"Add points to me!"
Ninety-two Fengyue Points vanished, and the characters in the skill column shifted.
【Tracking (Great Success 15/160)】
A familiar sensation washed over him, but this time the change was far greater.
In an instant, countless insights and experiences flooded his mind. He did nothing, yet it felt as though he had lived in the forest for two full years, mastering every kind of tracking technique with effortless ease.
His eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and other senses became vastly sharper, allowing him to trace the prey from subtle clues completely imperceptible to ordinary people.
"With my tracking technique now, wouldn't finding prey be as easy as turning over my hand?"
Zhou Chen felt a surge of boundless pride. He felt as though his nose could now rival a hound's, his eyes were as sharp as a falcon's, his ears were as keen as a cat's or dog's, and his tongue was so nimble and sensitive that it could distinguish the faintest of tastes.
"What level of terror would it be if the Tracking Technique reached Perfection, or even Transcendent?"
Filled with anticipation, Zhou Chen looked down at Qin Hongyu, who was cradled in his arms.
Qin Hongyu had been married to him for nearly a week now.
Not only could she eat her fill every day, but she also had chicken and meat, and their married life was harmonious and fulfilling.
Nourished by him, Qin Hongyu glowed with radiant health, her fair, tender skin seeming as though a single pinch would make water drip out.
"Brother Chen!"
Resting her head on Zhou Chen's powerful arm, Qin Hongyu gently stroked his broad, sturdy chest, her voice as tender as flowing water.
"It has already been three days, Brother Chen! Don't wear your body out!"
That was only the first reason.
Secondly, although there was still meat at home, they couldn't just sit around and exhaust their supplies indefinitely.
"Don't you know what my body is like? It's getting stronger and more powerful by the day. In a couple of days, I'll bag a wild boar and bring it back for you."
With his tracking technique, finding a wild boar shouldn't be difficult. Once he found one, relying on his Thunder Light Ruyi Hand and minor-success Archery, shooting the wild boar's legs first would make taking it down a breeze.
The difficult part was bringing a wild boar weighing several hundred catties back home.
Although his physique was fairly robust, and the recent improvements in his archery and tracking had slightly enhanced his physical fitness, carrying a wild boar all the way back from the mountains by himself would still be extremely difficult.
"It looks like I'll need to find two people to help!"
Zhou Chen already had candidates in mind.
"Brother Chen, I don't really like eating wild boar meat. I think smaller animals like wild rabbits are quite nice..."
Qin Hongyu's body tightened. Wild boars were extremely ferocious beasts with thick hides and strong aggressiveness, and they often appeared in packs.
There were many past examples of hunters being bitten to death by wild boars.
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Zhou Chen grasped Qin Hongyu's soft little hand and teased with a mischievous smile.
"I could never bear to see you taken away by another man!"
"If your master hadn't been over-hasty for success and run deep into the mountains where he ran into a fierce tiger, you'd be my master's wife right now!"
"I have no desire to repeat his mistakes!"
"Bah, bah, bah! What are you saying!"
Qin Hongyu blushed fiercely. Hearing the words "master's wife" sent an inexplicable thrill through her heart.
Looking at the deeply embarrassed beauty, Zhou Chen suddenly chuckled.
"Master's wife, your disciple is hungry!"
***
Meanwhile, by the village stream, Cuihua and several other women were washing clothes.
Wild Dog's wife, Sister Hong, scrubbed a cloth shoe and smiled lightly, "Brother Chen is really something else. He hasn't stepped out for three whole days!"
"It's not just Brother Chen who's something else. Let me tell you, Old Man Qin seems to have been staying at Widow Chen's place for the past three days. Anyway, I haven't seen him at home in three days!"
Sister-in-law Li gossiped, "I reckon he's probably moved in to live with Widow Chen!"
Her house wasn't far from Old Man Qin's, and she had to pass by his place every time she went to wash clothes, so she knew very well whether Old Man Qin was home or not.
"That's not right!" Sister Hong immediately refuted.
"I saw Widow Chen sneaking around meeting Zhang Dagen just last night!"
Zhang Dagen was an old bachelor in the village who lived alone and made a living by fishing, though he fished for three days and dried his nets for two, barely scraping by.
"What's going on here? Could Widow Chen be fooling around with Old Man Qin and Zhang Dagen at the same time?" Cuihua asked in surprise.
"As the saying goes, a widow's doorstep has no end of trouble. I don't think Widow Chen is a very proper woman either, so ten to one it's true!"
The gossiping power of women was truly terrifying, especially older aunties and matrons.
With every woman chiming in, Widow Chen was quickly transformed into a promiscuous slut available to anyone.
Zhou Chen and Qin Hongyu were spending their days stuck together like glue at home and knew very little about the gossip outside.
Night fell.
After completing a new round of mounted archery, Zhou Chen felt his archery skills had grown immensely, and his mood was buoyant.
Tonight was the fifteenth day of the lunar month; the moon in the sky was big and round, casting its bright, silvery light over the earth. All was silent, and the villagers had long since fallen asleep.
In this era, villagers went to bed very early, as burning lamps at night wasted money on oil.
