[Last night Su Yun was very satisfied, rewarding 20 skill points!]
Morning!
The first thing Chen Xuan saw when he opened his eyes was the information about last night's gains.
20 points!
Wow!
That's quite a lot.
Now he could almost be sure that the number of points he could earn was not only related to the satisfaction level of the little girl in his arms at night, but also closely related to her mood.
It seems that the silly deer from yesterday really made her very happy.
Besides,
last time it was just a little rabbit, and he ate most of it.
After all, he was the pillar of the family; both women were willing to let him have more, and it was the kind of offer that couldn't be refused.
So,
no wonder she was so greedy.
.....
This morning's breakfast!
Bone broth with sorghum mush, and of course, there was meat inside.
Sorghum cakes!
Watching the steam rising from the bowl, and the oily mush with visible tiny oil droplets,
Su Yun leaned her little nose closer,
and took several deep sniffs!
"Sister, Brother Xuan, it's really...."
"Gulp!"
"So fragrant....."
"You!" Su Wanqiu pointed a finger at her forehead.
Such lack of composure.
So much drool that she couldn't even finish a sentence!
Actually, it wasn't surprising that Su Yun behaved this way,
as the Chen Family hadn't had such rich food in a long time.
Every day was just sorghum mush,
barely enough to fill the stomach.
This breakfast,
all three of them were very satisfied.
The sorghum mush with deer bone broth was genuinely delicious.
Even Chen Xuan himself,
felt different.
His whole body was warm.
After breakfast, the two women in the house started tidying up.
Meanwhile, Chen Xuan was wiping his bow and arrows.
Today he wasn't planning to head into the mountains, but to take a break.
At that moment,
someone came knocking at the door.
"Knock knock knock!"
"So early? Who could it be?"
Chen Xuan opened the door to find
Uncle Wang standing outside, looking somewhat embarrassed.
His rough hands kept twisting the hem of his clothes.
Uneasy!
Seeing this,
Chen Xuan sensed something was off and smiled, saying: "Uncle Wang, whatever it is, come on in and we'll talk."
"Ah... alright!"
...
In the main room,
Wang Daming stood there awkwardly, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Chen Xuan had some vague suspicions in his mind.
To make such a strong man act like this, especially considering the current times.
"Borrowing grain!"
So he said: "Uncle Wang, sit for a while, I'll get you a cup of water."
"No, no need, Xiaoxuanzi!"
Wang Daming waved his hands repeatedly.
However,
Chen Xuan didn't listen to him and headed towards the kitchen.
"Ah!"
Seeing this,
he could only sit on a small stool, sighing awkwardly.
His eyes were full of struggle,
if not for Xiaohai, a proud man like him wouldn't have lowered his face to come to the Chen Family.
Especially to someone like Chen Xuan, who was a junior.
But,
there was no other choice.
The family was truly at the point of running out of water and food.
It was bearable for the adults, they could eat some leaves, grass, and mixed stew.
But not for the child.
It had been a long time without any business, now he couldn't even come up with a single coin.
Ah!
After a moment,
Chen Xuan came back from the kitchen carrying a burlap sack.
He handed it to Wang Daming.
"This... is?"
When he saw the sorghum inside the bag, tears welled up in his eyes immediately.
"Xiaoxuanzi, your uncle really had no other choice, thank you."
Seeing him like this,
Chen Xuan's heart also ached.
In his memory,
the two families had always been on good terms.
The Chen Family had been hunters, sometimes when they repaired bows and arrows, Wang Daming wouldn't ask for payment.
And,
when the Chen Family caught game,
they'd give some to his family.
After Aunt Wang passed away, it really wasn't easy for him.
He was even hit by natural disasters,
making everything worse.
"Alright, Uncle Wang, no need to be like this, consider this as the money for future repairs of my bow and arrows, hurry back, Xiaohai's home alone, it's such a cold day!"
"Okay, alright, come by anytime you need, uncle will make sure it's done well for you."
.....
After Wang Daming left,
Su Wanqiu finally came over from the kitchen.
"Uncle Wang has it really hard."
"Yeah, it's so tough."
"Luckily we have Brother Xuan, otherwise, who knows what would happen!"
"Sister-in-law has had it hard too."
The two exchanged smiles.
In the following days,
Chen Xuan continued to hunt in the mountains as usual, but these times he returned empty-handed.
Luckily, he had caught a deer the first time,
using it sparingly, they could still manage to last a while.
However,
it was different for other families in Shuanggang Village.
Su Wanqiu said some families were down to one meal a day.
Hearing about this,
Chen Xuan could only sigh; there wasn't much he could do.
With the situation as it was,
keeping his own family secure was already quite an accomplishment.
Late at night,
in the kitchen.
[Name: Chen Xuan]
[Life Span: 18/55]
[Realm: Ninth Grade (Skin Refinement)]
[Cultivation Technique: Life-nurturing Technique (Small Accomplishment)(0/100)]
[Skills: Beginner Archery (5/10), Intermediate Tracking Technique (0/20), Bedroom Techniques (Small Accomplishment)(0/20)]
[Skill Points: 101]
Finally, the skill points were enough.
"Add points to the Life-nurturing Technique!"
He shouted inwardly.
Instantly,
a familiar warm current appeared at his chest, then began to spread throughout his body, strengthening it.
The time was roughly the same as last time.
Just a matter of a few dozen breaths.
Looking at the panel again.
At first glance, he saw a change in the realm section.
Chen Xuan was thrilled.
Eighth Grade (Muscle Refinement).
However,
this excitement only lasted for a moment, disappearing when he saw the Life-nurturing Technique.
[Cultivation Technique: Life-nurturing Technique (Mastery)]
The progress bar had disappeared.
His excited heart suddenly sank to rock bottom.
This...
The joy of a realm breakthrough was completely swept away.
No more progress bar meant that the Life-nurturing Technique could no longer be improved.
So what could be done in the future?
Even having spare skill points would be useless.
As for finding a new cultivation technique,
it was too difficult.
At least he hadn't heard of anyone in the village who had one.
"Ah~~~~"
Chen Xuan clutched his hair, letting out an unsatisfied sound.
It felt terrible.
It was just like walking into a brothel, seeing a beautiful woman, only to find out that he himself was an eunuch!
It was simply frustrating!
"That ancestor of the Chen family was really useless; couldn't he have left behind a better technique!"
Without any outlet for his frustration, he blamed the old ancestor of the Chen Family.
...
A sleepless night!
Before,
he looked forward to seeing the information appear every morning, indicating how many skill points he had gained.
Today,
though he also got 20 points.
He felt nothing!
In the morning,
even when faced with greasy sorghum mush and a few leftover pieces of braised venison from yesterday,
Chen Xuan lacked any appetite.
"What's wrong, Brother Xuan?"
Unlike the carefree Su Yun, Su Wanqiu noticed his unusual behavior immediately.
"Ah, nothing sister-in-law, I didn't sleep well last night."
Not wanting her to worry, he came up with a plausible excuse.
"Then take a break today and don't go into the mountains."
As she said this,
Su Wanqiu paused, her expression slightly conflicted.
Chen Xuan was somewhat curious,
as his sister-in-law was usually straightforward; this wasn't like her.