Chapter 23 Hunting
About three steps away, a black-skinned wild rabbit several feet tall crashed to the ground, its entire head smashed by a meteor hammer the size of a human head, covered in spikes, causing flesh and blood to splatter everywhere—in that instant, it was dead beyond any doubt.
Zhong Cai held a short pole in his hand, raised his hand, and the meteor hammer flew back with a "whoosh," while the rope caught in the crook of his arm.
Looking at the blood-soaked meteor hammer head, Wu Shaogan couldn't help but laugh and said, "A-Cai, you're too cruel. Be gentler."
Zhong Cai looked at him with dead fish eyes.
Wu Shaogan immediately made a gesture of sewing his mouth shut.
Zhong Cai hummed and swung the meteor hammer, and the bits of flesh between the spikes fell to the ground, restoring its gleaming shine.
Then, he put the wild rabbit away.
"We'll roast a rabbit during our break later."
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and asked, "Did you bring enough seasonings?"
Zhong Cai raised her eyebrows and said, "Of course." Then she said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that the rabbit's neck is too short to smash, otherwise we could have gnawed on the rabbit's head."
Wu Shaogan smiled politely: No, I don't really want to gnaw on that thing.
Zhong Cai rolled her eyes at him.
·
After walking through a thicket of bushes, Zhong Cai felt a sense of crisis again.
He instinctively swung his arm, and the meteor hammer flew out rapidly again, the hammerhead hitting the attacker with remarkable accuracy!
The next instant, the savage bird with a wingspan of about ten feet suddenly fell to the ground, its long neck severed cleanly, but riddled with deep bloody holes.
The bird's head slammed to one side, and it quickly died.
Zhong Cai pulled back the meteor hammer and, as usual, shook off the blood.
"This thing has big wings, let's roast bird wings! The meat is tender!"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "Then it has to be extra spicy."
Zhong Cai held up three fingers: "Three spoonfuls."
Wu Shaogan thought for a moment and then held up two more fingers.
Then, Zhong Cai forcefully pressed those two fingers back down.
Wu Shaogan: "..."
·
It seems that Zhong Cai's rambling earlier worked. In the time it took to climb from the bottom of the mountain to the middle, in addition to continuing to encounter savage rabbits and savage birds, he also encountered savage deer and savage boars... Most of them were between the third and fourth levels of the first rank.
There are also two or three sections, five or six segments.
Those at the fifth dan level only required Zhong Cai to put in a little effort, but those at the sixth dan level would be a tough battle.
Fortunately, Zhong Cai was experienced. When dealing with the boar in the sixth rank, he first slugged it around several times, then climbed a tree to avoid it several times. Finally, when the boar fiercely rammed into the tree, he quickly jumped down from the other side, grabbed the hammer handle, and smashed it to death from behind.
During this time, Wu Shaogan and Xiang Lin were nearby keeping watch.
Zhong Cai returned victorious unscathed, and of course he was very pleased with himself.
·
Before we knew it, it was evening.
The group had no intention of leaving the mountain, so they found a sheltered cave halfway up the mountain.
Xiang Lin went inside to tidy up a bit and clean up the traces of the wild beasts that had recently inhabited the area, and then it would be ready for people to live in.
Zhong Cai gathered some dry firewood nearby and set up a campfire outside the cave.
Wu Shaogan then took his prey to a nearby mountain spring to wash it.
Zhong Cai waited for a while, but Wu Shaogan still hadn't returned, so she pouted and followed the sound of water to find him.
As soon as they arrived nearby, Wu Shaogan heard the commotion and turned around to look.
The mountains are clear and the water is blue, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
An extremely handsome man squatted in front of the spring, holding a large brush.
Behind him lay a mountain of bloodless beasts, their heads shattered or their necks broken.
The scene, the contrast, is quite interesting.
Zhong Cai: "Pfft."
Wu Shaogan's expression suddenly turned helpless.
However, this time Zhong Cai wasn't making fun of people on purpose; she just couldn't help it.
After suppressing a laugh, Zhong Cai sat down next to Wu Shaogan, took out a large brush, and started cleaning with him.
With Zhong Cai by his side, Wu Shaogan suddenly became even more motivated.
·
After years of friendship, although there was a difference in their strength when hunting wild beasts, their methods were actually quite similar. They both believed in quickly defeating the enemy beasts to prevent them from launching a dying counterattack.
Wild beasts have no humanity or intelligence; they only have the desire to survive.
Therefore, when hunting, they rely entirely on instinct to choose whether to attack. If they are seriously injured and on the verge of death but not quite dead, they will fight back desperately when cultivators come to take their prey. Many savage beasts have succeeded in this way and even survived by devouring the flesh and blood of cultivators.
