Chapter 31: Ruins

Feng Zi sat by the campfire, took a small amount of salt from his pack, and performed a simple process of removing the gamey odor and curing the venison.

According to the knowledge he had gained in his previous life, the meat of wild animals often had a strong gamey odor, so he had been prepared for this.

That said, Feng Zi himself found it somewhat unbelievable that he could fit so many things into this small pack.

When the first batch of venison was roasted, the sky gradually dimmed.

Feng Zi continued to roast the rest of the venison, and while it was hot, he swallowed the roasted meat whole—

It was indeed as he had guessed; the venison was very gamey and the meat was tough, but for someone like him who rarely ate meat year-round, it was still edible.

Just like that, as night fell, Feng Zi had actually finished eating all the meat of an entire deer!

Feeling the venison transform into the Qi and Blood Power stored within his body, Feng Zi's body experienced the feeling of being "full" for the first time in a long while.

Looking at the forest that had already plunged into pitch darkness, Feng Zi understood in his heart that now was no longer the time to continue on his journey—

Although he had only crossed two mountains today, which fell short of his plan, it also helped him understand how to arrange his future itinerary.

Looking at the deer antlers and the cleaned deer hide placed beside his pack, Feng Zi recalled this first hunt of his life and felt a sense of realization:

"Come to think of it... I used a bow and arrow to hunt; in the 【Diligence Can Make Up for Mediocrity】 talent, does this count as a technique?"

Thinking this, he gradually sank his consciousness into his heart.

Looking at the few lines of text that slowly appeared before his eyes, Feng Zi finally found the answer he wanted:

【Archery (Not Yet Entered): 17/100】

Regarding this, Feng Zi felt settled in his heart: "Since it also belongs to the techniques recognized by the talent, it is equally applicable to ordinary cultivation methods!"

But it was already dark, and he could not practice archery tonight.

Thinking this in his heart, Feng Zi stood up and practiced his Fist Technique and movement techniques by the campfire for a while.

Just like that, an hour passed.

Looking at the deepening night, Feng Zi put away his stance and wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead—

As his strength continued to improve, his control over his own Qi and Blood Power became more and more refined, making it difficult for him to end up drenched in sweat anymore.

Looking at the campfire that was no longer vigorous, Feng Zi casually added a few more dry branches, then packed up his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and climbed up a tall tree:

Even if bright firelight could drive away many threats, it could not make one feel completely at ease.

Lying on the thick branch, Feng Zi finally felt a bit more at peace; he took out a long strip of coarse cloth, tied himself firmly to the branch, and then fell into a deep sleep.

……

Just like that, the not-so-tedious journey continued for another two days.

With the guidance of the map book gifted by Qian Lao and the direction of the south-pointing needle, Feng Zi walked on the road heading south in a pleasant mood.

Over these past three days, relying on his formidable strength as a Martial Master, he was able to eat his fill every day just by hunting.

And besides traveling, Feng Zi did not give up on his cultivation—thanks to hunting and hard training, his archery had already entered the path:

【Archery (First Glimpse of the Path): 66/500】

Feng Zi walked on a road overgrown with weeds, its outline barely visible; he held the south-pointing needle in his left hand and the map book in his right, muttering to himself:

"According to the markings on the map, if I walk for another hour, I will be able to see a village; that is the gateway to Daishan County.

"And according to the old folks in the county who have traveled far, that is a large village with over a hundred people.

"Hmm... regardless, a place where people gather is always good; I can trade the furs and other spoils from hunting for some money, and sleep well while I'm at it."

As someone reborn into this world, while the pristine, beautiful scenery was certainly pleasing to the body and mind, Feng Zi still preferred towns with bustling crowds and abundant resources.

Thinking this in his heart, his footsteps became much lighter.

Before long, Feng Zi saw the outline of a small village, and even spotted a figure from afar.

Looking from a distance, the walls of the village were painted black, which made Feng Zi feel very curious: "To actually paint the walls black, that is truly a strange custom."

He walked a few more steps forward before calling out loudly: "Excuse me, is this Bao Jia Zhuang?"

Feng Zi was certain that the other party must have heard his voice, yet they did not make any response, nor did they even turn around.

Strange, could it be that the other party thinks I am impolite and therefore does not wish to engage with me?

Feng Zi did not think much of it and wanted to walk forward.

But when he saw the true appearance of that figure clearly, he whispered "not good" in his heart—

That was not a living person at all, but a corpse burned to a charred state!

Feng Zi hurriedly walked to the charred corpse to examine it closely, only to find several deep wounds on the back of the corpse, appearing to be sword or saber wounds.

Even though Feng Zi had no medical knowledge, he could tell that this person must have suffered extremely cruel abuse before death.

He looked behind the charred corpse and finally saw things much more clearly:

The walls were not painted black at all; they had clearly been burned black by a great fire!

Even the farmland surrounding the village had been burned into a barren wasteland!

"This... could it be that they encountered ruthless bandits?" Feng Zi looked at the scene before him, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

When he was in Wutai County, the people in the county all said that these were troubled times.

But life in the county was peaceful and resources were quite abundant, so he had no concept of this, and even once thought that it was just the villagers being ignorant and spouting nonsense.

But now, the miserable scene of "troubled times" suddenly appeared so clearly before Feng Zi's eyes.

His original lighthearted mood had long since dissipated; facing this situation, the kindness in Feng Zi's heart did not allow him to sit idly by.

He had already raised his vigilance and began searching the ruins of the village for possible survivors.

In the dilapidated houses, in the cellars covered by bricks and stones, under the tunnels that were barely discernible, and even in the long-dried-up wells—

Feng Zi searched almost every corner, finding only charred corpses, corpses, and more corpses!

Yes, how could he possibly find survivors?

The entire village had been put to the torch, any valuable property and grain had been looted, and even weeds had grown on the farmland that had been burned to a barren wasteland...

Feng Zi did not know the group that committed such evil deeds, but he understood that since the other party had been so thorough, how could they have left any survivors?

In the end, with a heavy heart, Feng Zi moved the charred corpses in the village together, and spent nearly an hour burying them one by one.

He could do nothing more; he could only let these poor souls be laid to rest and no longer leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness.

After finishing all this, Feng Zi took a deep breath, raised his vigilance to the highest level, and continued walking toward the south.

An obvious truth—that group of bandits who burned, killed, and looted was not here, nor had they appeared on the road he came from, so they could only be in the direction he was heading!