Chapter 63: A Reliable Helper

Boom—!

A dull rumble of thunder echoed on the horizon, continuous and incessant; it sounded quite unusual, as if brewing a torrential downpour.

Hearing this strange thunder, Feng Zi, who was leaning against a tree trunk and idly poking at the campfire before him with a branch, subconsciously looked up:

"Strange... is it going to rain?"

But in the sky above his head, there wasn't a single cloud, and the sea of stars across the sky twinkled as if unchanged since time immemorial.

Feng Zi subconsciously twitched his nose, only to find the air very dry, with no hint of moisture.

This left him greatly puzzled, and he muttered to himself in confusion: "Strange, am I too nervous, causing auditory hallucinations?"

Beside Feng Zi, Qing Lin was curled up on her side, sleeping very soundly.

"It's fine as long as it's nothing." He shook his head helplessly, secretly telling himself in his heart that he was just overthinking it.

As for this trivial little interlude, Feng Zi soon cast it to the back of his mind.

Just like that, the night passed without incident, and the sun rose as usual—

"See that roe deer? That is our first prey."

Feng Zi, holding his precious bow and standing on a tree branch, whispered to Qing Lin who was standing beside him.

Ever since the sun rose, after a series of not-so-complicated "tests," Feng Zi was surprised to discover:

Although Qing Lin seemed to have no Qi and Blood Power within her body, compared to himself using the "Ten Thousand Li Travel" movement technique at full speed, her footwork did not fall behind in the slightest.

Furthermore, in the process, she did not show the slightest bit of fatigue or strain!

In this way, if they truly encountered danger, at least he could ensure that Qing Lin would be able to protect herself.

That she could achieve this point was already enough to make Feng Zi very satisfied.

And on this basis, the tests for Qing Lin's "hunting" and "combat" were, conversely, not very urgent matters.

But since they were idle anyway, Feng Zi simply did those things as well:

If Qing Lin truly displayed a certain level of combat ability, their future journey could be a bit easier.

Listening to Feng Zi's instructions, Qing Lin raised her pair of very beautiful emerald eyes, stared tightly at the foraging roe deer, and likewise lowered her voice to reply:

"I see it, what should I do?"

Feng Zi unbuckled the hunting knife he carried with him, handed it to the person beside him, and said casually:

"Later, I will strike first to wound this roe deer; you must catch up to it and act as cleanly and efficiently as possible—

"Remember, for any living creature, its weaknesses are nothing more than the throat, vital organs, and brain; how you should respond depends on your own improvisation."

The roe deer's aggression was very low, which happened to make it a suitable target for Qing Lin to practice on, and he didn't have to worry about her getting hurt.

"Understood." Qing Lin nodded slightly, took the hunting knife Feng Zi handed her, and imitating his manner, strapped it to her waist just like him.

Seeing that Qing Lin was prepared, Feng Zi placed his hand on the quiver and shouted: "Move!"

Before the words had even faded, and before the foraging roe deer could be startled, one only heard three sharp "swish" sounds of arrows cutting through the air, and the arrows pierced through the roe deer's three legs.

Compared to Feng Zi, Qing Lin's movements were even superior:

When the first arrow was shot, she had already darted out.

Even with Feng Zi's vision as a Peak Martial Master, he could only barely see a green figure flash by!

By the time he caught sight of Qing Lin's figure again, she had already arrived in front of the roe deer.

A roe deer is certainly an extremely timid creature, but in the face of a life-and-death crisis, it would still struggle to fight back.

But Qing Lin only used her hand to grab one of its horns, and she pinned the roe deer firmly to the spot, making it unable to move a single bit more.

The next moment, she drew the hunting knife from her waist and firmly and swiftly pierced the roe deer's throat.

No matter how the prey in her hands struggled, Qing Lin remained completely motionless, only looking indifferently at the blood flowing from the wound in the roe deer's body.

Firm, indifferent.

At this point, Feng Zi already understood that Qing Lin's raw strength was likely far superior to his own; it was just that she herself had not yet realized this.

Not until the life force within the roe deer had completely drained away did Qing Lin let go, wipe the bloodstains off the hunting knife, and let the prey fall to the ground.

From beginning to end, her body was not stained with a single drop of blood, nor even a speck of dust.

Qing Lin simply treated it as if she had done a very ordinary thing, she sheathed the hunting knife, and looked at Feng Zi in the tree with a smile: "Feng Zi, look, I did it."

Looking at the woman's bright smile, Feng Zi only felt a bone-chilling coldness arise in his heart.

What he feared was not her clean methods when facing an enemy—that was nothing unusual, it was more like an instinct already carved into her marrow.

What truly made Feng Zi feel fear from the bottom of his heart was Qing Lin's indifference toward life:

As long as he expressed a clear intent, she would take the life of a living creature without the slightest hesitation, completely uncaring about the value of life!

Feng Zi could clearly perceive that, for Qing Lin, the life of a roe deer and the life of a human were the same—equally worthless.

This temperament was more like that of a child who knew nothing about this world.

But he did not feel fear; instead, he realized the importance of teaching her the correct values.

Meeting Qing Lin's expectant gaze, Feng Zi jumped down from the branch, patted her shoulder casually, and said: "Mm, one strike to kill, you did very well."

Hearing his praise, Qing Lin immediately shook her head proudly.

"However, life is very important, therefore, you must make a promise with me." After expressing positive affirmation, Feng Zi changed the subject.

He casually retrieved the arrows stuck in the roe deer's body and said earnestly:

"From now on, unless a living creature clearly takes action to harm us, or I have expressed a clear intent, you may only protect yourself and must not take lives at will!"

Feng Zi understood that while the two of them were still in the mountains and had not yet come into contact with the chaotic human world, it was the best time to shape Qing Lin's values.

He certainly understood that this method was a bit too rushed, but this was the best way he could think of.

And Qing Lin's answer was as always: "I understand, I must not kill at will."

But to Feng Zi's surprise, she added a rare sentence: "Whatever Feng Zi doesn't like, I won't do!"

Qing Lin appeared to have the temperament of a child, but in reality, she possessed an extremely keen ability to perceive.

Regarding this statement, Feng Zi also did not know how to answer, so he could only wave his hand with a wry smile:

"There is still much knowledge you need to understand, but for now, just proceed according to your understanding—

"Come here, and I will teach you how to process the prey from the hunt, as well as how to build a simple campsite and light a campfire to prepare cooked food."

After simple observation and testing, he had already concluded that Qing Lin was a reliable travel companion worth depending on.

Hearing that Feng Zi was going to teach her how to cook in the wild, Qing Lin's eyes immediately lit up as she leaned forward.