Therefore, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan always maintained the utmost vigilance whenever they fought against wild beasts, ensuring their absolute demise.
The Sun-Shooting Bow that Wu Shaogan had previously summoned was a heavy bow. After some deliberation, he chose to violently sever the necks of any beast with a neck. For those without necks, he targeted their hearts, and for beasts with well-protected hearts, he used other deadly weapons that could kill with a single blow. The hunting efficiency was remarkably high.
In his early years, Zhong Cai did not summon his companion treasure. If he wanted to go hunting, he would surely die if he went out empty-handed. He had to choose a magical artifact to help him.
In the early stages of the Heavenly Guidance Realm, cultivators primarily refine their flesh and skin, resulting in significantly greater strength, but insufficient profound energy.
Zhong Cai decided to use a weapon that was heavy but relatively agile, so that it would be very lethal even if it relied solely on strength. In addition, the shape of the weapon itself also needed to be more lethal.
So after much deliberation, he chose the meteor hammer.
This thing can be used for close combat by holding the hammer handle in one hand, or for throwing by holding the handle in the other. The hammer head itself is covered with sharp spikes. Isn't it perfect?
So where should we smash things to maximize efficiency?
Naturally, if the head is fragile, smash it on the head; if the neck is fragile, break it.
When Zhong Cai first went hunting with Wu Shaogan, they both witnessed each other's simple and brutal fighting style.
And you know what? They hit it off pretty well.
Later, the two became closer and closer. Wu Shaogan felt that Zhong Cai's simple meteor hammer was not good enough, so he used his own channels to get him a top-grade single hammer.
Zhong Cai loved it so much that she still uses it today.
—The low-grade level 3 meteor hammer he drew during the last sacrifice looks remarkably similar to the one he has now. He can use it directly when his strength reaches the Palace Opening Realm; it will be quite handy.
·
At this moment, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were busy working together and chatting.
Zhong Cai couldn't help but complain, "The beasts also discriminate based on who they encounter. Look at the ones you've met, they're either tigers, leopards, or lions. As for me, it's either rabbits or birds."
Wu Shaogan almost laughed when he heard this.
Indeed, among the wild beasts that Zhong Cai hunted, there was one deer and one boar, but the others were different species of wild rabbits and wild birds.
However, Zhong Cai was just speaking casually, and he didn't insist that Wu Shaogan give him an answer after he finished speaking.
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but smile slightly.
·
Both of them actually knew that this was normal.
All savage beasts, whether flying in the sky or running on the ground, give birth directly to multiple clumps of flesh and blood from their mothers. These clumps of flesh and blood then transform into smaller savage beasts, which devour each other, with only the fastest ones surviving.
Wild rabbits and wild birds can produce a dozen or twenty offspring in a single litter. Their battles are not particularly intense, and a large number of offspring survive each time. Therefore, these two types of wild beasts are common in the mountains. Furthermore, because they taste good and are easy to eat, most of them are at the low level of the first tier.
Wild beasts like tigers and leopards are already locked in a life-or-death struggle with their littermates at birth. Only one can survive per litter, but the one that survives is inherently stronger and thus tends to live longer, naturally resulting in greater strength.
Coincidentally, they were respectively within the sphere of influence of Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan.
·
The two quickly processed all the prey, then selected the wild beasts they could eat that night, cut them up, and returned to the cave entrance together to hook the fresh meat onto several racks and roast it.
Xiang Lin was of a higher level, and his diet differed from the other two.
There were no Tier 2 prey today. He went hunting by himself after dealing with the cave and has now returned.
Now, bonfires are burning high on both sides, quickly roasting the fresh meat.
Seeing that the temperature was just right, Zhong Cai sprinkled out a handful of seasonings, evenly covering the surface of the roasted meat.
Wu Shaogan rotated the wooden pole to flip the roasted meat evenly.
The aroma of meat is irresistible.
The two men, each wielding a dagger, began slicing and eating the meat.
Zhong Cai swallowed quickly and said with relish, "Today's prey is quite good."
Wu Shaogan didn't care much about his image and stuffed a few mouthfuls into his mouth as well, echoing, "The food is pretty good now. There are still quite a few other things, let's try them and see which one tastes the best. Tomorrow we'll go to the mountains and hunt more to take back and eat slowly."
Zhong Cai then sliced and ate another type of wild beast meat, agreeing, "Good idea."
·
The cultivators had a large appetite; the two of them ate at least several dozen kilograms of wild beast meat before they felt full.
