Chapter Twenty-Five: The Hunting Party

Li struggled to tear his gaze away from the twisted iron blank, staring at Li Le in disbelief. “…Sister, you…when did you become so strong?…”

Li Le spread her hands, her tone tinged with mild frustration. “I have no idea. I only realized it this morning when I nearly crushed a bowl in my hand… I don’t know how Brother Bai will react when he comes home to find a bowl chipped and the chopsticks bent… Will he be angry?”

Li Le furrowed her brow, genuinely looking a little worried.

Li: “…”

…Sometimes he couldn’t quite comprehend his sister’s train of thought.

Li sighed, casting a look of envy at Li Le, unable to hold back his lament. “Sister, do you know how astonished Brother would be if he knew you gained so much strength overnight? How could he possibly care about a single bowl?”

He muttered under his breath, “If only I could gain as much strength as you in one night, I’d be willing to break every bowl in the house.”

Li Le snapped out of her reverie, looking at him with a half-amused, half-serious smile, and slowly retorted, “Oh… Is that so… That’s a bold idea, Li… But does Uncle Liu know?”

Li was stumped by her words, his cheeks reddening as he protested, “…Sister!”

Li Le curled her right hand into a fist, cleared her throat softly, and said, “…Sister’s just joking. I won’t tell Uncle Liu…”

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, Li Le always felt the urge to tease him whenever she looked at Li’s mischievous, impish face.

Truth be told, this wicked sense of humor had already begun to show in her previous life: a privileged heiress, refined and generous, praised for her beauty and kindness—all on the surface. But those closest to her knew well how her mischievous antics could be both infuriating and endearing: casually imitating a friend’s handwriting to write love notes, tossing blame around only to act innocent before elders… Such deeds were enough to make one gnash their teeth.

Back then, she had at least some restraint, mindful of her reputation, never daring to go too far. Now, she no longer bothered to conceal it, letting herself go and indulging in her whims.

As a result, when Li Le looked at this lively, clever Li, she truly regarded him as a younger brother—and couldn’t resist the urge to toy with him.

Ahem.

She would have to be more careful from now on.

After all, she still intended to establish a heroic image someday and harvest faith points; if she let her true nature slip now, it would be much harder to shift her image later on…

Li Le reminded herself of this quietly, her eyes flickering with resolve.

Li, hearing her explanation, gradually lost his indignation, picked up a silver coin from the table, fastened his cloak, and spoke: “…Sister, let’s go. I’ll take you for a stroll through the inner city.”

…

Following the path they had taken to the marketplace before, Li and Li Le walked forward cloaked, passing through crowds that hurried by. Unlike last time, almost no one fixed their gaze on them.

“Li, what’s going on? Why does it seem like there are more people here than yesterday?” Li Le asked, puzzled.

She was being rather understated; not only were there more people than yesterday, but most of them were women and children, moving hurriedly as if preparing to welcome someone.

Li tilted his head, counted the days on his fingers, and suddenly recalled, “Oh, Sister, I almost forgot… Today is the day the District Two Hunting Squad returns to the city…”

Li Le was taken aback: she remembered Li mentioning before that each district’s chief and some of its strongest warriors formed hunting squads—thirteen in total—which took turns venturing into the Death Mist to hunt beasts and gather resources.

These hunts followed relatively safe routes, and the round trip usually took about a month.

Of course, the timing wasn’t fixed: as Li had said, sometimes the squads encountered particularly troublesome beasts or ghosts and were delayed.

Li Le had only arrived in this world recently, and today she happened to catch news of the hunting squad’s return, so her curiosity was piqued.

Li noticed her interest and offered, “Sister, if you’re curious, let’s go see. I wonder what kind of prey District Two brought back… Anyway, our tour of the inner city can wait.”

Li Le’s eyes brightened, and she smiled, nodding. “Alright, let’s go take a look. It’ll be good for me to learn something new.”

The little creature on her shoulder squeaked twice in agreement.

They changed direction, quickly moving toward the city gates along the main road, their cloaks billowing in the wind, the hems snapping sharply in the air.

…

They moved at a brisk pace. Li was quick as always, and Li Le kept up as well: since waking up that morning, she had discovered her reflexes and strength were both enhanced.

Perhaps it was due to her steadily accumulating faith points; her strength seemed to be partitioned differently from that of the people in this world, and she could sense her power and agility growing as her faith increased.

Still, Li Le speculated privately that this surge in strength was likely the result of her body fully adapting to this world. In the future, her strength and agility might increase again, but not as dramatically.

For now, though her appearance showed no obvious change, she had fundamentally transformed—at least enough to keep pace with Li.

Before they reached the gates, Li Le and Li could see from a distance a dense crowd gathered there, with more people streaming toward the entrance.

Li Le’s hearing had also improved; she could faintly make out the excited, animated discussions around her:

“They’re finally back!”

“District Two has been gone for a month and a half!” someone exclaimed.

“If it weren’t for their messages, many would have thought they’d perished in the Death Mist…” someone sighed, shaking their head.

“Don’t talk nonsense. According to the mist bird’s report, District Two made a great haul! They hunted plenty of prey, enough for some to survive this damned ‘dead season’!” another rebuked.

“So many beasts hunted this time!? That’s wonderful!” someone cheered.

“…But what about casualties? How many of our city’s strongest have fallen?” someone asked hesitantly.

A burly man nearby scoffed, “Isn’t that obvious? Every hunt comes with blood and sacrifice. Do you think the creatures in the Death Mist are easy to deal with?”

Someone paused, then replied after a moment, “…Maybe it wasn’t as bad as we feared… With warriors like ‘Man’ and ‘Rain’ in the squad, they’ll surely protect their kin. Besides, all the shamans of Cloud City have been called in… Maybe they managed to save some…”

His voice grew softer and less confident.

The burly man laughed again, “Do you believe that yourself? In the heat of life-and-death battle, who has time to drag a burden back?”

“Don’t forget, since Cloud City was built, how many have died? And how few have truly been rescued?”

The other man, stung, turned red in the neck and snapped angrily, “…And you? You’re a strong man—why don’t you join the hunting squad yourself, if you have so much to say!”