Food?
Sophia pointed at the little forest in the distance and said,
There are some pine nuts that we can eat. There is also a lot of jerky and bread stored in a tree that is empty inside.
Jerky? Bread?
Qian Jin looked at Sophia in surprise.
Have you guys entered here before?
A sad expression appeared on Sophia’s face as she lightly nodded her head. All her friends had died and she was the only survivor all because of an energy stone lode. If she knew this was the end result, then she would never have agreed to risk her teammates’ lives to try to find the energy stone lode.
From Sophia’s reaction, Qian Jin knew why the Fire Adventure Team was able to find the energy stone lode, despite numerous academics and mining professionals concluding that it didn’t exist in Sunset Mountains.
It turned out that the energy stone lode wasn’t in the part of Sunset Mountains that people deemed safe in the first place. It was in the dangerous area of Four Season Valley where numerous demon beasts lived. The Fire Adventure Team risked their lives and found this energy stone lode, so Sophia was able to point out the jerky and bread they stored in the tree.
How many people can it feed? How long can it last us?
Qian Jin woke up from his train of thought and asked the burning question on his mind.
Sophia also recovered a little and said lightly with a sad tone,
If we only take what we need, it will last us three about ten days.
Ten days.
Qian Jin thought about it and said,
If you two eat it, it should last you guys more than ten days.
Sophia suddenly took a big step back and stared at Qian Jin with caution as her Level 6 Warrior Energy instantly travelled to her fists.
Qian Jin was surprised by Sophia’s reaction. He laughed and said,
Relax, I’m not going to kill you two and keep all the food for myself. There is no benefit in surviving a few more days in this valley. Even if I kill you guys and use you as food, I probably can’t survive this winter in Four Season Valley. None of us know when the winter started.
Sophia felt her skull numb, and the body hair on her body straightened. For the first time, she felt fear towards Qian Jin. Although she knew Qian Jin was just making an example, hearing a Grade One Warrior Student talking about killing people and storing them as food without a change in his expression made her feel a chill rush down her spine and into her bones.
Are you familiar with this place?
Qian Jin stopped looking at Sophia and stared at the little forest instead.
Did you guys encounter any animals or Demon Beasts in there?
he asked.
Sophia quietly shook her head as she also shifted her focus onto the little forest. She said as she recalled her memory.
We came here twice. Both times, we didn’t see any animals or Demon Beasts, but…
Qian Jin nodded as he agreed. Not encountering any animals or Demon Beasts the first two times didn’t mean that it was safe. Animals and Demon Beasts weren’t couch potatoes who laid in their caves and didn’t like coming out. If he wasn’t lucky, he might meet some vicious animal or Demon Beasts who came out for a little walk today.
Be careful! Be careful! And be even more careful! After the numerous days he spent in West Mountain in the Endless World, Qian Jin had suffered many injuries due to his carelessness. With that experience, he knew that there was nothing wrong with being more careful and prepared. Giving everything he had and functioning at his peak was the best way to deal with surprises.
Let me go and check. You guys wait here.
After Qian Jin explained what he was about to do, he grabbed onto his Zhanmadao and tiptoed his way into the little forest carefully. He looked like an agile cat in Sophia’s eyes.
With her hands in front of her chest, quiet spells came out of her mouth as she chanted. She used the limited Spiritual Power she had and tried to arrange the magic elements in a way so she could cast a Slow Spell. If Qian Jin really encountered a vicious beast, casting a Slow Spell on the beast might help Qian Jin turn the battle around and win.
Gabriella tried her hardest to arrange the magic elements for the Slow Spell. She tried to control the magic elements that didn’t listen to her will at all. But when Qian Jin entered the little forest, she was still not ready to cast it.
Qian Jin walked into the little forest and squinted his eyes to carefully observe his surroundings. There were a lot of question on his mind.
Why isn’t this Four Season Valley the same as the one I read in the books? Shouldn’t there be danger at every step? Isn’t this the place where vicious animals and Demon Beasts walk around? Why can’t I spot any vicious animals or sense any danger in this little forest? The only animals I can see are some rabbits and fat rats…
The little forest didn’t occupy a lot of space. It was rectangular shaped and about two hundred meters in length and a hundred and fifty meters in width. There were no vicious beasts around.
Qian Jin walked back to the edge of the little forest and waved at the two girls. After Sophia entered the little forest, she rushed towards a thick pine tree and quickly climbed to the very top. After she took out two leather bags from a hole in the tree, she jumped off of the tree and found Qian Jin squatting under a tree and busy working with his hands.
Found it! It’s right!
Sophia heard Qian Jin talking to himself excitedly. She then saw him take out a green snake that was about two feet long in hibernation.
Qian Jin pulled the tip of the Zhanmadao through the snake’s belly and opened up the snake’s stomach. With his fingers pressing around the opening, a dark green circular object popped out – it was the snake gall.
