* Day 2
After stretching out her body and testing her condition, Li Feng wandered off into the morning markets as a crowd of people bustled around.
"Huh?" One face amidst the countless within the market crowds grew worried as he patted down his inner pockets. "Where did my satchel go?"
However, this didn't concern Li Feng as she returned to the alleyways merrily with her satchel placed safely within her grasp.
...
"Now then..." Having hidden her 'savings', Li Feng decided to leave the city walls.
"Since there are no real dangers outside aside from some small animals, it's better to be there than in the place where I almost died."
The fact that the person who had brought her near to her second death was in this city brought her great discomfort. As an assassin she always remembered to pay back all her debts twice fold.
Moreover, it would be hard to even buy some food with "her" money, as anyone would think that she had stolen it as she was a child from the slums.
But that also meant she couldn't leave through the city gates either, as she'd need to pay the toll.
'Filthy bastards trap you in the slums... Haha... Just like my world...'
To keep the bottom feeders at the bottom and never letting them rise... That was how the overlords of her past life's world maintained their rule. Something that she felt disgusted by.
However, there was another way to bypass the toll fee, the slum's hole.
In the slum's depths, there was a hole in the wall, a small exit that was often used by slum dwellers to gather certain wild fruits and "herbs" outside...
Anyways, she planned on using this as a means to gather resources and get her body to the most optimum condition.
'With my knowledge of poisons and medical herbs, I should be able to gather everything needed...'
...
"Yea..." A certain realization dawned upon Li Feng as she stood in the forest lands outside the city walls, "This isn't the world I know of..."
After continuous hours of scavenging, she realized she could not tell what was poisonous or not. This was because this world's vegetation was far too different from her own's.
In hindsight, it all made sense. Fortunately, she had tried the herbs on a small animal she captured before consuming it... "Uh... I wont be able to eat it now..."
Even in her body's memories, there were only a few edible grasses and fruits. Nothing more than that.
Well, there were also some "special fruits" that the older people of the slums asked kids to gather.
As for what the fruits did... Well, it's quite obvious, isn't it? Drugs. They were drugs.
Regardless, Li Feng was quite troubled by her current predicament.
Either way, she knew what to do now. To eat well and put some muscles on her bones!
"But..."
Even then, it wasn't much of an easy task. All she had with her were the rags she wore, a rusted old knife, and her bony, weak body.
"Well, at least I can move freely!"
Hyping herself up, Li Feng began to walk towards a certain direction. She had a direction in mind, a small trail formed due to the regular commute by the slum's people.
Halfway through the trail, Li Feng quietly wandered off away from the trail. There was one "safe place" here that her body's previous owner used to stay at.
A small opening within the dense forests and a giant red leafed tree at its center. One day when she had lost her way, the previous Li Feng had wandered to this place and took shelter from the rain within the giant tree's tree hollow. To her, it was a safe shelter.
However, now standing before the tree hollow, Li Feng felt skeptical.
"Is it poisoned?"
There were no insects or any living creature on the tree's dark trunk, which made her wonder if it was poisonous.
However, even then it was unnatural as usually the animals or moss around a tree should've adapted to its poison.
"Well. it didn't poison me when the other me was scratched by the tree, so it should be fine..."
Without much hesitation, she climbed onto the tree and seated herself onto one of its large branches. "Hup!" In a single burst of movement, she slashed at the tree branch with her knife.
"Ack!" The knife bounced back while the branch only had a small wound. However, Lin Feng's wrist now hurt quite a bit...
"Tch!" Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she reached for one of the thinner branches and began to cut it. At the same time, she channeled all her focus into using one of the countless arts she had learned in her past life.
"Haa... Haa..." Her task was successful... However, she was out of breath and visibly tired, so much so that both her knife and the branch she had cut off had fallen to the ground, and she barely held herself in place by hugging the tree.
'It's too taxing to use this without the body modifications, nanomachines, and inner energy refinement... Damn it! How annoying!' She cursed at the frailty of her her body.
