Chapter 43: Encountering Danger

The settlement for the clearing squad was completed swiftly. This time, they hadn’t been out for long, and the silver Cloud Qing received was just about enough to purchase an axe, a significant improvement over previous earnings.

After a brief rest, the hunting party readied themselves once more, aiming to return to the village before nightfall and clear a few more poisonous plants along the way.

Following the path they had already cleared, the five-person team ventured farther from the village, gathering increasing quantities of medicinal herbs as they went. The others relied on experience and intuition to detect the presence of animals or soul-corpses, while Cloud Qing used the red-named monsters as her guide, judging whether they were ordinary or soul-corpses based on their level.

Up ahead, near a small hut, Cloud Qing spotted a flickering shadow, accompanied by a red name and an unknown level. She warned, “There’s a hut over there—something might be wrong.”

Ye Mao replied, “This is the farthest plot of farmland from the village. During busy seasons, it’s troublesome to go back for meals, so a hut was built here. If animals are hiding inside, it wouldn’t be unusual. Let’s be careful.”

Everyone nodded, “Understood!”

Approaching cautiously, Cloud Qing readied her bow. The bow’s range and power far surpassed that of stones, and arrows could be retrieved after use. Whenever danger was possible, she chose the bow.

A sudden roar echoed from the hut as the group came within about twenty feet. The soul-corpses’ sonic attack signaled the squad’s first encounter with a soul-corpse during this clearing operation.

It was likely a villager, unable to reach the village before nightfall, forced to hide in the hut and eventually transformed into a soul-corpse in the darkness.

One soul-corpse—four of them felt confident they could surround and kill it. Destroying soul-corpses was, after all, part of their mission.

Ye Mao signaled, and three melee fighters and one ranged quickly entered combat stance.

When the soul-corpse appeared, Cloud Qing and Ye Wenjing fired arrows in tandem, both hitting their mark.

The difference was, Ye Wenjing’s arrow lodged in the soul-corpse, while Cloud Qing’s fell away after impact.

-5;

“Combat experience +40!”

The soul-corpse’s level was far above Cloud Qing’s; even metal arrows without internal energy could not pierce its defense.

With another roar, the soul-corpse launched a sonic attack and charged at Ye Wenjing, only to be intercepted by Ye Xiaolang, Ye Mao, and Ye Hai.

Ye Mao and Ye Hai held the soul-corpse at bay, allowing Ye Xiaolang to deliver the killing blows, with Ye Wenjing providing support—hoping to end it quickly.

But to their surprise, as Ye Mao and Ye Hai engaged the soul-corpse, another emerged from the hut. This one seemed even more formidable, capable of ‘ranged’ leaps.

It sprang out as soon as it appeared, jumping nearly two meters high and four or five meters in distance, bypassing the battle and landing near Ye Wenjing. Its prowess suggested it had once been a martial artist.

Ye Wenjing dodged nimbly, avoiding close combat, while Ye Xiaolang rushed to aid her.

Cloud Qing was also near Ye Wenjing; in such a battle her only contribution was leeching a bit of experience, but otherwise she could only keep her distance, not adding to her teammates’ burden.

Whether facing an ordinary soul-corpse or an elite one, Ye Mao, Ye Hai, Ye Xiaolang, and Ye Wenjing were struggling.

Nevertheless, they still looked out for Cloud Qing, steering the soul-corpses away from her.

In the space of a few breaths, the two battlefields had moved dozens of meters away from her.

At that moment, another soul-corpse burst from the hut, charging straight for Cloud Qing.

With no time to think, Cloud Qing turned and ran, shouting, “I’m out of here, everyone!”

Liu Liu: “That’s called fleeing, not slipping away.”

Cloud Qing: “Talking to you so much, I’m mixing up my words.”

The four knew another soul-corpse had appeared, but none could spare the time to assist Cloud Qing. They could only hope she would outrun it and survive the crisis.

Cloud Qing ran swiftly; wandering soul-corpses were slow, but those hunting prey were fast—especially in tricky terrain, where their immunity to pain gave them an edge.

She sprinted along the path, the soul-corpse in pursuit. But it didn’t follow the road—it chased her in a straight line, regardless of obstacles. Gradually, the distance between them shrank.

Cloud Qing had intended to lead the soul-corpse toward the village, where the group could combine their strength to kill it. The road was smooth but winding; under current circumstances, she feared she’d be caught and killed before reaching safety.

She had to look for the easiest path, avoiding the winding road and seeking straight routes.

As the soul-corpse drew closer, Liu Liu, running alongside, said, “Don’t be so stingy—you can use your newly acquired skill from the lottery.”

A new skill from the lottery? Jumping—the one that let her leap three meters high, costing a tael of silver per use?

Her life was at stake; silver meant nothing now. She had over two hundred taels thanks to the system.

Ahead, the path wound upward. Instead of following the S-shaped curve, Cloud Qing sprinted toward the unmarked terrain, leaping forward and silently reciting, “Activate Jumping Skill.”

As soon as she landed, her legs pushed off and her body sprang upward, light as a feather. She jumped three meters, nearly reaching the upper path, and, drawing on her experience from the game, she quickly scrambled onto the road.

She glanced back—the soul-corpse was now several meters behind.

Using this technique, Cloud Qing could widen the gap, but not for long; soon it would catch up.

She discovered, to her dismay, that after using the jumping skill, she couldn’t activate it again immediately; there was a two-second cooldown.

No wonder the system required a hundred taels and a skill point to upgrade to double jumps.

When she first acquired the skill, Cloud Qing scoffed at upgrading it. But with a soul-corpse in pursuit and her life at risk, upgrading was suddenly appealing.

The real incentive to upgrade came as she again took an unconventional route, leaping upward—passing through a dense thicket, she spotted a red-named monster: a snake, level 19.

After the upgrade, the jumping skill surprised her:

Jumping: Level Two. Consumes 1 unit of spirit energy. First jump: leap up to three meters. Second jump: leap up to five meters. If lacking spirit energy, may substitute with one tael of silver per use. Note: Upgrade to triple jump requires five hundred taels and one skill point; available at character level 31.

The level two jumping skill was far superior to level one, making Cloud Qing consider advancing to level three. After all, earning five hundred taels seemed ‘not so difficult.’

She had just spent fifty taels to learn the jumping skill, due to planting trees and using abilities, leaving her a little short in the system.

Now, both the system and her own purse held only a few dozen taels, not even a hundred combined.