"Shh!"
Wang Liu suddenly stopped, shushing Su Qing to be quiet. Su Qing nodded and said nothing.
They both saw it—a rabbit.
Its fur was a mix of yellow and black, but its body looked plump. You could tell at a glance it would be meaty and fatty.
Without startling the rabbit, Wang Liu took out an arrow with his right hand and nocked it.
He only had one chance. Wang Liu focused his concentration.
He shot the arrow, and it hit the rabbit in the stomach!
The rabbit shrieked twice and hopped a few times, then went still.
Su Qing, who had been holding his breath beside him, broke into a smile.
"Uncle Wang, your archery is amazing."
Wang Liu smiled as well, walking over and picking up the rabbit by its ears.
"Kid, you have to remember how many years your Uncle Wang has been hunting. Of course my archery is top-notch." Wang Liu was especially happy. Including the rabbit, today's hunt was a huge success.
"OINK OINK."
A strange grunt made both of them tense up.
"Something big is coming!" Wang Liu whispered to Su Qing, his expression grim.
Su Qing tensed up completely. "Uncle, is it a wild boar?"
RUSTLE~
The sound of something trampling through the grass.
"Quick, climb a tree! Qingzi!" Wang Liu shouted, already running toward a tree himself.
This was a wild boar. It must have been drawn by the smell of the rabbit's blood.
Wild boars eat anything.
Watching Wang Liu run, Su Qing quickly scrambled up a tree. To his surprise, despite having never learned how, he shot up the trunk in a flash and looked down at the wild boar below.
It was instinct—the tree-climbing instinct of his body's previous owner was still there.
Wang Liu was in the tree opposite him.
The wild boar paced below, not leaving even as the sun began to set.
Su Qing said worriedly, "Uncle, what do we do now? The sun is about to set!"
It was almost night. If ghosts and monsters appeared in the mountains at night, wouldn't they both be done for?
Wang Liu looked at the boar below. His tree didn't have many sturdy branches, so he had to clamp his legs around the trunk and hold on with one hand to stay steady.
Wang Liu said, "Let me adjust my position. I'll shoot the boar with my bow."
Su Qing watched Wang Liu shift his position. Only the afterglow of the sun remained.
"Watch this. Get ready to climb down quickly afterward."
Wang Liu quickly drew his bow and aimed at the boar, which was thrashing about below.
The arrow flew.
It actually missed.
"Uncle!" Su Qing cried out in exasperation. He couldn't understand how Wang Liu had missed the boar. He'd managed to hit a tiny rabbit, yet he'd missed a target as large as a wild boar.
"Haha, a slip of the hand. I'll try again," Wang Liu said with a laugh, trying to ease the awkwardness as he nocked another arrow.
This arrow hit the boar.
It let out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered.
Then it started rolling around on the ground.
However, these arrows didn't have iron tips, only wooden ones. Their lethality against a wild boar was limited.
"Again!" Wang Liu nocked another arrow.
The sun had now set, and the sky was growing dark.
Wang Liu hit the boar with another arrow.
The boar squealed in pain and rolled around, but it refused to leave. As if enraged, it began ramming the tree wildly.
Su Qing was willing to bet that if they went down now, the boar would charge them in a frenzy.
After a while, Su Qing saw Wang Liu light a Fire Stick.
"Uncle Wang, are we leaving?" Su Qing called out softly. It was night now, and his fear made him keep his voice down.
After all, it was truly dark—so dark he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.
"Leave? Kid, it's already dark."
"We'll go back tomorrow morning. It's most dangerous to go down the mountain at night."
Wang Liu also spoke in a low voice.
"Did you bring enough to eat?" Wang Liu asked softly.
"Enough! Uncle Wang, are we really not leaving tonight?" Su Qing asked again.
"We're not leaving. There are many Demon Fiends and monsters at night," Uncle Wang replied. Then, neither of them spoke again.
Because something else had arrived.
"OINK OINK~"
It was the sound of a boar again, but they couldn't see it clearly, only a rough silhouette.
But a sinister wind gusted, making Su Qing shiver with cold.
