CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: WINTER HUNT ENDS, DISPLAYING THE TROPHIES

"This trip has yielded tremendous gains!"

"This consumption skill is incredibly powerful."

Li Xian secretly clicked his tongue. An upgrade in consumption meant that the energy digested and absorbed from three meals a day far exceeded that of ordinary people.

If he could also consume elixirs and essence treasures... the benefits would be even greater.

Li Xian settled his mind, feeling the warm flow in his dantian, with his inner qi becoming stronger and more vigorous. Coarse food was regarded as a delicacy, and mutton and beef were considered miraculous elixirs.

Becoming stronger was naturally a smooth process.

Fifteen or sixteen-year-old Li Xian had now shed his frail form. He was now rather robust.

But upgrading [Consumption] was difficult, requiring rare delicacies and treasures, while the winter hunt occurred only once a year. To gorge like this again, eating venison, swallowing tiger meat, and drinking bear meat would have to wait until the next year.

"I won’t leave the forest for now. I’ll try to hunt as many deer beasts as possible and prepare more jerky!"

Li Xian’s eyes sparkled with excitement, making the most out of this winter hunt.

The winter hunt lasted three days and nights, with the settlement taking place early the next morning.

Li Xian still had one night left to slowly smoke the jerky. Of course, with the continuous rain, he needed to find a cave to start a fire.

...

...

The next day.

As dawn broke, a rainbow bridge climbed the heavenly stairs.

A winter rainbow was indeed a rare sight.

Last night’s rain had shown signs of subsiding, but it continued as a fine drizzle into early this morning, finally stopping completely.

The air was fresh after the rain.

Outside Bear Tiger Mountain, many people had already gathered early.

It was the day of settlement for the winter hunt.

Madam Wen enjoyed the winter hunt, and she usually personally oversaw this lively event. Those who performed excellently had the chance to catch the Madam’s eye.

Then, with a light whistle, Madam returned from the depths of the forest, riding a Red Blooded Horse.

The continuous rain last night left everything wet. Yet, somehow, there was no trace of wetness on the Madam.

"Madam."

The nursing home guards present called out in unison.

Madam Wen nodded slightly, turning back to look at the forest, and asked, "Is everyone here? Where’s Pang Long?"

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

"It seems he has made quite a harvest this time," Madam Wen said, "No matter, let’s wait for him."

"Those of you with hunted game, bring it here for me to see."

"Yes!"

First, a group of D-class nursing home guards untied their Shrinking Flesh Bags, taking out their game one by one.

The D-class nursing home guards had only five Lingyu Arrows each, meaning they had only five pieces of game. Most were birds, foxes, and ground chickens... ordinary small animals.

"It’s a wild boar!"

Suddenly there was a cry of surprise from the crowd.

A D-class nursing home guard had shot a wild boar, and when he took it out, everyone was envious, all eyes turning to him.

Madam Wen glanced at it indifferently, showing no reaction.

Next, it was time for the C-class nursing home guards to display their game.

The C-class guards were given ten Lingyu Arrows each. After entering the mountains, they often chose to stay longer, sometimes even venturing into the inner regions, hoping for luck.

However, most had not refined their archery skills. Faced with fierce wild beasts, maintaining composure was extremely difficult, making hunting tigers and big bears quite challenging.

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

The game was mostly at this level.

Larger game was rarely seen.

One person had hunted a "Thick-horned Ox," which was already considered outstanding; many B-class nursing home guards were quite envious.

"You, go collect your reward money," Madam Wen said decisively.

After that, the A-class and B-class nursing home guards each presented their game. The best-performing guard had hunted four wild deer, three wild boars, and three birds.

Received a Deer Blood Pill from Madam Wen as a reward.

Truly enviable to others.

Up to this point, not a single large beast had appeared. Madam Wen frowned slightly, looking displeased, thinking:

"These grades of nursing home guards haven’t even managed to hunt a single large beast. It’s quite embarrassing for me."

...

"You bunch of lowly beasts, do I need to remind you? Hurry and carry the game back to the manor!"

Luo Fang waved his whip, commanding numerous servants to transport the various hunted games back to the manor.

The hunt wasn’t just for fun.

