Chapter 153: Gale Step

Recalling the running posture of the Gale Rabbit that she had observed with her divine sense just moments ago, Yun Qing channeled her spiritual power into her legs and began practicing running through the forest.

She lacked high-speed movement skills or spells, and while escape techniques might allow her to catch up to a Gale Rabbit, she simply didn't have enough low-grade spirit stones to upgrade her jumping skill.

Previously, when monsters besieged her dwelling, she had instinctively figured out a Yun Qing-version of the lightness skill. This time, while chasing the Gale Rabbit, she intuitively applied her spiritual power to her legs, making her speed increase progressively.

Mimicking the Gale Rabbit, she circulated her spiritual power through both feet simultaneously, pushed off the ground hard, and propelled herself five to six meters forward.

Delighted with such great results on her first attempt using spiritual power to bound, Yun Qing exclaimed, "Liu Liu, spiritual power is truly useful, much stronger than inner Qi."

The Gale Rabbit bounded continuously without pause, so Yun Qing concentrated her spiritual power in her feet once more and leaped again.

However, after trying this a dozen times, she began to feel something was off. She wasn't a Gale Rabbit; why was she hopping? She was a human, and what she needed to practice was running.

Reflecting on the lightness skill she had mastered not long ago during her battle with the boss, she attempted to use that method—treating spiritual power like inner Qi—combined with the Gale Rabbit's method of utilizing spiritual power that she had peeked at, to run using spiritual power.

After a few tries, her running speed improved dramatically.

Covering several meters in a single stride, she dashed through the woods like the wind, completely forgetting that her original purpose was to forage for ingredients for the large hawk.

When she had sprinted several miles further west, a multitude of red-named targets came into view in the distance.

Gale Rabbit Level 41, Gale Rabbit Level 42, Gale Rabbit Level 41, Gale Rabbit Level 43...

"Liu Liu, Liu Liu, look quickly, ingredients are everywhere."

"They're only ingredients if you can catch them. If you can't, they're just there for you to look at."

Yun Qing turned invisible and pondered a countermeasure. Although her speed had increased, catching up to a Gale Rabbit remained difficult. With so many of them, she wasn't greedy; capturing just one would be enough.

Her only ranged weapon was a "fishhook," and her only melee weapon was a small dagger. How to kill a rabbit had become her current dilemma.

The fishhook certainly couldn't hook a Gale Rabbit to death, and while the small dagger was fine for dissecting, using it to kill posed some difficulty.

Yun Qing cast her gaze toward her "heavy weapon." Staying invisible, she cautiously approached a Level 41 Gale Rabbit that was grazing.

With her invisible feet stepping on fallen leaves and weeds, any carelessness might reveal her presence. Whether the grass was simply too delicious or the Gale Rabbit's vigilance was too poor, the Level 41 Gale Rabbit she had set her sights on showed no reaction whatsoever.

Even when she approached within three meters of it, the Gale Rabbit continued to eat with great gusto.

Yun Qing thought to herself, "What a plump rabbit."

With a flick of her mind, she retrieved her "heavy weapon"—the log her pet hawk had helped her cut, weighing nearly five hundred jin, which she smashed straight down onto the head of the Level 41 Gale Rabbit.

-210;
Combat experience +80;

It hadn't been killed outright. Beneath the log, the Gale Rabbit was left with only a sliver of its health bar. The other grazing Gale Rabbits, startled by the commotion, immediately fled in all directions.

Gale Rabbits were not aggressive monsters, and fortunately, they all ran away. If they had swarmed her, Yun Qing might not have been a match for them.

Yun Qing couldn't worry about the escaping rabbits; her immediate concern was ensuring the rabbit pinned beneath the log couldn't run away.

She stepped forward, approached the pinned Gale Rabbit, pulled out her bird-claw dagger, slowly rolled the log aside, and struck the Gale Rabbit in the neck, draining its health bar completely.

-40;
Combat experience +20;
Obtained Low-Grade Spirit Stone x1;

By killing a Level 41 Gale Rabbit, Yun Qing had gained 100 combat experience points.

This wasn't a dungeon raid, nor was it a monster siege on her dwelling. After the Gale Rabbit died, Liu Liu picked up 1 spirit stone, and Yun Qing still retained the carcass of the Gale Rabbit.

