A Matter on His Mind

"What were you chatting about just now? It was so lively—I could hear you from far away."

Just as Bai Congcong entered the kitchen, the door opened again, and Li Meier and Li Wei returned.

After all, they were both main combatants at Awakened Rank Five. Appropriate shifts would be arranged so they could rest properly and face the approaching deer herd in their best condition.

They had actually been following the deer herd all along without beginning the hunt early, mainly because the terrain near P-314 was the most favorable.

Here, the deer herd would be separated by the tangled giant trees and roots. Whenever the herd reached this area each year, it would be forced to scatter, only regrouping after passing through this stretch.

When the deer herd scattered, that was the best time to hunt.

With the help of traps set using the surrounding terrain, even ordinary people could harvest relatively safely.

Otherwise, when the herd gathered together, the small group of lead stags at the front were all at the Transformation Tier. Occasionally, an Evolutionary Tier lead stag might even emerge.

"Sis, I've broken through to the Awakened Rank."

Seeing his older sister start stripping off her sticky Combat Suit the moment she got home, Su Shijie proudly displayed his achievement.

It had to be said that such speed moved even Li Meier and Li Wei, who already knew how outstanding Su Shijie's talent was.

"As expected of you."

"Congratulations."

Both of them were sincerely happy about Su Shijie's accomplishment.

Back then, Su Shijie had given up because of the pain despite his excellent talent and plunged headfirst into the world of online games. Li Meier had dragged him out and beaten him up several times over it.

It was only because Su Shijie had put on an attitude of "a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water—you hitting me doesn't hurt as much as failing to break through" that the hot-tempered Li Meier had been left helpless. In the end, she could only let him be and do her best to create a suitable environment for him.

"We need to celebrate properly. We should buy some ingredients tomorrow."

Li Meier grinned, revealing her wild little canine teeth, and even made a slight slurping motion. She probably wanted to eat more than she wanted to celebrate.

"Uh, the internet just happened to break down. I might have to go to the Floating City with Dad. We can talk about it when I get back."

Su Shijie poured cold water over Li Meier's excitement, earning a dismissive click of her tongue.

"What a killjoy. What's so great about the Floating City? I'm going to take a bath first. These past few days have practically suffocated me."

With the jungle's environment and climate, staying outdoors in a Combat Suit all the time really did feel awful.

After saying that, Li Meier howled for Bai Congcong to boil water, then kicked the wooden bathing tub into her room with one foot.

Well, it was a tub made from Giant Brown Iron Tree wood—sturdy as could be.

Yet she sent something that heavy into the room as effortlessly as lifting a weight, which showed just how finely Li Meier controlled her strength.

In terms of combat ability, she was second only to Dad in the family, even a bit stronger than Li Wei.

"Here—fruit."

After Li Meier finished fooling around and entered her room humming a little tune, his second brother Li Wei continued wearing his expressionless face and pulled several strings of Su Shijie's favorite brown iron fruit from his pocket.

These fruits grew atop the hundred-meter-high canopy. Perhaps because of the spiritual energy and the trees' mutation, they tasted exceptionally delicious.

However, they could only be found in the wild and were difficult to pick, so they were usually not even sold at the market. If priced too high, no one would buy them; if priced too low, it would not be worth the labor.

"Thanks, Brother."

He happily accepted the fruit and was about to wash it when Su Shijie suddenly sensed that something was off.

Well, not through his "sense of smell," but through his instinctive ability to pick up on emotions.

His second brother seemed deeply conflicted at the moment, as if he were holding something in.

It was not directed at him. For Su Shijie to sense that something was wrong, it could only mean Li Wei's emotional fluctuations were intense.

Nothing showed on the surface for his usually expressionless second brother, but that only made it more concerning.

"Second Brother, is something bothering you?"

Su Shijie looked at Li Wei's calm, unreadable eyes and familiar cold expression as he asked.

The sudden question made Li Wei pause. He casually raised a hand as if to ruffle Su Shijie's hair, but in the end, he only patted his shoulder and smiled gently.

"You're worrying about your brother now."

"It's nothing. Just a small matter we ran into during the Spirit Deer migration."

He thought something in his expression had let Su Shijie notice.

"Really?"

If it were only a small matter, would his second brother's personality really lead him to bottle it up like this?

Still, Su Shijie had only gained this ability recently, and his second brother had always worn that expressionless face. He did not know whether Li Wei had always liked keeping things to himself.

"Really. Don't worry. Your second brother is, after all, a powerful Awakened Rank Five. Until you surpass me, I can still shield you all from the wind and rain."

Li Wei lightly scratched Su Shijie's nose and said a few more words than usual today.

After saying that, Li Wei headed toward his own room as well.

"Brother, we're family. Don't always keep everything bottled up inside. Even if you don't trust us, you can talk to Dad."

"I know."

Li Wei, his back to Su Shijie, waved a hand to show that he needn't worry about it.

"Ah Wei really was a little off today."

Su Ren walked over, directly snatched a string of fruit from Su Shijie, and started eating without even washing it.

There was nothing much on his face, but given his personality, he had talked far too much today.

Second Brother usually preferred to work quietly and was sparing with words. Though he had only been passively responding to Third Brother today, it still seemed unusual.

"I feel like Second Brother is under a lot of pressure."

Su Shijie did not hide it. His father knew about this ability of his; if he said there was something, then there really was.

"Mm, I'll talk to him after they finish bathing.

"Forget it, I'll just soak in the bath with him."

Su Ren scratched his head. Li Wei was just that sort of person—somewhat stubborn and set in his ways. Verbal advice might have limited effect.

But no matter how limited, he still had to give it a try.

"I'll take a look first. If there really is something going on, then I won't go for now."

Even if they were not related by blood, after all these years, the bond between the children was no different from that of a real family.

They were all his children. He could pick up the medicine whenever, but if Second Brother, that gloomy gourd, was bottling something up, he just hoped he would not make himself sick...

"Mm, it'd be best if you can find out what it is. I'm pretty capable now too."

Su Shijie flexed his muscles.

"Give it a rest."

Su Ren gave Su Shijie a heavy smack on the back, nearly knocking the breath out of him. Grinning, he shot him a sidelong glance before preparing to go have a heart-to-heart with Li Wei.

"No hunting today."

"Got it."

Once he recovered, Su Shijie could not help marveling at his father's strength. A casual joking smack had nearly sent him to the grave.

Then again, even with the boost from Bloodline Transformation, his stats were only comparable to the early stage of Awakening Level Three. In terms of raw physical attributes alone, there was still more than a tenfold gap between him and his father.

That had only been a joking pat. If his father got serious, wouldn't he die on the spot...