* Day 5
After a couple of days spent in the forest, Li Feng's tree hollow home had undergone a transformation. What was once a simple shelter had become a makeshift abode, with bundles of leaves serving as bedding and various branches fashioned into tools and weapons. Surprisingly, the tree leaves she had used hadn't wilted, retaining their vibrant red color and soft texture.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
As the sun rose on the fifth day of her new life+, Li Feng set out into the forest once more, her rusted knife strapped securely to her side and a dark wooden spear in her hands. She moved through a new path leaving behind marks to return, her senses sharp as she searched for signs of edible plants or some small animal to hunt.
Amidst the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds, a distant sound caught Li Feng's attention. It was a gentle rumble, like a distant roaring torrent, "This!"
With her hopes high, Li Feng quickened her pace, weaving through the dense vegetation until she reached the source of the sound—a magnificent waterfall cascading down into a crystal-clear river below. The sight took her breath away, its beauty a stark contrast to the overgrown vegetation of this forest.
For a moment, Li Feng simply stood in awe, her eyes tracing the arc of the waterfall as it glittered in the morning sunlight. "Water!"
This was rather great for her as other than some puddles, sap or morning dew on leaves she hadn't been able to find much water.
That day Lin Feng was finally able to take a bath after days and now she could even have an easier time formulating her "revenge" plan.
* Day 6
'Heavens have blessed me!' Lin Feng thought as she rushed through the forest towards her home base with some random man's clothes in her hands...
She felt not a smidgen of guilt as she stole someone's dignity, their clothes by the water reservoir that she found this morning... even going as far as calling it a blessing...
Now, that someone will have to travel naked... Though, to be fair he shouldn't have taken 'em off if he was afraid of losing them!
...
Reaching her base, Lin Feng sat in her "bed" within the tree hollow which was now graced with some bed sheets. She sat in a special position with her legs crossed as she gathered the outer energy and refined her inner energy. This had become a daily process as unlike her past life, this was the only thing she could rely on to get stronger.
The process felt a bit odd compared to her past life... However, it showed great results, so Lin Feng continued anyway. The results, in fact, were way better than in her past life.
And so, as she meditated, she fell into a reveri-
*Raawghh!!
A thunderous roar disturbed her concentration as she opened her eyes to look at the bear who had appeared out of no where.
She called it a bear but was the size of an elephant, with brown fur and a golden horn on it's forehead.
The bear charged towards Li Feng with incredible speed, its massive claws extending outwards, Li Feng swiftly leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the bear's attack. With lightning-fast reflexes, she drew her wooden spear, readying herself for the fight.
Seeing that Li Feng had survived, the bear let out a deafening roar. Li Feng on the other hand, ignored the ringing in her ears as she used "Thousand eyes art" and with that she focused on her opponent, her senses sharpened to the extreme as she assessed the creature's movements.
Scanning through their "battlefield", Li Feng found a simple yet effective way to victory as she repositioned herself. Soon the bear launched itself towards her as it saw her escaping.
With a powerful swipe of its paw, the bear sent Li Feng who had barely managed to block the bear's attack with her spear, tumbling backwards. She quickly scrambled to her feet, her body aching from the impact, but determination burning in her eyes as she once again ran.
The bear, enraged by Li Feng's resilience, dashed once again, its massive claws slicing through the air with deadly force. Li Feng dodged and got out of its way as the bear crashed into the giant tree due to it's momentum.
Shaking it's head, the bear came back to it's senses as it looked for Li Feng. Soon it's instincts began to scream at him! It looked upwards only to see Li Feng plunging down at him from the giant tree with her spear in her hand.
As the spear reached its head, the bear quickly turned its head avoid Li Feng. However, the Spear still buried itself within the bear's neck. The bear wildly swung its head in panic in an attempt to get rid of Li Feng who hung on the bear's body through the spear.
