Simply Trading

Elder Ming arrived, not long after the brawny youth with the wispy thin moustache started warning everyone of the dangers in the zone that they were headed to. And the latter broke off his lecture at once, to bow deeply to the Elder when he appeared.

Qin Feng merely sniggered to himself, when he saw the obsequious way that Thin Moustache was behaving. Clearly, he didn't have a very high standing among the Hunters, and was barely able to hang onto his position as a leader in this little group. That showed in such an obvious way from how he was trying to curry favor with Ming Guanhe. Even he could see that at once.

But the Elder seemed to pay him no mind, and was apparently more concerned when he turned to Qin Feng himself. And he didn't bother to hide it either.

"Hmmm. I see that you have largely recovered from your injuries. Is your left hand still giving you trouble? You must keep me informed if you feel unwell, you understand?"

He cocked his head as Qin Feng dipped into a bow, and smiled at the younger man. "Well, I think you should stick with me, rather than head off with the rest of them. A group of seven would do just as well as a group of eight. And you don't have any particular skills to be useful to them.

"So you might as well remain by my side, and pick up what herbs you can. I shall try to pick some likely spots for you to do that."

Then Ming Guanhe turned to face the rest of the group. "You lot have been through this often enough that you don't need me to warn you to be careful. And to keep to the sort of prey that you would have no trouble with. We are already getting close to Winter, so the Hunters' Association should be grateful if you can bring in any animals that would preserve well for the cold season. They are offering a small bit of gold, on top of the usual rewards for any of those."

He smiled, and nodded at the two apparent leaders of the group, based on them standing in front of the same. Qin Feng, of course, was lingering at the front as well. He had stepped forward earlier, when the Elder was speaking to him.

Not that he was too concerned about the attention. The Elder's words to him earlier should have made things clear. And he doubted that anyone would dare to make a move against him, even if they could find the opportunity. Not after what Elder Ming had said.

"Very well. Let us not waste any more time. We are all expecting a good result from this Hunt, and the School could do well with more resources this close to the cold season. Otherwise, things will get boring for all of us this Winter. Let us be off!"

And the Elder did not hesitate to turn to Qin Feng, and gestured for him to remain close, as he began to send off the other Hunters, each with their own goals. Only after all of them had left, did the Elder turn back to him, and gestured for him to follow.

Elder Ming Guanhe's Lightness-of-Body martial arts was exemplary. Qin Feng could sense that the older man was purposely slowing himself down so that he could catch up. So he deliberately activated close to seven-tenths of his own capabilities, to stay on the Elder's tail.

To be honest, if Ming Guanhe was truly testing him, this was a rather simple one. And he didn't hesitate to pant for breath, every time that the Elder paused to wait for him. That should be enough to show that he was not a threat. And he believed that this was what the Elder was looking out for.

In any case, they didn't take too long to arrive at their destination:

There was a narrow, fast-flowing stream about two li away from the Gate. And about another li away from the edge of the forest. There was a small gap there, next to the water, and Elder Ming led him straight to that simple clearing.

Elder Ming gestured around himself, once they were in the clearing next to the stream, as soon as they arrived. "You and I will be setting up camp here, for the next three days. There are many plants that grow this close to the water, so you might have a better harvest than you might expect. However, this place is a little more dangerous, a little closer to the yellow zone on the map. So you shall have to be careful."

He pointed at the line of trees a short distance away. And nodded at Qin Feng again. "That should be your limit. Stay where you can see the stream, and you should be safe enough. I will go out to check on the Hunters, now and again, so you shall be alone. I trust you won't have a problem with that?"

Qin Feng shook his head at the Elder, and assured him that he would not. It was now rather obvious what Elder Ming was intending to do. He was simply an excuse for the man to venture to the spots where he might be able to find the Purple Blood Ginger that he needed. As for Qin Feng's own harvests, he doubted that Elder Ming would even bother to check on the same.

The younger man smiled to himself, as soon as the Elder sent him off to get the camp in order. A test of his skills, Elder Ming had said, to see if Qin Feng was capable of dealing with the needful, and arrange for a suitable campsite for two.

But Qin Feng had the impression that the older man couldn't wait, as eager as he was to get into the woods and start his search. So he kept his head, and started work on the camp, just as he had been taught. And kept an eye out for possible predators, as he gathered the stones from the stream, and firewood from the forest's edge.

So long as he made no mistakes, he doubted that the Elder would remain there at the camp for too long. And true enough, Ming Guanhe gave the excuse that he was going to check on the Hunters after a short while, and vanished. Leaving Qin Feng to settle the rest of the chores.

Leaving him to his own devices. Something that Qin Feng had been hoping for ever since he joined the Hunt that morning!

* * *