Chapter 335

Ajan Deok had received the ‘request’ from the Great Chief to capture Seomun Qing.

That was a rare and heartfelt plea from the same Great Chief who constantly yelled at that conman, urging him to use his brain to pull off more scams.

So, Ajan Deok thought, if he could wipe away his debt now, wouldn’t life in Green Forest become way more comfortable? Thus, he squeezed out all sorts of schemes.

However, humans think based on common sense and what seems obvious to them.

No matter how supreme a master might be, they can’t endure the harsh wilderness forever.

This was a primitive forest so humid that most of the year it was foggy.

When November comes, the nights grow cold, and with the atmosphere being so damp, maintaining body heat becomes increasingly difficult, making the climate feel even harsher.

So, during the day, he would send some lackeys to keep moving around, and at night he’d block the paths, surrounding them to prevent escape.

If left in such a situation for too long, the cold would only deepen.

They’d either collapse from fatigue, hunger, and cold, or they’d risk their lives trying to break through the encirclement.

Then, the elite forces of Green Forest would swarm in to subdue Seomun Qing and deliver her to the Great Chief.

No, the Great Chief himself would probably be the first to rush in, so there wouldn’t even be a need to deliver her.

This plan was devised with the input of the Green Forest figure, and the advice of the elite combat unit’s Great Lord, Dou Sam.

How long could a supreme master withstand that harsh jungle, after all?

Being at such a high level, could they really be fine even when the cold winds blow and when they eat poisonous mushrooms or get bitten by venomous creatures, rising up with their inner strength to burn away the toxins?

Dou Sam, who resided at the gate of the realm of transformation, answered confidently.

“That’s unlikely. They might last a couple of days, but after ten days, both stamina and inner strength would be dangerously low.”

Dou Sam also responded based on his subjective experiences and his understanding of those at the beginning stage of being a supreme master.

And so, the assessment of the first day of the operation.

Not bad for a start.

Seomun Qing would already be pretty worn out from setting traps at night.

Supplemental items.

We need to find out who ordered the day shift to supply food to them,

and punish the bastard who aided the enemy’s supply.

Sadly, the guy who helped the enemy’s supply was right next to him.

But they couldn’t punish Dou Sam, so they could only gently admonish him, saying they shouldn’t let Seomun Qing loot food.

“What? You want to send them into that dreadful forest without even one meal?”

“Didn’t seventeen of them go in? Even if they caught only ten, that would already be thirty rice balls. If the girls rationed, that would have easily lasted a month. Sure, it would spoil before then, but thanks to that, the operation period has at least lengthened by ten days.”

“Ahem.”

Dou Sam realized his mistake.

So, feeling embarrassed, he could only change the subject.

“Ahem, it’s unusually cold at the beginning of November compared to previous years. By now, they must be shivering and suffering, so what good is a few rice balls for them to last?”

—-

“Ah, it’s nice and warm. You guys are unexpectedly helpful!”

In the shallow cave of bizarre rock formations, Qing giggled while burying herself in the fur of the bear, flanked by hunting dogs on either side.

“But, um, oh my, what’s that smell? Is it you guys, or is it the bear?”

The bear, whom Qing had cuddled up to, let out a disgruntled snort.

Having pulled an all-nighter yesterday, she thought to take a nap tonight, but as a camping expert, Qing quickly gauged the state of the forest.

The dewy leaves piled on top were soaking wet.

So, the ground below must be so wet that if she pressed down, water would seep out.

There’s no way she could sleep on such land.

Because it’s too damp…

Thus, Qing hurried off to find a good sleeping spot before sunset.

There were peculiar rock formations standing here and there.

On such rocky surfaces, there ought to be sunken spots, dry flat stones where water wouldn’t seep through.

Then, unexpectedly, she found a nice den. Just as she was about to step in, her legs were grabbed by four dogs, barking and growling, as if warning her not to enter.

Yet, how dare a mere dog hold onto a human’s leg? Qing struggled a bit and pushed through.

And inside, she discovered a slumbering bear.

No matter how much of a beast it was, waking up from sleep would naturally make it cranky, and thus it gave Qing a harsh whack.

Qing paid it back in kind.

That punch of a master really hurt.

It was pain the bear had never experienced before.

The thick skin, the layer of fat underneath, and the resilient muscle made it tough against falling rocks.

But when that punch packed with inner strength hit with the intricacies of martial arts, both bear and human alike could only cry out in agony.

The bear, too smart for its own good, instinctively realized it would die if it fought back, and thus it calmed down and cautiously looked at Qing.

