Hunting and Guarding

In the early morning, the young girl held a bowl in one hand, her bright, clear eyes looking at him, sparkling.

Jiang Yan's expression stiffened.

"Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have eaten so fast."

He felt annoyed. He had planned to finish eating quickly and leave, but he hadn't expected that eating fast would make him the center of attention.

"I..." Jiang Yan forced a smile. "I'm already very full. Thank you, Miss Ren."

With that, he prepared to leave.

He thought the girl was simply under the impression that he had a large appetite and, out of kindness, was giving him her food. But he was wrong.

Ren Shurong had come specifically to find him.

Giving him food was just a crude excuse to strike up a conversation.

"You're full already!"

The young girl brought the large bowl to her lips, gently blowing on the steam, and smiled faintly at Jiang Yan.

She lowered her head and drank the porridge.

"Gulp, gulp." Like drinking like an ox.

Jiang Yan's face twitched upon hearing the sound.

Three breaths later.

The girl finished drinking.

She washed the bowls and chopsticks with Jiang Yan.

At this time, the various patrol teams were setting off one after another. Shan Renhu waved at Jiang Yan and went back to rest.

On the square, Jiang Yan continued to cultivate. Although he had the Martial Arts Modifier, he still enjoyed the feeling of sensing his own surging, powerful strength.

That feeling of being able to command such power at any moment was intoxicating.

Ren Shurong stared blankly at Jiang Yan cultivating in the square.

Jiang Yan wasn't practicing anything specific, just casually practicing basic sword moves.

But his quick sword martial art had already reached the introductory stage. As he wielded his sword, his swordsmanship was sharp and fierce, with each move flowing seamlessly into the next.

Strike, thrust, point, flick, parry, flick, swing, chop, slash...

The basic stances of swordsmanship were displayed one by one in his hands. Even though Ren Shurong didn't understand swordsmanship well, she felt that Jiang Yan's swordplay was fluid and graceful, possessing its own charm.

"But..." Ren Shurong stamped her foot. "I still haven't told him what I need to say."

Once, twice, three times.

Jiang Yan finally stopped. His blood and qi were surging due to the constant movement, his skin flushed, and a faint mist seemed to emanate from his body.

Ren Shurong walked over, wrinkling her little nose. The smell of a man after a workout wasn't pleasant. "Jiang Yan, I... can you do me a favor?"

She decided to get straight to the point and state her purpose.

By now, she understood that the young man before her didn't seem very enthusiastic towards her. He was different from other men.

So, she decided to be direct.

"Still here..." Jiang Yan sighed inwardly. He had seen that Ren Shurong had something to talk to him about that morning, so he used cultivation as an excuse to delay. He hadn't expected this girl to actually not leave.

"What?"

Since she hadn't left, Jiang Yan no longer intended to play dumb. He also wanted to know what matter could possibly require the sister of the great leader Ren to ask for his help.

After all, he had only met this girl yesterday.

They weren't familiar with each other.

"It probably won't be anything too difficult."

However, if it were a small matter, wouldn't the great leader Ren grant it readily?

Seeing Jiang Yan stand up proactively, Ren Shurong smiled, a small dimple appearing on the left side of her cheek. She spoke, "I heard my elder brother say that the meat supply in Yuyang Village will be depleted in a few days."

"So, we need to go out to the wilderness for a hunt."

"I want to go too... to see."

After speaking, her face showed hope, her eyes held anticipation, which then turned into disappointment.

The sudden shift in emotions on the face of a delicate young girl evoked pity.

"But Big Brother doesn't agree. I pleaded for a long time, and he said that if any of you three martial artists were willing to protect me specifically, he would agree."

Wilderness, hunting.

Jiang Yan calmed his mind deeply.

Patrol members consumed a lot of energy daily and also needed to cultivate. Meat was indispensable.

The material circulation in this era was not developed at all, especially in the villages near the mining area, which had only been formed in recent years.

Food could be self-sufficient, but meat was always in short supply.

The chickens, ducks, and fish raised by the village weren't even enough for the villagers themselves.

