Hunter woke up before dawn to find Han Qiuyu standing over him holding a cup.
"Drink this."
Hunter squinted at the cup. Something viscous and concerning sloshed inside. "What is it?"
"Spirit beast eggs. Raw. Five of them. Blended with qi-infused spring water." Han's expression was dead serious. "Drink it. All of it. Protein and spiritual energy. You need both."
Hunter stared at the cup. At the thick, yellowish liquid that looked like someone had murdered a chicken and liquified its unborn children.
"You want me to drink raw eggs."
"Spirit beast eggs. There's a difference."
"Is the difference that these will give me super salmonella?"
"The difference is these will help your body process qi more efficiently during training. Now drink before I make you."
Hunter took the cup. Brought it to his lips. The smell hit him first. Like sulfur and broken dreams.
"Oh God."
"Don't think. Just drink."
Hunter tilted the cup back. The texture was worse than the smell. Thick, slimy, with chunks that he really hoped were just poorly mixed eggs and not actual baby spirit beasts.
He gagged. Forced it down. Felt it slide down his throat like congealed misery.
[LUNA] OH MY GOD (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧ [LUNA] YOU'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT [LUNA] YOU'RE DOING THE THING [LUNA] THE ROCKY THING WITH THE EGGS [LUNA] THIS IS AMAZING [LUNA] I WISH I COULD TAKE PICTURES ♥
"I hate you," Hunter gasped. "I hate you so much right now."
"You'll thank me later. Maybe. Probably not." Han grabbed Hunter's arm and hauled him to his feet. "Get dressed. We're running."
"Running where?"
"Through the forest. Six miles. Before breakfast."
"I just drank eggs for breakfast."
"Those weren't breakfast. Those were pre-breakfast. Actual breakfast comes after you earn it." Han was already walking toward the forest. "You got five seconds before I leave you behind."
Hunter scrambled after him, still tasting sulfur.
They ran.
Not jogged. Ran. Full speed through the forest in the pre-dawn darkness. Hunter's Foundation Realm body could handle it, but his mortal mind was screaming.
"Why are we running?" Hunter panted.
"Endurance training. You can hit hard. Great. Can you hit hard for six hours straight? Because that's how long the squirrel attack might last." Han wasn't even breathing hard. Twenty years of cultivation had given him stamina that made Hunter's two weeks look pathetic. "Keep up. And maintain qi circulation while you run."
"You want me to run and cultivate at the same time?"
"You're going to fight and cultivate at the same time. This is practice. Now circulate."
Hunter tried to pull qi from his dantian while running. Nearly face-planted into a tree.
"Not like that! Smooth! Gentle! You're not chugging beer, you're sipping tea!"
"I'm running! How am I supposed to sip anything?!"
"Figure it out!"
They ran for what felt like hours. The sun rose. The forest woke up. Birds sang. Squirrels chittered mockingly from the trees.
Hunter wanted to die.
Then they rounded a bend and the camp came into view. The refugees were awake, preparing for the day. Someone saw Hunter running and yelled:
"GO SENIOR! RUNNING LIKE THE WIND!"
Another voice: "FOUNDATION REALM SPEED! SO FAST!"
A third refugee, caught up in the moment, grabbed an apple from their breakfast ration and threw it at Hunter. "CATCH, CHAMP!"
The apple hit Hunter in the face.
He stumbled. Caught himself. Glared at the refugee, who looked mortified.
"Sorry Senior! I thought you'd catch it! You're so fast!"
[LUNA] BAHAHAHAHA (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧ [LUNA] THEY THREW AN APPLE AT YOU [LUNA] LIKE THE ORANGE IN THE MOVIE [LUNA] EXCEPT YOU GOT HIT IN THE FACE [LUNA] THIS IS PEAK COMEDY [LUNA] I'M DYING ♥
Hunter picked up the apple. Bit into it aggressively while maintaining eye contact with the refugee. Kept running.
The camp started cheering. More people emerged from shelters. Someone started clapping in rhythm. Others joined in.
"SENIOR! SENIOR! SENIOR!"
It was ridiculous. Absurd. Hunter was running in a circle around camp eating an apple while people cheered like he was winning an Olympic event.
But it felt good. Weird, but good.
"Faster!" Han barked. "Three more laps! You're eating lightning and you're gonna crap thunder!"
Hunter nearly choked on apple. "What?!"
"You heard me! Lightning in, thunder out! That's Foundation Realm! That's power! Now MOVE!"
[LUNA] DID HE JUST [LUNA] DID HE ACTUALLY SAY THE LINE [LUNA] OH MY GOD HE SAID THE LINE (◕‿◕✿)
Hunter ran faster, apple still in his mouth, refugees cheering, Han yelling increasingly unhinged motivational phrases.
This was his life now. This was actually his life.