Wild boars, wild deer, wild chickens... they all had their uses; they were all money.

The servants were doing the most laborious work, enduring the most contempt and humiliation. Besides carrying the game, they would occasionally look up, seeing the well-dressed, remarkably heroic guards with longbows on their backs.

They were full of envy in their hearts.

Little did they know that the guards they admired were also looking into the depths of the forest, envying others as well.

"It seems the real main attractions are still inside."

"Yes, the big beasts are deep inside. To hunt a big beast, you need to go deeper; it doesn’t come out that quickly."

"Look who’s missing from here."

"Eagle Master, Wan Master... and some B-class nursing home guards, oh... a few C-class nursing home guards are also missing. And Li Xian hasn’t come out yet."

"The forest is very dangerous; there’s a chance they got eaten by a bear."

...

In the midst of everyone’s discussion, there was a sudden commotion in the woods. A-class nursing home guard Wan Xingke, resembling a dragon’s stride and a tiger’s pace, approached the crowd with large strides.

"Hahaha."

A burst of hearty laughter.

Upon exiting the forest, he suddenly noticed Madam was present, his whole body trembling. He immediately restrained his laughter and bowed deeply to Madam.

Reverential and apprehensive.

"Did you hunt a large beast?" Madam Wen, without looking at him, gently stroked the Yellow Jade Ornament on her bowstring with her fair fingers.

"I managed to hunt one." Wan Xingke suppressed his excitement, gave his Shrinking Flesh Bag a shake, and the game contents were revealed. Among the deer, pigs, and other game, there was a tiger.

"It’s a tiger!" All eyes turned at once.

Madam Wen glanced at it and lost interest.

This tiger beast was already gravely ill, with multiple wounds on its body, likely caused by other hunters. It was not long for this world and was merely scooped up at the right moment.

"Claim your reward as usual."

Madam Wen waved her hand dismissively.

"Yes, yes." Wan Xingke, seeing that Madam showed no sign of approval, left in deep disappointment, hanging his head.

A moment later, disturbances came from both the eastern and western directions of the forest as Pang Long and Jiang Yun emerged.

Pang Long, the commander of the nursing home guards, was given twenty-five Lingyu Arrows and was pre-equipped with two Shrinking Flesh Bags.

Both were drenched, clearly having endured a night in the rain. Jiang Yun’s eyes had heavy circles and were bloodshot, seemingly very displeased.

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

"Madam, please have a look."

Pang Long removed his Shrinking Flesh Bag and presented a red-furred wild boar.

Though not a large beast, it was an unusual species. It was incredibly fast, so hunting it was still commendable.

Next, he pulled out a tiger’s head... The tiger’s body had been separated by Pang Long’s heavy bow. The force was so great that it pierced the neck and severed the beast.

"All brawn, no finesse," Madam Wen said lightly.

Pang Long awkwardly scratched his head. He then continued to take out his game, with the most minimal being wild boars and mountain goats.

Somewhat better, he had also hunted a python, a thick-horned ox, and a water eel...

The last piece of game was a genuine brown bear, massively sized.

"As expected of a commander, impressive!"

"Even capturing a brown bear, such ferocious beasts... even if I had a bow and arrow, if I were clad in armor, I would have turned tail and run."

"Such beasts are exceptionally fierce. I encountered one once, and I was grateful to even muster the strength to run away."

...

The nursing home guards uttered exclamations of astonishment; without a doubt, this was a hunting feast.

Pang Long was quite satisfied, but Madam Wen remarked, "Although there’s a lot of game, the taste is lacking."

"All brawn and no valor."

"Yes," Pang Long responded, feeling a mix of pride and shame.

"It’s not just about other things. Even that giant python—did you wade into the water to fight it, using the ’Heart-Shaking Palm’ to kill it, then shot a Lingyu Arrow into it?"

Madam Wen offered her assessment casually.

Pang Long was completely taken aback; indeed, it was his Heart-Shaking Palm that killed the python, with its power being insidiously intense and not outwardly visible.

But with just a glance, Madam Wen saw it all.

Madam Wen was indeed a divine being.

"And you." After Pang Long’s display, Madam Wen finally took some interest and looked towards Jiang Yun.