Casting immortality in the furnace

Chapter 25 Killing the Mandrill

"Focus your energy and reach the pinnacle."

Fan Zhou pondered this in his heart, vaguely grasping some of the true meaning.

The wooden sword in his hand was now filled with sword energy, but it no longer flowed like a stream; instead, it became incredibly calm, just like his still and undisturbed mind.

Each wisp of sword energy stabilized and merged with the others, like mist condensing into a drop of water, rolling along the sword's body until it reached the tip, like morning dew hanging on a leaf tip, shimmering with a soft glow.

"It's done."

Fan Zhou didn't feel much joy; he just felt it was the most natural thing in the world.

He stood up, took his sword, and walked to an old tree.

Without any fancy moves, he simply raised his sword and thrust it horizontally. The wooden sword pierced through the tree trunk, sinking more than half a foot deep, without a single crack appearing around the wound.

"I concentrated my sword energy into a single point—I did it!"

Fan Zhou sheathed his sword and stood there, a smile on his face, tinged with a hint of regret:

"It's a pity that Master Huang isn't here, so I can't see it with my own eyes."

Since Fan Zhou was already able to face the mountain demon on his own, Huang Yi no longer needed to watch over him. These past few days, Huang Yi had been instructing Liu Ergou at the market, and would come back to pick him up in the evening.

"Now, we can go and kill that mandrill."

Fan Zhou touched his chest. Although the scratches had long since healed, he hadn't forgotten the pain.

Now it's time for revenge.

Fan Zhou leaped and ran towards the low hill.

"Aww!"

Just as Fan Zhou reached the low hill, he heard an extremely angry shriek coming from halfway up the hillside. It was the roar of the mandrill.

Then came another scream, which sounded like a human voice.

Fan Zhou frowned. There were naturally people living in the mountains nearby, and judging from the hemp clothes that the mountain demon was wearing, the beast was most likely a cannibal.

He quickened his pace and rushed toward the direction from which the roar came.

Not long after, a girl was seen rolling down the hillside, with the mandrill chasing closely behind. The mandrill, with its ape-like arms, was leaping from side to side while making strange noises, and its eyes were bloodshot.

The girl had clearly lost control of herself, her body swaying left and right, and she was about to crash into a tree when Fan Zhou rushed over and stopped her, thus preventing a tragic accident.

Upon seeing Fan Zhou, the mandrill suddenly sank to a tree branch, baring its teeth and scratching its face in agitation.

Fan Zhou, secretly on guard, asked the girl in his arms:

"How are you? Are you alright?"

The girl's hair was disheveled, and there were several scratches on her pale face. She looked at Fan Zhou and shook her head weakly.

She carefully took out a medicinal herb from her bosom and said:

"I'm injured and can't run away. Please help me take this Evodia rutaecarpa to my father. He's been poisoned and is waiting for this to save his life."

Fan Zhou frowned slightly, noticing three scratches on the girl's thigh, with the skin torn open and blood flowing freely.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Upon seeing the elixir in the girl's hand, the mandrill flew into a rage, leaping down from the tree and approaching Fan Zhou and his companion on all fours, drool dripping from its mouth.

The girl forced herself to sit up, stuffed the dogwood into Fan Zhou's hand, and said urgently:

"You hurry and take this herb to my father. I'll hold it off."

Fan Zhou reassured him, "Don't worry, I don't know who your father is or where he lives. How can I help you deliver this medicine to him?"

"Lie down first, and I'll apply the medicine after I kill this beast."

The girl gripped Fan Zhou's sleeve tightly, sweat beading on her forehead from her anxiety.

"No...no, this mandrill has skin of copper and bones of iron, and it is impervious to swords and blades. You can't beat it."

Fan Zhou pressed the girl back down to lie on the ground and smiled:

"It's okay, don't worry."

He stood up, looked at the mandrill that was pacing back and forth in front of him, and laughed:

"Why didn't you just pounce on me this time? Were you scared?"

The mandrill seemed to understand his contempt, and immediately stood upright, opened its mouth and roared, its black fur standing on end.

Fan Zhou remained calm, sword in hand, and walked towards the mountain demon.

He was no longer afraid of this guy at all; there was no longer any fear in his heart.

As the mandrill approached, it cautiously retreated, its eyes flickering uncertainly, as if it were considering leaving.

Fan Zhou knew that this beast was playing tricks to make him lower his guard.

How could a beast possibly be as intelligent as a human?

Fan Zhou stumbled and fell to the ground, immediately revealing his weakness.

"Aww!"

Seeing this, the mandrill could no longer restrain itself. It leaped towards him, its ape-like arms outstretched, its sharp claws curved inward like knives, and its blood-red maw biting at his throat.

Fan Zhou suddenly flipped in mid-air, his wooden sword tracing a nimble path, severing both of the mountain demon's arms at the elbows, causing blood to gush out.

The mandrill roared in pain, its blood-red eyes filled with terror.

Before it could react, Fan Zhou thrust out his sword again, with unstoppable force, instantly piercing its brow and the tip of the sword protruding from its skull.

The mandrill's howl of pain abruptly ceased, and the ferocity in its eyes vanished.

Fan Zhou drew his sword and turned around. The demon's corpse fell limply to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He killed him with a single sword strike.

The girl lying on the ground stared in disbelief, unable to believe her eyes.

A wooden sword was enough to slay this monster with its copper skin and iron bones?

Who exactly is he?

Seeing Fan Zhou walk up to her, the girl quickly said:

"Thank you so much for saving me, my benefactor. I am deeply grateful."

"It's nothing, let me apply the medicine first."

Fan Zhou waved his hand, stuck the sword aside, and took out the healing medicine that Huang Yi had given him earlier to apply to the wound on the girl's thigh.

Only then did he have time to take a good look at the girl in front of him.

She had fair skin, wore a feathered headdress, a wolf-skin coat with a fluffy lining, long trousers and deerskin boots, and carried a dagger and a sprig of herbs at her waist.

Fan Zhou asked curiously, "Miss Sang, are you from the Yue Kingdom?"

Sang Muya gritted her teeth and endured the pain, feeling extremely embarrassed by Fan Zhou's scrutiny. She could only turn her face away. Hearing Fan Zhou's question, she asked in confusion:

What kind of country was Yue?

Fan Zhou was greatly surprised. This Sang Muya didn't even know about the Yue Kingdom. Judging from her attire, he guessed that she was probably a native of this boundless mountain range who had almost no contact with the outside world.

Sang Muya also noticed that Fan Zhou's clothes were completely different from those of the people in the surrounding villages, and his tone of voice was also different, so he was probably from outside the mountains.

"My benefactor may have misunderstood. We only have individual villages here. I am from Sangma Village, not from the Yue Kingdom."

"I see," Fan Zhou nodded.

He had already applied the medicine to Sangmuya, and the medicine was extremely effective. The wound on the girl's thigh had scabbed over and stopped bleeding.

"Miss Sang, can you still stand up?"

Sang Muya tried, but her legs were too weak to stand up, so she could only shake her head dejectedly.

Fan Zhou was also helpless, after all, he didn't know any healing magic.

"In that case, Miss Sang, let me carry you back. Can you point out which direction your village is in?"

Sang Muya nodded and said gratefully:

"Thank you so much, my benefactor. I will definitely repay you when we reach the village."

"No problem."

Fan Zhou smiled. He didn't crave any reward, and seeing how poor the girl was, he was afraid she didn't have much to repay him with.

He crouched down, carried Sang Muya on his back, picked up the wooden sword, and headed down the mountain.