Chapter 58: Heavenly Court Club?

The black deer carried Lin Nan past the students, gradually moving away. The students did not seem to have recovered from the shock easily, and exclamations escaped their lips

"Holy crap... did we just see a real one?!"

"What's going on? Don't tell me we just ran into a real immortal!"

"My god, I've never seen a deer like that!"

"Just looking at the thickness of those four legs, I almost suspect it's a Qilin from the myths!"

As Lin Nan rode the black deer in a lap around the school, the witnessing students were left speechless.

Their gazes even followed Lin Nan's figure involuntarily, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

However, the black deer was incredibly fast, flashing by like lightning. In the blink of an eye, it vanished toward the end of the road.

"Brother Monkey," who had previously been looked down upon by the cosplay club, now felt a surge of pride. A dignified local deity, the household name Brother Monkey, had actually been snubbed by a group of foreign anime characters?

How about now? Have you witnessed the majesty of a local god?

Although he didn't possess that kind of majesty himself, the image he cosplayed was at least from the same cultural system, so he felt a sense of shared glory.

"Brother Monkey" turned to look at the "Tanjiro" opposite him.

He saw that the cosplayers all had expressions of jaw-dropping surprise, and their faces were somewhat complicated. Some had even begun to take off their clothes, clearly shaken by the scene they had just witnessed, suddenly feeling that cosplaying these foreign anime characters was a bit beneath them.

Without a comparison, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but once a clear contrast was established and the vast difference was felt, the psychological gap was quite uncomfortable.

"Brother Monkey" felt a sudden wave of secret satisfaction!

Who was it that said cosplaying Japanese anime characters had higher prestige?

How is it now?

Now you've seen what an immortal looks like!

"If you want to talk about shock, it has to come from the mysterious power of the East!"

"You guys should learn from this!"

After a moment of acting high and mighty, "Brother Monkey" walked away with his head held high. He suddenly felt a sense of boredom; there was no point in joining this cosplay club.

Unless that "Thunder Ancestor" from earlier started a "Heavenly Court Club," then joining would actually fit the image of "Brother Monkey."

But then again, that guy just now was truly incredible!

It was as if he had stepped directly out of a divine statue!

...

Within the Yan Hai City Nature Reserve.

Amidst the lush green mountains and forests, the long, echoing calls of insects and birds could be heard everywhere.

It was early morning, and as the mist rose, the air in the forest was exceptionally fresh.

Xiao Ma, a forest ranger, was patrolling the woods.

"Where on earth is it?"

Xiao Ma muttered to himself while walking forward slowly with a slight hunch.

He kept looking down, observing every trace on the ground, as if trying to find something.

As a forest ranger, his daily work involved acting as a human stethoscope.

He measured the forest with his footsteps, checking every plant and tree within the reserve.

Furthermore, he had to be on guard against various factors that could lead to forest fires.

But besides these routine tasks, Xiao Ma had an additional mission.

He had to find the tracks of that black deer in the forest.

And based on those tracks, he was to investigate, organize, and report the deer's activities within the reserve.

However, when Xiao Ma received this task and prepared to complete it, he found that the matter was much more difficult than imagined!

Although he knew how hard it was to find a single deer in such a vast forest, fortunately, the deer had entered the reserve right in front of them last night.

So, as soon as he opened his eyes this morning, Xiao Ma had followed the path where it had entered the forest.

But Xiao Ma soon discovered that after walking for a while, the deer's tracks became difficult to find.

It was as if it were intentionally hiding its presence; its movements were exceptionally elusive.

Xiao Ma searched along the way, and after a long time, he finally saw another set of hoofprints.

"Phew... finally found them."

He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out his satellite phone, preparing to mark the location on the map.

However, when he saw his current position on the map, Xiao Ma froze.

He seemed to have suddenly discovered something, his expression turning surprised.

Then, his gaze fixed on the several points he had already found on the map. Under his watchful eye, he connected these points with lines.

When the line was drawn.

What appeared before Xiao Ma's eyes was clearly an arc!

And at this moment, Xiao Ma was only a few miles away from the edge of the reserve!

What did this signify?

The black deer that entered the forest last night had not moved toward the heart of the reserve after entering.

Instead, its route was curved.

It had wandered around the forest and then started running toward the edge of the woods!

Currently, Xiao Ma looked at the curve drawn on the map.

"If I follow its trajectory and extend it...

Based on the traceable tracks.

That black deer has probably already left the reserve!?"

"This... no way?!"

Realizing this, Xiao Ma's expression turned blank.

Did that deer really run out?

And here I was trying to observe it; if it's really gone, what's the point of observing anything!

Xiao Ma suddenly had an uneasy premonition. Just as he was preparing to head to the edge of the reserve to see for himself, he heard a "whoosh"—the sound of an arrow piercing the air suddenly came from the distance.

"Gah, gah..."

Immediately following that, he heard a series of piercing bird cries, sounding quite agonized.

"?"

Hearing this sound, Xiao Ma was startled at first.

But soon, after the bird let out one last cry, there was no more movement.

Xiao Ma took this moment to snap out of it.

"Something's wrong."

He immediately set off toward the source of the sound.

He searched cautiously ahead, and after pushing through a patch of bushes, he could see several people standing in the distance!

Two of them were holding crossbows.

And the leader was holding a bird by its neck, which was gushing blood.

It was the very bird that had just cried out!

Seeing the equipment they carried and the shotgun slung over the leader's back, Xiao Ma's heart raced wildly. He carefully hid behind a tree.

Only after watching the three of them converse and step deeper into the forest did he dare to take a few deep breaths, hurriedly pulling out his satellite phone.

"Hello? Ma... Master!"

As the call connected, Xiao Ma's throat felt dry and raspy as he said, "I ran into a group of people in the forest. It looks like... poachers!"

At that moment, Old Yan, a forest ranger on the other side of the mountain, turned grim.

Recalling the tracks he had seen in the forest two days ago, he had a vague suspicion. After asking Xiao Ma about the current situation, he understood immediately.

These were definitely poachers!

Without a doubt, Old Yan hurriedly instructed, "Apprentice, these people will do anything! Find a place to hide quickly and whatever you do, don't expose yourself. I'm heading over right now!"

With that, Old Yan rushed toward the forest.

After hanging up, Xiao Ma, hiding behind the tree, stared in the direction the three had gone. He thought that once their tracks were lost in this dense forest, they would be hard to find again.

Moreover, if his master came from that direction and the two groups met, something unexpected might happen.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ma finally mustered his courage.

Trying to keep his breathing steady, he followed them from a distance.

...

(End of Chapter)