4: Going up the mountain to search for medicine

Time passed by in seconds and minutes.

Lu Chuan was hacking away at the thorny vines blocking his path, while carefully avoiding the dangling branches.

Venomous snakes, skilled hunters, loved to disguise themselves as part of the vegetation.

Once careless prey approached, they would suddenly deliver their poisonous kiss.

But the dangers in the mountains were not limited to these insidious cold-blooded animals.

Poisonous bees, mosquitoes, leeches, and rodents carrying a large number of pathogens were also dangers that needed serious attention.

Even a casual bite from these inconspicuous insects and animals could be very unpleasant.

As for medium to small-sized animals like wild boars, monkeys, and bobcats, it was best to actively avoid their territories.

The dangers in the mountains often revealed their true face in an instant, without warning.

Lu Chuan's clothes were soaked, but he dared not breathe loudly, and his eyes showed a look of horror.

Nothing else, just a pile of animal droppings the size of a human head to his front left.

The droppings were incredibly foul-smelling, with undigested hair and bone fragments visible.

Not an omnivore!!!

And judging from the scale of the droppings, the animal's size had already reached that of a large carnivorous animal!!!

At the first sight of the droppings, Lu Chuan's pupils constricted.

When did such a robust carnivorous animal appear on Yinhua Mountain!!!

At this point, Lu Chuan had completely lost the desire to explore further.

If he couldn't find suitable medicinal herbs, he wouldn't be able to make the perfect stinky tofu brine, at most, the stinky tofu stall mission would fail.

He still had over twenty days to slowly struggle.

But if he ventured further into the territory of that unknown fierce beast, he could start thinking about his last words.

Die sooner or die later, Lu Chuan wasn't stupid, he understood the situation clearly.

Careful.

Light footsteps.

Don't breathe too loudly.

Lu Chuan retreated step by step, constantly praying for something.

Hoo, hoo, hoo... Because of the tension, his breathing became heavier and heavier.

Lu Chuan knew this was wrong; it could attract animals with keen hearing.

But he was just a teenage country boy, not an experienced veteran of the battlefield, completely unable to control his human instincts.

After retreating another dozen steps, Lu Chuan couldn't hold back anymore.

Because faintly, besides his own heavy breathing, he also heard a surging sound in the distance, like a tractor starting, rapidly approaching him.

Run!!!!

Lu Chuan's face was ashen, and he had no time to worry about anything else.

He turned and rushed back the way he came.

Immediately, he startled countless birds and insects.

Branches wildly lashed at his face, leaving streaks of red marks.

Closer, closer, that breathing sound was getting closer!!!!

Lu Chuan's scalp tingled, and he even felt a puff of hot breath on his back.

!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!DANGER!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lu Chuan's face was ferocious, almost without thinking, he suddenly lunged to one side.

Tear!!!!

The sound of tearing clothes rang in his ears.

Then came a burning pain from his back.

Injured?!

Lu Chuan's first thought wasn't about infection from the injury.

It was about being screwed.

The smell of blood would further stimulate the beast's hunting desire.

Sure enough, the beast hidden in the darkness behind him, its eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and it slowly padded out from the shadows.

The twilight glow fell, making its silver-white fur appear incredibly majestic, like a free king of the mountain forest.

Roar----

Even the powerful engine sound of the most expensive sports car could not compare to this beast's roar.

Lu Chuan's legs went soft, and he almost fell to the ground.

Facing that Silver Beast, he clutched the machete in his hand.

He was scared to death now.

But also incredibly angry.

A surge of fury burned in his heart.

Angry at the embarrassment of this journey!!!

Angry at the many misfortunes of this life!!!!

Angry at this damned unfair fate!!!!!

Lu Chuan faced the beast, no longer thinking of running away.

If he had to die, he would die with dignity.

As Lu Chuan was highly tense and fully focused on facing the Silver Beast.

He didn't notice that the system's light screen was constantly flashing dangerous red light, and lines of dark text were continuously appearing and disappearing.

Slap—

The Silver Beast's front paw, as thick as a washbasin, struck the ground, leaving a horrifying claw print.

It tilted its head, looking at Lu Chuan in front of it with confusion.

As if it didn't understand why such a weak life dared to bare its fangs and resist in front of it, instead of obediently giving up resistance and letting it seize its flesh and blood.

Never mind, just a pre-meal entertainment.

The Silver Beast shook its head, snorted, stopped thinking, and with a crouch, it was about to pounce forward.

Lu Chuan saw the beast's intention, immediately let out a furious roar, and was about to swing his machete forward.

And the frequency of the system's light screen flashing red and displaying text also reached a peak.

Just then, a sudden clap of thunder appeared in the distant sky.

The Silver Beast suddenly paused, then looked up in the direction of the sound, and a look of anger and anxiety actually appeared on its face.

That's right, Lu Chuan really saw "anger and anxiety" clearly on the face of a fierce beast.

Before Lu Chuan could think further, the Silver Beast let out a furious roar, and then truly like a gust of wind, it sprinted into the distance, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"Hoo hoo hoo hoo..."

Having narrowly escaped death, Lu Chuan collapsed to the ground.

Large beads of sweat rolled down his face, followed by a burst of frantic laughter.

"Hahahahahahahahaha ah hahahahaha..."

The surrounding area was still fraught with danger.

But Lu Chuan was no longer in the mood to care about these things; he just wanted to laugh wildly to vent the emotions in his heart.

After an unknown amount of time, the laughter grew softer and softer until it completely disappeared.

Lu Chuan stood up from the ground, slowly straightening his body.

The childishness had faded from his face, which had returned to calm, as if it were no different from before he entered the mountain.

But having survived a great calamity, how could there truly be no change at all?

Lu Chuan only felt his mind become much clearer.

In the past, he had always lingered in a painful past, unwilling to emerge.

He felt that he was born unlucky, which was why he had successively brought about the deaths of his parents and grandmother, and he himself became increasingly reclusive and introverted.

Even when faced with the helping hands of his neighbors, he chose to evade, unwilling to accept help from others.

Even when he unexpectedly received the system, it was hard to say how much of his excitement was genuine.

Perhaps, it was more of a neurotic carnival, but after the carnival came the emptiness of burnt-out embers.

Even if he truly earned a large amount of money through setting up a stall in the future, he actually didn't know what he would use it for.

Enjoy the rest of his life?

Perhaps it was more likely that he would live like a walking corpse, in the shadow of the past, aimlessly.

But through this life-and-death crisis, Lu Chuan only felt his body and mind suddenly become clear.

The confusion and emptiness that constantly lingered in his body and mind, and the painful memories of constantly missing his family, had completely dissipated without a trace.

Lu Chuan looked through the tree canopy at the afterglow in the sky, like a fiery sunset.

From now on, I only want to live for myself.

Life is long, and I want to live it wonderfully enough.