Zhao Ya naturally understood that these were just excuses to fool children.
This man clearly wanted to monopolize the tiger and deliberately found such a lame excuse.
Zhao Ya showed no fear; instead, he sneered coldly.
"Oh, you say the tiger is yours, so it’s yours? If you want it, come and take it yourself."
"Huang, what are you wasting words on this brat for? Just kill him off!" said an impatient man holding a pure steel hunting fork.
Huang Cai hesitated for a moment.
Because he felt the boiling Qi Blood in Zhao Ya’s body.
Moreover, he hadn’t lied about one thing—he had indeed been secretly observing Zhao Ya hunting the tiger.
He originally planned to approach Zhao Ya by pretending camaraderie, then launch a sneak attack.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ya was highly vigilant, and he couldn’t get close at all. Helplessly, he let his companion show up, hoping to scare Zhao Ya away this way.
After all, they had the advantage in numbers, and once a fight broke out, Zhao Ya would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ya showed no intention of leaving; instead, he remained undaunted and responded with verbal provocations.
Huang Cai couldn’t quite gauge Zhao Ya’s depth and naturally hesitated to make a move.
But the man wielding the steel fork didn’t care much for those considerations; he charged forward with a loud yell, swinging the steel fork at Zhao Ya.
The force was immense, without technique, purely relying on brute strength.
Zhao Ya sidestepped, and with a flick of his wrist, his knife swung out, aiming straight for the man’s neck.
But just then, Zhao Ya suddenly felt a strong sense of danger, and without finishing the strike, he swiftly dodged aside, narrowly avoiding an arrow that skimmed past his clothes.
Somewhere in the mountains came a light gasp, suggesting the archer was surprised Zhao Ya managed to avoid his arrow.
Zhao Ya’s heart sank slightly.
He had already sensed someone lurking in the shadows.
As expected, among the people in front of him, there was another accomplice hidden in the mountains, and the archer was highly skilled.
With such a sharpshooter lurking, his danger would increase significantly.
The immediate priority was to locate the person and eliminate them before dealing with the rest.
In just a moment, Zhao Ya made a decision.
He feinted to dodge the steel fork’s attack and then used the Swallow’s Three Dips Body Technique to dash toward the source of the gasp.
The whole process was as fast as lightning.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Ya closed the distance.
But looking around, there was no sign of anyone among the lush forest.
Yet Zhao Ya, with his keen eye, noticed traces of someone having been on a tree branch.
Even now, the branches were slightly swaying, indicating the person had not gone far.
With a quick turn of thought, Zhao Ya made a decision almost instantly.
He tapped the ground with his toes, leaping upward toward the top of the tree.
At the same time, an arrow shot down with a whistling hiss.
Zhao Ya was prepared, swinging his blade.
With a crisp clang, sparks flew as the arrow was knocked down.
Zhao Ya felt a numbness in his wrist, knowing the power behind the arrow was extraordinary, but this only fueled his determination to kill.
In a flash, Zhao Ya reached the top of the tree, where he saw someone frantically nocking an arrow beneath the dense foliage.
Upon seeing Zhao Ya swoop down like a hawk, the person’s eyes filled with shock and despair.
The blade flashed, and the man and the tree trunk behind him were both cleaved in half, raining blood from the sky, his corpse falling to the ground.
Having dealt with the immediate threat, Zhao Ya wasted no time and charged back toward Huang Cai and his group.
The four of them were scared out of their wits by the scene just now.
To think that among them, the archer was the strongest.
Especially skilled in ambushing from the shadows, he was practically invincible.
They had relied on this skill for years, dominating the mountains and killing countless experienced hunters.
But they never expected things to go awry today.
This young man with the long knife was terrifyingly fierce, eliminating the hidden archer in an instant.
This left them trembling with fear.
So when they saw Zhao Ya rushing at them, they lost the will to fight, scattering to escape, hoping to flee for their lives.
Zhao Ya, of course, wouldn’t let them go.
He raised his hand, launched a Sleeve Arrow, first pinning down the man with the steel fork, then nocked another arrow, killing two more before chasing after Huang Cai with his blade.
Huang Cai heard the twang of the bowstring behind him and the screams of his companions, realizing they had all met their ends, and he was filled with dread.
If he had known the young man was this formidable, he would never have dared to act.
But now it was too late.
Huang Cai could only run with all his might, hoping his vast experience in the forest would help him shake off Zhao Ya.
But his hopes were dashed.
The footsteps behind him grew clearer, and Huang Cai could even hear Zhao Ya’s long, calm breathing.
Clearly, the other was not in a hurry but was rather leisurely tailing him.
Knowing his end was near, in desperation, Huang Cai pulled something from his pocket and threw it behind him.
It was a pouch-like object that exploded in the air.
Instantly, the forest was filled with a sickeningly sweet aroma.
But Zhao Ya was prepared; the moment Huang Cai’s shoulder twitched, he knew the man planned to act, so he avoided it beforehand.
As the aroma spread, Zhao Ya had already held his breath and circled behind Huang Cai from another direction.
"No..."
Huang Cai also sensed footsteps behind him, shivered, and was about to cry out when Zhao Ya decapitated him with a swing.
"Yes!"
His head managed to utter one more word before thudding heavily to the ground.
As the poisonous powder dispersed, Zhao Ya donned deerskin gloves and began searching the corpses.
Huang Cai indeed had considerable wealth on him; Zhao Ya found several silver notes, totaling around fifty taels.
But the biggest find was several small bottles on Huang Cai’s person.
These bottles were labeled.
Mind Confusing Incense, Itch Powder, Confusion Powder...
Seeing these names, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but feel delighted.
He had always wanted some Poison to protect himself but had no way to get it.
Unexpectedly, today he got an unexpected windfall from Huang Cai.
Then Zhao Ya searched the other four’s bodies but found no additional Poisonous Powder. However, the bow used by the archer was exceptionally good, far surpassing his current bow.
What Zhao Ya cared most about wasn’t the bow; it was the thin booklet he found on the archer.
Opening it, he discovered it was a Technique for hiding one’s presence.
Zhao Ya was overjoyed.
Had it not been for his premonition earlier, he would have been ambushed by this man, showing the man’s prowess in concealing his presence.