Because Mu Shuyu’s wedding couldn’t be delayed, Xiao Jingting and the others entered the forest early.
Xiao Jingting had been in the forest before, but only in the outer areas. Now that he was going deep into the forest, Xiao Jingting couldn’t help but feel excited.
Xiao Jinfeng walked at the front, Xiao Jingting in the middle, and Xu Mu’an followed behind, carefully staying alert.
“It’s just ahead. Be careful,” Xiao Jinfeng said.
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Alright! I heard that near demon beast lairs, there are often precious medicinal herbs.”
Xiao Jinfeng nodded and said, “That’s true.”
“We’re here.” Xiao Jinfeng leaped up a tree to observe the situation.
“Release those bamboo rats,” Xiao Jinfeng said after observing for a while.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingting released several football-sized bamboo rats.
Once the bamboo rats were released, they immediately scattered and ran in all directions.
The three of them held their breath and observed the situation.
After a long while, a demon beast two meters long with black fur all over its body and a single horn on its head ran out.
The Wind Chasing Beast walked around the area with full vigilance. Seeing that majestic demon beast, Xiao Jingting’s heart began pounding.
Wind Chasing Beasts were not only extremely agile but also highly alert. Before coming to the forest, Xiao Jinfeng had sprayed them with a potion prepared by Mu Shuyu that could disrupt the Wind Chasing Beast’s sense of smell. Otherwise, they might have already been discovered.
After a long time, the Wind Chasing Beast, finding nothing wrong, rushed out and caught a bamboo rat, biting it with crunching sounds.
Although the bamboo rats scattered when released, the Wind Chasing Beast’s tracking ability was formidable – not one of the released bamboo rats escaped.
After eating its fill, the Wind Chasing Beast leisurely returned.
“Second Brother, when do we make our move?” Xiao Jingting transmitted to Xiao Jinfeng.
“The medicine needs another half hour to take full effect. We’ll wait a bit longer before making our move,” Xiao Jinfeng said.
Xiao Jingting nodded, following Xiao Jinfeng’s words completely.
Xiao Jingting waited patiently for several hours. At Xiao Jinfeng’s command, he jumped down from the tree.
The three carefully entered the Wind Chasing Beast’s cave. The Wind Chasing Beast was originally dozing in the cave, but sensing intruders, it immediately let out a roar.
Xiao Jingting first grew countless vines to restrict the Wind Chasing Beast’s movement.
The Wind Chasing Beast waved its claws and tore apart the vines Xiao Jingting had grown. Xu Mu’an took advantage of the beast fighting the vines to launch his sleeve arrows. Xu Mu’an had found his lost sleeve arrow, and the six sleeve arrows had been reforged with much greater power than before.
Even after being poisoned, the Wind Chasing Beast’s movements were still agile. Of the six sleeve arrows, four missed their target.
Xiao Jinfeng launched fireballs, and the Wind Chasing Beast’s black fur immediately caught fire. Most demon beasts feared fire, and the Wind Chasing Beast was no exception. Seeing its fur burning, the Wind Chasing Beast screamed and rolled on the ground.
Xiao Jinfeng and Xu Mu’an worked even harder with their flame attacks. Xiao Jinfeng controlled a giant seal and smashed it hard onto the Wind Chasing Beast’s head.
Xiao Jingting looked at the seal Xiao Jinfeng had taken out with some curiosity. The seal in Xiao Jinfeng’s hand was called the Jiaogang Python Seal. It was said to have been soaked in the blood of several sixth-level python-jiaos, making it extremely heavy with murderous aura and very powerful. The seal was one of the few gifts the original host’s parents had given to Xiao Jinfeng.
The medicine’s effects were probably fully released, as the Wind Chasing Beast’s speed had slowed considerably.
Xiao Jinfeng controlled the Jiaogang Python Seal and smashed it continuously dozens of times, beating the Wind Chasing Beast until its head was bloody.
Under the combined efforts of the three, the Wind Chasing Beast was quickly killed.
Once the demon beast died, the three immediately felt relieved.
“Killing demon beasts isn’t as difficult as I imagined!” Xiao Jingting said somewhat excitedly.
Xiao Jinfeng said helplessly, “Don’t be careless. So many experienced hunters have died from overconfidence. If we hadn’t been well-prepared this time, it wouldn’t have been so easy. Wind Chasing Beasts are extremely fast – if it had gotten close, it would have been very dangerous.”
Xiao Jingting nodded humbly and said, “I understand.”
The three walked around the Wind Chasing Beast’s cave. The cave was quite spacious, with a water pool inside. Xu Mu’an found several stones emanating spiritual energy at the bottom of the pool. The material was somewhat similar to spirit jade. Xu Mu’an gave the stones to Xiao Jingting, who put them in his space.
The three walked around the area but found no spirit plants.
“I thought there would be some good-quality spirit plants in the Wind Chasing Beast’s lair,” Xiao Jingting said with some regret.
“Don’t be too greedy. Those stones you got are good quality – you could sell them for three or four hundred taels. Let’s go. It’s getting dark, and the roads will be hard to travel,” Xiao Jinfeng said.
Xiao Jingting nodded and agreed.
Xiao Jinfeng brought the Wind Chasing Beast back to the village, attracting quite a crowd. Learning that Xiao Jinfeng and Mu Shuyu were getting married and that the Wind Chasing Beast was Xiao Jinfeng’s betrothal gift to Mu Shuyu, regardless of what people thought privately, everyone expressed their congratulations. In the Savage Continent, many newlyweds gave their beloved hunting prey – the prey represented both wealth and demonstrated the groom’s excellent combat abilities.
