Hot Cake

"Lin Fan, are you feeling any better?"

Ho Ming was grinning widely when he entered Lin Fan's house.

By now Lin Fan was all better and was picking up his bow, getting ready to go hunting.

"I'm all good now," Lin Fan replied.

"You're going hunting? It's prohibited now. There are troops and people from the Qing Feng sect going through the woods for remnants of the sect."

Ho Ming said this as he walked over to Lin Fan's only table, lifted the teapot, poured and gulped down the tea inside.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be preparing for the abilities test?"

Cough.

Ho Ming choked on the tea when he heard Lin Fan say the words "abilities test."

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said, "Don't remind me. My dad only allows me to come visit you; other than that, I can't leave the house."

Lin Fan patted him on his back and thought to himself that the village head must have heard good things from Zhao Rui and the Bai brothers.

He must have wanted Ho Ming to be on good terms with Lin Fan, making plans for his son.

After what the village head did for Lin Fan, he was more than happy to reciprocate.

It was also safer for him to have someone going to the sect along with him.

Even though Zhao Rui and the Bai brothers seemed decent, one would never know what the others in a big sect like Qing Feng sect were like.

So even if the village head's motives weren't exactly pure, Lin Fan was happy to go with it.

Ho Ming, on the other hand, wasn't so appreciative of his father's effort.

"Thank God I could visit you and get away from my old man. Since you can't go hunting, let's go fishing instead."

"Fishing? The water is cold now, and I don't know how to fish."

"Don't worry. Leave it to me. If you didn't know, they call me the king of fishers in An Xiang village."

Ho Ming patted his chest and boastfully said this.

Hearing this, Lin Fan rolled his eyes but still went with it.

They were, after all, only teenagers, and Ho Ming needed to be himself.

Most importantly, Lin Fan had something he wanted to test out.

...

By the river, it was still but cold in late autumn.

Two teenage boys were wading in the river with spears in their hands.

The spears were crude, crafted by Lin Fan using his axe.

"Lin Fan, that fish over there! Get it!"

Lin Fan, with his enhanced physique, aimed at the fish, and whoosh—his spear shot into the water.

When Lin Fan lifted his spear out of the water, a big fish was thrashing around.

A familiar sound erupted in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Fish terminated.]

[Unable to initiate Fish abilities, host level too low for one more ability.]

[Level 10 required for initiating one more ability.]

As he had thought, at his current physique level, he couldn't have another ability.

He had planned to try and get some ability that could protect himself.

A tortoise ability with its shell or the newt's ability to regrow and recover.

No matter, I will have to take it one step at a time.

With this thought, Lin Fan lifted his spear and smirked at Ho Ming, "King of Fishers, look what I've got here."

"You got lucky, I tell you. Don't waste it; let's quickly gut it and roast it."

Ho Ming quickly gathered sticks from the surroundings and set up a fire.

When Lin Fan was done removing the fish's innards, he placed his spear over the fire, roasting it.

Ho Ming gulped down mouthfuls of saliva when the aroma of the fish reached his nose.

When it was cooked, Lin Fan passed the fish to Ho Ming.

"Thanks, I will just take a small chunk of it," Ho Ming said as he took out a small knife and cut out only a mouthful.

"That's all you want?" Lin Fan asked.

"My father always tells me, if you didn't work for it, then you don't deserve it."

Looking at Ho Ming blowing at the steaming hot fish, Lin Fan nodded.

Welcome aboard, he thought to himself.

...

When they finished slurping up the fish, they went back to Lin Fan's place.

To Lin Fan's surprise, his house had a few visitors.

Granny Lim and several villagers were waiting for his return.

When they saw him back, Granny Lim waved at him and said, "Lin Fan, I've got some dried vegetables for you, please take them."

"For me? Why?" Lin Fan asked.

Granny Lim got close to Lin Fan and whispered next to his ear, "You must be that hero who saved me the other time. I know you are too shy to take the credit, but please take my token of appreciation."

Lin Fan shook his head and tried to deny it. "That's not me."

Granny Lim just grinned and patted Lin Fan on his back, arched her brow, and gave him an "I know" look.

The other villagers were here for the same purpose.

But they were here trying to get on good terms with Lin Fan.

What he did with Zhao Rui and the Bai brothers had spread throughout the village.

They weren't going to miss a chance to be close to a future Martial Arts Fighter.

In their hands were dried food and salt.

All essentials to tide over the winter.

"Lin Fan, I've always known you have a bright future ahead of you."

"Yes, that's what I thought too."

"Nonsense, I was the only one to see his potential. In fact, my daughter is willing to be his wife."

When one of the shameless villagers said this, the rest of them burst out in loud chatter.

This shameless Ah Gou, already thinking ahead.

Those with daughters chimed in with their proposals for marriage with their daughters.

Seeing that the competition was high, those without daughters started to think about their nieces or distant relatives.

Widow Xiu even attempted to get married to Lin Fan.

When she was chastised by the other villagers at her age old enough to be Lin Fan's Grandma, she responded, "It's all true love."

"How can all of you be so shameless!"

A voice boomed loudly, and the chatter went silent.