Chasing Rabbits

From the river, Saint Tami led their ragtag group into the main road. The rest of the day was spent walking and horse playing along the way. Many of the older kids had slingshots, whenever a bird or rabbit would appear, at least four stones were cast towards its direction. Saint Tami walked ahead, always chatting and smiling. At all times, at least one child was clinging to this clothes and many small feet followed his footsteps. He was like an icecream truck, his mouth the siren bell pulling children away from their parents.

Wei Li Na and the two disciples kept the rear guard. When it was close to dusk, Saint Tami picked a spot to set-up camp not too far from the road. The tall grasses were beaten down to scare off snakes. A low tent was put up for the smaller children to rest. The older children spread out to collect branches for firewood. It was routine for them, no need to be given instructions, everything was done as a matter of course.

The two disciples, with Wei Li Na and three big boys following behind, left the group to hunt for rabbit. When Wei Li Na was surviving on the grasslands by herself, she didn't have the heart to kill a rabbit for food. But now hunting with a group, with several small mouths to feed back at camp, her sentiments had changed. While rabbits had small faces, their cuteness could not satiate a child's hungry stomach.

All the boys had slingshots, of similar design. They swung stones swiftly, with much force, but even with five slingshot hunters, nobody had caught anything within an hour's time. Wei Li Na was discouraged, but saw her companions were not disappointed at all. Their young fresh faces still calm and patient, this kind of low success rate was expected for them.

However, Wei Li Na was already at the end of her patience. She asked to borrow Disciple Ren's slingshot, she got onto a large rock to get a further viewpoint. Closing her eyes, she used the vision of her Divine Third Eye to spot a cluster of rabbits. In full confidence she swung the slingshot, in the same way she saw the boys use it. As she let the projectile go towards the rabbits, it backfired and the slingshot actually hit her own head with a soft "Pah!" sound. Literally carrying a rock to hit your own head.

Stunned and embarrassed, Wei Li Na dared not lift her head. It took a moment for her to recover. Many of the boys were laughing, the more polite ones covered their smiles behind their hands. But of course what could she expect, it was her first time firing a slingshot. She couldn't be an instant expert. She tried a few more times, she knew exactly where she wanted the slingshot to hit, but the stone never went where she wanted it to go. Exasperated and out of "bullets", Wei Li Na tossed the slingshot back to Disciple Ren with some force, he was still sniggering when he caught it.

Perhaps because she was instigated by too much teasing, she felt the beginnings of bloodlust creep into her veins. Wei Li Na leaped into the air, landing in tall grass, crouched with one knee on the ground. When she rose up, she had one rabbit in each hand grabbed at the cuffs.

Disciple Ren's eyes looked like they were about to pop out. The younger boys had their hands were clasped together, excited at the prospects of a tasty dinner! They wanted to jump and shout, but Wei Li Na gave them the signal to be quiet. Hunting, like fishing, needed hunters that never made a sound. She handed the struggling, live rabbits to Disciple Yan.

She took out Star Born, which was always strapped to her back. Right now, the great, heavenly halberd was in the form of a short metal stick. Wei Li Na retracted it to reveal half its length, but she kept Star Born's blade hidden. It was let out in the form of a metal staff. Like a bayonet, Wei Li Na vertically lifted Star Born above her head and struck it into the ground. She pounded it down several times until there was a perceptible scent of blood in the air. After several strikes, she stopped and glanced towards her companions who were all wondering what in the world did she just do!

"Come help me dig out the rabbits!" She had in fact, just bludgeoned to death a whole family of rabbits right inside their tunnel home. It was a foot into the earth, but with her Divine Third Eye she could pinpoint their exact locations and placed her blows accurately. Since rabbits hide deeper into their tunnels when they're scared, they had no hope of survival once the tunnels were attacked.

One astonished little face after another dug into the ground in disbelief. There were indeed six big rabbits, half dead under the ground. It was a good hunting trip, the boys held one rabbit in each hand returning to cook back at camp.

"I don't think normal people hunt like that! You're amazing!" Indeed, who hunts with their bare hands? But Ran and Yan came from a sect of martial artists, so they must have seen others with similar skills. For them, while the ability was unusual, it was completely possible! It was still a rare treat to witness such skill in real life!

"I was only desperate because I failed with the slingshot" The two Disciples thought she was just feigning a humble attitude. Who needs a slingshot when you can catch rabbits with your bare hands! But for Wei Li Na, having almost no knowledge of ancient tools was a huge disadvantage.

She was trained in combat and weapons her whole life, but the weapons she learned to use were space age weapons - lasers, computer tracking and targeting systems, long distance missiles, electromagnetic barriers and such. Completely impractical in the ancient world! The reason she hadn't a taste of cooked meat till she met this group of children, is because she couldn't light a fire without making a big mess. No wilderness skills at all!

The only reason she learned to wield a halberd is because she had a lot of free time when she was posted in the outer boundaries of the galaxy. She needed a hobby and needed the exercise. In the same way her Europene comrades practiced fencing, and Japanese comrades learned kendo, that is the old war arts are kept alive so you can say you are a cultured person. Wei Li Na decided to learn the halberd. She had thousands and thousand of sparring hours logged into her ship's simulation room, training with the halberd. Hours well spent. Her only regret was that she did not also learn the slingshot, the bow, the sword, the short sword, the horseback riding, the herbal medicine, the poisons, the cooking, the sewing, in short - nothing at all!

A twelve year old in this ancient era could be said to have more practical skills than herself, when it came to life. Wei Li Na looked around, her present company was always very lively, children are like puppies excited over the smallest things. Yan finally showed her how to start a fire with flintstone. She watched the little boys expertly skin and clean the rabbits to be cooked. Just hovering around all these children was teaching her so many important survival skills!

The atmosphere, traveling with tumbling white cabbages, and eager little radishes, was light and cheerful. It was such a huge and welcomed change from the solitary life of space travel. Her heart filled with warmth, from the simple action of being in the close presence of other human beings. She was just getting used to this life in this ancient time, but she already liked it more than her old life.

Wei Li Na did not know if she could go back to the space age, her spaceship was gone. Even if she could never go back, she thought she would not mind staying in this time at all. She had close family ties, but even when they lived in the same timeline, she only saw them every few years. Wei Li Na reasoned, if she could never go back after succeeding in her mission, the memories that her brothers and parents left with her, knowing they will exist in the future, was enough for her. The sacrifices would be worth it.