This scene left the two burly men hiding in the bushes dumbfounded; they hadn't expected the kid's plan to actually work.
However, thinking about the next step of the plan that kid had prepared, they couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
In unison, their gazes gathered on the Mutated Wild Boar, a playful look in their eyes as they seemed to anticipate what would happen next.
At that moment, the fiercely struggling giant wild boar was rolling around, reaching the peak of its frenzy, when suddenly it felt something make contact down there, followed instantly by a sharp, agonizing pain!
There's poison in there!
The giant wild boar's red eyes bulged, its entire body shuddered violently, and then, with a miserable scream, its hind legs suddenly stiffened and went limp.
Now!
In the bushes, the sound of breaking wind suddenly rang out. Shen Xiu burst forth, the muscles in his legs tensed, and in a split second he sprinted five or six meters, instantly closing in on the paralyzed Mutated Wild Boar.
At the same time, the broadsword in his hand slashed out abruptly, the sound of tearing air whistling forth and kicking up a flurry of afterimages.
The two burly men hiding within only saw a flash of blade light, followed by splattering blood.
The heavily charged broadsword slashed down ruthlessly.
In response, the Mutated Wild Boar let out a shrill scream that echoed across the fields.
Under Shen Xiu's full-strength strike, a terrifying, foot-long bloody gash was torn open across the Mutated Wild Boar's back.
The giant wild boar struggled, still trying to run, but the poison originating from that part of its body had spread throughout its system, stiffening its limbs and rendering it temporarily immobile.
Strike while the iron is hot; Shen Xiu's attacks did not let up. The blade light merged into a blur, and blood blossoms flew.
Under Shen Xiu's successive hacks, the Mutated Wild Boar managed to run a dozen meters on sheer grit before finally collapsing and dying in bitter frustration.
The two burly men who had been blocking the escape routes arrived at the scene.
Seeing the miserable state of the Mutated Wild Boar before them, both were utterly astonished, inwardly marveling that disciples of Jínhóng Martial Hall were indeed extraordinary.
This mutated giant wild boar had thick skin and tough flesh; even if they had hacked at it themselves, it would have taken them ages, and despite spending so much effort earlier, they hadn't been able to bring it down.
Yet Brother Shen's method was truly ingenious—actually stuffing paper-wrapped poison right up inside the white boar's rear.
Imagining how the paper would grow damp and inevitably tear apart from movement, naturally releasing the poison inside, the outcome spoke for itself.
The burly man surnamed Li decided that the next time he encountered prey he couldn't handle, he would try this method.
Everything was settled.
Shen Xiu dragged the giant wild boar back to Lǐ Family Village and showed it to the village head, Li Yongnian, indicating that the commission was complete.
As for the final destination of this wild boar, it naturally served as the spoils of war for Shen Xiu's efforts, to which everyone in Lǐ Family Village raised no objection.
Hauling the wild boar back to the guesthouse arranged by Village Head Li, Shen Xiu waited until the surroundings were completely deserted before quietly releasing the Golden Cicada from his Dantian.
The Golden Cicada was indeed somewhat interested in this mutated wild boar spirit. As soon as it was released, it flew a circle around the giant wild boar lying on the ground.
Then it picked a spot and began to feast heartily.
Alas, although the Golden Cicada, having undergone one metamorphosis, had a slightly larger appetite, it wasn't *that* much larger.
An entire giant wild boar like this, after such a long time, had only had less than a tenth of it eaten.
Though it didn't eat much, the Golden Cicada's satiety increased quite a bit.
This single meal increased its satiety by nearly 2%, bringing the Golden Cicada's satiety up to 24.5%.
This was vastly better than those medicinal dregs.
This made Shen Xiu wonder if only beasts and Demonic Beasts containing demonic Qi were the true food of the Golden Cicada.
The Golden Cicada couldn't finish the wild boar in one sitting.
Shen Xiu couldn't just carry it around like that, so he decided to ask the people of Lǐ Family Village to help process it and cut it into several portions.
Shen Xiu had just solved a huge problem for Lǐ Family Village; naturally, the villagers had no reason to refuse and quickly helped get it sorted out.
On the second day after completing the mission, Shen Xiu packed up his belongings and the Mutated Wild Boar meat processed by Lǐ Family Village, preparing to leave the village and return to Taixi City.
