New Skill

New Skill

In the blink of an eye, another six days passed.

During that time, Li Yuan "took two days off" to explore the depths of the Third Mountain Layer of Little Ink Mountain.

His exploration range had expanded from half a day's journey to a day and a half's journey.

Though he moved slowly to keep from getting lost, he had still greatly expanded the area he explored.

This expedition left him unable to suppress a sigh.

People really needed to get out and see more.

If you never went out, how would you know that there was actually nothing interesting in faraway places?

After trekking through these deep mountains and old forests, Li Yuan suddenly felt that living in seclusion was especially pointless.

What could you do in a barren mountain with no lights, no electricity, no phones or internet, where you worried about your next meal after finishing the last, and even had to wipe yourself with leaves after using the latrine? Make babies every day?

What was there to do in the mountains? Brew wine from pine blossoms and make tea with spring water. But you still had to buy yeast and tea leaves, and you still had to eat.

Besides that, the mountains were full of wild beasts and venomous insects. Sister Yan definitely would not be able to handle them. And if he went out exploring, he could not exactly keep Sister Yan hanging off him like a little accessory, could he?

The Peach Blossom Spring said, "They claimed that their ancestors had fled the chaos of the Qin era, leading their wives, children, and fellow townspeople into this isolated place, never to emerge again. Thus, they were cut off from the outside world."

That did not mean taking only one's wife. It meant bringing along the townspeople—in other words, everyone from the county.

That was practically moving the entire County Son into the mountains.

That would certainly be nice.

But for that kind of mass relocation, at least two conditions had to be met, right?

First, you had to possess great prestige and considerable influence in the County Son.

Second, the vast majority of the people in the County Son had to share your views and willingly choose to withdraw from the world.

But he met neither condition.

Li Yuan sighed silently to himself.

The idea was good, but reality was cruel.

For the time being, his thoughts of "living in seclusion" faded.

Still, he decided to continue surveying Little Ink Mountain.

Knowing the terrain meant leaving himself a way out.

If the Red Lotus Bandits broke into the county, he would at least have somewhere to flee with Sister Yan.

Besides, if he could figure out which villages, towns, or county seats Little Ink Mountain connected to, he could make further plans.

If that place was peaceful, he and Sister Yan could move there as refugees.

However,

if Shanbao County stabilized, he still intended to return.

When the time came, he would put a few injuries on himself, roll around in the mud a few times, starve for three days and nights, then claim he had gotten lost in the mountains and only returned today after narrowly escaping death.

After that, he would nurse his wounds, save money, find someone to pull strings, and move somewhere near Silver Creek with good public security. Then he could calmly hunt, make money, and see whether he could obtain any new cultivation methods.

At that moment, Li Yuan was holding Yan Niangzi in his arms.

After making love, the young couple both felt somewhat troubled.

Li Yuan told Yan Yu about his plans.

Yan Yu did not know what to say either. After a long while, she spoke with a hint of sadness. "Yuan Ge'er, speaking of escape routes, I do have some new information."

After a brief pause, Yan Yu said, "It seems the government troops defeated the Red Lotus Bandits."

"So quickly?" Li Yuan froze for a moment, then asked, "Where did you hear that?"

"The County Soldiers have broken camp. There are the original County Soldiers, as well as the soldiers forcibly conscripted this time.

With such a big commotion, word spread through the county long ago.

Aunt Wang originally thought her man would not have to go to war, but he still has to go.

I even tried to reassure her, saying they were pursuing a victory and nothing would happen.

But who knew?

Whether they win or not is not something we can decide. But if Uncle Wang dies, Aunt Wang will fall apart." Yan Yu had been affected by Aunt Wang during the day, which was why she seemed so sorrowful.

"Yuan Ge'er, if they had clearly already won, why was the County Magistrate still sending troops?"

"Precisely because they won, he had to send troops," Li Yuan said. "Whether he gets credit is secondary. If someone impeaches him for being passive in suppressing bandits, the County Magistrate may lose his official hat. If they also impeach him for colluding with bandits, he may lose his head."

"Can it really be that arbitrary?" Yan Yu was stunned.