Zhong Cai, holding her belly, lay down with Wu Shaogan on the rock in front of the cave, basking in the moonlight.
"Old Wu, you're such a good-for-nothing."
"We're in the same boat."
"You ate thirty-five pounds!"
“I ate 35 jin, but you ate 20 jin.”
"That's not how it works, I'm actually shorter than you..."
At this moment, Xiang Lin, holding his sword, sat on a branch of a large tree near the cave, guarding the surroundings.
This scene not far away was naturally also seen by Xiang Lin.
Every time they went out for a trip, the two young masters would have a quarrel.
There must have been at least ten or eight times already, just about who's the real idiot...
Xiang Lin thought to himself expressionlessly:
When the two young masters were children, they were about the same height. But one day, the younger son became half a head taller than the younger son. What was the younger son arguing about? Oh, he was about to jump up and hit the younger son on the head.
With his height being neither short nor short, I'm afraid Young Master Cai will hold a grudge against Young Master Shao for the rest of his life.
·
Before they knew it, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had fallen asleep, and were both woken up early in the morning by the sun.
Wu Shaogan propped himself up and rubbed his temples.
Zhong Cai glanced at him, and sure enough, his once neat clothes were now wrinkled again.
Wu Shaogan casually tidied himself up, stood up as usual, and reached out to pull Zhong Cai along.
Zhong Cai yawned: "Up or down today?"
Wu Shaogan said, "Let's go up. Aren't we supposed to be hunting that Wind Spirit Savage Bird?"
Zhong Cai remembered: "Oh right, Fei Ting Kuai doesn't grow very big yet, but the meat tastes really good."
Wu Shaogan pondered, "Those wild birds seem to like to gather on the mountainside. As we walk towards the top of the mountain, if we encounter them, don't attack. I can catch several more with each arrow."
Zhong Cai immediately agreed: "Then it's up to you."
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and ruffled his hair, saying confidently, "No problem."
By the time the two made their decision, Xiang Lin had already efficiently cleaned up the mess.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan continued their discussion.
"Should we come here again tonight, or go around to that mountain from the other side?" He pointed to the adjacent mountain peak. "The forest looks dense; there should be more prey hidden there than here."
Wu Shaogan said nonchalantly, "We'll see the sky when we get to the top of the mountain. If it's too early, we'll take a detour; if it's too late, we'll stay."
Zhong Cai smiled: "That's true."
·
The two of them indeed climbed up the mountain path.
After walking for a while, they indeed saw the shadow of the Wind Spirit Bird again.
Several of these savage birds were pecking at a dead deer, occasionally spreading their wings to swat away any other birds that tried to steal the food. They were so engrossed in their struggle that they paid almost no attention to their surroundings.
Wu Shaogan looked at Zhong Cai, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Zhong Cai clenched her fist and pressed her arm down. Good luck! Looking forward to it!
Wu Shaogan smiled silently, and in the blink of an eye, he drew his bow with his long arm.
This time, there were five long arrows nocked on the bowstring.
Wu Shaogan squinted and gently pulled the bowstring.
In an instant, five long arrows shot out in five different directions!
This time, there was no sharp whistling sound; only an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible breeze.
The wind spirit birds suddenly let out mournful cries.
Five long arrows, not one fell.
All of them struck the necks of the Wind Spirit Barbarians, severing their heads one by one.
The Wind Spirit Bird quickly lost its breath.
Zhong Cai pulled Wu Shaogan along and jumped over happily.
"Come on, come on, tonight we'll roast one of these two and make soup with it! We'll stuff the other two with some mushrooms, bury them in the ground, and let them simmer until cooked!"
"It must taste delicious!"
Wu Shaogan thought about it and agreed that it was indeed delicious, so he sincerely suggested, "Let's pick some mushrooms along the way. I think we just saw some purple bamboo, so we can also dig up some bamboo shoots."
Zhong Cai thought about it and agreed wholeheartedly: "You have quite a good appetite."
Then, the two quickly collected all the Wind Spirit Birds.
·
The Ziguang Bamboo Forest not only has a lot of bamboo shoots, but also some other foods.
Of course, there are also many snakes and insects.
This wasn't the first time Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had picnicked outside; they worked together seamlessly.
Whenever bamboo shoots are discovered, Wu Shaogan would stomp his foot, instantly creating cracks in the ground, making it much easier for Zhong Cai to dig them up.
Then Zhong Cai dug up bamboo shoots, picked bamboo fungus, and other types of mushrooms...
Wu Shaogan acted with lightning speed, decapitating the various savage snakes hanging from the bamboo. He removed the venom glands from the poisonous ones and set them aside, then collected the corpses and the non-venomous ones together.
