"Grumble, grumble!"
After entering the mountain with such exertion, he hadn't eaten enough breakfast,
and now his stomach was protesting.
Looking up at the sun directly overhead,
it was already midday.
"What's that noise for? Bear with it!"
Chen Xuan was leaning against a tree at this time, feeling somewhat agitated as well.
"What should I do?"
He habitually opened the panel.
Looking at the flashing panel in front of him,
he noticed the skill bar showing Beginner Tracking Technique (6/10) and had an idea.
There were currently 32 skill points available.
Originally, he planned to save them to improve his Health Cultivation Technique.
"Should I try upgrading the Tracking Technique and see what happens?"
He muttered softly.
Besides, it wasn't much, only 4 points required.
"Let's try it!"
Putting thought into action,
"Add points to Beginner Tracking Technique!"
Instantly,
the panel changed.
Intermediate Tracking Technique (0/20).
At the same time,
Chen Xuan felt a change in his five senses.
The most significant change was his ability to see distant things more clearly, as if he had a built-in double scope.
Immediately,
he was filled with delight.
For a hunter, seeing far means spotting prey from a greater distance.
Not only that,
his hearing and sense of smell were greatly enhanced as well.
These changes made him wildly ecstatic.
He cursed himself inwardly for being so foolish.
If he had known, he would have upgraded the Tracking Technique long ago.
In an instant, his confidence soared, and without taking a break, he continued heading into the mountains.
Half an hour later,
suddenly,
he heard a faint "creak, creak" sound!
"This is....."
Chen Xuan moved little by little in the direction of the sound.
Controlling his footsteps,
to make as little noise as possible while walking.
His pace was very slow!
Sure enough,
after about the time it takes to burn an incense stick,
he finally discovered the source of the sound.
A silly roe deer was nibbling leaves from a young tree.
Moreover,
the sound was actually from its chewing.
"Amazing, my ears!"
Previously, he would not have heard it at all.
If the intermediate level of Tracking Technique was this impressive, what about the advanced level?
With the prey ahead, Chen Xuan couldn't help but fantasize.
However,
he quickly regained his composure.
He carefully removed the bow from his back and took an arrow from the quiver.
He exerted strength in both arms.
Full draw!
With the enhanced vision, he could easily aim at the feeding silly roe deer.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow whistle sounded.
A black shadow was seen.
"Awo~~~"
Chen Xuan's arrow hit the silly roe deer's neck steadily.
"Awo~~~"
Instantly, the mountain echoed with the screech of the roe deer.
Seeing this,
Chen Xuan pushed off hard with both feet, his whole body leaping forward, flying in the direction of the roe deer.
This is the Ninth Grade Martial Artist,
although the lowest grade, it's unmatched by ordinary people.
Looking at the roe deer rolling on the ground, Chen Xuan drew the short knife from his waist and delivered a few more strikes to the struggling roe deer.
Moments later, the silly roe deer twitched its limbs a few times.
"Hoo~~~Finally dead, it was rather tenacious!"
Chen Xuan sighed with relief.
Seeing the blood flowing from the roe deer still steaming, immediately, he grinned!
He laughed heartily!
Chen Xuan stood up and kicked it with his foot.
The smile on his face deepened.
This silly roe deer weighed at least 60 pounds.
Enough to feed his family of three for several days.
Just as he was about to carry the roe deer and head down the mountain,
all of a sudden,
the 'creak, creak' sound came from his ear again.
This sound was..... from footsteps on the snow.
"Someone's here!"
His heart skipped a beat immediately.
Vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
In this deep mountain,
it's not uncommon for hunters to rob each other.
After all,
the people living off this vast mountain aren't just hunters from Shuanggang Village.
Moreover,
times are tough, and prey is scarce,
this roe deer is an irresistible temptation for a hunter.
Sure enough,
a moment later,
two hunters dressed similar to him appeared.
However, they were quite thin.
Even wearing raincoats, he could tell at a glance.
Especially the short one, his face yellowed, lips pale, clearly showing long-term malnutrition.
"This friend is lucky, huh!"
The tall one spoke first.
But as he spoke, his eyes kept fixed on the roe deer lying on the ground.
"Hehe, just a bit of luck, really. So many days without a catch, today I finally made one."
Chen Xuan smiled, seemingly friendly, but at this moment, he was in a state of tension, and the short knife in his hand was tightly gripped.
If these two dared to make any move,
he definitely wouldn't show mercy.
"Which village are you from?"
The tall man asked.
"Why? What do you mean by that?"
Chen Xuan squinted slightly.
Was he probing his background?
"Haha, no need to be so tense, friend. I was just asking out of curiosity. The villages around here all rely on this mountain to survive, so in that sense, we're all one family, aren't we?"
One family?
Hehe!
Quite shameless.
He chuckled inwardly.
However, he went along with their words, "Pretty much, all depend on the mountain for living."
"That's it, since we're family, look at this big roe deer, you can't finish it by yourself. How about splitting half with us, and if we ever catch something, we'll share it with you!"
Before the tall one could respond, the short one eagerly chimed in.
He hadn't had a full meal for a month, let alone tasted meat.
Staring at the roe deer on the ground, he swallowed his saliva repeatedly.
Meat!
This is meat!
And the expression on the tall man's face was not much better.
Greed was written all over his face.
"Sigh!"
Chen Xuan sighed.
The two thought he had relented, the smiles on their faces growing wider.
However,
in the next moment, the two were dumbfounded.
All they saw was,
Chen Xuan forcefully stepped on the ground with his right foot, pushing off with nearly all his strength.
Yet the effect was impressive,
he darted forward like a leopard.
The short knife in his hand slashed at the tall man's neck directly.
Suddenly,
blood gushed out,
even in death, he kept a smile on his face!
What a mockery!
And the short man, until he saw the tall man's body fall straight to the ground, hadn't reacted.
He was stunned on the spot!
He might not have reacted, but in Chen Xuan's eyes, it was a cause for great satisfaction.
Instantly delivering a few more stabs.
The short one quickly followed the tall man's steps, falling to the ground.
However,
his eyes bulged.
Died with regrets!
Killing two people in a row, the fight from start to finish lasted only a few breaths.
They were too reckless, seeing him alone, and underestimated him.
If not,
it wouldn't have been so easy for Chen Xuan to kill them.
"It's not easy to scrape by, yet they sought death!"
Looking at the two corpses on the ground, Chen Xuan spoke with indifference.
The second time killing,
his heart was no longer troubled.
Seeing the short knife in his hand, still covered in steaming fresh blood, Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. This human blood, he found quite distasteful.
Wiping it on the short one's clothes,
he then rummaged through their bodies.
Empty pockets!
"Tch! Paupers! What a bad luck!"
Chen Xuan cursed quietly.
Ignoring the two corpses, he shouldered the roe deer and began to head down the mountain!