Chapter 3: The Strange Chen Qingqing

Just as Lu Chuan was feeling excited, a voice came from afar.

“Help...”

“Help...”

It was a woman’s voice, and it sounded somewhat familiar.

Lu Chuan paused thoughtfully and followed the direction of the voice.

The sound came from beneath a cliff, which was only about ten meters high.

A woman wearing a cotton-padded jacket was gripping the rocks with one hand, struggling to support her body.

“Qingqing Chen?”

Lu Chuan focused and recognized her.

She was the daughter of Widow Wang from the village. Qingqing’s father had also been a hunter in the village, but he had been killed by a wild beast during a hunting trip.

Since then, Widow Wang had been raising Qingqing alone, barely making ends meet.

She was considered one of the village’s pitiful souls.

Upon hearing the voice, Lu Chuan quickly looked up and, upon seeing him, Qingqing cried out, “Lu Chuan, what are you doing here? Please, find something to pull me up!”

“Wait here. I’ll find a rope!”

Lu Chuan nodded.

The weather was freezing, so why was Qingqing alone on the mountain, and in such a dangerous spot?

But now was not the time to ponder; he found some vines in the forest, tied them into a rope, and lowered it down the cliff.

Qingqing grasped it like a lifeline and, with great effort, Lu Chuan pulled her up.

Though she was wearing a cotton jacket, it was torn in several places, with some skin exposed.

She stood there, trembling, her face purple from the cold.

“What are you doing on the mountain in such freezing weather?” Lu Chuan asked.

Qingqing smiled awkwardly. “My mother is ill. We have no money for medicine or treatment, and the grain tax is due soon. I had no other choice, so I thought I’d try my luck on the mountain, hoping to find some medicinal herbs.”

“But before I could find any herbs,” she continued, “I slipped and fell down the cliff.”

Lu Chuan nodded.

But as he looked at Qingqing again, he noticed a panel hovering above her head.

Name: Qingqing Chen

Age: 16

Attractiveness: 94

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Favorability: 47

Currently available upon acceptance: Basic medical skills, basic planting skills, basic forging skills, intermediate hunting skills.

Seeing this panel, Lu Chuan gasped inwardly.

He now had a clearer understanding of this mysterious panel.

It seemed that such panels only appeared for girls whose attractiveness reached a certain threshold.

Judging by the favorability score, 10 points could unlock a skill or technique.

Analyzing Qingqing’s panel, skills unlocked before reaching 30 favorability were basic, while intermediate skills would unlock after 30, and perhaps advanced ones later.

However, this required further study.

One thing puzzled Lu Chuan: no matter how he looked at Qingqing, she definitely couldn’t be rated 94 in attractiveness.

Though not ugly, she was certainly ordinary-looking.

Could it be that the panel’s standards of beauty differed from normal human perception?

“Hmm,” he thought to himself. “This girl might not be easy to handle, and Widow Wang might not agree. How should I take her in?”

“It’s snowbound and dangerous on the mountain!” Lu Chuan warned.

Qingqing lowered her head in embarrassment. “I know, but my mother…”

She fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve.

“Brother Lu, does your family have any money? If so, could you lend me some?”

Lu Chuan felt awkward.

This girl didn’t know how to talk.

“My family is hardly better off. Today, officials came to select women for tribute. I accidentally offended the leader and was forced to have two women chosen,” Qingqing explained.

“It’s already been registered, and the grain tax is due soon. My family has to pay for three women.”

Lu Chuan scratched his head. “If my family were a bit wealthier, I wouldn’t have to hunt on the mountain.”

“Brother Lu, can I come hunting with you? I don’t know how to hunt, but I’m strong and can help carry things. I’d be happy with just ten percent of the catch!”

“Medicinal herbs are hard to find, so I thought if I bring home some meat from hunting, it might help my mother recover faster.”

Qingqing said.

“Go back and at least change into a proper cotton jacket,” Lu Chuan said, awkwardly pointing to her exposed shoulder.

“Oh…” Qingqing only then noticed.

She hurried to cover herself, but in doing so, her small, pale abdomen was exposed again.

“Ha!” Lu Chuan chuckled, took off his raincoat, and handed it to her.

“Put this on first, and rest well at home. If I catch anything, I’ll bring some to your family.”

What a joke!

Having such a burden would interfere with his use of space.

“Brother Lu! You’ll be cold without your raincoat,” Qingqing said worriedly.

“I’m fine. I’m wearing a cotton jacket underneath. The raincoat is just to keep the snow off. It doesn’t look like it will snow anytime soon.”

“Stop standing there! Hurry back!”

After sending Qingqing off, Lu Chuan stayed near the riverbank.

In the afternoon, he managed to catch two wild rabbits and a pheasant drinking water by the river.

This was the advantage of guarding a respawn point.

Lu Chuan felt delighted.

Before leaving, he washed away the bloodstains on the riverbank.

Wild animals were cautious and could sense danger from the scent of blood, so it was best to avoid alarming them so they wouldn’t move their drinking spot.

“This is enough for today!”

Lu Chuan opened his portable space, looking at the frightened deer, rabbits, and pheasant inside.

He was still excited.

The feeling of a good harvest was wonderful.

He followed the path back down the mountain as dusk fell.

Suddenly, Lu Chuan sensed something amiss.

Not far away, two small creatures were rolling in the snow.

The creatures noticed his approach, arched their backs, and snarled at him.

“Damn, two young green wolves?”

Lu Chuan’s eyes sharpened as he stepped forward swiftly.

The two green wolf pups instinctively retreated, then seemed to realize something and snarled twice more, arching their backs high as if ready to charge.

“Heh, these little brats are pretty fierce!”