Chapter 52: Winter Hunting Ends, Prey Displayed (Please Read)

"This trip was incredibly fruitful!"

"This technique of ingesting food is incredibly useful."

Li Xian clicked his tongue in amazement. Taking the food to advance meant that he could digest and absorb far more energy than ordinary people with his three meals a day.

If one could also take elixirs and precious essences... their effects would be amplified even further.

Li Xian focused intently on his senses, feeling a continuous flow of heat in his dantian, his internal energy growing ever stronger. He regarded coarse food as delicacies, and mutton and beef as miraculous medicines.

Becoming stronger will naturally follow.

Li Xian, now fifteen or sixteen, has shed her frail appearance and is quite robust.

However, upgrading [the ingestion] is difficult, requiring the consumption of rare and precious foods, and the winter hunt only happens once a year. If one wants to indulge in such lavish feasts, devouring venison, tiger meat, and bear meat again, one will have to wait until next year.

"I'll stay out of the mountains and forests for now, hunt as many deer and beasts as possible, and prepare more jerky!"

Li Xian's eyes lit up with excitement as he made the most of this winter hunt.

The winter hunt lasts for three days and three nights, and the settlement will take place early tomorrow morning.

Li Xian has one more night to slowly smoke the meat. Of course, with the continuous heavy rain, he needs to find a cave to start a fire first.

...

...

The next day.

As dawn breaks, a neon-lit bridge ascends to the heavens.

A winter sunset is truly a rare sight.

The rain started to lessen last night, but it was still a continuous drizzle that didn't stop completely until this morning.

The air is fresh after the rain.

Outside Xiong Hu Mountain, many people had already gathered early in the morning.

The day of the winter hunt settlement arrived.

Madam Zhuang enjoyed winter hunting, and she would personally oversee all the activities on that day. Those who performed exceptionally well would naturally have the opportunity to be seen by her.

With a soft whistle, the lady returned from the depths of the forest, riding her crimson steed.

Last night, the rain continued incessantly, leaving the air damp. Yet, for some reason, the lady remained completely dry.

"lady."

The guards present shouted in unison.

Madam Wen nodded slightly, turned to look at the mountains and forests, and asked, "Is everyone here? Where is Pang Long?"

Lu Xing, a second-class guard, stepped forward and respectfully said, "Commander Pang is still in the forest."

“It seems he has made quite a gain this time,” Madam Wen said. “No problem, let’s wait for him.”

"Bring me all the prey you have hunted, so I may have a look at it."

"yes!"

First, a group of guards untied the shrunken flesh bags and took out the prey one by one.

The guards, classified as Ding, only had five arrows and five prey. Most of them were common small animals such as birds, foxes, and ground pheasants.

"It's a wild boar!"

Suddenly, a gasp rippled through the crowd.

A low-ranking guard shot down a wild boar. When he took it out, everyone was envious and all eyes turned to him.

Madam Wen glanced at it indifferently, without making any comment.

Next, we will proceed to the demonstration of Class C nursing care.

Those in the third rank are given ten feathered arrows, and they generally choose to stay longer after entering the mountain. They may even venture deeper into the inner area to try their luck.

However, most people are not skilled in archery. When faced with ferocious wild beasts, it is extremely difficult to remain calm, and truly hunting tigers or bears is actually very, very difficult.

"Wild boar, fox, pheasant, mountain monkey..."

Most remain at this level.

Larger prey are rarely seen.

One person who hunted a "thick-horned bull" was already considered an outstanding individual, and most of the second-class guards were quite envious.

"You, go and collect your reward," the lady said decisively.

After that, the guards of Class A and Class B each presented their prey. The guard with the best results had hunted and killed four wild deer, three wild boars, and three birds.

He was rewarded by his wife with a deer blood pill.

It's truly the envy of everyone.

So far, not a single large beast has appeared. Lady Wen frowned slightly, looking somewhat displeased, thinking:

"These guards couldn't even hunt a single large beast; it's a disgrace to me."

...

"You bunch of lowly beasts, do I need to remind you? Hurry up and move back to the village!"

Luo Fang brandished his whip, directing the numerous servants to carry various kinds of game back to the village.

Hunting is not just for fun.

Wild boars, wild deer, pheasants... all have their uses, and all are sources of wealth.

