When I quietly returned to the woods near the mountain village, the sun had passed noon.
Lu Ning has no intention of entering the mountain village. Even if she has weapons in her hands, the people in the mountain village are still a great threat to her. Crossbows are not something she is good at. She can guarantee accuracy within five meters, and further away...
Having said that, is there really something Mo Xiren is looking for here?
She was perfectly capable of sneaking in without alerting herself or the villagers—perhaps assassinating a few villagers wouldn't be a problem, given the power she displayed. If there is any reason why Lu Ning must be transferred away, is it because Lu Ning must check the places that the villagers may not pay attention to?
Lu Ning walked around the top of the mountain and observed the village from a distance, but would Mo Xiren really use his ability to make any big noise in the village? She didn't even believe it herself.
Lies are a cloak of caution. She dared to say that Mo Xiren didn't tell the truth until the end, and a person who wanted to cover up his secrets probably wouldn't leave any holes.
Lu Ning waited for more than an hour, but in the end there was no chaos in the village. However, she arrived not far from the hunter's cabin that Sister Peng had mentioned before.
Four or five people were outside the house, skinning and removing the flesh from some wild beasts. They move skillfully and do their daily work like ordinary hunters. However, the clothes they wear are all very individual. They seem to be designed to highlight their personal style rather than for hunting. They use animal skins, fabrics and metals to mix and match, and the traces of handcraft are extremely obvious.
Lu Ning didn't want to get too close at all, but a person walking out of the house caught her attention.
This was a female hunter, and what caught her attention was her clothing.
Top hat, black maple leaf-shaped cape, high stand collar, brown shirt and black trousers, with gun holsters on the left and right sides of the waist.
It is slightly different from Shu Xingruo's previous outfit, but the overall look and feel are surprisingly consistent.
--inherited.
These two words flashed through Lu Ning's mind.
The notebook clearly shows that the hunters are passing on certain skills to their new companions, including signal gestures and hunting techniques. And after forming such a teacher-instructor relationship, it is not difficult to understand that people would imitate such behavior.
There are also some secrets on the hunter's side.
For example, they did not immediately go out to capture the escapees last night, such as the "third sister" that Fatty mentioned that seemed to have been gone for a long time, and the hunter's cabins scattered on the mountain but did not recover the props in them.
Lu Ning vaguely felt that she had found some kind of breakthrough.
At this time, there was a sound of trampling dead branches not far behind her.
Turning around suddenly, he saw two men. One was wearing an officer's uniform, with handsome features and a mustache. He was holding a shotgun in one hand and a pipe in the other.
Next to him is a young man with a face full of shame. He is wearing a light armor made of metal pieces. He carries a two-handed sword on his back and wears animal skin boots on his feet. It was this young man who stepped on it and broke it. branches.
"Amin, you are the youngest here, so I am here to help you get familiar with the environment in the mountains."
The officer man took a puff of his pipe slowly and stared at Lu in front of him as if nothing existed.
"But you can't do this. The ears and eyes of wild beasts in the mountains are so sensitive that they can detect even the slightest noise you make. Dead branches, fallen leaves, rocks and puddles... Nature will provide them with many covers, allowing for various hunting accidents. "
"Yes! Fifth brother!"
Seeing the young man A Ming's expression of correcting his mistake after he realized it, the officer man nodded and his eyes fell on Lu Ning.
"Outsiders? Why do you want to spy on our residence?"
"...People in the village said that hunters live here, so I came over to take a look out of curiosity." Lu Ning nodded to the officer man, "Are you the hunters who live here temporarily?"
"It's not a temporary stay..."
The officer man nodded at the wooden house in the distance with his pipe and curled his lips.
"We are hunters, and we live here. This is not a job title, but a title. Is this what the people in the village told you? It is indeed their approach. No matter how much you ask, all you will get is the blood here. I just want you to look at me from afar. But now that I’ve said it…”
The man's eyes rolled left and right.
"Where are the villagers with you? They shouldn't let a blood bag like you run around."
Lu Ning tensed up her nerves instantly.
"Don't be nervous, little girl." The man took another puff of cigarette and smiled to calm Lu Ning's emotions.
"you know……"
"We are hunters, and we live with blood all our lives. Our sensitivity to blood is unparalleled." The man knocked the ash out of his pipe on a nearby tree trunk and replaced it with a new one. After completing this series of actions, he didn't light up the cigarette again and pointed at Lu Ning.
"You can't hide the crossbow on your arm very well, can you? You are very smart. At least you found a way to escape from those guys, and maybe you also learned a little bit of the truth? It doesn't matter... for us, the interests of the village It doesn’t matter at all, and you don’t have to worry that I will hunt you here, otherwise you would have been lying in the basement waiting to perform the ritual.”
"It sounds like you don't have a good relationship with the people in the village?"