Before leaving, Village Head Li Yongnian of Lǐ Family Village saw Shen Xiu out the door and had the nearby Steward Li bring over a package.
"Village Head, what is this?" Shen Xiu asked, looking somewhat puzzled at the handed-over package.
Village Head Li grinned and said, "It's also for troubling little brother to run such a long distance; this small gift is a token of my appreciation."
Regarding such a young and brilliant talent, Li Yongnian's thinking was simple—cultivating ties with him could never hurt.
Shen Xiu thought for a moment and did not refuse.
Before leaving, Li Yongnian also offered a warning: "Recently, in the direction of White Tiger Ridge, the Chihuo Bandits have been roaming nearby, seemingly looking for something. If Brother Shen is heading back, you must still be extremely careful on the road."
Hearing Village Head Li's words, Shen Xiu immediately frowned.
In recent years, a gang of bandits calling themselves the Chihuo Bandits had frequently haunted the vicinity of Taixi City. They burned, killed, and looted, committing every conceivable atrocity with ruthless methods.
Rumors had it that the martial arts skills of the Chihuo Bandits were quite formidable, and even the weakest of the three chiefs was said to be at the Second Realm: Tendon Refining stage.
As for the leader, Chief Wang Jinlong, he was rumored to be an unfathomable and formidable expert of the Fourth Realm: Guicang.
Their movements were as elusive as ghosts, and with high-level chiefs running things, even the constables of the Taixi City county yamen found them rather thorny to deal with.
They had once issued a proclamation summoning bounty hunters from the pugilistic world with a heavy reward for the heads of the Chihuo Bandits, but not a single hair was ever seen, and quite a few went and never returned.
Thus, a little over a year ago, the Taixi City county yamen made up its mind, dispatched experts, and spent a great deal of money to contact several martial hall masters, launching a thunderous raid on the base of the Chihuo Bandits.
However, the enemy seemed to have gotten word in advance; the place was deserted, and they only managed to kill a few minor leaders who hadn't managed to retreat in time.
On the contrary, Master Yang Jinhong of Jínhóng Martial Hall had pursued the deepest, resulting in the heaviest losses. Not only was he himself injured, but he also lost two of his personal disciples.
Only then had the enemy gradually reined themselves in a bit, occasionally coming out to commit crimes from time to time.
Leaving Lǐ Family Village, Shen Xiu opened the package given by Village Head Li and found that it contained some medicinal herbs, with five shiny silver coins at the bottom.
In commissions for Jínhóng Martial Hall, the payment of rewards was always delivered directly by the client to the martial hall rather than passing through the hands of the formal disciples who completed the missions.
As for the ten-silver-coin reward for the Lǐ Family Village commission, it had already been paid to the martial hall beforehand.
Village Head Li was very clear on this point, so these five silver coins were undoubtedly given to Shen Xiu alone and did not belong to the ten-silver reward for the original mission.
This Village Head Li certainly knew how to handle human relations, Shen Xiu thought with a smile.
Watching Shen Xiu's departing back, the estate steward looked at his master with some puzzlement.
"That kid looks like he's only at the First Realm: Body Tempering stage in terms of strength at Jínhóng Martial Hall. We've already given the martial hall its reward; did we need to give him another portion?"
Village Head Li did not answer immediately, instead looking at the steward with a half-smile. "You spent these past few days with him—what was your impression?"
Steward Li was somewhat perplexed, but he still frowned in thought before replying, "I'd say he's relatively polite, calm, and neither servile nor overbearing, unlike the arrogant folks who used to come here."
"I have never valued those who become arrogant the moment they gain a shred of ability. Such people, even if they enjoy temporary success, will quickly lose it due to their arrogance and lawlessness.
On the contrary, ordinary people like this are the ones who might reach realms beyond our knowledge."
"Five silver coins isn't much for someone of his status, nor does it seem deliberate. Consider it planting a good karma. My eyelid has been twitching lately; I always feel like things aren't quite peaceful, as if something is about to happen."
The dark-skinned Village Head Li looked out into the distance, gazing toward the direction of Shanglin City, a contemplative expression in his brow.
He had two quite valuable batches of medicinal herbs on the way to Shanglin City.