The Counter-Scheme

Before even getting close to Blacksmith Cui's house, the sound of hammering could be heard from afar. Two donkey carts were tied up in front of Blacksmith Cui's gate.

"Huh, Blacksmith Cui has guests?"

Just as Zhang Chen was looking at the donkey carts, the gate of Wang Wu's house suddenly opened. Five people dressed as old farmers came out of Wang Wu's house, carrying straw. Zhang Chen saw the five old farmers, and the old farmers also saw Zhang Chen. Especially one of them, seeing Zhang Chen staring at the donkey carts, slowly put his hand into the straw. However, an older farmer with a face full of wrinkles pressed his arm down and whispered, "Don't be nervous, this is just a hunter from our village. I've seen him before."

Zhang Chen had seen the older farmer before; he was the one who had exchanged prey for five hundred copper coins from him last time.

Zhang Chen's pupils contracted at this scene: "Where did Wang Wu's house get the straw? This is clearly meant to deceive people! What's wrapped inside the straw is probably not weapons. The origins of these people are not simple!"

Especially when Zhang Chen saw one of them putting his hand into the straw, his nerves tightened, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind: Run? If the monk runs, the temple can't run. My little sister is still here! As long as this group of people makes a slight inquiry, they will definitely be able to track down my mother and little sister.

As for the iron knife in his basket, with both sides facing each other at this moment, he was afraid he wouldn't have time to take it out before being chopped into meat paste.

Unless I run out and report to the officials immediately, but Blacksmith Cui in the house will probably not survive and will be silenced. Thousands of thoughts flowed through Zhang Chen's mind. Just as he didn't know what to do, the old farmer-like person's eyes fell on Zhang Chen: "Young man, are you a hunter from the mountains?"

"Yes, I borrowed an iron shovel from Blacksmith Cui a few days ago. I hunted some mountain game to pay off the debt!" Zhang Chen's expression was relaxed, as if he didn't know the danger of the situation at all.

The old farmer's gaze fell on the little piglet in Zhang Chen's hand: "This is a good thing. Do you sell this piglet?"

"Of course I do. If you, old sir, give a reasonable price, you can take this piglet." Zhang Chen shook the muntjac in his hand.

"How much do you want?" The old farmer-like person looked at Zhang Chen with a pair of eyes.

"This piglet, when grown, can produce at least three hundred catties of meat. Is it not expensive for me to ask for three taels of silver?" Zhang Chen said with a smile.

"Not expensive, of course not expensive! I'll take this piglet and the rest of the prey. How about I give you four taels of silver in total?" The old farmer's gaze swept over the muntjac and wild chicken hanging on Zhang Chen's shoulder.

"Uncle, you are generous." Zhang Chen nodded with a smile on his face.

Hearing this, the old farmer took out four taels of silver from his sleeve, counted it, and handed it to Zhang Chen. Then Zhang Chen handed over the muntjac: "Money and goods are settled."

"If you hunt any larger animals like muntjacs in the future, just come here and find Blacksmith Cui. Ask him to accept them for me. I'll take whatever comes." The old farmer looked at the prey with a smile.

It was really not easy to eat meat in this era, especially catching piglets. If they were raised in the future, they could develop into a litter.

The hunters drove the donkey carts slowly away, while Zhang Chen, standing in front of Blacksmith Cui's house, was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat. His eyes watched the carts disappear into the night, and his body trembled uncontrollably: I was only a hair's breadth away from a fatal disaster! I was really only a hair's breadth away from a fatal disaster! I must become stronger and find new skills as soon as possible. I always feel that this small village will be implicated in the future.

I must make gunpowder as soon as possible, otherwise I have no self-preservation ability against these guys. There is absolutely no sense of security in this era. Zhang Chen sighed, strengthening his determination to make gunpowder.

Without the prey, Zhang Chen didn't need to go to Blacksmith Cui's house. Listening to the clanging sound from Blacksmith Cui's house, Zhang Chen knew very well that Blacksmith Cui was already on the pirate ship and had no chance to get off, while he had just come into contact and could completely retreat.

I'll have less contact with Blacksmith Cui in the future. Zhang Chen said to himself.

This time, Zhang Chen returned home empty-handed. Fortunately, he had hunted a lot of prey these days, and the fox spirit next door hadn't run out of food yet, so she wouldn't trouble him for the time being.

At this time, the fox spirit next door was sitting by the window, looking at Zhang Chen who had returned safely. Her big eyes were also full of doubt: Strange! Why didn't this kid bring back any prey today? Did this silly kid learn to hide things? I wonder how far this 'earth rat' has dug, and if he has dug to the entrance of the large tomb.