—Then the two of them processed the snakes together, and they could add them to the soup, which would make it taste even better.
Half an hour later, Zhong Cai straightened up.
"I didn't dig up too much. I only took about ten pounds of the tenderest ones. After peeling them, there wasn't much left."
Wu Shaogan flashed his mustard bag at him.
"There are twelve venomous snakes of various kinds. I've examined them. Five of them taste ordinary, but their quality is decent. I'll give them to Qiaohong and the others as a reward later. Three of them are overweight, so I'll just take a piece of tender meat. The other four are the right size and taste good, so I'll stew them directly."
Zhong Cai glanced at it and nodded in agreement.
The two then left the Purple Bamboo Forest and continued their sightseeing and hunting.
Apart from deliberately searching for prey, everything else was the same as yesterday.
·
Gradually, two or three hours passed, and it was already afternoon.
Instead of continuing on their way, the two stopped to rest in a shady spot.
As previously agreed, they processed the Wind Spirit Bird and the Savage Snake, grilling what needed grilling and stewing what needed stewing.
Before long, the aroma filled the air.
The two of them enjoyed themselves quite comfortably.
Most of the beasts in this world taste pretty good. Even the ones that Wu Shaogan thought were ordinary were actually eaten by Zhong Cai before. They tasted similar to snake meat from her previous life and were quite tender. These carefully selected ingredients were simply amazing.
When Zhong Cai was still living in the Zhong family, the amount of food allocated to him was not much. If he wanted to eat something better, he had to spend his own money to get it. Fortunately, Wu Shaogan would send him meat from time to time, so he could have some special meals.
Of course, the truly satisfying meals were those freshly prepared by Wu Shaogan each time he took him hunting.
However, in the past, the two might not have a suitable time to meet even after ten days or half a month. Now, they can be together anytime and anywhere, without having to squeeze out time at all. They are inseparable.
For Zhong Cai, life is very comfortable now.
...Once he refines the Soul Nourishing Pill to the highest grade, and then extracts the rare and precious herbs that can cure his buddy, it will be even more perfect.
·
After Wu Shaogan finished eating several large pieces, he suddenly realized that there was no movement beside him. He immediately turned around and saw that Zhong Cai was actually drinking soup and spacing out. He couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Cai, what are you thinking about?"
Zhong Cai snapped out of her daze and said with a grudge, "I was thinking, didn't we eat that kind of incredibly delicious beast meat before? We almost got into a fight over the food, and you, being the stronger one, snatched the last piece and ate it! I couldn't sleep at all after that, I kept thinking about how I was one bite short of you."
Wu Shaogan: "I'm innocent!"
Zhong Cai hummed.
Wu Shaogan nudged him: "I couldn't sleep when I got back that night. To apologize to you, I hunted one the next day and made it into jerky, which I had Xiang Lin ask Zhong Da to bring back to you. Have you forgotten?"
Zhong Cai said with a straight face, "I haven't forgotten, but I'm still missing a bite of fresh meat."
Wu Shaogan: "..."
Seeing his seemingly bewildered and silly expression, Zhong Cai immediately burst into laughter.
Wu Shaogan understood that this guy was deliberately making trouble for him.
Zhong Cai laughed as she said, "Old Wu, you've regressed. You didn't even notice how obvious my acting was?"
Wu Shaogan gritted his teeth slightly and flicked him hard.
Yes, it was so obvious, how come he didn't notice!
Zhong Cai wasn't angry when she was hit. Instead, she poured Wu Shaogan a bowl of soup and coaxed him with a smile, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. What I meant was that I really miss that meat. Let's go look for it later and try to hunt another one."
Wu Shaogan also pulled himself out of that inexplicable emotion and nodded in agreement, "Okay."
·
The savage beast that Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were fighting over was called the White-headed Savage Deer. It had a pair of sharp, knife-like antlers, was extremely fierce, and its strength was usually between the first and third stages of the second tier.
However, this kind of wild deer is relatively rare compared to other wild beasts. Every time you want to eat it, you have to spend a lot of time finding its tracks before you can even consider whether you can hunt it.
Since they were out having fun anyway, the two of them took their time looking for something.
The higher you go up the mountain, the more birds you'll find.
Previously difficult to spot, the Wind Spirit Birds are now frequently seen in groups of several, flying back and forth as if they have their eyes on the two and want to devour them.
Zhong Cai whispered, "If you don't take what Heaven has given you, you'll only suffer the consequences!"
Wu Shaogan: "I understand. Watch me."
