"What's going on with the Li clan?"

"You haven't heard the gossip yet?!"

"Gossip? What gossip?"

"You really don't know? Someone killed Li Hong!"

"What Li Hong? The one who's in the blackwater sands all day?"

"Yes, him! Apparently, his entire team was wiped out by some rival team of hunters!"

"Really? That's excellent news! Who did it?"

"If I knew, would I still be here?"

"Haha, what a godsend!"

"Isn't that so? How many teams did Li Hong bully into submission in that area, hundreds? He deserved to die!"

"This has to be the best piece of news I've heard all day!"

"It looks like we won't have to be as wary of heading to the blackwater sands now, do we?"

"Aren't you all naive? Yes, Li Hong's gone, but soon you'll see a Zhang Hong, or Wang Hong, or Liu Hong pop up! Now that the area's not under Li Hong's control, some other tyrant will quickly take over. Just you watch!"

"You're not wrong, but surely after Li Hong's death they'll be more wary and less tyrannical, won't they?"

"That's right! Those hunters from large clans fear death much more than us nameless hunters. Now that Li Hong's dead, they'll surely go easier on us, but as for the hunter who killed him..."

"The Li clan just announced that they're going to review all the hunters who were at the blackwater sands today—they're willing to kill innocent suspects just to get at the true culprit!"

"Heh, are they? I'm staying right here in the settlement: they can try to kill me if they want."

"I'm sure there's no need to worry: who doesn't know what the Li clan is like? If that hunter was daring enough to kill Li Hong, I'm sure they would have a plan for evading capture."

"That's true, isn't it?"

The gathered hunters were far more sympathetic to Li Hong's killer than Li Hong himself. After all, the Li clan—and Li Hong in particular—was widely vilified within the settlement for being too arrogant and domineering.

Zhang Lie hadn't heard any rumors about him or Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng's teams, so he whistled as he walked away. They'd cleaned up the scene of the murder well enough that there were hardly any traces left behind.

Li Jin might not even be able to find where they'd buried the corpse, and even if he did, nothing would link that corpse to them. It had been too long since Li Hong had died, after all.

And Fang Yi and Sun Mengmeng would hardly be suspects: teams like theirs were far too weak to pose any sort of threat to Li Hong.

However, just as Zhang Lie was turning to leave, a small hand tapped his shoulder.

"I smelled you from quite a distance away. What are you doing skulking around here?" Zhang Lie turned to see Chu Xun, from the Chu clan.

What was she doing here? "Girl, aren't you being a little too familiar? You'd better not push it, or I'll tell your brother to beat you up!"

"My brother, beat me up? If he touches me, my grandfather will certainly skin him! There's no one around who would dare beat me up!"

She was, in all certainty, a spoiled brat.

Zhang Lie clicked his tongue. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much. I'm a little bored, so won't you go shopping with me?" Chu Xun beamed.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "I'm very busy, and I have no time to play games with you!"

"Umm, how about this, if you can't play with me, then how about I play with you? Bring me where you're headed."

Zhang Lie shook his head again. "We might have met once before, but surely you wouldn't leave the settlement with a hunter you barely know."

"I don't care! If you don't promise to bring me out, I won't help you out with that favor you wanted!" She scowled.

"You..."

How could this girl be such a nuisance?!

After thinking it over for a moment, Zhang Lie didn't see too large an issue with bringing her with him. He was only intending to head to the Bloodcrystal Valley to harvest some more blood whiskers, which wasn't too far from the settlement.

"I might consider bringing you out with me, but you have to promise to listen to my every command. Otherwise, if you die, I'm not letting your clan blame me."

She was naturally overjoyed to see Zhang Lie change his mind. "Don't worry, don't worry! I promise I'll listen to your every word!"

"You'd better not forget your words when we're outside. Have your guards send word to your brother: tell him where you're going, and tell him that I won't guarantee your safety. You'll be responsible for your own actions. Do you understand?"

Chu Xun nodded fervently and beckoned her guards over.

In truth, under these circumstances, what guard would feel safe leaving their charge with a strange, cloaked hunter? One guard was sent back to bring news to the Chu clan, but the other three tailed Zhang Lie and Chu Xun out.

As a reincarnated hunter with decades of experience, Zhang Lie easily discovered his tails. Upon passing through a small, dense forest, he managed to shake them off. 

After half an hour, Zhang Lie and Chu Xun arrived at the hill overlooking the Bloodcrystal Valley. Zhang Lie hadn't intended on bringing the girl up with him. He was planning on leaving her at the base of the hill, but she refused to comply.

She even claimed to be a gliding expert, one who could easily handle gliding from this height. As a wind-attuned hunter, it was true that she likely wouldn't die from a fall here.

Zhang Lie had no choice but to bring her up to the hill with him.

"I'm fine with you harvesting those blood whiskers, but you have to hand them to me, do you understand?"

Chu Xun nodded seriously, but Zhang Lie felt like he couldn't let down his guard given her sparkling eyes.

"No, no, I changed my mind. Stay right there!"

"What? How can you be like that? You promised me that you'll let me try it! No, I'm heading down!"

Amidst a gust of wind, she leapt down from the hill. Her green wind-attuned genetic energy formed a slipstream behind her as she propelled herself down the hill. 

Zhang Lie had no choice but to chase after her, activating his white-grub soulshard and morphing it into a gliding suit.

Wind-attuned hunters had a natural advantage when it came to anything dealing with the air. If there were no obstacles or disruptions around, the girl would likely be able to glide down safely.

"Ah—Ahhh!" However, just as Zhang Lie relaxed, she let out a shrill cry.

She was being harassed by a few blood ants, and her casual glide had morphed into the disastrous bumbling of a one-winged mosquito.

Zhang Lie grumbled, but quickly shot after her.