"It's just a matter of using each other, there's nothing good about it." The officer man threw the shotgun into the young man's hand, coughed twice, and raised his hand to give Lu Ning a military salute. "My name is Shi Xiaolang, the history of the past and present, the night that dawns in the long night, and the full moon that clears the sky. We never exchange names with our prey because there is no need, but now I am willing to know your name."
"Lu Ning, the land of sea, land and air, the condensation of water droplets." Lu Ning said dryly.
"I believe this is the first step for people to have a friendly conversation. Miss Lu, are you interested in visiting us now?" Shi Xiaolang made an invitation gesture.
The situation was so pressing that Lu Ning had no choice but to follow him and the young man back to the house.
At this time, it seemed that most people went out to hunt. Only seven or eight people stayed in the wooden house. A few were collecting prey outside, and the rest were cooking in the house. When they saw that Shi Xiaolang had brought someone back, they had no special reaction. , just said hello and continued busy with the matter at hand.
After entering the house, A Ming immediately ran to the kitchen to help. Shi Xiaolang and Lu Ning sat down on both sides of a square table outside. Soon, the huntress in the top hat brought them a pot of hot tea. Come up with two teacups.
"Please use."
Shi Xiaolang placed his pipe on the windowsill, picked up the teapot and poured a cup for each of them, then raised his hand to signal. Lu Ning took the tea cup and looked at the small hall slightly.
The area here is not very large. Apart from this table, there is only a large round table. But the entire living room was decorated with a homely feel, with some well-taxed specimens hung on the walls, separated by sturdy wooden shelves with carved wood decorations and books. Some flowers and plants were grown in broken clay pots in the corners around the windows. In addition, there were decorations made of various mountain products, and there was no smell of blood at all.
"This is the hunter's home." Shi Xiaolang said proudly when he saw her looking around, "Everything here is accumulated little by little by the brothers and sisters, how about it? Isn't it good?"
"I quite like this style."
Lu Ning was not flattering. She had indeed been yearning for a building with this layout for a long time.
"However, let me understand your purpose first. I think you should know many things."
"Yes, yes..." Shi Xiaolang put a hand on his forehead and turned his head slightly to look at Lu Ning, "One-third of the blood in your body has been replaced, which means that you have fallen into the In their hands. Since you are here now, it means that you have at least one of courage, wisdom and luck. This is what I need."
"What do you want... from me?"
"We have an agreement with the village. I won't go into details. In short, we are restricted from snatching the 'blood bags' stored in the village. We can only passively accept their regular supply." Shi Xiaolang put down his hand and held it with both hands. He picked up his tea cup and leaned forward slightly, "I think you should know about the blood ritual and the curse on us, right?"
"I know."
"Awesome, you are much smarter than I thought." Shi Xiaolang laughed.
"So you want me to... release the people captured by the village?"
"Release, this is the first step, and the second step is to escape. Only when the villagers can't catch them will they beg us, and only in this way will we get more blood. Originally, as a member of the same clan, I I don’t want to make such calculations, but who made the number of brothers and sisters increase in recent years and many people start to age? If they can promise to give us more supplies, I will not discuss it with you... Looking at it this way, you are not Lucky?"
"You know I can't refuse this offer."
"Yes, this is what you are willing to do. In return, we can let you and one or two less important people go a little bit. How about this?"
Lu Ning really wanted to agree, but she didn't believe the person in front of her. The reward was too slim.
"I want to know something, okay?"
"Good girl, you have to remember that although we have exchanged names, the predatory relationship between us still exists. You can ask, but be careful not to go too far." Shi Xiaolang raised one hand, " Five questions, how about it? Ask five questions under your own consideration, but if you ask too many questions, the conditions we just discussed will be cancelled, and you will become our backup blood bag, do you understand? "
I really can’t believe this guy!
"First...how many hunters do you have here?"
Lu Ning spoke calmly.
"It's a good idea to use this as the first test. Twenty-one, there are twenty-one hunters living here now." Shi Xiaolang answered quickly.
"Second question, what's the reason for the discord between you and the villagers?"
"Because of our special nature, some special people will always be born in the cursed bloodline. Their abilities are more powerful. In exchange, their youth time is shorter and they consume more 'pure blood'. But there is no need to deal with outsiders. With such excessive strength, these people have become excessive burdens. On the other hand, the strong vitality also makes us closer to 'predators' rather than 'breeders', so it can be said that we can't stand each other. But it hasn’t risen to the level of contradiction.”
Lu Ning looked at Shi Xiaolang, who still had that unreadable smile on his face.
"Third, do you know the origin of the crossbow in my hand?"
"Your crossbow belongs to the fourth brother. He is no longer here, but he still left something on the mountain. It seems that you have found it. Don't worry, we will not take it back. You can use it next time Use it well in action.”
"Fourth, besides crossbows, I also discovered these things."
Lu Ning placed two clay pots on the table.
