Ke Er finally finished her bath. Thank heavens—Ou Tao nearly died from a nosebleed.

While recalling the smooth, jade-like feel of her skin, he gently dried her off and dressed her in the new clothes.

Her messy appearance vanished completely. Silver hair now neatly combed, topped with a black winter hat. A white wool skirt, thick knee-high white cotton socks hugging her slender little legs, and cute lambskin shoes on her feet.

Cleaned and refreshed, Ke Er’s delicate face shone clearly. Her silver hair flowed around her like a pristine waterfall.

And those tiny legs—just how slender were they? When Ou Tao bought the socks, he noticed these primitive white cotton ones relied purely on thickness for warmth, lacking molecular temperature-regulation tech. Yet on her legs, they looked delicate, refined, even softer.

“Damn!” Ou Tao muttered, mesmerized. “That old man must’ve saved the universe in a past life to have such a cute daughter. Which goddess-level beauty did he marry to produce a future femme fatale like this?”

“Father… this outfit must’ve cost at least three silver coins!” Ke Er’s cheeks flushed red, lips pouting, voice tinged with guilt.

The winter chill and foul odor that had haunted her for years were gone—but the sudden cleanliness felt strangely unsettling.

“It’s nothing!”

The legendary tale of Ou Tao stunning bamboo rabbits with a stone had already spread through the village.

Earlier, the aunt told him: rabbits stunned this way kept undamaged pelts. Find a skilled hunter to skin them cleanly down the middle, and she’d pay fifty extra copper coins. She even sold Ke Er this outfit at a discount.

“Waaah! So cute!” Ke Er stood before the cage, tiptoeing, mouth shaped like an “O.” “Father, they’re all squeezed together! So pitiful… Can we let them stretch their legs?”

The rabbits seemed oddly clever—their little heads nodding in perfect unison, utterly endearing.

“No!” *If I let them out, they’ll vanish in a flash,* Ou Tao thought. Aloud: “They’ve got severe heatstroke! A weird winter illness. They need emergency care—in the sickroom!”

“But Father… isn’t it winter?”

“Exactly! That’s why it’s critical. I’m prepping surgery right now.”

He pulled out a razor, sprinkled water on the whetstone, and began sharpening. The metallic *scritch-scritch* made the bamboo rabbits tremble.

“But Father—that’s a razor! Hunters only use those for skinning!”

“Yep. Legendary skinning surgery.”

“Mm-hmm! Father’s so thoughtful! Look at this one—it’s ugly *and* tried to bite me. Let’s operate on it first!”

Ou Tao glanced at her. *She knows exactly what I’m doing…* So she was a sly little loli after all—targeting the one that dared bite her.

Skinning was a high-skill task. Hunters usually needed Level 7 and the passive skill “Skinning” to do it cleanly.

Normally, villagers paid a dozen copper coins to old hunters for pelts.

But Ou Tao was confident he’d save those coins.

His fingers flicked. The razor spun fluidly between them—pinky to thumb, back again—like a silvery fingertip gyroscope casting cold glints. Only a cold-weapon expert could pull that off.

“Wow! So cool! Just like that Level 9 thief who passed through our village! All the kids ran to watch… I was too short to see!”

“Pfft. Just a Level 9 thief? Your dad’ll become way stronger.”

Ou Tao picked up the razor and approached the ugly rabbit that had snapped at Ke Er.

It had been aggressive—maybe it realized Ke Er was teasing them.

But seeing the burly man advance with a blade? It fainted instantly.

“Physical anesthesia,” Ou Tao chuckled.

*Congratulations! Achievement Unlocked: Skin Artist. Pelt harvested: EXP +200. Precision bonus: +100.*

“Oh dear~ Father’s surgery didn’t go well! The bunny passed away… But no worries! We’ll give it a proper cremation!”

Ke Er skewered the meat on a stick, rotating it over the flames. Her eyes sparkled, tongue darting over her lips, swallowing hard.

“This little glutton,” Ou Tao laughed, watching her kneel eagerly by the fire.

He calculated: selling the pelts would bring eight silver coins. Just two more to go.

After hitting Level 5 and completing his job advancement, he’d undertake Hamiyou’s first mission.

Leave Bobo Village. Head to Francia, the border metropolis of Eiffel. Meet the organization.