Food Gathering

Thirty-two hours or more have passed, and the little rabbit has not yet returned. Hungry and without strength, I weakly lie on the cold hard pavement.

I should have stabbed that rabbit.

"Ugh, such bad luck! I have been searching for food in this mountain, but this place!?" This place is just too desolate! I'd rather die in the forest than stay in this damnable mountain.

I stand and steel my resolve to journey and leave the mountain. Though this place has formations that could protect me and is rich with vital qi, they have no use to me at all.

In my past life, I have read a fair share of cultivation novels, and even now that I am in the cultivation world, I can't still understand why master cultivators like to stay in seclusion in mountains like this.

In a sense, Cultivators are actually sophisticated cavemen.

Well, aside from the rich vital qi, this place is just too boring! It's boring me to death!

My legs are already shaky after walking for less than a hundred steps. I was planning to create traps for rabbits in the forest just by the mountain's foot, but my frail physique is just too much!

I have developed grudges against rabbits now.

"Huff... Huff..."

I can hardly breathe. Exhaustion and hunger are claiming me.

*Tuk

I feel a weak impact on my foot. Looking down, what I saw is the little bunny with some berries in its paws.

"Kyuuu!" It greets me with its unique chirping.

Look who we have here. It's a cute little bunny. Should I stab it?

Its eyes are dazzling. It is weird, but I can feel the emotion of this little bunny.

"Fine, I won't kill you. Don't get me wrong, you are my reserve food."

I kneel, take half of the berries from the rabbit then start nibbling on them. Though I am very hungry now, I cannot find it in myself to stab this little guy.

[Food Gathering! Accomplished!]

Sigh... I watch the little bunny joyously skip at the sound of the system notification. Perhaps, she can hear it? Or maybe after becoming a player, she had something like a system?

If so, then my 'system' didn't fail me at all. That is how I imagined it, and the system perfectly executed it. This is twisted of me, but I want to turn this world into a game--- this little bunny is just the first of my players and there will be more.

"The other half is yours," I tell the little bunny shamelessly as if it was me all along who gathered those berries. In any case, the li'l bunny needs to eat.

"Kyu?"

As if the little rabbit understood my words, it raises its paws once more beckoning me to eat it.

I am hesitant, but the rabbit was insistent.

"Kyu-kyu-kyu!" It demanded to me that I eat it since the little bunny has already eaten. What is this? Can I talk bunny now?

I feel this special connection with the bunny. It feels almost psychic. The little bunny expresses its emotions through this special connection.

"Eat! Eat! Get stronk!" It said... well, that is at least what I felt from the rabbit's imploring eyes.

What a good little rabbit!

"Ok, ok! If you insist."

So I ate all the berry offerings. The rabbit opens its mouth, revealing more berries from its stuffed cheeks.

Once again, the rabbit raises its paws, beckoning me to eat more berries.

My heart was moved... though a bit doubtful...

You are a good bunny!

I tasted the berries. Though slimy, I persevered, not keen on wasting it.

In the end, I was able to eat all the berries, regaining my strength a little bit. I summon my system interface, thinking of my future.

[Name: Fu Shi

Quintessence: 1

Players: 1/1]

After 24 hours, I gained one quintessence. I can't, in good conscience not do something for the little bunny.

Because I already had prior experience on how to use quintessence, I know what I have to do.

From quintessence, I derive the attribute of memory, life, and experience. I want the little bunny to have a 'power' that will allow it to ascend to the heavens.

Yeah, the heavens are too much. I think surpassing its limits is more apt.

Thus, I impart more of the 'system' to the little bunny. More specifically, I want to share it.

I seat in a lotus position meditating on what should the 'system' looks like for my players. Like a game, I want there to be a character progression for them. And for the little bunny, I want it to ascend to the heavens. Or the very least, break from the limitation of its species.

"Little bunny, thank you for the berries." I affectionately thank the bunny as I check its gender. Hmmm... A female, huh?

I want to stay to the theme, so I delve into old Fu Shi's memories to think of the name 'Bi Yuan'. I don't really have a clue whether the name is good or not.

"From now on, your name will be Bi Yuan. I will call you Yuan'er, is that all right with you?" I ask the little bunny, gently patting its head.

Did she like the name?

"Ku-kyuuu~"

It seems that I don't have to worry much as the bunny, Bi Yuan nuzzles on my arms.

I caress the bunny in my embrace, excitement for the future is accumulating in my heart.

[Ping! Giving Quest... Food Gathering!]

I give the little bunny a quest again, which the little one happily accepted. I then, let go of the little bunny.

"Good bunny." I softly whisper as Bi Yuan rushes to accomplish her task.

I turn my back from whence the rabbit came, and then return to my cave.

I am still hungry and the hunger pangs were painful, but I persisted. A day quickly passes by, then the rabbit returns with a bountiful of berries, safely contained with a makeshift pouch of leaves.

"Yuan'er is so smart, good girl."

This continues for a week. I praise the good bunny as I eat. The bunny is getting smarter every day. From her humble pouch, she now also can set up traps for small animals.

I taught the little bunny with minimal effort how to set traps, and now, she can catch small animals at her leisure.

I marvel at Bi Yuan's catch. It's as if she has become a predator of her own right.

"There are some wild chickens, even a fox, but no bunnies huh?"

Well, that's understandable. I can't have Bi Yuan feed me her own kin, right?

I use my Razor Wind Sword to cut and dismantle the animals. I don't have any prior experience with this, so my work is sloppy.

I use the Clear Water Gourd to clean the bloody mess. Then with my Scorching Sun Spear, I pierced the meat like a kebab and then cook it with my quintessence.

Quintessence is truly a miraculous force. As long as I know the principles behind a phenomenon, I can make it happen as long as I have quintessence.

Making fire is too simple a task for me. All I need is a thought.

It is a very wasteful use of quintessence, but I manage. Flames created with quintessence can hardly die. While qi can also achieve it, it can't compare to the quintessence which is the epitome of creation.

Still, it is sad that most of my treasures now are not compatible with quintessence.

Without qi, my spiritual artifacts are simply ordinary items. Razor Wind Sword maintained its sharpness but not its magical attributes. It is the same for Scorching Sun Spear.

Using quintessence in substitute of qi is truly wasteful. Even with experimentation.

For some reason, the Clear Water Gourd works just fine with quintessence. In the future, this can be a great source of research material.

"You are the true treasure, Yuan'er. All of my spiritual artifacts are now trash except you... It is not like you are an item anyway, but a treasure is a treasure!" I cradle Bi Yuan as I adjust my lifestyle within the past month.

Yes, the past month... passed like that.

The fire created by my quintessence has long ceased. Looks like the fire's lifespan can last about a month equivalent to a single quintessence.

[Name: Fu Shi

Quintessence: 37

Players: 1/1]

"It is time I give Yuan'er a reward for her efforts." I gaze at the little bunny affectionately. I wonder, what should give her?

A weapon? Imagining a bunny wielding a weapon is difficult, but who knows? This is a world of cultivation where xianxia bullshit occurs almost in daily occurrence.

I'll be damned. Just a month ago, I fought lightning and thunder to gain this vague system. The next day, I made friends with a rabbit. Then the next day, the rabbit fed me.

Well, befriending a rabbit is not really a cultivator thing, so there's no xianxia magic in there. But think! My friendship with this little bunny isn't really normal either. It's something you will only see in fables.

"Hmmm… I think I know now what I should give her."

"Kyu?"