Chapter 3: The Wilderness World

When the Shallow Night arrived, the tranquility was broken as every household bustled to the Fire Spring to retrieve their Sunstones.

Qin Ming was ready to depart at a moment’s notice, fully armed with a hunting fork, a short blade, a bow, and arrows.

He had already eaten the flatbread Lu Ze brought over but didn’t mention his plan to go out, fearing he would be talked out of it.

Qin Ming had no desire to throw himself into peril; he planned to try his luck in a relatively safe area.

He had thought about it for a long time, recalling a fleeting shadow he had seen in the mountain forest during autumn. Based on that creature’s habits, it should be living nearby.

“I hope it’s still there and can bring me a pleasant surprise.”

The outside gradually quieted down. No one was going to get Sunstones anymore.

Qin Ming set out. He encountered two villagers along the way, greeting them with a smile and moving swiftly away before they could react.

He passed by the Fire Spring and entered the pitch-black world.

The conditions in the wilderness were extremely harsh. Qin Ming trudged through the deep snow, with only his chest and head exposed; the lower half of his body was completely submerged.

The weather was exceptionally cold. The white mist from his breath formed frost on his eyebrows and the tips of his hair.

Even during the Shallow Night, the world was rather dim, and distant scenery was invisible.

Holding his hunting fork, Qin Ming trekked onward with difficulty. The journey was anything but easy.

Finally, after walking for about four li, he neared his destination.

Ahead was a dense, dark mass—a thick forest. Although still some distance away, its outline was already visible.

Qin Ming’s target was the edge of the mountain forest; he wouldn’t venture too deep.

He entered the dense woods, his steps sinking deep and shallow in turn. Aside from a few species of trees, most were bare, their branches laden with snow.

Qin Ming stopped, carefully recalling the trail of the creature he had seen before.

He remembered discovering a tree hollow in that area, which might be one of its nests.

“Its body is larger than others of its kind; it has likely mutated. If I can find its main nest, the reward should be substantial.”

After a brief pause, Qin Ming continued forward.

The forest was pitch-black. The sudden, occasional cry of a strange bird made the uninhabited area feel exceptionally grim and desolate.

Abruptly, Qin Ming’s body tensed. Faintly, he caught the slight stench of rot, which was not normal.

He held the hunting fork with both hands, scanning his surroundings, on high alert.

Suddenly, he thrust the sharp steel fork in his hands straight up above his head!

He had heard an unusual rush of wind and had pinpointed the source of the smell. At the same time, he looked up and saw what it was.

A black shadow was hanging upside down from a branch more than ten meters high. It had the pale, white face of an old man and was diving down, attacking fiercely toward Qin Ming’s head.

In this deathly still forest, the sudden appearance of such a scene was truly terrifying.

Fortunately, Qin Ming’s reflexes were sharp. He had noticed the ominous signs in advance, and the steel fork in his hands swiftly met the creature in mid-air.

A shrill cry echoed through the mountain forest, chilling one to the bone. The creature did not press its attack. It swerved to the side when it was still several meters away.

A cold wind gusted. It spread its powerful wings and shot up into the night sky through a gap in the canopy. After circling briefly, it flew far away and disappeared.

Although he hadn’t gotten a clear look, Qin Ming was still certain of its identity.

A Man-faced Vulture, a carrion-eating bird of prey. It had the gray-black body of an eagle, but its entire face, apart from the beak, was indistinguishable from the wrinkled, pale face of an old man. Its weight generally did not exceed forty jin.

Normally, it wouldn’t actively attack a living adult, only eating corpses. Was its abnormal behavior because prey was hard to find at this time?

Qin Ming remained cautiously on guard. He waited for a long time, but it did not reappear.

He was not far from his destination and couldn’t possibly give up now. After a short rest, he set out again.

“This should be the place.”

This area was dominated by Scots pines, broad-leaved trees, and white birches. Qin Ming was sure he hadn’t found the wrong place; he spotted the tree hollow he had seen before.

Although it was rather dark in the forest, he could still clearly see from several meters away that the edge of the hollow was clean. This was not a good sign.

If the creature were hibernating inside the hollow, in such severe cold, the moisture from its breath would surely form some frost at the entrance.

It was impossible not to be disappointed. Qin Ming frowned slightly. Could it be that the creature didn’t live in this area at all?

He took a deep breath and prepared to search the vicinity carefully.

He held the hunting fork firmly in his right hand and clutched the short blade in his left, maintaining a defensive posture at all times. After all, no one could predict the dangers of the wilderness.

Qin Ming explored slowly, searching without making a sound.

A quarter of an hour later, he saw the tracks of some animal on the snow and immediately felt he was onto something!

Suddenly, a large swath of rosy light erupted from the mountain land ahead, instantly illuminating the dense forest.

Qin Ming was startled, then became extremely vigilant, using the opportunity to carefully observe his surroundings for any large, hidden beasts.

At the same time, he quickly scanned the vicinity for any suspicious tree hollows.

Soon, the bright rosy light vanished, and the world returned to its inky blackness.

That was an “earth light” that occasionally appeared, steamed up from a Fire Spring deep within the earth’s strata.

It was generally more common when the weather was warmer, especially in summer. Sometimes, the earth light could last for a day or two, influencing the celestial phenomena and potentially bringing large rain clouds.

