Night fell, and darkness swallowed everything.
Under the command of Ray Kang, a unit composed of ten pairs and three individuals set out.
They rode goats, either in pairs or alone.
Only three of them were walking on foot, their necks bound by collars and ropes—each held by a member of the unit.
"Captain, who are they?" Kogan asked, his eyes fixed on the pitiful figures.
"They're cursed people," the captain replied. "To lessen the curse, we either kill them or enslave them. You already know which we chose."
Kogan recalled his former life, where all people ever talked about were curses and blessings—a topic that had always unsettled him.
Why is the most powerful person the only one who can tell who's cursed?
And why are the cursed always the poorest and the weakest?
"How were they cursed?" Kogan asked, frowning.
"That woman—her partner died. That man betrayed his partner and raped another woman, and the woman beside him is his partner," Ray Kang explained.
Your partner's life comes before your own.
And don't take what isn't yours.
Betrayal and rape aren't explicitly listed among the three major sins, but they exist within them implicitly.
Over time, new sins derived from the three grand taboos continue to emerge.
And so, they eliminate it before it multiplies and becomes something normal among the people.
If such acts become routine and the people grow used to them, the curse will spread to everyone—
And dealing with it would become nearly impossible, except through violence and bloodshed.
That, in itself, would fall under the first grand sin: Do not kill.
And even the one exception won't work here—because they'd end up killing their own people.
Even if those people are sinners, it would be like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.
That's why they take swift, early measures—without mercy or understanding.
The man who decided to violate another woman—that was his choice, and his mistake.
But the curse and punishment spread to three others as well.
Had they not discovered it in time, the entire city could have become a cursed place.
And the woman who was betrayed by her partner—she could've watched over him, closed off the chances, made it harder for him to commit betrayal.
But she didn't—or maybe she didn't expect it to happen.
Either way, she too is considered guilty.
Kogan stared at the woman who had lost her partner.
"That woman… how did her partner die?"
"In his sleep. His heart just stopped beating," the captain replied.
"I see."
Kogan turned his head forward and stopped asking questions.
His face remained calm, but his mind was deep in thought.
That woman reminded him of himself.
He had been like an insect, living peacefully among worn-out, abandoned shelves in some far-off place—
Until one day, a man from another land came and killed him brutally, just because he lost a silver coin.
And the reason he lost that coin… was his wife, who didn't sew the torn pocket of his pants—
All because they had a fight after he forgot to bring in the clothes that were hung outside to dry when it started to rain.
What did the insect have to do with the man forgetting the clothes?
What did Kogan have to do with the storm?
And what did that woman have to do with her partner dying of natural causes?
They all shared one thing in common—
And Kogan had realized it long ago.
*****
"It's dark out here and we'll be relying mostly on hearing—how is this guy supposed to help us?"
"If he's not going to be useful, then at least he better not get in our way,"
the unit members whispered among themselves.
Hunting first-rank animals is no easy task.
They can only do it at night, because these animals come out more often after dark.
Also, the darkness helps them hide and set traps.
After traveling far from the city and venturing deep into the forest, they chose a suitable spot, then split up and extinguished their torches.
Kogan took his position as well—he had already trained for the plan and the strategy being used.
Still, the captain was highly optimistic about Kogan's strength and talent.
He continued to believe that Kogan had hunted no fewer than two thousand of these beasts.
It was true he didn't know how he managed to do it—and of course, he couldn't force him to reveal it either.
So he simply hoped that Kogan would willingly show his true talent or secret hunting strategy.
They released the three cursed individuals and moved through the trees toward the center.
There, they found a slightly wide clearing with no trees.
As they ventured deeper into the dense forest, such clearings would occasionally appear—
Some naturally formed, others likely cleared in the past to make it easier to set traps.
And some might be the work of sinful groups living outside the cities,
since, after all, they follow almost the same strategy too.
They pulled out some firewood from their bags, stacked it on the ground, and lit it.
Then they quietly sat around the fire.
The strategy they used relied on placing individuals with no essence as bait, since these animals are highly sensitive to essence.
The less essence you have in your body, the higher the chance you'll encounter one of them.
That was also why they had moved far away from the city—
A place overflowing with an immense amount of essence.
The ruler's aura alone was enough to make them flee in terror.
Lighting the fire wasn't necessary to attract the animals,
but it did help them see their targets clearly.
And this is where their training to track targets with closed eyes comes into play.
The target might appear for a brief moment near the fire, but then shift slightly, moving away from the light—
That's when they must rely on their analytical skills.
*****
The squad members watched with intense focus, every sense fully engaged in the process.
But they never forgot the potential threats.
They may appear to be the predators—but they were prey too.
While they waited to have dinner, they had to make sure they weren't eaten for lunch.
It had happened many times before:
A squad would go out to retrieve essence,
and in the middle of their ambush, they'd find themselves under a barrage of attacks.
One must never forget the sinners who live beyond the walls.
The three slaves sat in complete silence, their faces nearly expressionless.
They were like statues now—or machines.
They would never be able to use or refine essence again.
They had been sealed forever.
After some time, a white, gentle-looking rabbit appeared from between the trees, nearing the people gathered around the fire.
"Don't attack—not yet," the captain reminded Kogan.
He didn't want him to act rashly.
Kogan might have certain techniques or skills, but they were most likely individual-based.
When working in a group, coordination is key—
To avoid overlap and prevent unwanted accidents.
The plan was for the cursed individuals to ignore the animals completely and show no signs of greed.
Over time, three soft white sheep and five white rabbits calmly wandered near the fire.
As long as they were ignored, their numbers would grow.
But once someone made a move, they had to be fast and decisive.
These creatures gave you only one chance—
If you missed it, they would vanish at an incredible speed.
After waiting longer, the number of animals gathered reached thirteen, and no more appeared.
That's when the squad knew no further animals would show up.
If they got greedy and waited for more, they might lose the ones already within their grasp—
And end up with nothing.
A bird in the hand is better than ten in the bush.
The chance had come!
At the captain's command, they drew their crossbows and each aimed at a target.
Pew!
Pew!
Dozens of bolts flew toward the animals.
The white sheep and gentle rabbits collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
They had hunted them all.
"Excellent."
They nodded to each other in satisfaction.
In the hearts of the three slaves, they genuinely wished those arrows had struck them instead—
At least then, they could rest from this suffering.
But unfortunately, that wish never came true.
Still, no need to worry.
If they continued working hard and serving as bait long enough,
surely one day, they'd be accidentally struck and killed.
Moments after the hunt, the animals turned into white smoke and vanished into the air.
"I got two," Mei Li sensed the essence she had acquired.
"I didn't get anything!" Wei Li sighed.
"It was thanks to both of us that I got two essences," Mei Li smiled and touched his arm.
Wei Li looked at her and nodded silently, then cast a glance toward Mei Lan.
After finishing at that spot, they moved to another location and repeated the process.
Since their mood was great, they felt content and satisfied with the hunt, even if some didn't gain any essence.
But this time, they waited a long while—and gained nothing.
They weren't always lucky in obtaining essence.