Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

Xiao Nian followed behind at a leisurely pace along the forest path.

He secretly sensed the horse's breathing and gait rhythm with his spiritual power, and the tacit understanding between man and horse was being established at an extremely fast speed.

From the outside, he rode with ease and composure, as steady as a mountain.

Li Jun rode his horse for a while, then looked back and saw Xiao Nian following at a leisurely pace, which deepened the frustration in his heart.

He deliberately slowed down, waiting for Xiao Nian to approach, and laughed, "Old man Meng, is this your first time in a hunting ground like this? You see trees all around, but the prey are actually hiding under the grass. Hold your bow and arrow steady, and if you see anything later, just shoot. It doesn't matter if you miss, since you probably can't even draw the bow."

"Brother, why do you always pick on an eighty-year-old man? He used to teach you." Li Mingmei was very dissatisfied with Li Jun's behavior along the way.

Xiao Nian didn't reply, but just glanced at him indifferently, her eyes seeming to tell Li Jun: You're an idiot.

"Let's go, Duanmu, let's go hunt down two big ones!" Li Jun was very annoyed. He spurred his horse and led Duanmu Yun into the depths of the dense forest.

Ye Tianming spurred his horse to Xiao Nian's side and whispered, "Old Meng, don't take it to heart. Li Jun is just like that; he's never one to mince words."

Xiao Nian glanced at him. This child was as kind as ever.

"It's alright," Xiao Nian said calmly. "It's just child's play."

Ye Tianming was taken aback. "Children's tricks?"

Old Meng seems to be acting like he's taking advantage of his age.

After walking for a while, a commotion suddenly arose ahead.

Li Jun and Duanmu Yun's voices came from deep within the forest, mixed with a few barks of dogs and a sharp fox cry.

The group urged their horses toward the sound, and after passing through a thicket of bushes, they found themselves in a small open area.

Li Jun and Duanmu Yun were standing in the center of the open space, excitedly pointing to a fiery red fox demon a dozen steps away.

It lay in a pool of blood, with two arrows embedded in its body.

The fox was more than half a person's length long, fiery red all over, its fur shimmering in the sunlight, and its three tails were bushy, clearly indicating its excellent quality.

"I hit it!" Duanmu Yun cheered. "Look, Jun-ge, I shot it in the neck!"

"It was clearly my arrow that hit the heart," Li Jun said smugly.

"We both won! This fox pelt is ours, and I'll make you a scarf later."

"I love you so much." Duanmu Yun kissed him with her pink lips.

On the other side of the open space, there was another boy. The boy was about sixteen years old, with a delicate short bow at his waist and a quiver on his back. He was riding a green horse and staring at the fox demon on the ground with a livid face.

"I shot that fox demon," the young man said coldly.

"My arrow hit its eye, killing it instantly. Your two arrows hit it after I had already shot it; one hit its leg, and the other its tail. How can that be considered a hit?"

Li Jun's smile froze. He turned to look at the boy, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes: "What did you say?"

"I said, I shot this fox demon." The young man dismounted, walked to the fox demon's side, bent down and pulled out an arrow.

The arrow was entirely black, with the character "Shen" engraved on its shaft. He held it up: "This is my hunting arrow. It pierced the fox demon's left eye and went straight into its skull. Where are your arrows?"

He then pulled out two more arrows: one golden and the other inlaid with jade feathers, clearly the work of Li Jun and Duanmu Yun.

One was stuck in the fox's hind leg, and the other grazed the tip of its tail, only shaving off a few hairs.

"See that?" the boy sneered. "Your arrows didn't even hit a vital spot. I killed this fox demon. Please, you two, have some self-respect."

The smile on Duanmu Yun's face vanished completely. She looked at the jet-black arrow in the boy's hand, then at the shimmering fox fur on the ground. The fur was dazzlingly beautiful in the sunlight; if it were made into a scarf, how magnificent it would be!

"You're talking nonsense!" Duanmu Yun's face was contorted, as if he was afraid that his scarf would be snatched away.

"Li Jun and I clearly saw our arrow hit it first! Your arrow was fired later to follow up!"

"You guys hit it first?" The boy laughed in exasperation.

"I waited in this forest for half a month, waiting for this fox demon to come out to drink water before I hit it with one arrow. You two rode in on horseback, making a racket, almost scaring away several of them, and now you're telling me you shot it? Have you no shame?"

