Long walk

Jiushu walked for five steps before she wimped out.

She returned to space.

She is a brave girl, but let's face it, she is walking in a prehistoric forest. Every being here is capable of killing her with their little finger, the path she has just taken is actually formed by a beast tide of creatures looking like a cross between hellhounds and cruel dragons.

She observed the path on both sides, and came out again.

Ten steps this time..

Then back into space..

However, the next time, she has an idea.

'Search'

She commanded.

The surroundings lit up.

Bai mu [ weeping cypress ] - grows up to 35 meters tall, could up to thousand years and more.

Wood could be used to make furniture.

Rating : 3.5 stars.

Jiushu walked past.

More pine mushrooms…

However, she doesn't have time to sit and collect them.

She walked forwards..

She must reach that high mountain, or MoQiu will leave, she is sure.

As she walked, something caught her eye..

Giant Caterpillar fungus - highly valued medicinal herb. Currently extinct species.

Special status : last of its kind.

Rating: 5 stars.

Jiushu ran to the plant. . She was approaching a plateau with high grass, and the fire was spreading fast in the little grassland. The mushroom will get burned to death if she stalls, she knew.

She ran straight into the fire, fingers extending towards the mushroom's stem.

Her vision turned orange..

Autoprotect pulled her into space.

She fell down face first in her hut.

The little firelights danced in front of her eyes, as her eyelids burned off.

She quickly smacked off fire with her arms.

Then she checked her hands, feeling something squishy in her hands.

She got the mushroom..

She sent it immediately to storage…

'Ah.. MoQiu..' she remembered her original purpose.

She cursed inwardly. She just saw the words extinct and last of the species, and reacted. She forgot her mission for a moment. What is a lost species in front of her family and friends..

…. Wait!

Aunt is not dead, and her very plan is shaky at best.

So, chances of her seeing him are low in the first place.. So it doesn't matter in the long term. Only.. it kept nagging at her.

Hmm…

No, there is no need for her to feel guilty for saving the species and returning to space. The fire in the grassland would have spread to her path, she would have to return to space anyway. Now, she can at least walk forwards in the burnt off ground.

She looked out the window. The fire is still ongoing.

She returned to her space, and chose the lightest fabric she could find. She will get lost in the forest if she was wearing her brown dress from earlier. She is trying to catch someone's eye, not get lost in the scenery. Plus, she can probably put out this fire.

Jiushu stepped out of the ring, released a rock bowl of water where she was.

She returned to the space immediately so as to not get caught in the aftermath.

The water flowed out.

The fire was not put out, but the ashy area became muddy. Steam rose out of the water, some of the heated up shells exploded with little 'splat' sounds.

The fire is not put out, but the plants are not getting burned to roots.

Jiushu re-oriented herself, started walking towards the mountain peak she saw earlier.

…

..

.

Why is it still so far? It looked pretty near.

She has been walking for an hour, she still hasn't reached the mountain base.

Is this the mirage effect?

Never mind.. Mirage or not, she will not lose anything by walking there. She could always return to her space to eat and replenish herself.

So, she walked.

Onwards and onwards..

A short rainfall happened soon after the forest fire, and it's put out just like that.

Where is she going?

Why is she going there..?

Is it worth going there?

Did he know what happened at home?

Is he even looking for her?

She doesn't know, and she couldn't think of another method to contact him.

Thus, she could only go onwards.

She kept walking, only, this time, she stopped to add forage locations, collect seedlings, and more.

On the other hand, MoQiu is lost in a haze of anger.

He went home only to notice everyone is missing.

He asked around the village.

Jiushu left to forage in the forest.

Some lady stole Xiao Xing's thumb ring, getting him lost for an entire day. The little one is most afraid of getting abandoned, but for the sake of a measly peace of jewellery, she left him under a tree alone.

MoQiu, unable to hold his anger, hacked off a tree in their yard in a single strike.

The sight of people pissing in fright has been very gratifying.

He threatened them with retribution no matter the time and space, and information flowed out like a river.

A swordsman came searching for his family. His mother jumped off the cliff to avoid being killed by the man.

MoQiu raced down the cliff.

Only, there is a bit of blood on one of the rocks, but no corpse.

He returned to form a search party, only for the villagers to tell him that is the beasts area.

They are both hunters and scavengers. The body has gone means only one thing. They dragged it off.

MoQiu tried to stay hopeful.. He really did. He tried his best to stay hopeful, however, he is a hunter.

He knew the habits of these beasts. He knew how prevalent and voracious they could be.

He took his sword, and started the hunt.

If one beast comes, he will kill one beast.

If two come, he will kill two.

If a thousand come, he shall kill a thousand..

He went into the forest with anger.

First, the wolf zards attacked him like they were playing with him.

They die before they can lift a paw.

Then they tried attacking in groups.

They died all the same.

Then, they tried running away.

MoQiu gave chase.

The herd only grew larger and larger, till it became a beast tide.

MoQiu did not stop killing them.

He killed and killed and lost himself in the rhythm of killing…

He followed the tide, which is running away at full speed.

All he has on his mind is ' Leave not a single beast alive.'

At some point, his system chimed.

'Thousand beasts killed without suffering damage. Skill spirit blade activated.'

He activated the skill.

He went back to kill the beasts.

The beast tide is fast, noisy, and on the other side of a mountain.

The sound of the loudest explosion in the forest is lost in the dying moans of wolfzards.

Every beast in the forest filled their belly that day. Predators by eating wolfzards. Prey, by having their fill without the fear of getting hunted.

MoQiu continued killing them.

He only stopped killing them after three more days, when he passed away in exhaustion.

His father has been equally grief stricken, but his son's response halted him from going off the deep end.

He took care of his son like it is a mission given by god himself.

The day after, MoQiu got up from his sleep, and looked blankly at the rising sun.

The two men sat on the cliff looking at the sun.

"Father… What do we do now?" MoQiu questioned.

His father stayed silent, looking at the sun.

"We will build this house. We will say our goodbyes to Jiushu. We will find the rebellion. Then we will hack the man who sent the assassin to pieces." he said.

So, they both stayed there.

Built the house.

Their anxiety rose when it was the fifth day yet, and Jiushu hasn't returned.