Hunting

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Lu Chen took Lu Ming and Lu Tang to the Village School, where the private school had once been.

The schoolhouse was small, with room for only a dozen or so desks.

Several children were already there. Lu Xiande and his two sons had come, as had Lu Huaiyi and Lu Shouqian.

"Xiao Chen, have you eaten?"

When Lu Huaiyi saw Lu Chen, he came over and asked.

"I have, Uncle Huaiyi."

"Brother Chen!"

Lu Chengzong came forward to greet him.

"Mm, pay attention in class today."

Once most of the students had arrived, Lu Chen began the lesson.

One thing was different from what he had imagined: instead of using brush, ink, paper, and inkstone straight away, they wrote characters in a sand tray with a stick.

The other children followed along.

"Today we'll start with a few common characters: one, two, three..."

Lu Chen spoke neither too loudly nor too softly. Because he had saved people before, the children respected him, and with adults listening at the back, none of them caused trouble. They all obediently followed along.

Lu Ming and Lu Tang were both very attentive too.

The lesson took about an hour and a half.

"All right, that's all for today's lesson. If you have any questions, you can ask them now. Remember to do the homework I assigned just now. I'll check it tomorrow!"

After the children had all left, Lu Xiande came over, his smile full of satisfaction.

"Xiao Chen, you taught well. We talked it over, and the village really does need a teacher. These little monkeys have nothing to do all day and are liable to stir up trouble. We can put them all in school, where they can learn something useful too. From now on, come teach here every morning. We'll give you one shi of rice and three strips of dried meat a month. What do you think?"

At that moment, Lu Chen also received a system notification.

[Under the host's guidance and influence, the fates of eight people, including Lu Chengzong and Lu Yaozu... have changed]

[Estimated Fate Value reward: pending settlement]

He had made up his mind and immediately nodded. "Grandpa De, I have no objections. Also, I noticed Caiwei, Chengzong's older sister, didn't come. Here's what I think: girls will marry someday, but a girl who can read and do arithmetic will earn more regard from her husband's family, and she might even find a better family to marry into. If she has nothing else to do, why not send her along too? Teaching one is teaching, and teaching a group is teaching just the same."

Naturally, he wasn't looking for extra work for no reason.

The more people there were, the more Fate Value he would gain.

He even thought that if the village had money, he would like to start a night school and earn the adults' Fate Value too.

"Caiwei..." Lu Xiande pondered for a moment, then nodded. "You have a point. I'll have her come along tomorrow. I'll also notify any other families in the village whose children want to attend."

By the time they finished discussing it, it was noon, so Lu Chen took Lu Ming and Lu Tang home.

That afternoon, Lu Chen planned to go into the mountains and have a look. Before he set out, he opened his panel again.

[Name: Lu Chen]

[Age: Fifteen]

[Fate Value: 140]

[Luck Value: 0]

[Traits: Minor injury (healing), malnutrition (improving), Ordinary Constitution, mediocre aptitude]

[Skill traits: Throwing: Minor Achievement (5%); Beginner Chopping (6%); Stabbing: Beginner (7%)]

Skill traits can be improved through constant practice, but physique and aptitude traits should be hard to improve through practice alone. Adding points to those two should give me the best value.

Lu Chen considered it, then gave a mental command. System, add points to [Ordinary Constitution].

Almost instantly, Lu Chen saw his Fate Value drop by 100 points.

And [Ordinary Constitution] changed to [Strong and sturdy].

A warm current flowed from the Baihui acupoint at the top of Lu Chen's head, down along his spine to the Yongquan acupoints on the soles of his feet, then spread through his limbs and bones.

Lu Chen couldn't help shivering. It felt as though his bones were in a sauna, heat pouring out of them.

Even his skin turned a little red.

Only after a long while did the warm current slowly fade.

Clenching his fist, Lu Chen felt the powerful strength in his body and grew more confident about hunting in the mountains.

