Chapter 48: Chapter 41: Shedding a Human Skin (Part 2)
Every hair seemed to have transformed into a detector, capturing information from the air, sending it into the blood, and then from the blood into the brain.
"What a strange feeling!" Zhang Chen stood there dumbly for a moment, shook his head, and walked towards the mountains.
The skin being able to feel the flow of the wind, and temperature is not uncommon; ordinary people’s skin can do the same. It’s just that his perception was more acute. He assumed it was due to the regeneration of his skin being more sensitive to the airflow.
At this moment, Zhang Chen’s blood had been replenished, without the usual dizziness.
You should know that it had been more than ten days since Zhang Chen made the ceramic whistle until now, so replenishing his blood was normal.
"The baskets at home seem to be insufficient. As I catch more and more wild chickens and wild ducks, I need to weave some more baskets." Zhang Chen walked in the mountains, training the Hunting Falcon as he went.
After checking the traps, which today caught a rabbit and a mountain chicken, Zhang Chen collected the prey and walked towards the cave, intending to feed his giant bees.
In just a few days, the giant beehive had grown to the size of a baby’s head, looking quite structured, with each giant bee busily moving in and out of the hive, working diligently.
Zhang Chen took out the meat chunks he had ready, watching as the giant bees flew out of the hive and directly pounced towards him.
The giant bees landed on Zhang Chen’s skin, and today Zhang Chen felt particularly strange, as if the actions of the giant bees were somehow mysteriously transmitted into his mind.
He could clearly perceive every foot of the giant bees crawling across his skin, even feeling a warm current being blown onto his skin with their breathing.
"Incredible!" Only at this time did Zhang Chen suddenly realize that something unusual might have happened to his skin, as ordinary people would not be able to feel the breathing of giant bees.
Zhang Chen gently shook his clothes to brush off the giant bees, and with a light push of his arm, the Hunting Falcon soared into the sky, flying into the azure heavens.
Hunting Falcons are meant to roam the vast skies, and Zhang Chen would not completely confine the falcon by his side.
Now, Zhang Chen picked up the honey jar and began his journey into the deep mountains, looking for bees to gather honey.
He collected honey while coordinating with the falcon, keeping himself quite busy.
Zhang Chen arrived at a place crowded with bees and directly activated his skill, entering bee-chasing mode. As Zhang Chen chased the bees, every bee he encountered swarmed towards him, a sight that made the beasts of the mountains flee and birds avoid them.
When the overwhelming number of bees turned into a massive swarm, even the tigers and wolves in the mountains would retreat and flee afar.
Zhang Chen, activating Beast Taming Mode, felt that the quarter-hour passed too quickly, so he could only collect all the honey from the bees and leave satisfied.
He collected the honey, took out the whistle, signaled the Hunting Falcon soaring in the sky to return, but unexpectedly the falcon let out a cry, ignored Zhang Chen’s command, and like a sharp sword, disappeared into the forest.
Watching the direction where the Hunting Falcon vanished, Zhang Chen was stunned on the spot, his mind boiling with one thought: "Is this guy perhaps like the Old Six of Hunting Falcons? Taking advantage of my release to slip away directly?"
At this moment, Zhang Chen seemed struck by Thunder, staring blankly at the clear blue sky, at a loss for what to do.
"Are Hunting Falcons also this cunning? Even beasts can play tricks with faux ami?" Zhang Chen’s head buzzed, Wang Wu never mentioned this possibility, never said that the falcon could run off on its own.
"Never mind, if it ran off, it ran off. It’s the first time training a Hunting Falcon without experience, I’ll find another chance to train next time." Zhang Chen tucked the whistle into his chest, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, as if even the honey he collected before lost its sweetness.
However, Zhang Chen’s depression didn’t last long. Suddenly, from the distant sky came a familiar cry, and he saw the falcon returning, circling in the air. To Zhang Chen’s surprise, the Hunting Falcon actually caught a little rabbit and even more surprisingly, dropped it right in front of him.
The falcon flapped its wings and landed on Zhang Chen’s shoulder, looking proudly at him as if boasting, "See? I’m more than capable!"
Zhang Chen picked up the rabbit; its internal organs were crushed and obviously could not survive. Not wanting to waste, Zhang Chen drained its blood, removed its sinews and skin, and headed towards the creek.
"Well done!" Zhang Chen praised the falcon, tossing the sliced internal organs to it.
No choice, the Hunting Falcon loved these things! Animals liked to eat internal organs more than meat.
Zhang Chen did not cage the Hunting Falcon, knowing it disliked being confined. Zhang Chen, to cultivate a relationship with the falcon, avoided any actions that could damage their bond.
"In this society where human rights overrule the law, living a quiet life as an ordinary person would be quite nice." Zhang Chen muttered. Though he had the Golden Finger, he did not have much ambition. He was content with his current life, except for the damn Fox Spirit hanging over him like a sword. Honestly, Zhang Chen didn’t want to take risks.
These peculiar methods were so strange, he couldn’t even handle a Fox Spirit, so he dared not wander aimlessly. Just surviving well was enough for him.
With a basket on his back, Zhang Chen walked back, a flash of thought crossing his mind: "Humans are the primates of all beings; I wonder what drinking human blood would do!"
But he quickly stopped this thought; it was too dangerous! If someone accidentally saw him one day, he would be hunted as a monster. Forget about human blood, even draining animal blood could spell disaster if certain moralists saw him, potentially inciting a major demon-slaying campaign. His Blood-sucking Skill didn’t seem like a proper skill; what legitimate skill would involve blood-sucking? This skill screamed villain!
Reaching the foot of the mountain, Zhang Chen spotted Hunter Wang Wu from afar. Wang Wu was shouldering a haunch, smiling at the road.
"Mr. Wang." Zhang Chen greeted from afar.
"I just heard the Hunting Falcon’s call from the mountains, guessing you succeeded in training it, so I waited to see the result. The falcon had been confined for over ten days, and suddenly soaring the skies, it couldn’t resist crying out, venting its pent-up frustrations." Wang Wu looked at the falcon on Zhang Chen’s shoulder, curiosity in his eyes.
Zhang Chen stroked the falcon’s head on his shoulder, joy in his eyes: "Just started showing promise. This beast can only fly out and come back, but doesn’t understand many more commands yet."
Wang Wu’s eyes held a trace of envy as he looked at the falcon on Zhang Chen’s shoulder, his gaze fiery.
"You should keep your falcon hidden; don’t let those Noble Young Masters see it, or you might stir up trouble. Especially that Landlord Lin, he’s the greediest. If he finds out you have a falcon, he’ll find a way to seize it." Wang Wu warned with concern.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded. He wasn’t one to cause trouble for no reason and knew the importance of keeping a low profile.
"I’ll leave the Hunting Falcon in the mountains tomorrow, not bringing it back, which will save some trouble." Zhang Chen said.
He wasn’t just worried about Landlord Lin but more about that damn Fox Spirit capturing his falcon to eat.
The two of them returned to the village together. Zhang Chen carefully hid the falcon inside the house, then took out fresh grass to feed the muntjac, starting to cook and boil medicine.