At that time, dense raindrops would fall amidst the rosy mist, making the world exceptionally splendid and beautiful to behold.

For people living without daylight, that was the most beautiful scenery.

The dense forest returned to its gloomy darkness, but a genuine, brilliant smile appeared on Qin Ming’s face. He had just discovered another tree hollow, frosted with ice flowers.

He moved his feet slowly through the snow, the slight sound masked by the rising cold wind.

He tiptoed to a large tree as thick as a water bucket. Looking at the tree hollow, which was some height from the ground, he raised his hunting fork, which could just barely reach it.

Qin Ming put down the hunting fork, then leaped abruptly, bursting out of the snow. He hugged the tree trunk and scrambled up with force. His movements were agile and swift, bringing him directly in front of the hollow.

He swung the short blade in his right hand, chopping at the area around the entrance with a dull thud.

At the same time, a creature that was about to rush out quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding being struck by the sharp blade.

Qin Ming hadn’t expected to actually corner this creature in its hollow. It was a pleasant surprise.

In his plan, if he could find its main nest and take all its stored food, it would be a success and a considerable harvest.

There was constant movement inside the tree hollow, accompanied by panicked squeaks.

The entrance wasn’t very large, and it was a tight squeeze for Qin Ming to get his hand in. He swung his blade several times. This section of the tree was long dead, and the hollow widened after just a few chops.

He quickly took out an animal-hide bag, pulled it over his hand, and began to catch the beast.

From the dark tree hollow came flustered cries.

Qin Ming thrust his entire arm inside and felt it being bumped and battered. Fortunately, the hide bag was thick enough, or he would have certainly been bitten.

He grabbed the prey with one hand and swiftly yanked it out.

He took out a Sunstone from his clothes and shone it into the depths of the hollow. A look of joy appeared on his face. Inside were wild walnuts, chestnuts, red dates, and more—it was full of dried goods.

These were his main target.

The feeling of starvation was terrible. These dried fruits were enough to sate his hunger, life-saving provisions that made Qin Ming’s clear eyes glow with a fiery light.

He turned his head to look at the small beast in his hand. Under the light of the Sunstone, its fiery red fur was smoother than silk.

It was a red squirrel. A normal one weighed no more than one jin, but this one was over two jin; it had clearly mutated.

It was currently gnawing on the hide bag on Qin Ming’s hand, trying to escape but unable to.

Its entire body of crystalline red fur was glowing, its value definitely not low.

Qin Ming took out a piece of iron wire and skillfully bound it, tightening it, then hung it on a tree.

Next came the joy of the harvest. He scooped out the various dried fruits from the hollow handful by handful, and soon the deflated hide bag began to bulge.

Finally, he weighed it; it was over eight jin.

Nearby, the mutated red squirrel, hanging upside down, stared with its round, black-gem-like eyes, squeaking nonstop, as if in extreme anger.

Qin Ming felt like it was cursing him.

“You’re this heavy, how could a little over eight jin of winter food be enough for you?” Qin Ming hung it on his hunting fork and searched the vicinity with the Sunstone in hand.

The snow was very thick every winter. This kind of mutated creature generally wouldn’t bury its food underground, or else it wouldn’t be able to find it itself.

As expected, Qin Ming found a second tree hollow nearby, then a third. Including the first frost-free hollow he had found, they all had “stores.”

He cracked open a pile of wild walnuts, ate a handful of chestnuts, and thought they were truly fragrant. Then he washed some red dates with snow and ate five in a row, his mouth filled with sweetness.

Qin Ming was no longer hungry. His handsome face was full of a happy smile. These dried fruits were delicious, and more importantly, they could solve his current predicament.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and this glowing red squirrel had four nests, storing over thirty jin of food. It was truly worthy of being a mutated creature.

Qin Ming filled more than half of his hide bag.

“Squeak squeak…” The mutated red squirrel had been struggling violently at first, crying out incessantly. But when it saw all four of its nests found and emptied, it went completely stiff and then stopped moving.

Qin Ming was astonished. He shook it. Had it played dead?

He had long heard that the constitution of these mutated mountain beasts far surpassed their ordinary counterparts and that they were extremely intelligent, but also that they were very high-strung. He hadn’t expected it could actually die of anger.

“Perfect. Little Wenrui said he wanted to eat meat. I can make a pot of meat soup,” he muttered to himself. He could fulfill the child’s wish so quickly.

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In Twin Tree Village, a group of villagers were talking.

Someone mentioned that Qin Ming had gone into the wilderness fully armed. Seeing his posture, it looked like he was going to hunt a large, fierce beast!

Lu Ze also got the news, his brow deeply furrowed. How could that kid venture out alone? Don’t tell me he went to hunt a bear?

---

Qin Ming stood on high ground and found that he was very close to the mountaintop. This was a low mountain in the outermost region of the dense forest.

Unfortunately, he searched for a long time but found no other squirrel holes.

He reached the summit and looked ahead. The forest was a dark, oppressive mass, and while the vast mountain ranges stood tall, he could only see parts of their blurry black silhouettes.

There were actually very bright areas deep within the mountains, but they were obscured by the vast night fog, with only a little hazy light seeping out.

Qin Ming knew that place signified the unknown, mystery, and danger. It was not a realm he could set foot in.

(End of Chapter)