Chapter 6 – Hunting a Terrifying… Goat?

Ren slowly opened his eyes. He felt the wisps of qi that had been accumulating in his dantian had grown, with some of it diffusing throughout his body. Hua was watching him silently, their camp already packed up and breakfast cooking.

“That was more than usual,” he remarked.

“Yeah, I think I had a breakthrough. I don’t know why; I didn’t expect it to happen sso soon.” Said Ren, still panting but rapidly recovering as his body felt energized.

“Ah, I’m being left behind! I’ll catch up soon. Can’t wait till the next class and getting my own cultivation method!” His mental strength spoke for itself.

“Don’t worry, Brother Hua, I know you will.”

They ate, and he could see Hua fighting to hold back some questions, as the identification jade had warned them against asking about someone’s cultivation. It wasn’t a rule but something that was commonly followed by all.

They began the short hike to the next location, now focused on finding the snowflowers. Soon they reached the pond and were elated to discover 6 flowers. They quickly harvested and stored them away with great care. Now they had a day and a half to hunt before having to head back. The pond showed no signs of larger beasts around, only small game, so they went to a nearby area known for steel-haired goats. Lesser beasts that usually travelled in herds. Hopefully they hadn’t migrated away.

Hua spotted the tracks first, and they tracked them as best they could in the mountainous terrain. After tracking them for half a day, they found where the lesser beasts likely passed through frequently. They decided to set traps since common bows wouldn’t penetrate their thick coats. Ren found a suitable area that already had enough rocks, rearranging some others to set up an illusion array. He was faster and more accurate now using his sharpened sword instead of a farm tool. Hopefully that would hide their approach enough for them to get within sword’s reach of the goats.

Having laid their traps, they fell back to an overhang that had a decent view of the trail. They continued to wait until it was almost evening before setting up camp. There would be no fire to alert the prey, so they ate cold rations, and the rocky ground poked through the bedding. They could only wait and rely on fate.

A few hours after dawn, they heard some sounds that alerted them. They both took up positions and drew their weapons, Ren his sword and Hua his knife. Over the night the illusion formation had slowly activated, and there was a light mist covering the area. Sounds would be muffled, and qi would be harder to detect.

The rumbling indicated the herd was approaching from the area behind and above them. Soon they were in view, but Ren saw the herd looked spooked. They seemed to sense something was wrong. The large ram leading them started to move away from the formation. Ren knew they had no chance unless the herd entered the traps. They couldn’t face the ram, much less an entire herd. Just as he was clenching his teeth in frustration, he heard another sound over the startled bleating of the goats.

In the span of a few seconds he saw a huge eagle swoop down and grab two goats in each claw before screeching and taking off again. The panicked herd scattered in all directions, with many heading into the formation. Ren and Hua looked on with open mouths for a few seconds before jumping and running for the trap. Hua had set up a rockfall trap and some rope ones to catch or delay the goats. Hua quickly found and slew one in a rope trap.

Ren stayed alert to watch Hua’s back and was rewarded for his caution when another goat charged through the mist, screaming at him. The terrifying sound pierced his ears and sent a spike of fear through his body. His training took over, and he swiftly dodged aside, but it still managed to tear away a mouthful of his robes. He turned and slashed at its neck with his blade as it hurtled past. Their tough pelt was said to be weaker there.

After a few moments all sound died away. The boys looked at each other, hearts thudding in their chests, with joyful smiles at the surprising outcome of the hunt. Then quickly got to work on each of the carcasses. They talked softly as they dressed the pelt.

“Hurry, Ren, that giant eagle might come back.”

“It shouldn’t; it caught two large goats to eat, enough for days.”

“That was certainly lucky that it showed when it did. I was sure the herd was going to escape and waste our efforts.” Hua said, disbelief clear on his face.

Ren couldn’t help but agree. They really were lucky. The two steel-haired pelts would sell well, as would the horns. The meat would keep them fed for weeks if preserved well. It took them some time, but they eventually packed everything away. They swiftly made an escape to safer ground.

With loaded packs, they made their way back to the sect. It had been a very successful trip. They reached the gate about a day later than planned but were glad they didn’t have to be so on guard against beasts with the large number of sect members coming and going. They didn’t want to risk anything by delaying, so they tiredly made their way to the Hall of Contribution first. They approached one of the many desks and presented their identification.

The young man at the desk took their jades and scanned them for the task. Then he checked the flowers and noted the extra 5. At the end of it, he awarded them 30 contribution points to be split between them. At 2 points for a spirit stone, Ren felt rich. That was 7 and a half spirit stones! almost 4 times the monthly stipend!

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author’s consent. Report any sightings.

“Senior, is there any task regarding steel-haired goats from the southern mountain regions? We were fortunate to encounter some and wanted to exchange them for points.”

“You’re in luck,” he said after scanning his records. “A post was recently made for the pelt and horns of one.”