Chapter 4: Cunning Fox Ambush

"Boss, look, a monster core!!!"

At this moment, a mercenary man suddenly shouted excitedly, holding up a white ice-colored crystal core still stained with blood.

First-rank Red Ice Snakes are not considered strong among magical beasts. Being able to obtain a magic crystal from the corpses of these ten Red Ice Snakes is considered good luck. You must know that in the wild, killing magical beasts and returning empty-handed at the cost of heavy casualties is not uncommon.

The man's shout naturally attracted many eyes, and everyone looked at the monster core in his hand with great envy.

At this moment, Yan Qingshan, who had just been guiding a trainee apprentice to bandage a mercenary, suddenly sensed a hint of danger. He immediately picked up the cocked crossbow with the safety engaged, released the safety with his left hand while holding it up, and quickly pulled the trigger after adjusting the aim with his right hand.

The auxiliary calculation function was activated. Wind speed, distance, and the speed and path of the attacker's movement, these data were constantly updated and calculated in his eyes to determine the next trajectory, and also calculated the angle and path he needed to shoot.

With a whoosh, a wolf fang crossbow bolt almost grazed the mercenary's cheek. Just as Yan Qingshan shot an arrow, the bushes four steps behind the mercenary suddenly moved, and a green shadow darted out from the treetop, baring its fangs and claws at the mercenary's back.

With green fur, a long and slender body resembling a forest wolf but smaller and more agile, a foul-smelling long mouth with fangs glistening with cold light and dripping saliva, and a crimson tongue covered with barbs.

Cunning Wood Fox, a first-rank wood attribute magical beast, medium in size but highly intelligent, very cunning and difficult to kill, good at ambushing in the forest, moving like the wind and retreating quickly after a single strike. It rarely attacks proactively, but this time it was clearly coming for the monster core.

Yan Qingshan's shout was too sudden, and most people didn't react at all when the wolf fang crossbow bolt was already shot. The bolt grazed the mercenary's cheek and accurately shot into the Cunning Wood Fox's open bloody mouth, piercing its throat and stabbing into its body, almost completely piercing the fox.

Bang…

The Cunning Wood Fox, hit by the wolf fang crossbow bolt, continued to move forward due to inertia, hitting the mercenary who was stunned in place and knocking him staggering to the ground. The emerald green fox twitched its limbs and blood kept gushing out of its mouth, and soon it was lifeless.

"Get up!"

Mangba shouted loudly, came to the mercenary who was almost scared silly, reached out and pulled him up. After a careful check, he confirmed that the man was just overly frightened and had no other injuries, and pushed him away.

Mangba pinched the back of the Cunning Wood Fox's neck, reached out and pinched the tail feathers to pull out the entire wolf fang arrow. After confirming that the magical beast was dead, he extended two fingers into the fox's mouth. After searching the Cunning Wood Fox's upper jaw for a while, he shook his head in disappointment, then turned and carried the corpse towards Yan Qingshan.

"What a pity, Qingshan. We didn't find a monster core in this Cunning Wood Fox, but your arrow was really powerful, piercing its throat and internal organs without damaging a single hair. This complete Cunning Wood Fox fur is worth no less than a monster core."

Mangba placed the corpse of the Cunning Wood Fox next to Yan Qingshan, and took out a rag to wipe the blood stains off the wolf fang arrow. "This wolf fang arrow is really good, but there are very few people who can use it as well as you. This arrow is almost undamaged and can still be used."

"Not bad!"

Yan Qingshan took the wolf fang arrow, glanced at the blood-stained wolf fang on the arrowhead that gleamed with cold light, nodded, and put it back into the quiver. That day, after the Azure Wood Wolf was brought back to the Thousand Medicine House and Yan Qingshan woke up, he had someone process the Azure Wood Wolf. He kept the monster core for himself for healing and cultivation.

He had someone process the Azure Wood Wolf's fur, flesh, wolf bones, and wolf claws, which gave him a windfall. He had someone make a quiver of wolf fang arrows from the Azure Wood Wolf's sharpest wolf fangs, and spent a lot of money to find a powerful crossbow that could hurt magical beasts. After practicing for so long, he had some skill.

"But you're really good at observation and vigilance. I didn't even notice this Cunning Wood Fox. Fortunately, you reacted quickly. This Yang Wu is the only breadwinner in his family, and he doesn't have any brothers. His kid is not even ten years old. If something happened to him..."

Mangba helped Yan Qingshan slightly process the Cunning Wood Fox's corpse, ensuring the integrity and value of the fur. While doing so, he subconsciously rambled a lot, and suddenly stopped at the end, looking at Yan Qingshan worriedly, as if he felt he had said something wrong.

"We have to be careful when we're out here."

Yan Qingshan just shook his head. There were too many people like Yang Wu, whom Mangba mentioned, in Qingshan Town. The Yan family was similar, and even worse. In the two years after Yan's father passed away, Yan Qingshan had a hard time. If it were the original owner, he might have been moved by the scene.

Yan Qingshan took a rough piece of leather and wiped the arrowheads in the quiver one by one, while his peripheral vision kept scanning around, sensing danger.

