Once the New Year passed, life started to get busy.
The temperature began to rise, the waters of the Xiahe River gradually swelled, and all of life began to stir.
Fang Yue also began to follow Fang Hu into the mountains to hunt.
"When you go hunting in the mountains, the first thing you must learn is how to navigate and how to find supplies."
"The best prey in the mountains are tigers and leopards, because their pelts are valuable, their bones can be used in medicine, and every part of their bodies has a use."
On the way into the mountains, Fang Hu began to teach Fang Yue about the knowledge and skills of hunting.
He also explained the pros and cons of the different types of prey in the forest.
Although there was plenty of docile prey, like deer and wild goats, besides their antlers having some use, the rest was only good for meat.
The meat was also hard to sell. In Da Liushu Village, and even in the surrounding villages, few families were willing to spend money on meat. At most, you could trade it for some grain and vegetables.
It wasn't very profitable.
So, they had to hunt tigers and leopards.
Besides, a full-grown tiger or leopard was large enough that there was more meat than they could eat. The surplus could be eaten themselves, cured, or made into jerky for storage—all good options.
"Mm, I understand," Fang Yue nodded.
His strength had now reached a full fifteen hundred jin, and he used a Seven-Stone Bow. At full draw, he could pierce a thick wooden plank from a hundred meters away.
It was enough to hunt a fierce tiger!
With Fang Hu leading the way, the two of them quickly left the village far behind and entered the vast, boundless mountain forest.
Fang Yue clearly felt something was wrong. A sinister chill suddenly enveloped him. Even with his physique, he couldn't help but shiver.
"When you enter the mountains for the first time, you'll definitely feel something is off. But as long as you don't go too deep and just hunt on the outskirts, it won't be too dangerous. The truly ferocious beasts rarely come to the outer edges of the mountain range."
Fang Hu's voice drifted over, as if he had known all along what Fang Yue was feeling.
"Legend has it that long ago, Demon Fiends ran rampant across the world, feeding on humans. That was the darkest era for the Human Race. Later, the Human Emperor rose, leading the Human Race in a great war against the Demon Fiends. He drove them out, and from then on, the lands belonged to the Human Race, and the mountain forests belonged to the Demon Fiends."
"So, according to legend, we have now entered the territory of the Demon Fiends."
Fang Yue's eyes widened. 'Demon Fiends?'
This was the first time since he had transmigrated that he'd heard a term involving gods, demons, ghosts, and monsters. If anyone else had said it, he would have dismissed it as nonsense.
But the one who said this was Fang Hu. He knew Fang Hu's character; Fang Hu was definitely not the type to be an alarmist or make empty claims.
If he said it, there must be some truth to it.
"Heh, scared you, didn't I?"
Just as Fang Yue was reeling in shock, Fang Hu's voice came again.
Those words suddenly made Fang Yue feel that the normally stern and humorless Fang Hu was actually capable of joking.
"I had the same look on my face the first time I heard it. But in all these years, I've never actually seen any Demon Fiends—just some ferocious wild beasts."
"After all, the legend of the Human Emperor is from tens of thousands of years ago. Who knows if it's true or not."
"However, my master told me that after crossing the line, you must not go more than thirty li further. I'm telling you this now, and you must never break this rule. Everyone who has ever broken it has never been seen again."
Fang Hu's voice was solemn, without a trace of humor.
After speaking, he continued to clear a path ahead.
Following behind him, Fang Yue's mind churned with Fang Hu's words, and he found it impossible to calm down.
'Are there really Demon Fiends in this world?'
'But in his daily life, he'd never seemed to hear any such rumors.'
'Then again, the feeling from just now was exceptionally clear. It was definitely not an illusion.'
'And then there was that giant tiger he'd killed on the way back from the county town last time.'
'If that tiger—which was even bigger than the largest tigers from his previous life—was just a cub, then how massive would an adult giant tiger in this world be?!'
'And the Martial Dao of this world... his current Martial Arts Realm was merely the entry-level stage.'
'He already possessed such strength. How powerful must those Martial Dao experts who had surpassed the Four Martial Arts Gates be?'
'So, this world was probably far from simple.'
"Hunting in the mountains and tracking prey takes a considerable amount of time. At night, we need to find a safe place to rest. On this trip, you need to remember these safe spots clearly. In the future, if you come into the mountains alone, you'll have to be careful."
"Mm, I understand, Master."
Fang Yue nodded and followed him.
Five days later, Fang Yue and Fang Hu finally returned from the mountain forest.
Only after re-entering the area of human settlement did that sinister and unsettling chill gradually disappear.
Although this was Fang Yue's first trip into the mountains, the haul wasn't very good. They only managed to hunt one leopard, two deer, and a few rabbits, and didn't encounter any ferocious beasts like tigers.
Fang Hu gave Fang Yue one of the deer and two rabbits, all of which Fang Yue had killed with his own hands.
***
The days that followed settled into a peaceful routine.
He practiced martial arts and hunted.
He improved his cultivation and his life.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year passed.
The Xiahe River swelled, and fish leaped from the water.
Fang Yue's strength had improved again, his power growing to twenty-three hundred jin.
He was now nearly on par with some Martial Artists of average Talent who had reached Great Success in Skin Polishing.
By this time, his Talent Points had reached four hundred and twenty.
Though his strength had increased, Fang Yue's body hadn't become more muscular. He had only grown a bit taller, and was now even a little taller than Fang Ergou.
In the past half-year, he had followed Fang Hu into the mountains to hunt more than ten times.
His archery skills had also been honed. He had accumulated around thirty wild beast pelts and some tiger and leopard bones that could be used for medicine. It was a bountiful harvest.
One day, the weather was nice.
After finishing his martial arts practice, Fang Yue was fishing by the river.
When he wasn't hunting, he would often fish in his spare time.
"Zhi! Something terrible has happened! Zhi, something terrible has happened!"
As noon approached, a frantic and familiar voice cried out.
Without even looking, Fang Yue knew it was Fang Ergou.
Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw the boy barreling toward him again.
But now, Fang Yue's strength was immense. He simply stuck out a hand and stopped Fang Ergou in his tracks.
His other hand, meanwhile, held the fishing rod steady, without the slightest tremor.
"What's wrong? What happened to make you rush like this?" Fang Yue asked.
"Zhi," Fang Ergou said, panting, "just now... just now a letter came from Xiahe County Town. My dad read it and told me to come get you. He said it's urgent."
"What is it?" Fang Yue asked.
"My dad didn't say. He just told me to get you to come over right away," Fang Ergou said, shaking his head.
Just then, the fishing rod dipped slightly, and Fang Yue flicked his wrist.
Immediately, he pulled up the rod, and a carp about a chi long flew directly into the fish basket beside him.