Yue Feng was a Zhan Hunter at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, a man who carved out a living by slaying Zhan Beasts and harvesting their valuable materials. It was a title that commanded a certain respect, but the reality was a life of grueling hardship and constant risk. In the Cultivation World, most Zhan Beasts were vastly more powerful than human Cultivators of the same level, making them notoriously difficult to hunt. Typically, it took a team of five to ten Cultivators of comparable strength to bring down a single Zhan Beast, and even then, victory was never certain. If they succeeded, the battle often damaged the beast’s most valuable parts, diminishing their price in Spirit Stones. What profit remained was divided according to each member’s contribution, leaving everyone with a meager share. If a hunter was injured, the cost of Pills for treatment could be staggering, sometimes erasing any profit entirely. A serious injury could mean the end of a man’s career. Tall and powerfully built, Yue Feng was a Body Cultivator. He had a rugged, heroic face with sharp features, but though he was still young by a cultivator’s measure, the years spent battling beasts and braving the elements had etched lines of hardship into his skin. Stepping into his home, Yue Feng let out a long breath, slinging the hide of some unknown beast from his shoulder and setting down his heavy cleaver. His outer robes were tattered and torn, smeared with blood—some fresh, some long since dried to a dark crust. It was the blood of beasts, mostly, but mixed with it was his own, and perhaps that of his companions. The hunt, clearly, had not gone well. Yue Feng’s brow was furrowed in a grim, unconscious line. Combined with the bloodstains, he cut an intimidating figure. But as he entered the house and saw his wife, that harshness melted away, like a war-weary general shedding his heavy, scarred armor upon returning home. His voice was hoarse with exhaustion, but his tone was gentle. “Everything alright at home?” Liu Ruyan began to put away his gear, reaching for a clean towel to wipe the grime from his face. “Everything is fine. Don’t you worry about us.” Seeing the dust and weariness clinging to him, she couldn’t help but add, “You have to take care of yourself out there.” Yue Feng managed a smile and glanced around the room. “Is Fan'er back yet?” “He came home yesterday. The Sect is on break for the new year. He’s probably still fast asleep. I’ll go wake him; he’ll be so happy to know you’re back.” Yue Feng’s eyes fell to the blood on his clothes and the wounds beneath. He stopped her. “No, let him rest. Life at the Sect isn’t easy either. I need to take a bath first, put some medicine on these cuts, and change out of these rags.” Liu Ruyan nodded. “Alright. But you should eat something first.” Having traveled through the night, Yue Feng was starving. Liu Ruyan was a wonderful cook. The meal was simple, but Yue Feng devoured it like a man possessed. On a hunt, he often slept in the wild and went hungry, surviving on cold, hard rations and using his precious Fasting Pills as sparingly as possible. Now, at home, eating his wife’s cooking, he felt the hardships and fatigue of his journey simply wash away. Yue Feng ate with gusto, swallowing a large mouthful of fragrant, sticky congee before letting out a heavy sigh. Seeing the bloodstains still on his clothes, Liu Ruyan’s concern resurfaced. “Was someone hurt again this time?” Yue Feng sighed. “Three injured. Old Chu… he’s in a bad way.” He began to recount the tale of the disastrous hunt. “There were eight of us, tracking a wolf Demon that stood three feet tall at the shoulder. We had it cornered, and the plan was to wear down its demonic power before going in for the kill. But then another hunting party showed up—a pack of greenhorns, you could tell they’d barely seen a real fight. They got greedy, tried to poach our kill, and in their haste, the beast tore two of them apart…” “After gorging on human flesh, the fiend’s blood qi surged, and it went berserk. Old Chu and I burned through all our spiritual power to finally put it down, but the cost was high. Old Chu lost an arm. He lost too much blood, and his life force is severely damaged. I’m afraid his hunting days are over…” Yue Feng’s voice turned bitter. “Old Chu has a two-year-old child, and his wife just grows a few vegetables to help make ends meet. Now that he’s crippled, he’ll need a fortune in spirit stones for treatment. Even if he heals, I don’t know how the three of them will survive.” Liu Ruyan sighed as well. “When we were struggling, Old Chu helped us. He didn’t have much himself, but he still lent us spirit stones. We have some savings. Why don’t we give them to Old Chu? At least it will help with his injuries.” Yue Feng nodded. “We haven’t sold the wolf demon’s carcass yet. It should fetch about three hundred spirit stones. We’ll give Old Chu the largest share, and lend him some more on top of that. We’ll see him through this. It’s just…” A look of guilt crossed his face. “I was hoping that after this hunt, we’d have almost enough for Fan'er’s Sect tuition next year. But now, with this…” Liu Ruyan took his hand. “As long as our family is safe, that’s all that matters. We can always earn more spirit stones. I’ve saved a little from helping in the tavern kitchen, and we can borrow the rest. It won’t keep Fan'er from starting his studies.” Yue Feng looked at his wife in silence. Her face, once so youthful, now carried a faint trace of weariness. His guilt deepened. “Maybe you should stop working in that kitchen. The heat is bad for the heart and lungs, it can damage your meridians. Next year, I’ll find more hunters, kill more beasts, and earn enough so you won’t have to work so hard.” Liu Ruyan pursed her lips into a proud little smile and pointed to her hair. “What do you think this is?” Yue Feng hadn’t noticed it when he first came in. Looking closer, he saw she wore a hairpin different from her usual ones. “Fan'er gave it to me. He said it’s a fire-resistant hairpin, and it wards off the heat from the stoves. When I wear it, my heart, my lungs… my meridians all feel cooler.” “That’s our Fan'er. Always so thoughtful.” Yue Feng felt a surge of relief, followed by a pang of shame. “And here I am, his father… it’s been years since I’ve given you a gift…” Liu Ruyan smiled. “Fan'er is your son. His gift is your gift.” Yue Feng gave a hollow laugh, a wry smile touching his lips. “Cultivators are always talking about fate. Maybe all the good fortune in my life was spent on marrying a wife like you, and having a son as sensible as Fan'er.” Liu Ruyan shot her husband a playful look, unable to hide her own smile. Looking at that smile, Yue Feng silently resolved that next year, he would find stronger hunters. He would find a way into the Inner Mountain. He would slay more powerful beasts, earn more spirit stones, and ensure that his wife would never have to toil like this again. He would build a better future for his son. In the next room, Yue Fan had heard everything. The young boy sighed softly. He had never realized. All this time, his parents had shouldered the true weight of a cultivator's life in silence. Perhaps, in any world, the burdens a parent carries are far heavier than a child can ever imagine. Even cultivators had to bleed for spirit stones, to struggle just to get by. Cultivators and mortals. They seemed so different, but maybe they weren’t so different after all. Yue Fan let out another quiet sigh, a single thought echoing in his mind. “Is there some way for me to earn spirit stones, too?”

Chapter 5: Etched by hardship