Mangba was right to say he was vigilant. He was indeed much more aware of danger than ordinary people. Dawn could give people all kinds of incredible abilities, including extreme perception and observation abilities. The operating principle was similar to amplifying the safety distance.

Even if an ordinary person's perception range is amplified, it will only be about one meter. But some powerful guys in the previous life could perceive everything within their sight. Even in places they couldn't see behind them, they could have ten times the clear perception of ordinary people.

After waking up, Yan Qingshan found that his mental strength, that is, his perception, far exceeded that of ordinary people. Everything within ten meters was almost clearly visible. Even if he couldn't see, he could use his keen five senses to outline corresponding images from the sound of the wind, smell, etc., and perceive them clearly.

That's why he chose to go into the mountains to find the cliff cave opportunity under harsh conditions. He felt that with his unique perception ability, given enough time and energy, he could always find some clues. When he had the ability, he wouldn't waste more time searching slowly.

The attacks of the Red Ice Snakes and the Cunning Wood Fox were just the beginning. There were quite a few magical beasts in this shady jungle, and the endless dangers made everyone quite embarrassed.

Of course, most magical beasts would leave directly after seeing the commotion made by Yan Qingshan and others, without trying to fight. Of course, there were also some stubborn ones who chose to fight the mercenaries head-on.

When a few mercenaries surrounded and killed a Snake-tailed Leopard, the mercenaries finally stopped and set up a simple camp to rest.

This small forest didn't need much space for a team of over a hundred people to rest. They didn't need to go too far. It was enough to clear an open space on the periphery and drive away some magical beasts. If they really killed too many, the blood would attract high-level magical beasts. Even if it was just a second-rank magical beast, they wouldn't be able to deal with it.

The carriage stopped under the canopy of a large tree, and Yan Qingshan slowly stepped down to the ground. The bumps along the way made him quite uncomfortable.

Although he had to pretend to be injured, it was normal to walk around and stretch his muscles and bones.

Walking alone, Yan Qingshan could perceive the changes in the eyes of the surrounding mercenaries. In this circle where strength determined status, as long as you showed impressive strength, you could gain the respect of others. This was a simple and direct rule.

He killed a Cunning Wood Fox with one arrow. Whether it was luck or not, his behavior and strength were recognized, which was beneficial for the next work.

In the simple camp, a dozen mercenaries were scattered around on guard, and the others sat on the ground, recovering the energy they had consumed on the road.

Trainee apprentices in the herb gathering team were looking for herbs around the camp, and some mercenaries followed, seemingly wanting to learn some skills.

These apprentices didn't drive people away. They weren't strong enough, and the Magical Beast Mountains were full of dangers. Having mercenaries around could help them in case of danger.

Yan Qingshan walked out of the crowd, vigilantly sensing the surroundings. After walking out of the small dense forest, he came to a somewhat steep cliff. Standing on the top of the cliff and looking into the distance, there were lush green forests, which were quite beautiful.

Yan Qingshan's eyes roamed around the cliff, constantly scanning. But if someone observed carefully, they would find that most of his eyes were focused on the bottom of the cliff, as if he was looking for something.

"Qingshan, what are you worried about? Don't tell me you've read too many novels and travelogues and are planning to jump off the cliff to find an opportunity!"

A hearty laugh suddenly came from behind. Yan Qingshan stiffened, then changed his expression, turning around with a smile.

"Uncle Mangba, what are you talking about? Aren't I looking for medicinal herbs? It's a pity, this White Orchid Fruit hasn't ripened yet!"

Yan Qingshan smacked his lips, touched his nose, and pointed to a herb beside him. On the edge of the cliff, in the direction Yan Qingshan pointed, a plant with pale white flowers slightly blooming, with flower buds. In the center of the flower buds, there grew half-red, half-green fruits, with a faint aroma.

This plant was hidden in the grass, surrounded by similar white wildflowers. This plant, seen from a distance, was only slightly larger than the other flowers, inconspicuous among the flowers. If not observed carefully, the difference would not be noticed.

"Is that really a White Orchid Fruit? A mid-rank herb, usually only growing on cliff edges. Although the production is quite abundant, this herb is the favorite food of avian magical beasts, so it is usually eaten by the beasts before it fully grows. It is a rare item among mid-rank herbs."

Mangba did not come alone. Besides him, Xiao Yi Xian also came. Hearing Yan Qingshan mention the White Orchid Fruit, she stepped forward and bent down to observe in front of the white flowers.

Xiao Yi Xian observed for a long time, then raised her head in disappointment. "What a pity! It hasn't ripened yet. If it were a ripe White Orchid Fruit, the fruit would turn completely red. A ripe White Orchid Fruit is a mid-rank herb, and at Thousand Medicine House, it starts at least at four thousand gold coins!"

"What! How much? Four thousand gold coins!"

Mangba and another mercenary listened with wide eyes, pointing at the White Orchid Fruit and saying, "This little thing, four thousand, so expensive!"

Xiao Yi Xian pouted and said, "Ripe White Orchid Fruit is a mid-rank herb sought after by many alchemists, especially suitable for cultivating magical beasts, so the price is very high. Unfortunately, this one is not ripe, so picking it is useless."