It was already nighttime when Su Qing woke up.
In the dead of night.
The only light in the village houses came from a few flickering flames.
They were all from burning firewood. Candles were a luxury only the rich in the village could afford.
Su Qing didn't dare to go out and wander around at night.
This was the Demon Fiends' prime time. Su Qing wasn't sure why he hadn't encountered any last night. It was probably just good luck.
Besides, he was quite close to the village. The strong presence of people usually kept Demon Fiends at a distance.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~
Someone was knocking on Su Qing's wooden door.
It being nighttime, he was a little scared. After all, with so many Demon Fiends active at night, it was only natural to be afraid.
This world wasn't normal, after all. The original owner of this body's parents had been dragged into the water and killed by a Water Ghost.
He had no desire to get tangled up with a Demon Fiend and die so soon.
Su Qing didn't go to the door. Instead, he wanted to hide.
But then, a voice came from outside.
"Qingzi! Qingzi! Are you in there? Are you in there!"
The voice was followed by another round of knocking on the door.
"Qingzi, it's your Uncle Wang! Wang Liu! If you're in there, open up, or I'm kicking the door down!"
Wang Liu's voice was growing impatient.
Su Qing was uncertain. He carefully tried to listen to the commotion outside.
His door wasn't sturdy at all. If it was kicked, it would definitely break.
Su Qing had no choice but to go to the woodshed and grab a torch.
It was wrapped in a piece of especially precious oilcloth used for lighting.
He lit the torch.
Then, he started walking cautiously toward his front door.
Just as he reached the entrance…
BAM! The door was kicked open.
Su Qing was on the verge of crying for help, but one glance told him it really was his next-door neighbor.
Uncle Wang, whose name was Wang Liu, had a clean-shaven face, clearly well-maintained. He was about five-foot-nine, with a muscular build that gave him an intimidating presence.
"Uncle Wang, you scared me to death! It's the middle of the night, I thought you were a Demon Fiend," Su Qing complained, catching his breath after the shock.
"Heh, my old lady said it looked like you got bullied by that Zhang Mazi yesterday, and there wasn't even a glimmer of light from your house tonight. I was worried about you," Wang Liu said with a relieved smile, seeing Su Qing was still in one piece. He had genuinely thought Su Qing had been done in by Zhang Mazi and his gang of thugs.
"It's true. I won't forget Zhang Mazi, Liu Dan, and Guan Gousheng. They beat me so bad it still hurts like hell." Su Qing pointed to his injured head.
Wang Liu took a closer look at Su Qing's injury under the torchlight.
"Hiss… They hit you that hard? Those three are real pieces of work." Wang Liu sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the wound. A head injury, after all, was the easiest way to get someone killed.
"You haven't eaten, have you? Come eat at my place tonight. Tomorrow, you're coming with me up the mountain! We'll hunt and you'll get some exercise." Wang Liu wanted to look after Su Qing, but he knew hunting in the mountains was still very dangerous.
Hearing this, Su Qing hesitated for a moment but gratefully accepted. "Okay, Uncle. I'll impose on you tonight, and I'll go hunting with you tomorrow."
Besides, Su Qing also wanted to train his body and take a look in the mountains to see if there were any items suitable for synthesis.
"Good! Let's go. Come to my place and get something to eat."
「...」
Thanks to Uncle Wang Liu's care last night, Su Qing had eaten a meal with meat.
Su Qing woke up bright and early.
"Qingzi, you up?" Wang Liu shouted from the doorway.
"Yeah!"
Su Qing shouted back to let him know he was awake.
He quickly washed his face, shouldered his basket, and opened the door.
"Qingzi, why are you carrying a basket?" Wang Liu asked, confused. People usually traveled light into the mountains. Wang Liu himself only had his bow and arrows and a small pack.
Su Qing smiled. "I'm going to see if there are any medicinal herbs in the mountains and pick some while I'm at it."
Wang Liu was puzzled. "Since when do you have the skills of a Physician?"
