Bao Gu knew that cultivating immortality was not an overnight achievement, and she understood the saying “haste makes waste.” The cultivation manual Yu Mi gave her stated that reaching the Qi Refining stage would grant two hundred years of life, the Foundation Building stage would grant three hundred years, and the Golden Core stage would grant five hundred years. At just thirteen years old and only a month into the world of cultivation, Bao Gu didn’t understand why her senior sister was in such a rush. Building a solid foundation was crucial, just like the eldest child of Aunt Zhou next door, who spent the first three years of martial arts training just practicing horse stance. Most importantly, Bao Gu knew she had done her best. She didn’t know what she would achieve through cultivation, but she was determined to practice to the fullest and accept whatever outcome that brought.
Carrying her medicine basket, Bao Gu went down to the shallow part of the stream and gathered some river snails. She cracked their shells with a stone and placed the broken snails and stones into the basket, then submerged it in a part of the stream where fish were abundant. She sat quietly by the stream, holding the vine that tied the basket. After a short wait, she saw fish enter the basket to eat the snail meat. Once several fish were inside, she swiftly pulled the vine, lifting the basket out of the water. The fish inside panicked, splashing water and jumping around, and the largest one, a foot long, managed to escape as the basket was lifted from the water.
Bao Gu brought the basket ashore and found eight fish of various sizes inside, all with whiskers like carp. The smallest was only as wide as two fingers, and the largest weighed about seven or eight taels. She joyfully brought the fish back to the kitchen, skillfully cleaned and gutted them, and then picked some ripe spiritual herbs from the yard. She stuffed the largest fish with the herbs and steamed it on a plate, while the remaining seven fish were used to make fish soup.
The delicious fish, combined with the spiritual herbs, brought out the natural flavors of both the fish and the herbs, even without the seasoning of ginger, green onions, or garlic. Bao Gu, who hadn’t tasted meat in two years, was so moved she almost cried.
After eating her fill, Bao Gu went to the stream to meditate and absorb the spiritual energy and medicinal properties released by the spiritual herbs.
An hour of meditation left Bao Gu sweating, and she felt a slight increase in the energy within her dantian.
After bathing, she took out the bow and arrows Yu Mi had given her and began practicing her combat skills.
Yu Mi had also provided her with a jade slip containing the “Combat Techniques,” which recorded various methods and skills for using different weapons.
Bao Gu chose to practice with the bow and arrow and the axe, as she had both readily available. Yu Mi had given her a bow and a quiver of arrows, and there was a large axe for chopping wood in the house, which was perfect for use. As for the sword, known as the “king of weapons,” she didn’t plan to give up on it either. She carved a wooden sword and spent half an hour each day practicing sword techniques.
Compared to the sword, Bao Gu preferred the axe. While practicing axe techniques, she could also chop wood. After three months, she had piled up a stack of wood in the backyard taller than the house itself. The axe was heavy, and swinging it also served as strength training. Now living alone in the forest where she wouldn’t see another person for months, she had to do all the heavy lifting herself. How could she manage without strength? As for the wooden sword, what use was it? The bow and arrow were more practical; at least she could hunt birds, rabbits, and pheasants nearby to improve her meals.
It was now autumn, and the leaves had turned yellow. The cool autumn breeze scattered the leaves, creating a pleasant atmosphere. However, Bao Gu had been waking up cold at night, shivering on her bamboo mat, and had to meditate in the middle of the night to warm herself with the scant true qi in her dantian.
She had to consider how to survive the winter. She needed to prepare clothes and bedding, as well as food for the winter. As the weather grew colder, the fish in the stream became less active and less interested in bait, making fishing with the medicine basket increasingly difficult and less productive.
She adjusted her bathing time to noon, as the stream water was too cold in the morning and evening, making her shiver. If it got any colder, she would have to heat water and bathe in the thatched hut in the yard that she had never used before.
Before dawn, Bao Gu got up early to cook. She put two plump rabbits in the pot along with several spiritual herbs to stew.
Perhaps due to her cultivation, she had a large appetite and could eat an entire rabbit or two pheasants in a day. She estimated that she needed about a pound of meat per meal to feel full.
After cooking the rabbit meat, Bao Gu ate half a rabbit and drank the richly medicinal rabbit soup in one go.
She walked out of the courtyard after breakfast and saw that the sky was beginning to brighten.
She picked a fruit from the Zhu Ming tree and ate it, then sat on the stone bridge over the stream to meditate and absorb the medicinal effects of the spiritual herbs she had just consumed.
