Strongest Soldier King

"How could the combat skills summarized with their lives by our predecessors be false? Outsiders simply don't understand." Lan Xue said noncommittally, her expression and demeanor returning to their usual state of icy beauty, and continued, "Next, I will teach you the Step Measuring Method, which is to measure distance using the length of your stride. It's suitable for scenarios where you can walk in a direct line from the starting point to the point you want to measure." As she spoke, Lan Xue sized up Luo Zheng.

"What's the matter?" Luo Zheng asked in surprise.

"You're 1.76 meters tall, with a likely full pace of about 1.5 meters. The number of full paces from the starting point to the target, multiplied by 1.5 meters, is the distance. However, when moving, you need to align yourself precisely with your endpoint and move in a straight line. The stride must be consistent, and when you encounter uneven ground, you should adjust your stride appropriately to prevent significant deviations," Lan Xue said coolly.

"Uh? That's great, it means I won't need a ruler wherever I go. My feet will be the best rulers." Luo Zheng chuckled awkwardly, storing Lan Xue's words in his memory. Suddenly, he noticed some feathers in a bush not far away. Upon closer inspection, he found a wild chicken nest in the shrubbery and immediately proposed, "To repay you for your teachings, how about I treat you to a 'beggar's chicken' for lunch?" Without waiting for Lan Xue's reply, he quickly ran over.

Lan Xue looked in the direction Luo Zheng had run off to and also noticed the feathers. The corner of her icy-beautiful lips curved into a beautiful arc that quickly reverted to her usual coolness. She looked at Luo Zheng's retreating figure with a complex expression in her eyes, her brows slightly furrowed as she began to ponder.

Before long, Luo Zheng came back holding a plump wild chicken, calling out with a beaming smile, "Lucky us! Let's find a spot with water so we can clean it properly. Roasted meat is too hard to eat; it's better stewed, more tender and juicy."

Lan Xue nodded noncommittally, looking around and saying, "That'd be good. I'll also teach you how to find water."

"Great, thank you," Luo Zheng replied sincerely.

Lan Xue gave Luo Zheng a deep look, the complexity in her eyes intensifying, making Luo Zheng feel uncomfortable. She then shifted her gaze forward and explained, "In the jungle, finding water boils down to listening, smelling, and observing. Rely on your sensitive auditory organs and pay attention to whether there are the sounds of mountain streams or waterfalls at the foot of mountains, mountain valleys, cliffs, basins, and valley floors. Listen for the sounds of frogs and waterbirds as well. If you can hear these sounds, it means you're not far from a water source, and it also indicates that the water is flowing and safe for direct consumption. However, you must be careful not to mistake the rustling of leaves in the wind for the sound of running water."

"Hmm," Luo Zheng, who had been hunting since he was young, naturally knew some methods for finding water, but he had never formalized them. Hearing Lan Xue's words, he felt enlightened.

"Smelling entails sniffing as much as possible for moist scents, or for the fishy smell of earth and water plants brought by the wind. Then follow the direction of the smell to find a water source. Of course, this requires a certain amount of experience; as for seeing, it involves using abundant experience and knowledge. Observing animals, plants, weather, climate, and the geographical environment can also help find water sources. For instance, there is often groundwater at the foot of mountains, in low-lying areas where rainwater gathers, and downstream of reservoirs where the groundwater level is high. Moreover, beneath the dry riverbeds. At the outer side of the lowest point where a river bends, digging down a few meters will yield water. But the mud is plentiful, so it must be purified before drinking," Lan Xue lectured earnestly, with a serious expression.

Luo Zheng took vigorous note of this knowledge, listening intently, sniffing forcefully, and looking around. Except for the forest still being a forest, the air did carry a bit of an earthy, fishy smell, which he really hadn't noticed without paying attention. He immediately pointed in a direction and said, "There should be water over there, am I right?"

Lan Xue nodded and walked in the direction where there was water, while saying, "In the scorching summer, places on the ground that have been sun-baked but not dry or hot indicate high groundwater levels. During the cold winter, places on the ground's surface where there are frost cracks also indicate high groundwater levels; places that grow cattails, desert wormwood, horse lotus, golden needle (also known as daylily), and mustard are areas with high water levels and good water quality; places with chenopodium, bulrush, and desert wormwood have groundwater, but the water quality is poor, tasting either bitter or astringent, or containing iron rust; a standalone tree that buds or doesn't yellow indicates water below; places where summer insects gather and fly in a cylindrical shape surely have water; places inhabited by frogs, large ants, and snails also have water; moreover, the route flown by swallows and locations where they gather mud to build nests are places where there are water sources and high groundwater levels. Also, quails fly towards water in the evening and away from it in the morning; flocks of doves fly towards a water source in the morning and evening—these are also indicators of water sources."

Luo Zheng absorbed the information like a dry riverbed soaking up water, memorizing the knowledge Lan Xue imparted. He had relevant hunting experience before, but it wasn't comprehensive or systematic. After hearing Lan Xue's words and combining them with his previous experiences, Luo Zheng's understanding suddenly became much clearer.

"There will definitely be rain where a rainbow appears in the sky; Beneath dark storm clouds, charged with thunder and lightning, there will be rain or hail. Valleys that always have dense fog surely contain water sources; collecting dew can also relieve urgent thirst; moreover, one can extract drinking water directly from plants, such as the canna lily, also called the five-flavor vine, wild kudzu, grapevines, kiwi vines, and other vine plants. Additionally, in spring when trees are about to bud, you can also obtain drinking water from the trunks and branches of trees like the yew and mountain yew. Be warned: never drink the sap from vines or shrubs and trees with milky latex, as it's poisonous. Plus, you can procure potable water from moss, cacti, and their fruits," Lan Xue continued.

Without realizing it, the two came to a stream. Lan Xue looked at the slowly flowing mountain spring and said, "When it comes to drinking water in the wild, one generally needs to put purification tablets into a water container, or use medical iodine tincture in place of the tablets to disinfect the water. Bleach and vinegar can also disinfect, and if none of those are available, boiling the water for 5 minutes is another very effective method of disinfection. If the found water is brackish, boil it with Ground Pepper Grass to prevent abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea. If the water contains heavy metal salts or toxic minerals, boil it with strong tea, and do not drink the resulting sediment. Of course, this knowledge isn't needed right now, you just have to remember it. The mountain spring here is good; after helmet purification, you can drink it directly." Speaking thus, she went to fetch water with her helmet.

After drinking some water, Luo Zheng quickly mixed some yellow clay and smeared it on a wild chicken. They found a clean spot, gathered some firewood, and Luo Zheng used the "Fire from Nothing" technique that Lan Xue taught to light a bonfire. He dug a hole, buried the wild chicken, moved the bonfire on top of it, clapped his hands, and excitedly said, "All set, we can eat soon."

"Mm." Lan Xue hummed noncommittally and said, "Next, I'll teach you Sniper Skill. Listen carefully."

Luo Zheng watched Lan Xue with a growing sense of unease, unable to understand why she was so eager to impart her skills. Their journey still had more than a week's worth of travel, plenty of time left, which led him to ask doubtfully, "Are you alright?"