Chapter 14 Encounter

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"What kind of way is that to talk, child?" Jiang Feng glared at Lin You.

Father Lin Jianguo made a phone call. The family didn't wait long before someone came to pick them up.

Cousins on the mother's side, an aunt and her two children, all came to meet the car.

The three of them rushed to help with the luggage, but after some refusal, they were turned down.

The three adults walked ahead to lead the way, while the four children followed. Lin Fei and Lin You walked together; the cousins walked with each other. They were also sizing each other up in secret.

This time, Lin Fei chose his clothes based on his past-life aesthetics: A white shirt with slim brown-black trousers, and black leather sandals on his feet.

After a period of cultivation, his originally thin and tall figure had become standardly fit. Coupled with a newfound confidence and unruffled demeanor, Lin Fei now had the look of a white-collar elite, which would be complete with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

His sister Lin You, of course, always shone brilliantly, with bright eyes and white teeth. Standing together, the two siblings had such a strong presence that their cousins didn't dare to strike up a conversation on their own during the walk.

Out of politeness, Lin Fei did think of initiating a chat, but seeing the cousin glance at him with a touch of inferiority before quickly looking down, he temporarily gave up on the idea. So, he simply greeted them warmly and introduced himself.

Lin You, on the other hand, completely ignored them; she was quite excited when they first got off the car. However, as the novelty wore off, she soon grew impatient.

In her eyes, the two rustically dressed cousins were the kind she could simply ignore. Compared to them, she stayed unusually close to Lin Fei.

After about a fifteen-minute walk, they finally arrived at the cousins' place.

A white two-story building appeared in front of Lin Fei's family.

Once inside the building, their aunt's husband had already prepared lunch. After some formalities, everyone sat down to eat and shared some happy memories from the past.

The atmosphere among the adults was quite nice. Lin Fei sat right next to one of the girl cousins, with his sister Lin You beside him.

However, he had no idea that Lin You treated him as a shield. As soon as the meal started, he picked up his bowl and began eating, seemingly at a leisurely pace. But it wasn't five minutes before he stood up to get his third helping. The dishes in front of him were almost all but wiped clean, leaving the two girls next to him in a daze.

The uncle noticed the situation and laughingly said,

"A good appetite is great! The more you eat, the more you grow!"

"Recently, this child's appetite has been getting bigger and bigger," Jiang Feng also said with a laugh.

The aunt stood up smiling, "I'll go get a few more dishes. There's more in the kitchen."

Lin Fei smiled sheepishly and continued to eat heartily. He still had to find a place to practice qi cultivation in the afternoon, and the long hours of training had increased his appetite significantly. If he didn't eat his fill now, he would likely get very hungry before the afternoon.

Watching him feast, it seemed the girl cousin finally couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"How can you eat so much?" she asked timidly.

"It's not too bad, just three bowls," Lin Fei said with a smile, taking another big scoop of rice.

"But we use the biggest bowls, and normally, one is enough for us," the cousin sitting next to the girl chimed in. Lin Fei's hearty appetite seemingly bridged some of the awkwardness between them.

"I burn a lot of energy. So, I need to eat more," Lin Fei deflected the topic casually and started asking the cousins about where in the countryside they usually play and delved into topics of interest to them. The atmosphere suddenly became less strained.

Lin You, sitting aside, didn't engage in the conversation, and no one bothered to involve her. As she watched her brother chatting animatedly, a sense of being left out welled up inside her.

"I'm full," she put down her chopsticks abruptly. "Mom and Dad, I want to go for a walk."

The uncle quickly asked the girl cousin to accompany her. Lin Fei had also eaten about enough by then.

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"Lin Qiang, let's go! Take me to the woods where you usually play." After a few words, Lin Fei and her cousin had already warmed up to each other. She also learned her cousin's name was Lin Qiang, and his younger sister's name was Lin Xiaoyu.

