"You're no tomboy, my dear! You're just too competent!" Qin Feng said. "If you're really serious about this, then fight and support yourself! – if your father just needs 80,000 yuan, then redeem yourself! Take it that he sold his own daughter!"
Xiao Jing nodded, gritting her teeth. "Yeah, I want to earn money. At most, I would just die. If I do survive, I will be free when I go back!"
Of course, that enthusiasm did not last long. Xiao Jing sighed. Earning money was easier said than done. Even if she prostituted herself in the red-light district, she would never earn 80,000 yuan in a month's time.
On top of that, she was so plain that no one would pay attention to her appearance!
But when her eyes fell on Qin Feng, she began to feel a little hopeful – not because she wanted to rely on him, but because Qin Feng had changed so much.
"Qin Feng, what have you been doing these few days? You seem so different. It looks like you've gained some weight!"
"Am I not doing what you want to do too?" Qin Feng answered. Why did she use the term 'gain weight' rather than 'get stronger?'
"You've been hunting? Have… have you awakened already?"
"Nope!" Qin Feng denied calmly.
"Qin Feng, you're really incredible!" Xiao Jing said admiringly. "Maybe that's why you've always been number one in our grade. If I had known earlier, I would've joined even more martial arts classes!"
She rarely trained her martial ats because it was very physically demanding. Her frail and underfed frame would see her would often pass out after class.
"It's not too late to learn now!" Although Qin Feng had no idea what Xiao Jing was put through in his previous life, one thing was for sure. She went on to be really successful, sharpened by the hardships of life.
'Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!' Xiaobai popped it head out of Qin Feng's backpack as if telling him to release it.
Xiao Jing was immediately drawn to the little creature.
"What is this? It's so cute!" exclaimed the amused girl as she reached out to touch the creature.
"Growl!" Xiaobai barred its teeth, displaying fierce hostility.
Qin Feng was shocked by the little creature's reaction. He patted Xiaobai soothingly to calm it down. "It's okay, she's a friend!" he said.
Xiaobai's dark eyes were fixed on Xiao Jing as if displeased that he had come across such a weak companion. Its attention, however, was quickly diverted.
"Chirp!" Xiaobai suddenly looked away, cautious, and alert.
Again, Qin Feng was surprised. He did not expect Xiaobai to be so vigilant.
The little creature jumped out of the backpack so swiftly; it became a blurry flash of white. Qin Feng was taken aback by the sudden reaction and jumped up in caution.
"Xiaobai!" Qin Feng felt his body tense up. He drew his energy gun and pointed at the direction Xiaobai was heading.
A threadsnake three meters long and as thick as his wrist slithered on the ground. Its imposing size was proof that it could swallow the tiny creature in one bite.
Psssssh!!! The threadsnake bared its fangs and pounced at Xaiobai!
Qin Feng pulled the trigger without even thinking.
Swoosh!
The energy gun unleashed a powerful ray and penetrated the threadsnake's head.
But before that could happen, Xiaobai had already disappeared from the scene.
"Teleportation!" Qin Feng gasped when he saw the silvery glow on Xiaobai's fur, a clear sign of space elemental runes.
Only certain special ultra beasts were space types. In fact, the space type was not part of the awakened human ability and was deemed especially valuable.
Who knew that little Xiaobai would possess this rare ability after its awakening?!
When Qin Feng thought back on how Xiaobai appeared in that space tunnel, however, he wondered if it had inherited this extraordinary ability from its mum.
Was Xiaobai really a space-type ultra beast under that lock of cute fur?
"Chirp!" Xiaobai appeared from the space, looking very unhappy when it saw that the threadsnake was dead. It jumped around the snake, looking as if it was displeased or that the snake was too big to swallow.
"It's too dangerous!" Qin Feng's tone had become grave and was somewhat reprimanding.
Immediately, Xiaobai lowered its head in guilt; its dark eyes grew misty.
"Alright, alright!" Qin Feng gave the little creature's forehead a rub, picked up his dagger, and went to work on the threadsnake.
This time, he yielded quite a bit of loot. He defanged the snake, removed its venom, placed its gall in a bottle, then skinned the viper.
"Are you afraid of snakes?" Qin Feng asked.
The girl's legs were trembling in palpable terror, but as Qin Feng posed the question to her, she answered stubbornly instead, "No, I'm not!"
Qin Feng nodded, looked around, then carried the threadsnake carcass in the opposite direction.
Xiao Jing followed him, wondering what he was going to do with it.
He sliced the snake into small sections, skewered them with his arrows, and started a fire.
The smoldering coals produced flames as tall as a bonfire. Qin Feng set up some with twigs and branches and began roasting the snake.
Soon, the surprisingly appetizing fragrance of roasted snakemeat wafted in the air.
"Gulp!" Xiao Jing swallowed. She had nothing to eat since the morning and was very visibly famished.
"Here, have some!" Qin Feng passed a skewer to her, moving on to roast another section of the snake. The large threadsnake was only big enough to fill a person.
"Thank you!" Xiao Jing hungrily accepted the food and began to gobble it down.
"Eat more. This can help improve your physique. If you want to fight, you'll need to have strength."
"Mmmm! Mm!" muttered Xiao Jing with a mouth full of snake as she ate even more enthusiastically.
The threadsnake's flesh was fresh, succulent, and had a great texture. When she swallowed the meat, she could feel a warmth filling up her belly. It could have been all in her imagination, but she felt her whole body strengthening soon after.
She was still in the awakening period and had been training non-stop these few days. As a result, she had no time for proper meals. When the food hit her stomach, it was immediately broken down into energy as if to make up for the many years she had lost.
"Chirp!" Xiaobai cried.
"Lower your voice!" Qin Feng hushed, picking up his crossbow and arrows.
Xiao Jing scanned the surroundings and saw three threadsnakes slithering towards them.
"Oh, yeah, by the way, don't roast snakemeat in the wilderness when you're alone!" Qin Feng reminded.
Xiao Jing nodded in silence as she gnawed a chunk of meat off the arrow and tightened the grip around the steel.
Then, she suddenly remembered that during a wilderness survival class, they were told that no matter how delicious snakemeat was, they should never roast it in the wilderness. The smell could travel as far as a kilometer and was known to draw other snake species.
How many threadsnakes were there in the plantation?
The hairs on the back of Xiao Jing's neck stood at that thought. She looked at Qin Feng, thinking that he must have lost his mind.
Qin Feng had not lost his mind, of course.
The nearby wilderness around Chengbei was only half a safe zone, and it was difficult to hunt in this area. So, Qin Feng had resorted to using the simplest method to draw out his prey.
Also, he wanted to try out the Asteroid Assimilation's power.