Pretending To Be A Boss

Qin Qian nodded and said,

"Judging from their clothes, they should just be members of two different teams. The cause of their deaths is essentially the same, a bullet hole in the forehead, or bodies torn to pieces."

After thinking for a moment, she said,

"Qian, do you suspect... that this was not the work of creatures in the mining area?"

"Yes, the bodies torn to pieces looked just like shattered stone statues. This must have been caused by rapid freezing, which doesn't exist in the red soil forest, and is very rare in the north. Moreover, a bullet hole in the forehead couldn't possibly be the work of creatures from the mining areas. This must have been inflicted by a certain firearm," Qin Qian said.

"What about the bullets?" asked a warrior from the team.

Puzzled, Eyes said,

"Firearms are powerful indeed, but this is a mining area, and the hunters selected for the Hunting Festival aren't ordinary people who could be..."

"No bullets mean the bullet still had force left after piercing through the skulls."

Qin Qian closed her eyes, picturing the scene where the dozen or so bodies had fallen, and started sketching out a certain scenario in her mind.

The team members fell silent as the moonlight began to take on a sinister aspect.

After a long time, Qin Qian shook her head and slowly opened her eyes, saying,

"I hope my guess is wrong. There should be a two-person hunting team ahead of us, not far away."

"They prioritize hunting humans over creatures in the mining area. One of them must be equipped with highly advanced firearms, and they must be terrifyingly accurate shooters."

"The other one is a mage capable of freezing all creatures within sight."

"Just two people? What about their teammates?"

"I don't know."

Qin Qian said,

"We need to slow down our pace and steer clear of those two hunters who prey on humans. With seven days to go, this is just the first night; there's no need for us to hurry our hunt."

"Are those two very strong, Qian? We have six on our side."

Qin Qian shook her head and said,

"Very strong. The one using ice has abilities that are definitely beyond mine."

This remark left the team members speechless.

"Let's find a place to rest for now," said Qin Qian.

...

...

For the people of the red soil forest, the night is long.

Tang Xian, however, was oblivious and woke up to bright daylight.

He was covered with a thin blanket.

He had slept all night on the cool chair.

Tang Xian felt comfortable; not participating in the Hunting Festival was the right choice.

With Akasi's temperament, he probably spent the whole night worrying about Li Zheng's safety; how could he have slept well?

The scent of decay was already faintly present in his nostrils; Tang Xian believed that not many prey would have died over the course of this night.

But quite a few hunters did.

In every Hunting Festival, what really counted was hardly just pure hunting skills.

Shaking his head and trusting in Akasi, Tang Xian didn't worry further.

He took out some mount beast meat from Tang Bingxiang's lair and caught a Dragon Spine Fish from the small pond Dong Ran had dug to prepare some food.

Tang Xiaojiu was awakened by the smell. His little head still foggy with the idioms and common knowledge from yesterday.

Then, like a sleepwalker, he started helping Tang Xian.

Tang Xian laughed; the foolish kid had at least engraved the principle of working more to eat more deep inside his bones.

In this half-asleep, half-awake state, he was still fixated on food.

The woods in the south stank of blood, while the forests in the north carried an unusual fragrance.

Many creatures in the forest had become accustomed to Tang Xian's presence, and outside the fence covered in red thread grass, the aroma of lamb and fish attracted a bunch of animals.

However, no creatures approached the small house, thanks to the presence of the little nine-tailed fox inside and previous warnings from Bai Mansheng, the big nine-tailed fox.

All these cats, dogs, tigers, and leopards drooled as they looked at the little wooden house.

But today was an exception.

As Tang Xian was finishing with the food, a visitor came to the treehouse.

In a spotless white robe, Bai Mansheng's arrival made many animals near the treehouse scatter instantly.

"Tang Xian, sister Bai the little white snake is here," announced Tang Xiaojiu after helping Tang Xian clean the fish scales. He had been shooed away by Tang Xian and was now swinging in the courtyard.

Tang Xian wasn't surprised; he had already smelled Bai Mansheng coming.

Glancing at Bai Mansheng, he said,

"Sit. There isn't much food prepared, and there are many animals outside. If you can't eat your fill here, feel free to go outside for more."

