Li Xuan entered the mountains, but instead of plunging straight into their depths, he first turned toward the brush-covered slope where he had set traps a few days earlier.
The spot was sheltered from the wind and close to a small patch of wild millet—a favorite feeding ground for Mountain Pheasant.
On his last visit, he had found plenty of fresh pheasant tracks and shed feathers.
He had deliberately adjusted the snare's position, figuring he ought to have caught something by today.
Parting a clump of thorny vines that blocked his view, he approached the trap with quiet, careful steps.
Before he could even see it clearly, his brows knitted.
Something's wrong.
The ground had been roughly trampled, and the trap lay completely wrecked.
All around it were jumbled footprints that clearly did not belong to Mountain Pheasant.
The trap's cord had been cut, and the wooden trigger stick kicked aside.
Several grayish-brown Mountain Pheasant feathers lay nearby, along with a small patch of blood that had long since dried and blackened.
Someone's been here.
Not only had they taken the prey from his trap, they had destroyed the trap itself while they were at it.
He had concealed it well, using the brush and vines as natural cover.
Ordinary villagers coming up to gather firewood or mushrooms would have had a hard time finding it.
Someone capable of finding it-and deliberately destroying it-was most likely a hunter who knew the trade.
Li Xuan crouched and examined the footprints closely.
The tread was rough, firmer than the soles of ordinary cloth shoes bought in town. They looked like handmade multilayered soles or some kind of hide boots.
The strides were long. Whoever had come was neither short nor weak.
"What a nasty piece of work."
Li Xuan cursed under his breath. Hunters had an unwritten rule: they generally left other people's fixed traps alone, never mind deliberately wrecking them.
This was cutting off another man's livelihood, the sort of thing that made enemies.
But whoever had done it was long gone. Getting angry now would do no good.
He stood, brushed the dirt from his hands, and turned away from the miserable sight, heading deeper into a more remote part of the woods.
Apparently, he was not the only one working this stretch of forest near the mountains' edge.
Sure enough, before he had gone two li, he discovered two newly set snares below a sunny slope sheltered from the wind.
They had been laid with considerable skill. Both their placement and camouflage were convincing-not the work of a novice.
Li Xuan moved closer to inspect the cords and triggers, his frown deepening.
The style differed from what the village's old hunters usually used. It was rougher and more direct, with a streak of brute force.
Besides his father, Li Shan, the village had two or three old hunters, but they were all getting on in years and unsteady on their feet. With the recent cold, they rarely ventured deep into the mountains anymore.
Could it be someone from the next village?
He immediately pictured Wang Kui, the sturdy hunter he had seen at the village entrance that morning, along with his attributes that clearly surpassed those of an ordinary person.
"Could it be him?"
Li Xuan considered it. Wang Family Gully was dozens of li away. The man had come all that distance and specifically laid traps in this outer stretch of forest, which was hardly the richest hunting ground...
Was it a coincidence, or did he have another purpose?
Was he, for instance, coming specifically after Li Xuan?
Remembering Wang Kui's mocking half-smile and snide tone, Li Xuan felt the latter was quite possible.
Still, he had no evidence. Guessing alone was useless.
Li Xuan was not afraid of trouble, but he did not want a needless confrontation either.
The mountains were vast, with game everywhere. There was no need to crowd into the same spot as someone else and invite extra trouble.
He decided to move elsewhere. Instead of following the familiar hollows along the outskirts, he changed direction and headed toward an old-growth forest on East Mountain.
The terrain there was more complicated, and large wild beasts were more common. It would have been dangerous for the old Li Xuan, but now...
He touched the cold iron arrowheads in his quiver and felt the strength surging through his body. His confidence settled into place.
As he entered the old-growth forest, the light abruptly dimmed.
Towering trees blotted out the sky and sun. Thick layers of rotten leaves covered the ground, soft underfoot and almost silent.
The air was filled with the damp scent of earth and decaying vegetation.
Li Xuan lightened his steps, pricked up his ears, and swept his surroundings with watchful eyes.
Rather than immediately looking for large prey, he first paid attention to small sounds and traces.
His improved dexterity had sharpened his awareness of his surroundings.
Soon, he noticed something unusual beneath an old pine. The rotten leaves around its roots showed signs of slight disturbance.
Several pine nut shells lay nearby. They were fresh, their broken edges still moist.
He looked up and caught a grayish-brown shape flashing between the high pine branches, its tail bushy.
It was a squirrel, and a sizable one, busy storing food for winter.
"Well now, there's a find!"
Li Xuan's eyes lit up. He had no intention of shooting the squirrel; there was too little meat to justify wasting an Iron Arrow.
But an idea struck him, and he began examining the area around the roots carefully.
Squirrels usually hid food in more than one place, favoring particular spots near their nests-tree hollows, cracks in rocks, or shallow caches underground.
The squirrel had clearly noticed him too.
The little creature was small and quick.
Without a keen enough eye, it could vanish in the blink of an eye.
But thanks to the panel...
[Adult squirrel: Physique 0.5, Dexterity 1.8].
The flickering words followed it like a shadow, provided it stayed within a certain range.
"It's almost impossible to lose it!"
Besides, he had several traits that boosted dexterity.
If Li Xuan still managed to lose it, he might as well find a block of tofu and dash himself to death against it.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The squirrel darted through the forest with incredible speed.
Yet the figure behind it followed as faithfully as its shadow.
After running for who knew how long, the squirrel seemed to grow anxious.
It squeaked frantically, then plunged headlong into a tree hollow and vanished.
Li Xuan stopped as well.
Panting slightly, he steadied his breathing.
"This should be the place..."
He examined the area carefully, found a spot among the roots, and crouched.
With gentle fingers, he brushed aside the disturbed layer of rotten leaves.
Beneath them lay loose soil.
After clearing about an inch of earth, his fingertips suddenly touched something hard.
He carefully dug it out. Inside were more than a dozen plump pinecones, along with a pile of acorns and hazelnuts, all arranged quite neatly.
"Found the granary."
He emptied the squirrel's entire "granary."
There was quite a haul, resting on a scrap of bark it had carried over from who knew where.
Most of it consisted of plump pinecones, large and tightly scaled. Breaking them open revealed the glossy pine nut kernels inside.
There was also a pile of dark brown hazelnuts with shiny shells. They rattled when shaken-good, solid nuts.
The rest were acorns and small hard-shelled nuts he could not name.
Li Xuan helped himself without hesitation, grabbing a few pine nuts and cracking them between his teeth.
As soon as the kernels entered his mouth, their distinctive oily fragrance spread across his tongue. They were crisp, with a hint of delicate sweetness, far tastier than chewing dry mixed-grain buns.
The hazelnuts were even richer, their kernels plump and increasingly fragrant the longer he chewed.
"This little fellow has good taste."
Li Xuan smiled and quickly cleared out everything in the "granary," wrapping it in the scrap of bark before stuffing it into the cloth bag he carried.
These little snacks would not fill his stomach, but when he grew tired on the trail or restless waiting for prey, cracking a few would help him through. They certainly beat swallowing nothing but saliva.
Having plundered the squirrel's entire stash, Li Xuan did not linger.
He noted the signs of squirrel activity nearby, brushed the dirt off his hands, and rose to continue working his way into the forest.
This small haul was merely a bonus. He had not come into the mountains today for these odds and ends.
He walked for roughly another hour.
"Good thing I have those traits helping me. Otherwise, these mountain paths would be hard going."
Before you continue