Four months of cultivation and physical changes made Bao Gu realize that the food and spiritual herbs she consumed contained not only spiritual energy that increased the true qi in her dantian but also many substances she didn’t know about that were slowly changing her physique. Four months ago, she was as thin as a stick, but now she had gained muscle without becoming fat. Her arms and legs were firm, her chest had grown, and her skin had become translucently white and tender, like tofu. Even with daily consumption of Zhu Ming fruits, her body had little dirt to expel. Her strength had increased significantly; the heavy axe that used to be difficult to swing now felt as light as dried wood in her hand. She could run faster, jump higher, and her hearing had improved so much that she could clearly hear the footsteps of a rabbit running a hundred steps away. Her vision was so sharp that she could shoot an arrow into the head of a small caterpillar crawling a hundred steps away.
These improvements gave Bao Gu the courage to venture deeper into the forest away from her courtyard.
After about two hours of meditation, Bao Gu finished absorbing the medicinal properties of the Zhu Ming fruit and rabbit soup and ended her practice. She changed into the outer disciple uniform she was reluctant to wear, packed the cooked rabbit meat, cold boiled water in a bamboo tube, and the axe into her storage bag, hung the quiver full of arrows on her waist, slung the bow over her shoulder, and left the courtyard. She locked the courtyard door and crossed the small bridge over the stream, heading towards the mountain forest on the opposite side.
In the autumn season, the grass and trees were withered, and most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, revealing the sky that had been hidden by the canopy, making it seem vast and open.
With the crisp autumn air, Bao Gu stepped on the thick layer of fallen leaves, feeling somewhat spirited.
Previously, Bao Gu had only hunted small animals like wild rabbits and pheasants around the courtyard, but this time she ventured deeper into the forest to hunt large animals with thick fur to make blankets and clothes for the winter. Of course, she wouldn’t pass up smaller prey, as they were her winter food supply.
There were no paths in the forest, and many places were blocked by dense shrubs. Bao Gu chose areas with fewer shrubs to walk through, and when there was no way to pass, she had to take out her axe to clear a path. Fortunately, her strength was not small, and swinging the seven or eight-pound axe was quite easy, so she didn’t feel tired along the way.
With her sharp hearing and vision, she occasionally spotted small prey hiding under shrubs, in grass piles, or beside fallen leaves. She ignored the tiny mice, considering them too small and not worth the effort to skin. The squirrels in the trees were too pretty, and she couldn’t bring herself to harm them. When a male pheasant with beautiful feathers flew by, she decisively shot it down with her bow. When she spotted a plump rabbit, she couldn’t let it go—rabbit meat was one of her favorite delicacies.
Before noon, Bao Gu’s storage bag was filled with five rabbits, two pheasants, and one pigeon. She only saw one large wild animal, a glossy, fiery-red fox that ran so fast it disappeared without a trace.
Feeling thirsty, Bao Gu stood behind a tree, took out a bamboo tube of water from her storage bag, and drank while looking around to decide which direction to head for hunting. She looked around and suddenly realized that the scenery in all directions was the same—shrubs and towering ancient trees everywhere! Bao Gu paused, realizing she had not made any markers on her way. She had only hunted near the stream around the courtyard, using the sound of the stream or the sight of the water to find her way home. Having no experience venturing deep into the forest, she had forgotten to make marks, and the result was that she was lost.
She had just realized how vast the mountain forest was, with no end in sight in any direction and no sound of any stream.
Bao Gu slapped her forehead in annoyance and muttered, “Stupid!” She gritted her teeth and turned back.
Suddenly, a yellow figure burst out of the shrubs about a yard away. The slightly yellow figure rushed out and pounced towards her. She clearly heard the sound of fur rubbing against the shrubs, and almost as soon as she saw the figure leap out, it was already upon her. Bao Gu was caught off guard, her shoulders pinned down by a pair of strong and sharp claws, and the heavy body of several hundred pounds pressed down on her, knocking her to the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her shoulders as if the sharp claws had pierced her flesh. She heard the roar of a beast above her head and smelled a foul breath. As the beast pounced on her, it opened its mouth and bit towards her head. In desperation, Bao Gu pressed her hands against the huge beast’s head and pushed back. The beast howled and opened its mouth wide, biting fiercely towards her head.
Bao Gu struggled to turn her head to increase the distance between her head and the beast’s, and she also saw that the beast attacking her was a tiger with a “king” pattern on its forehead!
Pinned down by the tiger’s claws and overwhelmed by its strength, Bao Gu felt powerless.
The tiger relentlessly bit towards her head, several times catching her hair and pulling painfully. She clenched her teeth and mustered all her strength, one hand holding the tiger’s chin to prevent it from biting her head, while the other hand reached for the arrows in her quiver and plunged one fiercely into the tiger’s belly.
The tiger howled and leaped off her!
Bao Gu saw the arrow she had struck the tiger with still embedded in its body.
After leaping away, the tiger crouched and lunged at Bao Gu with lightning speed, almost instantly reaching her. Bao Gu had no time to think and grabbed the axe beside her, swinging it fiercely at the tiger’s head that was already upon her.
The sharp axe split the tiger’s skull!
The tiger crashed heavily onto Bao Gu, its front paws landing on her, almost knocking the breath out of her. After the tiger fell on her, it tilted and collapsed beside her, Bao Gu’s axe still embedded in its forehead.
