Danger Arising from a Meal

The weather was growing warmer, and the snow covering the earth gradually melted, revealing patches of dull green. Although the chill in the air remained heavy, wearing fur robes felt slightly stifling. Alos and Mishaer were using snow lion fur robes as capes, practicing small grappling techniques against each other in the clearing. The two of them were giggling and playing without a care in the world, completely ignoring Chen Jinyang, who stood not far away with his eyes and brows knitted together in frustration.

Chen Jinyang had no way to deal with the two little ones. Alos believed he would become a powerful spellcaster; he could now move small objects through the air, emit a few small torches of flame around his body, or make an object glow like a torch. This made Mishaer very envious, and she would always have Alos light up her beloved helmet, then parade around with her "treasure" radiating bright light. However, Alos had some psychological trauma and shadows regarding his sister's helmet.

Once, Alos was showing off his ability to move small objects through the air to the little girl, bragging about how powerful he would be in the future, filled with the grand ambition of "punching dragons and kicking demigods" one day. Facing a brother whose bragging was becoming increasingly outrageous, Mishaer—who had long since ceased to be quiet and steady, becoming mischievous and cunning instead—could finally no longer endure his smugness and loudly accused him:

"I don't believe you! You're bragging!"

"I'm not bragging! If you don't believe me, I'll show you!" Being doubted by anyone, especially Mishaer, regarding his ability as a "future great spellcaster" was unbearable for Alos. He had to prove himself to his sister. His gaze swept around, trying to find a suitable prop for his demonstration, and finally, his eyes landed on Mishaer's head—or more accurately, on the Horn of Kor she was wearing. Alos knew that although the Horn of Kor looked quite large, it was as light as a feather, with almost no weight to it when held in the hand. He rubbed his hands together, grinned, and said to the little girl:

"Mishaer, lend me your helmet for a second!"

"No! You can't use my 'Princess Knight Crown' (heaven knows why the little girl gave the great Horn of Kor such a tacky name)! What if you break it?"

"Your '...Crown' thing is so sturdy, how could it possibly break?!"

"It's the 'Princess Knight Crown'!" the little girl interjected to correct him.

"Fine, it's the 'Princess Knight Crown'! I'm afraid you just don't dare to lend it to me, right? You're afraid that I really can cast spells, so you don't dare let me use it!" A slightly "petty" Alos even resorted to using reverse psychology.

The simple little girl could not resist this vulgar little scheme and handed over her beloved "crown" with a pout, watching nervously as Alos placed it on the ground, terrified that the performer might damage it in the slightest.

Facing the Horn of Kor on the ground, Alos announced loudly: "Please watch the wonderful performance of the future great spellcaster—Mr. Alos!" With that, he closed his mouth, concentrated his energy on the target, extended a palm toward the helmet, made a light grasping motion, and lifted it. "Rise!" The little boy froze; the Horn of Kor sat quietly on the ground, motionless. It had actually failed!

Impossible! How could it not move! Alos tried twice more with trembling heart, but still failed. He could only use minor spells four times a day; he had used one before starting, and now he had used three more, exhausting his daily quota. The little boy looked at his hands in frustration, muttering in disbelief: "How could this be! It's impossible! It worked once this morning!"

Mishaer, who had been equally nervous, breathed a sigh of relief. With a triumphant expression, she picked up the Horn of Kor from the ground with both hands and, while putting it on her head, mocked the loser: "Alos! Your bragging has been exposed now! Haha! Alos is a big liar! A big liar!" The little boy, face burning red with shame, covered his face and fled. In the days that followed, Alos discovered he could still move other ordinary small objects, whether they were heavier or lighter than the Horn of Kor, but he always failed when facing that hateful helmet. This made the proud little fellow unable to face his sister's mockery, and Alos even made excuses, judging that it might be a magical item.

The little girl was deeply convinced by her judgment of the "Big Bragger" this time, or perhaps she also hoped her "treasure" was a true artifact. Compared to Chen Jinyang's formidable strength, she also leaned more toward the great spellcaster described by little Alos—one who combined mystery, elegance, erudition, and power. Thus, the two little ones, whose hearts were already elsewhere, were not very attentive to Chen Jinyang's martial arts. "A twisted melon is not sweet." Knowing the little thoughts of the children, Chen Jinyang stopped forcing them. Aside from teaching them some small techniques for grappling and escaping, he simply required the two little rascals to exercise their bodies to be stronger.

Chen Jinyang had no time to worry about the two little ones treating their training as a game. He was currently troubled by another problem facing the family. That's right! They were out of food! After today, there would be nothing left to eat. If it were before, the food prepared in the cellar plus the game Chen Jinyang hunted would have been more than enough to last the entire winter. However, Chen Jinyang had forgotten that as his martial arts progressed, his appetite increased day by day. His current appetite was several times greater than that of the original William, not to mention the giantess Phinia, whose appetite was not much smaller than his. Now, going out to hunt yielded little; the long, five-month winter had left the forest almost devoid of prey. Even the once-numerous Snow Pearl Chickens were rarely seen, let alone other animals. However, before the next winter arrived, these animals, whose numbers had greatly decreased, would return to their former state of abundance.

