Chapter 115: The Crisis Lurking Behind

After half a day, Lu Shang finally returned from climbing the tree, bringing news: Pine Needle and Acorn were not lone heroes expelled from the tribe recently. In fact, within the past fortnight, a warrior was banished every three to five days for various reasons.

More importantly, a total of seven warriors seemed resigned to their fate, neither seeking an audience with the ancestral spirits nor returning to the tribe.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zong’s expression grew grave. He understood all too well what resignation meant—if the ancestral spirits were dead, where could they possibly plead their case? Yet, he could not fathom the story behind all this.

After some thought, Liu Zong finally said to the Kurast dwarf servant, “We can follow that Acorn now and see what’s really going on, right?”

The servant nodded confidently. “Don’t worry. We’re used to moving through these woods; no prey will escape us.”

Led by the servant, Liu Zong and the others set off swiftly in one direction, traveling for a full day and a half.

Their progress wasn’t nonstop; they often paused, with the servant sharing knowledge about trekking through the forest. Though some of it was repetitive, Liu Zong and the others listened intently.

That night, they camped on a clearing. The servant went off to gather information while Yuan Ying prepared the meal. Liu Zong and the others discussed the situation.

They were certain something had happened in this forest, likely connected to the ancestral spirits of the Kurast dwarves. Whether it involved them directly, they could not yet tell.

For some reason, Liu Zong had momentarily set aside his own mission to focus on this line of inquiry.

If he had pursued the totem as planned, chances were high it had already been located by now—along with the sealed Resonance Amber.

No one objected to Liu Zong’s decision. As the team leader, he was the only one receiving direct mission rewards from the system. The others could only observe the mission’s progress.

Only when Liu Zong completed the entire quest line would they receive their rewards—whether in a year or several years hence.

Moreover, the mission rewards were not fixed; the more effort put into the task and the more information uncovered, the richer the final rewards would be.

They roamed the forest now for the promise of future gain. Along the way, they encountered battles and earned other rewards. Each night, they distributed their spoils. Even if the mission failed in the end, they had already profited.

So long as Liu Zong’s plans didn’t lead them to death, no one objected.

That evening, they feasted happily. With moss gathered by the servant, Yuan Ying cooked a hearty moss and meat soup. The meat came from multiple sources: some hunted by the servant, though only a small portion was edible—the rest poisoned by blowdart toxins; some caught by Yuan Ying, though her prey was small and lean without the servant’s skill; and some cured meats they had brought along.

Since the broth was made with moss water, Yuan Ying added no vegetables, only seasonings. She tossed in thumb-sized meat slices and stirred the pot continuously with an oak branch.

Remarkably, the meat melted into the broth, save for the cured meat, which remained solid but absorbed the rich soup, becoming glossy and oily.

She ladled bowls of soup for everyone, each containing several large slices of cured meat.

[Supply Meal: Old Meat Soup—Restores 100% stamina in 30 seconds. Eating in 15 seconds grants a 10% boost to non-combat experience for 45 minutes.]

This kind of soup was typically reserved for midday breaks. After lunch, everyone rested for an hour, using the time to tend to collected herbs, minerals, or craft ordinary potions.

Such activities granted non-combat experience, which accumulated only upon completing an item. Reaching certain thresholds allowed non-combat skills to level up, making midday practice commonplace.

Today was no exception. Liu Zong gulped down the soup, set aside the bowl, and sat on the ground, assembling pieces of wood.

He was building a model of a wooden house, like playing with blocks. He worked quickly, repeatedly building and knocking it down to start anew.

This was Liu Zong’s practice. He had chosen two secondary professions aligned with his future path—herbalism and architecture—much like Liu Chun before him, whose choices had been smithing and tailoring.

Herbalism was difficult to practice outside of gathering herbs, but architecture was different. One need not build an actual house; assembling models like this also counted.

Of course, building real houses and making models yielded different experiences, but Liu Zong had already begun volunteering each day to set up camp and pitch tents.

Just as Liu Zong toppled the model once more, the Kurast dwarf servant suddenly ran over, shouting, “I heard it! I heard Acorn crying out!”

Liu Zong quickly put away the wood and stood, looking toward the servant. “Where is he? What is he calling?”

The servant pointed. “Over there, less than half a day’s journey away. He seemed to be shouting words like ‘impossible.’”

Liu Zong glanced at the others and saw surprise and excitement in their eyes. He knew his suspicions were correct. Something had happened to the ancestral spirits in this forest over the past two weeks.

The warriors were not expelled because of offenses but because someone sought the whereabouts of their ancestral spirits.

Realizing this, Liu Zong knew he could no longer linger. He turned to the servant, “How long will it take us to get there?”

The servant hesitated before answering, “If you’re not afraid of danger, there’s a secret path that takes only half an hour.”