Therefore, the patrol team usually had to find their own ways to supplement their meat.

Hunting in the wild was equally dangerous.

Besides potential Monster, some ferocious beasts were just as terrifying.

Ferocious beasts that could survive in the wild were as terrifying as Monster.

"Leader Ren wants one of us three to protect you, and you want to go into the wild?"

Jiang Yan remained silent.

Did Ren Yuan agree to Ren Shurong going into the wild? No, he didn't.

The wilderness was dangerous; no one could guarantee they wouldn't encounter an accident. When danger struck, who could confidently protect another person's safety?

The answer was, no one could.

Therefore, Ren Yuan's words were meaningless.

"Yes."

Ren Shurong clapped her hands and laughed, revealing a row of small white teeth, "Can you promise to take me?"

"I promise I won't cause you any trouble."

She patted her chest, making a serious promise.

Jiang Yan stared blankly at her actions, then looked down at the flat ground of the plaza.

It seemed there was no difference.

He collected his thoughts, Jiang Yan smiled, and said to Ren Shurong, "Miss Ren."

He pointed in one direction, "Over there, straight ahead, the first house in the fourth row, is Leader Tang Long's house."

He pointed in another direction, "Over there, straight ahead, the second house in the third row, is Leader Fei Shan's house."

"Ah?"

Ren Shurong was stunned. What was this...?

She stood still, looking at Jiang Yan, her big eyes blinking.

With a sigh, Jiang Yan said with a serious expression, "Miss Ren, I just broke through. My abilities are likely insufficient to protect you. As for Leaders Tang Long and Fei Shan, they might already be at the Minor Accomplishment or even Great Accomplishment stage of Martial Apprentice."

"Their cultivation is high, and they have more experience in the wild. You should find them."

Sorry, there's no way I can agree. Setting aside offending Ren Yuan, even in the wild, I can't promise to protect someone completely.

"But, but, where are Leaders Tang Long and Fei Shan? I looked for them this morning, and they weren't there."

Neither of them were there?

Jiang Yan thought for a moment.

Minor leaders didn't have fixed patrol duties. They usually handled various emergencies in the plaza and supported other teams.

However, sometimes minor leaders would patrol to check if any teams were slacking off.

He wasn't on duty last night, so one of Tang Long or Fei Shan must have been.

But if neither of them were there...

"I remember Old Dan saying that Tang Long seemed to have a sweetheart..."

That must be it. Tang Long was on duty last night and then went to sleep.

Fei Shan went to patrol the village outskirts.

This information flashed through his mind in a few short breaths.

"Perhaps... perhaps both leaders had something to do. In any case, it's possible to encounter them."

"Oh, oh."

Ren Shurong nodded, "Then when can I see them?"

"They'll come to the plaza eventually. You can wait here if you have nothing else to do."

After a moment of silence, it seemed they had finished talking, as they had only just met.

A while later, Jiang Yan felt this was going nowhere; it was too awkward.

He spoke, "Miss Ren, why are you eating the communal meal here? The food at the Great Leader's place should be better."

"You can go back and rest for a while, and come back this afternoon after eating."

Ren Shurong looked disgusted at this point, "I didn't want to come either. I came here to eat partly out of curiosity, but mainly because my elder brother's cooking... it's hard to describe."

Now that Jiang Yan had spoken, Ren Shurong became less reserved. She thought for a moment, "Jiang Yan, you don't seem to want to talk to me much."

Damn it, why is this woman so direct? And she's surprisingly accurate.

Jiang Yan cursed inwardly. He smiled, "Miss Ren is too beautiful, which makes me feel constrained when I speak."

"That's not right!"

Ren Shurong took two steps back, her sparkling eyes fixed on him. "You're not being reserved at all."

"But your first sentence was spot on!"

Ren Shurong smiled at him, her chin slightly raised, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

Then, she turned and really left.

"Hoo." Jiang Yan let out a soft breath, watching her turn the corner of a row of houses and disappear.

"She's actually a bit tsundere…"

PS: Straight male protagonist, asking for recommendation votes. This time it's not the author asking for votes, it's the protagonist asking…