The following morning, just before first light.

Ken examines the snow shoes in his hands, turning them around and focusing on the details.

They're crude but sturdy. A net made from a thin rope, held taut by an elliptical wooden frame. Nothing more and nothing less. A good piece of work considering the short notice by which they were crafted.

Ken ties them around his feet and gives them a test drive. He tries out walking, jogging and sprinting on the thick winter snow. His movement is impaired when compared to his speed in the summer, but when considering the weather conditions no other man or woman in the village would be able to match him.

"Are you sure that you aren't a cultivator?" Ken hears the voice of Goro from behind him. He's the hunter that had accepted the job of exterminating the wolf pack.

"I'm definitely not. Why?"

"That isn't a speed you should be able to reach."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you then. The only thing I can do right now is run fast and shoot well. I don't know anything about floating on air or shooting beams out of my fingertips or whatever else cultivators are supposed to do." He uses his hands to further drive in the point.

"Sure thing, catch." Goro rolls his eyes as he throws a thick bag towards Kenki. It's a linen wrap filled to bursting with arrows. When combined with the arrows in both of Kenki's and Goro's quivers there's a total of two hundred and eighty of them.

"Phew" Ken mounts the big wrap on his shoulders, feeling its weight on his body, before turning to look at Goro. Likewise, he is also preparing for the treacherous journey ahead. Strapped to his body are various bags and satchels vital for their mission. Most importantly, their food for the next six days.

"Are you sure this plan will work?" Ken speaks up once Goro is finished.

"What kind of plan were you expecting? For us to rush inside their den and engage them in honorable combat?" He bites back.

"I don't know. The plan feels kind of… simple?"

"Good." The bearded man says as he covers his head with a hood. "Let me impart some wisdom onto you. The simple plans are the best ones. No opportunity for you to mess up, no opportunity for some outside force to interfere. No chance for anything to go wrong, all you need to concern yourself with from now on is shooting down the wolves when they come for us." He tightens one last strap before turning around.

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"If everything goes well we should be done by evening the next day."

============

Rumors had already begun to spread within Northern River's Village about Kenki's mission. Not too eager to add any more fuel to the fire he'd insisted that the two of them depart in secret.

The village, while being a large one, cannot compare to the sprawling cities and metropolises in Ken's previous life. With Goro's house already being on the outskirts the two of them are out of the village in less than ten minutes, just in time for the first light to indicate the arrival of the day.

The plan from there on is simple. Travel to the wolf den, praying that they don't encounter the pack. Though, even for that occasion they have a simple enough plan to deal with them.

The snow had long since covered the grasses and shrubs that could have impeded their path so they progressed steadily, the only plant life sticking out of the snow being the leafless deciduous trees as well as the still green conifers.

The terrain outside the village is actually surprisingly hilly, there are many ups and downs, exposed rock formations and interesting geographical features. Though they do little to help them progress, serving only as an obstacle. Nevertheless, it's entertaining for Kenki. It's the first time that he'd left the confines of his village so there's always something new to look at. Something that he never would have encountered back on Earth.

The years of training had become incredibly dull and repetitive so he's somewhat happy about this opportunity, even when considering the unreasonable task attached to it.

They even come across a species of spiritual beasts. Ice Feathered Jays - a mostly harmless species of bird that can only be found during the winters, greatly resembling the Blue jays from Kenki's old world. Goro strictly warned him to never attack them, even in the case that he's starving and they are the only source of food around.

Kenki's question about where the birds go during the summer goes completely ignored. Probably because Goro doesn't know the answer, he guesses.

When they're thirsty they scoop out the snow and let it melt in their mouths. When they're hungry they snack on the food they'd prepared for the journey. Frozen jerky for Goro and the rations given by Dongmei for Kenki.

Thankfully, several years of a cultivator's intense training have greatly strengthened Kenki's body. Kenki barely feels any weariness even after the several hour long walk in the rough terrain.

'Stamina, art and archery. That's what I excel at, I guess…'

Goro suddenly raises a fist up, causing Ken to stop in his tracks.

"What is it?" Ken asks as he removes the thick wool hood wrapped around his head. He calmly takes a look around, searching for danger.

"You hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ken frowns as he focuses on the sounds around him. The wind swirling around his head greatly impairs his hearing.

That is, until all of a sudden he feels a heat invade his ears, it is neither pleasant, nor unpleasant. Ken only knows that his ears no longer feel like two disc shaped ice sculptures.

And with the coming of the heat he is also able to more easily cancel out the unimportant noises.

"Are those… Wolf howls?" Ken asks with uncertainty before covering his head once more, afraid that he'd gotten some form of hypothermia.

'After all, the symptom for hypothermia is a sudden rush of heat invading your body.'

"Hmmm." Goro doesn't reply for a while. "It's a call to hunt. Don't forget, the moment we see the pack, we climb the tree closest to us. Make sure not to try and scale the one I pick for myself." He begins walking.

"Yeah, yeah." Ken waves Goros' concerns away. "I'm not daft."