Xiao Jinfeng had an extremely bad reputation in the village. Qiu Li spread rumors everywhere, saying that while Xiao Jinfeng was indeed formidable, he had been driven out by the Xiao family and had attempted to rape his cousin’s wife – he was truly vicious. With such poor character, probably no one would be willing to marry him.
When news of Xiao Jinfeng’s upcoming marriage spread, many villagers laughed at Qiu Li for talking nonsense, which made Qiu Li quite indignant.
Coincidentally, the Qiu family and Xiao family chose the same day for their weddings.
Qiu Bai’s father told the whole village that his son was marrying into a wealthy family and would become a person of high status. Many who heard the rumors were quite jealous of Qiu Bai.
Hearing that Qiu Bai was marrying into a wealthy family, Xu Mu’an felt relieved. Although Xu Mu’an understood that Xiao Jingting was no longer the original person and that this Xiao Jingting found Qiu Bai quite disagreeable, having such a person constantly around was still very annoying to Xu Mu’an.
Xiao Jinfeng’s wedding was kept low-key, with Xu Mu’an choosing to invite only a few close families to attend.
Halfway through the wedding ceremony, officials from the Marquis Manor came to check on those who had abandoned their premium farmland. The Marquis Manor officials were very direct, saying that Xiao Jingting had abandoned cultivation for three months and needed to pay three months’ worth of fines – a total of 1,500 taels.
The enormous fine shocked all the guests who had come to attend the Xiao family wedding.
Most villagers didn’t know about this rule. Some villagers only thought it was a pity that Xiao Jingting’s fields lay fallow, never imagining that leaving fields fallow would cost so much money.
Xiao Jingting’s few acres of premium land had been abandoned for exactly two months and twenty-seven days. Xiao Jingting had asked Xiao Jinfeng about this, and according to Xiao Jinfeng, as long as it wasn’t three full months, they should only need to pay two months’ worth of fines.
“The Marquis Manor officials say it’s three months.” Xiao Jingting had no way to argue with them and could only pay the money. He had prepared for the fine in advance, but Xiao Jingting had only prepared 1,000 taels. Xu Mu’an contributed 300 taels, and Xiao Jinfeng added 200 taels to send the officials away.
The incident of Marquis Manor officials coming to the Xiao family wedding to demand enormous fines became a hot topic of village gossip.
“So leaving farmland idle results in fines! I’d never heard of this before!”
“This rule didn’t exist before – it’s a new regulation from the Marquis Manor.”
“The Marquis Manor is too domineering. The fines are so high.”
“What are you babbling about? How dare you discuss the Marquis Manor.”
“I’m just talking casually. But Master Xiao really is wealthy! Taking out 1,000 taels of silver without even blinking.”
“Exactly! That was 1,500 taels! Enough to buy dozens of acres of premium farmland.”
“The Marquis Manor officials are really strange. Why didn’t they come early or late, but chose to demand the fine during someone’s wedding?”
“Yes! That’s so strange. Fortunately, the Xiao family had enough silver. If they couldn’t pay, they’d go to prison.”
……
The Xiao family’s enormous fine caused the villagers to sigh endlessly. Most expressed sympathy for the Xiao family, while some felt the Xiao family was truly wealthy – ordinary families couldn’t come up with such a large fine.
That night, Xiao Jingting sat by the window, his brow tightly furrowed.
“Going to sleep?” Xu Mu’an asked.
“I can’t sleep,” Xiao Jingting said through gritted teeth. Remembering the scene of those Marquis Manor officials barging aggressively into his home, Xiao Jingting felt stifled. The feeling of being at others’ mercy, like meat on a chopping block, made Xiao Jingting very frustrated.
“In this world, strength is supreme. When your strength can crush these people, they’ll naturally have to look at your face,” Xu Mu’an said. The leader who came this time was at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement – just standing there gave people immense pressure.
Xiao Jingting squinted his eyes. “These people – they could have come any day, but they had to choose today.”
Xu Mu’an lowered his head and said, “I think someone was pulling strings behind this.”
“Could it be people from the Xiao family?” Xiao Jingting asked.
Xu Mu’an nodded and said, “That’s possible, but I think it’s more likely someone in the village who’s jealous. Xiao Ping sent me another letter saying your eldest uncle advanced to level seven, your third uncle also advanced to level seven, and the old master came out of seclusion. Right now, your eldest uncle and third uncle are competing to show off in front of your grandfather – they probably can’t be bothered with this side.” Xiao Jinfeng and Mu Shuyu’s wedding was hastily arranged, so that side shouldn’t be paying attention to this.
Xiao Jingting squinted and said, “Is that so! Don’t let me find out which bastard it was.”
“I think it might be Qiu Li,” Xu Mu’an said.
Xiao Jingting asked curiously, “What makes you say that?”
“We haven’t offended many people in this village, and not many know the regulations. Qiu Li often goes to town and could be considered a cultured person in town. Recently, you’ve been ignoring his brother, so he might hold a grudge against you,” Xu Mu’an said.
Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “That makes sense! And Qiu Li often wanders around my fields, seeming quite disgruntled.”
“He used to be the village talent, but now you’ve stolen his spotlight,” Xu Mu’an said.