Rather than loosing grip and falling off, Li Feng jumped and threw her body towards the bear's head. With her rusty knife and her "Meteor axe" arts, she slashed at the horn with all of her might.
The horn, surprisingly brittle, broke and the panicking bear headbutted Li Feng launching her away.
As she rose to her feet, Li Feng kept her gaze locked onto the bear who reciprocated her gaze. Despite her injured state, Li Feng smiled ferociously and the bear had finally understood that this one was no mere prey... It was a predator.
"COME AT ME!!"
That day battle ensued till night, with one life consuming the other.
* Day 7
As the sun began to set, the Azure Moon city gates stood tall and imposing, appearing as a giant shadow in the dimmed lights. The guards stationed there, clad in armor and armed with spears, kept a not so vigilant watch over the city entrance.
And when they expected none to enter, a boy approached the city gates, his clothes worn and his demeanor relaxed. As he drew nearer, the guards stepped forward, their eyes narrowing in scrutiny.
"Halt! State your business!" one of the guards commanded, his voice firm and laced with suspicion as the city was quite isolated and most travelers would not arrive on foot.
The young man paused, offering the guards a friendly smile as he adjusted his clothes. "Good evening, sirs. My name is Feng Lin," he replied, his tone respectful yet confident. "I am a martial artist traveling to hone my skills and train my body."
The guards exchanged a skeptical glance before one of them gestured toward the broken wooden pole slung over Lin Feng's shoulder. "And what happened to your weapon?" he asked, his tone still laced with suspicion.
Lin Feng's gaze followed the guard's gesture, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Ah, unfortunately, this child met an untimely demise during my journey," he explained, chuckling softly. "But thankfully, I am still favored by the heavens for I have come across a grand city like this! Now I can procure a new weapon and even sleep in comfort for a while!"
The guards eyed the eccentric youth warily for a moment longer before nodding in begrudging acceptance. "Very well, you may enter," one of them said, his tone rough. "But first, the toll."
Without missing a beat, Feng Lin reached into his clothes and withdrew a coin, tossing it casually toward the guards. As it landed with a satisfying clink, he flashed them a charming grin. "Thank you, gentlemen," Feng Lin said, his voice carrying a hint of mischief.
With that, Feng Lin strode through the city gates, his spirits high and a tune on his lips. For him, this was just like another one of the usual things from the past.
* Day 9
As Feng Lin, or rather Li Feng, strolled through the bustling markets of Azure Moon City, she enjoyed the sights of the bustling morning markets that surrounded her. Ah, by the way, Feng Lin was actually Li Feng, which might be hard to believe, but trust me when I say that they are the same person.
Li Feng had cut her hair short and donned the newly acquired clothes she had "borrowed" from the poor guy who probably had to wander the woods naked. Moreover, she had purposefully damaged the garments so that the long sleeves and oversized clothing wouldn't give her away as a thief.
She even entered the city at evening times, to hide the details within the dark.
Anyways, the torn and battered garments she had worn when entering the city two days ago were long gone, disposed of in a manner that left no trace of their existence. Now, she looked every bit the part of a young martial artist, her demeanor confident and her movements fluid.
If there was one issue, then it was the inability to use her disguising abilities to the fullest, 'The thousand face arts can't be used without the body modifications...'
But, even that wasn't much of an issue as she more or less was indistinguishable from her prior dirt-covered and bony state.
As she navigated through the waves of people, Li Feng kept a careful eye on her surroundings, ever vigilant for any sign of fresh information. Her senses, honed by years of training and survival in harsh environments, were keenly attuned to the slightest shift in the crowd.
Occasionally, she would pause to inspect a particularly intriguing item being sold by one of the vendors, exchanging a few words and perhaps striking a deal if the mood struck her. Despite her carefree façade, Lin Feng was always making sure to fulfill her "role" and gather information while remaining in "character".
* Day 10
"Found her~"
Lin Feng had finally found her target.