Chapter 118: Facing the Ferocious Beast

"Scholar, go chop a stick and tie the knife onto it!" Chen Wuji excitedly ordered.

This gray wolf, seeing him poke his head out, actually still dared to bare its teeth at him.

This little beast probably doesn't know what a knife is in the world!

Licentiate Yuan ran over, cut a straight wooden stick, then wrapped the knife around it with hemp rope, making a rough version of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

"Dare to kill?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Dare!" Licentiate Yuan said firmly.

"Good, stare at its eyes, stab it!" Chen Wuji shouted.

Licentiate Yuan answered loudly, but as soon as he stood at the edge of the pit he got scared, his legs cramped, and the hand holding the knife trembled nonstop.

But he still stared fixedly at the gray wolf in the pit below, directly meeting that pair of ferocious, oppressive and penetrating eyes.

"Ah!"

Licentiate Yuan suddenly straightened his legs, mustered all his strength and let out a roar.

He raised the knife high and thrust it down fiercely.

One stab, two stabs…

Licentiate Yuan waved his arms, his eyes widening until his eyeballs seemed about to pop out, bloodshot reddening the whites of his clear eyes.

Chen Wuji sat aside, watching silently.

He gave no encouragement, nor did he teach him how to do it.

Licentiate Yuan has already experienced much; he now needs the grit and courage to face life head-on and draw his blade against life, needing to grow.

At his age, having such resilience is already quite good.

But Chen Wuji feels it's not enough.

His parents died young, his home was bare, he had no means of livelihood, and he had seen the warmth and coldness of human relations.

These hardships are a whetstone.

But also a mountain that can crush all of a person's backbone and courage.

Whether these two youths will be reborn from the mire of adversity or be bent double, learning to grovel for a lifetime as obedient servants just for food and seasons, remains unknown.

Facing the beast's eyes and daring to draw a blade against it is the ultimate way to temper one's courage.

With such an opportunity, Chen Wuji naturally also wishes to give Licentiate Yuan some guidance.

Fortunately, Licentiate Yuan did not disappoint him.

He has not, under the patronage of Yuan Jinshi, become a compromiser who complains about life.

"Brother Wuji, the wolf is dead!"

Licentiate Yuan panted heavily, lifting the bloodied knife from the pit.

Chen Wuji glanced over indifferently, "Sure it's dead?"

"I pierced its throat; it definitely can't live." Licentiate Yuan said, panting.

Only then did Chen Wuji walk to the edge of the pit and peek inside.

After confirming Licentiate Yuan's judgment was correct, he said, "From now on, whether dealing with people or game, once you draw a blade you must make sure it's completely dead."

"Stabbing again is a good habit to remember. Even if you think it's already dead, don't think that extra stab is superfluous. If the enemy still has a breath, you'll be the one who dies."

"Yes!"

Licentiate Yuan answered loudly, gritted his teeth and drove the knife into the pit, striking the wolf's head hard.

Only then did Chen Wuji nod in satisfaction, "Bring the rope over."

Licentiate Yuan brought the rope over and said voluntarily, "Brother Wuji, I'll go down."

"Of course you go down; I'm now more useless than you, don't count on me." Chen Wuji laughed, "Go down, tie the rope to both ends of the wolf, then pull it up."

"Okay."

Chen Wuji's external wounds have mostly healed, but since this time he injured his internal organs, to be safe he doesn't plan to exert much strength.

Better to fully recover first; there's no rush for a day or two.

Licentiate Yuan jumped into the pit, after tying it up he threw the rope up.

Chen Wuji looped the other end of the rope around a nearby tree trunk, then threw it back to Licentiate Yuan in the pit, "Grab it, use the wall's strength, pull!"

"Oh."

The youth grabbed the knot and exerted all his strength…

The wolf in the pit didn't budge.

Chen Wuji looked, then resignedly did it himself.

He had just been thinking not to exert much strength.

This broken mouth, doing the opposite of him is actually quite good.

Chen Wuji lent a hand, and together they finally pulled the wolf out of the pit over two meters deep.

Afterwards, the two again used Repeating Old Tricks to pull up the yellow goat.

Chen Wuji cut several sticks, bound them together into a simple sled, stacked the yellow goat and gray wolf carcasses on top, and tied the still-living fox and two burlap sacks to the side.

After finishing all that, Chen Wuji waited for Licentiate Yuan to rest a bit, then they checked the other traps, bringing back a badger and a rabbit.

"I'll pull in front, you step in back; be careful—if you slip, I'm done for." Chen Wuji pulled the rope and cautioned Licentiate Yuan with a smile.

Pulling these game downhill isn't taxing, but one slip and he could be knocked flying.

"Got it, Brother Wuji." Licentiate Yuan stepped on the rear stick and grabbed the rope with both hands.

Doing this adds rear force, preventing the sled from inertia‑rushing down the mountain.

After a little effort, Chen Wuji and Licentiate Yuan finally reached the meadow at the mountain's base.

Licentiate Yuan ran over to look, then returned and told Chen Wuji, "Brother Wuji, San Shu and the others are gone, and the cattle are missing too."

"Then forget it, we're going back." Chen Wuji said.

"Hmm."

The path down the mountain was hard to walk, but it wasn't too tiring. However, when we reached the flat stretch, the big one and the small one almost wore themselves out.

The game wasn't much, but altogether it weighed about three hundred jin.

Among them, the gray wolf was the heaviest, weighing about one hundred forty or fifty jin.

Chen Wuji, who kept thinking he didn't want to exert himself at this moment, ended up using up his strength.

If he weren't injured, this weight wouldn't be anything; Chen Wuji could carry it back by himself.

But this injury left him feeling weak.

By the time he reached the village entrance, his vision was almost seeing stars, and his throat felt like it was on fire.

"What are they doing?" Chen Wuji plopped down on the earthen bank beside the road, lifted his chin toward the village entrance, and asked Licentiate Yuan weakly.

There was a big crowd gathered there, bustling, as if everyone from the village had come out.

Licentiate Yuan wearily glanced over and said, "I, I'll go take a look."

"Never mind, let's talk after we rest." Chen Wuji stopped him.

This kid was also worn out, his legs trembling, sweat soaking through his clothes.