The Hunt! Training!

Before long,

consciousness returned.

The two got up.

Yol stretched her graceful figure in an exaggerated way, looking herself over in astonishment.

"I feel like all the bones in my body have gotten lighter. And why does my body feel so nimble?

It doesn't hurt at all, either."

Rubbing her bleary eyes, Lami wrinkled her nose and looked at her in confusion.

"Big Sister, you smell sour and sweaty. Did you wet the bed last night?"

Merlin couldn't help grinning and chuckling, but Yol gave him a dark look and pinched Lami's cheek.

"You're the one who wet the bed! I'm twenty years old. How could I still wet the bed?

Lami, you can't just slander your big sister like that!"

But after she finished speaking, Yol also wrinkled her nose slightly. She realized there really was a sour, sweaty smell coming from her.

She couldn't help looking at Merlin suspiciously. "You didn't do anything naughty to me last night, did you?"

Merlin rolled his eyes at her. "You kept moaning and groaning all night. You even lost your voice from screaming. Don't you remember?"

Yol's face instantly turned bright red. She stammered at Merlin, then, a few seconds later, rolled her pretty eyes in exasperation.

"Liar! I clearly hurt all over because of what you did to me last night. Those were cries of pain, not moaning and groaning!

At most, I just made a few more muffled groans."

Lami stared at Yol in confusion, but soon asked curiously, "Then, Big Sister Yol, do your lower back and legs feel sore and weak now?"

Yol looked at her, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

Lami grinned like a little adult. "Because Mom and Dad said something similar for a while."

Merlin's eyes filled with a peculiar look. He looked at Lami, seeming to want to say something, then sighed helplessly.

"You really are Doctor Trafalgar's good daughter!"

Yol caught on, too. Her expression stiffened, and she clenched her pale hands into fists.

"Lami, if your big sister spanks you in a minute, what kind of noise do you think you'll make?"

Lami blinked, looking conflicted. But after thinking for a few seconds, she looked at Yol seriously.

"Lami's all grown up now. I won't cry anymore. I'll hold it in. At most, I'll just go... 'uh, mm, uh,' like that."

Yol stared blankly at Lami, at a loss for words.

Merlin glanced at Lami, the corners of his mouth lifting. That girl was definitely black-hearted. Was that scheming streak hereditary?

No wonder she was Luo's little sister.

Merlin still remembered that seemingly well-behaved boy. On the inside, he was both repressed and thoroughly devious.

And their father was the same.

The whole family was full of black-hearted people.

Lami sneakily glanced at Yol, then looked curiously at Merlin.

"Brother Merlin, why are your clothes wet?"

As she spoke, she stepped forward and put both hands on Merlin's thigh, puzzled.

"You'll get sick if you wear wet clothes."

Merlin briefly explained the spring, and Yol immediately spoke up.

"Then I'll go wash up, too!"

As she spoke, she grabbed Lami by the hand and went to the backpack. She took the bar of soap out and held it, then hurried out of the cave without looking back.

"Wait a second," Merlin called after her. Yol turned around, confused, and Merlin pulled the dagger from the sheath strapped to the outside of his leg and tossed it over.

"Take this for protection."

Yol caught it deftly, a smile appearing in her eyes. She nodded.

"Thanks!"

After watching the two of them leave, Merlin went over to the backpack, picked up his long-handled sword, and headed outside as well.

Not long afterward,

in the forest,

Merlin followed the lingering scents of different creatures in the air, as well as rows of faint hoofprints on the ground that looked like plum blossoms.

Tracking the smell, he quickened his pace and darted nimbly through the woods.

Five minutes later,

Merlin stopped beneath a large tree and gazed at a herd of deer grazing on tender grass two hundred meters away.

He noticed that the deer were nearly two to three meters long.

Calmly watching their direction of travel, he saw they were heading left. He circled through the forest and crouched in a one-and-a-half-meter-tall thicket along their path.

His breathing grew steady. Merlin stayed utterly still, like a statue, like a lynx lying in wait for its prey with its body concealed.

Time passed, second by second.

Before long, the herd came closer, grazing as they went, but moving at a decent pace. Merlin narrowed his eyes as the deer approached to within a hundred meters.

Merlin remained perfectly still in his hiding place. Fifty meters... thirty meters... ten meters... five meters. At that moment, Merlin had chosen a large deer at the front of the herd.

It was two meters long, with a pair of beautiful, sturdy, branching antlers atop its head. Suddenly, Merlin burst from the thicket, his leg muscles tensing as his lower body unleashed its strength.

In the blink of an eye, he sprang in front of the herd. His sudden appearance sent the deer into a panic, and they cried out. Clang! His sword rang as it left its sheath.

The long-handled sword was drawn. Black flames spread from his right hand along the blade, and a streak of black fire flashed into view.

In the blink of an eye, Merlin's blade plunged into the neck of the deer he had chosen. With a wet sound, half the blade sank in.

The panicked deer let out a piteous cry, then kicked at Merlin as if it meant to take him down with it.

