Chapter 121: The Tamer’s Staff

The wild buck bounded through the forest, looking back at the creatures that were chasing it. It glowed green and in its wake bamboo shoots sprang up. It ran for a while, the sounds of it being chased silenced.

“Spiked Knuckleduster!” Jiahai fell from the air and slammed his fist into the buck’s back.

It fell, sliding along the snowy ground. It got up, looking at Jiahai who had a knife ready in his hand.

“Go,” Jiahai said before two Ragged Jackals leapt overhim to the beast.

The buck glowed green and a wall of bamboo grew up in time to repelthe two Jakals. Jiahai charged for the wall, ki collecting around his knee and forming spikes. He slammed his ki knnes into the bamboo wall, blwoing it apart and creating a path for his two jackals to get at the buck. They held it in place by biting its feet.

Jiahai cound not get a clear shot at the buck’s neck as it was struggling to wildly. He gathered his spiked qi knuckleduster technique and slammed his fists into the buck’s head and when it was stunned from the attack, he pounced on it and with his knife finished the job.

He continued to skin the beast as his two jackal companions ate two peces of meath that he had carved out for them. He got to the beast core that he admired in the fading winter light. The two jackals tensed. He was so in tune with them that he instantly noticed it. He turned around, brandishing his knife at whatever they had spotted.

A figure in a black cloak, stood looking at him. The hood was drawn well over the head, making it difficult for Jiahai to see them, other than the whites of the eyes, which shone through the shade.

“Your hunting is impressive.” The figure’s distorted voice said.

“Who are you?” Jiahai said.

“A friend.”

“Funny,” Jiahai tilted his head. “You don’t have a tail; you don’t walk on fours you don’t bark. Considering all my friends have that same trait, I’d say you are not my friend.”

“Perhaps I should say, I could be your friend.” The cloaked figure reched into the sleeves of their cloak and pulled out a storage stone. There were white flashes above the sleeve of the figure, where their hands were hidden by the cloak. A short, black staff appeared. “Do you know what this is?”

“Am I suppose to?”

“It is called a Tamer’s Staff.” The figure said as staff crackled in red energy. It was pointed to a tree and a red streaking energy shot out and hit the tree. There was asmall explosion and the wood of the tree split and smoked.

Jiahai’s jackals growled at the cloaked fgure, having been surprised by the attack.

“It is understandable that you have not heard of it but really, someone like you should know it.” The figure turned around and began walking away. “Meet me here in two days time. I am willing to give it to you, if we make a deal of course.”

Jiahai watched the figure disappear amongst the trees.

Two days had passed and Jiahai was in the forest nce again. Rizon was at his side as he waited for the cloaked figure to return. He could see the black cloaked figure appearing as the fgure neared him.

“You came, Jiahai.” The figure’s distorted voice said. “I’m glad.”

“You know my name?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” the figure said. “I did come to you specifically.”

Jiahai began feeling uneasy. He realised that in this case, he was the one being hunted. “I did some reading up on your staff, The Tamer’s Staff. That is what you wanted me to do right? You even made sure to give me a demonstration, the red streaking energy, so that I could confirm it is the real thing.”

“Hah, you’re smarter than I initially thought.” The cloaked figure said.

“So what do you want?” Jiahai said.

“It is very simple. There is a certain person that I want you to kill.”

“What? Wh-Who?”

“Xue Shaonu.”

Jiahai was frozen in place. He knew the name very well. Everyone in the academy knew the name. he knew there was always something special about Xue Shaonu, not only her wide acclaimed beauty but there was something else about the beauty, something hidden and he knew the cloaked figure knew.

“Why?” he said. “Why do you want Xue Shaonu dead?”

“Will you accept it or not?” The figure said as he raised the Tamer’s Staff.

“I am a hunter, not an assassin.” Jiahai said. “You’ll have to find someone else to det involved in this dirty business. This conversation never happened.”

“Never happened.” The cloaked figure said before disappearing in red smoke.