Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive

Chapter 468: Chapter 309: Where Is He?

"Since that’s settled, we’ll take our leave. We’ll see you on the day of the duel." Han Ning noticed Wutuo’s expression growing increasingly grim and decided it was time to make a quick exit.

It wasn’t Wutuo’s strength he feared, but the foul stench clinging to the man.

Shui Rui nodded. "Alright. The duel is scheduled for nine in the morning two days from now. Please gather at the entrance of Tingchao Pavilion an hour beforehand."

"No problem."

While Shui Rui went to deal with Wutuo, Han Ning and the others made a swift exit from the arena.

Once they were out the main gate, they all took a long, deep breath in near-perfect unison before letting it out in a whoosh.

"That was disgusting. I have no idea how Shui Rui and her sister can stand that smell." Lin Tianhe rubbed his face, then asked out of curiosity,

"By the way, Mengting, what was that back there? How did you predict the attack trajectory of his Soul Technique?"

The Deep Sea Prisoner wasn’t completely defenseless back there. The dense water vapor it spread across the field was actually a very tricky Soul Technique.

The highly compressed Water Element made its attacks impossible to track. Any other Beast Master would have likely been defeated in an instant.

"Hmm... my Talent has grown stronger. I can sense weak points in the surrounding elemental fluctuations and signal Lan Qian to evade ahead of time. It’s just that it consumes a massive amount of Spiritual Power... The higher the opponent’s Spiritual Energy, the more of my Spiritual Power it drains." Liu Mengting rubbed her temples, a hint of exhaustion finally showing on her face.

"Analyzing weaknesses and predicting attacks... you’re practically invincible." Lin Tianhe’s voice was tinged with envy.

"It works well enough against strong but clumsy brutes like that. But if I were to face an Elemental Soul Beast... it would be a different story." Liu Mengting shook her head.

’An Elemental Soul Beast, huh...’ Han Ning mused.

...

Two days flew by. Early on the morning of the third day, just after seven, there was a knock on Han Ning’s door.

He opened the door, his hair a mess. Liu Mengting was already fully dressed and standing poised outside.

"Good morning. Did you just wake up?"

"Morning... Give me two minutes."

Today was the day of the duel.

After hastily washing up, Han Ning and Liu Mengting started walking toward the dueling grounds.

To avoid being late, they had stayed overnight in Shuixiu City.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the entrance to Tingchao Pavilion.

Dozens of people had already gathered in the small plaza by the entrance, making the area look quite lively.

"It’s just a few duels, isn’t it? Why are so many people here?" Han Ning was taken aback by the crowd.

"They’re witnesses summoned by Elder Shui Qian. It is a bit of a crowd," Shui Rui explained, appearing from out of nowhere.

"Shui Qian? You mean the elder from the Merfolk Sea Alliance who helped you two reconcile?"

"That’s right. The duel between Sha Lei and me has become something of a hot topic in Shuixiu City lately." Shui Rui smiled, but it was a smile tinged with helplessness and bitterness.

Han Ning nodded and glanced around. "Where are Tianhe and the others?" he muttered.

The words had barely left his lips when Lin Tianhe’s voice rang out from behind them. "We’re here, we’re here! Not late, are we? Man, breakfast in Shuixiu City is pretty good. Those boiled sea chestnuts are to die for..."

Lin Tianhe was wearing a gauze robe from the Jiaomeng "Hotel" and a pair of hole-riddled shoes popular in the Xia Country. Trailing behind him were Luo Chen, Chen Linyu, and Zhao Jingjing.

And it wasn’t just them. Han Ning spotted several other familiar faces gathering from different directions.

’Ah Yu, Qing Fan, Second Elder... Why the hell is everyone here?’ Han Ning coughed, catching sight of the familiar faces.

Second Elder and his group didn’t approach, simply offering Han Ning a faint smile from a distance.

’Looks like everyone heard about today’s duel and came to watch the show.’

"What’s wrong with a crowd? We people from the Xia Country love a good spectacle. Besides," Luo Chen sidled up with a grin, handing Han Ning a large shell, "we’re here to cheer you on. And if you run into any trouble, Second Elder and the others can step in to help, right?"

