Madam Present, Hunting the Great Tiger

There was Madam Wen, a fox-fur cloak draped over her shoulders, embroidered with longevity clouds, riding a magnificent Redblood Steed as she came Treading Snow.

A fragrant sachet, a jade belt, and many exquisite ornaments.

Her long hair was tied up, giving her a heroic air. Her lovely face was full of life, as if she were a celestial being.

On the right side of her saddle hung a longbow, adorned with many ornaments. The most eye-catching was a tiger-shaped piece of yellow jade, which Madam Wen held in her hand, gently stroking the tiger's head with her fingers.

On the left side were fifty Swiftfeather Arrows.

Her maid Qiuyue led the horse by the reins. Though her clothes were also far from ordinary, beside Madam Wen she could only serve as a green leaf, a foil to the flower.

"Madam is joining us too."

Li Xian thought to himself.

"Have the rules been explained to them?" Madam Wen asked coolly.

Pang Long replied respectfully, "They have."

"Since that is so, let us begin," Madam Wen said. This so-called Winter Hunt was, when all was said and done, something she wanted to do for fun.

These House Guards were nothing more than the supporting cast.

As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Wen squeezed her legs against the horse. The Redblood Steed charged into Bear-Tiger Mountain. Though the mountain was thick with tangled branches and trees, the steed moved as if over flat ground, disappearing from sight in just a few breaths.

Bear-Tiger Mountain was a sprawling range, with lakes, rivers, cliffs, and dense forests within its bounds. It had every kind of terrain.

Otherwise, Madam Wen would not have chosen it as the hunting grounds.

The Winter Hunt lasted three days, but though it was said to last three days, many Grade-D House Guards came back out in less than half a day.

Most of them shot a few wild rabbits or birds.

The reward money was pitifully small, but at least they could make soup or stew some meat and eat their fill. That counted as taking part.

Madam Wen rode ahead, leaving everyone in the dust.

Li Xian and the other House Guards naturally entered the mountain forest one after another.

Aside from the Swiftfeather Arrows Madam Wen had bestowed on him, he had also brought two hundred ordinary arrows.

"I only have ten Swiftfeather Arrows, so that means I can hunt at most ten prey. I should try to hunt the larger ones."

Li Xian made his way through the forest.

The terrain here was extremely complex, with both the difficulty of trudging through snow and the complications of the woods.

Fortunately, Li Xian had mastered the Treading Snow trait, which could save him a great deal of effort and trouble.

Suddenly, a wild rabbit hopped past.

Li Xian swiftly nocked an arrow and shot. He had gauged the force just right: it pierced the rabbit's heart and pinned it to the ground.

The rabbit kicked its hind legs and died on the spot.

"It seems there's plenty of prey here."

Li Xian's eyes lit up. He had been worried that the mountain range held little game and that finding any would take effort.

But he had barely entered the mountain before seeing a wild rabbit.

If wild rabbits were around, then there had to be predators that ate them. From the small, one could see the large: the forest was rich in resources!

"If I really want to hunt big game, I'll have to go deeper into the forest."

"Opportunity waits for no one. My martial arts may not be the best, but my hunting and archery skills are definitely no worse than anyone else's."

"If I work hard... it may not be impossible to shoot three big bears!"

Li Xian headed deeper in.

After walking for a little over two hours, he had entered the inner reaches. He could clearly feel that there were far fewer people nearby.

Many Grade-D and Grade-C House Guards had no intention of hunting big game at all. Naturally, they would not risk venturing deeper. After all, in a primeval forest, anyone could become prey.

Knowing when to turn back could keep them alive.

"Whew..."

Li Xian stopped, found a patch of flat ground, gathered some dry branches, and lit a bonfire.

He skinned and gutted the wild rabbit he had hunted that morning, then set it over the fire to roast, keeping his strength up.

"There's no need to rush the hunt..."

"Too bad this hunt only lasts three days. If it lasted longer, I could try setting traps."

Li Xian gnawed on the rabbit meat.