Do you guys want to eat it?
Both Sophia and Gabriella were scared and frightened. They both quickly shook their heads and watched Qian Jin consume the raw snake gall.
How… did you know…
Sophia looked at Qian Jin as she couldn’t wrap her head around it.
How did you know that there is a snake here?
I read it in a book.
Qian Jin answered casually. He wandered around in the little forest with the Zhanmadao and the dead snake in his hands. He found another twelve green snakes that were about two feet long each. After consuming their galls, he threw all the dead snakes to Gabriella who was already shaking on the snowy ground due to the coldness.
After skinning them, we can roast them. They will last us a few more days,
he said.
Gabriella, who was usually timid and scared when she encountered anything new, surprised Sophia with her braveness. She grabbed onto the dozens of dead snakes without any fear. After she ate all sort of food with Qian Jin in Sunset Mountains, she had gotten used to it.
Qian Jin looked at Sophia who was also rubbing her hands together and said,
It is cold out here. You guys should go back to the cave.
What about you?
Sophia asked Qian Jin in worry. Although it was currently safe when they inspected this part of Four Season Valley, if Qian Jin wasn’t around them, they would feel a lack of security.
I’m just going to walk around.
Qian Jin’s eyes shined as he asked,
Since you’ve been here before, did you guys go into that stone forest?
Sophia’s cheek that turned red in the cold instantly paled, and fear flashed thought hereyes. However, her face immediately turned back to normal after as she waved her hands and said,
No, I never been there.
Qian Jin slowly frowned as he heard Sophia’s inconsistent tone and saw her changing expression.
That moment of fear indicated that this woman had been to the stone forest, so why would she lie?
he thought to himself.
Sophia subconsciously lowered her head as she felt a bit guilty under Qian Jin’s stare. However, she tried to pump herself up and stared back at Qian Jin. She made the decision in her mind that she wouldn’t let out the truth under any circumstance.
The three years of friendship between us couldn’t help resist the temptation of keeping the energy stone lode to ourselves. This young man I just met not too long ago is also a warrior. Who knows if he would behave the same as Wilfred and try to kill us two girls to keep it for himself?
she thought.
Could it be?
A light bulb lit up in Qian Jin’s mind as his body shivered,
Could it be that the energy stone lode is in the stone forest?
After he thought about energy stone lode, Qian Jin’s heart started to tremble uncontrollably.
Even if the energy stone lode was very small, even Fabreidis who was a guardian of Oakland City would try his best to seize it for himself.
Energy stone lodes to warriors was like fresh and delicious flesh to beasts. Even selfless warriors wouldn’t be able to face an energy stone lode calmly.
Although energy stones couldn’t guarantee warriors a successful future as a great warrior, it gave warriors a better future than those who didn’t have it if both warriors were on the same playing field.
Sometime, energy stone lodes were found in densely populated areas. In those situations, even big influential families and powerhouses would engage in fights to keep the energy stone lode to themselves.
At those moments, even the laws of Zence Empire wouldn’t be followed. As long as the winner of the fight registered an Energy Stone Mining License and gave a portion of the energy stone to Zence Empire as tax, no one would care about the people who got killed in the fight.
Even big and powerful families couldn’t resist the temptation of large energy stone lodes, so what would happen if this young man whose goal was to become a great warrior knew about it?
Qian Jin laughed bitterly as he looked at Sophia’s expression again.
I can guess why you are so conscious about the stone forest and are cautious towards me. An energy stone lode does intrigue me a lot, but I still couldn’t kill you guys just for this energy stone lode; I just can’t do it,
he said
I have something I need to do. The food probably won’t help us survive the days to come in this Four Season Valley.
After Qian Jin said that, he carefully walked deeply into the small forest with the Zhanmadao and quickly disappeared.
A rush of cold wind blew into the forest, and it made the two girls feel even colder. Gabriella hugged herself with her arms and said timidly as she looked at the absent-minded Sophia,
You have misunderstood Qian Jin. If he wanted you dead, he wouldn’t risk his life during the avalanche and save you.
A stunned expression appeared in her blue eyes. She suddenly realized that she had actually forgot that Qian Jin saved her life. If Qian Jin only ran with Gabriella on his back, he wouldn’t be in a dangerous situation at all. However, Qian Jin decided to put himself in a dangerous situation and put her in his arms.
Sophia walked out of the little forest with Gabriella quietly. She asked Gabriella who was a bit smaller than her and walking in front of her quietly,
You, are you not worried that he would kill us just to keep the secret about the energy stone lode? It’s an energy stone lode! It’s similar to you mages finding a magic stone lode; it provides the same value!
No!
Gabriella turned around quickly, and her big mage hat fell to the ground. With her smooth and long black hair fluttering in the wind, she said,
I believe Qian Jin!
