Chapter 10

Shan Heyuan received a communication talisman from Zhong Shuran, asking him to come over quickly so he could introduce him to the captain of a hunting team.

By the time he saw it, the talisman had been sent an hour and a half earlier.

He wondered whether Zhong Shuran was still at home.

After hurrying all the way to Zhong Shuran's door, Shan Heyuan knocked, his heart nervous.

The door was ajar, and the slight force of his knock pushed it open.

The voices in the courtyard stopped at once, and the two men who had been talking turned to look at Shan Heyuan.

One of them was Zhong Shuran, his talisman-master friend from the same village. He had never met the other man, who was presumably the talisman master Zhong Shuran had wanted to introduce him to.

The man was at least two meters tall, built like an iron tower, with a dark face and a thick beard.

What a giant of a man!

Shan Heyuan's hand froze as he was about to wave hello, and his expression grew a little awkward.

Zhong Shuran waved him over. "Shan Heyuan, this is Zhao Changming, the captain of our hunting team. He was also my classmate, and he's already at Qi Refining Great Perfection."

Shan Heyuan said, "Fellow Daoist Zhao."

Zhao Changming fixed his sharp gaze on Shan Heyuan, as though he could see straight through to his internal organs.

Shan Heyuan's scalp tingled, and he instinctively turned slightly to shield his Dantian.

Only after what seemed like quite a while did Zhao Changming greet him in a deep voice. "Fellow Daoist Shan."

Zhong Shuran patted Zhao Changming's arm, signaling him to rein in his fierce expression. "Heyuan is a very talented grower. Aren't our Spirit Plant losses always rather high when we go out? If we take him along, things might improve."

Zhao Changming nodded. "Fellow Daoist Shan strikes me as someone I can get along with. If you'd like to go, we can try working together once."

Shan Heyuan immediately said, "Sorry for the trouble, Fellow Daoist Zhao. I'm free anytime."

Zhao Changming said, "We're going to Camphor Gap Mountain tomorrow and should be back in about three days. Would you like to come, Fellow Daoist Shan?"

Shan Heyuan said, "Yes!"

Zhao Changming said, "You're refreshingly decisive, Fellow Daoist Shan. In that case, we'll buy all the supplies this afternoon, meet at Junior Brother Zhong's place first thing tomorrow morning, and set off."

Shan Heyuan had never formally gone out with a hunting team before.

After Zhao Changming learned about his situation, he gave him a list and, together with Zhong Shuran, went over some things he needed to watch out for.

Shan Heyuan drank his fill of tea at Zhong Shuran's house and only returned home near noon, his head spinning.

When Shan Heyuan entered his courtyard, he found the house exceptionally quiet.

He searched inside and out but found no sign of Shen Duheng. "Strange, where did he go? He's out again, and he didn't even leave a note."

After making sure Shen Duheng wasn't home, he couldn't be bothered to cook. He went into the kitchen and opened the cold cabinet, intending to find something quick to eat.

He found two flatbreads and a small jar of pickled vegetarian golden melon, stacked them together, and prepared to take them to the living room to eat.

Just as he turned around, he caught sight of a tall, dark-red figure standing in the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He jumped. "Brother Shen?! Where did you go this morning? Have you eaten?"

Shen Duheng looked at him. "No. Weren't you out too?"

Shan Heyuan explained, "I just went to Shuran's house. He contacted his senior brother, who said their hunting team could take me along once to try it out."

Shen Duheng said, "That fast?"

Shan Heyuan said excitedly, "Yes! Fellow Daoist Zhao said he took a liking to me at first sight-Zhong Shuran's senior brother is called Zhao Changming."

Shen Duheng stood in the doorway and looked at him. "Oh?"

Shan Heyuan said, "I've decided to go with them and give it a try. I need to go to town this afternoon to buy supplies for the hunt. Fellow Daoist Zhao and the others suggested I bring Grain Avoidance Pills, healing pills, a sleeping tent, and other personal necessities. They'll buy the supplies everyone needs. Are you coming?"

Shen Duheng raised a hand and tossed something to him. "I won't go. Head to Hidden Spirits and see what you can find."

"You're not going?" Shan Heyuan caught the thing instinctively and only then realized it was heavy and cold in his hand. "What is this?"