The fox spirit stared at Zhang Chen, looking at the dusty Zhang Chen, and her heart was also full of doubt.

At this time, after Zhang Chen returned home, boiled water, and washed up, he thought about how to learn characters: There is only one person nearby who can read and write, and that is Zhang Chen's current teacher, who is called 'Five Six Teacher'. According to the rumors in the village, this person is knowledgeable in ancient and modern times and has true knowledge. After Zhang Chen became his disciple, he could decipher various ancient books, which shows that he also has real skills. And since Zhang Chen can become a disciple, I should be fine too!

Countless thoughts flowed through Zhang Chen's mind. He didn't know the process of Zhang Chen becoming a disciple, but since that bookworm Zhang Chen could become a disciple, there was no reason why he couldn't.

Then Zhang Chen began to think about the issue of the apprenticeship fee. He now had five taels of silver in his hand, plus the five taels of silver he had saved before, which was enough to make up ten taels. He would go into the mountains again to hunt some wild chickens and rabbits as an apprenticeship gift, and it should be done by then.

Zhang Chen thought about things, washed up, ate roasted meat, and then lay on the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Zhang Chen went into the mountains to check the traps. To Zhang Chen's surprise, the traps had caught two wild ducks, one wild chicken, and one swan. Looking at the struggling swan in the trap, Zhang Chen was surprised. He didn't expect to be so lucky. He thought that the swan flock in that area hadn't left yet.

Zhang Chen carefully tied up the prey. He didn't dare to go home, fearing that the fox spirit would directly carry the prey away. So he simply took the prey and walked towards Five Six Teacher's house.

Five Six Teacher did not live in the village, but in a thatched hut in the mountains.

Looking from afar, one could see the beautiful scenery of clear springs, waterfalls, and high mountains and flowing water in the mountains. A thatched hut was not far from the waterfall. There were more than a dozen strong men with knives at their waists, busy in the mountain forest, either cooking or drying books.

This was the first time Zhang Chen had visited Five Six Teacher. Looking at the dozen or so strong men with broad shoulders and thick waists and knives at their waists who were dressed as bookboys, Zhang Chen's pupils couldn't help but contract. Especially when he saw the bulging muscles under the men's clothes, he felt even more doubt: Are these bookboys? Is this the style of scholars? No wonder Five Six Teacher dared to build a hut and live in the mountains. It turns out he has guards.

Just as Zhang Chen was slandering in his heart, a man dressed as a bookboy over there had already noticed his tracks and shouted coldly, "Who's there?" As he spoke, he stroked the hilt of the knife at his waist and approached Zhang Chen cautiously. At this time, the surrounding bookboys heard the movement and all stopped what they were doing. Their hands fell on the swords at their waists, and their eyes stared at Zhang Chen like tigers, scaring Zhang Chen into quickly raising the swan in his hand:

"I am a villager from the foot of the mountain, here to seek Five Six Teacher as my master!"

"Apprenticeship?" The man looked Zhang Chen up and down for a while. Seeing his farmer's attire, especially his weather-beaten face which couldn't be faked, he couldn't help but mock, "What a daydreamer. How can a poor boy like you be worthy of becoming our teacher's disciple? Hurry up and leave this place, lest you pollute this clean place."

As he spoke, he drove him away, holding a large knife and hitting Zhang Chen with the back of the blade. Zhang Chen, facing the large number of strong men, did not dare to argue and could only swallow his anger and retreat.

"Stop!"

At this moment, a female voice came from the thatched hut. A girl in white, holding a scripture scroll, walked out of the thatched hut and shouted to stop the situation in the field.

The girl in white was ethereal and seemed to have ascended to immortality. Her features were exquisite and beautiful. Even the natural scenery of the mountains and rivers couldn't help but be overshadowed. When the men saw the girl, they all bowed in unison and dared not act presumptuously. Zhang Chen looked at the girl who was like a fairy descending to the world and couldn't help but be stunned: Could this person be Five Six Teacher?

"This humble one, Zhang Chen, greets Teacher. Please accept me as your disciple and teach me knowledge." Zhang Chen quickly knelt down and offered the pair of swans in his hand.

The girl's eyes swept over Zhang Chen, and then her gaze fell on the pair of swans. A hint of surprise appeared in her eyes: "They are rare items. Even princes and nobles rarely get to taste them. It shows your effort to use this as an apprenticeship gift."

"As long as Teacher likes it." Zhang Chen quickly said.

The girl shook her head: "I am not the teacher. You have come to the wrong person."

Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard this, and his face immediately turned red. He quickly got up from the ground, realizing he had made a mistake: "May I ask for the young lady's name?"

