“You really weren’t kidding, this little girl’s teeth are really powerful!” Liu Yu Tong raised her left arm–bandages were wrapped around her palm and elbow. Obviously, she had been bitten.
…Previously, even Ling Han had been bitten when he let his guard down, proving that this little girl was really very good at sneak attacks. More importantly, you simply wouldn’t believe how fierce her teeth were unless you experienced it with your own body.
“This girl was definitely born in the year of the dog!” Ling Han shook his head.
“She’s much more powerful than a dog, she’s definitely born in the year of the tiger!” Liu Yu Tong had already experienced some hardship, and shook her head with lingering fear. The first time she was bitten was indeed due to her carelessness, but she had still been bitten a second time even though she had had her guard up, proving how scary this wild little girl was.
Of course, this was also because she had not thought of harming the wild girl. Otherwise, no matter how sharp her teeth was, Liu Yu Tong would have easily killed her with one swat.
“Where did she come from?” Liu Yu Tong asked curiously.
“She had been living in the wild, raised by a tiger. I don’t know anything else besides that,” Ling Han bent down in front of the wild little girl, his hand extended to tease her. “Little girl, you probably don’t have a name, so I’ll have to give you one.”
“Hu! Hu!” The wild little girl, kept opening and closing her mouth, her teeth clicking noisily together, as she chased after Ling Han’s finger for a bite.
“You were raised by a tiger, so we’ll call you Hu Niu then!” Ling Han said with a smile, then turned to Liu Yu Tong and asked, “Is there something like a birthmark on her? With that, we’ll be able to help her find her real parents in the future.” [1]
“There is one!” Liu Yu Tong nodded. “There was a very strange mark on her ankle, though I can’t tell if she was born with it or someone had marked her after her birth.”
Ling Han lifted the covers to take a look, and there was indeed a mark on the little girl’s left ankle. It was about the size of a copper coin, with a very complicated pattern. He really could not tell what the pattern meant. Theoretically, such a complicated marking should have been branded after her birth, but there was absolutely no sign of any such branding, so it looked as if she had been born with it.
It was really very odd.
“What do you plan for Hu Niu?” Liu Yu Tong asked. She had already started feeling affection for this little girl. “This little girl only thinks that she is a wild beast. If you don’t plan well enough, she will definitely get into trouble.”
Ling Han nodded and said, “Let’s have her follow us first. Wait until she regains her human intelligence before we decide the next step.”
***
Hu Niu did not think that she was a human being at all. She was like a wild cat or a tiger cub. They helped her put on some clothing, but she immediately ripped the clothes off her. If they did not tie her up, she would definitely be even more nimble than a monkey. What was even more of a headache for Ling Han was the fact that she did not eat cooked meat.
Whether it was grilled or boiled meat, she would not touch a single bite of it if it was put in front of her. Instead, her eyes would fix upon Ling Han’s neck, killing intent brimming within her eyes. Obviously, she would be happier to have Ling Han as her feast.
To remove her wild nature, the first step was to change her eating habits.
Ling Han took a bite of the grilled meat in front of the little girl, then put the grilled meat back down in front of her, then stepped back.
Hu Niu kept holding herself back from making any moves, but after half a day, her stomach grumbled, and her eyes had become even fiercer. Still, she did not make a move to eat the meat until it was about midnight, and she finally could bear it no longer. She squirmed a bit, and finally took and began to eat the grilled meat.
Both her hands and feet were tied, so she could only wriggle forward like a worm.
Her appetite was terrifyingly large, she quickly finished off such a huge pork leg. The little girl licked her lips as if she had not eaten enough. The expression on her face was very strange, because she had never eaten such delicious meat.
On the second day, Ling Han continued to attend various social gatherings, and on the fourth day, Li Hao and his other old friends finally found the opportunity to meet him.
“I never thought that you would actually manage to get the first place!”
“Yeah, you are really impressive, too amazing!”
“I am more envious of Li Hao. He’s going to enter into Hu Yang Academy very soon and Big Brother Ling will take care of him there, so there’s no fear that he’s going to be bullied in an unfamiliar place.”
Liu Dong and the others talked in succession as they continued to fill his cup with wine, rejecting his own attempts to reciprocate the gesture. Due to their inferior status, they could only wait until the majority of the others had dispersed before they dared to come meet with Ling Han. Today, they naturally came with the intent to get Ling Han drunk.
