Freedom to Feast on Meat

As the dawn broke, the figures of Li Erya, Li Wuya, and Li Qilang appeared at the entrance of Tianling Tun. The three of them swiftly ran in circles around the perimeter of the military village.

Ever since they began practising internal martial arts, the siblings would run ten laps around the military village every morning.

"Erya, Qilang, channel your true energy to your legs. It'll help you run faster."

To enhance their light-footed skills, the three of them had heavy sandbags tied to their feet.

Initially, their speeds were relatively similar. But within a few days, Li Wuya had already outpaced Li Erya and Li Qilang.

In the beginning, Li Wuya was just one or two laps faster than Li Erya and Li Qilang when completing the ten laps.

However, with time, Li Wuya's speed continued to increase. By early March, Li Wuya was finishing ten laps while Li Erya and Li Qilang were managing only four or five laps.

"Five sisters, now you're so fast even horses can't catch up with you."

As Li Qilang and Li Erya panted and returned home after running, Li Erya was already meditating.

Li Wuya didn't think she was particularly fast, "I'm only faster than horses for now, but it's still far from enough." Her goal was to achieve the high-speed trains of her past life.

If her light-footed skill was as fast as a high-speed train, there would be nowhere she couldn't go.

"Qilang, your aspirations are still limited. What's the point of being faster than horses? How far can a horse run in a day? You need to aim for being faster than birds in the sky. Only then can we truly master light-footed skills?"

Li Erya and Li Qilang exchanged a puzzled look.

Faster than birds? Wasn't Li Wuya setting the bar too high?

Sensing their lack of enthusiasm, Li Wuya decided to motivate them, "Sister, Qilang, you need to put in more effort. Just look how much slower you are compared to me now. If I become much stronger than both of you in the future, won't you feel inferior?"

Li Erya and Li Qilang: ...

They felt both exasperated and drained.

Li Qilang pouted and looked up at Li Erya, "Sister, we're learning the same martial arts together. How did Five sisters become so much better than us?"

Li Erya felt similarly helpless about this. As the older sister, she wanted to lead by example for her younger siblings. However, reality wasn't cooperating.

"Five sisters might be the martial arts genius Master talked about."

"What about us?"

"We're just ordinary people."

"What should we do then?"

"Hard work can make up for lack of skill!"

"Are you saying we need to wake up earlier than the roosters and sleep later than the dogs?"

"Probably."

"Waa~ No, I don't want that. Then I'll just watch Five sisters sleep in."

Li Erya sympathetically ruffled her little brother's hair. After all, she had been in the same position before.

"Who said we're not martial arts prodigies? To avoid being left behind, we need to put in extra effort."

March arrived in the northwest, and it was time for spring planting. As the fieldwork emerged, even Jin Yue'e, who worked at the relay station, had to take leave and return home to help.

Everyone in the Li family, except for the younger children, had to work in the fields.

"Five sisters and Qilang are old enough. They run around the village all day. They should join in the fieldwork," commanded Old Madam Li, pointing at Li Wuya and Li Qilang.

Upon hearing this, Jin Yue'e firmly refused, "Five sisters and Qilang are still young. Working in the fields now would harm their bodies. They should stay home."

Old Madam Li became furious and scolded, "Unbelievable, Jin clan. It's not your place to decide in this family."

Jin Yue'e looked at Old Madam Li indifferently, "I have no intention of taking control of the Li family, mother. But Li Rang and Li Liu are older than Li Wuya and Li Qilang. They haven't worked in the fields, so why should Wuya and Qilang go?"

Before Old Madam Li or anyone else could speak, Jin Yue'e continued, "The head of the family has gone to the forward camp at Dieling Pass. We don't have anyone to support us. However, we still have the village chief. If anyone dares to bully my children, I'll go directly to the village chief for justice."

Old Madam Li hadn't expected Jin Yue'e to be so strong-willed. She was so angry that her face turned red, "You—"

"That's enough!"

Old Master Li interrupted Old Madam Li's words, looking displeased, "You're arguing every day, can't you just calm down? All this arguing is ruining the family's fortune!"

