'Damn it, how is that thing's sense of smell so sharp!?'
'There's no doubt about it. It smelled the blood from the gray mountain pheasant.'
Cheng Zongyang didn't move recklessly. If he showed even a sliver of fear or any intention of retreating, the creature would see it as a sign of fright.
The only outcome then would be to figure out a more comfortable position to die in.
And so, he held his ground, perfectly still. If the enemy didn't move, neither would he. They stared at each other, gazes locked, and his eyes showed no sign of retreat.
'This is over a hundred meters away. Too bad the Bow and Arrow is useless at this range!'
Cheng Zongyang felt a twinge of regret.
Due to the rules, he couldn't leave the wilderness from here; he had to return to his cabin to exit.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be this worried.
Perhaps the Black Panther had never seen a bipedal creature before. Perhaps it couldn't gauge Cheng Zongyang's strength. Or perhaps it had already eaten its fill.
After a standoff of about ten minutes, the Black Panther flicked its tail, turned its head, and agilely leaped onto another dead tree before turning to leave.
But after just a few steps, it glanced back at Cheng Zongyang one last time, swished its tail, and quickly trotted away with a cat-like gait.
"Phew..."
Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang let out a sigh of relief.
He didn't linger, immediately turning and running back the way he came.
'How terrifying! I've only been out for a little while and I've already run into a large beast like that!'
Back in the cabin, Cheng Zongyang let out another sigh of relief.
'I don't know if that area is the Black Panther's territory, but I'll assume it is for now. I can't go there for the time being.'
Cheng Zongyang temporarily marked the northwest, north, and west as the Black Panther's territory.
After resting for a moment to calm his nerves, he placed the mountain pheasant and eggs inside the cabin and left again.
This time, he headed in a different direction. Until he had a powerful weapon, he wouldn't provoke that big fellow.
With the back-basket on, he left and headed east.
Along the way, he periodically scanned the ground. His hunts were never just about hunting; he also foraged for other edibles.
Wild vegetables, wild fruits, berries, nuts, and so on. He would even dig up precious Medicinal Materials to take back.
In the county, not only did food sell well, but precious Medicinal Materials sold even better. The existence of Martial Artists ensured that the price of Medicinal Materials would not be low.
"Huh? Blueberries?"
Just as Cheng Zongyang reached a slope, he spotted a cluster of blueberry bushes out in the open.
They weren't covered by towering trees, and the patch of low bushes was far larger than the small one he had seen before.
He didn't approach rashly. Places like this were bound to have snakes.
So, he found a dead tree nearby and cut off a four-to-five-meter-long branch of suitable thickness to use as a long pole.
Time to beat the grass and startle the snakes!
As he rustled around in the blueberry bushes, he scared away quite a few birds.
Similarly, with a RUSTLE RUSTLE, several long snakes of unknown species slithered out.
A few of the snakes seemed enraged, raising the upper parts of their bodies, flicking their forked tongues, and hissing threateningly.
But in the next second, Cheng Zongyang's pole struck them, leaving them stunned or severely injured and writhing on the ground.
A few more blows, and the reckless creatures rolled onto their backs, lifeless.
[Killed Mang Viper, Points +1]
[Killed Mang Viper, Points +1]
"..."
Four notification boxes appeared in succession.
Cheng Zongyang paid them no mind.
After he made an example of them, the other snakes didn't dare come near him.
A few minutes later, seeing no more movement in the bushes, Cheng Zongyang put down the wooden pole, took out his Firewood Knife, and walked over.
He delightedly placed the four long snakes, each weighing four or five jin, into his back-basket and then began to pick the blueberries.
There were blueberries in the outside world, too, but they had long since been picked clean. He hadn't eaten any in a very long time.
Although wild blueberries were quite sour, they were a great way to supplement vitamins and other nutrients.
They would make a great snack for his little sister and second brother.
He filled a tattered cloth with about three or four jin of them before stopping.
And he had only picked from the seven or eight blueberry bushes on the periphery.
