Chapter 011: The Talisman Arrow Earns Merit

Qinghu immediately rolled her eyes when she heard this. As if I can’t tell you think I’m a burden and don’t want me joining the fight. I don’t even want to get involved; isn’t it more pleasant to quietly pick my fruits in peace?

“Go on, then. Once you’ve cleared out all the flying squirrels here, I can gather the fruit.”

“Just wait.” Qingzhen puffed out his chest and, together with the others, charged up the small hill. Chaos ensued—no, rather, squirrels flew and people leapt. There was actually a nest of flying squirrels on this little hill: two adults and eight young.

Beside the one she had already dispatched, the seven remaining juveniles fiercely helped their parents, biting and clawing at the human cultivators. The two adult flying squirrels were clearly much larger than the one that had attacked Qinghu earlier—fat-headed, heavy-bodied, and vicious-faced.

In an instant, Qingzhen and his companions were surrounded. Qingzhen and Qingquan, likely unaccustomed to battling fierce beasts, were soon scratched, even with the protection of their fellow cultivators.

“Xiaobai, wrap fire talismans around the bamboo arrows—several of them. When I tell you which one to shoot, do it immediately.” Watching her brother dart left and right, narrowly escaping the large flying squirrel’s claws several times, Qinghu saw there was no hope of ending this quickly and decided to step in.

“All right.”

“Now, left side, the big flying squirrel’s tail.”

“Burn the squirrel’s tail!” Xiaobai shouted. The bamboo arrow whistled through the air, and the moment it struck the big squirrel’s tail, it exploded. Flames from the talisman engulfed the tail and half the creature’s body.

A shrill, miserable howl rang out as the flying squirrel crashed to the ground.

This gave Qingzhen a brief opportunity; he spun, slicing down one of the juvenile flying squirrels nearby, its head severed and blood splattering over him.

A cultivator at his side followed up with a heavy chop, leaving a deep, bone-cutting wound in the big squirrel. If not for the other adult flying squirrel’s charge to the rescue, he might have severed its spine then and there.

With its tail and hide scorched, a deep wound on its body, and one of its young lost, the big flying squirrel’s ferocity was only intensified. Ignoring its own injuries, it charged at Qingzhen, its mate following close behind.

Clearly, they’d decided Qingzhen was the leader of this group. Take him down, and the rest would leave.

“Xiaobai, aim for the wound on the big flying squirrel. Shoot,” Qinghu instructed.

“Burn the squirrel again!” Xiaobai called out.

Another bamboo arrow, wrapped in a fire talisman, shot out at high speed.

Because of its injuries, the big flying squirrel was slow to react and couldn’t dodge in time. In a desperate bid to protect its mate, the other adult squirrel sped forward, blocking the arrow with its own body.

With a roar, the fire talisman detonated, engulfing the second big squirrel in flames as well. Its fur caught alight, and a series of piercing, desperate screams burst from its mouth as it fell.

At that moment, Qingquan struck—not at the fallen, burning squirrel, but at the one that had sacrificed itself for its mate. His blade slashed down, snapping its spine. It would never fly again.

At the same time, Qingzhen pivoted and brought his blade down, beheading it, and was once more spattered with blood.

The other two cultivators, abandoning defense against the remaining juveniles, coordinated their attack and cut down the burning big squirrel. In human hands, the blade rose and fell, and the fallen squirrel followed its mate in death.

The juvenile flying squirrels, witnessing the brutal demise of their parents, went berserk and charged at the humans.

Unfortunately, they were far too weak. In moments, all were cut down by the cultivators.

“We’ve struck it rich this time,” Qingzhen said, wounded but grinning as he approached his sister. “A single big flying squirrel yields thirty to forty pounds of beast meat, and the claws can be sold as materials. Each of the eight juveniles gives about ten pounds of meat, and their claws fetch a bit of money too. We’ll have plenty to eat and still have some to sell. Our luck is truly extraordinary.”

“I’m not eating rat meat. Find someone to clean them up. When we go to Plum Mountain tomorrow, see if we can use it for postage; if not, just sell it for cash.”

“But this is ninth-rank beast meat!” Qingzhen protested. After struggling to catch them, his sister didn’t even want to eat it.

“Isn’t fish tastier? Why insist on eating rats? Ask Qingquan if he likes rat meat.”

Qingquan thought: If I dare say I like it, I’ll probably be eating rat meat every day from now on. Miss is not one to let things go. So, putting on a helpless look, he glanced at his young master and declared loudly, “I don’t like rat meat.”

Qingzhen was exasperated. “Qingquan, whose servant are you?”

Qinghu burst out laughing.

Qingzhen was speechless.

The other two cultivators sent by Old Shen couldn’t help but smile too.

It was Miss who had broken the deadlock with her talisman arrows and saved Young Master Qingzhen, so they… sided with her.

With the flying squirrels gone, the hill was safe for everyone to pick fruit at will. There were plenty of fruits here, though few fully ripe; the squirrels’ family probably ate most of those. Still, the half-green, half-red ones could be picked and left to ripen at home.

Xiaobai and Qinghu soon filled an entire basket.

“Miss, is that a cave over there?” Xiaobai, carrying the basket, pointed to a dark opening ahead.

Qinghu followed her gaze at first without much interest, then frowned in suspicion.

Approaching the black hole, she searched carefully and found a tuft of black fur not far from the entrance.

“Fourth Brother, come dig the cave!”

“You’re actually making me dig?” Qingzhen ran over, feigning outrage, and pointed to his own nose in protest.

“Hurry up! This must be the flying squirrels’ den. See, I found this tuft of fur beside it. Don’t storybooks say that wherever there’s a fierce beast’s lair, there’s bound to be some treasure? Dig quickly—what if we find some rare treasure? Wouldn’t that make us more money than selling the squirrels?”

“A nest of ninth-rank flying squirrels isn’t likely to claim some great treasure,” Qingzhen retorted. “Those so-called treasures are in the lairs of truly ferocious beasts. Those stories are just to mislead children; you can’t believe them.”

“Dig. If you spent less time talking, you’d have finished by now,” Qinghu insisted.

Qingzhen was left speechless.

Qingquan and the other two cultivators promptly began to dig, leaving Qingzhen dumbfounded. When did Qinghu’s words become so commanding?

Who’s the real elder sibling here?