Chapter 7: Falling into a Tiger’s Mouth at Midnight
“Brother Chen, where is the place you mentioned? This is already far from the village and close to the back mountain. There are very likely beasts around!”
Although Qin Lao Han was driven by his lower body to come here with Widow Chen, he was forty years old and not completely muddle-headed. Vigilance arose in his heart.
“Old Qin, we’re almost there, just ahead!”
Widow Chen swayed Qin Lao Han’s arm, using the unique advantage of a woman to coax him:
“Actually, I wanted to come during the day, but if someone sees us then, you understand the principle of ‘having a valuable object invites trouble.’ We won’t be able to get the treasure then!”
“What treasure exactly?”
Qin Lao Han pressed, skeptical.
“It’s a chest of gold. I can’t carry it alone.”
As soon as Widow Chen said these words, Qin Lao Han’s eyes lit up, but a chill followed closely behind.
Although he was greedy and stingy, he was definitely not stupid.
Even if there was a chest of gold, it couldn’t be a whole piece. Widow Chen could completely take it away bit by bit.
Although he had a deep relationship with Widow Chen and they knew each other well, he didn’t believe Widow Chen would share the gold with him if she found it.
“Ouch!”
Qin Lao Han suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, clutching his waist and wailing:
“My waist! It’s no good, I’ve twisted my waist!”
“Xiao Chen, quickly help me back!”
Widow Chen’s eyes turned cold, and the temperature around her dropped accordingly. Qin Lao Han shivered, a bad premonition welling up in his heart.
Following the principle of prioritizing his life, Qin Lao Han stopped pretending, scrambled to his feet, and ran towards the village.
“Roar!”
The deafening roar of a tiger, like splitting gold and cracking stone, assaulted his ears. Qin Lao Han felt his eardrums were about to burst, his head dizzy, his body trembling.
A bloody maw rapidly expanded in his pupils. Qin Lao Han was terrified.
“No…”
…
The night was deep, the mountain hidden in the hazy darkness like a crouching beast, ready to devour anyone.
The roars of the beast and the screams of Qin Lao Han didn’t attract the attention of a single person in Da He Village.
It was normal for beasts to roar in the mountains at night.
The mountains were most dangerous at night, and the villagers generally wouldn’t go near the back mountain after dark.
“Good sir, please, no more!”
At the fifth watch, the shameful sounds from the night finally faded away.
Qin Hong Yu’s face was flushed, her body trembling as if from an electric shock. She panted rapidly, her breath sweet and fragrant:
“Brother Chen, I feel like your strength has become stronger again?”
“Because I exercise hard every day, sparing no effort, day and night. Of course, my strength is getting stronger and stronger!”
Zhou Chen’s hands instinctively massaged Qin Hong Yu’s bones, but his mind was focused on his personal panel.
After his efforts all afternoon and most of the night, his Romance Points had increased by fifteen.
“Tracking, add points.”
The familiar feeling of profound mystery surged through his mind once more. His Tracking skill was upgraded to Minor Achievement.
Not only were various tracking methods now at his fingertips, but his five senses had also become much sharper.
[Wind and Moon Mirror]
[Master: Zhou Chen]
[Cultivation Method: None]
[Realm: None]
[Supernatural Ability: Thunderclap Wish-Fulfilling Hand]
[Skills: Archery (Minor Achievement 0/80), Tracking (Minor Achievement 3/80), Trapping (Proficient 2/20), Throwing (Proficient 18/20), Fishing (Entry Level 6/10)…]
[Romance Points: 0]
“If the points needed later on all double, then Complete Mastery would require one hundred and sixty, Transcendent Mastery would require three hundred and twenty. Adding the eighty needed for Great Achievement, that’s a total of five hundred and sixty points…”
Based on Zhou Chen’s experience over the past two days, if he didn’t go hunting during the day and stayed with Qin Hong Yu all the time, he could probably gain thirty points a day.
That meant he could upgrade his Tracking skill to Transcendent Mastery in just nineteen days.
But he couldn’t possibly stick with Qin Hong Yu all day long. He still needed to hunt to make a living. Given that, a month should be enough.
“A month to max out a skill!”
Zhou Chen’s spirits soared. He thought about how Cao Lao Tou had practiced archery all his life, but his archery seemed to only be at the Great Achievement level, always a step away from Complete Mastery.
Not to mention Transcendent Mastery!
