Chapter 17: The Monster-Hunting Man

Once they arrived in the village, Head Steward Hu arranged things skillfully.

He first arranged for a few servants to clean up a house in the center of the village so that his master and mistress could enter the room to rest.

As for the hired guards and strong men, they went to find houses to settle down and rest.

Zhang Xingyu and the other three found a thatched cottage near the entrance of the village. The roof of this thatched cottage had already half-collapsed, and a few half-rotten pieces of furniture were scattered inside.

The four went to the woods at the entrance of the village to cut a few bushes, and after a thorough cleaning, it was barely enough to settle down and rest.

Zhang Xingyu split the rotten furniture in the room to build a fire at the door, then took out a water bottle and flatbread, preparing to enjoy dinner with Hu Siping and the other two.

Just at this moment, a young man in green clothes, about seventeen or eighteen years old, walked slowly into the village entrance.

This man had a handsome face, a long sword on his back, a gourd hanging from his waist, and a copper mirror the size of a palm in his hand.

As he walked, he used the copper mirror to shine around, and kept twitching his nose to sniff.

Seeing this person approach, Zhang Xingyu put down the flatbread in his hand and quietly placed his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist.

Strangers keep away.

This person's behavior was so strange; I fear he is either a villain or a thief, so it's better to be careful.

Like an Afghan hound, the man in green looked left and sniffed right, finally stopping in front of the big locust tree in the center of the village.

"The monster aura here is so heavy!" the man in green frowned and muttered to himself.

After a moment, he bypassed the big locust tree and arrived at the door of the house where Kind-hearted Master Hu was living.

"Listen, people inside, there are monsters here. Hurry up and pack your things and leave; it will be dangerous if you are late," the man in green shouted loudly toward the house.

At this moment, Kind-hearted Master Hu was talking to the head steward in the room.

When he heard the young man's shout, a shadow flashed in his squinting old eyes.

"A-Fu, go outside and take a look!" Kind-hearted Master Hu ordered.

Hearing this, the head steward stood up immediately, walked quickly to the door, and shouted at the man in green: "Young man, who are you? What are you shouting about here?"

Seeing someone come out, the man in green shouted loudly again: "I am a monster hunter. The monster aura here is very heavy, and there must be a powerful monster hidden here. You guys hurry up and leave; I'm afraid there will be a threat to your lives if you are late."

"Monster, in broad daylight, where would there be any monsters? I have been to this Big Locust Village countless times and have never encountered any monsters. Young man, don't scare people here. Hurry up and leave. If you don't leave, I will call people to drive you away!" the head steward shouted sternly.

While the two were talking, everyone resting in other houses walked out one after another.

Zhang Xingyu heard the man in green's warning and recalled the situation in the village when they arrived, and suspicion also arose in his heart.

"Head Steward, this place is a bit strange. So many houses, yet not a single person. I fear there really might be monsters," Zhang Xingyu said loudly to the head steward.

"Nonsense, our Great Yue Kingdom is in a clear sky, how could there be monsters?" The head steward was somewhat angry and embarrassed.

"Head Steward, I fear there really might be..." Hu Siping on the side also felt something was wrong.

"I also feel that it's chilly here, I fear..." Skinny Monkey shrank his body on the side and said.

"I fear there really might be monsters, let's hurry up and leave." Other guards and servants also shouted one after another.

Listening to everyone's chattering, the head steward only felt a wave of dizziness.

He waved his hand impatiently at everyone: "Stop arguing. Let me go in and discuss with the master before making a decision."

Entering the room, he leaned into Kind-hearted Master Hu's ear and whispered: "Master, there is a monster hunter here causing trouble. These strong men want to leave; what should we do?"

Kind-hearted Master Hu didn't answer immediately. He stroked his three-foot-long beard and pondered for a moment before speaking: "You stabilize them first; as long as we wait until dark, they won't be able to fly away."

The head steward nodded and then walked out the door again.

"Everyone, everyone please listen to me. My master has just laid down and hasn't woken up yet. Everyone wait a moment. When he wakes up, I will immediately ask for his instructions," the head steward said loudly to everyone.

With such a big commotion, Kind-hearted Master Hu can also fall asleep?

Zhang Xingyu just didn't believe it. He and Hu Siping looked at each other and saw worry in each other's eyes.

Zhang Xingyu thought for a moment, stepped out, and said loudly to everyone: "Everyone, since Kind-hearted Master Hu wants to rest here, let him rest here. Our lives are important, let's hurry and withdraw from the village first."

"Exactly, everyone withdraw from the village first," Hu Siping also shouted loudly.

After saying this, he and Zhang Xingyu took the lead in walking toward the outside of the village.

Seeing someone take the lead, a group of guards and servants hesitated for a moment, then followed one after another.

