18 In the Shadows (2)

As the direct disciple of Elder Ming, he is not clueless as to what the findings meant.

He remembers one of the lessons given by Elder Ming briefly touched on some of the beasts in the west, although not in detail. But the information that stuck out the most, is that the blood of a pregnant winged lion is known to stimulate killing intent in a beast.

Upon smelling the blood, it would lose its conscience and attack other species - similar to a puppet raging for blood. This would explain the odd behaviour of the Grimoire Snakes.

Recovering from the initial shock, Ye Chen wanted to speak again but stopped as soon as he saw Elder Ming's grave complexion. He let out an expression Ye Chen had not seen before…

...Fear

No one, except for Elder Ming and his disciple should be able to know that the blood of a pregnant winged lion can cause such a reaction from beasts. A winged lion is a rare beast from the west and a pregnant one would be extremely hard to come by. Elder Ming only came to know about this while he was completing his encyclopedia book of spiritual beast many years ago.

When Elder Ming was much younger, he stayed in the west of the continent for almost twenty years. He lived in a small hut in the forest and would go out everyday to observe and record findings of each individual beast. Something like a wildlife biologist in modern times, where they just sit and observe the behaviours and patterns of the subject.

Overtime, many beasts got acquainted with him and they formed strong friendships between man and beast. One of the many beasts groups he got to know intimately, were the winged lions. The winged lions were a small group of beasts that are only found in the west. They are so few in numbers because they have difficulty breeding, and at that time, there was only one group left.

It is said that a successful pregnancy is once in a few years, and each litter has only a maximum of two or three cubs. They live mostly on the mountains and are a very timid and shy bunch, hardly coming in contact with humans or other beasts.

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During his last year staying in the west, Elder Ming was at the mountains picking herbs when he heard a sharp whimper. Much to his surprise, he saw the one making that noise was a pregnant winged lion. The hind leg of the pregnant beast was bleeding profusely - it seemed to have cut itself against a sharp bark of a tree.

Elder Ming recognized this Winged Lion - it used to hang around with the pack but he had stopped seeing her around from a few months back. Now he understands why she disappeared...She was preparing to have a baby.

When the injured beast noticed Elder Ming, she was growling and making low threatening noises, staring at the cultivator. It seemed to be hesitating and it limped backwards, on guard.

"I will not hurt you. Let me help" Elder Ming said in a soothing tone. He took out a medical aid kit and laid it down on the ground, gesturing to the beast that he will treat the wound at its leg.

The pregnant beast has seen this human before, but one can never be too sure…

After what seemed like forever, perhaps it was also the huge amount of blood loss, the muscles on the pregnant winged lion softened and laid down. It was still staring at the human as though warning him not to try anything funny.

Elder Ming was then able to treat the beast and left quietly, hoping to give the beast a peace of mind.

On the way back to his hut, some of the spiritual beasts he passed by became disoriented and some even became aggressive towards him. Even though he recognized most of the beasts and had become good friends with them, he was confused at their unusual behaviour.

He soon found out the reason why they were acting like that - It was because his robes were stained with the blood of the pregnant winged lion while he was treating her. After some experimenting and research on the blood on his clothes, he came to understand that beasts who came in contact with the smell of the blood will be affected by hallucinations and aggression.

The weaker the beast, the stronger the effect of the blood.

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"Shi...zun? I know the danger of the blood…and the possibility that the winged lion pack that you used to be close with may be in danger... However, this disciple does not understand why the blood is found in GongCi's hunt…" Ye Chen frowned as he tried to recall the scene from a month back.

Why would the blood of a pregnant winged lion appear in front of the cave? How did the perpetrator get his hands on the blood, and such a substantial quantity too...? Something bad must have happened to the winged lion pack...Elder Ming internally thought about all these issues, his face darkened and became extremely solemn.

The person who left the blood there definitely does not have good intentions. Every evidence collected from the hunt thus far seems to direct malicious intent towards his disciple. There is also a possibility that the person is trying to taunt Elder Ming himself indirectly by harming his disciple as a warning.

"I will investigate further. For now, do not unintentionally alert an enemy*. Do not tell anyone about this conversation. Not even your cousins." Elder Ming warned with a low and dull voice. It was as though he was mourning the death of someone he knew.

"Yes, Shizun." Ye Chen nodded. He had mixed feelings in his heart and so many questions. But he knows that it is not the right time to ask more as the elder does not seem to know the answers to his questions right now.

After a silent ten minutes, the elder abruptly said, "Bring Yin Li with you to the Education Conference happening in three months. We are still not sure who or what is the reason behind the incident at the hunt, and we may not be able to find out soon. I feel more at ease with it accompanying you." He paused and looked directly at the spot Yin Li was hiding. "You shouldn't have any objections right, Yin Li?"

Ye Chen suddenly felt like an idiot. How did he think he could deceive his master…?