It was clearly Lin Hao who had unleashed his beast to injure people.
Li Yan stepped up to save them.
He risked his life to slay the ferocious beast, only to suffer a crippling spinal injury.
Not only did he receive no merit or reward, but he was actually forced to pay compensation to the very perpetrator because he had killed the beast!
Hahahaha.
Without uttering a single word, Yang An grabbed a handful of snow and wiped the blood from his face and body.
No matter how intensely his heart burned with injustice, what could he do?
Lin Hao was the son of Lin Yeping.
And Lin Yeping was the Yunzhou Jiedushi—a powerful, high-ranking official of the third grade, commanding all the military forces of an entire prefecture. On the land of Yunzhou, his power was absolute and unmatched!
Not only that, but rumors were currently running rampant in the streets.
It was said that the ruling Divine Sovereign's most favored granddaughter, Princess Anle, was currently touring Yunzhou to admire the snow, and that there was an intent to marry her into the Lin family.
Princess Anle was the dynasty's number one beauty.
Even at the young age of her hairpin ceremony (fifteen), she already possessed the reputation of "a radiant beauty that moves the world."
The son of a regional military governor.
The future Prince Consort of the Great Xia Dynasty.
In stark contrast, he himself was merely a frail scholar who couldn't even defeat the flaming lion Lin Hao rode!
After wiping himself clean.
The freezing snow water seeped through his fur coat.
Feeling the piercing, bone-deep cold, Yang An took a deep breath and muttered through gritted teeth, "A gentleman can wait ten years for revenge. I am eighteen this year. If that animal surnamed Lin, and his entire family, live to see me turn twenty-eight, I will f*ck*ng sl*t my own throat and return to heaven!!!"
Suppressing the hot-blooded urge to fight Lin Hao to the death right then and there.
Yang An took large strides, heading towards another direction of the snow-capped Yunling Mountain.
The heavy snow had been falling for over half a month.
Everywhere on Yunling Mountain was blanketed in white and frosted over. The snow in the mountains reached waist-high. Once he entered the mountain, with every step Yang An took, the lower half of his body would sink into the snow.
If he were to accidentally step into a hidden pit, his legs could easily snap!
Without a flaming lion for transport.
Yang An could only proceed with extreme caution, using a bamboo stick to prod the ground ahead of him as he walked.
After a long time, he had only covered a few miles of mountainous terrain.
And there was still a whole mountain to cross before reaching his destination!
"This won't work, it's too slow. The physical exertion is too high, and the noise I'm making could easily attract ferocious beasts."
Yang An shook his stiff wrists.
Pondering for a brief moment, he recalled the wilderness survival shows he used to watch while eating on the toilet in his past life, and came up with a solution.
Drawing the short knife from his waist.
He chopped off several branches as thick as his wrists from an old tree nearby and used ropes to lash them into a makeshift pair of snowshoes.
After securing them to his feet, he stepped onto the snow's surface.
He stood firmly without sinking in.
"This way, I don't have to worry about hidden pits under the snow anymore." Still possessing the youthful spirit of a teenager, Yang An chuckled silly to himself.
But as he laughed, the smile soon faded from his face.
"F*ck! Sooner or later, I'm going to get myself a mount just as divine and majestic as that lion!"
Keeping his head down, Yang An continued to brave the wind and snow.
Relying on his makeshift snowshoes.
His movement speed was much faster than before. Before joining the military, Li Yan had been a hunter in these mountains, his two legs having practically covered the entire outer perimeter of Yunling Mountain.
After marrying his sister, Yang Ning.
Even though Yang Ning kept Yang An on a tight leash.
Li Yan, who treated Yang An exceptionally well, would still occasionally take him out to get some fresh air, hunting wild hares and pheasants in Yunling Mountain. The result was that both men would usually come home to a beating from Yang Ning's rolling pin.
Having followed Li Yan into Yunling Mountain many times.
Yang An, who had a decent sense of direction, followed his memory over a ridge and walked along the edge of the forest for roughly two hours.
Finally, he arrived at the edge of a cliff.
"Hahaha, God bless, I remembered the way correctly!" Having successfully found the place, Yang An laughed joyfully. "Old Doctor He said the Black Jade Lotus loves high altitudes and mostly grows on cliffs. This cliff is the highest in the outer perimeter of Yunling Mountain. It just has to be here!"
"Otherwise, I'd have to risk going into the inner mountains where the truly ferocious beasts lair."
After trekking through the ice and snow-covered mountains for two hours.
Even wrapped tightly in his padded jacket.
Yang An's lips were still stung white by the freezing wind. He blew a couple of hot breaths into his stiffening hands, then lay on his stomach at the edge of the cliff, braving the wind and snow.
He carefully leaned half his body out to peer down.
As the flurry of snow passed by.
The vast expanse of white cleared slightly.
