The next day, Bai Yu took Old Mo into the mountains.
After walking several miles along mountain paths, Bai Yu was already panting from exhaustion.
Although his strength had now reached 10, or roughly a hundred jin.
His vital energy and blood were depleted, and his constitution was weak.
In other words, he was a five-second real man.
Fierce, but not enduring.
After resting for quite a while, he rallied his flagging spirits and began preparing to hunt.
The moment he entered the woods, the knowledge in his mind became incomparably clear.
He could effortlessly distinguish the tracks of wild beasts.
He could even infer what kind of animal it was and how many days ago it had passed from the traces of its activity.
Relying on his beginner-level hunter experience, he set several snare traps along the beasts' paths.
As long as a beast triggered one, it would be caught in the noose and unable to escape.
He also set up quite a few stone-slab traps.
When small animals came to eat the bait, they would be crushed beneath the slabs.
Half a day later, Bai Yu took two roasted sweet potatoes from his pocket.
He and Old Mo had one each and slowly ate them.
"Old Mo, in a few more days, we'll be able to eat meat."
He could not help imagining fragrant braised pork.
"Woof woof~"
Old Mo began drooling too.
Over the past few days, both man and dog had gone hungry enough to suffer.
Yet when Bai Yu went up the mountain the next day, the traps had yielded nothing.
On the third day, he caught only a mountain rat, which had already been smashed into rat slices by a stone slab.
Though they got a taste of meat, it was not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
On the fourth day, Bai Yu climbed the mountain once more with unease in his heart.
"Amitabha, Boundless Celestial Worthy, may all the Immortal Emperors bless me with a bountiful harvest this time, amen!"
With Old Mo in tow, he checked the traps one by one.
Finally, at the very last trap, he discovered a wild deer hanging from it.
The deer was about the size of a goat, suspended from a tree by the snare. It looked as though it had only just died.
"Thanks for nature's gift."
Grateful tears flowed from the corner of Bai Yu's mouth.
He practically skipped over, took down the deer, and carried it down the mountain on his back.
"Old Mo, we've got meat to eat."
Bai Yu carefully skinned the deer.
A whole deerskin could sell for over a hundred copper coins in town. Even if he sold it to a peddler who bought hides, it would still fetch sixty or seventy coins.
The antlers could be used as medicine and sold to a physician for around thirty copper coins.
This single deer could bring him nearly a hundred copper coins.
And there were over a hundred jin of meat. If they ate sparingly, it would last them one or two months without any problem.
Bai Yu put away the antlers and hide, then swiftly bled and butchered the deer, hanging much of the meat up to smoke and air-dry.
At noon that day, he cooked a pot of heart-and-lung soup.
Fresh, delicious offal, paired with roasted liver and venison.
Bai Yu and Black Dog ate until their mouths shone with grease, crying out in delight.
"Old Mo, now this is what you call life. Food and drink, and it'd be perfect if there were a pretty little girl too."
"When we make it big someday, I'm definitely finding three or five beauties for an all-night... game of mahjong."
"Mm, and then I'll find you a few little lady—holy shit, you finished the roasted liver!"
"Are you even a dog? Leave some for me!"
Old Mo licked his lips and gave a foolish woofing laugh.
It did not care about beauties or lady dogs.
As long as it followed Bai Yu and could eat its fill every day, it was already completely satisfied.
Bai Yu's anger flared up at once. Right then and there, he drank every drop of the heart-and-lung soup, leaving Old Mo not a single drop.
Full and satisfied, Bai Yu patted his belly and got to his feet.
"Old Mo, stay home and guard the house. I'm going to bring some venison to Uncle Dazhuang and the others."
When Bai Yu arrived at Uncle Dazhuang's house, Uncle Dazhuang was holding a bowl of wild vegetables and coarse rice.
"Changsheng, have you eaten? If not, come have some."
"Uncle Dazhuang, I've eaten. I got a deer today, so I brought you some."
Uncle Dazhuang jumped in fright and stared at Bai Yu in disbelief.
In times like these, meat was not easy to come by.
Ordinary families only saw meat during holidays and festivals. Any cured meat they kept during ordinary days had to be saved for entertaining guests.
Uncle Dazhuang hurriedly waved his hands.
"Changsheng, what are you doing? How can Uncle take your things, especially meat?"
Bai Yu forcibly set down the venison.
"Uncle Dazhuang, I can't finish so much by myself. Besides, I still need to thank you for that bag of rice."
Unable to refuse, Uncle Dazhuang repeatedly praised Bai Yu for being capable.
As Bai Yu turned to leave, he heard Uncle Dazhuang's son Xiaozhuang cheer.
"Great! We get to eat meat! Mom, let's have meat today."
"Eat what? The fat goes for rendering oil, and the lean meat gets salted into cured meat for guests."
"Wife, leave two pieces of the cracklings. The child is growing."
"Dad's right."
"Right about what? Look at Changsheng. How old is he, and he can already go hunting in the mountains."
"Mom's right too."
Outside, Bai Yu smiled knowingly when he heard that.
He then went and delivered a piece of venison to Sister-in-law San's household as well.
Sister-in-law San was equally overjoyed and repeatedly praised Bai Yu for having the makings of a hunter.
The neighboring households, meanwhile, sighed inwardly. When Changsheng had fallen on hard times, why had none of them reached out to help him?
At last, Bai Yu carried a deer leg to Master Meng's home.
Master Meng was both his teacher and the one who had stood up for the Bai family. His favor was the greatest.
Master Meng seemed not to be home at the moment, so Bai Yu simply hung the deer leg at the door and prepared to leave.
The moment he turned around, he saw Master Meng standing not far behind him.
Bai Yu hurriedly bowed in greeting.
"Master Meng, I brought you a deer leg."
Master Meng held a ruler in his hand. Rather than looking at the deer leg, he said with a stern expression.
"You haven't come to study for several days. Have you fallen behind in your lessons? Recite the Thousand Character Classic once."
Master Meng had always been old-fashioned. Whenever he opened his mouth, he asked about lessons first.
If Bai Yu could not recite it, Master Meng's ruler would never show mercy.
"Heaven and earth, dark and yellow; the universe, vast and primeval..."
Bai Yu recited every word without omission, and Master Meng's expression softened considerably.
"Of the three hundred poems, how many can you recite?"
"You give me a tree peach, and I repay you with fine jade..."
Bai Yu recited more than ten poems in succession. Master Meng nodded repeatedly as he listened, the approval in his eyes growing ever stronger.
When Bai Yu finished, a rare smile appeared on his face.
"Not bad, not bad. The child can be taught."
Only then did he accept the deer leg, open the door, and invite Bai Yu inside to sit.
He let out a sigh.
"Ah, you are my finest student. For you to stop studying like this is truly a pity."
Master Meng tapped the table lightly with his fingers and said.
"I know things are not easy for you, but you cannot fall behind in your studies."
"From now on, come to my home for lessons on the first and fifteenth of every month."
The first and fifteenth were when the village school had no classes. Master Meng meant to tutor Bai Yu privately.
Bai Yu had wanted to refuse, but seeing Master Meng's unquestionable expression, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
"Changsheng thanks Master for the grace of teaching."
Master Meng nodded, took two books from a drawer, and handed them to Bai Yu.
"One of these is my handwritten copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals. Take it back and study it. There will be an examination on the first of next month."
"The other is a martial arts manual I obtained by chance. Practice according to it; it can help you protect yourself."
Bai Yu's breathing grew heavy.
The Spring and Autumn Annals was one thing, but the martial arts manual was precisely what he urgently needed.
On its blue cover were written the words: "Five Elements Fist."
Before you continue