Wild Kudzu Root generally grew deep underground. Some roots could grow over ten feet long. Old Kudzu Root usually had many wormholes and easily became hollow inside. Yet this one was exceptionally thick and solid, without a single wormhole to be found.
It had initially been only as thick as a wrist, but the farther down he dug, the larger it became. Now, after digging only over two feet diagonally downward, it was already as thick as Er Gouzi's leg.
The more Wang Hong dug, the more excited he became. His face flushed crimson, and sweat dripped from his chin without him even noticing. Only after digging for two hours did he reveal the Kudzu Root's true form. It was roughly ten feet long from end to end, as thick as Wang Hong's waist at its widest point, and weighed around sixty or seventy pounds.
If he carried this Kudzu Root back, it would at least ensure that the two brothers could safely get through the winter without worrying about starving to death.
Yet Wang Hong tossed the Kudzu Root aside for the moment, his attention wholly fixed on an object in his hand. He had just dug it up beside the Kudzu Root: a fist-sized bead.
The object was smooth as a mirror all over, as though it had been painstakingly polished. Crystal-clear like jade, it gave off an emerald-green glow and was covered in blood-red patterns. Beneath the sunlight, it gleamed dazzlingly.
This thing was extraordinarily hard. Earlier, he had accidentally struck it with his hoe, chipping the hoe's blade, yet the stone had not even a faint white mark on it. It felt smooth and warm in his hand, and merely holding it had dispelled much of his exhaustion.
"This should be some kind of gemstone. It ought to be worth quite a bit of money," Wang Hong muttered. Though he had little knowledge of such things, he had followed his father to the county town before and seen from afar the various gemstones worn by young masters and ladies of wealthy families. None of them had seemed as fine as his own.
Wang Hong pondered how he could sell this gemstone. First, he absolutely had to keep it secret. He could not make a sound about it or let outsiders learn of it. A common man was innocent, but possessing jade made him guilty. These were troubled times, with bandits and thieves often running rampant.
The year before last, Zhang Tiezhu from Erli River Village had found a three-leaf lingzhi on Cangyun Mountain. On the very night the news spread, his entire family was slaughtered. Not one of the six family members survived.
Once he sold the gemstone and had money, he had to buy a few acres of land. As a farmer, one dreamed of owning a patch of land. Only with land did one have the means to live, and only then did one have the foundation to carry on the family line. Perhaps that was what every farmer thought.
"If I had land, I could raise a few chickens too. Every few days, I could eat an egg. Last night's egg-drop porridge was so delicious, but it was gone before I could even taste it properly." Wang Hong swallowed hard.
"And white rice, big steamed white buns, and fatty pork stewed until it fell apart." He could not think about it anymore. If he did, he would drown in his own drool.
As Wang Hong fantasized about his beautiful future life while tidying up the Kudzu Root he had dug out, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of dread. On guard, he surveyed his surroundings.
At the same time, he picked up the stick he had used to clear the way earlier, swiftly sharpened its tip with his hunting knife, then tucked the knife into his waist.
Holding the stick with both hands, his eyes rapidly scanned the area. Suddenly, the grass to his right parted sharply to either side. Before he could see clearly, a black shadow lunged at him.
Wang Hong swiftly turned to the right, aimed the pointed end of the stick at the shadow, and thrust with all his strength. Just as it was about to strike, the shadow actually managed to dodge several inches to the right while charging at high speed. The thrust only hit its left side.
At the same time, a tremendous impact slammed into him, jolting him back several steps and nearly knocking him onto the ground.
Only then did he have time to inspect the thing before him. It was a wolf. Its fur was mottled gray and white, and it appeared to be an old wolf. His strike had hit its left leg, and blood was flowing from the wound.
It bared its fangs, strands of drool hanging from the corners of its mouth. Every hair along its back stood on end, its spine slightly arched as it prepared for another attack.
Wang Hong felt his heart pounding like a drum—thump, thump, thump. His hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. He tightened his grip on the wooden stick.