Li Yuan did not know what this world was like, but thinking of the histories from his previous life, he said, "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Who knows what is really going on? Besides, they always have to kill a few corrupt officials to ease the common people's resentment, right?"

"Ah???" Yan Yu stared blankly. "Isn't that no different from the women in our neighborhood arguing and scheming against one another?"

"The difference is huge. No one dies when you argue. Here... a lot of people will die," Li Yuan said casually.

"Oh," Yan Yu replied softly. She suddenly felt that her husband was so capable. He even understood things like this.

As she thought about matters between officials, a thoughtful look flashed through her eyes. Those lofty affairs had suddenly been dragged down into the dust.

"Oh, right. Since the Red Lotus Bandits have already been defeated... then you should come back," Yan Niangzi added.

Li Yuan said, "Let's wait and see."

As they chatted, Li Yuan looked at the sky.

It was pitch-black, but the bright moon had already passed well beyond its zenith.

"I should go."

"Be careful on the road."

Before dawn, Li Yuan returned to the mountains.

That afternoon, the tiger came again to beg for food.

After being trained for so long, it had become very well-behaved.

Even while Li Yuan was eating, it would not cross the line. It merely lay prone on the ground, licking its lips.

Once Li Yuan threw out food, it would pounce like lightning, then run off into the distance to eat.

Today's food was an entire Roe Deer.

Li Yuan roasted it for a long time. Only when the skin had turned golden and the fragrance of meat spread through the air did he begin dividing it.

He ate one half himself and threw the other half far away to the tiger.

As usual, the tiger sprang out like a whirlwind and caught half the Roe Deer in its jaws.

But unexpectedly, it did not run away today. Instead, it began eating right in front of the boundary.

Clearly, in its mind, Li Yuan was no longer someone who would steal its food or attack it.

Li Yuan froze for a moment, then felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment well up within him.

It was not particularly useful, but at least he had achieved a small goal.

He and the tiger began wolfing down the Roe Deer meat. Though they were separated by a distance, much of their initial hostility had faded.

As Li Yuan ate, he suddenly blinked.

A new line of information had quietly appeared in the "Skill Slot" on the panel before his eyes:

Skill: Novice Beast Taming (1/10)

Li Yuan could hardly believe it. He looked several times before confirming it was real.

Holy shit! Holy shit!

A new skill!!

He had actually stumbled into training a new skill like this!!

This was the true fruit of hard work and sweat.

His daily efforts had not gone to waste.

Heaven rewarded diligence. Even the heavens had acknowledged him.

Li Yuan glanced at his 95 spare points.

"Good, good, good! Strike while the iron is hot and put in a little more effort!"

"Add points!"

He frantically tapped the "+" after "Novice Beast Taming (1/10)" ten times.

Memories of diligent work day and night immediately surged forth.

He had been naturally fond of animals. He regarded animals as friends, and in order to get along better with those friends, he began observing them. He wanted his animal friends to understand his commands and be willing to obey them. To that end, he began extensive practice and real-world training.

At last, he succeeded. He became able to understand what animals were thinking through their subtle movements, allowing him to better make his animal friends obey his commands.

Li Yuan glanced at "Intermediate Beast Taming (1/20)," then looked at his unchanged overall strength. Clearly, this was also a form of "soft power." He continued diligently tapping twenty times.

New memories surged forth once more.

Long-term, intensive training had given him a special ability. Not only could he discern what his animal friends thought through their subtle movements, he could also partially understand their language through the sounds they made.

Moreover, he could make similar sounds himself, allowing the animals to clearly understand what he meant and establish basic, simple communication.

Li Yuan let out a breath and sensed the additional knowledge in his mind, knowledge gained only through repeated practice and painstaking effort.

He looked at the tiger and called out, "Awoo. (Is it good?)"

The tiger abruptly raised its head and stared at Li Yuan for a while. Then it suddenly picked up the roasted Roe Deer and ran off.

Li Yuan shouted, "Roar! (Stop!)"

The tiger stretched its legs and ran even faster.

Li Yuan felt a little upset.

"Then... keep adding points!"