A Bountiful Hunt (Bonus Chapter, Vote with Monthly Passes)

The afterglow of the setting sun draped Xu Family Village in a layer of warm gold. The village was deathly quiet.

Only a wisp of gray-white cooking smoke curled up from the roof of the Jiang Family home.

In the Kitchen, Miao Ruolan had rolled up her sleeves. She held a long ladle in each hand, tending two large pots at once.

Half-Spirit Boar meat simmered in the pot on the left, while chunks of Blazing Fire Eagle meat cooked in the one on the right.

Before the chopping board by the doorway, Jiang Fu'an was hunched over, holding a small knife with a thin blade.

Before the chopping board by the doorway, Jiang Fu'an bent over with a small scraper in hand, processing a freshly skinned Spirit Beast hide.

There were still traces of flesh and blood on the hide. His movements were light yet swift as he scraped away the remnants bit by bit.

This hide had to be made into talisman paper as soon as possible. If too much time passed and its spiritual energy dispersed, its texture would change, rendering it useless.

On the roof, Yue'er crouched on the ridge, vigilantly sweeping her gaze across every direction around the village.

More than half a day had passed since the Beast Tide, and the surroundings seemed to have returned to calm. But since her father had warned her not to let down her guard, she did not dare relax.

Still, the aroma of meat drifting up from below was simply too tempting. Every so often, she lowered her head to glance toward the Kitchen and secretly swallowed a huge mouthful of saliva.

In the middle of the small courtyard, Stone and Xu the Elder's three men were gathered around the remaining Spirit Beast meat, hard at work.

Though it was spring, the mornings and evenings still carried a chill. The meat could not be left out for long.

They had to cut it into even strips so it could be hung somewhere cool and well-ventilated, turning it into preserved jerky.

As Xu the Elder skillfully swung his knife, the smile at the corners of his mouth simply would not fade.

With this mountain of meat before them, just the few of them would probably be unable to finish it even in a month.

And this was only the first day of the Beast Tide. As for what came after... he did not dare think too deeply about it. He only felt that following their master had truly brought him immense fortune.

How could they have ever dreamed of this in past years? They barely saw ordinary beast meat a few times throughout the year, yet now they could eat Half-Spirit Beast meat at every meal.

At that thought, he swung his knife with even greater vigor.

Stone, beside him, was in an entirely different mood.

He kept his head down as he cut the meat, his lips pressed tightly together.

After calming down over the past half day, he had already realized how dangerous it had been for him to rashly charge out and fight the wolf pack when the Beast Tide had just passed and the situation remained unclear.

If that Blazing Fire Eagle had arrived a dozen breaths earlier, he and his father would have been attacked from both front and back. The consequences would have been unthinkable.

He had nearly gotten his father killed.

He had spent the whole day waiting for his father's scolding, even preparing himself for a beating.

But aside from staying busy, his father had said nothing.

That silence made him feel worse than a scolding ever could.

"Everyone, stop for now. Food's ready. We'll continue after we eat."

Jiang Fu'an emerged from the Kitchen carrying a heavy wooden bucket and called out to the courtyard.

The bucket contained freshly cooked, steaming meat soup.

He walked straight toward the cellar entrance, intending to bring food down to Su Wanqing and the others sheltering below.

Given the current situation, danger could strike at any time. Too many people could not remain above ground, lest they panic and crowd together when it was time to hide.

By the time he returned from delivering the food, everyone in the courtyard was already holding bowls and drinking soup. Stone alone remained crouched beside the chopping board, mechanically slicing strips of meat.

Jiang Fu'an immediately understood. The boy was still wrestling with himself.

He turned and brought two bowls of soup out from the Kitchen. Miao Ruolan had specially stewed this Blazing Fire Eagle meat for the father and son.

He walked over to Stone and spoke calmly:

"Stone, if you know you were wrong, then swallow the lesson into your stomach and carve it into your mind. Don't make the same mistake next time. What good is standing here blaming yourself?

"Hurry up and drink this bowl of soup. Then sit down, circulate your cultivation, and train properly.

"When we hunt Half-Spirit Beasts tomorrow, we'll still be counting on you to put in the heavy work."

Stone suddenly raised his head, his eyes slightly red as he hurriedly said:

"Dad, I understand! From now on, before I do anything, I'll definitely think through the consequences first!"

"Mm."

Jiang Fu'an nodded and handed him the bowl.