Fear filled Wang Hong's heart. This wolf was so large that it was no smaller than he was. He sighed inwardly. I'm afraid I won't escape death today.
"Am I, Wang Hong, really going to die here? I'm only twelve years old. What will happen to my little brother if I die? I still want to buy fields and land. The good days haven't even begun. I don't want to die!"
His intense desire to survive forced him to calm down. He carefully weighed both sides' strengths and weaknesses. He was not stronger than the wolf, nor could he match its speed. As for fighting skill, these beasts had survived countless bloody struggles through survival of the fittest. He could not even catch up to one on horseback.
His advantage was that he had a knife and a long stick. The wolf could only hurt him with its claws and teeth, and its teeth were the greatest threat.
Wang Hong quickly formed a plan. He would first fight it with the long stick and avoid close combat as much as possible. That way, he would have the advantage of distance.
If it got close, he would mainly protect his vital points. Since he could not match its speed, he would simply use the knife and trade wound for wound. It would come down to who could hold on longer before dying.
When faced with a life-or-death crisis, a person's thoughts became unusually quick. It took him only an instant to think through all this.
"You beast! Today, we'll see whether you eat me, or I eat you! Come on!" Having made up his mind, Wang Hong hardened his heart and shouted at the wolf.
"Come on!"
"Come bite me!"
He first feinted a thrust at the wolf. Seeing this, the wolf pounced head-on. Wang Hong still stabbed straight at its chest, but unfortunately, the stick was too blunt. It only pierced some skin before sliding off to the side. The wolf lunged in and took a small bite from his leg, though he also left a bloody gash across its chest and belly, further stirring its ferocity. Wang Hong hurriedly retreated two steps.
The wolf lunged at him from the side again, aiming for his leg. As Wang Hong backed away, he raised the stick and chopped down diagonally with all his strength. The stick struck the wolf's back, and with a crack, it snapped in two.
The wolf had already bared its fangs again and lunged for his abdomen. If it bit him there, would he not be disemboweled? While retreating, Wang Hong used the remaining half of the stick in his left hand to shield his abdomen and drew his knife with his right.
The wolf bit down on his left arm. Wang Hong ignored the pain in his arm, raised the knife, and brought it down in a single slash, striking the spot below the wolf's ear near its neck. Blood sprayed out. He had heard old hunters say that a strike there could kill either man or beast in one blow. It was indeed true.
The wolf lay on the ground, letting out unwilling whimpers. Wang Hong dropped onto the ground on his backside and gasped for breath. After the fierce battle, his entire body was drained, and he could not muster even a shred of strength.
A sharp pain came from his left arm, while several other places burned fiercely as well. They should have been scratches from the wolf's claws.
"That was close! I nearly died. Luckily, it only bit a chunk of flesh from my left arm."
"Misfortune and fortune truly went hand in hand. I had only just obtained a treasure, and then nearly died."
Having narrowly escaped death, the first thing he thought of was the gemstone. What a miser. He hurriedly pulled the gemstone from his clothes and examined it before finally relaxing.
Looking at the gemstone in his hand, Wang Hong discovered something strange. The blood flowing from his wounds was absorbed the instant it touched the gemstone.
He brought it closer for a careful look and found that all the blood automatically flowed into the red patterns on its surface. He moved it elsewhere, and it absorbed the blood flowing out there as well. The gemstone seemed to shine more brightly than before, and it had grown slightly warm.
The sight left Wang Hong utterly astonished. He had never heard of a gemstone that could drink blood. After hesitating for a moment, he pressed the gemstone directly against the wound on his left arm. The blood at the wound swiftly surged toward the gemstone, faster and faster, until the gemstone became scorching hot.
Just as he was about to pull it away from the wound, a flash of seven-colored radiance appeared, and it burrowed into the wound and vanished. Then he felt a stream of heat travel up his arm, past his shoulder and neck, and rush straight toward his head. It was too fast.
Wang Hong could only panic helplessly. He wanted to stop it, but there was nothing he could do. Then the stream of heat surged into his brain. With a boom inside his head, his entire consciousness plunged into darkness.
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