But Lin Fan now faced a very serious problem. He was lost. He had never been particularly familiar with the surrounding mountain forests, and after charging about with the wild boar on his back, he had no idea where he had ended up.
Dense forest surrounded him, blocking his view. It was also the dead of night, and his vision was considerably worse than during the day. For a moment, Lin Fan had no idea which way to go.
Although Lin Fan was deeply worried about his little sister, it seemed he would not be able to get home that night. Once he accepted this, he decided to clear a patch of ground with the wild boar beside him. Then he had the Golden Rat, Mao Mao, keep watch while he lay down to rest for a while.
With his current physical toughness, even an ordinary wild animal biting him with all its strength could, at most, break his skin. It would not be able to sink its teeth any deeper. After a full day of pursuit, Lin Fan was already rather exhausted. Before long, his snores rang through the dense forest.
Curled up against Lin Fan's chest, the Golden Rat, Mao Mao, dutifully kept his eyes moving, constantly watching for the slightest stir around them. His little nose twitched as he sniffed for any scent of ferocious beasts in the air. Unless a ferocious beast approached, Lin Fan did not care about anything else.
Beside him lay the wild boar ferocious beast of the late skin tempering realm. The savage wounds covering its body and the ferocious aura that lingered even after death kept the nearby wild animals well away.
At dawn, a leaf drifted down from the trees overhead and landed on Lin Fan's face, startling him awake. When he opened his eyes, considerable sunlight was already spilling into the mountain forest.
Lin Fan reached out and stroked the Golden Rat, Mao Mao, in his arms, signaling for him to get some rest after keeping watch all night. Then Lin Fan sprang up from the ground and rushed toward the largest tree nearby. He leaped into the air and drove his spear deep into the trunk, anchoring it there. Clamping his legs around the tree, he pulled the spear free. With a powerful thrust of his legs, he launched himself several more meters upward. His hand flashed out, driving the spear into the trunk again to secure himself.
Before long, Lin Fan had climbed to the very top of the tree, taking in the entire surrounding landscape. After studying the lay of the distant land and carefully comparing it with what he remembered, he worked out his bearings.
He jumped down from the tree, picked up the wild boar ferocious beast's vine-bound carcass in one hand, and ran off in his chosen direction.
A little over two hours later, Lin Fan finally spotted the familiar Small Mountain Village in the distance, along with his little thatched cottage. A small figure stood in front of the cottage, just recognizable as a little girl.
Lin Fan had gone hunting in the mountains the previous night and had not returned all night. Lin Ruoruo had spent every moment frightened and anxious. The last time he had gone hunting in the mountains, he had returned in only half a day.
Before dawn the next morning, she was already waiting outside the thatched cottage, looking again and again toward the distant forests around her. From far away in the mountains came the intermittent low cries of unknown nocturnal beasts, brief yet carrying far. Occasionally, a night bird in the woods surrounding the Small Mountain Village was startled by the night wind and fluttered over the treetops. Its wings brushed the leaves with a rustle, and then everything returned to boundless silence.
Her brother had ventured deep into the dense forest alone and had not returned all night. Although he seemed quite strong, Lin Ruoruo's heart remained suspended in midair. Several times, she wanted to go into the forest to search for him, but before leaving, he had repeatedly insisted that she must not go out. She could only force down her anxiety and wait miserably at the door.
After a night without proper rest, Lin Ruoruo's eyes were rimmed with red. When the villagers learned that Lin Fan had gone into the mountains the previous night and still had not returned, they saw her standing anxiously outside before dawn and urged her to go back inside.
"Ruo Ruo, go inside for now. The morning wind in the mountains is cold and damp. Don't stand outside and let yourself catch a chill. Your brother's cultivation is profound. He'll definitely be all right. He's probably just been delayed in the forest."
Lin Ruoruo had not yet begun martial cultivation and could not understand just how powerful Lin Fan's bone tempering realm was. Countless dreadful thoughts circled through her little head. Could he have run into a black bear? Could he have lost his footing and fallen off a cliff? At the thought of those possibilities, her nose stung again and again, and tears glimmered uncontrollably in her eyes.
Just as she looked up once more toward the dirt path leading into the forest, a familiar figure appeared at the far end of the mountain trail, carrying an enormous wild boar carcass and striding swiftly toward the thatched cottage.
His clothes were stained with dirt and beast blood, and a spear rested diagonally across his shoulder. Dusty and travel-worn, it was Lin Fan, who had been missing all night.
"Brother!" Lin Ruoruo jolted and stumbled forward, running up to Lin Fan. Seeing her brother covered in dust, with dark red beast blood still staining the hem of his clothes, she could no longer contain the terror that had built up all night. Her eyes instantly reddened, and her voice was thick with sobs. "You finally came back... You didn't come home all night! I thought... I thought something had happened to you."
Previously, Lin Fan had accompanied the hunting party to town to sell their catches. Although he had been away for two days then, he had gone to town with the villagers. This time, however, he had entered the deep mountains alone, somewhere even the villagers had never ventured. Young as Lin Ruoruo was, she knew that going into the deep mountains was countless times more dangerous.
She tilted her little face up to examine Lin Fan, her gaze darting over his arms and shoulders as she carefully searched for wounds, terrified that he might be badly injured. Lin Fan gently lowered the heavy wild boar carcass from his shoulder onto the dirt in the yard. Its enormous body landed with a dull thud, kicking up some dust. He reached out to pat down his clothes, then looked down at his sister's red-rimmed eyes and felt a flicker of guilt.
The previous night, he had pursued this fierce wild boar deep into the dense forest and fought it until late at night. Unable to find his way, he had only worked out his bearings and started home after dawn. He had never expected to leave his sister frightened for an entire night.
"It was my fault for making you worry." Lin Fan softened his voice and reached out, gently rubbing the top of Lin Ruoruo's head with his warm palm. "I chased this wild boar too far. It was hard to find my way through the mountain forest at night, so I slept there overnight. I only started back once it was light this morning."
Lin Ruoruo's gaze fell on the burly wild boar carcass on the ground. Its tusks jutted outward, and its hide was covered in dried blood. Its aura was far more imposing than that of the ordinary wild boars the mountain hunters killed. It seemed like a wild boar king, too intimidating to look at directly.
Lin Fan crouched down and rubbed the girl's head, soothing his little sister. He resolved to do his best not to make her worry like this again.
After briefly tidying up, Lin Fan picked up the wild boar and headed into town. Last time, Su Qingwei of the Su Family Shop had said she would buy his ferocious beasts at the highest price. He wondered how many silver taels this one would fetch. After all, despite its many wounds, the wild boar ferocious beast was still quite large.
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