Xing Wenyu began explaining the Mighty Slaughter Bear to him. Liancui Mountain did have Mighty Slaughter Bears, but they rarely appeared in the outer reaches. These bears possessed tremendous strength, though they were not particularly fast. Their combat strength was equivalent to that of a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining.
For Xia Yunzhao, a cultivator only at the first layer of Qi Refining, to escape from a Mighty Slaughter Bear while bringing along a group of mortals would already have been extremely difficult, never mind actually killing the bear. Xing Wenyu was not merely humoring him. Xia Yunzhao really had done something impressive.
Xing Wenyu carefully explained the resources found on a Mighty Slaughter Bear. “Its hide can be refined into defensive leather armor, and some people use it to make magical treasures for keeping out the cold. An intact hide should sell for around three hundred spirit pearls. Its flesh, blood, and bones can be used to refine Bone-Strengthening Pills, which temper the bones. Eating them directly without refining them into pills also has an effect. Its paws are especially delicious and contain vital essence; they’re the concentrated essence of the entire body. Eating them can restore physical strength and spiritual power…”
Xia Yunzhao listened quietly. He had grown up surrounded by elders. In addition to his mother and father, there had been his maternal grandparents, paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles… all of whom had treated him very well. As a result, he was very accustomed to the feeling of being cared for.
The mountain wind made the bonfire sway. In the flickering light, Xia Yunzhao suddenly noticed that there seemed to be more fine lines at the corners of Brother Xing’s eyes, while his blue-green robes had become noticeably looser.
“Brother Xing.” He suddenly spoke, smiling as he said, “Let me tell you something. My luck is really good. You’ll definitely find what you’re looking for and fulfill your wish.”
Xing Wenyu looked at him and smiled as well, answering softly, “Right.”
＊
Meals were always lively when many people ate together. The bonfire crackled, with an enormous whole lamb roasting above it. Its skin had turned a deep reddish-brown, making a crisp crunch, crunch when tapped. Lamb fat dripped down into the fire and burst with a pop.
When cooking for themselves, the group cared mostly about substance. The lamb’s belly had been stuffed with mushrooms, wild vegetables, bird eggs, and more, all thoroughly cooked through by the heat and releasing an irresistible savory aroma.
On the other side, a large iron pot sat over a stone hearth, soup bubbling bloop, bloop inside it. Today’s soup was fish soup, rolling in milky-white waves. Supposedly, someone had even added a chunk of fresh mutton—fish and sheep together made the very character for “fresh”!
Elio’s Notes: The Chinese character 鲜 (xiān), meaning “fresh” or “delicious,” is formed from 鱼 (“fish”) and 羊 (“sheep/goat”), which is the joke being made here.
On the long table made from wooden planks were wild vegetables and fruits gathered by the elderly people and children, some stir-fried and others served cold.
A little girl looked left and right, picked up a red fruit, and ran over to offer it to Xia Yunzhao. “Brother Xiao Xia, I picked this one! It’s sweet and really tasty! Hurry and try it.”
Xia Yunzhao quickly accepted it and took a bite. It was crisp and sweet, somewhat like an apple. “Mm! It’s delicious!”
The little girl giggled happily.
“Coming through!” Xiao Qi called out. No one knew where he had found a small iron pot, but he set it down in front of Xia Yunzhao with a clang. “Today’s bear meat. Try some.”
Xia Yunzhao lowered his head. The broth inside the little pot was still bubbling, and two fist-sized chunks of meat gave off a rich meaty fragrance.
He asked, “Is there more? Let’s share it with everyone.”
“Knew you’d say that.” Xiao Qi laughed. “There’s more broth, but it contains too much spiritual energy for us. We can only drink a little. Keep the meat for yourself.”
Chang Haiping had also returned with the people who had gone to make traps. Aside from those still keeping watch, everyone sat together and happily ate dinner.
Everyone enjoyed the delicious food and filled their hungry stomachs.
One of the young men who had gone into the city to sell fish that day gesticulated wildly as he recounted their encounter with the giant bear. Xia Yunzhao found it hilarious, while everyone else listened with lingering fear.
His treatment was even better today. Once the whole roasted lamb was taken down, Chang Haiping made the decision and simply removed an entire leg for him. The young woman remained as concise as ever. “Eat.”
