Mysterious Flashbacks and a New Pet

Yu Tian stalked and silently moved between the trees, following the sounds of battle. Soon, he caught up to the source and peeked around the tree to observe what was going on.

Using his peripherals, he was able to observe the situation without being noticed. This was another technique that Yu Tian learned in his past life.

By not looking directly at them, he was able to mask his presence and remain undetected. For extra precaution, Yu Tian also rubbed his body in the bushes to remove as much of his own scent as possible.

It was a pack of demonic beasts. Yu Tian recognized them to be Rank 1 green wolves from the books he read in the clan's library.

Like their name suggests, they were a species of wolves that relied on being in packs to hunt like normal wolves, but their greenish colours allowed them to camouflage excellently in the foliage.

They were surrounding a fox with dirty yellow fur. To his surprise, the little fox had already killed two of the wolves, but it was already bleeding in multiple areas. Yu Tian didn't recognize what species the fox belonged to, but he assumed it to be around a Rank 1 demonic beast as well.

The four remaining wolves slowly closed in, sensing their prey was on its last legs. Feeling weak from its injuries, the fox snarled defiantly with bloody fangs.

A mantis stalking a cicada is unaware of the oriole behind. Both parties didn't know that Yu Tian was hiding in the shadows, waiting to reap the benefits of their conflict.

Yu Tian had no allowance to spend. Li Mei Ling only bought him candies and treats with the allowance she earned from working for the clan, so he wanted to find a way to earn an income for himself.

The green wolves had their pelts he could sell, and the fox's pelt might not be too bad either. Although the wounds were a bit problematic, they could still fetch a couple of taels of silver.

Then, he would have his own money in case it was needed.

Yu Tian began to drool a bit in happiness. He became happy as he thought about the profits he could earn. "Hehe."

"Meow."

Stunned, Yu Tian looked down at Qiu Xue. The kitten looked back at him innocently.

"Qiu Xue, you-" Yu Tian was cut off by the wolves turning their attention to him, growling ferociously. He reminded himself to punish her later for blowing his cover.

The fox slowly lifted its head. It was a Rank 2 demonic beast but had already been wounded, before being stalked by the pack of green wolves. In its peak state, it could kill them all without a problem.

It was also surprised to see that the third party on the tree was only a small human, with dark hair and a modest robe in the same colour. There was a white kitten on his shoulder, who made the noise earlier.

The fox stopped paying attention to him, taking advantage of the distraction and using its Qi to heal. That little boy was going to be dead for sure.

One of the wolves climbed with lightning speed to the top of the tree Yu Tian was on, lunging at him,

The former god grabbed onto Qiu Xue, spinning around mid-air to dodge the vicious bite. His pupils dilated as more memories began to flood in.

...

The morning sunlight finally shone over the dark forest.

Several wolf corpses were strewn around the collapsed teen. His body bled from numerous slashes and bites, curling up against the tree trunk.

The sharp branch he wielded had long since broken, but the dried, frozen blood had glued the wood to his hands. The teen was still breathing, albeit barely. Light had already begun to fade from his dark eyes.

"Do you wish to be strong?" A voice suddenly asked, sounding feminine.

"Huh?" The teen turned his head weakly. There was no one and nothing there, yet he heard the voice. "Who?"

"I'll ask one more time, do you wish to be strong?" The voice questioned again, impatient.

The teen grinned bitterly with bloody teeth.

It was nice to have a little company before death, even if it was imaginary. "I must be going crazy before I die, but I'll humour you. No, I don't."

"Why?" The voice sounded angry now.

"I just want to live." He closed his eyes, feeling the remaining strength leaving him, but there was also a smile on his face. "But more so, I also want to change this shitty world, even if it's impossible."

"Fuck whoever's up there, god or no god." The teen spat in spite at the heavens.

"If you wish to do that, then you must be strong." The voice seemed pleased for some odd reason.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He collapsed down in the soft snow, glad that the cold numbed the pain. "Let me die in peace."

"I will now bapitize you." The voice giggled. It was the last thing he heard before the suffering began.

A sudden wave of energy shot into his heart, causing the teen's eyes to widen. It was as if his heart was being slowly frozen, causing him to writhe violently in pain.

The cold travelled through his veins and body, almost as if every one of his single blood vessels were freezing into ice. His brain was being penetrated and mashed together by icicles, an agony so horrific that the teen wished he would already die.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain from the brutal torture stopped, and he slowly opened his eyes. All of his injuries have healed, and he was able to pick himself back up to a sitting position.

"Oh? You actually lived?" A figure dressed in all white was standing above him. He couldn't see the face or recognize who it was, but he was sure that it was a woman. "What's your name?"

"Yu. Yu Tian." The teen finally gasped out.

Yu Tian was still recovering from whatever this figure did to him. The dark bangs that partially covered his face was now as white as the snow. Internally, he also felt numb and cold.

"Very well, Yu Tian." The figure put her hands to her waist and puffed her chest out triumphantly, even though they were quite small. "I had to put so much effort to avoid heaven seeing this."

"For saving you and giving you strength," She pointed a finger at Yu Tian's face, which was now emotionless.

"You are now mine."

...

"Hm!" The fox was shocked at seeing the boy's smooth movements. It was like watching a true expert in a child's body.

The rest of the green wolves also joined the pursuit by climbing up the trees, excited at the prospect of extra meat. Yu Tian looked at them with cold and calculating eyes as he landed on another tree's thick branch.

