13: Heading to Black Mountain Town

He was positioned slightly to the side and rear; the moment the wild boar charged past him,

the Qi Ming Pulse Gate within him flashed with light, and a surge of power far exceeding that of an ordinary person instantly flooded his entire body!

He kicked off the ground forcefully, his body lunging forward as he thrust the sharpened hardwood spear in his hand deep into the wound on the wild boar's injured left hind leg!

"Squelch!"

"Awooo—!!!"

The wild boar let out a pained howl, its massive momentum abruptly cut short by the blow, and its colossal body crashed onto its side!

The intense pain drove it completely mad as it struggled to scramble back up.

"Now's our chance! Charge!"

Li Shouxin roared, letting fly another arrow that struck the wild boar squarely in its lethal neck!

Li Dashan, Li Qingshan, and Li Qinglin also seized the opportunity to pounce, raining down blows with their hoes and machetes onto the wild boar's body!

Meanwhile, Li Qingfeng frantically tried to loop a hemp rope around the wild boar's hind leg.

The scene was exceptionally chaotic and bloody.

Finally, under their collective assault, the wild boar collapsed in a pool of blood, devoid of life.

Everyone slumped to the ground in exhaustion, gasping for breath, their bodies covered in mud and bloodstains.

Li Qinghe also leaned against a tree, pretending to be drained of strength.

"Good lad!"

Leaning on his hunting fork, Li Shouxin walked over to Li Qinghe and patted his shoulder, his eyes filled with praise and amazement.

"That strike just now was fast, precise, and ruthless! Stronger than I was back in the day! You're a natural-born hunter!"

Li Dashan also looked over, panting heavily:

"Qinghe... you... well done!"

His eldest brother, Li Qingshan, wiped the blood from his face and nodded at Li Qinghe, his gaze full of approval.

His second brother, Li Qinglin, lunged forward and threw an arm around his neck:

"Fourth Brother! Awesome! That spear thrust was so satisfying!"

His third brother, Li Qingfeng, also approached with a face full of admiration.

The harvest was immense; the wild boar was dragged back to the village by everyone, where it was slaughtered and its meat distributed.

Li Shouxin took the best leg and the tusks, while Li Dashan's family received large portions of ribs, the head, offal, and the intact boar hide.

That evening, the long-absent aroma of stewed meat wafted through the Li family's small courtyard. Under the oil lamp, the family sat together, their faces glistening and brimming with satisfied smiles.

A few days later, Li Qinghe followed his master, Li Shouxin, into the mountains to practice tracking skills.

In a shaded and damp mountain hollow, Li Qinghe habitually activated the Water Mirror Technique to scan his surroundings and train his Spiritual Perception.

As the pale blue ripples of the water mirror swept over an unremarkable patch of humus where several strange little flowers grew,

an extremely dense and gentle milky-white spiritual light suddenly reflected from the depths of the mirror!

His heart skipped a beat! Suppressing his excitement, he pretended to casually brush aside the thick layer of fallen leaves and humus.

A plant with an ancient form, a tight Rhizome, and thick, long roots appeared before his eyes!

"Master! Come quickly and look! Does this... does this look like that... Wild Mountain Ginseng you mentioned?"

Li Shouxin hurried over, leaning on his staff. With just one look, his eyes went wide!

He knelt down, his fingers trembling as he carefully brushed away the soil around the ginseng, meticulously counting the Stem Scars and rings.

"One... two... Good heavens! This... this must be a hundred years old! Look at this Rhizome! Look at these rings! There's no mistake! Qinghe! My good disciple! Is your eye fitted with a Treasure-hunting Compass?!"

Li Shouxin's voice cracked with excitement, and the way he looked at Li Qinghe was as if he were staring at a walking Cornucopia!

A hundred-year-old Wild Mountain Ginseng! This news was like a thunderclap in Li Family Village!

Li Dashan held the wooden box, which was carefully wrapped in red cloth and emitting the scent of earth and medicinal fragrance; his hands were shaking.

This treasure was certainly not something the village could absorb.

A few days later, on the rugged path leading out of the mountains.

Li Dashan carried the wild boar hide and several pieces of high-quality smoked meat, while Li Shouxin leaned on his staff, carrying his hardwood bow and a small bundle of mountain products.

Meanwhile, Li Qinghe walked beside his father, tightly clutching the wooden box containing the hundred-year-old Wild Mountain Ginseng.

"Dad, Grandpa Shouxin, where are we going?"

Li Qinghe asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"To Black Mountain Town!"

Li Shouxin's voice was resonant.

"We'll be there once we cross the next two mountain ridges. That town sits by the Heishui River and is the largest pier for a hundred miles around; merchants traveling from north to south all stop there!"

"Old Zhao's fur shop is quite fair, and there's also the 'Jishi Hall' pharmacy. I hear the manager has a good eye and offers honest prices!"

"Our ginseng and this hide will only fetch a good price if we take them there!"

Black Mountain Town.

Li Qinghe had heard this name mentioned by Traveling Peddlers and by Li Shouxin when he spoke of his experiences outside the mountains; to the mountain folk, it was a prosperous and distant metropolis.

Clutching the wooden box, he felt the gentle Spiritual Qi emanating from the old ginseng—a sensation only he could clearly perceive. He then recalled the previous night when, while his three brothers were asleep, he had quietly used the Water Mirror Technique.

His eldest and second brothers were found to have no Spiritual Roots, but when the pale blue ripples of the water mirror swept over his third brother, Li Qingfeng...

the mirror clearly reflected a "root" phantom that was significantly thinner and shorter than his own, with a much dimmer glow.

Six inches! Profound Rank Upper Grade! Although far inferior to himself, he definitely possessed the qualification to step onto the path of cultivation!

Li Qinghe looked up toward the vast sky faintly visible beyond the mountain ridges.

The Qi Ming Pulse Gate slowly rotated deep within his brow, its cool spiritual power silently nourishing his body.

The mountain path was rugged, like a discarded hemp rope winding through the continuous grayish-brown peaks.

Li Dashan and the others crossed the final steep mountain ridge, and the view suddenly opened up before them.

A wide, turbid river, like a brownish-yellow giant serpent, surged and roared through the valley surrounded by mountains, letting out a muffled rumble.

Along the riverbank, following the terrain, rows of houses were packed closely together at varying heights; most had green tiles and gray walls, though there were also many low adobe houses.

Several crooked streets stretched along the riverbank, where ant-sized figures could be seen moving about.

Near the fishing pier, several Black-awning Boats and slightly larger wooden sailing vessels were moored. The shouts of boatmen and the clatter of cargo being loaded and unloaded drifted over, mingling with the roar of the river to create a noisy and vibrant scene.

This was Black Mountain Town.

It was more than ten times larger than Li Family Village, carrying a coarse, noisy atmosphere of daily life mixed with the smell of river water and sweat.

"We're here! That's the Heishui River; this town depends on it for survival!"

Li Shouxin pointed downward, his voice tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible emotion.

"The pier area is the liveliest; the fur shops and pharmacies are all on those few streets."

Li Qinghe looked around curiously.

The town couldn't be called prosperous—most of the buildings were old, and the streets were narrow and muddy—but there were certainly a lot of people.

Peddlers with shoulder poles, porters with carts, women with baskets, shop assistants in short tunics shouting... a diverse array of people. Compared to the silence of Li Family Village with its few dozen households, this was another world entirely.