It was not that Xia Yunzhao disliked lamb, but an entire leg was far too much. He wanted to try other things too… So he secretly passed it to Xiao Qi beneath the table. Xiao Qi waggled his eyebrows at him but eventually helped him eat half.
Second Brother Chang beside them also helped with a little, then passed Xia Yunzhao half a grilled fish, equally plump and fragrant.
The roasted lamb leg was richly fragrant, the fish soup fresh and mellow, and even the mushrooms from inside the lamb’s belly were unbelievably tender.
Today’s wild vegetables were different from yesterday’s too. They carried a slight spiciness, hot and refreshing enough to cut through the richness of the meal perfectly.
Only after eating until he was half full did Xiao Xia remember that he still had a little pot of bear meat. He hurriedly picked it up, drank a mouthful of broth, and took a bite of meat… Then an abundant surge of spiritual energy instantly rushed into his meridians. His qi sea churned, and his cultivation method began circulating like it had gone mad!
He had no attention to spare for anything else and immediately closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
Xiao Qi and Second Brother Chang were both startled. “What’s happening?”
Xing Wenyu observed him for a moment before relaxing. “Nothing. He simply took in too much spiritual energy all at once. Come, help me get him up. Let’s take him back so he can cultivate in peace.”
Only then did everyone relax.
Granny softly recited two lines of scripture, while the children sensibly ran back and forth, carrying all the food Xia Yunzhao had not finished into his little grass shelter.
Xia Yunzhao was not in danger at all. In fact, he felt extremely comfortable. His body and meridians seemed to be soaking in a warm spring of spiritual energy, warm and relaxed beyond measure. Once he grew accustomed to the sensation, he actively controlled his cultivation method, drawing the spiritual energy into the Qi Sea acupoint before circulating it through his meridians…
His first acupoint had already been opened, but he did not immediately rush to attack the next one.
He kept feeling that he had not yet polished this acupoint to its limit. He could sense that as he continued polishing it with spiritual energy, it was still changing, becoming increasingly rounded and unobstructed, while the resistance he felt whenever spiritual energy passed through it grew steadily weaker.
Increasing his cultivation as quickly as possible was certainly good, but he felt that establishing a solid foundation at every stage was even more important.
Xia Yunzhao might have been young, but his elders had taught him carefully growing up, so he was not short-sighted. Without much hesitation, he chose to trust his instincts.
He suppressed his impatience and continued polishing the first major acupoint.
This was slow, painstaking work, like using fine sandpaper to polish a bronze mirror. It could not be rushed.
After an unknown amount of time, Xia Yunzhao slowly opened his eyes. His first major acupoint now looked completely different from before. If its light had once resembled a firefly, now it shone like a brilliant luminous pearl.
The spiritual energy circulating through his body flowed smoothly without the slightest obstruction.
He stretched and realized that the camp outside had fallen silent. Everyone was probably already asleep. From time to time, bird and insect calls sounded, though they were not actually made by birds or insects but were coded signals exchanged by the people standing watch.
The bonfires had gone out, yet in the darkness, Xia Yunzhao could see his surroundings as clearly as if it were daytime.
When he saw the small iron pot in front of him, the cold lamb leg, and several fresh, juicy fruits, Xia Yunzhao smiled.
A crisp metallic sound came from beside him.
Xia Yunzhao looked toward the sky. He had forgotten about this little ancestor.
Xiao Qing had followed him around all day, going to Qingxi City and back, jostled around from early morning until the middle of the night without getting a single benefit out of it. It had already been waiting impatiently for ages. If Xia Yunzhao had not been cultivating, it would have started making a fuss long ago.
“All right, all right. Pick whatever you want to eat.” Xia Yunzhao flicked its round belly.
Xiao Qing did not stand on ceremony. With a clang, it hopped beside the little iron pot, clearly indicating: I’ll gladly take the bear meat inside!
Xia Yunzhao opened its lid and poured in the bear meat together with the broth.
The progress bar immediately appeared—but the fist-sized piece of bear meat was not enough to fill a complete bar, increasing it only by a short section.
Still, the fact that the progress bar appeared at all showed that the bear meat contained abundant spiritual energy.