There were many more deeper in.
He was never greedy. It wouldn't be too late to come back and pick more after they finished these.
He silently committed this good spot to memory and continued onward.
The forest was thick with ferns.
He was constantly worried that a snake would pop out from underfoot.
So, after chopping the wooden pole down to just over two meters long, it became his pathfinding stick.
After continuing east for another four or five hundred meters, Cheng Zongyang was in the middle of carving a mark on a tree trunk when he let out a soft "Huh?" and his eyes suddenly lit up!
He immediately crouched down behind a patch of ferns, his gaze fixed on a spot about fifty or sixty meters ahead.
Two sika deer were grazing, occasionally lifting their heads to look around.
'Sika deer, haven't seen them in a long time! I think the acquisition tab has a bounty for them... two Points for one.'
Cheng Zongyang's gaze sharpened. He took out his Bow and Arrow and slowly rose to his feet.
He scanned his surroundings to see if any other creatures were present.
Seeing no other beasts nearby, he nocked an arrow and drew his bow.
*Inhale...*
He took a slow, deep breath, then held it, focusing his mind. The next second, he released his right hand, and the Wooden Arrow shot out like a falling star.
Perhaps it was the rustle of the Wooden Arrow passing through fern leaves, or perhaps it was the sound of it slicing through the air.
It made the two grazing sika deer look up in alarm, but before they could react, a Wooden Arrow pierced through the chest of one of them!
The Wooden Arrow buried itself two-thirds of the way in. The uninjured sika deer bolted in fright, while the wounded one staggered less than a dozen meters before collapsing.
"Yes!"
A look of joy crossed Cheng Zongyang's face, but he didn't get carried away.
Years of hunting experience told him that even after hitting his prey, he could not let his guard down.
Otherwise, a "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" situation was highly likely to occur.
Especially after seeing that Black Panther.
He wasn't in a hurry. He waited quietly until a notification box appeared before him.
[Killed Sika Deer, Points +1]
'It's dead.'
Seeing no movement in the surroundings, Cheng Zongyang finally walked over.
Without wasting time, he put away his Bow and Arrow, stuck his Firewood Knife in the ground, and then hoisted the nearly two-hundred-jin sika deer onto his shoulders.
Since he'd crossed over, his greatest asset had been his immense strength.
His strength grew every year.
He had originally thought this was his "golden finger" and was quite content with it.
The discovery of the Stone Ring in the snake's belly and obtaining his real golden finger through it was just an accident.
Pulling his Firewood Knife from the ground, Cheng Zongyang hurried back toward the marketplace cabin.
The return trip was faster, and he was back at the marketplace cabin in no time.
He placed the sika deer on the counter. Looking at his harvest from less than an hour's work, Cheng Zongyang couldn't help but smile.
"Sell sika deer."
As he spoke, a virtual interface popped up in front of him.
---
Marketplace has detected the following item for acquisition:
Sika Deer
Quantity: 1
Acquisition Value: 2 Points
Confirm sale?
[Yes] [No]
---
[No]
He thought for a moment and canceled the sale. The Points were too few; it wasn't worth it. If it were just fish, maybe, but not this.
He left the deer in the marketplace cabin to keep it fresh. He'd deal with it later when he needed it.
---
Name: Cheng Zongyang
Age: 15
Points: 6
Equipment: None
Skill: Archery (Specialization)
---
'One gray mountain pheasant, four snakes. That's exactly 5 Points. I'll keep the deer for myself to eat.'
'Right, I almost forgot the quest board also buys Snake Galls!'
'Ninety-five Points to go. As long as I complete the quest and kill some more prey, I should be able to finish it within two days.'
He was eager to buy the Ironwood Bow as soon as possible to increase his hunting speed. A faster hunting speed meant a faster rate of earning Points.
It was far stronger than the Bow and Arrow in his hands.
Even the equipment slot on his Attribute Interface was empty, which showed that the marketplace didn't even recognize his current bow.
To hunt efficiently, a good weapon would be like giving a tiger wings.