It laid flat against the ground when Qing pressed, so thankfully, no real harm was done, and it let her sit atop its body.

What a humiliating defeat for a king of the mountains, to be climbed upon by a mere wolf! (Though the lion might disagree).

Yet it endured because it feared the human.

Thus, Qing was immensely satisfied.

Being plump and almost ready for winter hibernation, it was comfier than most beds, without even a blanket, as the hunting dogs snuggled up to provide warmth, their cute little heartbeats rhythmically beating up against her.

Except for one thing: its smell.

“Hmm. I’m too tired today, so I can’t help it. Tomorrow, I need to find some water and wash off. You guys really stink… Zzzz.”

Exhausted from an all-nighter, Qing collapsed into a near comatose sleep.

Thus, in Qing’s woodland diary:

Day One.

Today we had rice balls for a meal and set traps while roaming.

Among the loot was a net, which I turned into a makeshift trap, but then those bandit bastards came with their dogs.

How dare they abandon a dog! That’s a capital offense.

Day Four.

There are already eight dogs.

I’m running out of rice balls to eat. Should I hunt some wild game?

However, with eight dogs, it’s warm enough to cover myself completely at night.

Day Six.

Today, there are eleven dogs now.

With nothing to do, I set out traps, but the bandits only sent dogs, not showing themselves.

Whenever I heard a yelp, I’d check it out, and there they’d be, caught every time.

Did I set too many traps? It’s getting dull.

Day Seven.

I caught a wild boar.

The baby boar was so cute that I petted it a bit, but then its mother charged at me.

I have to say, I underestimated it; it hurt quite a bit.

That charge was stronger than the bear’s.

In a fit of rage, I reflexively gave it a smack in the head, but damn, its skull is softer than I thought.

If only I could grill it, but lighting a fire is a bother, so only the dogs are excited over it.

The meat isn’t good enough to go through the trouble of making a fire.

Day Eight.

Today, I have thirteen dogs.

And for some reason, a pack of wolves started following me as if they were getting cozy.

Now, I have eight wolves.

They say dogs and wolves belong to the same species, so that makes a total of twenty-one animals around me. It’s a doggone mess.

And on the eleventh day.

Finally, Qing’s patience reached its limit.

This can’t go on! It’s been over ten days since I last had a proper meal!

I’m not some Daoist monk (which I might as well be), how can a human survive on only vegetarian rations?

The rice balls have gone stale and while I could eat them, I simply can’t stomach them anymore!

Honestly, not bathing for days has started to get tiresome, but after a certain point, even discomfort becomes comfortable.

Sleeping has become like a family reunion, and it’s gotten so toasty that I might as well be sweating!

Bear, who had initially disliked the increase of slumbering companions in its den, resigned itself and went into hibernation, accepting whoever showed up.

So, it wasn’t uncomfortable with all the commotion, but I couldn’t stand the poor diet!

With that realization, Qing set off into the woods, determined to catch a deer and two pheasants. She tossed the deer to the dogs and wolves and prepared to start a fire.

The damp forest made it a hassle to start a fire, but it wasn’t impossible.

The hard part was finding dry wood for the fire, splitting it piece by piece while searching for decent firewood that was usable.

After a hard-fought search, I finely sliced a batch with my Qing-Jian blade, and after striking flint and blowing on it, oh, it lit up!

Once I fed it some less-than-dry wood, it took a while, but eventually, it caught on.

It took over an hour to start the fire, so it wasn’t for no reason that I had been bothered by it before.

Once the fire got going, even the damp wood kept burning.

However, this did produce a significant amount of smoke.

Well, I guess we’ll call it smoked meat.

What kind of wood was it again…?

As Qing grilled the pheasants, the acrid smoke from the burning green wood billowed up, breaking through the thick canopy of leaves above.

Meanwhile, the mountain strategist Ajan Deok saw the smoke.

“Finally! The time has come!”

“What time? Are we finally going to catch Seomun Qing?”

“That girl must have made a fire! Cold and hungry, she couldn’t hold out any longer!”

Not that it was cold or that he was hungry.

Just that the food was terrible.

“Look at her previous actions. At some point, she stopped showing herself, which means she was weak and relying entirely on her traps.”

But that’s also not true.

She was just tired of the whole situation and had let herself go.

While trying all sorts of traps, it seemed she’d become a bit too enthusiastic. Those bandits who so confidently followed the dogs ended up caught and ceased to breathe, making it seem that wandering out for fun wouldn’t yield more excitement.