After shallow night arrived, the tranquility was broken. Every household rushed to the Fire Spring to collect sun stones.
Qin Ming was ready to depart at any moment, equipped with a hunting fork, short sword, bow and arrows, fully armed.
He had already eaten the flatbread Lu Ze brought, but hadn't told him about going out, fearing he would be dissuaded.
Qin Ming didn't want to take unnecessary risks, planning to try his luck in a relatively safe area.
He had pondered for a long time, recalling a glimpse he saw in the mountain forest during autumn. Based on that creature's habits, it should be dwelling nearby.
"Hopefully it's still there and can bring me a surprise."
Outside gradually quieted down. No one else went to collect sun stones.
Qin Ming set out. On the way, he encountered two villagers, greeted them with a smile, and quickly moved on before they could react.
He passed the Fire Spring and entered the pitch-black world.
The wilderness environment was extremely harsh. Qin Ming trudged through the deep snow, with only his chest and above exposed, most of his body already submerged.
The weather was exceptionally cold. The white mist he exhaled froze into frost on his eyebrows and hair tips.
Even during shallow night, the world between heaven and earth was relatively dim, unable to see distant scenery.
Qin Ming held his hunting fork and struggled forward, the journey extremely difficult.
Finally, after walking about four li, he approached his destination.
Ahead was a dark mass—dense forest trees. Though still some distance away, their outlines were already discernible.
Qin Ming's target was the edge of the mountain forest, not venturing too deep.
He waded into the dense forest with uneven steps. Except for a few species, most trees were bare, their branches laden with snow.
Qin Ming stopped, carefully recalling the movement patterns of the creature he had seen before.
He had discovered tree holes in that area, perhaps one of its nests.
"It's larger than its kind—most likely mutated. If I can find its main nest, there should be quite a harvest."
After a brief rest, Qin Ming continued forward.
The forest was pitch black. Occasionally strange birds would cry out abruptly, making this uninhabited area feel particularly eerie and gloomy.
Suddenly, Qin Ming's body tensed. Faintly, he caught a whiff of a decayed odor. This was very abnormal.
He gripped his hunting fork with both hands, scanning his surroundings, on high alert.
In a flash, he thrust the sharp steel fork upward toward the top of his head!
He had heard an unusual sound of wind and pinpointed the source of the smell. At the same time, he looked up to see what it was.
A dark shadow hung upside down from a tree fork over ten meters high, possessing a ghastly pale old man's face. It dove downward, attacking fiercely toward Qin Ming's head.
In this lifeless, silent forest, the sudden appearance of such a scene was truly horrifying.
Fortunately, Qin Ming's reflexes were sharp. Having detected the warning signs early, his steel fork quickly met the creature in midair.
A shrill scream echoed through the mountain forest, chilling to the bone. The creature didn't charge straight down; when still several meters away, it glided to the side.
A cold wind blew as it spread its powerful wings, rushing from the gaps in the forest into the night sky. After circling briefly, it disappeared from view.
Though not entirely clear, Qin Ming still identified its nature.
A Human-Faced Vulture—a carrion-eating bird of prey with a gray-black eagle body. Its entire face, except for the beak, was indistinguishable from a wrinkled, ghastly pale old man's face. Its weight typically didn't exceed forty jin.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't actively attack living adults, only feeding on corpses. Was it behaving abnormally because prey was scarce at this stage?
Qin Ming remained cautiously vigilant. He waited a long time, but it didn't reappear.
His destination wasn't far. He couldn't give up now. After a brief rest, he set off again.
"This should be it."
This area was dominated by Scots pine, broadleaf trees, and white birch. Qin Ming confirmed he hadn't come to the wrong place—he found the tree hole he had seen before.
Although the forest was dim, within a few meters he could clearly see that the tree hole's edge was very clean. This was not a good sign.
If the creature was lurking inside the tree hole, in such severe cold, the water vapor from its breath would definitely form some frost at the entrance.
It was impossible not to feel disappointed. Qin Ming frowned slightly. Could it be that the creature didn't dwell in this area at all?
He took a deep breath, planning to search carefully nearby.
His right hand gripped the hunting fork firmly, his left hand clutched the short sword, maintaining a defensive posture at all times. After all, no one could predict the dangers of the wilderness.
Qin Ming moved slowly, searching without making any noise.
After half a quarter-hour, he saw traces of some animal in the snow and immediately felt hopeful!
Suddenly, a vast expanse of rosy light surged up from the mountainous terrain ahead, instantly illuminating the dense forest.
Qin Ming was startled, then became highly alert. Taking this opportunity, he carefully surveyed all directions, checking if any large beasts were lurking.
Simultaneously, he quickly scanned the vicinity for any suspicious tree holes.
Soon, the bright rosy light vanished, and the world between heaven and earth returned to ink-black darkness.
It was "ground light" steaming up from deep within the earth's layers, occurring occasionally.
It was more common when the weather warmed, especially in summer. Sometimes the ground light could evaporate for one or two days, influencing atmospheric phenomena, potentially bringing large rain clouds.
Then dense raindrops accompanied by mist and rosy light would fill the space between heaven and earth, making it extraordinarily splendid—a truly beautiful sight.
