Xu Yueping said nothing until they left Silver Vine Town behind. Then he plunged into the dark forest and drove his fist into a tree. Snow cascaded from the branches.
"If I had no wife and children — if I were twenty years younger — I would die today taking Feng Yi'an with me." He gasped. His arm trembled.
He had been humiliated in that room. The handprint was still on his face. As a man, he couldn't swallow it.
But he had a family. He was not young. Duty and burden forced his fist down.
"My hot blood is gone. Ground out by life." He whispered it like a confession.
Qin Ming had no words. His own anger surged in sympathy.
"Uncle Xu, don't let it eat you. They'll pay for what they've done."
A long silence. Then Xu Yueping exhaled. "Let's go home."
---
Snow still fell. They walked in quiet. Qin Ming tried to find light topics to ease the weight.
"Why hasn't the sweep started yet?"
"The high-ups are still negotiating with the major beings in the mountains."
Then Xu Yueping's face darkened further. The patrol had a catalyst fluid. Being prepared. Three days — it would arrive in Twin Tree Village, poured into the fire spring.
No need to guess. The catalyst would help Black Moon germinate. It would poison the fire fields.
"Did the other villages agree?"
"Three had reservations. Their fire fields have been underperforming — they suspected the seeds too. But pressure won. They agreed. Only Green Mulberry Village held out. The patrol didn't dare push too hard — they're afraid of the one who gave Er Bingzi his advanced manual."
"Mid-month soon," Qin Ming said, looking at the black sky.
He knew: the patrol only appeared together in the mountains at mid-month and month-end.
---
A massive shape emerged from a side path. Impossible to miss.
A bull — fur blood-red, gleaming. Its back stood taller than a grown man. Two curved horns, and between them a third — straight and sharp as a sword. A mutant.
But the rider drew the eye. A man, impossibly tall. Standing, he would exceed three meters. Black hair past his shoulders. Eyes like blade edges. He swept them with a glance and rode the red bull toward Silver Vine Town at speed.
"That tall?" Qin Ming was stunned.
"He walks another path," Xu Yueping said.
"Early New Life — caused oversized growth?"
By tradition, fifteen or sixteen was the golden window. New Life then built a golden foundation.
Too early, and the body's natural growth collided with the forced transformation. Hormones ran wild. The result: giants.
Most giants died young. Their bodies broke down after the violent change.
"Only major families have the ancestral experience and resources to keep them alive," Xu Yueping said. The survivors became terrifyingly strong. Pure force overwhelming skill.
"The Giant Spirit path. Ordinary families can't afford it." He guessed the rider had come from Chi Xia City.
---
They talked of New Life. Qin Ming steered the conversation toward Fu Entao.
Xu Yueping turned sharp. "Xiao Qin — you're not planning to go after them. Don't."
"Uncle Xu, you overthink. I'm a new Lifer. What business do I have with a Second New Lifer?"
Xu Yueping relaxed. He genuinely feared the boy's impulse.
"First New Life favors strength. Second New Life shifts toward flexibility and speed."
They talked and walked. Qin Ming built a mental map of Fu Entao's strengths and limits.
---
They detoured into the forest several times, hoping to bring back game for the food-strapped families.
"Close call." Xu Yueping was shaken. A mutated Thorn Leopard had struck from behind — black lightning, nearly invisible. If Qin Ming hadn't moved, Xu Yueping would have been pinned.
"This zone had a mutated plant bloom recently. Still dangerous. We shouldn't linger."
They hauled the Thorn Leopard out. Four hundred fifty jin. Black spines, five inches long, running from belly to head.
---
Back in the village, the air was thick. Even the children who loved chasing through snow had gone quiet.
Xu Yueping distributed the leopard meat before heading home. He was exhausted — not in body, but in spirit.
Qin Ming stood at the bright fire spring, staring at the dark wilderness. Mountains loomed, faint and ominous.
"Three days. The catalyst comes. You press and press. No room to breathe."
He turned and walked toward the wild.
"Just scouting." The Shallow Night was still young. He wasn't planning anything — not yet. Mid-month was two days away.
"You drive people to the edge. Ignore next year's famine. Ignore lives."
He strode into the forest. No hunting fork — his body didn't need one anymore. Bow, arrows, a chopping knife.
He knew where the patrol's base was. He walked in one direction, steady.
Wind and snow — his allies. They would erase his tracks.
Each patrol squad covered a region of six to eight villages. Fu Entao's base wasn't deep. A few ridges, no more.
He avoided the mutated beasts he sensed. No distractions.
---
Red light glowed from a mountain peak. A micro fire spring — barely grade one, dimmer than Twin Tree Village's. But sufficient for a patrol base.
A stronger creature had once laired there. Fu Entao had led the hunt years ago. The deep mountains held high-grade springs. The powerful beings there disdained the outer dim springs.
Qin Ming settled on the neighboring peak. Across the gap: fire-light, flat ground, wooden cabins, moving figures.
Usually only two or three patrollers present. Together, they searched for mutated plants and spiritual creatures — chasing Second New Life.
A Golden Mastiff paced the camp. Tiger-sized. Keen nose.
Then Qin Ming's eyes hardened. A snow ape, fur gleaming, soaked in the fire spring. Domesticated. The same kind that had torn villagers apart.
He watched for a long time. Then he vanished into the night without a sound.
---
He emerged from the forest and looked back at Twin Tree Village. The fire spring cast a warm glow at the gate. Roofs edged in gold. Chimney smoke curled up.
A gentle picture. But when he entered the village, he heard weeping.
"Uncle Qian didn't make it. Just now. Gone."
People stood at the Qian family's door. Someone sighed. "Old Qian — the snow ape nearly tore his neck off. He held on this long."
The third death.
Xu Yueping and Old Liu arrived. Faces of stone. They knew the truth. The hatred burned inside.
---
Next day — Uncle Qian's funeral. The patrol appeared at the village gate.
Feng Yi'an stepped forward, sighing, and handed the Qian family a musk deer. He consoled them with practiced sorrow.
Old Liu turned his face away. The performance made him sick.
The Qian family didn't know. They were grateful.
Qin Ming clenched his fists. A musk deer for a human life.
Shao Chengfeng, tall in his armor, announced: "The Blood Bear and the snow ape have both been killed. You can hunt safely now."
Qin Ming knew him. He'd met him on the road with Yang Yongqing once. Back then, Shao Chengfeng had seemed dedicated — a hardworking patroller.
Now the man stood there lying, claiming credit for crimes his own squad committed.
The patrol found Xu Yueping. Not to comfort villagers — to verify the Black Moon seeds were planted.
"Brother Xu — thank you." Feng Yi'an patted his shoulder, satisfied.
Qin Ming stood by the fire spring. Feng Yi'an was smiling. No warmth in it.
Xu Yueping's face was blank. The memory of that room in Silver Vine Town burned in his cheeks and his chest.
Shao Chengfeng grinned. "We misjudged last time. Young Qin's a golden-foundation New Lifer. When the sweep starts, we'll fight side by side. Why not join the patrol now — get ahead of it?"
Qin Ming declined. The smile faded from Shao Chengfeng's face. Qin Ming pretended not to notice.
The patrol left.
"No need to test — the kid's hostile. During the sweep, find a chance to remove him."
"Don't waste it. The fire spring at Blood Bamboo Grove is dying. Perfect — use him to scout first."
Their voices carried as they vanished into the wild.
---
That evening, Qin Ming sat in his yard and sharpened his chopping knife. Carefully. Thoroughly. The blade shed its rust and gleamed like still water.