As night fell, the quiet was broken. Families were busy going to the hot springs to collect sun stones.
Qin Ming was ready to set off, armed with a hunting fork, a short knife, and a bow and arrows.
He had already eaten the flatbread that Lu Ze sent him but hadn’t mentioned his plans to go out, fearing he’d be talked out of it.
Qin Ming didn’t want to put himself in danger; he planned to head to a relatively safe area and try his luck.
He had thought long and hard and remembered a glimpse of something he saw in the mountains during autumn. Based on the habits of that creature, it should be living nearby.
“I hope it’s still there and can bring me some surprises.”
Outside, it gradually became quiet, and no one was going to collect sun stones anymore.
Qin Ming set off and encountered two villagers on the way. He greeted them with a smile and quickly moved on before they could react.
He passed by the hot spring area and entered the dark world.
The wild environment was harsh. Qin Ming trudged through the snow, with only his chest exposed; most of his body was hidden.
The weather was extremely cold, and the white mist he breathed formed frost on his eyebrows and hair tips.
Even in the early night, the world was dim, and he couldn’t see far.
Holding his hunting fork, Qin Ming struggled to move forward; it was quite difficult.
Finally, after walking about four miles, he was nearing his destination.
Ahead was a dark mass; it was a dense forest. Although he was still some distance away, he could already make out its outline.
Qin Ming’s target was the edge of the forest; he wouldn’t go too deep.
He stepped cautiously into the thick woods. Most of the trees were bare, with snow covering their branches.
Qin Ming paused to carefully recall the path the creature had taken when he first saw it.
He had noticed tree holes in that area, which might be one of its nests.
“It’s larger than its kind; it must have mutated. If I can find its main nest, I should get a good haul.”
After a short rest, Qin Ming continued on.
The forest was dark, and occasionally strange birds would call out, adding to the eerie atmosphere of this desolate place.
Suddenly, Qin Ming tensed up. He caught a faint whiff of something rotten, which felt very wrong.
He held his hunting fork tightly and scanned the surroundings, ready for anything.
In an instant, he thrust the sharp fork upwards!
He heard an unusual rush of wind and pinpointed the source of the smell. At the same time, he looked up to see what it was.
A dark figure hung upside down from a branch about ten meters high, sporting a pale, old man’s face, diving down fiercely towards Qin Ming’s head.
In this lifeless forest, such a scene was truly terrifying.
Fortunately, Qin Ming was quick to react. Sensing something was off, he swiftly aimed his fork at the creature in mid-air.
A sharp scream echoed through the woods, sending chills down his spine. The creature didn’t dive straight down but glided to the side when it was still a few meters away.
With a gust of cold wind, it spread its powerful wings and soared into the night sky, circling briefly before disappearing.
Though he hadn’t seen it clearly, Qin Ming was sure of what it was.
A human-faced vulture, a scavenging bird of prey with a gray-black body. Its face, except for the beak, looked just like a wrinkled old man’s, and it usually weighed no more than forty pounds.
Normally, it wouldn’t attack living adults, only feeding on corpses. Was it acting strangely because prey was hard to find?
Qin Ming remained cautious, waiting a long time without seeing it again.
He was close to his destination and couldn’t give up now. After a brief rest, he set off again.
“This should be the place.”
This area was mainly made up of camphor pines, broadleaf trees, and white birches. Qin Ming confirmed he hadn’t made a mistake when he spotted the tree hole he had seen before.
Although it was dark in the forest, he could clearly see that the edge of the tree hole was clean, which was not a good sign.
If that creature was hiding in the hole, the moisture from its breath would definitely have formed some frost at the entrance in this cold.
It was impossible not to feel 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 firmly held the hunting fork in his right hand and gripped the short knife in his left, always ready to defend himself. After all, no one could predict the dangers of the wild.
Qin Ming moved slowly, searching without making much noise.
After about fifteen minutes, he spotted some animal tracks in the snow and felt a surge of hope!
Suddenly, a burst of bright light shot up from the mountains ahead, illuminating the forest in an instant.
Qin Ming was startled and quickly became alert, using the opportunity to carefully scan the surroundings for any lurking large beasts.
At the same time, he quickly looked around for any suspicious tree holes.
Before long, the bright light faded, and the world returned to darkness.
That was the “earth light” that sometimes emerged from deep within the ground at the hot springs.
It was more common during warmer weather, especially in summer, when the earth light could last for a day or two, affecting the weather and possibly bringing rain clouds.
During that time, the heavy rain mixed with mist made the world particularly beautiful.
For those living in a place without daylight, it was the most stunning sight.
As the forest returned to its dark state, Qin Ming couldn’t help but smile brightly. He had just discovered another tree hole, which was covered in frost.