Three laps later, Hunter collapsed by the fire pit. Sweat soaked. Lungs burning. Apple finished.
The little girl appeared with a waterskin. Handed it to him silently.
"Thanks, kid." Hunter drank deeply. "You're the only sane person here."
She patted his head like he was a dog. Then went back to sit with her doll.
Tao, Xuan, and Lex emerged from the cave looking confused and terrified. "Master? Why is everyone cheering? Did we win something?"
"We won suffering," Hunter wheezed. "So much suffering."
"Oh good. I was worried it was something important."
Han clapped his hands. "Breakfast! Then we start real training!"
"That wasn't real training?!"
"That was the warmup."
After breakfast (actual food, thank God), Han led Hunter and the three disciples to a different clearing. This one had something new: a large animal carcass hanging from a tree branch by chains.
A spirit boar. Massive. Dead but recently dead. Probably from one of Han's hunting trips.
"What is that?" Hunter asked, though he had a terrible suspicion.
"That's your training partner." Han handed Hunter his rusty sword. "You're going to hit it. Repeatedly. For the next three hours. With perfect qi control."
"You want me to punch meat."
"I want you to strike meat. With a blade. Using exactly one-tenth your full power. No more. No less. Every strike perfect. Every movement controlled." Han stepped back. "Begin."
Hunter approached the hanging carcass. It swayed slightly in the breeze. The chains creaked.
He channeled qi into his sword. Drew it back. Struck.
The blade went through the boar, the chains, the tree branch, and embedded itself three feet into the tree trunk behind it.
The boar fell to the ground in two perfectly halved pieces.
"That was not one-tenth," Han said calmly.
"I KNOW!"
"Again. We have seventeen more spirit boars. Hopefully that's enough."
It was not enough.
By the time Hunter managed to strike the meat without destroying it completely, they'd gone through eleven carcasses. The clearing looked like a butcher shop had exploded. Blood everywhere. Meat chunks scattered across the ground. Opportunistic forest creatures gathering at the edges for a free feast.
Tao, Xuan, and Lex tried to help. Tried being the operative word.
Tao punched a hanging boar. It exploded. Literally exploded. Chunks rained down on everyone.
"MY EYES!" Xuan screamed. "IT'S IN MY EYES!"
"That's just blood," Han said. "Walk it off."
Lex walked up to a boar. Touched it gently. Too gently. Nothing happened.
"Did I do it?"
"You have to actually hit it, Lex."
Lex tapped the boar. Still nothing.
"Harder."
Lex poked the boar with one finger. The boar swung on its chain, unharmed.
"You're not going to hurt it. It's already dead."
"But what if I break it?"
"THAT'S THE GOAL!"
Lex poked the boar again. Barely. The boar mocked him with its continued structural integrity.
By midday, Hunter had finally achieved consistent one-tenth power strikes. His sword moved through the meat with surgical precision, controlled cuts powered by perfectly measured qi.
The refugees had gathered to watch again. Qiu Hengdao was running another betting pool.
"Five copper says he accidentally cuts it in half within the next hour!"
"You're on! He's getting better!"
"Better is relative when you've destroyed eleven pigs!"
The little girl sat in her usual spot, doll in lap, watching silently. Every time Hunter looked at her, she gave him a tiny thumbs up. No expression change. Just thumbs up. Then back to neutral face.
It was the most encouragement he'd ever received from anyone.
[LUNA] SHE BELIEVES IN YOU (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧ [LUNA] TINY SILENT ADRIAN [LUNA] GIVING TINY SILENT SUPPORT [LUNA] IT'S BEAUTIFUL ♥
"Alright!" Han called out. "Break time! Afternoon session starts in one hour!"
Hunter collapsed on the ground. Again. Collapsing was becoming his most practiced skill.
"This is day one?" he asked the sky.
"Day one, session one," Han corrected. "We have six more days. Five more sessions per day. Then the squirrels come and we see if you die."
"That's not inspirational."
"It's realistic. Inspiration comes after you survive."
Qiu Hengdao approached with a waterskin and what looked like a rice ball. "Senior. You need to eat. Keep your strength up."
"Thanks." Hunter took the food gratefully. "How's the betting pool going?"
"Very well! I've made seventeen copper so far. These people are terrible at gambling." Qiu's merchant instincts were clearly intact despite losing everything. "Though between you and me, I'm betting on you to survive the squirrel attack. Odds are terrible—three to one against—but I've seen you fight. You're either incredibly skilled or incredibly lucky."
"I'm incredibly neither. I'm just stubborn."
"Even better. Stubbornness beats skill when things get desperate." Qiu sat down heavily. "You know, before all this, I thought my life was over. Lost my wagons, my goods, my horses. My beautiful horses with their stupid reindeer names."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm alive. That's more than I had any right to expect after the squirrels hit us." Qiu looked at the camp. At the refugees preparing defenses under Han's direction. At Tao, Xuan, and Lex trying to figure out how to hit things properly. "You're giving us a chance. That's worth more than any wagon."