Buffed by the [Fated Against Tai Sui] talent, Yang An's normal eyesight was enhanced by three times. With a single glance, he spotted a black medicinal herb shaped like a lotus flower growing two to three hundred meters down the cliff.
It stood gracefully, radiating a faint, spiritual glow!
It was truly extraordinary!
If this wasn't the Black Jade Lotus that Old Doctor He had described, what else could it be?!
Heaven does not disappoint those who try!
Yang An was overjoyed.
He immediately untied the snowshoes from his feet and fastened a rope around his waist, preparing to climb down and harvest it. However, with his vision enhanced threefold, he suddenly noticed a massive, pitch-black object right next to the Black Jade Lotus!
He quickly pulled his body back into the snow a few inches.
Suppressing any noise, he fixed his eyes to get a closer look.
That object was clearly a nest built from withered vines and tree branches!
It was a full seven or eight meters wide!
What kind of bird could build a nest on such a high cliff? And build it so massively!
"Could it be an eagle-type ferocious beast?!"
"The books say, 'Heavenly treasures are often guarded by ferocious beasts,' and it turns out to be true! No wonder a single stalk of Black Jade Lotus can sell for hundreds or thousands of taels of silver!"
Yang An gasped, while secretly counting his blessings.
Fortunately, he had been cautious enough.
If he hadn't taken those extra few glances just now and had rashly descended the cliff, alarming the beast in the eagle nest halfway down, forget about saving his brother-in-law—his own life would have been forfeit right here!
However, since he had found the life-saving spiritual medicine.
It was naturally impossible for him to give up. Even with a ferocious beast guarding it, he would take it by force!
Yang An stood up and took down the iron-core bow from his back.
This bow belonged to Li Yan, with a draw weight of a full five hundred catties (approx. 250 kg).
Normally, even if he mustered the ruthless desperation of wanting to slaughter Lin Hao's entire family, he wouldn't be able to pull it back a single inch. Now, under the threefold base enhancement of the [Fated Against Tai Sui] talent, Yang An could only barely draw the bowstring and nock an arrow.
It still wasn't enough to fully draw the bow.
If three times wasn't enough, then ten times would do!
As Yang An softly spat the word "Open," his heart rate instantly skyrocketed, pumping a massive amount of blood to every part of his body. His blood energy surged, and a dark red, baleful aura faintly seeped from the corners of his eyes!
A tenfold surge in combat power arrived instantly!
As Yang An drew back the five-hundred-catty iron bow inch by inch, he felt as if the howling wind and snow around him had frozen in place.
Between heaven and earth, only the humming vibration of the bowstring remained!
Although Yang An wasn't an expert archer, thanks to the tenfold enhancement in vision and perception after activating [Fated Against Tai Sui].
The eagle's nest, two to three hundred meters away.
Was as clear in Yang An's eyes at this moment as if it were right in front of him. He held his breath, aimed, and waited for a gap in the howling gale to release the arrow.
Swoosh!
The pitch-black arrow instantly tore through the wind and snow!
It transformed into a black streak of light, piercing through the air. A moment later, following a loud Bang!, Yang An's arrow accurately pierced straight through the eagle's nest, the arrowhead burying itself finger-deep into the solid rock behind it!!
Immediately after, a shrill, agonizing shriek erupted from the nest!
A giant eagle, with a wingspan of seven or eight meters and blood pouring from its shoulder, shot into the sky from the nest!
But before it could even locate where the enemy was.
Yang An, who had fired the first shot, had already drawn the bow and nocked a second arrow!
The exact moment the giant eagle emerged!
Another Swoosh!
The second arrow shot out as fast as lightning. With a sickening Squidsh, the giant eagle's head exploded upon impact. Crimson blood burst into the snowy air, and before it could even let out a dying cry, the headless body plummeted helplessly down the cliff!
Having shot the giant eagle dead.
Yang An didn't relax his guard. He pulled a third iron arrow from his quiver and continued aiming at the nest.
After waiting a moment and seeing no other giant eagles fly out.
Yang An still didn't lower his bow. Cautiously, he fired the third arrow into the nest first.
Bang!
The sound of shattering rock echoed.
The third arrow pierced a hole clean through the nest again. Seeing no movement, Yang An fired a fourth arrow, then a fifth...
Until he had practically turned the eagle's nest into a hornet's nest.
Only then did he finally let his guard down.
Taking a deep breath, Yang An deactivated the tenfold combat power state of Tai Sui. Instantly, he felt his legs turn to jelly; a strong gust of wind nearly knocked him over!
"While the short-term boost of a tenfold combat power is terrifying."
"The consumption is equally terrifying. Just shooting a few arrows nearly drained all my stamina."
Panting heavily, Yang An sat leaning against the edge of the cliff.
He pulled out the pies Wang Shitou had given him from his shirt. While they were still warm, he haphazardly stuffed two of them into his mouth, washing them down with mouthfuls of snow.