Lin Qiang and Lin Xiaoyu were both in their last year of junior high and had naturally playful and energetic personalities. Once they started chatting with someone, they'd quickly become interested.

Hearing Lin Fei's request, Lin Qiang patted his chest. "No problem, I can take you to catch some little snakes to play with." For country kids, catching snakes to play with was nothing out of the ordinary.

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Right beside Tongxiang was a small river, with a dense forest on the other side. A bridge connected the two riverbanks. Looking from the bridge to the other side, the greenish-black mountains undulated unpredictably.

The river's surface, like a mirror, was dotted with a group of ducks. A few farmwives were washing clothes on stones by the river.

Lin Qiang chatted with Lin Fei as they walked towards this side.

"Take me deeper into the forest. I've wanted to play in these woods for a long time. Hanging around the outside is not much fun." Lin Fei thought about finding a secluded place in the forest for cultivation.

Lin Qiang hesitated for a moment, "Deeper into the forest, there might be big snakes and such."

"That's okay. Aren't you with me?"

"Alright then. We usually play in there too, so it should be fine." Lin Qiang nodded.

Having decided, the two didn't hesitate and directly walked deeper into the forest, wandering around for a long time.

Lin Fei and Lin Qiang found a spot to sit on a rock and shoot the breeze. Lin Qiang pulled out a little green snake from the bushes to show Lin Fei. He also took her to eat some wild prickly pears in a spot he knew, and all the while, Lin Fei quietly noted the path they took. They played this way for an entire afternoon.

After returning to the small building and having lunch, Lin Fei told Lin Qiang she wanted to go for a walk on the rural streets by herself and that he didn't need to accompany her. It happened that Lin Qiang was also called out to play in the afternoon. Thinking that it was just in the village streets and probably nothing would go wrong, he agreed.

Lin Fei alone retraced the route they had taken at noon and re-entered the forest. The Bear Claw was tucked in his trouser pocket. As he stepped on the soft muddy path, a chill seemed to rise from the dark woods on either side, and even the warm sunlight from above couldn't dispel it. A deep and mysterious feeling surfaced in Lin Fei's heart.

Following the path deeper in, at first, he still encountered one or two old farmers carrying firewood. But after passing several forks, no more human figures could be seen.

Lin Fei carefully picked a distinctive spot as a landmark for remembering the route, looked left and right, saw no one else, and immediately stepped off the path into the rather gloomy woods on the side.

He chose a direction and walked down it until finally, he found a quiet spot surrounded by uniform trees. That's where Lin Fei stopped. He had used the Bear Claw to carve marks on the trunks of the trees he passed, so he wasn't worried about getting lost.

The black serrated Bear Claw spun continuously in the palm of his right hand. Lin Fei walked around the chosen spot, checking for dangers like snakes. After driving away a couple of unnamed little snakes, he finally finished the preparations.

Standing in the forest, he began to close his eyes and practice the Visualization Qi Cultivation, starting with the first pattern.

Just as he was about to begin, suddenly, faint voices came from the dense forest ahead.

Lin Fei was startled. Logically, it was very unlikely to encounter other people in such a deep part of the forest, especially after dinner when people would typically be heading out. Yet, unexpectedly, there were others besides himself.

Driven by a bit of curiosity, Lin Fei thought for a moment and decided to get closer to see who they were.

However, he had only taken a few steps when he faintly smelled blood.

Lin Fei tensed up. He squinted, trying to discern the situation in the forest ahead, but the trees were too dense to see anything. Only fragments of conversation wafted over with the breeze.

"...you followed, if it weren't for... if it hadn't been... today is the last day, I wouldn't have wanted it this way..."

The content of the conversation seemed off, and a sense of alert rose in Lin Fei's heart. Although he had experienced a brush with death once before, it was this type of tension, possibly facing danger, that could really make his nerves taut.

He crouched down and slowly moved forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. Lin Fei, who had never had such an experience, actually felt an excitement welling up from within.

"Ba Zi went back, and Brother Cha is dead. I'm the only one left."