Wounds can heal, but the missing flesh is too much to ever grow back.
But Zhang Chen is not in a hurry. As he acquires more and more skills in the future, and eventually stacks up Skill Points, his Bloodsucking Technique will one day reach the point where flesh can regenerate.
Looking at the scar on the wound on his palm, Zhang Chen vaguely realizes the upper limit of his own skills.
As long as it’s not fatal damage, his skills can recover.
"Of course, I can get hurt in the future, but I must never lose flesh, because the lost flesh won’t grow back." Zhang Chen murmured to himself.
"Even so, this skill is still extremely defiant. As long as it doesn’t hit the head and make me lose consciousness, even if the heart is stabbed, I should probably have a chance to survive!" Zhang Chen was somewhat uncertain, then threw the rabbit’s corpse on the ground and looked up at the hawk: "This beast is fierce! But it’s my first time encountering a hawk, so getting hurt is inevitable. Next time, I’ll find animal hides to make armor and won’t fear the hawk’s damage."
Zhang Chen didn’t dare to bring the hawk home. Instead, he put it in a cave, casually cutting some rabbit meat to toss into the cage, then turned around to leave home.
Hawks are difficult to tame, and Zhang Chen doesn’t have the time to train one.
Returning home, the two deer caught yesterday still lay on the ground, their bright eyes now filled with dullness, obviously not happy being tied up for a day.
"Did the Fox Spirit next door change its nature? Why didn’t it take the deer?" Zhang Chen’s eyes looked at the deer bound on the ground with a hint of surprise, then he took out a rope, tied a ’pig hoof loop’, and led the deer into the courtyard, binding it there just like tethering a donkey.
Deer are moderately sized animals, smaller than roe deer and deer, about the size of a goat.
In the past, Zhang Chen would hunt deer to exchange for food, but now he thinks he should change his plan; he wants to raise some animals so that if he suffers a serious injury in the future, he can quickly use blood to heal his wounds.
After all, there may not always be animals available for him to drain, and if he gets injured with no animals around to drain blood, he would die frustratingly.
"Strange, did the Fox Spirit change its nature?" Zhang Chen glanced unobtrusively at the courtyard next door, eyes showing a trace of surprise, not seeing the poor scholar Zhang Chen, nor the Fox Spirit. Then he picked up the rope and headed to the village entrance to cut grass. From now on he has a new task, cutting grass to feed the deer and wild chickens.
Zhang Chen went to the mountains to cut grass, returned to the courtyard, seeing the deer panicking at the sight of him, running around wildly, but the rope restrained its hooves, struggling for a moment but unable to escape, until Zhang Chen piled the grass on the ground, and the deer calmed slightly. When Zhang Chen entered the house, the deer cautiously approached to eat the grass.
Zhang Chen stood inside watching the deer eat, knowing it would take time for familiarity to develop, and the deer to adapt to ’restrainment’.
Zhang Chen washed briefly in the house, contemplating future events, then recalled that Landlord Li wanted to raise the rent, causing him a headache. How could he find spare silver to pay Landlord Li? Furthermore, Landlord Li planned to throw a grand birthday celebration, with the Steward repeatedly hinting at the need to present a birthday gift— another expense.
"Damn Landlord Li, he’s just like Li Bapi!" Zhang Chen cursed while lying in bed, growing more irritated at the thought, but helpless. He could only vent his anger this way. Landlord Li’s background is anything but simple, not to be trifled with by common folk.
"One day I will get my revenge." Zhang Chen swore, hearing noises from next door— the poor scholar Zhang Chen and the Fox Spirit had returned, followed by sounds of cooking.
"How tough is my life! Not only do I have to support myself, but also the neighbors, plus manage the rent situation— a chaotic mess of tasks." Zhang Chen cursed while lying in bed, falling into a restless sleep, with a thought swirling in his mind: "The scholar next door has two Golden Pages, I must find a chance to study them."
The night passed uneventfully, Zhang Chen slept soundly, while one man and one fox next door lay anxious, experiencing another torturous night half-awake.
At dawn, Zhang Chen shouldered a basket and headed into the mountains with a Luoyang Shovel, walking under tree shade, he looked at the drooping leaves, furrowing his brows: "This weather is too hot, even in the morning, the leaves on the trees have wilted?"
Zhang Chen observed the leaves and felt the dry heat in the air, his brow furrowing tightly: "Troubling! If this continues, the crops in the fields won’t survive, leaving the people struggling, and the government will raise rents again."
Zhang Chen cursed, sensing the dry heat in the air, his back soaked in sweat.
He came to the mountain trap for hunting; today’s catch was acceptable, a wild chicken and a wild duck.
"This world is abundant with resources, the animals’ living conditions remain unspoiled, and without technological hunting practices, their survival rate is greatly enhanced." Zhang Chen captured and tied the wild chicken and duck, then continued into the mountains.
In this world, hunting relies entirely on traps, and as for bows and arrows? Those are restricted items, unattainable for common folks.
Moreover, crafting a bow costs at least twenty or thirty pieces of silver and requires maintenance, which is unaffordable for mountain hunters.
Zhang Chen carried his prey into the tomb, relishing the coolness inside, the outside heat gradually dispersing, then his eyes fell on the stone tablet, and he froze.
What did he see?
The stone tablet had moved positions!
"Someone came here and touched the stone tablet?" Zhang Chen was startled, swiftly moved to the stone tablet, eyes surveying the dragged marks on the ground, then carefully examined the surrounding environment, furrowing his brow: "Wrong! There are only my footprints here, no human prints at all! Not only are there no human prints, there’s not even animal prints."
"But the marks of the stone tablet’s movement...? Does it mean the stone tablet moved itself?" Zhang Chen stared at the marks, the stone tablet moved distances, at least twenty centimeters, identical to how it sank into the soil yesterday.
His mind flashed with insight: "The stone tablet is peculiar, self-moving wouldn’t be a big deal, right? Not difficult to comprehend, so the stone tablet wants to escape?"