A Sister's Worry

Lin Fan had run into a huge problem—he was lost. He was not very familiar with the surrounding mountain forests to begin with. Carrying the wild boar on his back, he had charged about wildly all the way, and had no idea where he had ended up.

Dense forest surrounded him on every side, blocking his view. It was also deep in the night, and his eyesight was far worse than during the day. For a moment, Lin Fan had no idea which way to go.

Although Lin Fan was extremely worried about his sister, it seemed he would not be able to make it back tonight. Once he understood that, he decided to clear an open patch with the wild boar, have the Golden Rat Mao Mao stand watch, and lie down where he was to rest for a while.

With the strength of his body now, ordinary beasts could only bite through his skin even if they sank their teeth in with all their might; they could not reach any deeper. After a full day of pursuit, Lin Fan was already somewhat exhausted. Before long, his snores echoed through the dense forest.

The Golden Rat Mao Mao, lying in Lin Fan's arms, conscientiously kept its eyes peeled as it constantly surveyed every rustle of wind and grass around them. Its little nose twitched again and again, sniffing for the scent of any Ferocious Beasts that might be in the air. Other than a Ferocious Beast coming near, Lin Fan did not care about anything else.

Beside him lay the Late Skin Tempering Realm Wild Boar Ferocious Beast. Its body was covered in savage wounds, yet even in death, its Ferocious Beast aura was hard to conceal, keeping the nearby beasts far away.

At dawn, a leaf drifting down from the trees overhead landed on Lin Fan's face and woke him. When he opened his eyes again, plenty of sunlight was already pouring into the mountain forest.

Lin Fan reached out and stroked the Golden Rat Mao Mao in his arms, signaling the little fellow, who had stayed awake all night, to quickly get some rest. Then Lin Fan flipped up from the ground and rushed toward the largest tree nearby. He leaped into the air and drove his spear deep into the trunk, leaving it embedded in the tree. He clamped the trunk between his legs, pulled out the spear, and kicked hard, springing several meters higher. Lin Fan struck like lightning, stabbing another hole into the tree with his spear and wedging himself against the trunk again.

Before long, Lin Fan had climbed to the very top of the tree. The surrounding scenery spread out before his eyes. After studying the terrain in the distance and comparing it carefully for a while, he identified the direction.

After jumping down from the tree, he lifted the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast's corpse, which had been tied up with vines, in one hand and ran in that direction.

More than an hour later, Lin Fan finally saw the familiar Small Mountain Village in the distance, along with his own little thatched hut. In front of the hut stood a tiny figure, faintly recognizable as a little girl.

Lin Fan had gone into the mountains to hunt last night and had not returned all night. Lin Ruoruo had worried herself sick for the entire night. The last time Lin Fan had gone hunting in the mountains, he had returned after only half a day.

Before dawn on the next day, she had already stood guard outside the thatched hut, looking again and again toward the distant mountain forest. From somewhere deep in the mountains came the intermittent, low cries of unknown nocturnal beasts, brief yet lingering. Now and then, night birds in the woods around Small Mountain Village were startled by the night wind, fluttering over the treetops. Their wings rustled against the leaves before the endless silence returned in an instant.

Her brother had ventured alone deep into the dense forest and had not returned all night. Though he seemed rather formidable, Lin Ruoruo's heart still hung in midair every moment. Several times, she wanted to enter the forest to look for him, but before leaving, her brother had repeatedly told her not to go outside. She could only force down her anxiety and wait bitterly at the door.

Having failed to rest properly all night, Lin Ruoruo's eyes were rimmed red. The villagers who learned that Lin Fan had entered the mountains last night and had not returned saw Lin Ruoruo anxiously standing outside before dawn and all tried to persuade her.

"Ruo Ruo, go back inside first. The morning wind in the mountains is cold and damp. Don't let yourself freeze standing outside. Your brother's cultivation is profound; nothing will happen to him. Perhaps he was merely delayed in the forest."

Lin Ruoruo had not yet stepped onto the path of martial cultivation, so she could not understand just how powerful Lin Fan's Bone Tempering Realm was. Countless terrible thoughts circled through her little head. Would he encounter a black bear? Would he lose his footing and fall off a cliff? Whenever she thought of those possibilities, her nose would sting and tears would keep welling in her eyes.

Just as she raised her eyes toward the forest road once more, at the end of the distant mountain path, a familiar figure carrying a massive wild boar corpse strode swiftly toward the thatched hut.

Lin Fan's clothes were stained with mud and beast blood. His spear rested diagonally across his shoulder, and he was covered in dust from the journey. It was Lin Fan, who had been gone all night.

"Brother!!" Lin Ruoruo's entire body shook. She staggered as she rushed over, jogging up to Lin Fan. Seeing her brother covered in dust, with dark red beast blood still staining the hem of his clothes, the terror she had bottled up all night instantly snapped. Her eyes reddened at once, and her voice was thick with sobs. "You finally came back... You didn't come home for an entire night! I thought... I thought something had happened to you."

Before, Lin Fan had followed the hunting party to the town to sell prey. Though he had also been gone for two days then, he had gone with the villagers. This time, however, he had entered the deep mountains alone, a place the villagers had never ventured into. Though Lin Ruoruo was young, she knew that entering the deep mountains was countless times more dangerous.

She raised her little face to examine Lin Fan, her gaze quickly sweeping over his arms and shoulders as she carefully searched for wounds, afraid that he might be seriously injured. Lin Fan gently set the heavy wild boar corpse from his shoulder onto the muddy ground in the yard. The boar's massive body kicked up dust and landed with a dull thud. He brushed off his clothes, then lowered his head and saw his sister's reddened eyes. A trace of guilt passed through his heart.

Last night, he had tracked this fierce wild boar all the way into the depths of the forest, fighting it until late at night. Unable to distinguish the path, he had only found his bearings at daybreak and started back. He had never expected to make his sister worry for an entire night.

"It was Brother's fault for making you worry." Lin Fan softened his voice and reached out, his warm palm gently rubbing Lin Ruoruo's head. "I chased this wild boar too far. It was hard to tell directions in the mountain forest at night, so I slept in the woods for a night. I only hurried back after dawn."

Lin Ruoruo's gaze fell on the stout wild boar corpse on the ground. Its tusks jutted outward, its bristles were covered in dried blood, and its presence far surpassed that of the ordinary wild boars hunted by mountain hunters. It seemed like a wild boar king, making people afraid to look directly at it.

Lin Fan crouched down. After rubbing the girl's head to comfort his sister, he resolved to do his best not to make her worry like this again.

After tidying up a little, Lin Fan carried the wild boar toward the town. Last time, Su Qingwei from the Su Family Shop had said she would purchase Lin Fan's Ferocious Beasts at the highest price. He wondered how much silver this one could fetch. Although it had many wounds, the Wild Boar Ferocious Beast was still quite large.