Chapter 90 - 69 : The Hunter’s Night (1)

Chapter 90: Chapter 69 : The Hunter’s Night (1)

The change in his expression was immediate. The relaxed look disappeared as Ethan closed the remaining distance between them, the short dao already firmly in his hand. The cultivator’s hand instinctively moved toward his weapon, but Ethan was already raising his arm.

The blade swept forward, catching the pale moonlight as it cut through the air. For a brief moment, the cultivator seemed frozen between realizing the danger and reacting to it. His expression shifted from confusion to shock as he finally understood how close Ethan was.

Then the short dao swept across the man’s throat in one clean motion.

The man’s eyes widened as his body went limp.

Ethan caught him before he fell and lowered the body carefully against the exposed roots of a nearby tree.

The horse beside its fallen rider lifted its head.

Its ears turned toward the darkness, but unlike its rider, it remained where it was. Ethan disappeared between the trees, leaving the animal standing quietly beside the body.

A short distance away, another horse suddenly lifted its head. Its ears turned toward the darkness, catching something its rider had yet to notice. It snorted and pulled against its reins.

Its rider looked over.

"What is it?"

The animal stepped backward, growing increasingly restless. Then it suddenly broke into a run.

The rider cursed and grabbed for the reins.

"Hey! Stop!"

The horse dragged him several steps before he finally managed to regain control. The commotion carried through the ravine, drawing the attention of the nearby cultivators.

"What happened?"

"My horse bolted!"

"Why?"

"I don’t know. Something scared him."

The boss’s voice came from higher up the slope.

"Keep your eyes open. If something scared the horse, that demonic cultivator may be nearby."

The man tightened his grip on the reins, struggling to calm the restless animal.

"I didn’t see anything. It just suddenly panicked."

"Then check the area around you. Don’t let him catch you off guard."

"Understood."

Ethan watched from behind a tree as the man searched the darkness, his eyes moving between the trees and rocks.

He hadn’t seen anything.

Neither had the others.

But the sudden panic of the horse had put them on edge, making them more cautious and uncertain about what was around them. Thouhh he hadn’t planned for that but it worked in his favor anyway.

Ethan moved.

Ethan’s Blood Perception caught another presence nearby. The second Body Tempering cultivator was standing between two large rocks, only a short distance from where Ethan had just struck.

Before the commotion, he had been talking with the cultivator Ethan had killed. But when the horse suddenly panicked in another part of the ravine, his attention had shifted toward the noise.

Now that things had quieted down, he turned back toward the rocks.

"Hey!"

There was no answer.

He frowned.

"Where are you?"

Still nothing.

The cultivator frowned and glanced toward the direction of the commotion before looking back toward the rocks.

"Damn it. Where did that guy go?"

He took a few steps forward, looking around for his companion. Ethan watched him from the darkness, waiting as the man came closer, still unaware that the person he was looking for was already dead. Ethan slowly moved toward him.

"Brother Han?"

No answer.

"Han?"

Still nothing.

The cultivator turned toward the others, raising his voice so they could hear him across the ravine.

"I think something happened to Han!"

"What happened?" someone called back from farther up the slope.

"I don’t know. He isn’t answering!"

"Check on him! We’re coming!"

The cultivator looked back toward the narrow passage where he had last seen Han.

"Han!"

There was still no response.

He took a few cautious steps toward the passage, his eyes scanning the rocks and trees around it. The sudden commotion had put him on edge, and the silence from his companion only made it worse.

He stopped.

Something caught his attention. A faint movement came from beside the rocks. The cultivator’s eyes shifted toward it, and he took a cautious step back, his hand moving toward his weapon. He stared at the rocks for a moment before slowly turning toward them.

Ethan emerged from the darkness, moving so quietly that the cultivator barely had time to react. His eyes widened as Ethan stepped into view, and his hand snapped toward his weapon. He had barely raised it when Ethan closed the remaining distance between them.