Shan Heyuan opened his hand and examined the plain brass-colored ring in his palm. It looked very familiar, but he couldn't immediately remember where he had seen one.

Shen Duheng said lazily, "A storage ring. It's inconvenient to carry bags and bundles when you go out, so I found you a small storage ring."

It was a storage ring!

Shan Heyuan's mouth fell open, then stretched into a grin that nearly reached his ears. "A storage ring! Brother Shen, you bought me a storage ring?! Wait, where did you get the spirit pearls?"

Shen Duheng said, "Would a sword cultivator be short of spirit pearls?"

Shan Heyuan held the storage ring between his fingers, looking at it again and again. "This is far too valuable!"

Shen Duheng said, "Consider it a loan. Pay me back when you have spirit pearls."

Shan Heyuan couldn't contain his delight. "Thank you, Brother Shen! When I earn some spirit pearls, I'll spend them on you too!"

Shen Duheng paid his words no mind, waving a hand as he turned and went back to the living room.

Shan Heyuan looked at the storage ring in his hand and called after him, "Brother Shen, wait a bit. I'll make a couple of proper dishes, and we can eat right away!"

Shan Heyuan stood in the kitchen.

The light in the kitchen wasn't very good. Because the house had a tiled roof, it was cool and dim even at noon.

But the brass-colored ring in his palm shimmered with tiny points of light, impossible to overlook.

He turned the storage ring over in his fingers for a while, then scooped up some water and washed his hands with cleansing paste before carefully slipping the ring onto the index finger of his right hand.

The ring was smooth and slender, and it looked beautiful on his long finger from every angle.

After admiring it for a while, he reached out to the storage ring with his Divine Sense.

When his Divine Sense touched the storage ring, it was like probing a wall.

Only then did he realize the ring had yet to recognize its master.

According to what he had learned, most storage artifacts only required Blood-Drip Recognition.

Shan Heyuan looked around, took the cleaver from the rack, and made a small cut on the back of his hand. He squeezed out some blood and smeared it on the storage ring.

The storage ring absorbed the blood and became smooth and shiny again.

Shan Heyuan probed it once more and found a small space.

The space was about four meters wide, five meters long, and three meters high. Under his Divine Sense, it appeared dull and gray.

It was an alternate space clearly distinct from reality, somewhat like a Dantian but much larger.

Shan Heyuan "stared" at the space without blinking and casually tucked the cleaver in his hand inside.

The cleaver floated in the space.

The entire space seemed to be weightless. The cleaver didn't shift at all inside it, and he couldn't feel its weight while wearing the storage ring.

Shan Heyuan used his Divine Sense to adjust the cleaver's position, moving it into a corner.

The process went smoothly. He controlled his Divine Sense as easily as his own arm, as though it were a third hand.

After playing with it for a while, Shan Heyuan remembered that they still hadn't eaten lunch.

He quickly took out the cleaver and brought out some lean meat he had air-dried earlier to make lunch.

He had been deeply moved that day, so he specially made four dishes and a soup.

After lunch, Shan Heyuan went to town to buy supplies.

He had far too few spirit pearls, so he didn't go to Hidden Spirits. Instead, he went to the secondhand shop he frequented and bought a few things he absolutely needed to bring.

They would do for now. He could worry about the rest when he had spirit pearls.

He would be going hunting with the team the next day, and Shan Heyuan was so excited he couldn't sleep all night. By the time he got up, the dark circles under his eyes nearly reached his mouth.

Even so, he was still bursting with excitement. Not only did he make breakfast early in the morning, he also went over the household matters with Shen Duheng several times before heading out to find Zhong Shuran.

Now that he had a storage ring, he carried nothing in his hands as he went to find Zhong Shuran, full of high spirits.

Zhao Changming was already waiting at Zhong Shuran's house.

Besides Zhao Changming, there was another team member named Li Jiamu.

Li Jiamu and Zhao Changming were both sword cultivators, while Zhong Shuran was a talisman cultivator who also practiced formations.

When they went out, they had no trouble with hunting, but they were weaker at gathering.

That was also why Zhao Changming, as captain, was willing to accept a grower. They needed to make their hunting trips more efficient so they could save on costs and increase their earnings.