Just as everyone was about to leave the village, a thick murderous intent flashed in the head steward's eyes. Just at this moment, the big locust tree in the center of the village suddenly shook violently.

Immediately after, human faces appeared on the thick trunk of the big locust tree.

They were old, young, some screaming, some roaring, some laughing, some crying.

"Monster!"

Seeing this, the monster hunter was furious.

He drew the long sword from his back with a 'clang' and swung it at the big locust tree.

"Clang!"

Accompanied by the sound of metal colliding, a cluster of bright sparks erupted among the branches and leaves of the locust tree.

"Hahaha, damn human cultivator, just relying on the scrap metal in your hand is only enough to scratch an itch for this seat!"

The tree monster shook its branches and leaves, instantly condensing a smiling face, with curved eyebrows and upturned corners of the mouth.

This tree monster has such strong defense! The monster hunter was a bit depressed.

What he held in his hand was a third-tier Dharma weapon. With the sharpness of a third-tier Dharma weapon, he had hacked dozens of swords in a row, but he hadn't even hacked off a single leaf of the locust tree monster. On the contrary, the locust tree monster became more energetic and confident the more it fought.

"Human cultivator, obediently stay behind. Your physical body is full of vital energy; this seat will definitely be greatly nourished after eating it."

The locust tree monster grinned maliciously while waving its thick branches to launch a fierce attack. The monster hunter fought while retreating, and in the blink of an eye, he had retreated dozens of meters from the original spot.

He couldn't care about the heartache of his deformed Dharma weapon and reached out to take the red gourd hanging from his waist.

"Damn tree monster, let you taste the flavor of earth fire!" The monster hunter aimed the gourd mouth at the locust tree monster in front and pulled out the wooden stopper in the gourd mouth with a 'pop'.

"Boom!" A stream of scorching flames sprayed out from the gourd mouth, instantly igniting a cluster of branches and leaves of the locust tree monster.

"Ah, ah, ah!"

Among the burning branches and leaves, twisted human faces were wailing in pain. These twisted human faces were the souls of the villagers swallowed by the locust tree monster.

For wood-type monsters, fire is the most effective. It's a pity that they used a lot of earth fire to roast wild game last night, and there isn't much earth fire left in the gourd now. Otherwise, he would definitely burn this tree monster clean.

After a few breaths, seeing that the earth fire was about to run out, the monster hunter hurriedly put away the gourd and retreated toward the village entrance.

"Damn human cultivator, I want to suck dry your blood and flesh, swallow your divine soul, I want you to never be reborn!"

The locust tree monster extinguished the flames on its body, roared, pulled itself up from the ground, and waved its pitch-black branches to chase after the monster hunter.

The monster hunter waved his precious sword, blocking while retreating.

Seeing that he couldn't deal with the monster hunter in a hurry, the locust tree monster shot the remaining branches toward the surrounding guards.

"Ah"

A guard was pierced through the chest by a branch, and in an instant, all the blood in his body was sucked dry.

The locust tree monster sucked the guard dry, and a branch that had been burned pitch-black returned to a verdant color.

Seeing this, everyone dared not stay in the village anymore and fled toward the outside of the village.

Seeing this, the tree monster was anxious.

It shouted loudly toward the village: "Old Fox, hurry up and come out to help. If the blood food runs away, don't even think about borrowing my soul stone to cultivate again."

"What's the panic?"

Kind-hearted Master Hu walked out of the house with his hands behind his back. At this moment, his waist was not bent, his back was not hunched, his face was rosy, and he no longer looked like the sickly person who was about to die.

Kind-hearted Master Hu came outside the house and reached into his robe to take out the fluorescent bead.

A monster wind blew, and Kind-hearted Master Hu turned into a six-tailed snow fox more than a zhang long again.

The six-tailed snow fox bared its teeth and chased after the guards who were fleeing in all directions.

Every time it caught up to a guard, it would lightly tap the back of that person's head with its snow-white claws.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the village was filled with the strong young men who had escorted him.

Damn it, this Kind-hearted Master Hu is playing the Great Fox Transformation again.

Seeing the critical situation, Zhang Xingyu fled while drawing the steel knife from the scabbard at his waist.

The six-tailed snow fox had thick skin and flesh, and ordinary weapons couldn't hurt it. But this steel knife at his waist was different. This steel knife was incomparably sharp; the six-tailed snow fox had been wounded by this knife, and even the leader in black, who was impervious to knives and guns, had his head chopped off by this knife.

It was said to be slow, but it was fast. With a few jumps, the six-tailed snow fox chased behind him. Seeing this, Zhang Xingyu took a side step to avoid the sharp claws slapped by the six-tailed snow fox and took the opportunity to hack at one of its waving tails.

"Crack!"

The knife light flashed, and that tail immediately fell off.

The six-tailed snow fox bared its teeth in pain, its face ferocious, and its body trembling.