Bai Mansheng sat down in front of the cool chair Tang Xian had been sitting on, her expression cold and silent.

Tang Xiaojiu saw that the food was almost ready, so she swiftly ran into the little wooden hut and moved down the small table and stools to eat in the courtyard.

Before long, the table was set with a pot of fish soup and a basin of mutton.

Tang Xian gave Bai Mansheng some bowls and chopsticks.

Bai Mansheng's expression became a bit strange.

She was there to seek justice today, and eating someone's food would soften her heart. If she ate, how could she still seek justice?

But not to eat... she couldn't quite resist.

Even a fairy's stomach will growl when hungry.

Bai Mansheng wasn't particularly hungry, but she couldn't withstand the great temptation of food.

Especially since if she didn't start eating now, that little fox might finish everything soon.

So Bai Mansheng took a bite of the mutton.

Well, just one small bite would do. Taste it and that's all, just one small bite, and she could still confidently berate Tang Xian's inhumanity.

After one bite of mutton, Bai Mansheng unconsciously picked up another piece with her chopsticks.

Just one more bite, even if she took another one... she could still question Tang Xian with plenty of confidence, right?

She ate another bite, and this time the piece of mutton she picked up was even larger than before.

After swallowing the second bite of mutton, Bai Mansheng took a glance at Tang Xian and Tang Xiaojiu.

Both the glutton and the little fox were focusing on their meal, so it seemed like they didn't see her eating. Since they hadn't noticed, she might as well... have one last bite...

Yes, this really would be the last bite!

Just like how Bai Mansheng had listened to the same unfinished stories over and over again, the idea of having one last bite started to loop in her head.

The loop ended quickly.

Because the mutton was all gone.

Tang Xiaojiu, being considerate, took the bowls and chopsticks as well as the spotlessly clean pot and basin to the creek to wash.

Tang Xian said:

"Good, right?"

Bai Mansheng's expression was complicated, but eventually, it returned to her usual coldness, and she said:

"Why are those stories only half-finished?"

"These stories are quite precious, you're lucky to have heard even half."

"What about the rest?"

"The rest is a bit troublesome, after all, they're human things, and I'm not human. Do you want to hear the stories?"

"Hmm, I do."

"Okay, but you'll have to pay extra, otherwise the affection isn't enough."

"What is money?"

Bai Mansheng suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Oh yes, what are recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and subscriptions? I often hear someone crying their eyes out asking for these things after some stories finish, their voice different from the storyteller's."

"Oh, that's the author's note at the end of the chapter. You know about authors, right? They are a kind of bird that produces stories using recommendation tickets and monthly tickets as ingredients and subscriptions as the main material, with a call similar to that of a pigeon," Tang Xian calmly explained.

"Oh, they are quite pitiful. I see they often have to take leave because they were hit by a car, beaten up by readers, fell sick, or other things I don't quite understand, like power outages and internet disconnections," Bai Mansheng said.

"Actually, those are just excuses for not having enough tickets. I'm quite familiar with humans, so if you promise me one thing, I'll help you get the rest of the stories."

"What thing?"

"Some events will happen in the Yuepela Plains soon. You have to promise me that you'll keep your little snakes well-behaved and just observing, not getting involved. And you must listen to me until these events are over."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Well then, I'll just cancel the sequel of these stories."

"You! Bastard!"

Bai Mansheng's eyes widened, how could she have not foreseen that Xu Xian was this kind of person!

No, that's not right, Xu Xian couldn't possibly be so heartless, it must be Tang Xian!

Tang Xian found this little white snake quite interesting. Even more so than Dong Ran and Qiao Shanshan.

"You should give it some thought; working for me won't take too long, just about a month or so," he added.

After a pause, Tang Xian said:

"There will be stories to hear, and mutton to eat."

Bai Mansheng always thought of herself as having few desires, but faced with this man, she realized she was not without wants. Continue reading stories on empire

After looking at Tang Xian for a long time, she clenched her teeth:

"It must not be anything that harms my snake clan."

"Of course not."

Tang Xian went back to the treehouse and brought out the remaining CDs. But these CDs still weren't the full stories; he had cut them again at the climax near the ends of the books.

With the stories in hand, Bai Mansheng left satisfied.