Li Bufan held his breath, his gaze blazing as he carefully searched for the faintest traces in the snow. After reaching the Grand Completion of Skin Refining, his eyesight, hearing, and even sense of smell had become far sharper than before.
The cold wind brought more than mere chill—it carried countless tiny fragments of information. He could smell the fresh scent of pine needles in the distance, hear the faint crack of snow crushing dead branches, and even sense the weak presence of hibernating creatures beneath the snow.
Before long, among the sparse trees on a sun-facing slope, he discovered a string of extremely faint tracks—small and dot-like, nearly impossible to notice if the fresh snow had been any deeper. The spacing between them was moderate, indicating that this Snow Fox had been leisurely searching for food and had yet to notice any danger.
"Snow Fox tracks! And they were left not long ago." Li Bufan's heart tightened as he recognized them at once. Snow Foxes were small and light-footed, their tracks already shallow; with the wind and snow blowing over them, the traces vanished quickly. These tracks were still fresh, their edges clear, showing that the target had only just passed through.
He immediately followed the tracks, crouching low and using dead trees and rocks for cover as he silently pursued it. His footsteps were feather-light, making almost no sound on the snow, each step landing precisely on the most stable spot. After tracking it for roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, a snow-covered thicket ahead stirred slightly, followed by a faint rustling sound.
Li Bufan stopped instantly, lowering his body like a leopard that had spotted prey. Slowly, he nocked an Armor-piercing Arrow onto the bowstring. He narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze, adjusting his breathing until he completely blended into this world of ice and snow.
Behind the thicket, he vaguely saw a figure almost fused with the snow, yet gleaming with a slightly brighter silver sheen in the subtleties. It was an adult Snow Fox, its thick fur silver-white and flowing with a faint luster beneath the dim daylight. Only its ear tips and nose were dark. At that moment, its ears stood alert, its glass-like eyes darted about nimbly, and its pointed snout occasionally probed beneath the snow, seemingly searching for mice or leftover wild fruit.
It had yet to notice the hunter in the distance, completely absorbed in its search for food.
Li Bufan's heart was still as water. His blood and qi flowed steadily as he raised his arm, and the Hardwood Longbow slowly bent open with an extremely faint creak. He adjusted his breathing, fixed his gaze on that silver-white figure, and calculated the distance, wind direction, and the arrow's falling arc.
Whoosh!
The arrow left the string, tearing through the cold wind with a sharp yet brief shriek! It flew with incredible speed and unerring precision toward the Snow Fox's vulnerable neck!
Yet just as the arrow was about to strike, the Snow Fox seemed to sense the deadly danger in advance. Its four limbs kicked violently, and it sprang sideways with unbelievable agility! Animal instinct saved her life.
With a muffled puff, the Armor-piercing Arrow sank deeply into the patch of snow where it had stood moments before. Its fletching trembled fiercely from the force, humming in lingering resonance.
Squeak! Startled, the Snow Fox let out a sharp, piercing cry and turned into a streak of silver-white as it shot without hesitation toward the depths of the forest! It moved so quickly that it left behind only a string of even more chaotic, faint tracks in the snow.
"What a nimble beast!" Li Bufan cursed inwardly, though he was not overly surprised. If Snow Foxes were so easy to hunt, they would not be worth five merit points. His reaction was swift. When the first strike missed, he immediately gave chase while drawing another arrow. His movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest delay.
The Snow Fox ran swiftly across the snow and was incredibly nimble, constantly changing direction and using trees and terrain to evade him. At times, it ran in a zigzag; at others, it suddenly stopped and changed direction, trying to shake off its pursuer. Li Bufan pushed his speed to the limit and pursued relentlessly. The deep snow severely hindered his pace, but the stamina of his Grand Completion of Skin Refining revealed itself now. His strides were long, his steps powerful, kicking up snow powder that filled the air. Relying on superior endurance and strength, he was not immediately thrown off. Instead, he gradually began closing the distance.
A fierce chase unfolded through the silent mountain forest, startling several birds sheltering from the cold in tree hollows.
After chasing for several hundred meters, a small slope of scattered rocks appeared ahead. Strange boulders jutted everywhere, making the terrain even more complicated. The Snow Fox's figure flickered several times among them, using the rocks for cover. It was about to disappear completely from view and escape through the complex terrain.
Li Bufan's gaze sharpened. He knew he could hesitate no longer—this was his last chance. He drew in a fierce breath, and his blood and qi surged faster in an instant. The muscles in his right arm bulged slightly as the Hardwood Longbow was pulled into a full moon! The bow gave a faint groan under the strain.
The experience and insights of [Archery] raced through his mind, every key movement vividly clear. The [Heaven Rewards Diligence] fate seemed to grow faintly warm as well, bringing his focus to an unprecedented height and clearing his mind of all distractions. In his vision, the silver trail as it leaped and dodged, the drifting snow in the wind, even the faint tremors of his own muscles all became exceptionally clear. The moving target seemed to slow for a fleeting instant, and he had already predicted where it would land next.