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Xingyu continued to stride toward the village entrance.

Just as he was about to escape the village, the six-tailed snow fox ignored the pain, suddenly accelerated, and jumped in front of Zhang Xingyu.

It stretched out the remaining five tails, wrapped Zhang Xingyu tightly, and opened its mouth to bite at Zhang Xingyu's neck.

Zhang Xingyu struggled with all his might, but could never break free from the restraint of the fox tails.

This is bad!

Seeing the six-tailed snow fox's sharp fangs were about to touch Zhang Xingyu's neck, at this very moment, a steel knife hacked from the side and back, hitting the six-tailed snow fox's head hard to the side.

This knife was swung by Hu Siping.

Originally, he had run in front of Zhang Xingyu. Looking back suddenly, he just happened to see the six-tailed snow fox wrapping Zhang Xingyu. He didn't have time to think, turned back, and swung his knife to hack.

The six-tailed snow fox's hair stood up, and the steel knife hacked on its body, except for splashing a little spark, it couldn't cause it substantial damage.

"Boss Hu, use that knife on the ground." Zhang Xingyu shouted at Hu Siping hurriedly.

Hearing this, Hu Siping reached out and picked up the long knife that Zhang Xingyu had dropped on the ground and hacked at the six-tailed snow fox again.

The six-tailed snow fox was shocked. It no longer cared about biting Zhang Xingyu to death, pushed off with its legs, and jumped away rapidly to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming knife light.

"Xingyu, are you okay?" Hu Siping came to Zhang Xingyu's side with the knife and asked loudly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Zhang Xingyu touched his neck and replied.

It was really dangerous just now; he was almost bitten to death by the six-tailed snow fox. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not take revenge. Zhang Xingyu thought for a moment and said to Hu Siping: "Boss Hu, that monster is very afraid of this steel knife; why don't we take the knife and kill our way back to save people?"

Hu Siping nodded. The two turned and chased after the six-tailed snow fox.

On this side, Zhang Xingyu and Hu Siping chased the six-tailed snow fox until it jumped up and down.

On that side, the locust tree monster chased the monster hunter until he jumped up and down.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Xingyu was panting.

Damn it, this old fox can really run.

His physical strength is really not good; it seems he needs to strengthen his exercise in the future.

Zhang Xingyu stopped to rest while looking at the battlefield.

This monster hunter is also too weak. As a dignified monster hunter, he was actually beaten by a tree monster without any power to fight back, simply losing the face of the ancestor of the monster hunting industry.

By the way, who was the ancestor of the monster hunting industry?

Zhang Xingyu thought for a moment. Anyway, he couldn't hurt that six-tailed snow fox, so he might as well take the time to help this weak monster hunter.

If the monster hunter is defeated by that locust tree monster, and it joins forces with the six-tailed snow fox again, then he and Boss Hu will only have the fate of fleeing for their lives.

How can he help?

La-di-da-di-la-di-da, I am a smart person.

Got it, set a fire, the locust tree monster is afraid of fire.

As long as the houses in the village are set on fire, there will be a chance for everyone to escape.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xingyu ran into the thatched cottage where they had just rested.

The charcoal fire in the fire pit hadn't gone out yet.

Zhang Xingyu took out a piece of charcoal with sparks, blew on it a few times, and then lit a bundle of thatch hanging from the beam.

After lighting this room, he quickly ran into the next room to set a fire.

It's strange to say, every time Zhang Xingyu lit a house, the locust tree monster would have a thick branch emitting black smoke.

It turns out that the houses in this village were all transformed from the branches of the tree monster.

In the center of the village, seeing Zhang Xingyu running in and out of the houses with a torch, the old face on the trunk of the locust tree monster immediately showed extreme anxiety.

It abandoned the monster hunter and strode toward Zhang Xingyu.

Great minds think alike. The monster hunter instantly understood Zhang Xingyu's intention. He blocked in front of the locust tree monster, desperately preventing the locust tree monster from approaching Zhang Xingyu.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Xingyu arrived in front of the last thatched cottage.

At the same time, the locust tree monster finally broke through the monster hunter's heavy obstruction and chased behind Zhang Xingyu.

"Go to hell, damn human!" It quickly stretched out the only remaining branch and stabbed it hard at Zhang Xingyu's back.

However, Zhang Xingyu turned his head and waved at the tree monster with a smile.

"Bye-bye!"

At the same time, beside him, the firewood piled under the eaves had been lit by the torch. The flames soared into the sky, quickly climbing onto the window lattice, and immediately climbed onto the roof.

"Damn it!"

Although there was only 0.01 centimeters left from the target's back, the locust tree monster's branch could no longer reach it.

A moment later, it knelt on the ground in unwillingness, immediately turning into a lump of charred charcoal emitting green smoke. ===== CHAPTER 18 =====