Running up the side of the tree to an even greater height, Yu Tian performed a backflip, shooting out three objects from his hand with a swing of his arm.

"Awoo!" The first wolf cried out as the stones collided with its head, stunning it and knocking it down from the tree. It crashed onto the forest floor with a large thud, blood coursing out of its ears.

Seeing their compatriot fall, the other green wolves paid no heed as they continued to charge. Dashing from tree to tree, Yu Tian dodged their attacks and launched another barrage of rocks, firing them like bullets.

Moving backwards while keeping the enemy in range, this was another technique called kiting. It was extremely effective for ranged attackers, allowing the user to take advantage of opponents with shorter reach.

The environment can be used to your advantage, and anything can be turned into a weapon. Yu Tian calmly threw more stones that he picked up off the forest floor, but the remaining green wolves have gotten wiser and split up to dodge the projectiles.

Sounds of the battle echoed and pierced through the once tranquil area.

Suddenly, a wolf lunged up from behind him, snarling triumphantly. Yu Tian already sensed the movement and drew his dagger, ducking the sharp teeth and claws while jamming the blade into the beast's stomach.

The wolf's momentum carried it forward, allowing Yu Tian to gut it and push it off his dagger, sending it tumbling down lifelessly with the first victim. Blood and entrails smudged the tree on the corpse's journey down.

Green wolves might have decently tough pelts, but their stomach was a vulnerable spot to take advantage of, which Yu Tian knew perfectly.

Hopping down, Yu Tian casually wiped the blood off the blade on the grass, with a cold and emotionless look plastering itself across his face. He was panting slightly from the exertion, sweat dripping off his brow.

The remaining two grew wary and stopped charging at him. Out of the original six green wolves, only they remained. Finally sensing the danger emanating from the small human, they decided to cut their losses and ran away with their tails tucked in.

"..." Yu Tian was annoyed with his prey running away.

He wanted to chase them, but in terms of running alone, his current body wouldn't be able to keep up and catch the remaining wolves.

Time was running out. The daylight was already beginning to fade, there was also that fox...

Being distracted by the spectacle of Yu Tian's combat prowess, the fox forgot to focus on recovering its strength. Right now, it was far too weak to do anything to protect itself.

Seeing the young boy approaching with his dagger, the fox finally realized that the biggest danger was this terrifying and abnormal human.

"Since those two ran away, I'll just have to settle with you." Yu Tian smiled, devoid of humour. He stood above the fox who was lying down from its injuries.

Raising the dagger, Yu Tian swung downwards without pity.

The fox closed its eyes, awaiting its incoming death as it trembled violently. "I'm sorry, Mother, father! Your child won't be able to grow up and take revenge!"

"Hm?" Yu Tian stopped his swing, his blade a hair's breadth away from the fox's throat.

The fox was crying, with tears flowing from its closed eyes. Yu Tian suddenly found his heart unable to harden and deal the final blow, emotions returning to his features.

This demonic beast was just far too humanlike for him to kill for a few silver.

"Meow." Qiu Xue jumped off his shoulder and ran down his arm, gently biting the hand that was holding the dagger. His martial spirit also didn't want him to kill this fox.

Sighing, he picked Qiu Xue up with his other hand and sheathed his weapon. Yu Tian found out that the fox had also lost consciousness, tears still streaking the fur around its face.

Piling up the green wolf corpses, Yu Tian worked fast to skin the pelts and get some cuts of meat. The majority he had to leave behind, much to his displeasure.

The former god hated to be wasteful, but he didn't have much of a choice.

If he carried the wolf corpses back to the Li clan, questions would definitely be raised if anyone catches him. Not to mention, his hands were already full with this wounded fox, although its condition seemed much better now for some odd reason.

Tying the pelts and meat around his shoulders with the sack he brought, Yu Tian picked the demonic beast up and began the trek back home.

...

In the end, he still arrived back late at the Li clan's residence. The moon was already bright in the sky, thanks to his hands being full with the fox and the load on his back.

Yu Tian decided to hang the pelts in a small area surrounded by foliage in the backyard, after performing some light scraping to get rid of the excess flesh and membrane. Hide skinning and treating were more skills picked up from his past life, and he memorized the ins and outs when it came to dealing with animal skins.

Drying them like this when the sun came up would prevent them from slipping. Yu Tian also stole handfuls of salt from the kitchen, rubbing it into all of the green wolf pelts thoroughly.

Eventually, he'll find a way to sell them for money once the curing process is completed. The hides were tough and durable, with excellent colours for camouflaging in areas containing foliage. They should fetch some nice prices.

Yu Tian quickly washed and changed his clothes, preparing to check on the demonic beast he brought back. By now, it was well past midnight. He mashed together some of the raw green wolf meat into a paste and filled another bowl with water.

Thanks to his insistent complaints, his mother finally allowed him to live in a separate room. Yu Tian had already placed the fox on his bed with a bowl of water before doing other things, observing its condition to be fine.

Opening the door quietly, he sneakily tiptoed into his room while putting the food and water for the fox on the table. Now Yu Tian could finally take a rest.

"Yu Tian." A familiar voice sounded behind him as he lit up a candle, causing him to freeze in terror. Being so occupied and exhausted, he didn't notice anyone waiting in his room.

"How are you, my good son Yu Tian?" Li Mei Ling wore a pleasant smile while sitting on his bed, her eyes becoming crescents. The yellow fox was also in her arms, which she put down gently before turning to him.

"M-Mother. I-I can explain." Yu Tian stuttered in fear as his mother cracked her knuckles.