In that instant, Merlin's exceptional dynamic vision caught the deer's movement. He reacted in advance, pushing off the ground and leaping backward. His blade came free from the deer's neck with a spray of blood.

In the same moment, Merlin dodged beneath the deer's raised, kicking legs.

At the same time, black flames enveloped the deer, and a scarlet-lead hue began to eat away at its hide.

Calamity: Scarlet Lead.

The deer let out a wail, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitching.

The hunter revealed his fangs.

The herd fled in panic.

After a few breaths, the deer around them had run a hundred meters away.

Merlin stepped forward and thrust his blade into the deer's neck, cutting a long gash.

Blood flowed, and the deer gradually stopped moving.

Merlin pressed his left hand against the deer and reclaimed the Platinum Lead Calamity. His left middle finger turned scarlet-white once more.

Before long, Merlin carried the dead deer to the mountain spring.

He skinned it, gutted it, and washed it.

Carrying the whole deer back to the ancient tree, he asked Yol to gather firewood and start a fire. Before long, pieces of clean venison were roasting over the flames.

While the meat was still cooking,

Merlin began formally teaching Yol and Lami Yoga movements.

He guided them by hand.

He broke down and explained each movement one at a time. The two made excellent progress, especially seven-year-old Lami. Her bones were still growing, and her body was light and flexible, so she learned quickly.

Once the two of them had mastered the basics of Yoga and started stretching their bodies,

Merlin began exploring his Lynx Body Tempering Technique on his own.

At times, he lay motionless on the ground, slowly changing the rhythm of his breathing.

At times, his figure sprang and darted about within a small area, bursting into a sprint.

At other times, his body twisted into all sorts of difficult poses on the spot.

Or he would stand up and, using fighting footwork, repeatedly punch and kick at the air in front of him.

He focused on feeling how his limbs exerted force.

Whooshing sounds rang out one after another as his hands and feet cut through the air.

Every so often, he also turned the venison roasting beside the fire. As time passed, the rich aroma of the meat filled the surroundings.

The roast was ready.

Venison legs, ribs, and cheek.

Deer heart, liver, and penis.

Paired with Monkey Wine, he ate meat by the mouthful.

The venison's skin was golden and crisp, while the inside was firm and tender. He sprinkled on a light layer of salt and savored the mouthwatering delicacy.

They ate half the venison in one meal.

By then, it was noon.

The sun was bright today, and the temperature was pleasant. The three of them took a midday break in the sunshine to get some calcium.

Then Merlin had Yol do push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. Basic fitness was the foundation of everything.

Though the exercises were basic, there were plenty of variations.

Lami continued practicing Yoga, stretching her delicate body.

Since she was still young, Merlin didn't push her too hard. The little girl had already lost her parents; she was unfortunate enough as it was. He should let her have a happy childhood!

Even so, Lami didn't slack off. In fact, she was quite resilient. She made excellent progress in Yoga and never complained about the hardship.

When fatigue had built up in her body, she even begged and wheedled Merlin to absorb the state of Calamity that fatigue caused.

Too bad!

Merlin refused without mercy.

If she was tired, she should rest, eat venison, eat all kinds of fruit, drink spring water, or sit on a rock and watch Merlin and Yol work on their basic fitness...

Time passed quickly.

A week flew by.

It was now late October.

The temperature in the mountains had begun to grow colder.

And today,

was the third day since Merlin and the others had moved into the tree hollow of the giant tree not far from the pool.

Over four days, the inside of the tree hollow had also dried out.

Darkness fell.

A ring of ore that glowed faintly was piled in a corner of the tree hollow.

It made the inside seem less dark.

Layers of thick, warm deer and bear hides had been laid out as rugs and bedding.

A crocodile hide, fixed together with bamboo boards, served as a door at the entrance.

"Fourth Brother had the Paramecia Ability User's power. He could control and spew fire, and unleash attacks that could destroy heaven and earth. But the Snake Demon was cunning, and she had all sorts of Devil Fruit weapons... In the end, Fourth Brother was still captured by her schemes.

All right, that's it for today. I'll tell you the rest tomorrow."

Merlin had made a few changes to the story of the Calabash Brothers. He had changed the brothers' talents into Devil Fruit powers, and the Snake Demon's treasures into Devil Fruit weapons.

At that moment, Lami stared at Merlin with tearful eyes, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Brother Merlin, how can you do this? You only tell half the story each day? What happened after Fourth Brother was captured? What did the Snake Demon do to him with her Snake-Snake Fruit?

Third Brother, the Iron Fruit Ability User, was sewn up by the Snake Demon's Stitch Fruit weapon. What's Fourth Brother supposed to do? Fire isn't afraid of thread!"

Yol, who was sitting nearby with a thin sword in her arms, spoke up with some exasperation.

"It's not even late yet. Why don't you finish the story before we go to bed?

You're leaving us hanging like this. I won't be able to sleep tonight."

Merlin remained unmoved, lying on the deer-hide rug with a faint smile.

"Want to hear the rest of the story? Just wait! I'll tell you tomorrow night!"

Yol: "...(eye-roll)"

Lami: "...(teary-eyed)"

Merlin: "?!(smiling)"