Chapter 9: The First Encounter with a Warrior (Please Support and Keep Reading)
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The moonlight flowed like water, casting a desolate hue over the night. From the mountains behind Dahe Village came the distant, earth-shattering roar of a tiger piercing through the clouds. Zhou Chen held Qin Hongyu’s delicate body close; the two were tightly pressed together, yet his entire attention was focused on the outside.
Qin Hongyu bit her red lips tightly, daring not to make a sound, though her breath grew faintly hurried. Meanwhile, the voice of Old Man Qin outside gradually faded away.
After a long while, silence still reigned outside. Qin Hongyu whispered softly, “Has it... gone?”
Zhou Chen shook his head. With his advanced tracking technique, his senses had become keen; he could still feel a cold, ominous presence lingering outside.
Qin Hongyu shuddered, her slender form taut with terror, eyes wide with fear, yet she dared not make a sound.
Time trickled by slowly.
Suddenly, Zhou Chen raised an eyebrow. He sensed the cold aura drifting away but heard no footsteps.
“It’s gone!”
He concluded this in his heart but made no move to go outside, nor did he intend to.
One’s life is singular.
Caution and prudence rarely lead one astray.
Survival is the path to longevity.
Of course,
Caution is not cowardice, nor weakness, and certainly not a matter of survival at all costs.
When circumstances permit, one must strike decisively.
For example, before, when he was timid, after Old Man Cao’s death, others bullied him, using the pretext of burying Old Man Cao to consume all the stored grain in his home.
Old Man Qin even tried to shirk his debts.
At such times, you cannot afford to appear weak; otherwise, others will only intensify their bullying.
Even if you hunt a wild chicken with little meat in the mountains, others will snatch it away.
Because you are easy to bully.
The instinct to prey on the weak and fear the strong is inherent in all creatures.
Of course,
If the enemy is beyond your ability to confront, then retreat is necessary—only to grow stronger and one day root out the threat completely.
Night passed quietly into dawn.
A blazing red sun slowly rose over the horizon, tearing apart the veil of darkness, banishing all spirits and demons, stirring the world, and purifying the heavens.
After a torturous night, Qin Hongyu’s eyes were red, with tears still faintly visible at the corners, and her lips were slightly swollen.
Feeling the gentle warmth of sunlight streaming through the window, she felt a bit reassured and asked in a trembling voice:
“Brother Chen, that thing is gone now, right?”
“Definitely gone!”
Zhou Chen smiled, his composed confidence soothing Qin Hongyu’s anxious heart.
“Brother Chen, why do you think that monster pretended to be my father? Could something have happened to him?”
Qin Hongyu’s worry deepened.
Though Old Man Qin wasn’t kind to her, he was still her father.
“We’ll find out when we go see him!”
Zhou Chen was also curious, eager to discover what that thing truly was.
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Moreover, that creature probably didn’t appear only at his home.
Others in the village might have encountered it as well.
“Mm.”
Qin Hongyu nodded firmly and struggled to get up. Though both her legs trembled and she had not rested all night, she still rose to help Zhou Chen dress and wash up.
Qin Hongyu went to the kitchen to prepare a meal while Zhou Chen looked at the little fox, scooped it into his arms, and gently stroked it.
[Romance Points +1]
Zhou Chen checked his status panel.
[Romance Mirror]
[Owner: Zhou Chen]
[Martial Arts: None]
[Realm: None]
[Divine Skill: Thunder Light Wishful Palm]
[Skills: Archery (Intermediate 0/80), Tracking (Advanced 15/180), Traps (Proficient 2/20), Throwing (Proficient 18/20), Fishing (Beginner 6/10)...]
[Romance Points: 25]
“At present, archery doesn’t enhance me much; intermediate archery is sufficient. Adding tracking is more effective for detecting danger…”
Zhou Chen allocated all twenty-five romance points to tracking, improving the skill slightly, though not significantly.
“Tracking needs one hundred and forty more romance points to be perfected, about five days’ worth…”
Collecting his thoughts, Zhou Chen put down the little fox and cautiously stepped outside to investigate.
