Chapter 91: Chapter 87: Visitors from Afar

"Brother Liang, any ideas on how to catch a live leopard?"

Zhao Lin asked Liang Song while they were on patrol.

Liang Song came from a proper Hunter family and knew far more about hunting than a self-taught amateur like him.

Liang Song gave him a strange look. "People hunt leopards for their pelts. What do you need a live one for?"

"A formula I use for my training requires the blood of a ferocious beast as one of the ingredients. My master said Leopard Blood is the most effective, so I was wondering if it’s possible to get some."

It was a matter of absolute privacy, so Zhao Lin had made up a cover story.

"The formulas you guys use for training are pretty strange."

Liang Song thought for a moment and said, "There are indeed Golden Leopards in Baitou Mountain, but catching them is incredibly difficult, let alone catching one alive."

"The only way is to lie in wait—use fresh pork or mutton as bait, then set a trap. Or you could hide and wait for one to appear, then shoot it with an arrow."

"But Golden Leopards are extremely wary. They won’t take risks easily, and they only eat fresh meat, so you’d have to change the bait daily. You could be busy for ten days to half a month and get nothing. That’s why no one is willing to take on such a money-losing venture."

"It’s that difficult?"

Zhao Lin was a bit disappointed. ’I don’t have that much time to waste hunting leopards in the mountains,’ he thought. ’Besides, that’s bandit territory. It would be trouble if I got cornered by them.’

Liang Song suddenly slapped his forehead. "Right! We’re rich now. We can hire people to do this stuff for us."

Zhao Lin’s eyes lit up. "You mean hire someone?"

"Exactly!"

Liang Song nodded. "Fur traders and herb merchants used to go into the mountains all the time just to buy a specific type of medicinal herb or animal pelt. They usually offered a very high price to make it worth people’s while."

Zhao Lin clapped his hands. "Excellent. There are so many Hunters on Baitou Mountain. I’ll have them work for me. Wonderful!"

"Work for you?"

"It just means to work hard."

Zhao Lin was a man of action. However, since it was inconvenient for him or Liang Song to be seen doing this, he asked He Qingquan for help.

He Qingquan was old and frail, making him an incompetent constable, but he was experienced in handling such matters.

He went to the apothecaries in the town near Baitou Mountain, clarifying that he wanted to buy live Golden Leopards. He left ten taels of silver as a deposit and then posted notices everywhere, quickly spreading the news to all the surrounding villages and towns.

「Baitou Mountain, He family Village.」

"High price of fifty taels of silver to buy a Golden Leopard. Pelt does not need to be intact, as long as it’s alive. Half-dead... is also fine?"

"From Zhongyuan Hall of Lisha Town."

In front of a large tree at the village entrance, the village chief, He Laoke, read the notice on the tree aloud.

Dozens of people—men and women, young and old—were gathered under the tree, listening intently.

"Uncle Kan, is this notice real? Who would be foolish enough to offer fifty taels of silver for a Golden Leopard?" a man in a sheepskin vest asked.

"Yeah, that price is enough to buy a whole mutated beast," someone next to the man in the vest added.

He Laoke pointed to the bottom of the notice. "See this? It has the seal of Zhongyuan Hall. It’s most likely real. Besides, they’re buying a live leopard, which is no easier to catch than a mutated beast."

The man in the sheepskin vest nodded. "True, a live leopard isn’t easy to catch, but the price is still so high it seems fake."

"Uncle Jin Bao, isn’t a high price a good thing?" a young girl of about ten giggled.

The man in the sheepskin vest glanced at her. "You don’t understand. What if we go through all the trouble of catching a Golden Leopard, and then they refuse to pay up?"

"Then some random person shows up and offers to buy it for five taels of silver. Would you sell it or not? You lose money if you sell, but you’re stuck with it if you don’t."

"Unscrupulous fur traders have pulled this trick before. We have to get the details straight, don’t we?"

He Laoke stroked his graying beard and said, "Jin Bao, why don’t you make a trip to town? You can find out for sure by asking at Zhongyuan Hall."

"Alright, I’ll go right now!"

With that, Jin Bao strode off toward town.

An hour later, Jin Bao came running back in a hurry.

Most of the people who were under the tree were still there. An impatient one shouted from a distance, "Jin Bao, how was it? Is it real?"

Jin Bao broke into a wide grin. "It’s real! Zhongyuan Hall said the deposit has already been paid—ten taels of silver!"

Hearing this, everyone perked up.

"Great! We have to go all out. We can’t let another village snatch this opportunity."

"The autumn hunt is about to start anyway. We’ll kick it off with the Golden Leopard!"

"Jin Pao’s surname is Jin, and ’Golden Leopard’ starts with ’Jin’. I think this is a sign it’ll work..."

...

That afternoon, Zhao Lin slacked off and clocked out early, just like usual.

When he returned to the Liuhe Sect, a fist-fighting competition was underway in the courtyard—the apprentices’ regular tournament.

Zhu Huaishan was sitting on the sidelines with a few disciples, watching. When he saw Zhao Lin enter, he smiled and waved him over. "Come, have a seat. You might be training apprentices yourself next year."

Zhao Lin obediently went over and sat down, watching the apprentices spar in the arena.

It had been a while since he had participated in the fist-fights.

The main reason was that even though he was only at the Second Layer of the Power Realm, neither of the two apprentices at the Third Layer of the Power Realm were his match. The power gap was obvious.

So, Zhu Huaishan simply stopped letting him participate to avoid demoralizing the others and crushing their confidence.

Zhao Lin had arrived late, and after watching for a short while, the competition ended.

Zhu Huaishan was quite satisfied with the proceedings, offering particular praise for two new apprentices.

Once the arena was empty, Zhao Lin stretched his body, then walked over to the equipment rack and picked up a "vibrating rod."

A vibrating rod was a short wooden club made of peach wood, shaped like a rolling pin.

Physicians used it on patients to clear their Qi and Blood circulation, reduce swelling, and stop pain. Martial Artists also used it to knead their meridians and tendons to strengthen their bones and sinews.

Zhao Lin took the vibrating rod and alternated between rubbing and patting it all over his body, training for a full hour before stopping.

After a short rest, just as he was about to practice his Six Harmonies Staff techniques, there was a knock on the door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

Zhao Lin was used to training near the main gate, which made it easier to listen for any sounds from outside.

Even before the knocking started, he had heard the steady, powerful footsteps of three people. He guessed they were young or middle-aged Martial Artists, most likely men.

But when he opened the door, he saw that he had guessed wrong.

The first person he saw was an old man with frosty white hair and a beard, and long eyebrows that reached his temples. He held a dragon-headed cane, stood ramrod straight, and carried himself with a dignified air.

Behind the old man stood a middle-aged man and woman. The man had a resolute face and a naturally imposing aura, while the woman was petite with well-defined features, clearly a beauty in her youth.

Zhao Lin’s first impression of the three was: ’They’re strong!’ 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

They didn’t exude any powerful energy or overwhelming Qi and Blood. Their auras were gentle and calm, steady and serene, yet they gave off a sense of irresistible power.

"May I ask who you three seniors are looking for?" Zhao Lin found himself using honorifics without thinking.

The old man smiled faintly. "Zhu Huaishan is here, isn’t he? Have him come see me."

"And you are...?"

"Just tell him we’re from Yanyun Mountain. He’ll understand."