Lifting her hunting spoils, Yun Qing smiled and said, "Liu Liu, getting the ingredients the hawk wants is actually quite easy!"

"Do you think a single one of those can feed that creature? Besides, are you sure you aren't going to eat any yourself?"

Yun Qing said full of confidence, "If I can catch the first one, I can catch the second one."

There were no more Gale Rabbits in this spot, nor could any be seen as far as the eye could see.

Such a large number of Gale Rabbits certainly wouldn't just vanish into thin air. Yun Qing ran off toward other areas to search for places where Gale Rabbits might be found.

As she ran, she discovered that if she channeled her light spiritual power, her running speed became even faster.

True to her expectations, the forest had Gale Rabbits in many places.

By the end of the morning, Yun Qing's running speed had grown increasingly swift. She had hunted a total of three Gale Rabbits, and the spiritual power in her Dantian was completely exhausted.

On her way back to the pool, passing by the rabbit warren she had discovered earlier, the two logs were still there. Yun Qing retrieved them into her system inventory. Since places with the large hawk were safer, she planned to return there to recover her spiritual power and only go out hunting again once her spiritual power was fully restored.

Just as her spiritual power was fully replenished, the voice of the large hawk echoed in her mind: "I want to eat spicy diced rabbit heads."

Spicy diced rabbit heads? Had she mentioned spicy diced rabbit heads when she was bragging to the little black-feathered hawk? That was a dish she only knew how to eat, not how to make.

She made an excuse, saying, "The Gale Rabbits I hunted today all had their heads smashed in. The spicy rabbit heads made from them won't taste as good."

"That doesn't matter. As long as the rabbit heads are there, can't you make it?"

"I only have chili peppers, but no Sichuan peppercorns. The seasonings aren't enough. Shall we go look for some Sichuan peppercorns?"

"Go look for them yourself! Within a radius of twenty miles, everything is my territory."

"Then I'll look around your territory first."

Yun Qing didn't manage to make the spicy rabbit heads, but the fruit-roasted rabbit she prepared turned out exceptionally well, reaching a deliciousness rating of 3.

From that day onward, the Gale Rabbits in the little black-feathered hawk's territory met a grim fate.

Yun Qing's running speed progressed in leaps and bounds, forged through chasing Gale Rabbits, and she named her movement technique the Gale Footwork.

Learning from the little black-feathered hawk that there were far too many Gale Rabbits and she could kill as many as she wanted, Yun Qing embarked on her grand enterprise of slaughtering Gale Rabbits.

Her methods for killing rabbits varied widely. While her "ranged weapon," the fishhook, didn't see much use, her spider silk definitely did. She strung it across the exits of the rabbit burrows; when the Gale Rabbits were startled and fled outward, they would be sliced by the spider silk—resulting in minor injuries at best and being cut clean in half at worst.

Sometimes, she also used the primitive method of throwing small pebbles at the Gale Rabbits. Hitting one would deal a tiny bit of damage and reward her with a sliver of combat experience, but the Gale Rabbits would simply run away afterward, leaving her with nothing besides that meager experience. Consequently, she rarely threw stones at them anymore.

Yun Qing finally figured out the way Liu Liu warned her of danger: whenever monsters appeared, Liu Liu would bark "Woof, woof, woof!" to alert her, and these barking sounds could only be heard by her alone.

She also developed a conditioned reflex; the moment she heard those "woofs," she would immediately tense up.

Gale Rabbits would also bite when cornered. After she had spent several days slaughtering them, she was finally swarmed by a pack of Gale Rabbits. Just as she thought she was in for a fierce battle, her backing—the little black-feathered hawk—showed up early to escort her and ensure her safety.

Yun Qing scheduled her days to the brim. Making food for the little black-feathered hawk only took a small fraction of her time and energy, as a single batch would last for at least three days.

Practicing the Wuji Art, body-refining techniques, and spellcasting; gathering spiritual herbs, high-energy medicinal plants, wild fruits, and seasonings; crafting various usable items; and building and reinforcing her villa-style dwelling—with the covert protection of the little black-feathered hawk and battles against fierce beasts, she didn't neglect a single thing.