After recovering some strength.
Thinking of his sister waiting for him at home, and his brother-in-law waiting for the Black Jade Lotus to save his life, Yang An dared not waste any more time. He tied one end of the rope around his waist and secured the other to a thick tree nearby.
He carefully began his descent down the cliff.
As soon as he started climbing down, Yang An understood why a single Black Jade Lotus could fetch such an exorbitant price, yet no one dared to pick it at this time of year, besides the giant eagle guarding it.
It had been snowing for half a month.
The sheer cliff face was covered in solid ice. Every rock was as slick and slippery as a mirror. There was simply no way to get a grip; there were no footholds!
Suspended in mid-air without a foothold.
Whenever a strong gust of wind blew, his body would uncontrollably smash against the cliff face. In no time at all, he was battered and dizzy.
Smashing against the rock again and again was like banging his head against a wall.
Even a man made of iron wouldn't be able to endure this.
What was even more fatal was that, even if he managed to go down and get the herb.
Climbing back up this mirror-slick cliff would be absolutely impossible. In the end, his only fate would be freezing to death halfway up the cliff!
Fortunately, Yang An had a plan.
When he left home, he hadn't found it cumbersome to pack his quiver full of iron arrows. After using a few to shoot the giant eagle, he still had plenty left.
After taking several hard knocks.
When the wind blew him toward the cliff face again, Yang An pulled out an iron arrow and used the momentum to slam it into the rock wall like a piton with a loud Clang!
Using this iron arrow as a pivot point.
Yang An quickly wrapped the rope around his waist over the arrow once to anchor his body.
He finally had a foothold.
Clinging to the iron arrow, he caught his breath, but didn't dare to rest for long. "The cold wind drains my stamina too fast. If my strength runs out, I'll never make it back up. I have to get the herb quickly!"
Yang An slapped his nearly numb cheeks.
Rousing his spirits, he pushed onward, continuing his descent in one vigorous effort. Every ten or twenty meters he descended.
He would pull out an iron arrow and drive it into the cliff face!
Just like that, taking it one step at a time.
By the time Yang An had only one arrow left in his quiver, he finally reached the side of the Black Jade Lotus.
Halfway down the cliff, the freezing wind howled like a life-claiming ghost.
Yang An was shivering uncontrollably.
From continuously gripping the rough hemp rope, the blood from the blisters worn into his hands had frozen solid against it!
Looking at the Black Jade Lotus just an arm's length away!
The life-saving Black Jade Lotus!
Yang An roared, raising his nearly numb hand. Using practically every last ounce of his strength, he wielded his short knife and dug the Black Jade Lotus out, roots, stem, and all!
He had finally obtained the life-saving medicine!
But Yang An's face was so stiff he couldn't even manage a smile.
His eyelids felt so heavy he could barely keep them open!
Under the knife-like freezing wind, his stamina was completely exhausted. The cold and fatigue paralyzed his mind; he no longer had the strength to climb back up the cliff.
Yang An bit the tip of his tongue hard.
Sucking on the coppery taste of blood to maintain his last shred of consciousness.
"I can't keep hanging in the wind. I can't close my eyes, or I'll die."
"I need to find a place to rest."
The more critical the situation, the calmer Yang An became. He remembered that the giant eagle's nest was built just below the Black Jade Lotus.
Yang An looked down.
Seeing that the eagle's nest wasn't far below him, if he was lucky, he could drop right into it.
"My legs have already lost all feeling. If I keep hanging here, I'm dead for sure."
"I have to take a gamble."
"Sister, Brother-in-law, Mom and Dad who passed early! Protect me!"
Yang An decisively cut the rope around his waist.
The sensation of weightlessness pulled him down the cliff. In the next instant, he crashed into the dense pile of wooden branches. The sharp twigs scraped his cheek.
Tumbling over the branches a couple of times.
He rolled right into a thick layer of feathers. It felt like falling into a pile of cotton—warm and soft.
"I won the bet."
"I didn't fall straight off the cliff. It seems my time isn't up yet!"
"Hahaha!"
Lying amidst the pile of feathers in the center of the eagle's nest, Yang An laughed out loud.
These were the giant eagle's feathers.
They seemed somewhat magical, capable of insulating against the cold.
Lying within them, Yang An's body warmed up in no time, and feeling returned to his hands and feet. He sat up, looked at the Black Jade Lotus in his hands, and smiled. "Now, Brother-in-law is truly saved!"
Afraid of losing the medicinal properties.
Yang An wrapped the Black Jade Lotus up and carefully tucked it into his shirt. Then, with feathers stuck all over his head, he stood up in the eagle's nest.
Looking around the inside of the nest.
His eyes suddenly lit up!
He saw that inside the nest, besides the few iron arrows he had shot and the blood-stained feathers, there lay three eggs, each a full size larger than a normal human head!