·
Because Wu Shaogan's innate treasure was destroyed, unless he makes a move, his aura will be hidden within his body, making it difficult for cultivators to discover that he is actually at the peak of the Heavenly Guidance Realm.
Unlike most cultivators, the flock of wind spirit birds were not as perceptive and naturally failed to notice, instinctively assuming that Wu Shaogan was someone they could handle. Zhong Cai, on the other hand, was only at the fifth level of the Heavenly Guidance Realm, and since there were many stronger birds in the flock than him, he felt even less threatened.
Therefore, any wind spirit bird that spotted the two of them had eyes full of drool.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan also wanted to eat them, so why be polite?
They were all taken care of with a single draw of the bow.
As they climbed higher, every ten or twenty feet, Wu Shaogan would draw his bow and shoot arrows, bringing down anywhere from three or four to seven or eight Wind Spirit Barbarian Birds.
Anyway, the two of them can eat quite a lot in one meal, so if they hunt more, they can enjoy it slowly when they get back.
Having probably realized that Wu Shaogan was actually very dangerous, after he shot down dozens of birds, the remaining flock of birds no longer tried to covet the two men's flesh and blood, but instead took off in a flurry, heading to other hilltops to roost.
Wu Shaogan also stopped.
Zhong Cai counted the wild birds in the mustard seed bag and said with satisfaction, "That's enough to eat."
·
The two reached the mountaintop, and it was still early.
Zhong Cai looked up at the neighboring mountain, pointed to a faint white light, and asked, "Old Wu, look, isn't that a white-headed deer darting around?"
Wu Shaogan also looked over and carefully examined it.
Having specifically searched for it before, he was very familiar with the characteristics of the white-headed deer and quickly and confidently said, "It's it."
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "That makes things easier."
Wu Shaogan suggested, "Let's go take a look. Although these wild deer are hard to find, there are always three or four of them whenever we find them."
Zhong Cai sensed something, turned to look at Wu Shaogan, and spoke with a hint of threat in her tone.
"Old Wu, tell me the truth, how many did you find when you gave me the jerky?"
Wu Shaogan coughed lightly: "Three."
Zhong Cai squinted: "Then the jerky you gave me..."
Wu Shaogan honestly replied, "I ate one fresh myself, and made two into jerky. I kept a small bag of jerky, and the rest are yours."
Zhong Cai chuckled: "You're quite loyal."
Wu Shaogan silently pinched his nose.
As the two chatted and laughed, they turned a corner and headed down the other side of the mountain towards another adjacent peak.
·
The neighboring mountains are covered with forests, with a great deal of dense trees. Cultivators with weaker strength often find it difficult to move forward when they travel through them.
Wu Shaogan was experienced. Having just discovered some tracks of the white-headed deer, he led the way, flying ahead and choosing the easiest places to go.
Zhong Cai quickened her pace, keeping close behind him.
Xiang Lin leaped swiftly between different tree branches, always staying close to the two.
After traveling about two or three hundred li, Wu Shaogan quietly drew his bow.
Zhong Cai stopped on the spot and hid behind the tree where Xiang Lin was.
From the dense forest about seven or eight zhang ahead, there were faint sounds of gnawing, and the outline of deer antlers could be vaguely seen.
Wu Shaogan's ears twitched slightly, and in an instant, he released an arrow!
In the blink of an eye, the arrow shot straight in like a meteor.
At the same time, the muffled thud of the enormous creature falling to the ground was followed by a pungent, bloody stench.
Zhong Cai was overjoyed: It's done!
Whether it is indeed a white-headed deer or not, we'll have to go and see for ourselves.
The smell of beast blood is somewhat similar...
Wu Shaogan took the lead, reaching out and grabbing a deer leg to drag it out.
Zhong Cai followed and just then saw the deer's head about to fall off, so she quickly caught it.
The blood of the white-headed deer was unpalatable and had little medicinal value, so there was no real need to collect it. Therefore, the two remained in that position and let the blood drain out on the spot.
Near the deer carcass, there was a half-eaten purple weasel. It was a rare animal, but unfortunately, it was still very weak and easily preyed upon by wild beasts.
Next, Zhong Cai prepared to put the wild deer into the mustard seed bag.
The two of them had a dozen or so mustard seed bags in total, but recently they had been stockpiling medicinal herbs, the flesh and blood of wild beasts, and other things. In addition, they liked to repackage them, which made the low-grade mustard seed bags a bit insufficient.
Seeing that the mustard seed bag was full, Zhong Cai simply said to Wu Shaogan, "You keep this; you have plenty of space over there."