"Have a taste. Boiled Exquisite Clams. They’re super fresh."

Since he hadn’t eaten breakfast, Han Ning took the food from Luo Chen and began to eat it by the mouthful.

"Miss Shui Rui, where’s your sister?" Lin Tianhe asked, noticing she was standing alone.

An awkward expression crossed Shui Rui’s face. "Er... she went to fetch Wutuo. We’ll just be a moment."

...

Time slowly ticked by.

Han Ning even went into Tingchao Pavilion to have another breakfast with his companions. By the time he came out, it was nearly nine o’clock.

But Wutuo was still nowhere to be seen.

Shui Rui was like an ant on a hot griddle, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of Tingchao Pavilion.

"Miss Shui Rui, he’s still not here?" Han Ning asked, looking at the ever-growing crowd.

"Not yet. He must be on his way," Shui Rui said, looking dazed. It was clear even she didn’t believe her own words.

Another five minutes passed. It was now 8:55.

Meanwhile, Elder Shui Qian arrived at the entrance of Tingchao Pavilion, surrounded by seven or eight other Merfolk. He had a few cyan scales on his cheeks and bluish lips, but his overall appearance was more humanoid.

"Shui Rui, are you ready?" Elder Shui Qian asked, stopping when he saw her at the entrance.

"Almost, almost!" Shui Rui replied distractedly.

"Alright. Prepare yourselves, then. I won’t disturb you," Shui Qian said with a nod before turning to enter Tingchao Pavilion.

’Shuili still isn’t here. Something must have happened.’

At 8:57, panic began to set in on Shui Rui’s face.

"Sister!"

Just then, Shui Rui’s sister’s voice called out from around the corner of a nearby building.

Everyone turned toward the sound. Her hair was a mess, her face was flushed, and she was running toward them barefoot in a great hurry.

"What in the world happened?" Shui Rui’s heart sank as she saw the fury on her sister’s face.

"That... Wutuo... he’s gone..." Shui Rui’s sister managed to say between heavy gasps, her voice thick with rage.

"He ran?" Shui Rui’s mouth fell open, her expression one of utter disbelief.

"I woke up this morning and found that he..." The young woman stopped mid-sentence, suddenly aware of the others around her.

"He... He... He took my deposit and ran!"

Even the normally gentle Shui Rui had veins bulging on her forehead. She looked at her sister’s face, a mask of rage and bitter resentment. Her own cheeks flushed redder and redder, her mouth hung open, and she made choked, gasping sounds, unable to form a single word.

Suddenly, a tall figure appeared before her. "Miss Shui Rui," Han Ning’s voice came, "first, calm down."

Han Ning’s words seemed to hold a strange power. As his calm voice reached the two sisters’ ears, their agitation subsided, and their expressions grew a little more composed.

"Ah, I’m so sorry, Han Ning. You had to see that embarrassing display."

Shui Rui let out a long sigh. She put an arm around her sister’s shoulders, whispered a few words of comfort, and used her sleeve to wipe the tears from her sister’s eyes.

"If you’re a person short, he can take his place." Han Ning yanked Luo Chen, who had been standing in the back cheerfully watching the drama unfold, and pulled him in front of Shui Rui.

"Him?" Shui Rui’s expression was still dazed as she stared blankly at Luo Chen’s unfamiliar face.

"He’s very good. Maybe even a little better than Liu Mengting. Where else are you going to find a replacement right now?" Han Ning said with a smile.

"??... Me?" Luo Chen was just as surprised, not expecting Han Ning to rope him into this at the last minute.

"This... Alright. Let’s go in first." Shui Rui glanced up at the local Water Clock hanging over the entrance. 8:59. It was a desperate move, but she had no other choice.

When the group entered Tingchao Pavilion, the main hall was already packed with at least fifty spectators—Beast Masters of all sorts of strange and wonderful races.

"Shui Rui, you’re finally here! Hurry up and take your people to the dueling grounds out back to assemble. The match is about to start." A bald, turtle-faced Beast Master waved her over, pointing toward the arena in the rear.

"I know, thanks for the reminder."

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