Chapter 251: The Blood Hunter's Decision (Third Watch)

"Here's the thing — didn't I mention before that I joined a young hunting team? They just came to find me again. They need me to keep serving as their vice regimental commander, and I can continue going out on hunts with their team.

My main duty is passing on hunting experience, no need to act personally, and the conditions they offered are really good. They also said if they hunt a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup, they'll give me one. The price is just needing you, Ye Ge, to lend them a hand a few times…"

Hearing this, Fang Yue's brow furrowed slightly, and he cut in.

"Lend a hand a few times? You told them about me? My situation is a bit special right now, it's not convenient for me to leave the village for the time being, and I have no plans to join their group. Besides, your health is poor now and you still want to go out into the wild — isn't that asking to die? You're older than me, you've eaten more salt than I've walked roads. Passing on experience to them — once they've all learned it, are you sure they won't burn the bridge after crossing, kick you aside with one foot?"

Clearly, the reason the Blood Hunter's mood had improved was that young team.

Hearing Fang Yue's words, the Blood Hunter fell silent for a moment, then said hesitantly.

"…I've had contact with them. They don't seem like that sort of people. Xu Pai, although young, is a very responsible regimental commander. Ma Shou, although clumsy, is very obedient, very simple. Every one of them is kind, every one of them has manners. They don't seem like that sort, that sort of…"

As the Blood Hunter went on, his voice gradually grew quieter, until he fell completely silent.

A person without value does not deserve to stay in any team.

Perhaps at the very beginning, the Blood Hunter could rely on his seasoned experience to hold an extremely high position and enjoy great benefits within the team, but once the techniques had all been taught, he would become a useless burden dragging the team down.

When that time came, how long he could stay with the team would depend entirely on how much conscience the team had.

That is a completely different concept from a healthy old hunter with seasoned experience.

Having nothing but experience, with no way to act, it is hard to last long in a team.

"As long as… as long as I hold on until they hunt a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup… just one… one…"

The Blood Hunter clenched his fists, his eyes red, muttering to himself as if possessed.

The sight made Fang Yue's heart ache a little.

In a certain sense, the Blood Hunter's Blood Dou had died because of him.

Although it was Ma Ling'er who killed Blood Dou, in a certain sense, he truly did die in his place.

After a silence, Fang Yue said: "Tell me about the difficulty and situation of capturing a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup. I may go out into the wild in the next couple of days. If the conditions are suitable and there's no danger, I'll consider helping you catch a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup and bring it back."

"Ye Ge!"

The Blood Hunter jerked his head up, his roguishly handsome old face with tears at the corners of his eyes.

Wiping away a tear, he said: "If Ye Ge can help me catch a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup, all the Ghost Hunter Meat stored in Gu Yue Cun will be yours. And that stupid Blood Eagle — I'll give it to you too!"

"Blood Eagle?"

"A type of eagle trained by hunters. Much more useful than an ordinary eagle, but like all other trained eagles, it can only be used near the village. Once it leaves the village's range, that's territory it hasn't been trained in, so it can't relay intelligence back. It's a fairly low-level hunter companion. In the future, if anything happens at Gu Yue Cun, you'll be able to get the first reports from the Blood Eagle.

Of course, this requires some training. Once we get back to the village, I'll teach you step by step."

At that, it was indeed not bad.

Most importantly, the Ghost Hunter meat…

After all these years, the Blood Hunter must have stored up quite a lot. Although the eating effect of Ghost Hunter meat isn't as heaven-defying as some heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it can still greatly boost cultivation progress.

With that, Fang Yue truly took the matter to heart.

After asking the Blood Hunter in detail how to capture a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup, and the points to watch out for, and confirming the danger wasn't great, Fang Yue was slightly relieved.

Of course, this was relative to someone of Fang Yue's Houtian Second-rate Realm strength.

For a martial practitioner like the Blood Hunter who hadn't even entered the Martial Dao, it was naturally far more difficult.

But when it came to finding 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pups, the capture details, and even how to safely subdue a pup without hurting it after catching it, the Blood Hunter had too many tricks and subtleties, giving Fang Yue an instant headache.

"Or… Ye Ge, you could have Xu Pai and the others come with you. When you run into a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup, let them handle the hunting part, then hand it over to you."

Xu Pai was the regimental commander of the young hunting team the Blood Hunter had previously joined.

But Fang Yue had no trust in such outsiders, and would never entrust something as important as a 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】 pup to them.

"But you're not a hunter after all — finding targets and how to hunt, you don't know how to…"

"That's why I'm learning right now, aren't I?"

"That's only theory!"

The Blood Hunter grew anxious — he wished he could stuff every bit of knowledge in his head into Fang Yue's.

But there was no point; everything that could be said had been said. The actual operation still had to be carried out by Fang Yue himself.

Just as the two reached this point in their discussion, a knock sounded at the door.

"Captain Ye, Divine Doctor An requests your presence."

Fang Yue's heart gave a jolt — he knew Divine Doctor An had finished reviewing the prescription.

After exchanging a few words with the Blood Hunter, he hurried off.

Watching Fang Yue's departing back, the Blood Hunter's feelings were extremely complicated. He reached out as if to speak, but in the end, the raised hand slowly lowered.

What he could do now was truly not much.

In the room, peace returned. A single door shut out the noise outside.

Perhaps because his body was ruined, the Blood Hunter now found himself especially prone to reminiscing.

He recalled the days of old, recalled the wonderful experiences of hunting, and the everyday moments with Blood Dou — that companionship, that feeling of fighting side by side.

Occasionally, regret over this escort trip also flashed through — if he hadn't taken part, he'd surely still be doing fine back in Gu Yue Cun.

But there was really no point. Blood Dou had already been heading into his twilight years; if he couldn't find a new 【Giant-Headed Blood Hound】, his days would be just as hard.

Heaving a deep sigh, the Blood Hunter looked toward the willow outside the window. Falling leaves drifted down, just like his present state of mind — sinking into the deep sea, unable to put it into words.

Knock knock knock.

Just then, the door suddenly sounded.

Is Ye Ge back?

The Blood Hunter's heart leapt with joy. He called out to come in, but his expression suddenly froze.

Because he saw that the ones pushing the door open were Xu Pai's young hunting team.

"Lord Blood, how have you considered what we discussed earlier? Continue being our team's vice regimental commander. I pledge my life on it — the treatment won't change at all. We all respect an old senior like you!"

Standing behind Xu Pai was a girl called Ma Shou. She blinked her cute big eyes, looking at the Blood Hunter full of hope.

The Blood Hunter looked at the warm and sincere Xu Pai Hunting Team, then recalled Fang Yue's cold departure, and for a moment, emotions surged within him, until finally he made his decision.

……

(End of this chapter)