Hunter wanted to say something meaningful. Something heroic. But his brain was fried and his body hurt everywhere.
"Just don't die," he settled on. "That would make my terrible life choices feel really stupid."
Qiu laughed. Actually laughed. "Deal. I'll try not to die. You try not to explode any more pigs."
The afternoon session was worse.
Han decided it was time for close combat training. Which meant he spent three hours hitting Hunter with a spear while Hunter tried to defend without using excessive force.
"Block! No, don't catch the spear, that's showing off!"
Hunter had caught the spear mid-thrust. With his bare hand. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.
"But I blocked it."
"You grabbed a weapon that was aimed at your face! That's not blocking, that's being stupid!" Han yanked the spear back and struck again. "Use your sword! Deflect! Minimal force!"
Hunter tried to deflect. Put too much force into it. The spear bent. Actual metal bent like a pool noodle.
"That was my good spear," Han said sadly.
"I'm sorry!"
"Don't apologize. Get better." Han pulled out another spear. "Again!"
They went through four spears before Hunter figured out the correct amount of force to deflect without destroying.
Tao, Xuan, and Lex were practicing together nearby. It was going about as well as expected.
"Defend yourself!" Tao swung his sword at Xuan.
Xuan tried to block. Missed completely. The sword hit him in the shoulder. Bounced off harmlessly. Body Refining cultivation meant their bodies were harder than mortal flesh, but not invincible.
"Ow."
"Did I hurt you?"
"No. I'm just saying 'ow' on principle. It should hurt but doesn't. It's weird."
Lex watched from a safe distance, too afraid to participate.
"Come on, Lex!" Tao called. "Join us!"
"What if I hurt someone?"
"You won't! You're too gentle!"
"What if I hurt someone by accident?"
"That's literally impossible for you!"
Lex took one hesitant step forward. Then stopped. Took another step. Stopped again.
It took him fifteen minutes to cross ten feet.
"This is painful to watch," Han muttered.
"He's trying his best," Hunter defended.
"His best is terrible."
"Yeah. But it's his terrible."
By evening, Hunter had survived Han's spear attacks, learned basic deflection, and only destroyed two more weapons. Progress.
The sun set. The camp gathered for dinner. Simple food but warm. The refugees were settling into routines. Building lives in the aftermath of disaster.
Hunter sat by the fire, exhausted beyond belief. His meridians ached. His muscles screamed. His brain had given up on thinking and accepted suffering as the default state.
The little girl sat next to him. Closer than before. She'd been getting gradually closer each day. Like a cat learning to trust.
"Big day tomorrow," Hunter said quietly. "More training. More suffering. You excited?"
She looked at him. Then at the camp. Then back at him.
She opened her mouth. Hunter's breath caught.
"Win," she whispered. First word in days. Quiet. Barely audible.
But there.
Hunter's chest tightened. "Yeah. I'll win. I promise."
She nodded once. Then leaned against his arm and fell asleep right there, doll clutched tight.
[LUNA] SHE SPOKE (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧ [LUNA] ONE WORD [LUNA] BUT IT COUNTS [LUNA] CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT [LUNA] FOR BOTH OF YOU [LUNA] I'M SO PROUD ♥
Hunter sat there, not moving, barely breathing, afraid to disturb her. Han noticed and brought him food without comment. The other refugees gave them space.
Day one complete. Five more to go.
Somewhere in the forest, red-furred nightmares plotted revenge. Gathered forces. Prepared for war.
But for this moment, in this clearing, by this fire, there was peace.
Hunter looked at the sleeping child. At his three terrible disciples arguing about proper sword grip. At Han organizing night watches. At Qiu Hengdao running another betting pool about tomorrow's training casualties.
At this accidental family he'd somehow collected in the worst possible way.
"We're going to make it," he whispered to no one. "We have to."
The little girl's hand tightened slightly on his sleeve, still asleep.
In the trees, three hundred meters away, Liu Mei added to her ice crystal notebook:
Day 4, Evening: Subject completed day one of actual training. Destroyed 11 spirit boars, 4 spears, and his own dignity. Shows improvement in qi control. Child spoke first word. Emotionally significant moment observed.
Training regimen appears based on ancient mortal combat preparation techniques. Effective despite absurdity. Subject's guard companion surprisingly competent instructor.
Squirrel swarm estimated arrival: 4-5 days. Training odds of success: 30%. Survival odds if training succeeds: 50%. Overall odds: Not good.
Will continue observation.
She bit into a spirit fruit and settled in for the night watch, because someone had to make sure this idiot didn't die before the interesting part happened.