However, they had only taken a couple of steps when the thick scent of blood drifted over on the wind.
The group froze, instinctively following the smell.
Soon, they arrived at the clearing that Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng had "cleared out."
When they saw the scene before them, they were all so shocked they stood frozen in place, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
The ground was a river of blood, covered in chaotic hoof prints and signs of a struggle. The very soil was stained a dark red.
"This... This is..."
Chen Hao's voice trembled as he stared at the spectacle, which resembled a Chaotic Scene.
"It's the blood of Iron-skinned Pigs! No doubt about it! At least... at least a dozen of them died here!" one of the students said in horror, crouching down and rubbing some of the soil between his fingers.
A dozen?!
Wiped out?!
The students exchanged glances, each seeing the shock and disbelief in the others' eyes.
"Are you kidding me? The herd we ran into just now only had about a dozen pigs, right? Who could have done this? This is insane!"
Chen Hao's mind raced. He ventured a confident guess, "To be able to silently wipe out an entire herd of Iron-skinned Pigs in such a short time, without even letting the Pig King escape... This was definitely the work of a professional hunting squad from the Demon Beast Hunting Guild! And it must have been an elite squad with great teamwork, led by a Second-Grade Martial Artist at the very least!"
The more he spoke, the more sense it made to him, and his gaze toward the battlefield filled with awe.
"So professional! Look, there are a lot of tracks, but they aren't chaotic. That means the battle was kept under tight control. The other party gave the pigs no chance to fight back or escape! Their methods are practically an art form!"
His classmates nodded repeatedly, their gazes turning wary as they scanned the surroundings, afraid the hunting squad might still be nearby.
Following the blood trail, they crept forward a few dozen meters and soon discovered the pile of pig carcasses hidden under leaves and branches.
Seeing the mountain of corpses, they couldn't help but swallow hard.
'Holy shit!!'
'The bodies of over a dozen Iron-skinned Pigs!'
'If we sold all of these, how much money would that be?!'
The same thought sprouted in all their minds simultaneously.
"Hao... Brother Hao..."
The skinny, tall student licked his dry lips and whispered, "Should we... maybe... just take three? There's no one here anyway, and no cameras..."
Chen Hao's heart began to pound.
Reason told him that stealing another Martial Artist's kill was a huge taboo. If they were discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But the temptation was simply too great!
'Just three, and our mission will be complete!'
'If we take one more... we could save a fortune on the Wind Blade Wolf's treatment fees!'
Chen Hao wrestled with himself for a moment, then carefully scanned his surroundings again.
After confirming that there was truly no one around, he finally gave in to the temptation. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Let's do it!"
The group immediately scrambled to pull away the leaves, preparing to pick out three carcasses in good condition.
However, just as their hands were about to touch the corpses...
A cold voice, like the Nine Nether Ice itself, echoed softly from behind them.
"What... are you doing?"
Chen Hao and the others froze instantly, as if hit by an Immobilization Technique. Cold sweat broke out all at once.
Stiffly, bit by bit, they turned their heads.
Not far away, under a tree, Gu Yuexi stood quietly. The menacing black "giant mosquito" rested on her shoulder, and her cold eyes watched them without a shred of emotion.
"Gu... Gu Yuexi?"
Chen Hao was stunned, as were the classmates beside him.
Their hearts, which had leaped into their throats, came crashing back down with a WHOOSH.
'Oh, it's just her!'
'What a false alarm!'
Of course, they would never believe that Gu Yuexi was responsible for the scene before them.
What kind of ridiculous joke was that?
A mere First-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist, plus a mutant mosquito that didn't even have the rank of a Demon Beast? Capable of wiping out an entire herd of Iron-skinned Pigs?
The Pig King would laugh out loud if it heard that!
In his eyes, Gu Yuexi was, one hundred percent, just like them—lucky enough to have stumbled upon this "treasure trove."
"Damn, it's just you. You scared me!" the skinny, tall student said, sighing in relief and patting his chest.
Chen Hao's expression also relaxed, though he was still a little nervous. After all, they had been caught red-handed about to steal something.
He cleared his throat, pretending nothing had happened, and took the initiative to speak. "Classmate Gu Yuexi, you found this place too? Pretty lucky!"
He paused, his eyes flickering as he glanced at the pile of pig corpses. He lowered his voice and said, "How about this... Let's just pretend none of us saw anything today. And let's not take all the pigs, just in case the real owner comes back and makes trouble."
"We'll take three, you take one, and then we all leave quickly. How about that? That's pretty generous of me, right? I wouldn't be this generous with anyone else!"
He said it with such an entitled expression, as if giving Gu Yuexi one pig was an act of immense grace.
In his view, for a First-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist like Gu Yuexi, even being able to carry away one pig was a feat. There was no reason for her to refuse such a "fair" distribution.
"Give me one?"
Gu Yuexi was so angry she laughed. "I killed all these pigs. What do you mean, 'give me one'?"
"..."
"???"
The air instantly froze.
The expressions on the faces of Chen Hao and his classmates were priceless, as if they were all suddenly constipated.
After several long seconds, the skinny guy couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a PFFT of laughter.
"Seriously... I mean, Gu Yuexi, are you not awake yet? Or did something rattle you?"
"You're saying you killed these pigs? Look at your scrawny little self, then look at that big mosquito on your shoulder. What did you kill them with? Your mouth?"
"Yeah, seriously, you should at least think before you brag. This is over a dozen Iron-skinned Pigs, including a First-Grade Late Stage Pig King! Our five-person squad got chased all over by a different herd. And you think you could do this?"
They chimed in one after another, looking at Gu Yuexi as if she were an unhinged lunatic.
'No wonder she contracted a mosquito! She must be a total psycho, right?'
Chen Hao also shook his head, a look of disappointment on his face.
"Gu Yuexi, I originally thought you were just a bit cold, but I never expected you to be so... vain."
"If you want to take them all for yourself, just say so. Why make up such a ridiculous excuse?"
He had completely lost his patience and didn't want to waste any more words on this crazy woman. He waved a hand at his classmates.
"Ignore her. We're taking three and leaving!"
Perched on Gu Yuexi's shoulder, Chu Sheng had seen and heard everything, and he was so angry he almost laughed.
'Fucking hell, these bastards have some seriously twisted logic!'
'Getting caught red-handed, but instead of running, they turn around and accuse the owner of being the thief?'
'How the hell is anyone supposed to tolerate this?!'
'Goddammit, we have to fuck them up! I've been sick of that Chen Hao for a while now!' Chu Sheng seethed, growing angrier by the second.
Meanwhile, Gu Yuexi's gaze turned cold.
A faint trace of killing intent began to gather in the depths of her eyes.