For people living without daylight, that would be the most beautiful landscape.
The dense forest returned to its gloomy darkness. Qin Ming revealed a genuine, radiant smile because he had just discovered another tree hole, adorned with ice flowers.
He moved slowly through the snow, the faint sounds masked by the rising cold wind.
He tiptoed forward, arriving before a tree as thick as a bucket. Looking at the tree hole some height above the ground, he raised his hunting fork, which barely reached.
Qin Ming set down the fork, then suddenly leaped, bursting from the snow. He grabbed the tree trunk and climbed upward, his body agile and swift, arriving directly at the tree hole.
His right hand swung the short sword, striking the area around the hole with a dull thud.
At the same moment, a creature about to rush out quickly shrank back, nearly cleaved by the sharp blade.
Qin Ming hadn't expected to actually trap the creature inside the tree hollow. It was an unexpected delight.
In his original estimation, if he could find its main nest and take all its stored food, that would be success—quite a harvest.
The tree hollow was filled with frantic activity, accompanied by urgent cries.
The hole entrance wasn't very large. Qin Ming reaching his hand in was a tight fit. He repeatedly slashed with his sword. The section of tree had long been dried out, and after just a few strikes, the hole enlarged.
He quickly took out a beast-hide bag, fitted it over his hand, and began catching the creature directly.
From the dark tree hollow came panicked cries.
Qin Ming thrust his entire arm in, feeling wild thrashing impacts. Fortunately, the beast-hide bag was thick enough; otherwise he would have been bitten.
He grabbed his prey and swiftly pulled it out.
He took a sun stone from his bosom and shone it into the depths of the hole, immediately revealing a look of delight. Inside were wild walnuts, chestnuts, red dates—a cache of dried goods.
These were his primary targets.
The sensation of starvation was very unpleasant. These dried fruits could serve as famine relief, life-saving provisions. They made Qin Ming's clear eyes blaze with fiery light.
He tilted his head to look at the small beast clutched in his hand. Its entire body of fiery red fur, under the sun stone's illumination, was smoother than silk.
It was a red squirrel. Normal individuals didn't exceed one jin, but this one weighed over two jin—clearly mutated.
It was gnawing at the beast-hide bag on Qin Ming's hand, trying desperately to escape but unable to.
Its fiery, crystalline red fur glowed with light, certainly not low in value.
Qin Ming took out an iron wire and deftly bound it, tying it tight, then hung it on the tree.
Next came the joy of harvesting. He scooped handful after handful of various dried fruits from the tree hollow, quickly filling the deflated beast-hide bag until it gradually swelled.
Finally, he estimated the weight—over eight jin.
Nearby, the inverted mutant red squirrel, with its jet-black gemstone-like eyes, stared wide open, squeaking ceaselessly, seemingly in extreme rage.
Qin Ming felt it was cursing at him.
"You're so heavy—how could eight jin-plus of winter stores be enough for you to eat?" He hung it on his hunting fork, holding the sun stone to search nearby.
Every winter, the snow accumulated deeply. Such mutated creatures generally wouldn't bury their food underground, or they themselves wouldn't be able to find it.
Qin Ming indeed discovered a second tree hollow nearby, then a third. Adding the first hole he had found without frost flowers, all of them contained "stored provisions."
He cracked open a handful of wild walnuts, then ate a few chestnuts. They tasted truly delicious. Then he used snow to wash the red dates and ate five in a row, his mouth full of sweetness.
Qin Ming wasn't hungry anymore. His handsome face wore a happy smile. These dried fruits were not only delicious but could resolve his current predicament.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and this glowing-furred red squirrel had no fewer than four nests, storing over thirty jin of food. Truly worthy of being a mutant creature.
Qin Ming filled a good portion of the beast-hide bag.
"Squeak squeak..." The mutant red squirrel initially struggled violently, crying ceaselessly. When it saw all four nests discovered and emptied, it actually stiffened rigidly, then stopped moving.
Qin Ming was surprised. He shook it. Was it playing dead?
He had heard that such mutant mountain beasts far exceeded their kind in constitution and were extremely clever, but also very stubborn. He hadn't expected it could die from anger.
"Perfect. Little Wenrui said he wanted meat. I can make a pot of meat soup." He murmured to himself, amazed that he could fulfill the child's wish so quickly.
Twin Tree Village—a group of villagers was discussing.
Someone mentioned that Qin Ming had gone fully armed to the wilderness. Judging by his demeanor, it seemed he intended to hunt large beasts!
Lu Ze also received the news, his brow deeply furrowed. How could that kid risk going out alone? Was he going to hunt bears?
...
Qin Ming stood on high ground, discovering he was very close to the mountaintop—the low mountain at the outermost edge of the dense forest.
Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, he found no other squirrel holes.
He reached the summit and looked ahead. The forest stretched as a dark mass, with vast mountain ranges rising, but only some blurry black shadows were visible.
Deep within the mountains, there were actually very bright areas, but they were obscured by the vast night mist, with only a few dim lights rippling through.
Qin Ming knew that place represented the unknown, mystery, danger—not territory he could set foot in.