"No, no, I'm just looking for some common ones to keep at home, just in case," Su Qing explained with a smile, waving his hand dismissively.
"Alright then. Bring two days' worth of food. You said last night you have grain, so I won't worry about it."
Su Qing nodded. He did have food; he'd had it all along.
He had tried synthesizing last night, but unexpectedly, some of his attempts had failed.
Now, he was carrying several [First Layer Grass Cakes].
[Synthesizer]
Host: Su Qing.
Synthesis Lv0 (5/100) [Synthesis Success Rate +0%]
...
Su Qing's panel only displayed this much for now. He had no idea if other features would appear later.
「At the foot of the mountain.」
Wang Liu led Su Qing to a muddy patch and started smearing mud on his body.
"Come on, cover yourself in this. There are a lot of poisonous insects on the mountain. The mud will protect you from most of them."
Following the veteran hunter, Su Qing obediently did as he was told.
'Listen to good advice, and you'll eat your fill.'
Then he followed Wang Liu up the rugged mountain.
"Uncle Wang, where are we going now?" Su Qing asked.
Without turning his head, Wang Liu replied, "To the spot where I set my traps yesterday. See if we've caught any game."
"Oh."
Trailing behind, Su Qing's eyes scanned his surroundings.
[Evergreen Tree (A common tree with green leaves in all four seasons)]
[Dwarf Shrub (A hardy plant with a trace of toxicity)]
[Rehmannia (A one-year-old medicinal herb with yin-nourishing and blood-enriching properties)]
Whenever Su Qing spotted a useful medicinal herb, he immediately picked it.
Despite Su Qing's dawdling, Wang Liu still managed to lead him to the place where the traps were set.
When Wang Liu saw it, he smiled. "A mountain pheasant. Not bad luck."
Wang Liu collected the trap and then set a new one. Su Qing watched and learned from the side as Wang Liu worked, explaining the details as he went.
"Uncle Wang, why does this hunting look so easy?" Su Qing thought it was simple—just set a trap and you're done.
"What nonsense. You wouldn't be saying that if you had to find the game yourself. Of course it seems easy when you're following me, you brat."
Wang Liu's face was stern. Hunting, after all, relied on two things: first, luck, and second, your own skill.
'If you can't track the animals' movements, what's the use of setting traps?'
Seeing Wang Liu was getting angry, Su Qing gave an awkward smile. "Uncle Wang, I was just kidding. If hunting was this easy, wouldn't everyone in the village be a hunter?"
Hearing that, Wang Liu cheered up. He was the only hunter in the village right now, and this was, after all, the skill that put food on his table. "You've got a silver tongue, kid."
"But what are you picking all those weeds for?" Wang Liu was baffled. Su Qing's basket was already half full, and it was all just grass. He recognized one or two medicinal herbs, but they weren't anything special.
But Su Qing just kept on picking.
And just like that, he spotted another herb.
[Chicken Blood Grass (A rare medicinal herb that strengthens muscles and bones and increases qi and blood)]
As if he had discovered a treasure, Su Qing hastily dug it up, roots and all.
'This is a real treasure.'
'It's the first time I've seen the word "rare".'
How could Su Qing not be excited?
He felt it wasn't safe even in his own basket. He wanted to synthesize all the blood-enriching herbs he had just found into a single item and store it in the Synthesizer to feel secure.
Suppressing his excitement, he caught up with Wang Liu.
'If I can successfully synthesize just one thing this trip, it'll all be worth it.'
They checked all of Wang Liu's traps along the way, but they had only caught that one pheasant from the very beginning.
"Sigh, no luck today," Wang Liu sighed. The pheasant was already tied to his waist.
"Qingzi, it's getting late. Let's head back. I'll give you a leg from this pheasant when we get home."
"Okay! Thanks, Uncle Wang." Su Qing's main goal had been the things in the mountains anyway. Besides, he had just been following along today without doing any real work. It was free stuff, and he wasn't one to turn it down.
Su Qing and Wang Liu walked on.