Wu Shaogan had no objection. Instead, he said, "How about we put all the food we eat here, put the food allocated to Qiaohong and the others together, and put the rest that we want to sell on the other side?"
Zhong Cai thought about it and agreed. She quickly redistributed the tasks, saying, "You're pretty good at finding deer. You'll lead the way later, and we'll try to catch them all."
Wu Shaogan shared the same sentiment and laughed, "Don't worry, just come with me."
Zhong Cai raised her eyebrows, looking rather smug.
Wu Shaogan also raised his eyebrows.
·
In the mountain valley.
Zhong Cai lay crouching behind a boulder, her right hand reaching into the sleeve of her left hand, occasionally pinching it.
Recently, Xiao Qingpeng has been sleeping a lot and always likes to snuggle in Wu Shaogan's sleeve. After arriving in the mountains, because Wu Shaogan took care of things more often, it moved to Zhong Cai's sleeve, where it remained very well-behaved.
But her obedience only applies when she's asleep.
Not long ago, the little green roc suddenly woke up and smelled the scent of the wild again. It was practically jumping around in its sleeves, wishing it could come out immediately and go hunting too.
Wu Shaogan was quietly observing his prey. If the little roc flew out now, wouldn't it scare it away?
Zhong Cai could only reach into her sleeve and cover it completely.
When Xiao Qingpeng's mouth is covered, he will obediently stay quiet for a little while.
But Zhong Cai cannot let go.
If you let go, they will definitely cause trouble again.
Zhong Cai couldn't do anything about it, so she just squeezed it to vent her anger.
At this moment, the white-headed deer seemed to sense something was wrong, and it pushed off with its feet, ready to escape in an instant!
However, at that very moment, Wu Shaogan fired an arrow!
Unsurprisingly, the white-headed deer collapsed with a thud.
She became their prey.
Wu Shaogan turned around, beaming with pride as he sought credit from Zhong Cai.
He smiled, his eyes were bright, and the surging mountain wind whipped up his long hair and the hem of his clothes, making him look tall and elegant, as if he were about to be carried away by the wind, creating a beautiful and atmospheric scene.
Zhong Cai ran over, covering her sleeve, her cheerful demeanor immediately breaking the atmosphere.
"Another one! The third one! Old Wu, you're amazing!"
Upon hearing the praise, Wu Shaogan's eyebrows curved into a smile, and he was very satisfied.
However, in the next instant, Zhong Cai grabbed a tuft of blue fluff from her sleeve and quickly stuffed it into Wu Shaogan's hand.
"This brat just bothered me, you need to discipline him right away."
Wu Shaogan held the little green roc in his arms and looked down at it.
Little Qingpeng affectionately pecked his palm, jumped up and down, and seemed quite happy.
Wu Shaogan: "..."
Zhong Cai waited for the deer blood to drain completely, then looked over and urged, "Discipline them quickly!"
Wu Shaogan paused for a moment, then stretched out his finger and rubbed the top of Xiao Qingpeng's head.
Little Qingpeng tilted its head, looking quite pleased with itself.
Zhong Cai's lips twitched slightly.
Wu Shaogan pinched the little green roc's pointed beak.
Little Qingpeng blinked, gently pulled its mouth back, and then lightly pecked at Wu Shaogan's fingertip.
Zhong Cai's lips twitched again: "Fine, come over and take the wild deer."
Wu Shaogan went over and handed Xiao Qingpeng back to Zhong Cai.
Zhong Cai gathered the fluffy stuff in both hands and rubbed it vigorously.
The little green roc tucked its claws in and chirped happily.
Wu Shao chuckled dryly.
Zhong Cai said angrily, "You're still laughing? This guy insisted on coming out while you were hunting, and we almost ran away to eat our food. And you still can't bear to teach it a lesson."
Wu Shaogan suppressed his laughter, but it didn't diminish.
Zhong Cai glared at him: "It's fine if you can't bear to punish it, but I finally managed to hold it down, and you're laughing at me?"
Wu Shaogan quickly suppressed his emotions and looked somewhat normal.
He then said sincerely, "After all, it's a rare beast that you gave me. It's pleasing to the eye and will be very useful when it grows up, so naturally I like it very much and will be more tolerant of it." He added even more sincerely, "I wasn't laughing at you, I was just in a good mood."
Zhong Cai thought for a moment, put the little green roc on her shoulder, walked forward, and raised her hand.
Wu Shaogan stood still.
Zhong Cai didn't hold back and directly pinched Wu Shaogan's face.
Wu Shaogan silently counted, one, two, three... Seeing that Zhong Cai was still pinching, he stretched out his two hands and pinched Zhong Cai's cheeks.
