World Beyond the Village

After Shallow Night arrived, the peace was shattered. Every household was busy heading to Fire Spring to collect Sun Stones.

Qin Ming was ready to set out at any moment. He carried a hunting fork, a short knife, a bow and arrows, fully armed.

He had already eaten the flatbread Lu Ze had sent over, but he had not told him about going out, afraid he would be talked out of it.

Qin Ming had no desire to put himself in danger. He planned to try his luck in a relatively safe area.

He had pondered for a long time and recalled a glimpse he had caught in the mountain forest during autumn. Judging by that creature's habits, it should have been living nearby.

"I hope it's still there and brings me a pleasant surprise."

Outside gradually fell quiet. No one else was going to collect Sun Stones.

Qin Ming set out. Along the way, he ran into two villagers in succession. He smiled and greeted them, then swiftly disappeared before they could react.

He passed the place where Fire Spring was located and entered the pitch-black world.

The wilderness was exceedingly harsh. Qin Ming trudged through the snow, with only the part above his chest exposed; most of his body was completely buried from sight.

The weather was bitterly cold. The white mist from his breath froze into frost on his eyebrows and hair tips.

Even during Shallow Night, the world was dim, and distant scenery could not be seen.

Holding his hunting fork, Qin Ming struggled onward. Every step of the journey was far from easy.

At last, after walking roughly four li, he neared his destination.

Ahead lay a black mass of dense trees. Though there was still some distance between them, their outlines were already visible.

Qin Ming's target was the edge of the mountain forest. He would not venture too deeply inside.

He waded unevenly into the Dense Forest. Aside from a few species, most trees were already bare, their branches laden with snow.

Qin Ming stopped and carefully recalled the movements of the creature he had seen before.

He had once found tree hollows in that area. Perhaps one of them had been its nest.

"It was larger than others of its kind. It was probably mutated. If I can find its main nest, I should gain quite a haul."

After pausing briefly, Qin Ming continued onward.

The forest was pitch-black. Strange Birds occasionally let out abrupt cries, making this uninhabited place especially eerie.

Suddenly, Qin Ming's body tensed. Amid the faint, elusive traces, he caught a light smell of rot. That was highly unusual.

He gripped the hunting fork with both hands, scanning his surroundings as he stood on full alert.

Without warning, he thrust the sharp steel fork in his hand above his head!

He had heard an abnormal rush of wind and identified the source of the smell. At the same time, he looked up and saw what it was.

A Black Shadow hung upside down from a branch more than ten meters overhead. It had the ghastly pale face of an old man and dived toward Qin Ming's head with savage force.

In this lifeless Dense Forest, such a scene suddenly appearing was truly terrifying.

Fortunately, Qin Ming's reactions were sharp. He had noticed something was wrong in advance, and the steel fork in his hand swiftly struck at the creature in midair.

A piercing cry rang through the mountain forest, sending chills down one's spine. The creature did not force its way down; while still several meters away, it glided aside.

The cold wind swept up. It spread its strong, powerful wings and shot into the night sky through gaps in the woods. After circling briefly, it flew away and vanished.

Though he had not seen it very clearly, Qin Ming had still identified it.

A Human-faced Vulture, a carrion-eating bird of prey. It had the gray-black body of an eagle, while its entire face, apart from its beak, was no different from the wrinkled, ghastly pale face of an old man. It generally weighed no more than forty jin.

Under normal circumstances, it would not proactively attack a living adult and would only eat corpses. Was it behaving so abnormally because prey was hard to find at this time?

Qin Ming remained cautiously on guard, but even after waiting a long time, it did not reappear.

His destination was not far away. He could not give up now, so after a brief rest, he set off again.

"It should be here."

This area was mainly filled with Red Pines, broadleaf trees, and white birches. Qin Ming was certain he had found the right place. He spotted the tree hollow he had seen before.

Though the forest was dim, he could still clearly see from several meters away that the edge of the hollow was clean. That was not a good sign.

If that creature had been hibernating inside the hollow, then in such bitter cold, the moisture from its breath would certainly have formed frost around the entrance.

It would have been a lie to say he was not disappointed. Qin Ming frowned slightly. Could that creature simply not have lived in this area?

He took a deep breath and prepared to search the vicinity carefully.

His right hand gripped the hunting fork tightly, while his left held the short knife. He maintained a defensive posture at all times; after all, no one could predict the dangers of the wilderness.

Qin Ming slowly explored and searched without making any noise.

A quarter of an hour later, he spotted traces left by some animal in the snow and immediately felt there was hope!

Suddenly, great swathes of rosy light surged up from the mountains ahead, illuminating the Dense Forest in an instant.

Qin Ming was startled, then became extremely vigilant. Taking advantage of the light, he carefully observed every direction to see whether any large Fierce Beasts were lying in ambush.

At the same time, he swiftly scanned the nearby area for suspicious tree hollows.

Soon, the bright rosy light vanished, and the world returned to ink-black darkness.

It was the "Earth Light" released by Fire Spring deep beneath the earth, which appeared from time to time.

It was generally more common once the weather grew warmer, especially in summer. Sometimes, the Earth Light could rise for one or two days, stirring celestial phenomena and perhaps bringing vast banks of rain clouds.

At such times, dense raindrops accompanied smoky rosy clouds, making the heavens and earth exceptionally brilliant—a magnificent sight to behold.

