Shen Zuo got to work without hesitation, his steps calculated despite the smell, his hand gripping the knife set aside specifically for dissecting beasts, its blade thick but exceptionally sharp, its surface soaked in layers of dried blood from constant use.
The first thing he did was head toward the snake's corpse. The slimy skin had already started decomposing, and though the smell was suffocating, Shen Zuo didn't let it bother him. He tied a piece of cloth over his nose, then breathed calmly, as though his senses had detached from his body.
He started the cut from behind the head, working the knife between the flesh and muscle tissue, knowing exactly where the venom glands sat from all his reading.
After several minutes of effort, he pulled out a dark-colored orb, a deep red bordering on black, its diameter roughly the size of his fist, pulsing with a faint glow.
He lifted it with extreme care; this venomous orb could wipe out an entire village if used the wrong way.
Then he moved on to the scattered corpses, most of them either decomposing monkeys or torn-apart hyenas.
With the help of gloves, he began examining the bodies, searching for joints, aiming his cuts precisely at the joints rather than striking randomly, working with anatomical precision so as not to waste effort.
He'd carry a corpse over his shoulder or drag it by its hind leg, binding the limbs together with a simple rope he'd made from plant fibers, hauling them one after another toward a spot far from the tree, so as not to draw predators toward the observation post.
The good news was, the blue-eyed bird kept watching him from above, like a silent personal guard. It never intervened, but it also never let any creature get close.
Once he'd gathered enough corpses at that distant spot, he sat down and pulled out his tools, beginning to prepare a diluted mixture of the snake's venom.
He used whatever water he had left along with sticky plant materials that absorbed the venom and softened its effect, then began coating the corpses with this mixture, and used the same poison-soaked cloth pieces to cover the exposed areas of the bodies, especially the parts birds usually fed on first.
The larger corpses required cutting into three or four pieces, each moved separately, tied with a rope of dried hide and dragged away, sometimes leaving a trail on purpose to avoid drawing attention.
Throughout all of this, Shen Zuo never stopped glancing around every few steps, his eyes moving like a predator's, making sure no one was watching him except that silent bird.
The work exhausted him, his body covered in blood, sweat, and dirt, but his eyes never lost their sharp edge, and all of this was just another form of training... one more day in his life.
Several days passed in a row without anything notable happening... no sudden movements, no group attacks, not even a single sign from the strange bird that kept watching everything in silence. Shen Zuo made use of this temporary calm, sleeping whenever he could, training to raise his energy, then going back out to gather and dispose of whatever corpses remained.
Some beasts that snuck into the area tried attacking the corpses, but he'd step in at the last moment, every single time succeeding thanks to how fast he moved, never leaving a single beast the chance to touch them, especially around dawn.
At this point, Shen Zuo had even stopped feeling any real surprise at how fast this bird was; its presence there had simply become part of the daily rhythm he'd gotten used to.
And during these repeated cleanup runs, he discovered a few corpses he'd completely forgotten about, some buried under other bodies, others so disfigured that identifying the species had become difficult.
But he never let a single opportunity slip by, checking through them one by one, searching for whatever crystals lay inside.
He used his sharp knife to cut open the rotting bodies, his hand moving steadily through the decay and the smells, ones that would have knocked out anyone else's senses entirely.
He pulled out five small crystals, two roughly half the normal size, the rest close to full size, after being shaped, and had he not extracted them now, they would have dissolved along with the decaying bodies over time.
By this point, the ground had turned into a mix of dried blood, black stains, and shattered bone fragments.
The foul smell still lingered, despite the passage of time, despite the corpses being cleared away, the scents kept creeping into his nose as though trying to stay alive, bearing witness to everyone who had died here.
Shen Zuo stood atop one of the broken tree trunks, watching the scene, breathing heavily...
"The place is clean, but it doesn't look like it."
Everything... had vanished except the traces of the massacre.
No corpses left in the area, no unpleasant smells, no birds tearing into flesh, no roaring filling the place like in those first days. The silence was heavy, but this time it wasn't terrifying... it was reassuring. Shen Zuo stood in the middle of the clearing, stretching his fully recovered body. The energy inside him was stronger than it had been weeks ago, and his control over the Phantoms kept growing steadily over time.
The air was still, but carried distant sounds. Far off, some battles still raged, one beast chasing another, or vague noise flaring up now and then... but within the borders of this small patch of ground, control belonged to him.
"Those damn old men were exaggerating that beast wave way too much..."
Shen Zuo thought to himself, slowly drawing a deep breath, his hands no longer trembling, his gaze steadier than it had ever been before.
"I'm sure I could survive even without that damn bird's help."
He paused for a moment, then stared at his fully healed hand, and at his toe, back in place as though it had never been severed at all.
"Well... I wouldn't have made it without sacrifices, I'd probably have lost at least one limb."
He smiled with faint sarcasm, glancing toward the spot the bird usually stood on. It wasn't there now... and that gave him a strange feeling, a mix of relief and unease.
The boy in this forest was no longer isolated.
Now... it was time to hunt.
Now... it was time to secure a fresh source of food.
Hunting an animal or a beast never hurt.
In fact, it could be exactly what he needed for his next chance at survival.
Shen Zuo took off from beneath the tree, bow slung across his back, his steps precisely measured, and even though he was running, the ground made no sound beneath him. He moved like a shadow between the trees, dodging dry branches and scattered gravel, taking full advantage of how steady his footing had become.
From a distance, he spotted rising dust... and knew instantly a fight was underway.
Creatures moving violently, the sound of clashing fangs and overlapping roars.
"An opportunity."
He thought it clearly, picking up his pace even further.
Whether it was one beast or two, any dying creature's remains only improved his odds of survival.
His eyes began picking up the details as he drew closer.
The lynx moved like a shifting shadow through the grass, coiling around the bear with unbelievable lightness. Its muscles pulsed beneath its dark hide, its eyes glowing a strange green, as though revealing every weak point in its opponent's body.
With every leap, the air itself seemed to disturb around it, its claws letting out a faint sound, as if slipping loose from its fingers and snapping back into place.
But its opponent wasn't the type to be caught off guard. The brown bear was massive, twice the size of any ordinary bear, standing on its hind legs, its roar alone enough to shake the air. Its coarse fur was cracked, as though rocks had grown over its hide, and every movement it made carried enough force to uproot a tree.
Speed collided with sheer weight, and between every strike and dodge, Shen Zuo watched in silence, not intervening... not yet. His eyes tracked the path of every attack.
And between...
The moment the dus
t settled and the ground shook beneath the two beasts' weight, a faint smile crept onto Shen Zuo's face.