At the edge of the Silent Forest.
In a clearing beneath a Soul Returning Poplar.
Five figures clad in Dragon Skin Hunting Gear sat cross-legged in the snow in two quiet rows. Zheng Qing sat in front, while the other four sat behind him, more than a step away from their captain.
The Dragon Skin Hunting Gear they wore was the hunting team equipment Fatty Xin had been longing for. It had cost the You Zui Hunting Team a hefty portion of its funds, consuming more than half of the team's already strained resources after opening the shop—if Zheng Qing had not been able to prepare talismans for everyone, if the fatty had not been able to brew the necessary potions, and if Elder Zhang had not been able to wring some secondhand tools from his older brother, then the You Zui Hunting Team could have declared their mission a failure before even setting out on this winter hunt.
Opposite the five hunters of the You Zui Hunting Team sat several rows of weasel-rats, all in different colors and sizes, corresponding to them one by one. As dangerous creatures specifically marked as key threats in the You Zui Hunting Team's hunting grounds, these rather small-looking weasel-rats did not seem nearly as "vicious and wicked" as the Hunting Committee's documents had described. Of course, that might also have been because people saw what they expected to see, or because some unwitting client had affected their collective judgment.
At the very center in front of those weasel-rats, a russet, mottled, rat-like creature sat atop a white weasel's head.
It was Fei Rui.
It was now around three in the afternoon.
First University's annual winter hunting event had already been underway for more than half a day. Less than half a day remained