The next morning, Zhao Lin arrived at a river valley on the southern foot of Ancient Rock Mountain.

The river was frozen solid and covered in white snow. On one side was a large camphor pine forest; on the other, the terrain rolled with hills covered in waist-high grass and shrubs.

Having guarded the mountain for over a year, Zhao Lin knew every blade of grass and every tree like the back of his hand. He knew a flock of wild pheasants nested in this area.

He walked to a high point in the valley and surveyed the area below for a moment. He chose a slope near a thicket of shrubs as his ambush spot and began to dig a snow shelter.

He had learned this technique of digging a snow shelter from Zhou Pao.

When Hunters went into the mountains in winter, they had to track animal prints all over the mountainside. Often, they couldn’t leave the mountains for ten days or even half a month.

In the icy, snow-covered wilderness, finding a place to rest at night was a major problem.

There were plenty of trees in the forest, so materials for a temporary shelter weren’t scarce. However, building one was time-consuming and not very warm. Plus, it offered no protection against attacks from beasts like black bears and jackals.

So, the hunters of the north invented a way to build a shelter in the snow that was both warm and safe.

Years ago, when Zhao Lin, Zhou Pao, and the others were hunting that bear, they had lived in a snow shelter.

Before digging the snow shelter, Zhao Lin carefully observed his surroundings while simultaneously sweeping the area with his ultrasonic senses.

The Wind Fox had habits similar to a leopard cat; it was also a nocturnal animal and shouldn’t have been active at this time.

Still, out of caution, he checked the area thoroughly before walking to a corner at the bottom of the snow-covered slope and starting to dig with his bare hands.

The view here was wide and unobstructed, making it easy to observe any movement on either side of the river valley.

In no time, he had dug an entrance three feet high and two feet wide.

He crawled inside and began expanding it upward, downward, left, right, and forward.

He soon cleared out a seven-foot-square space, large enough for a person to stand up straight inside.

He then compacted the snow on the ceiling with his palms to prevent it from collapsing from any vibrations.

Normally, a snow shelter like this would be considered finished. But Zhao Lin was preparing for a long stakeout and had to consider the issue of relieving himself, so he dug a small, separate chamber inside.

Once the snow shelter was dug, Zhao Lin walked a short distance away, rolled a large snowball, and used his iron ruler to cut it into a rectangular block. He then carried it over to plug the entrance.

Before entering the shelter, he threw a Stone Roar Fist strike outside.

BANG!

Snow flew everywhere as the powerful gust of wind scattered the excess snow and erased his footprints.

With snowflakes occasionally drifting down from the sky and the mountain winds blowing, any remaining traces would be invisible in less than half a day.

After crawling into the snow shelter, Zhao Lin set things up simply.

He put down his bundle of flatbread, spread out a felt mat, and then used his iron ruler to poke a few small holes in the snow wall. This allowed him to observe the outside world and also let his ultrasonic waves pass through freely.

From then on, he settled into his snow shelter.

He meditated and practiced his techniques at set times. When hungry, he ate a piece of flatbread; when thirsty, he grabbed a handful of snow. He tried his best not to make a sound and was resolute in not taking a single step outside.

In the early morning, a RUSTLING sound came from the snow outside.

A few wild pheasants flapped past Zhao Lin’s view, searching both sides of the riverbed for grass stalks and tender leaves buried under the deep snow.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

At dusk, a raccoon dog darted past the front of the snow shelter.

Raccoon dogs are very cunning animals. They don’t dig their own dens, often sneaking into a badger’s burrow while it’s hibernating.

The badger sleeps in the "bedroom" while the raccoon dog sleeps in the "living room."

Raccoon dogs and badgers occupy the same position in the food chain and are competitors.

Some raccoon dogs wake up early in the spring and, before leaving, will block the burrow’s entrance with dirt, suffocating the badger inside—a prime example of heartlessness in the animal kingdom.