However, when they had about reached half a round of drinks, Chen Peng Ju revealed a face filled with hesitation. After a long while, he finally spoke, “I may have caused a huge disaster.”
“What’s the matter?” Everyone else asked.
Chen Peng Ju clenched his teeth and said, “When we returned from the Balance Mountains, I shared a drink with one of my clansmen. I drank a bit too much, and it seems like I accidentally spoke about the incident with Hang Zhan.”
“What!” Li Hao and the other four immediately stood, their faces instantly paling.
Hang Zhan was the grandson of the Seventh Elder of Stone Wolf Gate, and recently, people from the Stone Wolf Gate have all been searching for his killer. If the information was leaked out, then that Seventh Elder from Stone Wolf Gate would definitely come running.
A powerful warrior of Gushing Spring Tier!
Ling Han did not take it to heart too much. He too had the assistance of warriors of Gushing Spring Tier, and the Stone Wolf Gate should know that there stood three Black Grade alchemists behind him, so they definitely would not dare to be rash.
Perhaps only that Seventh Elder may possibly go on a mad rampage. After all, his flesh and blood grandson had died, so it depended on his temper. If he was the fiery, short-tempered type, then it was indeed possible that he would make a murderous charge towards Ling Han.
“So did you say something or not?” Liu Dong asked anxiously. Guo Rock Town fell within the area under the jurisdiction of the Stone Wolf Gate, and the Seventh Elder had just cause on his side–vengeance for his grandson–so even if he massacred their clans, the most the Da Yuan King would do was to verbally reprimand him.
After all, this was a world where the strongest was respected.
“I really can’t remember, I really drank too much that day!” Chen Peng Ju said, scowling miserably.
Ling Han thought for a moment, then said, “If that person from the Stone Wolf Gate really went charging to your clans, then just be honest and tell him to come look for me.”
“No, Big Brother Ling, we will definitely not betray you!”
“That’s right, how could we be so disloyal!”
Liu Dong and the others all shook their heads in refusal. But were their words true, and how many of them were actually speaking truthfully… that was another matter entirely.
Ling Han smiled, and said, “There’s no harm, this is the truth anyways. Moreover, I have the ability to protect myself, so I do not fear that Seventh Elder. But for you guys, I can’t guarantee your safety, so listen to me and tell the truth.”
Seeing Ling Han insist so strongly, Liu Dong and the rest could only nod their heads in agreement while hoping Chen Peng Ju’s tongue had not slipped after drinking. If that was the case, then all would be well.
With such a heavy worry weighing down on their hearts, the atmosphere obviously became very stifling, so very soon, the gathering concluded and everyone returned to their own respective homes.
When Ling Han returned to the Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion, he saw Liu Yu Tong was teaching Hu Niu how to speak. However, the wild girl was still very violent–she did not pay any attention to Liu Yu Tong’s attempts and only kept baring her teeth and snarling, looking very much like a little tiger.
Ling Han laughed loudly, and said, “You have to take advantage of her weakness, doesn’t the little girl like to eat? So you can just use food as a reward. If she performs well, give it to her, making her slowly learn to obey you.”
Liu Yu Tong rolled her eyes at him, and said in annoyance, “You really think it’s like raising a kitten or a puppy?”
“This girl is much fiercer than any kitten or puppy!” Ling Han said with a click of his tongue. He stretched out a hand to touch Hu Niu’s head, and the girl immediately tried to bite him, but thankfully, he managed to pull his hand back in time.
“Kou, kou, kou,” a series of knocks was heard from the door. Ling Han and Liu Yu Tong both turned around to see an alchemist’s apprentice standing at the doorway, who said, “Young Master Ling, there arrived someone who claims he is from the Ling Clan of Gray Cloud Town outside. He says he has some urgent matter and wishes to meet you.”
“Oh?” Ling Han walked out. What could it be? His father had just returned, so logically, there shouldn’t be any big issues, right?
Could it be… the Seventh Elder of Stone Wolf Gate?
Alarm rose in his heart, and he immediately quickened his walk into a run. Seeing this, Liu Yu Tong left Hu Niu behind and quickly followed after.