Zhao Ya tucked the booklet close to his body, packed the poisons and other items into the Deerskin Pouch, then returned to the tiger's corpse. He stripped away the flesh, salvaged the bones and anything else useful, and quietly made his way back to the city.
That night, after finishing his daily practice, Zhao Ya began studying the little booklet.
After reading it, he felt he had gained some understanding.
According to the booklet, a person's presence could be divided into two broad categories. The first was breathing, heartbeat, and the involuntary twitching of muscles.
Though these sounds and movements were faint, they were still quite noticeable to a martial arts expert.
Zhao Ya knew that well from experience.
Though he was only a second-realm martial artist, both his eyesight and hearing were exceptionally keen.
Within a radius of twenty or so paces, if Zhao Ya listened carefully, he could hear people breathing and their heartbeats.
The other category was the scent on one's body. Whether it was the smell of sweat or fragrance, it would ultimately seep out through the pores.
An expert could pinpoint your location by detecting these faint scents.
So, to conceal one's presence, one had to work on both aspects.
The booklet mainly explained how to control one's breathing and heartbeat. It only briefly mentioned sealing the pores to keep one's scent from escaping, noting that only after mastering skin tempering—upon becoming a fourth-realm martial artist—could one control the pores freely.
Even the booklet's author had yet to reach the fourth realm, so he naturally didn't know how to do it.
But even with only the methods it did contain, the booklet was still immensely valuable.
After studying it carefully several times, Zhao Ya began to practice.
First, he focused his mind. Then he gradually