Chapter 365 – Assault
After going over the mountain, Shao Xuan could clearly feel the difference in the environment. The climate on both sides of the mountain was very different. It seemed that the humidity and rain on this side were all blocked by the mountain and could not reach the dry grasslands on the other side of the mountain.
The further Shao Xuan went down, the more familiar he felt.
Although he came here for the first time, the environment reminded him of the mountains of the hunting ground. Both the forest on the other side of the river where the Flaming Horn tribe was originally located, and the Ferocious Beasts Mountain when he returned to the old haunt, were the same as this environment. There was endless green color as far as one could see.
This was a place full of vitality and crisis. Maybe because of the familiar environment or the feeling of getting closer to the Flaming Horn tribe which Shao Xuan felt like he had left for about a thousand years, Shao Xuan became more excited.
While walking down the mountain, Shao Xuan threw away the exaggerated necklace that he wore around his neck. Those which could be used as weapons had already been used and the things that made up the necklace were just claws and horns. The stone pot behind his back which was used to cook the soup was also thrown away, as it would be cumbersome at this moment. Shao Xuan had to be more careful in places like mountains and forests. Carrying as little things as possible would help Shao Xuan avoid danger.
From the time Shao Xuan stepped into the desert, it had been about half a year. It was the first time Shao Xuan entered such a forest since then.
Smelling the odor of moist vegetation and hearing the sound of various birds and beasts, Shao Xuan took a deep breath, stepped lightly and tried to integrate himself into the new environment.
The wide river flowed far into the distance among the dense woods. If one stood on top of a tree, the creatures in the river including dark-backed fish and giant pythons could be seen from time to time.
Shao Xuan could determine the position of the tribe although there was no obvious signal from the inner flame. He took out the bone ornament that symbolized the identity of the elders, hung it around his neck and touched the ball with a red-hot luster in the middle of the bone ornament. Shao Xuan wondered whether his identity could be recognized by the Flaming Horn tribe there.
Cheering up, Shao Xuan continued to march towards that direction.
There were some traces of human activities, such as rags and incomplete weapons that had been abandoned here. Shao Xuan even saw a bone of human beings under a big tree, which probably belonged to a hunter who was killed there.
Carefully discerning the traces around him, Shao Xuan quickly recognized the various creatures there. His steps were cautious, but not slow.
There was a snake hidden on a branch. At first glance, it was difficult to find this poisonous creature. When Shao Xuan passed, it wanted to take a bite but Shao Xuan was too fast and didn’t leave it time to prepare. The snake lurking on the branch spit out poison, adjusted its posture and continued to wait for the next prey.
In addition to the tools used by human beings, Shao Xuan also saw paintings on branches or stones but didn’t know which tribe left them. Some paints were similar to totems, some were words, and others showed off the prey they hunted, telling people who came here, about their power.
Shao Xuan glanced at the paintings. He knew these words but he was not familiar with the paintings and style. These may have been left by other tribes. It is possible that people in the Flaming Horn tribe live farther away, and didn’t come here.
Since there were traces of human beings, Shao Xuan had to be on guard against not only the beasts lurking in the mountains but also other human beings. Sometimes human beings were much more dangerous than beasts.
After entering the forest, the more Shao Xuan went deeper, the denser and stouter the trees were. Walking on the soft land, Shao Xuan could only see the light through the dense branches.
On the third day of entering the forest, Shao Xuan suddenly felt a killing intent when walking in the forest. Although the other party tried to hold back, the feeling was so strong that Shao Xuan noticed it based on his hunting experience.
But Shao Xuan didn’t know whether it was from a human or a beast.
Since the other party had not taken action, Shao Xuan did not take the initiative to attack but continued to move forward, trying to see how the other party hidden in the dark would act.
Speeding up, Shao Xuan shuttled between the woods. The eyesight still closely followed him. Its movements were not slow and it was quite good at concealment. Shao Xuan looked around but could not discover its figure. However, the sound made by the other party while moving was clearly captured by Shao Xuan, even though it was very light and could be easily covered by the sound of the shaking of the branches.
As the wind blew, the branches of surrounding trees swayed and the friction of the leaves made a squeaking sound. Occasionally there were some movements made by birds that flew up or fell.
Distinguishing the movement behind from the various other sounds, Shao Xuan sped up again. He shuttled in the woods like dexterous wind. After seven sharp turns and changes of direction, Shao Xuan jumped up a big tree agilely and hid in the dense foliage.
Some flying insects were on the tree and a spotted flying insect was resting on the treetop. It got scared and almost rolled off the leaf when Shao Xuan suddenly jumped onto the tree. In the trunk, a slender worm, which had been hidden in the unobtrusive cracks on the rough bark, suddenly shot like an arrow at Shao Xuan.
If such a worm bit a person, it would drill directly into the body.
Not turning around, Shao Xuan picked a tree branch and threw it towards the direction of the worm. The branch with sharp edges nailed the long worm to the thick bark.
The long worm that was nailed to the bark writhed its body, as if it wanted to break free, but it couldn’t do anything.
Shao Xuan didn’t look at the worm. His ears carefully distinguished the tiny sound that was coming close and his eyes were fixed in the direction of the sound.
A brown figure shot forward like a shadow. When passing a tree, it paused briefly and then left at a faster speed. It seemed to have noticed that Shao Xuan had hidden deliberately. When the brown figure was about to reach the tree where Shao Xuan was, it suddenly made a turn around a tree and disappeared behind the tree.
Shao Xuan frowned and stared at the direction, but he paid attention to the surroundings. The other party, who was smart and knew how to lurk, had indeed tailed him.
Shao Xuan gripped the black knife on his hand and gathered his attention.
A figure suddenly came from the trunk behind Shao Xuan, cutting off the branches and leaves in front. A sharp cold glare flashed out and killing intent suddenly filled the space around the tree. With cruelty, the glare drew a curve and swept directly towards Shao Xuan.