“That bear was enormous. It should yield at least several hundred jin of meat. That’ll be enough to support my cultivation for quite a while…” Xia Yunzhao played with Xiao Qing’s three bronze feet while calculating silently.
At present, his storage pouch contained a considerable amount of resources. He did not need to go out for some time. Converting these resources into his own strength was the proper thing to do.
Besides, he did not know whether the Human Plague at the camp below had been dealt with. For the past two days, whenever they went down the mountain, they had deliberately detoured around the area.
If the Fang family could resolve it, that would be best. But if they could not, and the thousands of people in the camp below all turned into Human Plagues… The thought alone was terrifying.
Cultivate. He needed to cultivate quickly!
Early the next morning, Xia Yunzhao emerged from the grass shelter refreshed and immediately saw an orderly pile of bear meat outside his door, along with four bear paws, one bear hide, and bones scraped completely clean. A huge leaf had also been spread out nearby, holding the bear’s teeth, gallbladder, and two eyeballs that had been scorched by the flames.
The bear hide had also been burned, so all its fur had been shaved away, leaving only the soft leather.
Xia Yunzhao casually grabbed a young man and asked, “Who helped clean up that big bear?”
The young man scratched his head. “Uh… Fourth Uncle and the others handled the butchering. Sister Wu scraped the bones clean. Granny Shan tanned the hide. The children collected and washed the big leaf…”
Xia Yunzhao memorized everyone the young man pointed out, then carried bear meat around to thank each of them individually. Instead, he came back carrying a pile of fruits and mushrooms they had stuffed into his arms, along with a small bottle of honey from who knew whom. They were probably treating him like a child.
Xia Yunzhao returned the food to his grass shelter, stuffed the bear meat, hide, and the rest into his storage pouch, then spotted Chang Haiping and Xiao Qi heading out.
“Going to collect prey from the traps? Wait for me!” He hurried out of the shelter. There was still some time before breakfast, and he had wanted to see the traps for ages!
Chang Haiping had not wanted to trouble him, but when he said, “I have a storage pouch, so carrying the prey will be easier,” she decided he had a point and led the way.
There was an art to placing traps. One had to study slaughter-beast tracks and movements, and both Chang Haiping and Xiao Qi were experts in this area.
The very first trap they reached had caught something.
It was a wild chicken with green tail feathers. A hemp rope as thick as a finger had twisted around its wings, binding the entire chicken securely inside the trap.
Xiao Xia asked curiously, “Is this one of the new traps you learned to make last night?”
“No.” Chang Haiping said, “This is an old trap. It can only catch small prey. I made just three of the new traps last night.” She explained, “The materials used to make traps are hard to come by too. We can’t waste them.”
Xia Yunzhao nodded in understanding.
Xiao Qi untied the wild chicken and laughed. “A Pine-Feather Chicken, a lowest-level slaughter beast. Its feathers have some defensive properties. I’ve heard some cultivators even use them to make magical treasures. But we usually don’t sell them. We make chicken soup for the children. Drinking it helps them grow.”
“Sounds good.” Xiao Xia helped put away the prey. “I still have some dried mushrooms everyone gave me. We can make mushrooms stewed with chicken when we get back.”
For some reason, Xiao Qi’s sense of humor seemed a little crooked. The moment he heard “mushrooms stewed with chicken,” he started snickering.
Elio’s Notes: The well-known Northeastern Chinese dish is called 小鸡炖蘑菇, literally “chicken stewed with mushrooms.” Xia Yunzhao reverses the order to 蘑菇炖小鸡, “mushrooms stewed with chicken,” which Xiao Qi finds amusing.
The three of them continued around the remaining small traps. There were seven in total. In two, the prey had escaped and damaged the traps, so Chang Haiping collected them, saying they could still be repaired and reused.
Of the other five traps, two were empty, while the remaining three had caught two field mice and one rabbit.
Judging by Chang Haiping and Xiao Qi’s expressions, they seemed quite satisfied. They did not rely solely on traps for prey either. Every few days, they organized a hunting party. Yesterday’s roast lamb had been caught by one of those parties.
After checking the small traps, Chang Haiping led them farther along and pointed ahead. “That’s the first large trap. Hopefully we got lucky.”
Xia Yunzhao’s ears twitched. With his astonishing hearing, he had already heard movement.
There was something inside the trap!
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