The Effect of Lucky Star Shining

Once the New Year had passed, the weather grew warmer by the day.

The frozen earth in the fields had long since thawed, and tender green shoots poked out from beneath the dead grass.

To see what Yue'er and Stone had actually learned from practicing martial arts all winter, Jiang Fu'an deliberately chose a fine, sunny day.

He took the two children to a patch of wild grass beside the field ridges, intending to let them try hunting.

Ever since winter began, Yue'er had grown lazy. She refused to get up unless the sun was already high in the sky.

Jiang Fu'an could do nothing about her, so he could only force her to learn Cloud-Soaring Steps, a technique for escaping and protecting herself.

Therefore, she had no enthusiasm whatsoever for the hunt her father had arranged, and she was even less confident about it.

Stone, however, was completely different.

He had long been rubbing his fists and itching to give it a try.

After practicing martial arts from dawn to dusk every day, he finally had a chance to put his skills to use. He strode along with wind in his steps, his eyes shining.

When they arrived, Jiang Fu'an saw his daughter's listless appearance and came up with an idea.

He took an oil-paper packet from his basket, waved it before them, and said with a smile:

"Yue'er, Stone, the two of you will compete today and see who can catch more game.

"The winner gets this packet of candied fruit."

The oil paper was folded into a neat square, and a faintly sweet fragrance wafted from it.

Yue'er's half-lidded eyes instantly lit up.

She loved sweets most of all.

But just as her excitement rose, she glanced at her energetic younger brother beside her, and her heart began to beat like a drum:

Stone had practiced tirelessly these past days and had already learned the Wind-Thunder Saber Technique with some real form to it. How could she possibly be his match?

She immediately pouted and began to protest:

"Not fair! Stone knows saber techniques too. How could I possibly win?"

Jiang Fu'an raised a hand and gave her forehead a light tap.

"You little girl, why don't you mention that you're a year older than your brother?

"If you won't compete, I'll count it as forfeiting. I'll give the candied fruit straight to Stone."

Hearing that, Yue'er could only shut her mouth in a huff.

Only then did Jiang Fu'an point to the open meadow ahead and instruct them:

"Stay within this patch of grass. Don't run too far."

The fields in this world were not sprayed with pesticides, and the wilderness ecosystem remained in excellent condition.

The grass was full of small wild animals such as rabbits, foxes, and field mice, making it perfect for the two of them to practice on.

The moment Jiang Fu'an finished speaking, Stone shot off with a whoosh.

He carried an unsharpened long saber and strode into the grass, using the back of the blade to push aside the clumps blocking his way.

After only a few steps, a brown fox was startled from its nest in the grass and fled forward in blind panic.

Stone's spirits rose. His pace suddenly quickened as he used Cloud-Soaring Steps, and he was scarcely slower than the fox.

In just a few bounds, he had caught up behind it.

The instant the fox leaped over a clump of tall grass with all four paws off the ground, he swung his arm, and the saber struck precisely across its two hind legs.

"Screech—!"

With a brief cry of agony, the fox tumbled into the grass.

The saber had no edge. It had merely broken the fox's hind legs rather than killed it.

But Stone did not hesitate. He rushed forward two more steps, dropped his wrist, and smashed the back of the saber heavily against the side of the fox's head.

The fox twitched twice, then lay still.

A proud look appeared on Stone's face. Grabbing one of the fox's hind legs, he turned and ran toward his father, shouting as he ran:

"Dad! I caught one!"

Before his words had even faded, Yue'er's delighted cry rang out from the other side:

"Dad! I caught one too!"

Yue'er emerged from the grass, stumbling over the uneven ground as she held up a plump gray rabbit. Her face could not hide her excitement.

Jiang Fu'an smiled as he accepted the game they handed over, weighing them in his hands as he praised them:

"Not bad. You both did... very well."

But when he said "very well," his tone paused for a moment.

The reason was simple: Yue'er's hunting method truly left him at a loss for how to evaluate it.