With his tracking skill, he found no traces of strangers. On the large tree at the door was a feathered arrow—one he shot last night.
No bloodstains marked the arrow.
After a thorough search, Zhou Chen found no valuable clues.
He was not surprised.
The opponent was no ordinary being.
This only intensified Zhou Chen’s desire to master martial arts or immortal cultivation.
“Staying at home might let me gain romance points faster, but it doesn’t earn money. Without money, nothing can be done, let alone training martial arts or cultivation!”
Zhou Chen resolved to go hunting today.
This was his only current means of earning income.
With his tracking, archery skills, and trump card—the Thunder Light Wishful Palm—he was confident he could hunt wild boars, black bears, and other fierce beasts.
“Brother Chen, dinner’s ready!”
“Coming!”
Zhou Chen put down the little fox. During this time, he had gained another romance point.
After eating, he fed the little fox.
Zhou Chen and Qin Hongyu went to Old Man Qin’s house.
They found no one home; it seemed Old Man Qin hadn’t stayed there for several days.
“Could something have happened to my father?”
Qin Hongyu’s eyes reddened again, her worry growing.
“Let’s go see Widow Chen!”
Zhou Chen took Qin Hongyu to Widow Chen’s house and found it also deserted for days. Some leftover food had gone moldy and rotten.
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“Could it be that my father ran off with Widow Chen?”
Qin Hongyu’s imagination ran wild, fooling herself.
Zhou Chen knew it was highly likely that Old Man Qin and Widow Chen were in trouble.
Widow Chen’s family was poor, barely able to eat; if nothing had happened, there would be no leftover food.
Those leftovers were clearly meant to be eaten later but were left untouched due to unforeseen events.
Zhou Chen and Qin Hongyu inquired around the village about their whereabouts.
Hong Jie said, “I saw Widow Chen sneaking around with Zhang Dagen a couple of nights ago. Could it be related to him?”
Zhou Chen, along with Liang Hongyu, Hong Jie, and others, went to Zhang Dagen’s house, only to find he was missing as well.
“Could Zhang Dagen and Widow Chen have conspired to harm Old Man Qin and then fled?”
Hong Jie speculated.
“That’s unlikely. Zhang Dagen’s house still has some rice and food. If they fled, they’d definitely have taken that food with them!”
In these times, food is precious above all else. Even if fleeing after murder, Zhang Dagen would surely take whatever food he could.
Soon,
The village discovered not only Old Man Qin, Widow Chen, and Zhang Dagen were missing, but several other solitary old bachelors had vanished as well!
The village erupted in chaos.
Six or seven people disappearing at once was a major event, even in these times.
No one dared to guarantee they wouldn’t be next.
Zhou Chen said nothing about the knock on the door by Old Man Qin the previous night, only hinting indirectly. Others seemed not to have encountered anything.
It was possible those who did were already victims; only those untouched remained.
Village Chief Qin Jianghe took Zhou Chen to report the case at the county office.
After all, Old Man Qin was Zhou Chen’s father-in-law.
Zhou Chen had no choice; hunting was out for the day.
At the county office stood two majestic stone lions, solemn and dignified.
Zhou Chen kept a low profile, trailing behind Qin Jianghe like a follower.
They did not meet the magistrate; instead, they were received by the deputy magistrate, and the case was assigned to County Captain Zhang Long.
Zhang Long was burly, with piercing eyes and notably large hands that seemed to hold immense power.
With his mastery of tracking, Zhou Chen sensed an extreme danger emanating from Zhang Long, like encountering a primeval beast.
“He must be a martial artist, but what realm is he at?” Zhou Chen wondered inwardly.
Among ordinary people, he was top-tier; even those with innate strength rarely exuded such a sense of menace.
Zhang Long was clearly no ordinary man!
Soon, Zhang Long, accompanied by three robust constables armed with long knives, returned to Dahe Village with Zhou Chen and Qin Jianghe.
Along the way,
Zhang Long asked Qin Jianghe, “Has there been any other unusual activity in your village lately?”
...