"Xiao Tang, Xiao Ming, thanks for washing the pot. I'm going into the mountains to see if I can bring back some game. When you're done washing it, do the homework I assigned this morning. I'll check it when I get back."

Lu Chen spoke hurriedly. He picked up his bamboo spear and shouldered a bamboo basket containing a brush knife and some stones. A small pouch also hung at his waist, with a few stones inside for easy access.

He reached the Back Mountain. It was early summer, and a slight breeze blew through the mountains, so it wasn't too hot.

The trees were thick with branches and leaves, and there were plenty of bushes. Lu Chen carried the bamboo spear in one hand and held two stones in the other, feeling the changes in his body.

It's as if I have endless strength in me. Before, my body felt empty, but now my Qi and Blood feel abundant, my heartbeat is strong, and I'm much stronger too.

Lu Chen paid close attention to the confidence that came from his body's abundant Qi and Blood.

After walking for a little under half an hour, Lu Chen came to a relatively open area.

It was a pine grove, the ground covered with a thick layer of pine needles that felt wonderfully soft underfoot.

He heard a pheasant calling.

Pricking up his ears, Lu Chen looked left and right, scanning up and down as he listened for the source.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear another sound.

It sounded like the faint rustle of someone stepping on leaves.

Lu Chen turned to look.

A flash of gray hopped past the corner of his eye.

Lu Chen didn't even aim. The muscles in his right arm tensed in an instant, pulling the muscles in his back as he spun and hurled the stone.

"Whoosh!"

The pebble shot out in an instant.

With a "puff," the stone seemed to strike something furry, making a muffled sound.

Lu Chen also heard a short, pained cry.

He quickly ran over and saw a rabbit lying belly-up, its legs kicking feebly. It clearly wouldn't survive.

The corners of his mouth curled up, but before he could bend down to pick up the rabbit, another sound came from his right.

He quickly turned to look.

"Flap, flap!"

A pheasant with brilliantly colored feathers spread its wings, flew onto a branch, and took off again.

Lu Chen hurried after it, another stone already pinched in his hand. When he judged the distance about right, he hurled it.

"Bang."

The pheasant failed to take off and crash-landed on the soft pine needles.

"Not bad. One rabbit and one pheasant, enough to eat for two days!"

Lu Chen picked up the pheasant and wrung its neck, then went back for the rabbit and put it in the basket too, beaming with delight.

On the way back, he took a different route and gathered some mushrooms, along with wild vegetables and seasonings that could remove the gamey smell and add fragrance. He planned to taste pheasant stewed with mushrooms.

By the time he got home, it was already evening.

Lu Tang stood at the courtyard gate, watching the road expectantly. When a figure appeared at the far end, she immediately broke into a smile.

"Big brother's back!"

She ran toward Lu Chen like a little deer.

"Big brother, are you tired? Let me carry that for you!"

Smiling, Lu Tang went to help Lu Chen take off the basket.

Lu Chen laughed and tapped her nose. His dirt-covered hand left a smudge on it.

"Oh, big brother, you're awful." Lu Tang puffed out her cheeks and wiped her face haphazardly with one hand, then grinned and helped Lu Chen carry the bamboo spear.

Back home, Lu Ming was already busy in the kitchen.

"I caught a fat rabbit. It must weigh four or five jin. The pheasant's pretty big too, probably close to two jin! Today we're having chicken stewed with mushrooms!"

Lu Chen took the pheasant and rabbit out of the basket. Lu Tang's eyes went wide, and then she jumped up and cheered.

"Big brother, you're amazing! Meat! Meat! Meat!"

"Did you review the characters I taught you properly this afternoon? If I test you later and you can't answer, you won't get any meat!"

Lu Chen pretended to be stern.

Lu Tang immediately planted her hands on her hips. "Hmph, big brother, I worked really hard this afternoon. I learned them all ages ago! I even practiced throwing stones with Second Brother for a while, but my arm's a little sore."

Lu Chen laughed. "All right, all right. Xiao Tang, I'll give you a chicken leg later!"

As he was speaking, Lu Chen heard another notification.