Chapter 7: Kill Again

“Da Jiang told me to bring you the wolf meat soup.”

At noon, Da Bao brought a food box and handed Chu Danqing a steaming bowl of meat soup.

Chu Danqing was patrolling the back river alone, planning and refining the upcoming bait strategy.

The villagers had already begun acting, using the funeral of the village chief’s grandson to arrange some able-bodied men to set up water barriers upstream.

This opportunity was truly excellent—not only did it offer cover, but also a chance to lure them in.

Chu Danqing looked at the wolf meat soup; it had no attributes, but the aroma was strong, with large chunks of wolf meat inside.

Clearly, Jiang Tu had given him this bowl as special treatment; beside him, Da Bao stared with wide eyes and swallowed a large mouthful of saliva.

Very hungry, but obedient.

“You eat it. I’m not hungry. Just tell Da Jiang I drank it all.” As a modern man, Chu Danqing wasn’t particularly tempted by this dish.

Better to give it to Da Bao and build some goodwill.

When he saw Da Bao’s formidable combat strength, he had wondered whether his contract scroll could be used on a person.

According to its description, it could—but Chu Danqing couldn’t cross his own moral line; calling a human a “summoned creature” felt too unnatural.

If he wanted, he could deliberately boost Da Bao’s goodwill—using sugar-coated tactics, success would be extremely likely given Da Bao’s mental state.

But doing so would be unfair to Da Bao and the villagers of Xianghua Village.

Chu Danqing was an ordinary person, with boundaries, knowing what to do and what not to do.

Especially since the Dimension Park’s trial missions would certainly involve danger; bringing someone with underdeveloped intelligence into such a perilous environment was inhumane.

So in the end, he still couldn’t make that decision, and chose to stick with the original plan.

“Little Chu, you’re so good.” Da Bao had only a child’s mind, so he had no pretenses.

He snatched the wolf meat soup and stuffed it into his mouth, finishing it in three or four bites, his face filled with pure satisfaction.

“Da Bao, where do bad things usually have their sons? Do they lay eggs?” Chu Danqing asked.

Of all, Da Bao knew the White Dragon Fish best.

“It lays eggs, in a small depression downstream of the back river.”

“But you can’t go there—the village chief said no one except me is allowed to go.”

“It’ll drag you down and eat you. Last time I went, I barely escaped.” Da Bao said seriously.

From these three sentences, Chu Danqing indirectly confirmed that the White Dragon Fish’s combat power increased in water.

“How many eggs does it lay at once?” Chu Danqing asked again, though he didn’t expect an answer—just trying.

“I don’t know. The village chief said the bad thing only has three sons, and only lays more after one dies.” Da Bao’s answer surprised Chu Danqing.

He estimated the time—if luck held, he might actually get a White Dragon Fish egg.

Da Bao had already killed one White Dragon Fish offspring, and its corpse had been carried back by Jiang Tu early that morning.

Without exception, they’d have a fish feast tonight.

“The bad thing’s son is here.” Da Bao’s gaze suddenly fixed on the bottom of the back river.

Chu Danqing saw nothing unusual, but Da Bao sensed it with sharp perception.

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to jump into the river and drag out the White Dragon Fish offspring to kill it.

He couldn’t beat the White Dragon Fish in water—but couldn’t he beat its son?

“You don’t need to go in. Walk into the woods. I’ll lure it out and kill it.”

"Otherwise, the bad thing might be plotting against you." Chu Danqing feared that while one preys, another lurks behind.

Compared to the White Dragon Fish offspring, the White Dragon Fish’s cunning had been emphasized by both Da Bao and the village chief—he took it seriously.

Da Bao knew the village chief had told him to obey Chu Danqing, so he said nothing and nodded, following Chu Danqing’s instructions.

Chu Danqing wasn’t trying to make things harder for himself—he was protecting the main force.

A little running won’t hurt.

Sure enough, after Da Bao moved a certain distance, a dark shadow suddenly rose from the river.

Its body was far larger than the one from last night, even broader in outline—a hybrid of giant salamander, snake, and crocodile.

Its neck snapped forward, mouth gaping wide, lunging at Chu Danqing’s left calf.

Chu Danqing reacted even faster—he lifted his left calf and kicked straight at the White Dragon Fish offspring’s nose.

Force is mutual—he stumbled backward from the kick, but it wasn’t all bad: he’d shattered the most vulnerable spot on the creature’s face, its nose.

Pain robbed it of its momentum; it writhed its long, snake-like neck, trying to ease the pain.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing swiftly retreated, putting distance between himself and the creature’s neck.

Squatted down, picked up stones, threw!

His movements were fluid—but the damage was low.

His real goal was to further enrage the White Dragon Fish offspring.

The provocation worked perfectly—the offspring roared in fury, surging onto land and charging at Chu Danqing.

He immediately stood up, turned, and ran toward Da Bao’s position in the woods.

The enraged offspring had lost all reason, and its injured nose prevented it from tracking scent.

Crack

A burly man leapt down from a large tree in the woods, one foot crushing the White Dragon Fish offspring’s skull, the other landing on its slender neck.

A crisp sound rang out—the skull shattered, the neck snapped.

Dead beyond doubt.

Chu Danqing turned back and saw Da Bao.

He realized Da Bao had an extraordinary sense of timing and weakness detection in combat and hunting.

This didn’t seem like learned experience—it felt more like innate instinct.

“Dead.” Da Bao grinned foolishly: “So easy.”

“Little Chu is awesome!”

Facing Da Bao’s praise, Chu Danqing only smiled and asked: “Da Bao, why is this one bigger than last night’s?”

“It’s the second son. The biggest is the eldest—just a little smaller than the bad thing.” Da Bao said.

Chu Danqing realized: since White Dragon Fish offspring would be lost, their growth rates must differ.

“Can we kill it?” Chu Danqing’s mind stirred.

Da Bao thought for a moment, then nodded: “Yes, but Little Chu can’t outrun it—it’ll run when it sees me.”

“That’s tricky.” Chu Danqing suddenly smiled: “Then I won’t run. And I’ll make sure it doesn’t see you.”

Chu Danqing knew the White Dragon Fish’s advantage was its sense of smell—but sometimes, being too sensitive made it easier to exploit.

“Let’s go find Jiang the butcher. Get some meat from him.”

“Tonight we’ll do something exciting.” Chu Danqing said, standing up and leading Da Bao back toward Xianghua Village.

Da Bao didn’t fully understand why, but he picked up the White Dragon Fish offspring and followed Chu Danqing.

(End of chapter)