3: Chapter 3 Hunting in the Mountains

In the scorching heat of midsummer, the Qinling Mountains rose and fell in a continuous chain.

Layer upon layer, they reached straight into the sky, stretching eight hundred li across the land like a slithering snake.

Ye Jing held his bow and arrows, with his old dog Hei Feng following closely behind him.

It had been several years since he last entered the deep mountains.

The familiar mountain paths were now blocked by weeds and shrubs; Ye Jing could only raise his hunting knife to hack away the overgrowth obstructing his way.

Since absorbing the Immortal Light of the Immortal Willow, Ye Jing's body seemed to have become sturdier. His originally hunched back had straightened, and his vision had become clearer.

He walked steadily, without the staggering gait of previous days.

Hei Feng suddenly stopped, pawing at the ground as if he had discovered something.

He used to follow Ye Jing into the mountains to hunt and often led Ye Jing to find plenty of prey in these forests. Even though he was old now, Hei Feng still possessed a superior sense of smell.

Ye Jing gripped the bow and arrow in his hand, slowed his pace, and moved toward a thicket less than twenty steps ahead.

Inside the thicket, a plump Wild Rabbit could be vaguely seen gnawing on grass roots. Its round body filled Ye Jing's heart with joy.

He held his breath and concentrated. The moment the rabbit turned around, he flicked his wrist, and the arrow flew out, hitting the rabbit's hind leg squarely.

The rabbit, in pain, tried to hop away and escape.

Hei Feng immediately pounced like a bolt of black lightning, firmly biting its neck.

"Good boy, Hei Feng."

Ye Jing stepped forward and picked up the Wild Rabbit, which weighed at least three or four catties.

This rabbit was fat, but unfortunately, Wild Rabbits were very common animals in the Qinling Mountains. Even with the skin and meat, it could only be sold for about three hundred wen.

One tael of silver was a thousand wen. Compared to the Tax Silver of nearly thirty taels, it still seemed a long way off.

But it was better than being empty-handed. Ye Jing stuffed the rabbit into the leather bag on his back.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling very tired; yet being able to walk this far was something he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.

Hei Feng didn't seem satisfied yet. He wagged his tail and led the way, his nose continuing to sniff the ground.

Ye Jing knew that Hei Feng had found something else.

A figure suddenly darted through the forest.

Ye Jing's eyes immediately lit up.

A small Red Fox stopped in the woods, its tail swaying back and forth, less than ten meters away from Ye Jing.

A fox!

Ye Jing was overjoyed. Fox fur was extremely valuable; even damaged pelts could sell for several hundred wen on the market.

If he could catch it, it would be a great harvest.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately nocked an arrow and fired, but the fox was agile and managed to narrowly avoid it every time.

Now, his eyesight and strength were not what they used to be, and he couldn't keep up at all.

Seeing that the fox was about to escape, Ye Jing was afraid the prize would slip away. He took Hei Feng and gave his all to catch it!

The man and dog gave chase until the afternoon, as the light in the forest began to dim.

In the end, he watched as the Red Fox darted into the dense forest and vanished without a trace.

Hei Feng also let out a few unwilling low growls.

Ye Jing was panting heavily, his strength exhausted.

"Damn it!"

He raised his hand and pounded his stiff legs, the physical fatigue unable to suppress the frustration in his heart.

After all, he was old!

Filled with helplessness and resentment, he wanted to become younger and stronger even more!

Suddenly!

Hei Feng barked urgently, looking toward the forest.

Ye Jing followed the sound and saw two Pheasants with mottled plumage fluttering their wings as they foraged. Their glossy feathers shimmered in the light and shadow.

"Shh." Ye Jing roused his spirits, lightly patted Hei Feng's neck, and his hand holding the bow became as steady as a rock.

If he couldn't catch a fox, he could still take a shot at some Pheasants!

He put down the bow and arrow, switched to a slingshot, picked up a round stone from the ground, and squinted to aim.

The stone whistled through the air and accurately hit the wing of one of the Pheasants.

The Pheasant let out a shrill cry and tumbled down.

The other one tried to escape, but Hei Feng had already circled behind a tree. He leaped suddenly and pinned its wings down with his front paws.

Ye Jing stepped forward quickly and reached out to capture both Pheasants.

Looking at the sky, more than half of the sun had already sunk in the west, and a chill was beginning to rise in the mountains.

Ye Jing squinted; it seemed it was getting late and time to head back, or his Family would worry.

At the foot of the mountain.

Wu Guilan was squatting by the stove cooking dinner, the coarse rice porridge in the pot bubbling away.