"Qingzi, something's wrong with this pig. Guard your Heart Spirit! Don't go down, and you'd better use your clothes to tie yourself to the tree trunk." As Wang Liu spoke, Su Qing could already hear the rustling sound of him taking off his clothes.
Now, Su Qing grew anxious.
He also untied his linen shirt.
"Uncle Wang, what's going on?" Su Qing asked, tying his shirt tightly around the tree trunk.
After a moment, Wang Liu's voice came through the darkness.
"Qingzi, I suspect the pig below is a Deceitful Pig. It probably has the ability to seize a person's Heart Spirit. You'd better tie yourself on tight," Wang Liu said.
Su Qing tied a dead knot directly, one that would take a lot of time to undo.
And so, the night grew colder. The wind blew fiercely, and Su Qing gradually lost consciousness.
***
"Su Qing, what's wrong?"
Su Qing groggily opened his eyes.
He saw his deskmate, Jiang Buhuan, wearing swim trunks and smiling at him.
Su Qing's first reaction was to look at the items around him.
[Illusory Pool (A pool in an illusory dream. Can you still feel it a little?)]
[Illusory Lounge Chair (Lying on it seems a bit more comfortable?)]
[Illusory Swim Trunks (Seems like just a loincloth?)]
"..."
Su Qing was stunned. He hadn't expected the identification function that came with his Synthesizer to be so powerful.
It let him know instantly that this was an Illusion Realm.
He recalled Uncle Wang telling him that the Deceitful Pig had the ability to seize one's Heart Spirit. 'Is this what he meant?'
Although Su Qing was aware, he couldn't break free from this Illusion Realm.
However, looking at the products of this dreamscape, Su Qing had a new idea.
'I should try and see if I can put them into the Synthesizer to synthesize.'
'Let's see if these items from the Illusion Realm can be synthesized into something good.'
Su Qing continuously touched things within the Illusion Realm, and one by one, those illusory items were brought into his Synthesizer.
[Illusory Pool] + [Illusory Lounge Chair] + [Illusory Swimming Ring] + [Illusory Water Cup]...
Su Qing found nine items and placed them in the Synthesizer.
"Synthesize."
He willed it with a thought.
...
[Synthesis Failed]
[Synthesis Level 0 (6/100)]
Although Su Qing had expected it to fail.
But, the next moment...
The Illusion Realm shattered.
Su Qing woke up. He instantly realized that the only thing supporting him was the shirt he had used to tie himself to the tree.
It was tied tight. Thankfully, he hadn't fallen.
"OINK OINK~"
The sound of the boar still came from below.
He hugged the tree trunk again.
'That was terrifying. If Uncle Wang hadn't warned me, I probably would have been gored to death by that boar by now.'
At the thought, Su Qing's heart pounded, and a rush of adrenaline made his whole body feel hot.
'That was close, so close!'
But thinking back to the Illusion Realm, Su Qing remembered Uncle Wang saying the boar below was a Deceitful Pig.
Seizing one's Heart Spirit.
It really did seize his Heart Spirit!
"Uncle Wang! Uncle Wang!" Su Qing called out softly.
Su Qing had fallen for the trap. He didn't know if Wang Liu had as well.
He called out softly a few more times but got no response.
Su Qing was ninety percent sure that Uncle Wang had indeed fallen for it.
'But Uncle Wang is experienced in the mountains. He must be fine.'
After all, once tied tightly with clothes, it was very difficult to break free.
He struggled through until morning.
At dawn, a thick fog began to roll through the mountains.
However, the oinking of the Deceitful Pig was gone.
Su Qing could see Wang Liu still hanging in his tree.
"Uncle Wang! Uncle Wang!" Su Qing shouted loudly.
It was daytime now, not as terrifying as the night.
Wang Liu's limbs were hanging limp, and he appeared to be unconscious.
After he called out several more times...
Wang Liu's body stirred.
Groggy, Wang Liu felt a tight constriction around his waist. Looking down, he saw he was suspended in the tree.
Hearing Su Qing's shouts, he finally came to his senses.