Luckily the claws hadn’t dug deep into my arm – around a few millimeters – so it had been easy going to the herbalist to to get some bandage.

She had been worried at first when she heard I got attacked – one of the reasons I didn't want my family to know – but soon got to work. While she worked, she also admonished me since I hadn't taken proper care, and taught me how to properly wrap an injury. In the end, she convinced me to take around a first aid kit.

The date with sister Wang the following day was nothing special, with me just showing her around. We got along well, though, and decided to have another date soon after.

The following years went by quickly.

The first few months after the incident, I stayed away from the forest. I had nearly died, and I needed some time off.

There were a few things that changed due to that incident.

Firstly I had resumed my strength training in the morning, and added a few routines I found in some books.

I had wanted to train in a weapon, but since I had no teacher, I thought it would be better to at least be stronger – that would count for something.

While I was at the peak of the Body Strengthening realm, that didn’t mean that I couldn’t improve.

In this Realm, one had to push the qi the body slowly assimilated, through food and the ambient air, to infuse the various organs, bones, and tissues.

I had always found it easy to feel and control the qi, and with the aid of various exercises, I proceeded through this Realm at breakneck speed.

Practically everybody in the world advanced in it by simply living, but not everybody reached its peak. This process could be sped up by and higher qi density in the environment, by eating qi-rich food or special herbs and pills, or by training.

An inborn talent, like mine, was also a factor.

All that meant, though, was that the qi improved things that were already there, so if I improved those, I could still see gains – and exponentially so.

The only reason it wasn't as important, to the later Realms, was that qi cultivation improved the body far more rapidly.

Despite its name, the objective of the Body Strengthening realm wasn’t to get stronger after all. It was just a byproduct.

Another thing that changed is that I was assisting Ms. Dong in her shop.

I had once mentioned that I had no more books on herbs to read, and she offered to lend me hers for free.

I thought it wasn’t fair to read her books for nothing and then she convinced me to help her at the shop.

In the end, I ended up even more indebted to her, since what I learned by practicing with Ms. Dong was far more than what I could with only a book. When I brought it up, she just waved it away, saying she liked the company – which I found strange, since I never heard she socialized with anyone.

I had also tried to speak with some of the hunters that came to the village to see if they could teach me something. My logic being that if they wanted to hunt in the forest, they had to not be caught first.

I wasn't entirely right, but it was still true for most, and, after a few tries, I found some willing to help me. They didn't take me to the forest right away but instead just explained how to move, what to look for, and other useful things. After I was able to put them in practice well enough, they said they'd take me for a hunting trip, if I was willing, the next time they came by.

It took me months before I was proficient enough for them to decide to bring me along. And I still had to stay away from the actual prey when they found one.

One of the things that surprised me was that the most dangerous part came after the kill. Since the smell of blood quickly spread in the surroundings, it would also attract predators, so we had to move fast or fend them off for long enough for them to desist.

Fortunately, none found us on our way back that first time.

At this point of my life, I had a scheduled training before breakfast and helping on the farm in the mornings – in the afternoons too if it was needed. Before dinner, if I couldn't see Cong'er, I practiced stealth and archery (another hunter group sold me an old bow for cheap). For my free afternoons, I either went to the herbalist, to the forest, or did the evening training if I didn't have a date.

I was very busy, and I still didn't know what I would do in the future.

I'd really prefer not to work at the farm, but I also don't want to be a butcher, I thought one day as I went to see Cong'er.

My relationship with her was also going well. It was to the point that I was thinking of marrying her. There was one problem with that, though; she has been pushing for me to work as a butcher with her father.

I had tried to work with the man. It wasn't that bad and, if you were careful, you didn't even get all that dirty, but it was even more monotonous than farm work.

On the farm, there were at least many different things you could do and improve on – in the butchery, on the other hand, it was just very dull. I felt interested at first, but after learning how to butcher the few beasts that were usually brought there, and how to preserve and store the various kinds of meat, I didn't have more to do. It was simply that.