The servants did the most arduous work and suffered the most discrimination and humiliation. Occasionally, while carrying game, they would look up and see the well-dressed, valiant, and imposing guard with a longbow on his back.

My heart is filled with envy.

Little did they know that the guard they looked up to was also gazing into the depths of the mountains, envying others as well.

"It seems that the real main event is with those who are still inside."

"Yes, the big beasts are all deep inside. If you want to hunt them, you need to go deep inside. You can't come out so quickly."

"Hey guys, take a look around, who's missing here?"

“Master Ying, Master Wan…and a few Class B guards, oh…there are also a few Class C guards, but Li Xian hasn’t come out yet.”

"The mountains and forests are very dangerous; you might even get eaten by a bear."

...

As they were talking, a sudden commotion came from the woods. Wan Xingke, a first-class bodyguard, strode towards them with a powerful and imposing gait.

"Ha ha ha ha."

A burst of hearty laughter followed.

When they emerged from the forest, they suddenly saw the lady there. They were startled, immediately suppressed their smiles, and bowed to her.

Devout and fearful.

"Did you hunt a large beast?" Madam Wen didn't even look at the bow, her fair fingers gently stroking the yellow jade ornament on it.

"Hunting...hunted one." Wan Xingke suppressed his excitement, shook his fleshy pouch, and revealed his prey. Among the deer, pigs, and other prey, there was a tiger.

"It's a tiger!" Everyone turned to look.

Madam Wen glanced at it, but then couldn't be bothered to look at it anymore.

The tiger was already terminally ill, with multiple wounds on its body inflicted by other prey. It was already nearing its end, and was merely a lucky escape.

"Just accept the reward as usual."

Madam Wen waved her hand.

"Yes, yes." Wan Xingke was greatly disappointed when he saw that his wife did not show any approval, and left with his head down.

A moment later, noises came from both the east and west sides of the forest at the same time; Pang Long and Jiang Yun had come out.

Pang Long was the commander of the guards and was given twenty-five Lingyu arrows, along with two flesh-shrinking bags prepared in advance.

Both of them were soaking wet, clearly having spent the night in the rain. Jiang Yun's eyes were dark and bloodshot, indicating she was quite unhappy.

"Pang Long, I hope you won't disappoint me." Madam Wen looked up at him.

"Madam, please take a look."

Pang Long removed the shrunken meat bag and unloaded a red-haired wild boar.

Although this creature is not a large beast, it is a rare species with incredible speed, so hunting it was quite a good outcome.

Then, he took out a tiger's head... and a tiger's body. Pang Long used a heavy bow, and the force was so great that it pierced through the neck and separated the large worm-bodied beast.

"All brawn and no brains," Madam Wen said lightly.

Pang Long scratched his head sheepishly. He then pulled out more prey, the least desirable being wild boar or goat...

Slightly better, they also fought pythons, pachyhorn beetles, and eels...

The final prey was a genuine brown bear, a very large animal.

"A commander is indeed a commander, truly impressive!"

"I actually hunted a brown bear. Such a ferocious beast, even if I had a bow and arrow, or even if I were wearing armor, I would have turned and run away."

"This kind of beast is extremely ferocious. I encountered it once. At that time, let alone fighting it, I was just thankful that my legs didn't give way and I could run away."

...

The guards gasped in amazement; there was no doubt that this was a hunting feast.

Pang Long was quite satisfied, but Madam Wen said, "Although there are many prey, they lack flavor."

"He has plenty of brute force, but he can hardly be considered heroic."

"Yes." Pang Long was embarrassed, though he had been quite proud of himself.

"Putting everything else aside, it was you who went into the water to fight this giant python, used the 'Heart-Shaking Palm' to kill it in the water, and then pierced it with the Feather Arrow."

Mrs. Wen made a casual comment.

Pang Long was already prostrating himself in reverence. It was indeed he who had killed the python with his Heart-Shaking Palm. The Heart-Shaking Palm was a vicious palm strike that could not be seen from the outside.

But the lady glanced at him and saw everything clearly.

A lady is indeed a lady, like a deity.

"And you?" After Pang Long's display, Madam Wen finally became a little interested and looked at Jiang Yun.

(End of this chapter)