Dark brown eyes stared cautiously at Ling Ye. The wolf's mouth and fur were stained with blood, yet Ling Ye couldn't see any injuries on the animal itself.
After a moment of intense eye contact, Ling Ye's initial surprise faded. The tense standoff between them didn't last long, however. The sharp sound of Bai Da unsheathing his sword broke the silence.
Without hesitation or fear, Bai Da stepped forward and launched himself toward the wolf.
This gave Ling Ye time to step back and think. More importantly, it gave him a chance to determine exactly what kind of wolf they were facing.
Ling Ye's eyes followed every movement of the beast, searching for a clear view of its paws, trying to see whether it had three or four claws.
He moved a few steps farther back, creating some distance from the fight, but even while retreating, his body stayed alert. His eyes remained fixed on the wolf's swift movements while his hands quickly drew his dagger, gripping it tightly.
By now, Bai Da and the wolf had already exchanged several attacks.
Ling Ye could immediately see that the wolf was far more nimble and flexible than Bai Da. However, the wolf lacked the strength and perhaps the intelligence, to exploit the openings in Bai Da's defense.
Although it wasn't as cunning as Ling Ye had feared, the wolf was still extremely dangerous. It was clearly stronger than either of them individually.
A single strike from its claws could easily cause a severe injury and if one of them made a careless mistake, that injury could quickly become fatal.
This was Ling Ye's conclusion as he observed the ongoing fight between the two.
Unfortunately for them, Bai Da was inferior to the wolf in nearly every aspect. The only advantage he had was his ability to predict and dodge the wolf's attacks. Its attack patterns weren't too difficult to understand, but even so, Bai Da could do little more than endure.
Still, he gritted his teeth and held his ground, refusing to show any sign of exhaustion.
In fact, the more tired he became, the more ferocious he grew. His sword strikes became sharper and more aggressive with each passing moment.
Standing behind him, Ling Ye had a clear view of the wolf during the fight. By now he was certain that it was neither a three clawed nor a four clawed wolf. As for whether it might be a Grey Dire Wolf, he couldn't say for sure. His knowledge of the beasts of the Great Forest was limited, and he couldn't identify every predator that lived there.
But he didn't waste his time standing around helplessly.
Although Ling Ye was far from being a skilled fighter and had always struggled to control his body well enough to properly learn combat techniques, he had once been a young master of the Ling Clan. His body had been nurtured since childhood with countless herbs.
Even though he appeared slim and somewhat unimpressive, his body was filled with refined muscle and hidden strength and while he lacked refined technique, he still knew how to make use of that raw power when necessary.
So he waited.
He waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Meanwhile, Bai Da was slowly being overwhelmed by the wolf. In truth, he could do nothing except dodge.
His robe was already torn in several places along his arm, marked by the wolf's claws. Occasionally the claws even scratched his skin. Thankfully, thanks to his many years of training, none of the wounds were serious, only shallow cuts.
But even without severe injuries, his body was gradually growing more exhausted and most of that exhaustion came from the accumulation of those small wounds.
Bai Da had already tried several times to return the favor for the scratches he had received, but every time he shifted his stance to attack, he was immediately forced back into a defensive position.
"Tsk."
Although he wanted to curse out loud, Bai Da knew it would do him no good. It would only waste his breath.
Sweat began to pour down his face. Ironically, the sweat helped cool his body, allowing him to dodge some of the wolf's attacks more smoothly. Still, the longer the fight continued, the more he realized the truth, this battle could not go on like this.
By every measure, he was clearly losing.
Knowing this, Bai Da forced himself to become more creative. He began moving around the small valley, trying to change the flow of the fight. However, the more he moved, the more exhausted he became.
Fortunately, the wolf was not an endless war beast either. As the fight dragged on, it too began to slow down.
Not only did it become slower, it also started to grow desperate. Its attacks became more savage and lethal than before, but because of that desperation, they also became less frequent.
Finally, Bai Da saw an opening.
Only a moment after his first strike, Bai Da's eyes turned fierce, and he abandoned any thought of defense.
He lunged forward with a fast, decisive attack.