Bao Gu took a deep breath, relieved, and got up, distancing herself from the tiger. Seeing the tiger lying dead with its eyes wide open, she finally relaxed and realized her hands were shaking uncontrollably, unable to muster any strength. “I was scared to death, scared to death!” Bao Gu murmured repeatedly. Her heart pounded wildly as if it would burst out of her chest. She never expected a tiger to launch a silent attack on her. The tiger was so close, yet she hadn’t noticed it. Her life had just circled the brink of death.
Bao Gu caught her breath for a while before her heartbeat gradually calmed down, then she felt a burning pain in her shoulders. Looking down, she saw her shoulders soaked in blood, her new sect uniform torn with several large gashes, and the flesh beneath the torn fabric bleeding profusely. Bao Gu endured the pain and shakily took out the hemostatic medicine Yu Mi had given her. She remembered Yu Mi’s words: “Use it sparingly, this medicine might save your life one day.” She didn’t know whether to admire her senior sister’s foresight or blame her for jinxing her. She sprinkled the medicine on her wounds, which quickly stopped bleeding and no longer hurt. But with the flesh torn open and no needle and thread to stitch the wounds, she looked at the scabbed cuts, grateful for her narrow escape, yet saddened by the ugly scars that would remain on her shoulders.
After resting for a while and feeling some strength return, the pain and itchiness in her wounds subsided, and she stood up. She tried moving her shoulders and found she could move them without pain. She thought, “Sister’s medicine is really effective.” Suddenly, she heard a faint rustling in the grass, which, though light, made Bao Gu, who had just been attacked by a tiger, alert. She quickly looked in the direction of the noise and was shocked to see a gray animal resembling a dog crouching in the bushes, staring intently at her. In the next instant, the creature burst out of the bushes and pounced towards her. At the same time, rustling sounds came from the surrounding bushes, and more than a dozen figures rushed out.
A word flashed through Bao Gu’s mind: “Wolves!” She grabbed the axe and tried to pull it out of the tiger’s head, but it was stuck in the skull. Bao Gu had encountered this situation when chopping wood before; she tilted the axe and pressed it down, then pulled hard, and the axe flew out of the tiger’s head, striking one of the wolves that had pounced on her, splattering blood. Another wolf pounced from the side, biting her leg and causing her to cry out in pain. With her left hand, she grabbed an arrow from the quiver and stabbed it forcefully into the head of the wolf that was dragging and biting off a large chunk of her flesh. The force was so great that the arrowhead buried deep into the wolf’s skull, and the shaft she was holding snapped. Bao Gu didn’t have time to look at the arrow because the pack of wolves had already reached her. She screamed, “Ah—” and spun around frantically, swinging the axe in a sweeping motion, hitting two wolves that had approached, severing one’s leg and cleaving half of the other’s head.
There were too many wolves! Wolves were everywhere! Bao Gu swung her axe in terror, chopping at any wolf that pounced on her. She had forgotten all the skills she learned from “Combat Techniques” and could only chop at any wolf that came close, whether it was a thrust, chop, sweep, or shovel, as long as it hit the wolves and broke their encirclement. She saw a wolf approaching from the corner of her eye and, without hesitation or thought, instinctively chopped at it, flipping the wolf that had pounced from behind onto the ground.
Bao Gu didn’t know how many times the pack of wolves had attacked her; she only knew to knock down the approaching wolves with her axe.
After five or six wolves fell in the pool of blood at her feet, a process that seemed very long but was actually only a few breaths, the wolves, severely injured, no longer rushed forward. They retreated, slowly backing into the bushes, as if observing Bao Gu.
Bao Gu, panting, glared fiercely at the wolves ready to pounce, her hands gripping the axe tightly. Under the threat of death, her eyes were even fiercer than the wolves’.
The wolf pack, perhaps realizing Bao Gu was not an easy target, retreated further, then turned and disappeared into the bushes.
Bao Gu, covered in blood, watched the departing wolves and almost wanted to cry. She sniffed hard and told herself, “Don’t cry! Don’t be afraid!” She fiercely took out her storage bag and collected the dead wolves and tiger into it. One wolf was not completely dead and was still gasping and trembling. Bao Gu swung her axe and split its neck, separating its head from its body, and put it into the storage bag.
She rolled up her trouser leg and saw a large chunk of flesh missing from her calf, dripping with blood. She took out the hemostatic medicine Yu Mi had given her and sprinkled it on the wound, then tore a piece of clothing to wrap around the wound. She picked up the axe and dragged her injured leg, slowly walking forward.
She didn’t dare to stay in one place, with so much blood spilled on the ground, who knew how many wild animals in the forest would smell the blood and come chasing after her.
Bao Gu never expected that she would end up in such a situation just by going out to hunt for animal pelts to make bedding, blankets, and clothes for the winter.