Without any seasoning, it tasted like dry firewood, but once it was in his stomach, warmth spread through him and he felt a little stronger.

"There's a water source..."

After eating and drinking his fill, he naturally continued on his way. When Li Xian spotted a river, his face lit up with delight.

Wild beasts needed water too.

As long as he waited by a water source, he was sure to see large prey.

"There are claw marks too. Judging by their depth and size, could it be... a great tiger?"

"It must weigh at least several hundred catties!"

Li Xian was thrilled. He slipped into a patch of weeds and waited in silence.

Unfortunately, he did not see a great tiger. Instead, he spotted a wild deer. After hesitating for a moment, he still shot it.

First, he used an ordinary arrow to pierce the deer's heart. Then he took out a Swiftfeather Arrow and shot it again.

Deer blood flowed in a steady stream.

It was highly nourishing, and Li Xian naturally did not waste it. He drank the deer blood straight from the wound.

[You drank deer blood. Consumption skill Proficiency +5]

[Proficiency +2]

[Proficiency +1]

[Skill: Consumption]

[Proficiency: 379/500 Initiation]

Li Xian was like a beast that ate its meat raw and drank its blood, his mouth stained with blood.

But the benefits were obvious.

In his Dantian, Inner Qi flowed out bit by bit, like a trickling stream.

It grew a little more robust.

"It would be wonderful if I could eat deer blood every day."

"I've heard that soaking in deer blood can also strengthen one's flesh and blood. Too bad it's far too extravagant. I can't even afford to eat it, so how could I possibly use it for a blood bath?"

Li Xian took out the Meat-Shrinking Bag. Its material was peculiar: when Inner Qi was infused into it, it became soft and could be stretched out as far as one liked. But once the Inner Qi was withdrawn, it gradually shrank until it was the size of a fist.

"The vast world is full of wonders."

"Even from the bottom of a well, I can still glimpse the moon."

He covered the deer with the Meat-Shrinking Bag and stepped back three paces. The bag gradually shrank... until it was the size of a fist.

A wild deer weighing over a hundred catties had actually been compressed to that size.

What amazed Li Xian was that when he opened the Meat-Shrinking Bag again and took the deer out, its body was whole once more.

It had not turned into a lump of meat or a mass of mush...

He truly could not figure out how it worked. He could only marvel at how strange it was.

Just then.

Li Xian suddenly rolled to the right. On the spot where he had been, a striped great tiger pounced past.

"That was close... I almost fell for it."

"In this forest, I'm prey too."

Li Xian narrowed his eyes, his expression calm. He swept his right leg through the snow and used Clearwind Sway, a move from Clearwind Leg.

The gust of wind from the kick blew up the snow. In an instant, it covered the great tiger's eyes.

Though Li Xian had made great progress in martial arts and his Inner Qi had become refined, he would still be at a disadvantage fighting a tiger bare-handed.

He turned and ran at once. The great tiger roared and pounced after him. Li Xian darted around a tree, sent Inner Qi into his legs, and pushed off hard.

He leaped more than a zhang into the air, caught a vine, and swung himself along it.

He flew another stretch through the air. Li Xian turned with the momentum, nocked an arrow, and fired.

His fingers moved in quick succession, and three arrows shot out one after another. But the tiger was no weakling. Though enormous, it was extraordinarily agile. It twisted from side to side and dodged two arrows, but the third came at a tricky angle.

It was Li Xian's killing move.

Thwack...

The arrow sank into the tiger's leg. The great tiger yelped in pain and showed signs of fleeing. Li Xian cursed, "You beast, you think you can run?"

He swept his right hand and pulled out five arrows. But Five Arrows at Once was difficult to aim, and arrows were limited, so he had to use them sparingly.

Though Li Xian nocked five arrows at once, he shot them one by one. His movements flowed together: two arrows blocked its escape, two were feints, and only the final arrow was infused with Inner Qi...

It concealed murderous intent.

Sure enough, though the great tiger was cunning, it did not know how to deal with such an attack.

An arrow struck its body, and it collapsed in the snow.

His first great tiger, shot dead!