The wolf immediately realized its mistake in changing its attack pattern and leapt backward to dodge. But Bai Da pressed forward instantly, not giving the beast any chance to recover.
The wolf continued retreating, barely dodging Bai Da's next strike.
Watching all of this unfold, Ling Ye's eyes turned cold. He shifted lightly into position, gripping his dagger firmly.
The wolf had made its first real mistake and as it retreated from Bai Da's attack, Ling Ye knew, this was the opportunity.
As the wolf dodged Bai Da's second attack, a dagger suddenly flashed through the air, flying straight toward the retreating beast.
Just as the wolf steadied itself and prepared for Bai Da's next strike, the dagger pierced deep into its body.
The wolf never even understood what had happened.
In the next moment, it collapsed onto the grass, lifeless. Its blood quickly began to soak into the ground, nourishing the blades of grass beneath it.
With the grass now stained red and the wolf lying dead, Bai Da froze for a moment, staring at the corpse. Then he simply fell backward onto the ground, lying flat as he looked up at the clear blue sky.
"Haaah…" He let out a long breath, completely exhausted.
While Bai Da rested on the ground, Ling Ye calmly walked over to the wolf's body. He grabbed the dagger that had pierced its stomach and pulled it free. As he did, the wolf's inner organs began to spill out.
The foul smell that followed made Ling Ye's face twist in disgust.
"Tsk." Clicking his tongue, he looked at the blade and began cleaning the blood from it. With a few quick flicks of his wrist, most of the blood flew off the dagger and splattered onto the ground.
Fortunately, the blade itself did not stain easily.
As Ling Ye finished cleaning his dagger, he heard several loud gulps nearby.
Turning slightly, he saw Bai Da carelessly drinking from his water pouch, draining it as if he had just returned from a long march.
Seeing this, Ling Ye couldn't help but remind Bai Da to be careful with the water.
"Don't drink too much. We'll need it later." Hearing this, Bai Da paused for a moment and nodded. He took one final gulp before sealing the pouch and tying it back onto his belt.
Now that the immediate danger had passed, they could rest for a short while. Ling Ye turned his attention to the injuries Bai Da had received from the wolf's claws.
"Get up," Ling Ye said. "Let me see the wounds the wolf gave you."
Bai Da slowly opened his tired eyes and looked at him, letting out a deep sigh.
"Can you give me a little more time? I just fought a bloody beast that wanted nothing more than to tear me apart."
Ling Ye looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"No. Get up and let me see."
"Tsk." Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Bai Da gave up resisting and slowly stood up. With Ling Ye's help, the two of them walked over to the large stone in the valley. Bai Da sat down on top of it, finally able to rest comfortably.
Now that he was seated, he didn't complain anymore and simply let Ling Ye do his work.
Ling Ye began inspecting Bai Da's injuries. Although he wasn't a doctor or a trained healer, he had learned the basics of treating both minor and serious wounds, at least well enough to stabilize someone until they could reach a proper physician.
Unfortunately, they were deep within the Great Forest now.
There were no villages here, and certainly no doctors wandering through the wilderness.
So for the moment, they could only rely on each other.
"Haa… good. None of the wounds are anywhere near your organs, and none of them are serious. Just some light cuts, they should heal on their own in a week or two."
"Good." Hearing this, Bai Da was naturally relieved. It was comforting to know that his injuries weren't serious. Still, that didn't mean they could simply leave the wounds exposed.
Although they didn't have proper medical supplies, Ling Ye made do with what he had. He took Bai Da's already damaged sleeve and cut it apart, then tightly wrapped the cloth around the cuts on Bai Da's arm.
However, the torn sleeve wasn't enough to cover all the wounds, because of that, Ling Ye had to cut strips from the lower part of Bai Da's robe as well. After a few minutes of work, all the cuts were tightly wrapped.
Satisfied with his work, Ling Ye gave a small nod to himself. As a small reward, he took a sip from his water pouch.
After fastening the pouch back onto his belt, Ling Ye prepared to continue their journey through the Great Forest. But when he looked at Bai Da, he noticed that Bai Da didn't seem convinced about moving on.
"Village Head Ye… how about we go back to the village instead?"