Qin Feng, on the other hand, had been watching the juvenile Silver-streaked Ferret in it death throes closely as he panted away. He had not expected to have caused something like that, when he attacked the creature. And he had certainly not been thinking at all, when he attacked.This was the first time that he was killing a Spiritual Beast, after all.
His back was damp, and not from his little trip into the stream either. Even his face was covered with large droplets of perspiration. The whole idea of the fight earlier was enough to frighten him. And he had already survived that fight! Was this what the Hunters had to go through, every time they came to the Southern Woods? Did they put themselves into danger, every time that they Hunted there? Did they risk their lives?
Were they all insane? He could not understand why they did that. Weren"t they bothered at all, by the knowledge that they could all perish, every time that they faced a powerful Spiritual Beast? Why did they do that?
To be honest, it didn"t make any sense at all!
Shuddering, he told himself that he had better dig deeper into the records of the Southern Woods Hunting Grounds the moment that he got back to the Heaven Sword School. The library should have some information about the Spiritual Beasts thereabouts and what they tended to avoid. He had best get his hands on some of those items, before he ventured into the forest again!
*
Three days and two nights of Hunting wasn"t very long, as all the people from the Heaven Sword School were aware. And it was clear from the jovial expressions on all of the Hunters" faces when they returned to the Gate that they had had a good harvest.
The lone herb-grower who had gone along with them was also grinning as he held out the heavily laden basket to the Gate Guards as the group reported. But a quick glance at the same told the latter that he had only managed to get some rather commonplace herbs. They were not the sort that could be cultivated in the School, but had to be harvested from the forest. But they were not extraordinary in any way.
Still, every one of the Guards remembered this particular herb-grower, and how he had already accompanied Elder Ming Guanhe into the Southern Woods twice already. So they were careful not to make things too difficult for him. This was the first time that he had headed out on his own, with the Elder accompanying him, so it was no surprise that he wasn"t able to get his hands on the sort of rare herbs that would have raised a fuss.
Besides, given his almost non-existent Martial Cultivation, it was no surprise that he had stuck to the more common herbs. They would not grant him huge rewards, but they were enough to make his little trip into the wilderness worthwhile.
And that should be enough to uphold Elder Ming"s good name.
Qin Feng continued to wear a happy face as he cleared the Inspection by the Gate Guards and stepped into the Heaven Sword School. Two or three of the Hunters that had led his group on the trip called out their farewells to him fondly, and invited him to join them on their next Hunt, no less. Which had the young man waving back, and promising that he would do so, if his schedule permitted.
And he continued to grin as he started walking towards his own little medicine field, far off to the other end of the School. He had been the one to cook for the Hunting group both nights, and the Hunters had been more than enthusiastic when he used some of the simple herbs that he had gathered for seasoning the meat. Which was enough to have the rest the band supporting him when he went into the slightly more dangerous areas.
He had learned that lesson quickly.
No matter how peaceful the Southern Woods may appear, it was rather heavily populated by some rather deadly animals and Spiritual Beasts. And moving about with a group of Hunters was a great deal safer, even if it meant that he would not be able to get his hands on some of the rarer plants. Of course, he could always make that up by gathering those herbs of lower rarity. It would grant him a lower rate of exchange, but the larger volume should be more than sufficient to make up for the loss.
Besides, none of the Guards had spent much time inspecting his basket since they were more interested in seeing what the Hunters had managed to get their hands on. So there were a few more interesting, and highly valued, herbs that they missed. That should be enough to satisfy Elder Ming, in Qin Feng"s opinion.
But he also knew that it would be a little too obvious, a little too eye-catching, if he were to head to the Elder"s premises straightaway, to handover those plants. He would have to do that carefully, so that it would not attract too much attention. He didn"t want Elder Ming to get into any trouble because of his eagerness, after all.
The scar-faced Elder was his sole backer at the moment, and he needed to protect the old man"s interests. Besides that, there was also the fact that two of the herbs that he had managed to grab from the Hunting grounds were something that Elder Ming could use. So he had a reasonable excuse to show it to the old man, and hand it over.
That, he hoped, would be enough to tell the Elder that Qin Feng was on his side. And that he would continue to pick out those herbs that he was in need of. Or rather, those herbs that his daughter was in need of.
That should be enough to have the old man continue to grant Qin Feng the right to head out into the forest and represent him on Hunts!
* * *