Chapter 20: Hunt (1)

Sunlight spread between trees, covering the trunks with gold. The formation and the green light covering Ying Zheng, in turn, became bleak. Then diluted completely. Ying Zheng opened his eyes.

"Rise and shine, good day!"

With a smile on his face, he immediately jumped to his feet; the girl that was sitting a bit farther in the shadow of the hill also opened her eyes. The boy was still lying using his hand as a pillow. He only slightly twitched.

"Looking at the sun… Now is half past six."

He said, looking at the brightness between trees on the hill.

"Well then, time to go."

He put a large bag on his shoulder and then walked to the girl. She stared at him for a second, then covered her eyes with a bandage.

"I'm not sure you still have to wear it, but can't be too cautious. You can expect to meet travelers as far as hundred kilometers in."

Maha didn't answer. She also stood up and then was lifted into the air. Ying Zheng placed her into the bag. Then he turned to Xin.

"Wake up I said, kid."

Suddenly the ground he was sleeping on protruded and Wei Xin rolled down to the nearest tree.

"Ag!"

His head connected with the trunk.

"Ha-ha, now let's get going."

Xin rubbed his head and looked at the happy Ying Zheng, still trying to comprehend what happened. When he did, Ying Zheng received his second scornful gaze.

"Are you always this active in the morning?"

Sounded irritated voice of the girl.

"I am." He said, smiled even brighter when his teeth caught sunshine and entered the woods. Xin gathered his stuff and reluctantly followed him while still massaging his head.

…

…

…

Today's run was much easier at first. Xin kept in mind not to use Qi and rely on his muscles instead. There weren't much of them though, and soon he once again started to feel tired.

The first break was a relief, but when it ended and he stood up weakness spread from his stomach to legs. Then there was a loud and long growl. The boy wanted to redden and look at Maha, but haven't got strength even for that. Abruptly, he fell to his knee.

"Ah yes, you have to eat." Said Ying Zheng while scratching his head.

"I forgot it after yesterday when had given you Vitality Pill."

So that was the reason he wasn't hungry at all previous night. Xin asked:

"Can you give me another?"

"No, too much of then can be harmful. And they are expensive, too. Haven't you brought some supplies?"

Xin started browsing through his bag. A sabre, several books, few golden coins… Why has he taken them, again? The store wasn't working, right…

No food. Xin looked at Ying Zheng with a lost stare.

"Don't look at me like that. I also haven't brought any."

"Are you… at the Synchronization Realm?"

It was a well-known fact that only a warrior at the Synchronization Realm can survive without water or food. Inner Sea warriors are capable of going just a bit longer without it and at the Qi Gathering, demands are no different from that of a normal person.

"I wish, I'm only at the Air Stage. I was going to hunt."

Well, that was obvious. Xin felt a bit stupid; how could they survive a two years long journey with the food they brought themselves? And Ying Zheng simply couldn't be a Synchronization Realm Cultivator. In the whole Han Empire, there are only thirty or something masters like that. But on second thought, it was still surprising. Ying Zheng looked like someone half-way in his thirties. It wasn't a shabby matter to reach the Inner Sea Realm at such a young age. He was either a descendant of a very rich clan or had Nine Meridians.

"Hunting will be bothersome, but seems like there's no choice."

Ying Zheng took the bag from his shoulder and placed it with the sleeping Maha into a shade of a tree.

"I will teach you hunting."

"Me?"

"Yes, as the saying goes: give a beggar a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and he'll bring you a tribute. Do you have any weapon?

Xin took his sabre out. Its black surface reflected the sun brightly, even a bit too much. He had to close his eyes. The next second Ying Zheng was standing right before him, his hand on his chin.

"Interesting." He said touching the edge of the sabre with his finger.

"It isn't heavy but looks like a butcher's knife. Very sharp, can go deep in case of a clean cut. However, not strong enough to bring a large beast down, it's for humans. Several distinguishable patterns reflect light and that… can be used as a distraction, especially during the first strike. But only in the right hands, if you know how to use it. Actually, the entire saber is made for someone skilled but weak. No, not weak, a child."

Ying Zheng looked at Xin with interest.

"Are your parents rich, kid?"

Xin didn't know how to answer. He could feel a cold sweat running on his back. What if he…

"Don't be so afraid. I won't ask if it's a problematic topic."

Ying Zheng straightened his back and said:

"That's an assassination blade. Well, that's quite suitable; hunting beasts and hunting humans are the same things. You find them, crawl silently and cut until it's dead. Your sabre is made to be used in one swift deadly attack, but you don't really have the skill to accomplish it. I think I will teach you how to make your prey immovable so it won't run away and then finish it."

Xin could only nod. Ying Zheng was speaking fast and right. The boy felt amazed at first: how could he see through Wei Clan's tactic just from a weapon? But then, when he calmed down, he became suspicious. Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he saw this kind of weapon before, maybe…

"I… I found this sabre." He blurted.

"Great luck, hope it will help you during the hunt. Now stop bragging and eat this pill of Scent Evasion."

…Maybe he was overthinking.

Soon both of them were crawling in bushes. Xin was worried about leaving Maha alone, she had a character but a vulnerable body, even weaker than he has, but Ying Zheng placed the girl into some formation and reassured him with that. Now Xin was trying the "Soundless Walk" how Ying Zheng called it.

"I need to master this technique before hunting?"

"It isn't a technique, there's no Qi. Just a normal hunter's walk. There isn't much prey around so you should be careful not to scare any. Developing a habit of looking before stepping will be helpful in that regard. Here it is."

Ying Zheng stopped and looked at the ground. Xin did too.

"Hoofprints; seems like a stag. A young one. It's quite fresh so let's follow it."

"Silently?"

"Yes, look at the ground and be mindful of your surrounding. When you see the animal, go even more silent. I will be looking from above."

"What…"

Before Xin could ask Ying Zheng jumped and disappeared in leaves.

"...I see."

Now it was up to him. Xin began to listen at first. The rustling of leaves, many trees all around, the grass and earth. It was a symphony, and now he was looking for a particular instrument. He started following the prints. He had no time to think; being mindful of what he was stepping at, what was around. Trees, nothing but trees. Then again at the trace.

He wasn't sure for how long it lasted. Some thoughts were distracting his mind along the way.

Finally, the symphony was disturbed. Chewing and breaking, he wished it wasn't what he imagined but then he felt the blood in the air.

Xin searched for the source. He saw a silhouette too far to distinguish. He felt a trace of fear at first but forced himself to step forward. No matter what, there was Ying Zheng helping, right?

Right?..

Thinking about it now, he wasn't sure. He stopped when finally saw what was going on. His mind was unusually calm. The stag was there, with dark-blue horns lying in a pond of its own blood. Something was sticking out of it, but Xin couldn't see what. A large black wolf was chewing on it. Its three heads burrowing into the flesh.

Three-Headed Wolf… What does he know about that thing? It is a Spirit Beast, a wolf-kin. It isn't strong, one of the weakest of its kind. Dumb and solitary. Could he deal with it?

Xin wasn't sure, and it's better not to risk. He made a step back. Then remembered to be mindful of what he was stepping at and made two more steps, now carefully.

Suddenly, something fell from the sky.

Leaves rustled and it crashed just before him.

Immediately Xin's eyes stuck to the wolf.