"Father! Time to eat! Father?" Wu Guilan called into the house several times. Her two children, Ye Tianhao and Ye Tianyao, came out, but Ye Jing was nowhere to be seen.

The two children, clutching their bowls and chopsticks, also asked worriedly, "Why isn't Grandpa back yet?"

Wu Guilan also felt that something was wrong and hurried out of the house to look for him.

Usually, Ye Jing would go to the old willow tree at the east end of the village to rest, but Wu Guiyun didn't find him there.

Now that it was almost dark, there was still no sign of Ye Jing.

"He couldn't have fallen in the mountains, could he? The old man was coughing so hard a few days ago he couldn't even straighten his back!"

The more Wu Guilan thought about it, the more scared she became. She hurried to the village entrance to call for help.

"Sister Wu, don't worry, we'll help you look!" Several villagers heard and followed Wu Guilan to search.

Wu Guilan's eyes were red with anxiety as she followed behind at a trot, constantly muttering, "If something happens to Father... what will we do!"

Just as everyone reached the foot of the Qinling Mountains, they saw Ye Jing leading Hei Feng, leisurely walking out of the forest.

He was wearing hunting gear, his hunched back seemed a bit straighter, and he was carrying a bulging leather bag.

"Father!" Wu Guilan cried out in surprise and hurried forward. Upon seeing the leather bag on Ye Jing's back, her eyes widened, and she was speechless for a long time.

The surrounding villagers were also stunned, each one staring at the leather bag on Ye Jing's back.

The Pheasant feathers peeking out from the tied opening of the bag, combined with Ye Jing's appearance as a hunter with a bow and arrows, made everyone's heads buzz.

This eighty-year-old Old Man Ye had actually gone up the mountain to hunt alone and even caught prey?!

This, this...

"Is—is this Old Man Ye?"

"At his age, he actually went into the mountains alone and could carry a bow to hunt?"

The villagers' doubts and exclamations mixed together.

Some people couldn't help but want to touch the leather bag, but were pulled back by those next to them.

No one could believe that this old man, who usually needed a cane to walk, could actually brave the Qinling Mountains alone and return with prey.

Ye Jing felt gratified seeing everyone's surprised expressions. He smiled, put the leather bag on the ground, and gave it a deliberate pat.

A slight fluttering sound came from the bag, a sound loud enough to drown out the chatter.

"What's the panic? These old bones of mine are still sturdy!"

The villagers marveled. Wu Guilan hurriedly helped Ye Jing with the prey, although it weighed less than ten kilograms.

But for an eighty-year-old man like Ye Jing, it was not light. She couldn't imagine how her father-in-law had caught these animals alone and carried them down the mountain with the dog.

With so many eyes watching, Ye Jing dealt with them simply, saying he had just gone into the mountains to try his luck and that the prey was caught by the old dog Hei Feng.

Since Hei Feng was a hunting dog, tall and fast, it was normal for him to catch a Pheasant.

But this was enough to make the villagers envious, all saying that Ye Jing had struck it lucky!

After Ye Jing and Wu Guilan walked home.

As soon as Ye Jing entered, he immediately closed the front door.

Wu Guilan put down the leather bag and, with Ye Jing's consent, untied it.

Once untied, two colorful Pheasants and a Wild Rabbit with a bleeding leg immediately appeared.

Seeing so much prey, Wu Guilan's eyes instantly widened.

The two children, Ye Tianhao and Ye Tianyao, also cried out, "What pretty chickens! And a rabbit!"

"Father! This... you couldn't have hunted all this yourself, could you?!" Wu Guiyun was beyond shocked.

Ye Jing nodded calmly, acknowledging it.

He took out his old tobacco pipe and lit it. "Gui Yun, go slaughter a Pheasant to nourish Xianglan's body."

Liu Xianglan, who was nursing the baby, quickly spoke up: "Father! No... no need. You worked so hard to get this prey. These Pheasants and the rabbit are worth a tael of silver; they should be used to help with the Tax Silver!"

As the second daughter-in-law, Liu Xianglan was somewhat petite, virtuous, and gentle. However, because she hadn't had any meat for a long time, her originally clear face was sallow and thin, looking quite malnourished.

She had just given birth a day ago; this definitely wouldn't do.

Ye Jing said decisively, "Xianglan, don't worry about the Family's Tax Silver. Just focus on your recovery! Besides, the grandson was just born; how can you manage without milk!"

Since having the Hongmeng Immortal Clan Willow, Ye Jing understood the importance of Immortal Light and naturally paid more attention to the Family's development.

In the future, only as the Family becomes more prosperous can the Immortal Light increase.