Now!
He released his fingers, and the second Armor-piercing Arrow flew from the string! This arrow contained all his present focus and strength. It was faster, its angle trickier. It did not fly straight, but carried a slight lead, anticipating where the Snow Fox would land after its next leap!
The arrow flashed, as if tearing apart the gray, murky air!
Pfft!
The sound of a sharp blade entering flesh was dull yet clear, exceptionally piercing in this silent snowy forest.
Squeee—! A shrill, despairing scream instantly split the forest, startling even more birds in the distance into flight.
The Snow Fox stumbled in midair, her graceful body losing balance before she tumbled onto the snow. An arrow had pierced straight through her muscular hind leg, nailing her firmly to the ground! She struggled desperately, her bloodied silver fur scraping chaotic, glaring marks across the white snow. Yet blocked by the arrow shaft and wracked with pain, she could not break free and could only let out helpless cries.
Li Bufan strode forward, remaining vigilant against a dying prey's final counterattack. He drew the knife at his waist, his gaze calm, and gave her a swift end to end her suffering.
Looking at the Snow Fox before him, now utterly still, Li Bufan let out a long breath of white mist. His chest rose and fell slightly from the intense pursuit, while a joy mingled with exhaustion and harvest welled up within him. Though the process had been somewhat tortuous and he had needed two arrows to hit, he had at least made his first catch and would not return empty-handed.
He crouched down and skillfully pulled out the arrow with force, drawing out a small spray of blood. He carefully wiped the blood from the shaft clean with snow and returned it to his quiver. Then he began processing the prey. A Snow Fox's value lay mainly in its fur, which had to be skinned as intact as possible. Any significant damage would greatly reduce its value.
Using the hunting knife at his waist, he carefully cut in from the wound on the Snow Fox's hind leg, avoiding the important connections in the hide as he gradually separated the tough fur from flesh and blood. The entire process required patience and precision; there could be no major mistake. It took him more than fifteen minutes before he carefully removed the nearly intact Snow Fox pelt, which bore only a few minor tears.
He then used clean snow to carefully scrub away the blood and fat from the inner side of the hide. After spreading it out and inspecting it, he confirmed that its quality was excellent. Only then did he carefully roll it up with the fur facing inward, place it in a specially prepared thick leather bag, and tie it shut. He did not waste the remaining fox meat either. Though coarse and gamey, it was still a decent source of meat in these mountains. It could be roasted or made into soup. He wrapped it in a large, clean leaf and stored it in his pack as well.
By the time he finished all this, the sun had risen a little higher, but the lead-gray clouds remained heavy, and the sky was still gloomy, as though foretelling more wind and snow. Li Bufan wiped the fine sweat that had seeped onto his forehead from concentration. Feeling the abundant strength still within him after the chase and battle, he turned his gaze once more toward the deeper, darker forest.
"Only the first target." He muttered under his breath, his eyes growing sharper and more resolute. "Continue! I have to gain more before nightfall."
After steadying himself and securing the leather bag and pack on his back again, Li Bufan gripped his longbow and disappeared once more into the boundless snowy mountain forest. Like a patient ghost, he continued searching for his next prey.
Over the next several hours, he became even more cautious and patient. Relying on his increasingly refined Archery, the powerful physique of a Skin Tempering warrior, and his keen senses, he successfully hunted two plump Mountain Pheasants warming themselves in snow hollows and a Snow Rabbit gnawing on tree roots beneath a thicket. There were no real dangers, and each died to a single arrow. The harvest could not be called abundant, but as the beginning of his first day deep in the mountains, it was steady enough. At the very least, it ensured a basic source of food.
As the sun gradually slanted westward, the light in the forest grew dim and hazy, shadows lengthened, and the temperature began to drop noticeably. The biting cold wind started howling once more. Li Bufan weighed today's gains: one Snow Fox pelt, two Mountain Pheasants, and one Snow Rabbit. He decided not to press his luck or seek further achievements, and to return to the cave first. The mountain forest at night was another world, far too dangerous. He had to return to the safe shelter before dark, deal with the prey, and light a bonfire.
Following his memories of the route and the inconspicuous marks he had deliberately left on tree trunks, he walked back through the deepening snow, quickening his steps somewhat.
However, just as he neared that familiar clearing of the campsite, when he could even glimpse the mountain wall with the cave through gaps between the trees, he suddenly stopped. His body tensed in an instant. Like a startled wildcat, he silently slipped behind an enormous dead tree that would require two people to encircle, while lowering the sound and rhythm of his breathing as much as possible.
From the direction of the cave he had carefully chosen as a shelter came faint, unusual sounds! They were not the howl of wind and snow, but more like... the heavy, damp breathing of some large creature, along with the harsh scraping of something hard clawing at rock and earth!
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