Seeing Old Master Li's anger, Old Madam Li harrumphed and didn't say anything further. The others also kept quiet.

Others might be afraid, but Li Wuya wasn't.

"Grandfather, are you only realizing this now? But you never stopped Mother when she was causing trouble before. If you had, our family's situation might be much better now."

This statement reignited Old Madam Li's anger and furrowed Old Master Li's brows.

Before either of them could speak, Li Wuya continued, "Grandfather, I remember Fan Xiucai once said that whether a family prospers depends on whether it has a good helmsman."

"Grandfather, do we have a good helmsman?"

This question left Old Master Li momentarily stunned. He vaguely understood that his fifth granddaughter was mocking him, which made him feel both embarrassed and annoyed.

The old lady was right; among the eldest generation, it was this girl who was the most unruly and troublesome.

"Alright, the sun is about to be scorching. Let's all go to work in the fields."

Li Wuya and Li Qilang managed to avoid working in the fields, but Li Erya didn't.

Watching Li Erya follow Jin Yue'e into the fields, Li Wuya pondered for a moment. She headed to the kitchen and then pulled Li Qilang along, both of them leaving the house.

"Five sisters, where are we going?"

"Hunting!"

"Huh?"

"Qilang, remember, whatever you learn, make sure it's practical. If what you've learned doesn't bring you tangible benefits in the end, it's just a waste of effort."

"We've been practising internal martial arts for so long, it's time to see the results."

"Remember when we saw Master catch the wild rabbit? We'll try our luck as well. Maybe today we'll be able to eat rabbit meat."

In the past, she hadn't dared to venture far from the village. She was too young, unable to walk fast or far. Moreover, the border areas were not peaceful. Bandits and human traffickers were rampant. Also, the Gobi Desert held many wild animals, like the hungry wolves they encountered when they were three years old.

Even though her current martial strength wasn't high, she had her psychic power for reconnaissance and had been practising light-footed skills for more than two months. Even if something happened, she would be able to escape.

Several miles away from Tianling Tun, in the Gobi Desert, Li Wuya, with Li Qilang in tow, located a wild rabbit's burrow through psychic detection.

The siblings lay outside the rabbit's burrow, waiting for nearly half an hour before two rabbits emerged from the hole.

"Swoosh, swoosh!"

Two stones were launched, hitting the two rabbits accurately, leaving them dazed and disoriented.

Seeing the rabbits stumbling but still attempting to escape, Li Wuya immediately called out to Li Qilang, "Qilang, go!"

Li Qilang rushed towards the rabbits like an arrow released from a bow. In his eyes, those rabbits were now delicious meat.

Meat must not be allowed to escape.

Li Wuya was amazed to find that Li Qilang's explosive power was particularly strong at that moment. He covered a distance of nearly ten meters in the blink of an eye.

It seemed like she would need to bring her food-loving little brother along for more hunting trips in the future!

Li Wuya didn't directly take the two rabbits back home; instead, she dealt with them on the spot. She picked up firewood nearby, started a fire, and began roasting the rabbits.

"I was wondering why you went to the kitchen earlier. So, you got a knife, fire starter, and salt?"

"Remember, we'll do the same next time we come out."

"Got it." Li Qilang nodded enthusiastically. He understood that his sister didn't want to bring the rabbits back to be shared with others. This suited his preferences perfectly.

After roasting the two rabbits, Li Wuya and Li Qilang each had one, and they wrapped the remaining one in leaves for Jin Yue'e and Li Erya.

"Mmm, it's delicious. Five sisters, let's come out and catch rabbits to eat every day in the future." Li Qilang happily savoured the succulent meat.

Growing up, this was the first time he had eaten meat in such big, hearty bites. He had consumed half a rabbit all on his own.

Such happiness!

Li Wuya chuckled at her blissful brother. After they started practising martial arts, their appetites had grown. She had thought that the two of them wouldn't be able to finish a whole rabbit, but it seemed like they were still a bit short.

"Qilang, when we get home, practice your martial arts diligently. In the future, we'll go into the mountains and hunt big wild boars to eat."

"Okay!"

Li Qilang's eyes gleamed as he already began envisioning a life of meat-filled meals.