"We haven't tried First-Order Spirit Beast meat before. Eat it while it's hot and see just how much it helps your cultivation."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a crisp voice sounded behind him:

"Dad, I haven't eaten any either! Can I have a taste?"

Yue'er had somehow come over while holding her own bowl. She tilted up her little face, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Miao Ruolan had served her Half-Spirit Boar soup earlier, but she felt that the bowl in her father's hands smelled even better.

Jiang Fu'an looked at his daughter's sparkling eyes and smiled.

"Alright. I'll let you try a few pieces."

Yue'er had also made a contribution by standing guard today.

Though First-Order Spirit Beast meat would not have much effect on her, he still picked up several substantial chunks of eagle meat and placed them in his daughter's mouth.

"After eating this, you'll have to be even more alert on guard duty tomorrow."

Jiang Fu'an reminded her.

Yue'er narrowed her eyes, her cheeks puffed out as she nodded repeatedly through a mouthful of food.

"Mm-hmm! Don't worry, Dad. Leave it to me!"

The night was thick and dark. Only a few oil lamps flickered in the cellar's wall niches.

Jiang Fu'an had just completed a cycle of the Eternal Spring Technique and was carefully sensing the effects brought by the First-Order Spirit Beast meat.

First, there was the cultivation efficiency. The improvement was astonishing—roughly ten times that of eating Half-Spirit Beast meat. Its effect rivaled the Azure Spirit Fruit he had acquired earlier.

But the Azure Spirit Fruit did not have any body-tempering effect.

At that moment, his entire body burned hot, his blood and qi surged, and every limb and bone seemed filled with inexhaustible strength.

He turned his head and looked at the crude wooden bed behind him.

Su Wanqing and Miao Ruolan were sleeping close together.

Jiang Fu'an's Adam's apple bobbed. In the end, he gave up the thought of having a deeper exchange with the two women.

This cellar was simply too crude. The rooms were separated only by cloth curtains, and even the slightest sound could not be hidden.

If they truly did anything, the children next door, the Xu Family, and the Miao Family... would probably all hear every bit of it clearly.

Looks like I'll have to find a body-tempering cultivation method to practice in the future. Otherwise, more than half the energy in this Spirit Beast meat will go to waste.

Jiang Fu'an pondered silently.

According to that girl Seedling, body-tempering cultivation methods could absorb the abundant blood and qi within the body and transform it into physical strength.

Early the next morning, when the sky had only just begun to brighten, Jiang Fu'an took Stone out of the cellar.

Over the course of the night, more than a dozen Half-Spirit Beasts had slipped into the village. They wandered among the ruins, foraging for food.

Father and son both felt eager to give it a try.

The surging power of blood and qi brought by last night's Blazing Fire Eagle meat still churned within them. They had been worrying over having nowhere to vent it, so this was the perfect opportunity.

After a brief discussion, the two quietly began their hunt.

Though there were many beasts, Jiang Fu'an seized the right moment and flung out two Quicksand Talismans he had drawn himself.

Spiritual light sank into the earth, and a large stretch of land immediately turned muddy and treacherous, successfully splitting the beast pack apart.

Father and son moved with agility, coordinating with each other and using the terrain to their advantage as they dealt with the hindered Half-Spirit Beasts one by one.

This kept Xu the Elder and the other two Hunting Team members terribly busy.

These Half-Spirit Beasts were enormous. Even the lightest weighed over a hundred catties, while Half-Spirit Boars could weigh several thousand catties.

Hauling, butchering, cutting into strips...

The three were drenched in sweat, yet still could not keep up with the father and son's hunting speed.

In the end, they had no choice but to call the old and young of the Miao Family, as well as Uncle Xu, up to help.

A long line formed at the cellar entrance. Basket after basket of meat chunks was passed down and hung all over more than a dozen temporary drying racks.

They worked like this until the evening of the third day. Jiang Fu'an stood in the cellar, looking at the densely packed strips of meat hanging from above like curtains, and decided to stop this hunt.

The racks already creaked under the weight. If they kept hunting, there might be nowhere left to hang the meat.

More importantly, according to Fu Yuan's prompt, the cultivator army should have clashed with the main force of the Beast Tide by now.

Next, large numbers of demon beasts would inevitably scatter from the main battlefield and flee in all directions.

The chances of Xu Family Village encountering First-Order Spirit Beasts, or even Second-Order Spirit Beasts, would greatly increase.

They had already harvested abundantly. There was no need to take such a risk any longer.