Only I am Venerable-Chapter 41: The Hunt

Green Furred Cats give birth once a year in the summer. By winter, their cubs can already survive on their own. Every spring is their mating season, and that is the most dangerous time to be anywhere near their tracks in the Forest. Male Green Furred Cats will attack any living creature that invades their territory to protect their land and mates!

That was why truly experienced Hunters rarely entered the Forest in the spring. Hu explained this to Qin Li as he walked cautiously. "This season is the best time for a capture," he said. "The male will be out hunting, and the female will have just given birth, so she’ll still be weak. And since they’re Spirit Beasts, they generally won’t fight to the death. But shaking them off your trail is also extremely difficult. I remember a few years ago, a team of Hunters got a cub but couldn’t shake the mother. In the end, only one of the six of them escaped the Forest alive, and even he was left half-crippled! So, when you’re trying to survive in the forest, you must be extremely, extremely careful!"

Qin Li nodded. ’Danger is everywhere,’ he thought. He wasn’t as inexperienced as Hu and the others thought. As a youth, Qin Li had lived on a mountain with an old Daoist, and his experience with forest survival was no less than theirs. But he knew it was best to remain humble. At the very least, the low-key and eager-to-learn attitude he displayed had made everyone on the team grow very fond of him.

"Shhh!"

A small, dense thicket of bushes appeared before them. Hu motioned for silence, signaling for everyone to spread out and be careful. He slowly drew a two-foot-long short-sword from his robes. Its blade gleamed, exuding a murderous aura amidst the dappled sunlight of the forest.

At Hu’s signal, Qin Li fell in behind him, holding... that broken sword. The group hadn’t anticipated this situation and had no spare weapons aside from a few daggers. Qin Li didn’t seem to mind. As the saying goes, skill breeds boldness. Even with a broken sword in hand, he was brimming with confidence.

"MREEOOOW!"

A shrill cat’s cry suddenly rang out. A green light flashed through the air, followed by a muffled grunt from Li Jian. His shoulder was instantly stained red with blood!

’Such incredible attack speed!’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Qin Li was startled and immediately shed his casual demeanor. He finally realized just how different the forests of this world were from the ones where he used to live. ’This little thing seems even more terrifying than a lion or a tiger!’

"Li Jian, are you okay?" Hu asked anxiously.

"I’m fine. I dodged quickly—it’s just a flesh wound. Everyone, on your guard!" Li Jian replied, his voice steady.

Just then, the green light flashed again, this time pouncing toward Hu. The creature was highly intelligent. It had lunged at Li Jian because he was closest to the thicket, but now it turned to Hu. The female Green Furred Cat sensed immense danger coming from him!

"Die!"

A low roar escaped Hu’s throat as a red light suddenly flared from the short-sword in his hand. The Green Furred Cat let out a piercing shriek, and a tuft of green fur drifted down through the air.

"Don’t look at its eyes!" Hu shouted. With a flick of his short-sword, he commanded, "Group up on me!"

Everyone quickly closed in on Hu, forming a back-to-back circle. The forest suddenly became eerily silent, the only sound being the rustle of leaves as the wind whispered through the treetops.

The Green Furred Cat was nowhere to be seen!

"This thing is damn cunning!" He Laosan muttered, gripping a longsword.

"Little Brother Qin, I’m standing right next to you!" Even now, Bu Yaojing couldn’t resist teasing Qin Li in a suggestive tone.

"Quiet! Be careful, it could— " Before Hu could finish, a green light flashed from the large tree Bu Yunyan was facing and shot directly at her!

"Damn it!" Hu cursed. The creature was too cunning; realizing Hu was a difficult opponent, it had switched its target to Bu Yunyan. Before Hu could even react, Qin Li saw it clearly: the Green Furred Cat’s sapphire-blue eyes began to emit an eerie, shimmering light!

At that moment, Bu Yunyan cried out in alarm, "Oh no! It got me!"

Qin Li’s reactions were incredibly fast. The instant the Green Furred Cat pounced at Bu Yunyan, he was already moving. As Bu Yunyan cried out, the broken half of his sword was already positioned to protect her. A faint stream of purple qi hissed from the blade. The Green Furred Cat let out another sharp, piercing cry, twisting its body in mid-air to dodge Qin Li’s strike. It then fixed its beautiful, sapphire-blue eyes on Qin Li. If the Green Furred Cat could talk, it would have been cursing up a storm, because it discovered that this damn youth in front of it had actually closed his eyes.

With his eyes closed, Qin Li paradoxically felt a sense of sudden clarity.

Throughout the long course of evolution, humanity had made many incredible inventions, but in the process, their own inherent abilities had gradually degraded. An over-reliance on sight, in particular, had caused the ears to lose their original acuity.

Having both his Ren and Du Meridians fully opened had enhanced Qin Li’s hearing and sense of smell many times over. Coupled with this body’s excellent foundation and the constant nourishment of the Innate Purple Qi Technique, the current Qin Li might still be weaker in raw combat power than a peak Profound Level Martial Artist. However, in terms of his body’s fundamental attributes, he was already on par with a Celestial Level expert!

Sensing the Green Furred Cat staring right at him, a cold smile touched the corners of Qin Li’s lips. He swung the broken sword in his hand in a wide arc...

To everyone else, it looked as if the Green Furred Cat had failed its attack on Bu Yunyan and turned to strike Qin Li. But after dodging his sword, it seemed to... foolishly ram right into his blade!

Aside from Hu, who noticed something was amiss, that was what everyone else believed had happened.

But just as the Green Furred Cat was about to collide with the blade, Qin Li’s wrist gave a sudden, slight flick. The cutting edge that had been aimed at the cat was instantly turned, presenting the flat of the sword instead.

WHAP!

YOOOWL!

The Green Furred Cat let out a scream of unbearable pain as its body dropped from the sky with a THUD, landing on the ground, where it was immediately knocked unconscious.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. By the time everyone came back to their senses, the fight was already over. Over on the side, Bu Yunyan had plopped ungracefully onto the ground. Shaking her head with her eyes squeezed shut, she mumbled, "Damn it, why isn’t it going away? Good heavens, what is all this crazy stuff I’m seeing? I’m so dizzy... Quick, will someone just knock me out already..."

No one paid her any attention. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the unconscious Green Furred Cat on the ground! When they looked back at Qin Li, their eyes were filled with pure admiration!

"Heh, in all my years, this is the first time we’ve nabbed a big one! Tsk tsk, look at this fur. It’s so much better than any house cat’s!" He Laosan crouched down, gently stroking the Green Furred Cat’s long, glossy coat. "It’s a pity adult Green Furred Cats can’t be tamed," he sighed. "It’d be a waste to kill it, but if we let it go..."

"Tie it up and keep it. Someone will want it," Li Jian said nonchalantly, tearing a strip from his clothes and pouring Golden Wound Medicine onto his wound.

"Let’s get the cub first."

As Hu spoke, he started toward the thicket. Just then, the sound of voices drifted from deeper within the Forest—it sounded like a large group. Hu paused for a second, then moved faster. He plunged into the bushes and emerged holding a Green Furred Cat cub, barely bigger than his palm, by the scruff of its neck. "Let’s move!" he whispered urgently.