Definitely Partners Born for Each Other

Wang Qi had gained his first teammate and partner. Whether that was good luck or bad, he did not know: it was the woman named Ran Jiao.

Xu Ping had arranged the pairing, and supposedly with very sound reasoning... because Ran Jiao's abilities complemented Wang Qi's.

Ran Jiao possessed exceptional reconnaissance skills, which could combine with Wang Qi's archery to give them an effective long-range sniping capability.

She also excelled at infiltration and assassination. In that respect, Wang Qi could provide long-range support, helping her carry out assassinations and covering her retreat.

Even in an unexpected clash, their fighting styles-one hard, one soft-would complement each other.

...Put that way, even Wang Qi felt that he and Ran Jiao might be partners born for each other.

Thus, the Secret Guard scouts split into pairs, then scattered through the mountain forests toward Fei County in Mount Tai Commandery, on the other side of the mountains.

One poor, unlucky fellow was dragged straight into Xu Ping's own team.

But something puzzled Wang Qi. Ran Jiao was clearly the only beauty in this scouting party, with quite an attractive face and a figure that, by his estimation, could hardly be lacking. So why had nobody given him a look of envy, jealousy, or resentment?

Were they all too deeply guarded, or was there something wrong with this beauty?

Well, considering that this beauty had slit pupils, that was very likely where the problem lay...

They traveled through the mountain forest, both silent at first.

Neither had yet adjusted to operating as a pair, so things inevitably felt somewhat awkward and unfamiliar.

Yet as dusk approached, the serpentine beauty Ran Jiao suddenly said to Wang Qi, "There's a wild rabbit in the dead grass sixty paces to your left."

Wang Qi reacted quickly, taking this as a reminder that it was time to prepare dinner.

At the moment, he had a bow hanging on either side of his pack: a standard-issue war bow and his usual hunting bow.

Since this was hunting, naturally, his hunting bow would do.

He reached into his quiver and swiftly drew a long arrow, then nocked it, pulled back the string, and aimed in the direction Ran Jiao had indicated...

But his brow furrowed slightly. That patch of withered brush covered a sizable area, and his eyes alone could not make out anything hiding inside.

Still, reasoning that he ought to show his new partner more trust, he sharply raised his aim, changing what would have been a level shot into a steeply angled one.

The bowstring twanged, sending the long arrow arcing toward the brush, with its landing point slightly toward the rear...

At the same time, he kicked off a nearby tree trunk and scrambled up onto a branch in two quick steps, another arrow already nocked in his hand.

Thud!

The first arrow struck the ground, making the entire patch of brush shudder.

That undoubtedly startled the little creature inside, and a plump, grayish-white rabbit darted out.

Because the arrow had landed behind it, the rabbit actually fled diagonally toward the two of them, looking rather as though panic had left it no time to choose a path.

And that brought the rabbit directly into Wang Qi's line of fire.

Whoosh!

The second arrow flew, this time striking the running rabbit with perfect accuracy.

He jumped down from the branch, picked up the rabbit, and retrieved his arrows before saying to Ran Jiao, "You're really impressive. Before it moved, even I couldn't hear it. How did you find it?"

Ran Jiao glanced at him, making it clear that she had no desire to elaborate.

Wang Qi was rather helpless against this outwardly cold woman, so he could only start preparing the rabbit himself.

He deftly slit open its belly, removed its innards, then skinned it and washed it clean.

Meanwhile, although Ran Jiao appeared unwilling to spare even one extra word, she was very efficient when it came to action.

She had already gathered dry firewood in short order... Dry wood was not difficult to find in this snowy winter landscape; it was everywhere in the forest.

She skillfully cleared a patch of ground, built a fire, and lit it, then came over to Wang Qi and stared at him...

Those slit pupils made his hair stand on end... He was beginning to understand why none of his colleagues envied him. This girl really was rather eerie.

Under her piercing stare, Wang Qi hurried through the final steps, skewering the rabbit on a wooden pole and setting it over the fire...

Then, at that moment, Ran Jiao spoke again. "Go over to the snow and use some of it to wipe your hands."

Wang Qi was a little stunned. What did that mean?

Seeing his astonished expression, the slit-pupiled girl spoke again. "You just handled a rabbit's carcass. You have to clean your hands, or you can forget about sharing a meal with me!"

Wang Qi's eyes widened...

The sight made Ran Jiao feel rather miserable, but she still said firmly, "That's just the kind of person I am. If you can't accept it, eat by yourself. Don't worry about me."

Wang Qi looked at the girl, his joy beyond imagining... It hadn't been easy. After all this time in this world, he had finally found someone who could accept his 'bottom line.'

At that moment, he was profoundly grateful to Xu Ping... He and Ran Jiao really could become good partners. Now he himself was utterly certain of it.

But he did not do as Ran Jiao asked, because he felt that it was nowhere near enough!

He walked into the snow and, without another word, turned his Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm into a Mighty Excavating Hand, pounding a large pit into the ground with two heavy blows.

Then he swept as much of the surrounding snow into the bottom of the pit as possible, soon filling it.

Next, Wang Qi's hands suddenly grew hot... He had circulated his lesser yang qi, gathering that internal qi in his hands, which naturally produced a gentle, warming yang energy.

Nothing more to it-it was simply a little hot.

Using the motions of the Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm, he began rapidly striking the snow piled in the pit, melting it through swift heat transfer until it finally became a pool of snowmelt.

A light sweat broke out over Wang Qi's body. All that work really was rather tiring.

But he smiled as he said, "Snow may be clean, but it still picks up some dust. So we can melt it into water, then purify it a little with the Water-Cleansing Spell. Only then is it just about fit for use."

As he spoke, he gave the snowmelt in the pit one final light tap...

A ring of ripples immediately spread outward, and the water, previously somewhat cloudy from the dirt it had picked up off the ground, instantly became clear all the way to the bottom.

Wang Qi then dipped his hands into it and gave them a quick rub, cast another Water-Cleansing Spell on the pool, and said to Ran Jiao, "All right, your turn... Don't worry. Apart from being a little cold, this water is absolutely clean now."

But Ran Jiao did not move, because she was already staring in utter astonishment...

Her cold slit pupils had become plump and round again, giving her an adorably dazed look...

She had thought that after she made such a demand, Wang Qi would consider her fussy and see her as a freak.

But now, she only wanted to say: How could anyone in this world be this fussy?

She was a freak?

No, she wasn't. The boy in front of her, who had made such a huge production just to wash his hands, was the real freak!

"I completely understand how you feel... What's wrong with liking things clean? Is cleanliness a crime?"

"We're not wrong! Those people are just too rough and too slovenly!"

Wang Qi spoke as though they shared a bitter common enemy.

Ran Jiao merely twitched the corner of her mouth, then silently crouched beside the pool and washed her hands... It suddenly occurred to her that she could probably scoop up this handwashing water and drink it without any problem. Wouldn't it taste quite sweet and refreshing?