Early in the morning, Phinia had slipped away somewhere. Ever since the issue of staying or leaving was resolved, the giantess had gradually lost her former restraint and caution, showing her wild, unruly side, which left Chen Jinyang both amused and annoyed. Chen Jinyang wanted to try his luck in the forest, but he couldn't rest easy leaving the two little ones at home alone. Finally, he steeled himself: "A living person won't be suffocated by urine!" Chen Jinyang called out to the two children: "Alos! Mishaer! Stop playing! Let's go! We're going to the forest to hunt." Upon hearing this, the two little ones immediately abandoned their play and ran toward the cellar, cheering, to prepare things for the trip.

The forest in late winter and early spring was indeed silent and desolate. Within a few miles, one could hardly see a single animal. Alos and Mishaer stepped on the damp, rotting leaves, following Chen Jinyang with some unease. Chen Jinyang looked at the dead, silent jungle in disappointment and sighed helplessly; he began to hold no hope for today's hunt.

"William! It's so scary here! Where are we going? Are we going to play by the river like last time? I'm a little scared, can we not go?" the little girl asked, tugging on Chen Jinyang's left hand with a trembling voice.

At these words, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Jinyang. That's right! The river! There are fish in the river; why didn't I think of that! He excitedly picked up Mishaer and said: "Mishaer, don't worry! With your brother here, there's nothing to fear!" He turned back to call to Alos, who was also a bit scared, and strode toward the river near the abandoned adventurer's camp. The stream from their first picnic before the snow was too shallow; it was unlikely many fish had survived the winter there. Only that deeper river could possibly harbor enough life.

After nearly an hour of travel, Chen Jinyang finally arrived with the tired and hungry little ones at a section of the river relatively close to the village. A thick layer of ice still covered the entire river surface. Chen Jinyang found a suitable spot on the ice and used an iron sword to dig out a square ice hole about a foot wide. He cut a few branches from the nearby pine trees, tied them into a bundle, lit them with his Palm Flame, and handed them to Alos to burn at the ice hole.

"This will catch fish? No way, right?" The two little ones thought Chen Jinyang was a bit of an idiot; this was too unreliable.

Chen Jinyang smiled mysteriously and did not answer the little ones' questions. Trapped under the cold, thick ice for the whole winter, the fish soon discovered this warm ice hole. They wiggled their stiff bodies and gradually approached, finally unable to resist, and leaped into the warm "passage." After a while, the impatient little ones noticed bubbles and ripples starting to appear at the ice hole, and clumsy fish began to gather there. The little ones jumped and shouted in excitement mixed with surprise: "Fish! There are fish! Catch them quickly!"

Chen Jinyang, however, seemed unmoved and made no move, instead directing Alos to wave the torch up and down. Then, under the shocked gazes of Alos and Phinia, the fish jumped out of the ice hole one by one. Chen Jinyang held a wooden spear, skewered the fish that landed on the ice, and tossed them onto the bank. The two little ones screamed repeatedly as they watched the bountiful catch.

Just as Chen Jinyang was enthusiastically spearing fish, he suddenly felt the ice beneath his feet shake. Sensing something was wrong, his heart tightened, and he shouted urgently to the little ones playing near the ice hole: "Get to the bank quickly! Something is wrong here!" The little ones, caught up in the excitement, didn't react and stood there stunned. Chen Jinyang, however, did not freeze; he reached the spot in two or three steps, grabbed Alos and Mishaer, and tossed them to the bank. Suddenly, Chen Jinyang noticed the ice hole beneath his feet darken, and two rows of snow-white, sharp canine teeth broke through the ice, biting toward his legs. Chen Jinyang stomped his feet hard against the biting teeth, instantly slowing the attacker's momentum. Using the force, he leaped toward the bank, while simultaneously using his spear to tap the unbroken ice, sliding his body rapidly.

The attacker, having missed its first strike, pursued Chen Jinyang closely, leaping repeatedly to bite. The foot-thick ice behind Chen Jinyang collapsed one after another. As he neared the bank, Chen Jinyang's momentum finally ended. He dropped his body, tucked his legs to dodge the attacker's strike, and performed a carp-leap to stand up instantly. He split his hands to support the cold, slippery body of the pursuer that had flown over his head, used his shoulder to heave it, and tossed it onto the bank. Following this, Chen Jinyang stomped his feet repeatedly, caught the monster he had just tossed up, and threw it with all his might into the nearby woods. Chen Jinyang stood in place, slightly exhausted, his whole body steaming. The escape in the river, especially the final shoulder-heave, catch, and throw, had left him breathless and nearly drained of all his strength. This was the first time since coming to this world that Chen Jinyang had encountered such a dangerous situation, the first time he had been so close to the edge of death. If he hadn't reacted quickly without hesitation, even a second or two slower would have certainly meant the three siblings would have perished here.

Catching his breath, Chen Jinyang looked back at the completely shattered river ice with lingering fear, finally having the chance to examine the monster that had ambushed him. The monster had the head of a crocodile and the body of a fish, a mouth full of sharp, half-foot-long canine teeth, and was covered in fish scales the size of a child's palm. Its nearly eight-foot-long body had a brown head, black back, and white belly. As it slapped its tail on the ground, making a "thumping" sound and leaping four feet high, one could see how astonishing its strength was. If they had been in the water, ten Chen Jinyangs would not have been a match for it. Unfortunately, now that the tiger had fallen to the plains, its former glory was gone, and it could only meet its end, filling someone else's stomach.