The two looked at each other.
Zhong Cai's eyes darted away, and she slowly let go of his hand.
Wu Shaogan then let go.
"You just said there seems to be a fourth one?"
"Yes, go in this direction."
The two of them then walked in that direction.
Little Green Roc perched on Zhong Cai's shoulder for a moment, then suddenly leaped up and dashed off like lightning—
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan looked over at the same time.
The little green roc flew back like lightning, carrying a pale golden mantis, about half the size of a palm, in its mouth.
·
This mantis is called the Golden-backed Savage Mantis. It is very small and extremely thin, but its mantis blades on both sides are poisonous and very sharp. It is a second-tier savage beast.
It can hide well among the vegetation, and its flying speed is among the best of its kind. Its silent attack just now was undoubtedly an attempt to ambush—and it is very good at finding opportunities, succeeding in most of its ambushes. Even if it fails, it can usually escape.
This time, however, the Golden-backed Mantis encountered the Little Green Roc.
Even though the little green roc is still a juvenile roc, it is faster than the golden-backed mantis and can easily identify its tracks.
Neither the Golden-backed Mantis's venom nor its mantis blade could penetrate Little Green Roc's defenses.
·
Zhong Cai had never seen the Golden-backed Mantis, but he could tell which level its aura was at—because Wu Shaogan always hoped that Zhong Cai could live to a ripe old age, so he would simulate the aura of each level so that Zhong Cai could remember it firmly.
Therefore, even though Zhong Cai's strength was not high, his ability to escape was quite good.
At this moment, Zhong Cai stared at the mantis and hesitated, "Old Wu, is this... a second-tier savage beast?"
Wu Shaogan knew Zhong Cai and explained it to her.
The little eagle spread its small wings, hovering in mid-air, and stretched its neck to release the insect it was carrying in front of the two people.
Zhong Cai was taken aback: "A gift for us?"
The little green roc, with the mantis in its beak, nodded its head.
With a smile in his eyes, Wu Shaogan teased, "I'm afraid he knew you were a little upset just now, so he's trying to coax you."
Zhong Cai also laughed and said, "Come on, I'm not really angry. With its silly appearance, what does it know?"
But Zhong Cai was undoubtedly in a very good mood.
Wu Shaogan then said seriously, "It's been eating well lately and has improved its rank, so it can hunt now. Sending the Mantis here is probably to show us its strength." The last half of his sentence sounded a bit less serious, "...to tell us that it can also 'make a living'."
As he spoke, Zhong took out a mysterious glove and handed it to him.
Wu Shaogan put on his gloves before taking the Golden-Backed Mantis from Xiao Qingpeng's mouth.
The Golden-backed Mantis remained motionless.
It was killed the instant it was attacked by the little green roc, because all its counterattacks were futile against the little green roc, and it could only be regarded as a "gift".
Wu Shaogan said, "These mantis knives can be used to forge mystical weapons like swords, increasing their sharpness by three points. And their poison..."
Zhong Cai took out a box and gestured for Wu Shaogan to put the Golden-backed Mantis inside, saying, "Keep this for me. When I become a Level 2 Alchemist, I can use it to make healing pills."
Wu Shaogan was taken aback: "Healing injuries?"
Zhong Cai laughed and said, "The kind that uses poison to fight poison."
Wu Shaogan understood.
After dealing with the golden-backed mantis, the two of them patted the little green roc's head.
Little Qingpeng jumped around excitedly.
Zhong Cai chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, I know you're eager to go have fun. Go ahead and fly, but keep an eye on Lao Wu's scent, or you'll get lost."
Little Green Peng chirped several times in succession, clearly responding happily.
Wu Shaogan then instructed, "Come and let us know as soon as you catch any prey, and we'll go collect it."
Little Green Peng chirped another string of "chirp chirp chirp".
Zhong Cai also cautioned, "Be careful while hunting, or we might end up capturing you instead of the prey."
This time, the little eagle flapped its wings and smeared them on Zhong Cai's face.
Zhong Cai picked it off and rubbed it again.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan, the little eagle took flight. When it flew a short distance ahead, it looked back, seemingly both excited about hunting alone and a little reluctant to leave the two of them.
Zhong Cai waved to it.
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and waved back.
Encouraged, the little eagle flew away this time.
Watching the green figure disappear into the distance, Zhong Cai sighed, "The kid is growing up so fast, time really flies."
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "It's not that fast yet. But in another month or two it will grow several times larger and won't be as fluffy as it is now."
Zhong Cai nodded and reached out to grasp his hand.