For people who lived without daylight, that was the most beautiful view in the world.

The Dense Forest returned to darkness, but Qin Ming revealed a dazzling smile from the bottom of his heart, because he had just discovered another tree hollow, its entrance covered in frost flowers.

He slowly shifted his feet through the snow. The faint sounds were concealed by the rising cold wind.

Moving on tiptoe, he came before a tree as thick as a water barrel. Looking at the hollow some distance above the ground, he raised his hunting fork until it barely reached it.

Qin Ming lowered the hunting fork, then suddenly leaped up, bursting out of the snow. He seized the trunk and pulled himself upward with force. Nimble and swift, he arrived directly before the hollow.

The short knife in his right hand flashed out and struck the entrance with a dull thud.

At the same time, a creature that had been about to rush out quickly withdrew, narrowly avoiding the blade.

Qin Ming had not expected that he would truly trap this creature in the tree hollow. It was an unexpected delight.

In his original plan, finding its main nest and taking all its stored food would already have counted as success, and the harvest would have been considerable.

Movement continued inside the tree hollow, accompanied by hurried cries.

The entrance was not large, and it was somewhat difficult for Qin Ming to reach his hand inside. He swung his knife repeatedly. This section of the tree had long since dried out, and after only a few strikes, the hollow became larger.

He quickly took out a beast-hide bag, slipped it over his hand, and began catching the animal directly.

Panicked cries came from the dark tree hollow.

Qin Ming thrust his entire arm inside and felt it being knocked about wildly. Fortunately, the beast-hide bag was thick enough, or he would definitely have been bitten.

He grabbed the prey in one swift motion and yanked it out.

He took a Sun Stone from his clothes and shone it deep into the tree hollow. Joy immediately appeared on his face. Inside were wild walnuts, chestnuts, red dates, and other dried goods, packed to the brim.

These were his main targets.

The feeling of hunger was terrible. These dried fruits were enough to stave off starvation; they were life-saving supplies. A blazing light shone in Qin Ming's clear eyes.

He turned his head to look at the small beast in his grasp. Under the Sun Stone's glow, its flaming-red fur was even smoother than satin.

It was a Red Squirrel. A normal specimen weighed less than one jin, but this one weighed over two jin. It had clearly mutated.

It was gnawing at the beast-hide bag over Qin Ming's hand, trying to escape but unable to do so.

Its crystalline, flaming-red fur glowed, and it was absolutely worth quite a bit.

Qin Ming took out a length of iron wire, deftly tied it up tight, then hung it from the tree.

Next came the joy of harvesting. He scooped out handful after handful of assorted dried fruits from the tree hollow, soon making the shriveled beast-hide bag gradually swell.

In the end, he weighed it. It was more than eight jin.

Beside him, the mutated Red Squirrel hanging upside down stared with round, black-jewel eyes and squeaked endlessly, seeming incomparably furious.

Qin Ming felt that it was cursing him.

"You're so heavy. How could a little over eight jin of winter food possibly be enough for you?" Qin Ming hung it from the hunting fork and searched the surroundings with the Sun Stone in hand.

Every winter, the snow piled up thickly. Under normal circumstances, these mutated creatures would not bury food underground, or they would not be able to find it themselves.

Sure enough, Qin Ming discovered a second tree hollow nearby, then a third. Along with the first hollow he had found—the one without frost flowers—they all contained stored food.

He cracked open a pile of wild walnuts and ate another handful of chestnuts. They were truly fragrant. Then he scrubbed red dates clean with snow and ate five in succession, filling his mouth with sweetness.

Qin Ming was no longer hungry. His delicate face was full of happy smiles. These dried fruits were delicious, and more importantly, they could solve his immediate predicament.

A crafty rabbit had three burrows, yet this Red Squirrel with glowing fur had four nests and had stored over thirty jin of food. It truly deserved to be called a mutated creature.

Qin Ming filled more than half of the beast-hide bag.

"Squeak, squeak..." At first, the mutated Red Squirrel struggled violently and cried without stopping. But when it saw all four nests discovered and emptied, it actually stiffened rigidly, then stopped moving.

Qin Ming was astonished. He shook it. Was it playing dead? He had long heard that these mutated mountain beasts possessed physiques far surpassing their kind and were extremely intelligent, but they also had fierce tempers. He had not expected it could be angered to death outright.

"Perfect. Xiao Wenrui said he wanted meat. I can cook a pot of meat soup." He muttered to himself. He could satisfy that child's wish so soon.

In Double Tree Village, some of the villagers were discussing the matter.

Someone Mentioned that Qin Ming had gone into the wilderness fully armed. From the way he looked, it seemed he was going to hunt a large Fierce Beast!

Lu Ze also received the news. Frowning Deeply, he wondered how that boy could risk going out alone. Could he have gone to hunt a bear?...

Qin Ming stood on high ground and found that the mountaintop was close by. This was a low mountain at the very edge of the Dense Forest.

Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, he found no more squirrel holes.

He reached the mountaintop and looked ahead. The forest stretched out as a black mass, while vast mountains rose in the distance, though only some blurry Black Shadows could be seen.

Deep within the mountains were actually areas of brilliant light, but they were obscured by boundless night mist, with only a faint, hazy glow spilling out.

Qin Ming knew that place represented the unknown, mystery, and danger. It was not a land he could set foot in.