He moved slowly through the snow, making slight sounds that were masked by the rising cold wind.
He tiptoed to a tree as thick as a barrel, looking up at the tree hole that was quite high off the ground. He raised his hunting fork, getting close.
Qin Ming put down the fork and suddenly leaped out of the snow, grabbing the tree trunk and climbing up quickly and skillfully, reaching the tree hole in no time.
He swung his short knife at the entrance of the hole, making a dull thud.
At the same moment, a creature that was about to rush out quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the blade.
Qin Ming hadn’t expected to actually corner this creature inside the tree hole, which was a pleasant surprise.
In his mind, if he could find its main nest and take all its food, it would be a success with a good reward.
Sounds of movement came from inside the tree hole, accompanied by hurried cries.
The entrance wasn’t very large, and it was a bit hard for Qin Ming to reach inside. He swung his knife a few times, and since the tree was already dry, the hole quickly got bigger.
He quickly pulled out a beast skin bag, slipped it over his hand, and began to catch the creature.
From the dark tree hole came frantic cries.
Qin Ming thrust his whole arm in and felt something bumping around. Luckily, the beast skin bag was thick enough; otherwise, he would have been bitten.
He quickly grabbed the creature and pulled it out.
Taking a sun stone from his pocket, he shone it into the hole and instantly felt joy. Inside were wild walnuts, chestnuts, red dates, and plenty of dried goods.
These were his main targets.
Being hungry was no fun, and these dried fruits could fill him up, a lifesaver that made Qin Ming’s clear eyes sparkle with excitement.
He turned his head to look at the small beast he had caught. Its bright red fur shone under the light of the sun stone, smoother than silk.
This was a red squirrel; normal ones weighed no more than a pound, but this one was over two pounds, clearly mutated.
It was gnawing at the beast skin bag on Qin Ming’s hand, trying to escape but unable to.
Its shiny red fur was glowing, definitely valuable.
Qin Ming took out a piece of iron wire and quickly tied it up, securing it before hanging it on a tree.
Next came the joy of harvest. He pulled out all kinds of dried fruits from the tree hole, quickly filling the once-flat beast skin bag.
In the end, he weighed it and found it was over eight pounds.
Beside him, the mutated red squirrel, hanging upside down, had its black gemstone-like eyes wide open, chattering angrily, seemingly furious.
Qin Ming felt like it was scolding him.
“You’re so heavy; how can over eight pounds of winter food be enough for you?” Qin Ming hung it on his hunting fork and searched nearby with the sun stone.
Every winter, the snow piled up thickly, and these mutated creatures usually didn’t bury their food underground; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to find it themselves.
Sure enough, Qin Ming discovered a second tree hole nearby, then a third, along with the first one he found that didn’t have frost. All of them had “food supplies.”
He cracked open a pile of wild walnuts and ate a handful of chestnuts, savoring the taste. Then he washed some red dates in the snow and ate five in a row, their sweetness filling his mouth.
Qin Ming was no longer hungry, and his delicate face was filled with a happy smile. These dried fruits were delicious and solved his immediate problems.
A clever rabbit has three burrows, and this glowing red squirrel had four nests, storing over thirty pounds of food—truly a mutated creature.
Qin Ming filled more than half of the beast skin bag.
At first, the mutated red squirrel struggled violently, its cries continuous. But when it saw that all four of its nests had been found and emptied, it suddenly froze in place and stopped moving.
Qin Ming was surprised and shook it. Was it playing dead?
He had heard that these mutated mountain beasts were much stronger than their kind and very clever, but also had a fierce temper. He hadn’t expected it to be so angry it could faint.
“Perfect! Xiao Wenrui said he wanted to eat meat; I can make a pot of soup.” He murmured to himself, realizing he could quickly fulfill that child’s wish.
In Shuangshu Village, some villagers were discussing.
Someone mentioned that Qin Ming was fully armed and had gone into the wild. With his demeanor, it felt like he was going to hunt large beasts!
Lu Ze also got the news and frowned deeply. How could that kid venture out alone? He wouldn’t be hunting bears, would he?
...
Qin Ming stood on a high ground and noticed he was very close to the mountain peak. This was the low mountain at the outer edge of the dense forest.
Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, he hadn’t found any more squirrel holes.
He reached the mountain top and looked ahead. The forest was a dark mass, and the towering mountains loomed, but he could only see vague shadows.
Deep in the mountains, there was actually a very bright area, but it was shrouded in thick night mist, with only a little hazy light seeping through.
Qin Ming knew that place meant the unknown, the mysterious, and the dangerous—territory he shouldn’t tread.