In the following days, wolves, hawks, foxes, weasels, and wild dogs continuously passed in front of the slope.

On the fifth day, a wild boar accidentally blundered into his snow shelter.

Zhao Lin was furious. If he hadn’t been worried about making a commotion, he would have punched it to death on the spot.

Perhaps frightened by Zhao Lin’s appearance, the normally brazen boar didn’t even make a squeal before turning and running away.

’You’re lucky to be alive!’

Zhao Lin had no choice but to repair the snow shelter.

Seven days passed like this. He had already eaten nearly half of his flatbread, but the Wind Fox still hadn’t appeared.

’Be patient. There are wild pheasants here. It’ll show up sooner or later,’ Zhao Lin thought calmly.

On the ninth day, just at the cusp of dawn, a familiar "te’er, te’er" sound came from outside.

Zhao Lin slowly sat up and peered outside through the gaps in the snow wall.

...

"Chief Tuzha, we’ve been waiting here for a whole day and haven’t seen a single soul. You think that Zhao kid doesn’t live here?"

On a ridge not far from Zhao Lin’s dwelling, five middle-aged men lay prone.

They wore fur coats and sable hats, with bows on their backs and short blades at their waists, dressed exactly like Hunters from the Northern Border.

In truth, they were not Hunters at all. They were Tuzha and his men from the Flame Sect, who had traveled all the way from Weizi to assassinate Zhao Lin.

The five of them had journeyed to Yan Province and, following intelligence from a spy planted there, had tracked their target all the way to Ancient Rock Mountain.

The door to Zhao Lin’s dwelling wasn’t locked, merely latched from the outside with a bolt. This was mainly to keep birds and beasts from making a mess inside, and also to make it convenient for the person who delivered his meals to enter.

Tuzha and his men could tell from a distance that Zhao Lin wasn’t home. So they took up a position on the high ground opposite the house to watch from afar.

Zhao Lin was still in his snow shelter, so they had waited a full day without seeing him.

The one who spoke was a stocky man named Ku Lie. Tuzha glanced sideways at him and said, "No. This is the only guard post on the mountain. He’s probably just out for a bit."

Ku Lie’s breath plumed in the cold air. "How long are we going to wait? Why don’t I go in and take a look?"

"Absolutely not!"

Tuzha appeared rough and boorish, but his mind was quite meticulous. He flatly rejected his subordinate’s suggestion.

"What about the footprints you’d leave? He’s only at the early stage of the Blood Realm, but his Body Technique is said to be exceptional. If he notices something is off and escapes, where are we going to find him in these vast mountains?"

"An experienced Hunter relies not on superior hunting skills, but on patience. No matter where he’s gone, he has to come back eventually."

"Then we can trap him like a turtle in a jar. It’s the simplest method, and the most reliable."

"Yes, sir!" the four subordinates replied in unison.

They were very confident they could kill Zhao Lin.

A twenty-year-old in the Blood Realm and a forty-year-old in the Blood Realm were two different things.

Although the younger one might have outstanding talent, his training time was too short, leaving him lacking in experience and power. The older one, however, had twenty more years to polish his martial Cultivation Techniques. He would be at his peak in every aspect, and his combat ability would be on a completely different level.

They had killed young geniuses before, and it had always been effortless.

The five men waited until dawn. As the sun rose, they saw a tall figure in the distance, sprinting down the mountain through the snow.

Tuzha and the others were all shocked. Zhao Lin’s running speed far exceeded their expectations.

Zhao Lin didn’t go straight into the house. Instead, he circled it once, scanning the surroundings. Only after confirming that nothing was out of the ordinary did he open the door and go inside.

The five men hadn’t expected Zhao Lin to be so cautious, and their expressions turned grim.

Tuzha made a hand gesture, motioning for everyone to wait a little longer. After about fifteen minutes, he gave a sharp wave of his hand, leading his men down from the ridge as they closed in on the house...