As it turned out, Yue'er's Cloud-Soaring Steps had been clumsy and unsteady, and she should not have been able to catch that rabbit.

Yet the rabbit had been so frightened that it crashed headfirst into an old poplar tree at the edge of the meadow, knocking itself unconscious and letting Yue'er pick it up without lifting a finger.

That luck was simply too good.

Having received praise, the two children were even more fired up and eagerly returned to the meadow to keep searching.

After that, Yue'er discovered the traces of several more rabbits and field mice, but she never again had such luck.

None of the animals ran into trees again, and her footwork was too unpracticed. After chasing them several times, she could only watch helplessly as they slipped away.

Stone, on the other hand, relied on his solid skills to catch three more animals over the course of an hour.

As the sun gradually sank westward, Jiang Fu'an looked at the haul in the basket and felt that the contest was about time to be decided.

Just then, Yue'er's raised cry suddenly came from deep within the distant grass:

"Dad—! Come quickly!"

Jiang Fu'an was puzzled, but his feet were swift. He hurriedly parted the grass and ran toward the sound.

He found Yue'er crouching beside a dirt pit, craning her neck to peer inside.

The bottom of the pit was lined with dry grass, and six plump little piglets were crowded together inside, snuggling close and squealing softly.

Jiang Fu'an froze for a moment—this was not the season for wild boars to give birth.

He crouched down and examined them carefully.

These piglets were more than a size larger than ordinary wild boar piglets. Their pinkish-white skin seemed to shimmer with a faint golden glow in the sunlight, while their bristles were far softer, brighter, and smoother than usual.

"Could these be Half-Spirit Beasts?"

The thought suddenly sprang into Jiang Fu'an's mind.

Half-Spirit Beasts were offspring born from Spirit Beasts and ordinary wild animals.

They could not cultivate themselves, and their strength was far below that of true Spirit Beasts, but spiritual energy still flowed within their bodies.

Though eating their meat could not compare to eating pure Spirit Beast meat, it far surpassed ordinary wild game.

Better still, they were relatively docile and not very aggressive. Even ordinary mortals could raise them.

At the Wang Family's banquet before the New Year, he had tasted Spirit Beast meat.

Its flavor and nourishing potency were more than ten times greater than ordinary meat.

The spiritual energy contained in the meat had left a deep impression on him, but unfortunately, he knew no cultivation techniques and could only let that energy disperse on its own inside his body.

If this litter of piglets truly were Half-Spirit Beasts, then this was an unexpected windfall indeed!

Jiang Fu'an had long considered raising Half-Spirit Beasts, but they could not reproduce. They could only be obtained when Spirit Beasts mated with wild animals.

But where could an ordinary farming household find a Spirit Beast?

So the thought had remained shelved.

"Dad!"

Yue'er's clear voice interrupted his thoughts:

"These six little piglets are all my prey! I won this competition, so hurry and give me the candied fruit!"

But Jiang Fu'an looked at the squealing litter and doubts arose in his heart:

The white rabbit crashing into a tree could still be called a coincidence.

But finding a well-hidden wild boar nest in this vast meadow, which just happened to contain a litter of suspected Half-Spirit Beast young...

That probably could not be explained away with the word "coincidence."

It must have been Yue'er's Lucky Star Shining fate at work in secret once again.

"Big Sis, that doesn't count!"

Stone, listening nearby, was unconvinced.

He was not particularly interested in the candied fruit, but he cared greatly about winning and losing:

"You just picked those up. It wasn't real skill, so it doesn't count!"

The moment Yue'er heard that, her willow-leaf brows shot up. She raised her hand and gave Stone a smack on the head.

"What do you know? Luck is part of strength too!"

Stone, who was usually as stubborn as a little bull, shrank his neck after being hit and shouted at by his sister. In the end, he did not dare argue further.

Perhaps this was the inborn bloodline suppression an elder sister had over her younger brother.