The short dao flashed through the darkness.

The blade struck across the cultivator’s throat in one clean motion. His eyes widened, and his body staggered backward before collapsing against the stones. The impact was muffled by the uneven ground.

Ethan caught the movement of the falling body but did not stop. He was already turning away before the sound of the impact had fully faded.

Farther up the ravine, someone called out.

"Han!"

No response.

"Han!"

The leader’s voice followed, louder this time, but when no answer came, he waited for a moment before calling out again.

"Lu!"

"I’m here!"

"Li!"

"Here!"

"Wo!"

"I’m here!"

The leader paused.

Only three voices had answered.

"Where’s Han?"

No one answered. The leader called again, his voice carrying through the quiet ravine as the night wind moved softly through the trees.

"And where’s the one who went to check on him?"

"Something isn’t right," the leader said. "Everyone stay alert. Don’t move alone."

His voice echoed between the trees as the remaining cultivators grew quiet.

Ethan paused beneath a tree.

The remaining cultivators were beginning to understand. The first disappearance had been confusing. The second was no longer easy to explain. One of them called out from somewhere among the trees.

"Everything alright over there?"

"I don’t know," another voice answered from farther down the ravine. "I haven’t seen them."

"Keep your eyes open. We should regroup."

Their movements changed. They stayed closer to cover. They looked toward the darkness more often. One of them kept glancing back whenever a branch moved. Ethan watched them for a moment from behind the trees. Then he moved

His figure slipped from one patch of darkness to another, crossing the space between two trees so quickly that the leaves barely had time to stir. He stopped behind another tree farther down the ravine and listened.

A few voices carried through the darkness, coming from different directions. Their voices were no longer as confident as before. Some sounded confused, while others kept their voices low, as though they were afraid of drawing attention to themselves.

Every now and then, someone called out to check if the others were alright, only to receive a distant answer from somewhere else in the ravine. Ethan listened to them for a moment, noticing how their words came faster now and how they kept trying to make sure the others were still there. They were becoming disorganized, and the uncertainty was beginning to get to them. Ethan waited until one of the voices fell silent before shifting again, moving between the trees with his quiet speed.

Then his attention shifted. Through his Blood Perception, Ethan noticed that the cultivator they called Lu, the lean Qi Refining cultivator, was moving toward one of the remaining Body Tempering cultivators. He was on his way to join up with him, but as he moved through the ravine, he suddenly slowed. Something seemed to have caught his attention.

Lu stopped near the center of the ravine and stood alone, his weapon already drawn. Ethan lowered himself behind a tree, keeping his movements quiet. The man’s breathing was controlled, but his shoulders were tense. His eyes moved across the trees, lingering on the darker areas between them as he slowly scanned the ravine. Ethan remained still for a moment, watching him from behind the tree. Lu didn’t seem to know exactly where he was, but something in his movements suggested that he had noticed something nearby.

Then his hand rose.

Wind began gathering around his arm, stirring the air in front of him. The loose leaves scattered across the ground trembled and shifted, some lifting slightly before being carried away by the forming current. Ethan watched from behind the tree, his eyes narrowing as the faint moonlight caught the movement around Lu’s arm. The cultivator’s expression had changed. The uncertainty that had been visible earlier was gone, replaced by a focused look as his eyes fixed on the darkness where he believed Ethan was hiding.

Ethan didn’t wait.

He moved.

A pale blade of compressed wind tore through the darkness with a sharp whistle. Ethan slipped away just as it reached him, and the attack struck the tree he had been standing beside. Wood exploded from the trunk, sending splinters through the air as bark tore away from the impact. Ethan used the force of his movement to reach higher ground, landing lightly on a thick branch above the ravine. From there, he looked down through the gaps between the leaves.

Lu’s head snapped toward the sound.

His eyes quickly searched the branches, catching the brief movement of Ethan’s figure. His expression tightened as he raised his hand again.

As another wind blade began to form...