*Kachhak*

Lo had tried to tear the greenhorn salamander in vain. If a mortal could comfortably hunt vicious beasts in the Gu World, then what was the use of Gu Masters hunting animals to stock meat? Lo paid the price for his indiscretion and flew back with a swing of the greenhorn salamander's tail. 

The poor slave only recovered his consciousness after a few breaths. From the sidelines, Lo gazed at the shocking scene. His innocent face twisted in shock and anger while his heart thrummed against his chest in anguish. This was a slave's natural reaction that the enslaving Gu Master artificially installs into one.

To worry once the master is injured.

The height of a greenhorn salamander, once it stood on its hindlimbs, was similar to a young teenager. Right now, the forelimbs of the salamander clawed against Fei Cai's shoulders. His left shoulder was pierced not too deeply, but the situation of his right shoulder was grim. Even though the rank 1 copper leaf gu worm could defend against the claw, it couldn't bear the ruthless pierce of the dark-green horn protruding from the middle of the salamander's forehead and ended up getting damaged in the process while Fei Cai's right shoulder was wounded deeply.

Lo only took the scene from his limited spectrum of emotions that revolved around Fei Cai and failed to notice the gradually vanishing phantom of the grey-furred wolf behind his master. Not to mention the bloodied arm that pierced through the underside of the salamander. That's right, using the sudden burst in strength, Fei Cai not only stabbed his dagger successfully but also continued to pierce his entire arm, punching a bloody hole into the salamander's body!

"Haaah—" Fei Cai's shoulders felt warm and slightly numb. This first battle of his life turned out to be a more 'adventurous' than he estimated. He found out that trusting a mystical gu worm wholeheartedly was a self-destructive gesture, and slightly underestimating the wisdom of even the weakest of the life form of the forest was foolhardy one. Currently, Fei Cai had a better insight into the real situation. It wasn't only the horn that pierced his shoulder, but its jagged teeth also managed to pierce through his copper leaf gu, and if it wasn't for the force of Fei Cai's attack, the salamander might have even bit his neck.

The salamander, however, was lifeless. It just breathed its last, and the pressure of the beast's waist intensified, making Fei Cai stumble with the corpse of the salamander falling on top of him.

At this moment, Fei Cai's pained groan finally woke Lo from his stupor, and he rushed to his master's side. "Ah, Master! Hang in there! I will immediately pull this beast out!" Lo proclaimed with a worried expression as Fei Cai's voice froze Lo in his tracks.

"No, do not pull the beast out. Take my dagger and cut its horn first."

Looking at the bloodied palm letting go of the dagger, Lo instantly got to work and knelt beside Fei Cai. Using his master's dagger, Lo started slashing at the base of the horn. Unlike a bony one, the greenhorn salamander's horn was simply its hardened skin and muscles, so, after dozens of slash, Lo finally cut the horn out of the salamander's forehead and pushed the beast aside. With this, even the jagged teeth threatening Fei Cai's life retracted, and he could finally deactivate the copper leaf gu worm. Until now, Fei Cai had to keep on expending his primeval essence to restrict the dead beast's final attack.

"Master, I'll immediately pull this horn out!"

Lo stated once again only for Fei Cai to look at him coldly and snort.

"The only thing you do is process the salamander and store it. Don't let it's damaged guts go to waste, too."

Fei Cai commanded before sitting up with a soft groan escaping his lips. Taking the horn out meant that there would be a rather substantial hole gaping through his right shoulder. He couldn't have that. So, Fei Cai decided to test the effectiveness of his healing gu worm before deciding anything.

There was less than 40% essence remaining in his aperture. Once Fei Cai mobilized the yellow tongue gu worm, it flew out of his aperture and waited for a command. The yellow tongue gu, as the name suggests, was a tongue with tiny yellow groves packed tightly above its surface. Placing the gu worm on his left shoulder with a torn battle tunic, Fei Cai observed the gu worm in action.

The tiny grooves on the gu worm's surface produced a sticky liquid. Using this, the gu worm moved around Fei Cai's bloodied wounds, and much to Fei Cai's surprise, the claw mark on his left shoulder showed signs of healing at a pace visible to the naked eyes.

Soon, however, Fei Cai clenched his jaws. The procedure was quite painful. Every now and then, his lower limbs shuddered, and his lips trembled. The worse part was that the speed of the healing was not the best, and once the blood stopped leaking, Fei Cai stopped using the gu worm and instead placed his left palm on the ground and activated the ground eye gu worm.

'What is that?'

Fei Cai needed to leave this place quickly and return to the tribe to request help from one of the healers in the tribe. He was already confident that the rank 1 gu worm in his possession couldn't heal the puncture once he pulled the horn out. Still, the item hidden within the bush attracted his attention, and if he hadn't used his ground eye, the object would have gone unnoticed.

