the inner core in his hand vanished, having been stored away by Qin Ding into his Storage Ring.

"Awoo? Woo?" [Boss, what is that thing? It's small and round. Is this what you told me to pry open that pig's head to find? Can it be eaten? Is it tasty? Will it keep me full?]

The Sha Jin Wolf, which had initially been curiously asking what the inner core was and why they were looking for it, seemed to have triggered something bizarre.

Its inquiry and curiosity instantly shifted to whether the thing was tasty and if it could be eaten; it was only a step away from asking directly if it could eat it.

Qin Ding, fully aware of what the Earth Dog was asking, kept his expression unchanged as he picked up his long spear and walked toward the upper reaches of the river.

"You cannot eat it. You are of the Metal element, and this inner core is of the Earth element. If you eat it, at the very least, you'll bleed from your seven orifices, your meridians will be severed, and your cultivation will be wiped out. At worst, it could even be fatal."

Uh? What was that? If I eat it, I'll die?

In an instant, the Sha Jin Wolf, which had been eyeing it greedily just a moment ago, had its eyes become clear and serious, as if it wasn't the one who had just displayed a gluttonous side.

"Woo." [Then let's keep it to sell for money and buy meat to eat.]

Qin Ding, who was walking slightly ahead of the Sha Jin Wolf, twitched the corner of his mouth upon hearing this. "This thing can nourish a person's body..."

"Awoo!" [Hey! Then that's perfect for Aunt Zhao! Aunt Zhao is getting on in years, and the blood energy in her body has weakened too much!]

Seeing that Dahei understood his intention with just a hint, Qin Ding nodded in satisfaction; this dog wasn't stupid.

It was worthy of being raised by him; now that it was well-trained, their conversations were smooth, and it understood things as soon as they were pointed out.

"Alright, let's go upstream to wash up and see if we can find any spirit beasts along the way. It's about time to prepare for lunch."

The man and the wolf walked along the riverbank for about twenty minutes before slowly coming to a halt. It wasn't because they felt this spot was suitable for bathing in the river, but rather because of what was in their line of sight ahead.

Qin Ding saw a disheveled, bearded middle-aged man sitting on a rock, holding a bamboo fishing rod and fishing in the flowing river.

Almost instantly, Qin Ding and the Sha Jin Wolf stopped in their tracks. Both of them had eyes filled with wariness and hostility.

"Dahei, do you smell any spirit beasts nearby?"

"Woo..." [No, Boss. Not only is there no scent of spirit beasts, but I can't smell that person either...]

The Sha Jin Wolf crouched low, its wolf face tense, its eyes—sharp as hidden blades—staring fixedly at the man fishing not far ahead.

Qin Ding's eyes narrowed slightly.

There was no scent of spirit beasts, and he couldn't even catch the scent of the man in his line of sight. Fishing in the wilderness was understandable, but to be fishing here without even a single Beast Tamer companion? And to not emit any scent of his own?

In this kind of 'novice area,' could he be some powerful Beast Tamer?

A Third-Rank? Or a Fourth-Rank Beast Tamer?

Just at that moment, the middle-aged man seemed to sense something and turned his head to look over toward Qin Ding.

What kind of eyes were those?

Deep as a cold pool, heavy as black iron; just a single glance from them felt as if it carried the weight of a thousand jun. Those eyes were as sharp as a blade capable of piercing through a person's heart!

They were also merciless, not looking at a person, or perhaps not even at a living thing.

In an instant, Qin Ding's back stiffened like a bowstring. He gripped the shaft of his spear tightly, his fingers turning white from the force. He wanted to look away, but found his neck frozen stiff.

A thought arose in Qin Ding's mind.

This disheveled, bearded middle-aged man, who possessed an imposing aura without even trying, was at least a Fifth-Rank Beast Tamer or higher!

Only a Beast Tamer of this level could derive such imposing power from its own beast through the Life and Death Contract. It wasn't just a simple meaning of a powerful aura, but an authentication of status within the food chain.

It represented the meaning of being at the top of the food chain, the biological chain.

Then what was the other party's identity? A high-ranking official of the Federation? Looking at his disheveled appearance, he must be a high-ranking official from the military who had seen plenty of combat, right?

Qin Ding couldn't help but feel a bit of panic in his heart, but he wasn't scared into collapsing to the ground by this intimidation; instead, he forced himself to stand, maintaining eye contact with the other party.

Although he didn't know why such a figure would appear here, in front of such a person, it would be effortless for them to kill him.

Although this was an unprovoked encounter, if the worst-case scenario were to happen, he might as well die with some backbone.

Just like when he took action against Li Dong and the others during the Class Competition, now he himself was also potentially hanging by a thread.

There was nothing to complain about.

The world of Beast Tamers was just like this; the right to speak lay only in the hands of the strong.

[Dahei: Boss, what's going on with this person? Why can't I move?!]

In his mind, Dahei's voice rang out through the Life and Death Contract, and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Qin Ding's forehead.

[Qin Ding: I don't know.]

Why would a person like this appear in a place like this to fish? Instead of going to a place where powerful Water-element spirit beasts existed to fish?

Could it be some kind of hobby?

Just as the man and the wolf were stunned, the middle-aged man finally turned his gaze away, and that feeling of being crushed by a thousand jun immediately vanished.

But before the man and the wolf could even catch their breath.

In their line of sight, the middle-aged man who had just been there, along with the bamboo fishing rod in his hand, all vanished in an instant.

All of this happened without any warning, so quickly that Qin Ding felt as if that person and the fishing rod had never existed at all.

"Awoo!" [Boss! Where is the person! How did that person disappear!]

Before it could marvel at the pressure disappearing and its body returning to normal, the Sha Jin Wolf's dark wolf eyes were now filled only with terror.

As a wolf, its underlying logic was like this.

If a target suddenly disappears from its field of vision, it has either fled, or it has turned around to kill it directly!

But the current situation was that it couldn't see the other party's movements at all. In such a situation, even the most excellent predator would panic and lose its composure.

Qin Ding swallowed, looked down at his arm which was still trembling slightly, and shook his head softly. "I don't know."

"But we didn't die, though..."

Qin Ding, who had wanted to say something, suddenly shut his mouth.

How could the weak possibly understand the thoughts of the strong? How could he possibly know why such a powerful person would appear here?

Shaking his head, Qin Ding stopped making such futile guesses.

"Forget it, these things aren't important. Let's just treat this as an interlude."

"Let's go, Earth Dog, let's go ahead and take a look."

Qin Ding didn't choose to dwell on the pressure he had just felt; instead, he kicked Dahei's leg with the tip of his shoe. If he had patted it with his hand?

He was afraid he would end up with his hand covered in blood and filth.