Upon returning to the village, Li Wuya didn't immediately take the rabbits home. The aroma of the meat was strong, and even those who hadn't had meat for a long time could smell it from a distance.

"Come on, let's take the rabbit meat to Master's place."

After concealing the rabbit meat, Li Wuya and Li Qilang continued practising martial arts for a while. When it was time to finish work in the afternoon, they headed to Ye Mo's residence, bringing Jin Yue'e and Li Erya along.

Seeing the rabbits, both Jin Yue'e and Li Erya were a bit surprised.

After listening to their youngest son and daughter recount the hunting experience, Jin Yue'e felt a bit worried. She was about to voice her objections to them going again in the future.

However, upon seeing their satisfied expressions and the longing look in her eldest daughter's eyes as she gazed at the roasted meat, Jin Yue'e hesitated and swallowed her words.

The head of the family was right; the children in the family had a sense of proportion in their actions. She shouldn't restrict them too much, as that wouldn't be conducive to their growth.

Li Wuya perceived Jin Yue'e's concern and immediately reassured her, "Mother, rest assured. Both Qilang and I can run very fast now. Nothing will happen. Besides, we have martial skills, and even if a wolf comes, we can handle it!"

Seeing her fierce little daughter, Jin Yue'e couldn't help but smile. Considering that her daughter and son were now faster than horses, she felt slightly more at ease.

"Remember, don't venture too far from the village."

Seeing her mother's lack of objection, Li Wuya breathed a sigh of relief and quickly assured her that she would be obedient.

Soon after, Jin Yue'e called Li Wuya, Li Qilang, and Li Erya to share the rabbit meat.

Li Wuya and Li Qilang symbolically ate a bit, while the rest was consumed by Jin Yue'e and Li Erya.

After finishing the meal, the four of them cleaned up and made sure there was no lingering smell before heading back home.

Following this, Li Wuya took Li Qilang to the desert every few days, both to practice their light skills and obtain meat.

Due to the ample supply of meat, even though spring planting was tough and labour-intensive, neither Jin Yue'e nor her three children became emaciated. In fact, they became sturdier.

"At last, we have the freedom to eat meat!"

While her roasting skills were subpar and the meat wasn't exactly delicious, it provided essential nutrition. She was no longer tormented by meat cravings.

"Qilang, tomorrow, I want to go to Tian Shan."

"Tian Shan?! It's so far away."

"Yeah, precisely because it's far away, I won't take you this time. You stay home, practice your martial arts, and cover for me so that Mother doesn't find out."

Her mother might allow them to hunt rabbits around the village, but she would never agree to them going to Tian Shan alone.

Since her mother and sister were both busy in the fields due to the ongoing spring planting, she and Li Qilang could take advantage of the situation to make a quick trip to Tian Shan.

"Sister, I want to go too."

"Your speed is too slow. Sister is just going for a look and will be back quickly."

Li Qilang felt he was being looked down upon and lowered his head, sulking.

Li Wuya patted his shoulder, saying, "Qilang, it's not that sister is blaming you. It's just that your speed can't keep up. But here's the deal: once your speed matches mine, I'll take you to Tian Shan together."

Li Qilang nodded wearily. "Alright, sister, I'll definitely catch up to you."

Having convinced Li Qilang, early the next morning, Li Wuya headed toward Tian Shan at full speed after Jin Yue'e and Li Erya had gone to the fields.

The distance between Tian Ling Village and Tian Shan was enough to take half a day on horseback. Li Wuya's speed was quite impressive, but her endurance was lacking. It took her a full two hours of running to reach the foot of Tian Shan.

If her stamina were higher, she could go even faster.

Without sufficient stamina, speed alone wouldn't sustain her on long journeys.

This was why she had to make this trip to Tian Shan. She needed to gather medicinal herbs and improve her family's constitution.

Strengthening their constitution would also enhance their endurance.

Moreover, her father had been at the Vanguard Camp of Dieling Pass for four months already. She didn't know the situation there and needed to prepare the enhanced constitution potion and deliver it to him as soon as possible.

Only by becoming stronger would her father's chances of survival increase.