"Lo, there is something in that bush. Take it out."

Lo had already taken his dagger out and placed Fei Cai's near his knees. Right now, Fei Cai pointed at the bush that the mad beast jumped out from by the tip of his dagger. Once again, the terrifying aspect of this world surfaced, and Lo walked towards the shrub without missing a heartbeat. With both of his palms pushing the leaves aside, Lo found the object his master pointed out, and he brought it out.

"Master, look at this."

Lo opened his palms and exposed a small and exquisite cauldron. Its green surface glimmered under daylight while its four, nail-sized legs, seemed crafted in precision.

Seeing this, Fei Cai frowned before taking it from Lo's hands. He then looked behind Lo. The salamander was barely processed. Seeing this, Fei Cai sighed. If he remained here for a longer time, then the risk would become higher, and if he made Lo pull the entire corpse of the salamander, then he wouldn't be able to support Fei Cai. Thinking till here, Fei Cai resolutely gave up on the body and made Lo give him a ride on his back till they reached the tribe.

***

"Hmm, good enough," Fei Qing whispered in satisfaction as he took back his healing gu worm. The father-son pair was seated on the floor within their house while a bloodied horn was placed near Fei Cai. 

Fei Cai sat in front of his father with his tunic removed. Both shoulders were drenched in blood, but beneath this layer, no wounds were visible. This was the effect of a rank 4 healing gu worm! According to Fei Qing, if he had even lost his fingers, the rank 4 gu worm would have been able to restore them.

The effects left Fei Cai in admiration towards this world, and he exhaled deeply. After selling the lucky python and the calm hare while keeping his expenditure in mind, Fei Cai's pockets were 29 primeval stones deep. This amount was neither extraordinary or pathetic when compared to his peers. And within three hunts, Fei Cai already had five gu worms.

"Your copper leaf gu worm would take some time to heal naturally. Gu worms only need their food to get access to nourishment. Don't overuse it for now," Fei Qing advised before his smile broadened. "Now," he continued, "Why don't you describe your battle? My son slew a greenhorn salamander in his third hunt. Let me hear the tale."

Fei Cai's gaze flashed for a moment. He didn't wish to reveal the fact that he activated his beast phantom in the first try. He also couldn't push all the limelight onto Lo. If a gu master was so grievously injured, how could Lo survive with mere scratches? Fei Cai's wounds were evidence that he took care of the beast himself.

"Father, it was the Longevity Heaven's blessing that I could pierce the salamander. There is really no tale to tell. We were ambushed by the beast in waiting."

Hearing him, Fei Qing shook his head. 

"Little Cai, a beast such as a greenhorn salamander, can camouflage and hide its presence within the setting of a forest. You need to be careful from now on. 

Before you sleep, I want you to go through the details of every beast surrounding the tribe, is that clear?"

Fei Cai nodded. Although a Northern Plains tribesmen wouldn't interfere with the growth of their offsprings, at some point, these men would realize that the blood was thicker than society's norms after all. Fei Cai's injuries were the point where Fei Qing admitted this fact and finally advised out of concern. Still, the Tribe's Chieftain only showed a grin at his son's nod and stood up. 

After Fei Qing left, Fei Cai cleaned the blood over his body while looking at the copper leaf gu devouring a mound of green pine leaves. He had just fed this gu worm yesterday, but due to its injuries, Fei Cai had to feed it again.

After wearing a loose top, Fei Cai finally laid down his carpet and sprawled over it. 

"Master, I have prepared the meal." 

Lo knocked on Fei Cai's door before gaining permission to enter.

Meanwhile, as Fei Cai dug into his bowl of meat soup, Fei Sheng sat in his house with a dark expression. The interior of the room was dim, and the flickering light of the candle gave Fei Sheng an eerie feeling. In front of him, the old elder used his primeval essence to fill the rank 3 green sparrow letter gu with the contents of the tribe and the ongoing rivalry of the two 'leaders.'

In the letter, Fei Sheng also described Fei Cai's fortunate encounter where he was able to find an earth lizard house gu worm. The elder stated that he would do his best to delay the task by a month, but he would need some more gu worms to accomplish the task. Then, he proceeded to list the gu worms he desired. After sending the letter gu away, Fei Sheng smiled in relief before taking out a parchment.

"Earning 11% of the treasury and four rank 3 gu worms could be so easy..."

Fei Sheng gazed at the parchment stating the recipe of refining a rank 3 earth lizard house gu worm.

He had this recipe all along and just used the tribe's incomplete record to deepen his coffins.