King of Creation Chapter 3 - 3 3 The Giant Rat
Previously on King of Creation...
The secret of comprehending beast language was uncovered by Ye Zhen just a few months earlier.
Ye Zhen had no idea how this ability came about, yet it emerged on a particular day some months ago.
This occurred right around when Ye Zhen's cultivation advanced from Early Stage Force Training to Mid Stage Force Training; after classes ended in the evening, frustrated by his sluggish progress, he couldn't sleep and headed to a nearby hill for fresh air.
Lost in contemplation, he abruptly began grasping the chatter of small mountain and forest creatures in their beast tongue; initially shocked, he suspected an issue with his hearing.
After several days of careful testing, Ye Zhen confirmed the truth—he possessed the power to understand beast language.
Be it the squeaks from mountain rats, grunts of wild boars, or thunderous tiger roars, Ye Zhen could decipher their intent by focusing intently.
When Ye Zhen first uncovered this quirky ability to interpret beast speech, he found it entertaining.
During times of stalled cultivation and mounting frustration, he would relax by tuning into the voices of local rats, mountain cats, foxes, and snakes alike.
Their somewhat silly expressions came across as hilarious, always lifting Ye Zhen's spirits.
Yet half a month back, during a night of irritation, Ye Zhen reached this hilltop and caught two rat brothers under the rocks plotting a midnight feast, sparking a sudden idea.
In that instant, Ye Zhen grasped that his fun little secret could yield real benefits.
Night after night at this hour, Ye Zhen atop the hill would overhear the rat brothers scheming their scrumptious outing.
While their notion of a feast meant nothing to Ye Zhen, one evening as he peeked out, witnessing the brothers emerge from their nest, their immense size left him stunned.
Gigantic rats!
Enormous rats!
Stretching nearly one meter long, larger than mountain cats, with tails thick as a child's arm and incisors like razor blades flashing coldly in moonlight.
Even more startling, after Ye Zhen unwittingly trod on their burrow entrance, the rats lunged at him fiercely.
A sturdy Iron Branch Pine branch, arm-thick and casually grabbed by Ye Zhen, got chomped clean through in a single bite by the brothers.
Their fangs rivaled dagger blades!
Ye Zhen stood utterly amazed.
From what he knew, these rats matched the everyday grey mountain rat, typically palm-sized.
But now bloated to almost a meter, they appeared utterly monstrous and bizarre.
Something fishy was afoot.
By eavesdropping on the rat brothers' talks over days in secrecy, Ye Zhen noted their peculiar routine—rushing off every midnight for some prized treat.
Ye Zhen suspected their massive growth tied directly to that midnight delicacy they chased.
This treat might just be a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.
Only fabled Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures could swell ordinary grey mountain rats, with their plain bloodlines, into near-fierce beasts.
This realization set Ye Zhen's heart pounding with thrill.
From childhood, Ye Zhen absorbed tales of destitute lads chancing upon Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, skyrocketing to riches, doom by greed, or instant mastery; he knew their immense worth.
Even within Qiyun Sect, such treasures ranked as rarities, far beyond the medicinal herbs servant disciples grew for Blood Essence Soup.
Far from foolish, Ye Zhen yearned to trail the rats to claim such a prize.
This find also dawned on Ye Zhen that his beast language gift could unlock tremendous gains.
Such insight fueled his bold declaration before his parents that day.
One motive chased his boyhood dream of sky-soaring flight and honored his father's hopes; plus, with this rare edge, why squander it?
A full year cultivating in Qiyun Sect taught Ye Zhen that progress hinged not just on Bloodline Talent but crucially on plentiful resources.
And now, his secret might snag him resources beyond others' dreams.
Post-discovery of the rat brothers' secret, Ye Zhen haunted the rocks over their burrow each midnight, silently heeding their chatter before pursuing.
Yet beasts' swift forest dashes outpaced any First Stage Blood Training Martial Artist like Ye Zhen.
Each tailing attempt saw Ye Zhen lose the rats' trail.
Still, Ye Zhen stayed sharp.
After ten-plus days of pursuit, he narrowed their range to ten miles around this rocky hill.
Plus, his solo searches eliminated many spots, narrowing to just two or three paths.
Ye Zhen figured even another loss wouldn't halt him; elimination would pinpoint their feast spot in days.
Squeak!
(Go!)
With a sharp squeak, two giant rats, backs bristling like steel quills, burst from under the mountain rock and vanished into the Iron Pine Forest.
Ye Zhen's form blurred as he darted after, nimble as a feline.
This initial path he knew by heart, minimizing loss risk.
After roughly a hundred breaths, the rats' paw sounds on pine needles cut off sharply.
Reaching a forest depression, Ye Zhen's expression darkened—he'd lost them once more.
This sunken area spiderwebbed with trails every way.
Always here Ye Zhen lost their scent.
But panic evaded him.
These days, he'd probed most paths the giants might take; three lingered unchecked.
Among them: a ten-meter cliff edging the dip, a leftward stream, and the dip's lofty trees.
Ye Zhen had dismissed the stream—no water traces ever marked the rats.
Remaining: the cliff and a dozen hollow trees.
Ye Zhen eyed the dip's tall trees first, then dismissed them; improbable and tough to scour.
The towering ten-meter cliff screamed potential for hiding Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
Yet prior searches of its face and foot yielded zilch.
Mulling it over, Ye Zhen picked a climb spot and descended the face, geared for today's hunt.
Like a massive spider, Ye Zhen clung with hands and feet, inching down while moonlight-lit eyes swept the wall.
His Qiyun Sect year's grueling training let him scale effortlessly.
Without it, treasures glimpsed afar would mock his helplessness.
Suddenly, mid-scan, Ye Zhen's gaze sparked at a dim grey-black rat print on a jutting rock spike.
Surprise and joy lit his face.
“Found it!”
Endless toil had gone into hunting these giant rats.
He'd prepped unwipeable plant ash, dusting it at the burrow entrance days prior.
Thus, rats stepping out left grey-black prints.
Ye Zhen knew their leaps spanned three to four meters.
Spotting the print, he scoured a four-to-five-meter circle.
Swiftly, another faint print appeared on moss.
The tracks veered to a ledge, then faded.
Searching further, Ye Zhen's eyes bulged at a moss-cloaked crevice.
Night shrouded the gray-black moss and black gap.
Only his probing hand finding void revealed it.
The slit was narrow but Ye Zhen-sized.
Given rats' height matching his breadth, passage seemed feasible.
Edging through dozens of meters, a stench assailed him as a spacious natural cavern yawned ahead.
The scene froze Ye Zhen.
A crystal-clear stalactite, bamboo-tip shaped, dangled midway in the cave's end, emitting gentle radiance like a jewel.
Heavy dew drops beaded its tip, poised to drip.
Beneath lay an egg-sized rock dimple—empty.
Scattered round it: beast bones galore.
Some fully skeletonized, others half-rotted, plus fresh snake and fox corpses, dead days recent.
Invariably, snake and fox bore rat-gnaw scars.
Just then, the trailed giant rats lapped eagerly with crimson stubby tongues at the glowing stalactite's pending drops.
Ye Zhen's bone-crunching step jolted the droplet-waiting rats.
They whipped around, tails lashing scorpion-like, fangs gleaming menacingly, scarlet eyes locked on Ye Zhen.
Squeak!
In a shrill cry, the duo vaulted airborne, teeth flashing, lunging at Ye Zhen from flanks.