That wasn’t something that could be achieved through hard work alone.
It required talent and opportunity.
“Set a small goal first, upgrade both Tracking and Archery to Transcendent Mastery within two months!”
Suddenly, Zhou Chen, with his sharpened senses, heard rustling sounds coming from outside.
It was the little fox! It seemed to be gnawing on wood, jumping around in the cage and whimpering.
“Right, I forgot to feed the little fox!”
Zhou Chen got out of bed, left Qin Hong Yu’s warm nest, and went to the kitchen to get the leftover food for the little fox.
“Whimper, whimper, whimper!”
Seeing Zhou Chen, the little fox cried out, but upon seeing the food, it immediately started eating happily, its stomach growling.
A gust of evening wind blew in, and Zhou Chen suddenly felt a chill down below.
It was like after taking a bath, when your body is still damp, and the wind blows, the water evaporates, absorbing heat, and you feel cold.
Especially at night.
Zhou Chen quickly put the food in the cage and hurried back to the room, burrowing into Qin Hong Yu’s warm nest and taking her soft body into his arms. He felt warm all over.
The two were tightly entwined, inseparable.
Zhou Chen had hunted on the mountain for half a day, and after returning home, he had been busy with Qin Hong Yu until now. At this point, he felt his eyelids getting heavy.
Smelling the faint fragrance of his beloved, Zhou Chen fell into a deep sleep.
The sun was high in the sky when the two of them finally got up and made something to eat.
If their stomachs hadn’t been growling, they probably wouldn’t have gotten up.
Qin Hong Yu washed the dishes and cooked.
Zhou Chen pulled the little fox onto his lap and petted it a few times.
Without cats or dogs, he could only pet the fox to pass the time.
[Romance Points +1]
Zhou Chen noticed that the little fox seemed to be getting tamer, lying on his lap with its foxy eyes half-closed, enjoying itself.
[Romance Points +1]
When Qin Hong Yu finished cooking, Zhou Chen gained another point. In a good mood, he put the little fox back in its cage and gave it a big bowl of food.
Full and satisfied, looking at Qin Hong Yu washing dishes in the kitchen, Zhou Chen walked up and hugged her soft waist from behind.
“Stop it, I’m washing dishes!”
Qin Hong Yu slapped away his mischievous hand and asked, “Brother Chen, aren’t you going hunting today?”
“The prey we caught yesterday is enough for us to eat for seven or eight days. Let’s rest for a few days before going again. We’ll eat fresh prey then!”
Zhou Chen’s mischievous hand reached under her skirt again, and he said with a smile:
“Besides, I haven’t been able to spend much time with you these past few days while hunting.”
“We’re newlyweds, and we have enough to eat now. Of course, I have to make it up to you!”
“Brother Chen, you’re so good to me!”
Qin Hong Yu turned her head, her eyes full of love, her legs squeezing together: “Good sir, wait a moment, I’ll be done soon!”
“It’s okay, you do your thing, I’ll do mine!”
…
“Hey, I didn’t see Brother Chen go hunting today.”
By the stream, several women were washing clothes.
Cui Hua, Er Niu’s wife, was also there.
Cui Hua winked and said, “Not only did Brother Chen not go hunting, but Lady Zhou didn’t go out today either!”
“That’s right! Brother Chen caught several hares, pheasants, and even a wolf yesterday. They have enough to eat now, so there’s no need to hunt in the mountains every day!”
An older woman, scrubbing a patched coarse cloth garment, said with a sly smile:
“Brother Chen must be practicing his archery at home!”
“Brother Chen used to follow Cao Lao Tou, but I never noticed his archery being so accurate. It’s different after getting married!”
“Archery also requires practical experience. Brother Chen had never actually shot an arrow before, his archery was just for show. Now that he practices live shooting every day, his archery has naturally improved by leaps and bounds!”
“Let me tell you, Old Qin isn’t home today either. He must be at Widow Chen’s house again.”
“Old Qin and Widow Chen are both alone. Why are they being so secretive? They should just get married!”
“I guess that stingy old Qin can’t bear to part with his silver!”
…
Time passed leisurely.
Three days in a row.
Zhou Chen stayed at home, practicing his archery and rarely leaving the house.
And of course, his hard work paid off.
You reap what you sow.
Through his diligent efforts and countless drops of sweat, his points had reached a remarkable ninety.
“Add points for me!”