A sage once said, "If you hear the Dao in the morning, you may die that evening."
What it meant was: once you learned the road to your house that morning, you would have to die that night.
Kong Wu spread out the crude map in his hand, confirmed the route to the prefectural city, and set off along the main road.
He was heading to the heart of Qingzhou—Qingzhou City.
To kill someone, and incidentally find a few demons and monsters to kill as well.
Only then could he grow stronger faster and put his own sense of right and wrong into practice.
His speed was not particularly fast, but thanks to those long legs, every step he took covered a great distance.
By comparison, his speed was no different from an ordinary person's jog.
He walked continuously for three shichen. By the time the sun set, he had not felt the slightest bit tired.
Only...
Grrr~
A thunderous rumble rang out, and Kong Wu could not help rubbing his stomach.
As his physical strength increased, so did his need for food.
At that moment, he was walking along a forest trail. The dense woods were never short of things to fill one's belly.
He stopped, cocked his ear, and listened for a while before walking into the forest.
Before long, he emerged carrying two wild deer on his shoulders.
He glanced at the gloomy sky, quickened his pace, and headed up the mountain.
While chasing the wild deer through the woods, he had vaguely seen a ruined temple on the mountain.
It did not take long for him to reach his destination.
Though the temple had long since fallen into disrepair, it could still shelter him from the wind and rain.
He had just built a fire when thunder rumbled in the sky and torrential rain suddenly came crashing down.
After butchering one of the deer, skewering the meat, and sprinkling it with seasoning, Kong Wu closed his eyes and left the rest of the cooking to time.
Amid the dancing flames, fat slowly dripped down, crackling as it fell.
When it seemed ready, Kong Wu simply reached out and grabbed a piece of venison.
He brought it to his mouth and bit down. Fresh, tender juices trickled from the corner of his lips as steam rose into the air.
The scalding heat did not affect Kong Wu in the slightest. He swallowed the venison in just a few bites, felt his stomach—which had been silent for a while—begin to work, nodded in satisfaction, and grabbed another piece.
Just as he was about to bring it to his mouth, his ears twitched, and he looked toward the curtain of rain outside.
After pausing for a moment, Kong Wu once more launched an assault on the venison in his hand.
"Boss! There's a fire! Someone's in the temple!"
"Go around it!"
"Boss! The rain's so heavy. Let's go inside and take shelter."
"No! It's far too suspicious in these barren mountains. Safety comes first. Keep moving!"
"We're fine, but the young lady..."
The conversation carried through the rain and reached Kong Wu's ears clearly.
After a short while, the previously stern voice rang out helplessly.
"Then we'll go inside and take shelter for a while. Stay sharp and be careful."
A middle-aged man dressed in black martial attire entered first.
His gaze was sharp, and his right hand gripped the long saber at his waist. After entering, he froze when he saw Kong Wu.
Clearly, Kong Wu's burly frame had shaken him greatly.
Watching Kong Wu gnaw on venison without changing expression, the man's heart pounded.
That fellow obviously was not someone to be trifled with. If he suddenly developed malicious intentions, their group could be in serious trouble.
A cough came from behind him. Helpless, he clasped his fists and bowed, then addressed Kong Wu politely. "Brother, our group is merely passing through. The rain outside is too heavy. Would it be all right for us to shelter here for a while?"
Gulp.
Kong Wu swallowed the venison in his mouth and said casually, "Suit yourself. I'm not the owner of this place."
"Thank you!"
The middle-aged man thanked him, then called out toward the outside.
Before long, three similarly dressed men escorted two female members of the Household inside.
"Miss, rest for a while."
The young maid placed a fur blanket on an empty patch of ground and respectfully addressed the coughing woman.
"Thank you."
The girl wore a white dress. Her expression was listless, and her delicate face carried a sickly pallor that made anyone who saw her feel an involuntary pang of sympathy.
The female members of the Household sat down to rest, while several guards stood leaning against the pillars, faintly encircling and protecting them.
Kong Wu only gave them a casual glance before paying them no further attention.
The Attribute Panel displayed by the system showed that these people were all ordinary folk. None of them were cultivators.
Only...
Their young miss was rather interesting.
Liu Jinghe (Destiny draining) Destiny: 28 Strength: 0.6 Skills: None
Destiny draining...
Was it something like a curse, or had she become entangled with something unclean?
Kong Wu had no way of knowing.
"Miss, have something to eat..."
Taking the dry rations the maid handed her, Liu Jinghe bit off a small piece. Then, almost instinctively, she looked at the roasted meat in front of Kong Wu and swallowed.
The maid noticed this. Her bright, limpid eyes turned, and she rose to walk toward Kong Wu.
"Hello, could you give me some roasted meat? I can pay for it."
Clutching her purse, she asked cautiously.
Kong Wu did not even raise his head before directly refusing. "Sorry, I don't even have enough for myself."
The maid glanced at the other wild deer beside him and tentatively asked, "Then could you sell me that wild deer?"
Kong Wu shook his head without saying a word.
Seeing this, the maid puffed out her cheeks and said angrily, "What's wrong with you? When you're traveling away from home..."
"Xiao Tao! Don't be rude!"
Liu Jinghe scolded her, then said apologetically, "I'm sorry for the trouble."
Though she had been traveling for several days without eating a single hot meal and was extremely covetous of the roasted meat, her excellent upbringing still made her call the maid, Xiao Tao, back.
"Miss, there are two deer! There's no way he can eat them all."
Facing the indignant Xiao Tao, Liu Jinghe shook her head and lowered her head to gnaw on her dry rations.
The other party had clearly found an excuse because he did not want to share. Why insist?
Yet what happened next left Liu Jinghe staring blankly, her dry rations in hand.
A series of crunching sounds rang out.
Kong Wu had actually chewed and swallowed a mouthful of meat together with the bones.
His eating speed did not slow. The roasted meat in front of him gradually vanished.
After finishing it all, he skillfully gutted the other wild deer, washed it clean with rainwater, divided the meat into portions, and set them over the fire to roast.
Once it was cooked, he began eating again.
After both wild deer had entered his stomach, Kong Wu patted his belly with a trace of lingering dissatisfaction on his face.
It remained as flat as before, without the slightest bulge.
Two wild deer—where had they gone?
Everyone who witnessed this scene was dumbstruck.
So the fellow really had not been lying. Two deer truly were not enough for him to eat.
"I miscalculated..."
Kong Wu muttered with his head lowered, then stood and walked to the entrance. After listening for a while, he went outside.
He was not full. He would go find another one.
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