The girl looked at Zhang Chen's embarrassed and blushing face and said with a smile, "My name is Zhu Qingyan, and I am the teacher's disciple. Unfortunately, you have come at the wrong time. The teacher has gone on a long journey and will not be back for at least half a year. Your pair of swans probably won't survive until then. I will buy your swans for fifty taels of silver to taste them, and also to prevent your swans from dying, which would be a pity."

Zhang Chen was disappointed when he heard this, but he also knew that fifty taels of silver was definitely a high price. Although his pair of swans were rare, they couldn't be sold for twenty taels of silver.

"As the young lady says." Zhang Chen quickly said.

The girl was also straightforward. She turned around, went back into the thatched hut, took out fifty taels of silver, and handed it to Zhang Chen. She then instructed the man next to her to take the swans away.

Zhang Chen saw this and took his leave. The girl watched Zhang Chen's retreating figure, shook her head slightly, said nothing more, and turned to walk back into the house.

Zhang Chen walked down the mountain, his brows furrowed: "What should I do? That teacher has gone on a long trip, how can I decipher the text on that stone tablet?"

Thoughts flowed through Zhang Chen's mind, and for a moment, his brow was furrowed with worry. As he was thinking, he suddenly saw a flash of snow-white in the distance among the mountains. The white-furred fox was currently squatting on a small hilltop, looking at him with a playful expression.

Zhang Chen looked at the fox spirit and suddenly had an idea: "I have an idea!"

"The fox spirit often moves things from my house. If I accidentally send the rubbing to the fox spirit, and the fox spirit shows the rubbing to Zhang Chen, and then Zhang Chen reads it to the fox spirit, wouldn't I be able to know the content of the text?" Zhang Chen secretly gave himself a thumbs up in his heart: "I'm really a little genius."

"Of course, there's another problem, and that is that the ancient tomb is very likely to be discovered by the fox spirit." Thoughts flickered in Zhang Chen's mind: "However, there are so many experience points in that ancient tomb, there must be something strange about it. That fox spirit monitors me every day, so I might as well use her to probe the details of the ancient tomb. If there's something strange in the ancient tomb, the fox spirit and the strange thing in the ancient tomb will fight and both will be injured, and I can take the opportunity to pick up the spoils. If there's nothing strange in the ancient tomb, at most I'll just give those treasures to the fox spirit. With the fox spirit staring at me all day, even if I get treasures, I won't be able to keep them. The most important thing for me is to decipher the text on the stone tablet, and perhaps I can get a new skill. When I find a way to restrain the fox spirit, that's the most important thing."

"That's what I'll do!" Zhang Chen made up his mind, then his gaze swept over the bushes. The fox spirit had already disappeared.

"Ink is a rare item, only sold in the city. That fox spirit is always watching me, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to leave the village." Zhang Chen was troubled, but soon he had an idea and his gaze fell on the roe deer next to him: "Perhaps I can use fresh blood to replace the ink."

As for white paper, although precious, it wasn't that precious. Zhang Chen had some at home. The white paper was left by Zhang Chen's cheap old man before, unfortunately...

Zhang Chen returned home and sure enough, he saw the fox spirit squatting in the courtyard looking at him. Zhang Chen ignored the fox spirit and hung the prey directly on the wall. He didn't have to wait long before the pheasant on the wall had disappeared without a trace. Now the fox spirit was acting more and more brazenly, it was already half-hidden and half-open.

Zhang Chen didn't pay attention, he just hid the silver in his chest. Now that he had golden light protecting his body, he wasn't afraid of the fox spirit stealing his silver.

He rummaged through the box under the bed and found the white paper his old man had brought back then. Zhang Chen carefully removed the dust from it, then rolled it up and stuffed it into his basket.

In his memory, his father was a very refined person, always with a gentle smile on his face, but unfortunately, he was short-lived. Not long after coming here, he married that widow and died.

Zhang Chen took the basket and went up the mountain again, then began to check his traps and pick white atractylodes.

To make a rubbing of the inscription, the most important thing was white atractylodes. Crush the white atractylodes into a paste, then apply the juice to the stone tablet before continuing with the rubbing.

However, Zhang Chen searched for half a day and still couldn't find any white atractylodes.

"There's actually no white atractylodes in this mountain." Zhang Chen frowned, not expecting his grand plan for rubbing to be stillborn just as it was beginning.

"Should I just use fresh blood instead?" Zhang Chen thought for a long time but couldn't find a substitute, so he could only set his sights on animal blood.

"I can give it a try." With an idea in mind, Zhang Chen carried the pheasant and his equipment and walked towards the cave.

PS: Do you have recommendation votes, brothers?