Without entertainment tools like Douyin games, their only form of entertainment was sleeping and enjoying marital harmony.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Suddenly, the sound of knocking rang out abruptly. Zhou Chen, who was holding Qin Hongyu and lingering in the afterglow, was jolted awake. His hair stood on end, and his body grew rigid.
With lightning-fast hand speed, he instantly gripped the short blade under his pillow.
Qin Hongyu was also jolted awake, panic gripping her heart.
"Child, open the door quickly! It's your father!"
Old Man Qin's voice sounded from outside. The tightly strung chords in Qin Hongyu's heart instantly relaxed, and she let out a long breath of relief.
"Brother Chen, it's my dad!"
Qin Hongyu felt a sense of immense relief, though she harbored a trace of resentment toward Old Man Qin.
She couldn't understand why he was running over to knock on their door in the middle of the night—it had scared her to death.
Zhou Chen, however, felt no relief whatsoever; his gaze grew even more solemn.
With his Great Success Tracking Technique, his five senses were exceptionally sharp, especially his hearing and sense of smell.
He hadn't been asleep just a moment ago, remaining in the detached "sage mode" where his mind and spirit were completely emptied, making him even more sensitive to his surroundings.
Yet he hadn't heard the slightest sound of footsteps or breathing, nor had he sensed any human scent at all. All he felt was an icy, chilling sensation!
"Shh!"
Zhou Chen gestured for silence to Qin Hongyu, who was about to speak, then quietly got up and picked up the hunting bow hanging on the wall.
Qin Hongyu wore a look of worry. Though puzzled, she kept her mouth shut and merely watched tensely.
"If you have something to say, say it! If not, come back tomorrow!" Zhou Chen said coldly toward the outside.
"Little Chen, open the door quickly. I have important news to tell you, definitely good news!"
"I'm already asleep. Whatever news you have, we'll talk about it tomorrow!"
Zhou Chen's voice was frigid. "Don't you know it's extremely impolite to disturb people's sleep in the middle of the night? I'm in a very bad temper right now. If you don't leave this instant, I'm going to loose an arrow!"
"Damn it! You little rabbit, try loosing an arrow and see what happens!"
*Whoosh!*
An arrow pierced through the paper window, shooting straight out from the gap.
"Ah!"
Old Man Qin's miserable scream rang out. Qin Hongyu cried out in alarm: "Dad, are you alright?"
"Agh, I'm done for..."
Qin Hongyu hurriedly got up, about to rush outside, but was yanked back by Zhou Chen.
"I didn't hit him!"
Zhou Chen said in a low voice, "That's not your dad—at least, not a human!"
Qin Hongyu, who was just about to argue, trembled violently.
She had long suspected that ghosts and demons existed in this world, and she had also felt it was highly abnormal for her father to come looking for her in the middle of the night claiming to have good news.
Would that miserly father of hers ever share good news with them?
"Leave it to me, I'll handle everything!"
Pushing Qin Hongyu back onto the bed, Zhou Chen was on high alert.
He did not go outside.
Nor could he be certain of what exactly was out there.
The fact that the entity hadn't broken in meant it was either wary of something or lacked sufficient strength.
Old Man Qin continued to wail outside, playing the family card to urge Qin Hongyu to open the door.
Seeing this, Zhou Chen felt even more reassured.
The creature probably couldn't get in.
He casually laid his bow and arrow aside because bows and arrows were completely useless against it.
He was certain his previous arrow had hit the target, but with his acute hearing, he had clearly heard the arrow strike as if hitting empty air, finally landing on a large tree by the doorway.
In other words, the entity was akin to a ghost, and ordinary arrows had no effect on it.
However, Zhou Chen still had his trump card.
His Thunder Light Ruyi Hand was a supernatural power, and his palms contained thunder—the ultimate bane of ghostly entities.
Even if the creature rushed in, he wasn't necessarily without a fighting chance.
"Brother Chen, what should we do?"
Qin Hongyu asked in a trembling voice, terrified out of her wits.
"Don't worry, I've got everything covered!"
Zhou Chen sat back down on the bed, scooped Qin Hongyu up, and had her straddle his lap. He comforted her, "It's fine, it can't get in!"
"Mn."
Qin Hongyu nodded gently. If the creature could get in, or dared to come in, it certainly would have done so long ago.
"Brother Chen, what are you..."
Qin Hongyu suddenly widened her eyes, her body trembling. She never expected that even in a situation like this, Zhou Chen would still be in the mood for intimacy?
"What do you think?"
Because of the entity outside, Zhou Chen felt an even stronger craving to grow stronger.
Naturally, he wouldn't let slip any opportunity to increase his power right now.
"Brother Chen, my dad... no, that monster is still outside..."
"This is called distraction therapy!"
Zhou Chen smiled, skillfully practicing the Thunder Light Ruyi Hand. His ten fingers shifted with peerless flexibility, swift and fierce.
Qin Hongyu cast a worried glance toward the door, terrified of alerting the unknown monster outside, and bit her red lips hard to keep herself from making a sound.
***
Qin Hongyu: "Mm! Where are my votes?"