"That's true. So we should take advantage of this opportunity and rub it as much as possible whenever we have time."
Wu Shaogan smiled.
·
Little Green Roc quickly disappeared, and the two of them went to find the other White-headed Deer as planned.
This time, their luck wasn't so good. They traversed several forests without finding a trace of the deer. There were indeed some tracks along the way, but each time they found one, they discovered that more tracks had gone in other directions.
Wu Shaogan pondered for a moment and said, "This is probably an old deer, which is why it's so hard to find."
Zhong Cai pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, the antlers of the deer you hunted before were all very light in color, so they probably didn't live for more than a hundred years. This one might be over a hundred years old and more sensitive to danger."
Wu Shaogan looked around and said, "The direction of the traces seems to be heading into the deep mountains."
The two were currently on the outer peaks of the mountain range, so the strength of the beasts they encountered along the way was generally within their tolerance, making the hunts relatively easy—the strongest beasts in this area rarely exceeded the third tier. With Xiang Lin on guard, even if they encountered them, they could detect them in advance and avoid them.
But they were already very close to the peaks of the central area.
In those mountains, the worst beasts that appear are at least second-tier, and third-tier beasts are more common.
If they go in, it will be extremely dangerous for them unless the puppets are released.
Zhong Cai frowned: "Let's not chase after them."
Wu Shaogan reached out and smoothed Zhong Cai's brow, laughing, "Anyway, its offspring are all in our mustard seed bag, so we won't miss one more."
Zhong Cai's brows relaxed, and she couldn't help but smile.
That's right.
Wu Shaogan had investigated these wild deer; they often lived in groups of three or four in the same area, but never more than five.
They had already hunted three, so this was the only one left.
The two decided to give up and continue searching for other prey in the mountains.
There are plenty of delicious foods available; it's not worth getting into a fight with this wild deer.
·
After about half an hour, they hadn't encountered many suitable new prey, but instead came across a patch of magnolia flowers.
Qiongzhi flower is a first-class medicinal material. Although it is not a rare medicine, it is the most important auxiliary ingredient in Yu Rong Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine formula).
Admittedly, Zhong Cai had already purchased quite a lot, but for an alchemist, there's never too much medicinal material. So he wasn't in a hurry to go hunting anymore, and instead, he grabbed Wu Shaogan and excitedly rushed into the flower bushes!
The flowerbeds here are connected in one continuous stretch; there are at least several hundred plants, no need to count them carefully.
As Zhong Cai squatted down to pick the fruit, she reminded him, "Old Wu, watch how I do it, help me out."
Wu Shaogan naturally had no objection. He squatted down next to Zhong Cai, picked a few plants like him, and then went off in different directions.
Picking separately is faster.
And so, the two of them worked quickly, picking several plants in just a few breaths.
Soon after, it was as if they had gone in circles, separating at one end and meeting again at the other.
Wherever it passed, not a single flower remained.
When the two met and Wu Shaogan handed all the Qiongzhi flowers to Zhong Cai, they turned around and looked at the place they had passed through, only to find that it was now completely barren.
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but chuckle: "It looks like they've shaved their heads off."
Zhong Cai was unconvinced and pointed to some tender seedlings that were hard to distinguish with the naked eye, saying, "I left quite a bit of stubble for them, how can you say they're all gone?"
Wu Shaogan: "You're right."
Zhong Cai was finally satisfied. He patted Wu Shaogan's arm and said, "You have to listen to me on this matter."
Wu Shaogan turned his head away, not letting Zhong Cai see the smile that was about to burst from his face.
·
After picking enough flowers, the two sat down to rest.
At this moment, a bluish shadow flew back from not far away and landed directly on Zhong Cai's head.
Zhong Cai: "Ouch!" Her hair was pulled!
Wu Shaogan quickly helped Zhong Cai pick the little green roc off the tree.
The little eagle hopped around in Wu Shaogan's palm, its sharp beak pointing in a certain direction as if to express something.
Wu Shaogan understood and asked, "You mean you've hunted a savage beast and want us to come over?"
Xiao Qingpeng nodded quickly.
Wu Shaogan looked at Zhong Cai, preparing to call him to join them.
Zhong Cai, however, was already beaming with energy and shouted enthusiastically, "Let's go!"
·
Little Green Roc led the way, flying at a slightly slower speed.
The two followed closely, and as it passed through several groves, they arrived at a lake.
A few feet away from the lake, a magnificent white-headed deer lay prone.
Zhong Cai's eyes widened immediately.
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "The deer that slipped through the net has finally fallen into your hands."
Zhong Cai beamed with joy.
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