Chapter 50 A sudden downpour, venturing deeper into the rain (Please continue reading)

It was already night.

After killing one deer and two tigers, Li Xian was greatly exhausted.

Find a quiet place, light a campfire, and lie down to rest on the snow.

The surrounding area was sprinkled with animal-repelling incense, which could ward off attacks from snake-like beasts, rat-like beasts, and ant-like beasts.

"Winter hunting is actually much more comfortable than spring and summer hunting."

Li Xian muttered to himself.

Winter is cold, but also dry.

In summer, the mountains and forests are full of snakes, insects, rats, ants, and leeches; those things are truly terrifying.

A skewer of venison, tiger meat, and leopard meat was roasting over the campfire, sizzling and glistening with oil.

There are regulations for winter hunting: except for the valuable parts of the prey, the rest can be eaten freely.

Valuable parts refer to: bear paws, bear gallbladders, tiger gallbladders, tiger hearts...

Hunting a wild beast can bring enormous profits. The value of the meat is secondary; for example, tiger skin can be used to make clothing and blankets, and it is not cheap.

Tiger bones and blood can be used in medicine and to make elixirs; tiger claws and teeth can be used to forge weapons… tiger gall, tiger heart, and tiger penis have even more uses. They can be soaked in alcohol or eaten raw…

However, this money belongs to the higher-ups and has nothing to do with the hunters.

Venison is the most tender and is the first to be grilled. When you bite into it, the fat mixed with a little blood flows out.

Although no seasonings were added, it was incredibly fragrant.

This wild deer is quite young, and its meat is at its tenderest stage.

Because Li Xian uses fruit branches to skewer the meat, the meat has a subtle fruity aroma, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

[You have cooked venison, skill level +4]

[You have cooked venison, skill level +3]

[You have cooked venison, skill level +2]

The proficiency in [Art of Consuming Food] is slowly increasing.

Li Xian discovered that with continuous consumption of the same type of meat, the increase in proficiency would gradually decrease, eventually becoming [1].

However, this change is not constant; after a period of time, such as several hours or days, venison is eaten again.

The proficiency level will increase and then return to [4], and then gradually decrease to [1] after continuous eating.

However, if you change the way you eat it, such as by "making soup" or by making "dried meat", it will be different.

"By varying the types of meat you eat, you can increase your 'eating' proficiency more quickly."

"Although I have mastered the Four Directions Fist and the Qingfeng Leg, the most useful of all my skills is probably [taking medicine]."

What Li Xian knew was that the most direct way for martial artists to replenish their energy was by "eating"!

By this time, the tiger meat and leopard meat were already roasted.

[You have cooked wild tiger meat, skill level +6]

[You have cooked Ghost-Striped Leopard meat, skill level +9]

...

After a satisfying meal, my proficiency in [consuming food] increased by more than [70] points.

Li Xian was already full.

However, in order to improve the [food] as quickly as possible, a piece of meat was cut off from each of the tiger, leopard, and deer, mixed with wild vegetables and fruits, and boiled into a soup.

[You drank the Three Beasts Soup, your proficiency increased by 12]

Drinking a pot of soup will accumulate [47] points of proficiency.

"If I eat any more, my stomach will burst."

"At my current pace, with tiger meat, venison, and leopard meat at every meal for the next three days, it shouldn't be difficult to raise my [Dietary Intake] to the level of proficiency."

"By the way, tonight we can smoke the tiger meat, venison, and leopard meat into jerky!"

"In that case, even after the winter hunt ends, won't I still have meat to eat?!"

Li Xian was overjoyed when he thought of this.

Immediately cut the meat with a small knife, slice it into pieces, and put it over the fire to smoke.

Make as much jerky as you can!

After doing all that, Li Xian lay on the snow, her belly round and plump.

Gazing at the bright stars and moon, enjoying the moonlight, I felt as if I had returned to the past.

Going hunting in the mountains... actually brought him more peace.

A faint sense of freedom lingers around my nose.

"Freedom... must be earned by oneself, not given by others."

Li Xian rested her head on the back of her head and thought firmly.

...

The next day.

Li Xian marked the way, intending to venture a little further in.

They were very lucky; in just one morning, they hunted a tiger and a bear.

The tiger was a common mountain tiger, and the bear was a black velvet bear.

The tiger hunt was uneventful; Li Xian, though far away, spotted the tiger's tracks and shot it dead.

Unlike that troublesome Ghost Patterned Leopard.

But during the bear hunt, an unexpected incident occurred: the black bear was licking honey.

It is honey from a black needle bee, a poisonous bee that is not afraid of the cold and carries a potent toxin.

After Li Xian shot and killed the black bear, he was chased by black needle bees. He only managed to escape by hiding in the icy river.

Fortunately, his internal energy was refined, and he had a way to ward off the cold.

Otherwise they would surely freeze to death in the river.

As a result, the clothes got completely wet, so the only option was to first make a fire to dry them before making any other plans.

Everything is going well. If we maintain this pace, we can eventually gather three bears, three tigers, and three deer.

However, at noon that day, a gust of wind blew by, and Li Xian immediately sensed something was wrong, as he smelled moisture in the air.

They immediately sought refuge in a mountain cave.

Sure enough, a heavy rainstorm soon followed.

"The weather can change in an instant, showing no mercy whatsoever."

Li Xian sighed heavily.

This is very bad; the heavy rain will wash away our tracks, obstruct our vision, and make the cold even more intense.

The floating mist was extremely cold.

Li Xian's rhythm was disrupted, and in this situation, he could only hide in the cave and wait for the rain to stop.

When they were hungry, they would eat dried meat.

The torrential rain didn't stop for a moment, and before night fell, the rain intensified instead of decreasing.

Li Xian frowned, looking at the rain. Could it be... that it would rain for another day?

He had already made a considerable haul on this trip: a deer, three tigers, and a bear, all of extremely high quality: a striped tiger, a ghost-striped leopard, and a black velvet bear.

These three beasts were all stronger than ordinary tigers and bears.

"With what I have gained, I am already able to enter the Leisure Martial Pavilion and exchange it for a martial arts manual that allows me to advance to the next level."

"But... this winter hunt is a rare opportunity for me to be promoted to Grade B. Am I just going to miss it like this?"

Li Xian was smoking the meat of four kinds of animals: bear, tiger, deer, and leopard.

While considering the next steps.

Hunting in the rain is extremely risky.

"But this opportunity must not be missed. Tomorrow... whether the rain stops or not, I must seize this last day, venture deep into the mountains, and try to hunt two more bears!"

Li Xian clenched her fists, making up her mind.

He must seize every opportunity!

Night falls.

The world was shrouded in darkness, and a torrential downpour was falling. At times like these, the mountains and forests were at their coldest. The icy, damp chill seeped in everywhere, leaving one feeling utterly helpless.

Li Xian stared blankly at the heavy rain, lost in thought... The rain was getting heavier and heavier, seemingly endless, leaving him helpless.

I sat there quietly all night.

Around 9:00 AM, the sky began to brighten slightly.

Li Xian no longer held out hope that the rain would stop. He slung the "Deer-Shooting Bow" over his shoulder and headed into the depths of the forest.

Rainwater mixed with frost formed puddles on the uneven ground.

Stepping on it, a chill ran straight into my heart.

It gave me a jolt.

Before he had gone far, Li Xian was soaked through, but his internal energy circulated within him, preventing him from losing body temperature and fainting.

The heavy rain washed away his footprints, rendering Li Xian's hunting skills useless. He could only wander around, hoping for a lucky break.

Suddenly…

In the misty winter rain, a figure suddenly came into view.

(End of this chapter)