Li Jun's face darkened. He spurred his horse forward a few steps, looking down at the young man.

"You're from the Shen family? The Shen family is no match for my Li family. If you know what's good for you, get out of here before I get angry, or don't blame me for being ruthless."

The boy raised his head, his eyes showing no fear:

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't? I don't care if it's the Zhang family or the Li family; we're not so weak that we'd be bullied and dare not speak up."

Li Jun sneered, "Bully? In Mizhou City, no one dares to say I bully anyone. You claim you hit the target, but who saw it? I saw my arrow hit first, and then yours followed up with another. If you know what's good for you, get lost, or don't blame me for being impolite."

The boy's face turned ashen: "You?"

"What do you mean, 'what the hell'?" Li Jun dismounted, strode up to the boy, and grabbed the dark arrow. "Someone like you dares to try and steal my prey?"

With a sudden burst of strength, he snapped the black arrow in two with a snap and tossed it to the ground.

"Get out," Li Jun said coldly.

The boy's face turned bright red, but he saw that Li Jun's henchmen were staring at him menacingly.

If he dares to lay a hand on me, I'll be beaten so badly I won't be able to get out of bed for six months: "You're just relying on your numbers, aren't you?"

"So what if I am? What are you going to do about it?"

"You just wait! So what if you have more people?" The young man gritted his teeth, mounted his horse, glared at Li Jun, and rode away.

"A large number of people doesn't make you great."

Duanmu Yun watched the boy's departing figure, made a face, and snorted, "He knows what's good for him."

"He dares to threaten me? If he's a few steps late, I'll break his legs." Li Jun sneered, not forgetting to kick the arrows a few times.

Duanmu Yun jumped off his horse, ran happily to the fox demon's side, squatted down to stroke its fiery red fur, and turned to Li Jun, coaxing:

"Jun-ge, this fox fur is mine! I'm going to make a scarf to wear in winter!"

"Okay, okay, it's all yours." Li Jun put his arm around her waist and laughed heartily.

Xiao Nian watched from the side the whole time. He remained silent as he rode his horse.

When Li Jun broke the arrow, Xiao Nian noticed that although the demon fox was dead, there was still a very faint spiritual energy fluctuation in its body.

This fox spirit was a little monster who had just reached the threshold of cultivation. It had probably cultivated for a few years and had just developed a little intelligence when it was pierced through the eye by an arrow.

An ordinary hunter would not be able to detect the spiritual power emanating from this fox demon. But Xiao Nian sensed it clearly.

Xiao Nian dismounted, wanting to know the composition of the demonic beast's spiritual energy. He walked to the demonic fox, squatted down, and gently pressed a finger on the fox's forehead. The movement was calm and natural.

"What are you doing? You old geezer, get your dirty hands off me and don't touch my fox fur!" Duanmu Yun frowned.

Xiao Nian ignored her. When his wrinkled fingertips touched the fox demon's forehead, a wisp of spiritual power quietly flowed into them. This spiritual power was of the wood element. The Taihang Mountains span five provinces and contain many places that humans have not yet explored. In his previous life, it was said that there were many dangerous demonic beasts there.

Xiao Nian's heart stirred: It seems that the Taihang Mountains have a good spiritual source, which is why so many different demonic beasts can be generated. If I have the chance, I should go there to cultivate for a period of time. The spiritual energy in the town is too thin.

"Get your dirty hands off my three-tailed fox's head!" Li Jun roared angrily when he saw Xiao Nian touching his prey.

"Li Jun," Xiao Nian suddenly spoke. Everyone present was stunned for a moment and looked at him.

Xiao Nian stood up, glanced at the fox demon on the ground, and calmly turned to Li Jun: "Yours? You know what you're doing."

"What do you mean?"

"That boy was telling the truth. His arrow pierced the fox demon's left eye, killing it instantly. Your arrows only struck after the fox demon was dead. How dare you!"

Duanmu Yun's eyes widened, her mood for the day completely ruined: "What do you know, you old geezer? Don't think that just because you tamed a wild horse you can boss us around. If I'm not happy, my Duanmu family will make sure you die a horrible death."

"What I know is unimportant," Xiao Nian said calmly, looking at her. "What's important is that you might be in deep trouble later."

"What do you mean? You dare threaten me?" Li Jun waved his hand casually, and several of his underlings surrounded Xiao Nian, swords drawn. This old man was too arrogant; he had to teach him a lesson.