Chapter 1113, Yan Hua’s Moment of Crisis

Translator: Silavin

 

The calls fell silent. The scene that followed was remarkably peaceful.

 

It was clear the others had accepted the Flame Dragon Tribe’s bird.

 

They carried on as though nothing had happened, spreading out to forage.

 

“Wonderful. I knew it would work.” Yan Hua wiped the sweat from her palms.

 

Yan Hua had watched from the side with barely contained nerves, more than once fighting the urge to go rushing over.

 

But each time she thought of Su Bai and the Sha Lan’s reminders, she pulled herself back.

 

*Riii… Riii…*

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s Six Eyed Red Bird turned its head and looked toward the top of the tall tree in the distance, calling out once, soft and brief.

 

Yan Hua gave a satisfied nod. There was no other reason for it. She knew the bird was greeting her.

 

She smoothed back the long black hair that the wind had tousled and murmured. “You have to hold it together now. Slip up and everything falls apart.”

 

That was exactly it. All their hopes rested on the Flame Dragon Tribe’s Six Eyed Red Bird right now.

 

Look closely and one could see several Shaman Bone Tablets tucked among the feathers at its neck, hidden very well.

 

Unless one parted those feathers with their hand, no one would spot them.

 

That was Yan Hua’s idea, and it was a sound one. High chance of success, no casualties, just a method to tame the other Six Eyed Red Birds without anyone getting hurt.

 

“I’ve already put Totem Power into them. All it has to do is make contact, and the Shaman Bone Tablet would activate. That’s the Taming done.”

 

Yan Hua settled herself against the trunk of the tree and pulled a rice ball from her pack. She kept murmuring to herself. “Then I can bring back a whole group. Running missions this way is really something.”

 

Yan Hua took a large bite of the rice ball that Yu Ying had made for her, then raised her binoculars and tracked the movements of the Six Eyed Red Bird flock.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s Six Eyed Red Bird had already begun to stir. It spotted one companion that had wandered off from the others, foraging alone in a separate patch of undergrowth.

 

It moved on light, easy steps, drawing closer. With a nearly imperceptible shake of its neck, the hidden Shaman Bone Tablet slipped into view.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s Six Eyed Red Bird kept its head down as though searching for food nearby. In reality, it was working the Shaman Bone Tablet loose from its neck feathers.

 

With practiced ease, it held the Shaman Bone Tablet in its beak. The precision of the motion made clear this had been rehearsed many times.

 

While its companion had its head down digging for food, the Six Eyed Red Bird snapped its head and flung the Shaman Bone Tablet in its beak hard at the other bird.

 

*Whoosh*!

 

With a clean cutting sound, the Shaman Bone Tablet struck its companion. At the moment of impact, the power within the Shaman Bone Tablet was triggered.

 

A light flared and was gone. The Six Eyed Red Bird that had been foraging a moment before was now subdued.

 

“Wow. It actually worked. All that care the Tribe has taken with you wasn’t in vain.” Yan Hua finished her rice ball in a satisfied bite.

 

She drank a long swallow of water from her Animal Hide Bag, thinking that at this rate, she ought to be able to Tame all the Six Eyed Red Birds before dark.

 

Time passed. The sky began to deepen slowly.

 

The whole forest sank under the dark, pale moonlight threading through the trees, visibility not very great.

 

*Gu gu ji ji…*

*Hu la hu la hu…*

*Ao ao ao li li…*

 

Night arrived and the forest filled with the calls of every kind of Ferocious Beast. The nocturnal hunt had begun.

 

Yan Hua stopped resting and rose up, scanning the area around her with sharp attention.

 

The Flame Dragon Tribe’s Six Eyed Red Bird had succeeded in Taming the rest of its companions. They were all now resting in a cave.

 

It made sense. Fast as they were, even Ferocious Beasts needed shelter at night when they rested.

 

They were not built for moving in darkness, and their vision at night was limited.

 

Fast as they could run, it meant little if they could not see. Charging headlong into a tree in the dark would only make them someone else’s meal.

 

“My turn now.” Yan Hua readied her recurve bow.

 

She intended to go on the offensive, to seek out the prey that would let her break through.

 

Yan Hua had not forgotten the other reason for coming out here. She needed to grow stronger, and quickly.

 

*Rustle rustle…*

 

Just as Yan Hua prepared herself, the trees and undergrowth all around began giving off unsettling sounds.

 

“I hope whatever that is won’t disappoint me.” Yan Hua gripped her recurve bow tightly.

 

She stopped standing in place and began turning on the branch, her attention on everything around her.

 

Carelessness here meant her life. Yan Hua had every intention of going home.

 

*Swish!*

 

As Yan Hua looked left, something struck from the right without warning.

 

In the dim light she caught the shape of a snake’s tail. Her reaction was immediate.

 

She planted both feet hard against the trunk and flipped cleanly onto another branch.

 

The spot Yan Hua had chosen was reasonably open, which was deliberate. She needed room to move.

 

*Swish!*

 

The instant she landed, the thick snake tail came swinging again.

 

It had no interest in letting its prey escape, giving Yan Hua not a moment’s rest.

 

“If that thing catches me, it’ll break half my ribs.” Yan Hua’s forehead was damp with sweat.

 

The constant high-speed movement between branches was draining her Stamina fast.

 

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

 

Yan Hua had no intention of staying on the back foot. Even while dodging the tail, she drew her recurve bow and released.

 

Three arrows flew toward the thick snake tail, but to little effect.

 

That colossal tail was like a wall. Even the recurve bow’s speed and force were not enough to pierce through it.

 

“It’s strong.” Yan Hua immediately dropped the recurve bow to one side.

 

Her reactions were sharp. One attempt was enough for her to know that the bow was useless here. Keeping it in hand would only get in the way.

 

*Crack! Swish! Swish!*

 

The thick tongue gave Yan Hua no time to think, pressing the attack without pause.

 

“Unbelievable. With a body that size, how does it still move and react so quickly!?” Yan Hua clenched her jaw.

 

Her Stamina was taking a heavy toll, but not once had she lost her rhythm against the Ferocious Beast’s rapid assault.

 

*Ssssiiii…*

 

A low, steady hissing filled the air, the flicker of a forked tongue in the darkness. It made the dark forest feel very unsettling.

 

“Most likely an Ancient Blood Ferocious Beast. Its toughness and strength are both formidable….” Yan Hua landed behind a large rock.

 

*Ssssiiii…*

 

The large serpent shifted in and out of the moonlight, beginning to circle the forest with Yan Hua at its centre.