And I also thought that her father disliked me for some mysterious reason – it was stressful to work with him.

Thus my still unclear future.

There was also another problem that was giving me a headache – my rate of improvement.

I always thought of myself as a diligent guy. I didn't work until I dropped, but neither did I slack off, so I always had good returns whatever I did in the past. For example, my Body Tempering went so well, because other than being talented, I also put in the effort.

But now, it just wasn't enough. I was doing too many things.

For now, I still couldn't see a clear path out of this situation.

I was capable of compromises sure, but, while I had given up my dreams of cultivation, that didn't mean I would settle for the first easy way out.

I could do more, and I wanted to do more.

Even herbalism would be a better choice. If I could learn enough, I could be apprenticed to a doctor or, more improbably, an alchemist.

Hunting too could be a good path, as I would move around and see the world. I had been fascinated by the few stories the hunters shared – and they usually stayed in the region, returning home at fall.

Of course, every one of those had certain risks and difficulties that didn't make them viable to me at the moment.

I was still thinking that when I saw Cong'er waiting for me. I usually arrived way before she was ready, so it left me a bit bemused, but I still greeted her with a smile.

I think I am in love, I thought, as I looked at her.

Others may not think her an outstanding beauty, but for me, she was perfect like this. It could only be love.

My dear younger brother, you're just a master at self-hypnotism.

Gah! He's ambushing me even in my head! I thought, trying to quash my Second Brother voice.

I'll put a few cockroaches on his dinner plate later. The damn bastard has left me some psychological damage, I thought, grimacing.

"Is something wrong, Xianyuan?" asked Cong'er. She seemed somewhat nervous. Strange.

"No, just thinking of something, don't worry," I said, smiling at her, then I looked her up and down.

"You're stunning today, even more than usual. Did something happen?" I asked, appreciating the view. She wore a nice dark golden and white hanfu, and she had made her hair in a bun with some hairpins.

"No, nothing. Can't I dress myself up when I go out with you?" Cong'er asked, pouting.

She had a nice blush on her face.

Adorable.

"Of course you can. I am flattered," I answered.

I may have been a bit red in the face too.

The date went well, as usual until, we got to our usual hidden spot.

I found a half-built structure in the village periphery that hadn't been touched in some time. I had brought some hay from the fields and a cloth to put over it to use as a mattress, we had been having some nice evenings watching the sunset. And making out, of course.

That day she was more forward than usual when, suddenly, she whispered something in my ear.

"I have taken a contraceptive," she said.

My heart skipped a beat. Then my heart started to beat.

Blood, what little was left to keep control, flowed out of my brain.

I had been waiting for this moment for too long.

While she had let me touch as much as I wanted before now, she always stopped me from taking it a step further.

Tradition wanted that the couple waited until the wedding night before consummating, but I didn't give a crap – I did want to respect her wishes, though, if that was what she wanted.

I heard that in some secular country virginity, especially in women, had to be absolutely kept, or they'd become "dirty" - whatever that meant. I'd been shocked when I heard that.

From what I knew, many women broke their hymen during training, so it was also difficult to tell unless one was caught in the act or became pregnant.

Luckily, there wasn't such an idiotic rule here.

Unfortunately, some adhered to that, which I thought I would be one since I had never directly asked. I have nothing against traditions, but some should really just disappear.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!! I thought as clothes flew.

I was nervous since I was fifteen, and this was my first time, but I was so pent up that I almost blew a nut with just the thought.

It hadn't helped that I could hear all my damn family at night – stuffing the hears didn't do shit to block the sounds. There seemed to be an implicit rule that they should try to drown out the sound by being louder than the others – and my third brother sure gave it his best after the marriage.

I at least could forgive him since he lent me the book before I married. The one with the explanations on how to please your partner and the drawings of sex positions. He also gave me some advice.

May he be blessed.

After that, I had a great night. There had been a few hilarious moments, but overall, it went well for my first time. It had been wonderful, in fact.

Maybe I should really consider being a butcher, I thought as I held her in my arms.

I also think I can forgive my family.