"It’s a good thing that it’s scorching hot outside; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to withstand this chill. It’s like a huge ice cave in here, freezing to death!" Zhang Chen rubbed his stiff fingers, and the frost on his body began to melt.
"Now I’m even more curious about what kind of treasure is inside this ancient tomb. I’ve been digging for so long, and nothing strange has come out to trouble me. Perhaps there are more bizarre things like the Golden Book down here," Zhang Chen pondered silently.
After warming up on the ground for a cup of tea’s time, Zhang Chen turned his head and continued digging into the earth. But this time, he hadn’t dug for long when suddenly the Luoyang Shovel went ’clang’ with the sound of iron clashing against stone, causing Zhang Chen to pause with wonder: "Steel? Could there actually be steel buried underground?"
Zhang Chen stopped digging with the Luoyang Shovel, using his hands to clear away the dust ahead. Indeed, a corner of steel was revealed.
"How strange, why would there be steel here? Could it be a burial item?"
Curious, Zhang Chen quickly took out a small shovel from his waist and began excavating around the steel. As he continued to dig, the mysterious steel’s full appearance came into view in front of Zhang Chen.
"What is this?" Zhang Chen looked at the one-meter-high iron lump, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "It looks a bit like a tombstone?"
The iron block stood one meter tall and about ten centimeters thick. It had a base below, with mysterious patterns carved in front that Zhang Chen could not understand. It seemed someone was riding a Divine Dragon flying in the sky, and the figure, along with the Divine Dragon, was surrounded by clouds, looking very mysterious. Behind the iron monument were countless mysterious inscriptions, like little tadpoles engraved on it.
"A tombstone made of iron?" Zhang Chen carefully examined the shape of the iron monument, a trace of surprise in his eyes: "I don’t know how many years this iron monument has been buried underground, yet it shows no signs of decay. The place is permafrost, perhaps the Ice Power prevented the iron monument from decaying."
But the monument was covered in dirt, so Zhang Chen couldn’t see the patterns clearly. As dusk gradually fell, the Yang Qi in heaven and earth gradually declined. Zhang Chen didn’t dare to stay longer, so he withdrew for now, planning to come back tomorrow with preparations made for a closer look.
Crawling out of the cave, the sun in the sky was still three Zhang high, and Zhang Chen dared not delay. After checking the traps in the mountain, he managed to catch one rabbit and two pheasants before rushing towards the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Chen headed straight to Wang Wu’s house on his way down the mountain, concerned that if he returned home, his game might be taken by the Fox Spirit. Even if the Fox Spirit couldn’t finish all the game, it could be sold for money. Otherwise, where do you think the deadbeat scholar next door got his study funds?
By the time Zhang Chen returned from the foot of the mountain, the sun had completely set, leaving only the faint glow of the setting sun.
Just then, a donkey cart piled with straw passed by in the distance, driven by two men dressed like old farmers.
"How peculiar, a donkey cart came to the village." Zhang Chen noticed the rather emaciated donkey, surprise in his eyes. In this era, donkey carts weren’t something an ordinary family could afford.
You think donkey carts are common? Actually, even landlords travel by donkey cart; carriages are the toys of the nobility.
"It’s the season for harvesting straw, but I haven’t heard of anyone in the village selling straw," Zhang Chen mused. The donkey cart suddenly stopped, and the old farmer driving it eyed the hare in Zhang Chen’s hand: "Young man, is this hare for sale?"
"For sale! Of course, it’s for sale!" Seeing a business opportunity, Zhang Chen quickly replied.
"How much for the hare?" The old farmer’s gaze fell on the plump hare in Zhang Chen’s hand.
"If you give me six hundred wen, it’s yours," Zhang Chen replied.
The old farmer was straightforward, paid directly, and placed the hare on the cart before slowly driving away with the donkey cart.
Watching the retreating cart, Zhang Chen thought in surprise, "That old farmer looks impoverished, but he unexpectedly has money, buying a six hundred-wen hare just like that."
Since the hare was given to the old farmer, there was no need to visit Wang Wu’s house. Zhang Chen returned home directly, seeing the Fox Spirit sitting idly at the entrance, waiting eagerly in the sunset.
Noticing Zhang Chen, the Fox Spirit perked up, quickly springing to its feet, eagerly watching the game tied on Zhang Chen’s shoulder, especially the sight of the plump pheasant that made the Fox Spirit’s eyes light up.
Seeing the Fox Spirit lying there, Zhang Chen felt irritation, gritting his teeth as he entered the house and hung the pheasant on the wall. It didn’t take long before the Fox Spirit’s Soul Emergence took the pheasant and left.
"She doesn’t even bother pretending now." Watching the pheasant vanish from the wall left Zhang Chen angry, "Just wait. One day, I’ll catch you, and you’ll have to hunt game for me every day."
Zhang Chen washed up and went to sleep with no words exchanged. The next day, Zhang Chen prepared a brush in advance, grabbing his equipment and heading to the mountain.
After checking the traps, Zhang Chen was delighted to find he had caught a swan. The unfortunate swan had fallen from the sky to rest directly into his trap.
Today’s game: one swan, two rabbits, and a little squirrel.
Zhang Chen roasted the swan to eat, then returned to the cave and used a brush to clean the iron monument.
After sweeping all the dust from the iron monument, Zhang Chen studied the patterns and symbols on its sides, lost in thought: "These should be words, but I don’t know what they document. If I can understand their meaning, could I acquire a new skill?"
Looking at the mysterious tadpoles on the stone monument, light sparked in Zhang Chen’s eyes as if he had glimpsed the hope of gaining a new skill.
"It’s a pity I don’t know how to read," Zhang Chen lamented, troubled by the characters on the stone. "It seems I need to attend school to learn how to read."
Learning to read is inevitable; being illiterate, one can’t survive in this world. Awakening his past life memory, Zhang Chen had always struggled with hunger and had no time or opportunity to learn literacy.
"I can first get a rubbing of the writings on the stone monument," Zhang Chen decided after a while, unable to deduce its background, so he resumed digging.
[Experience +19]
[Experience +8]
[Experience +17]
[Experience +50]
[Experience +7]
[Experience +5]
[Experience +49]
...
Time flew by, and another day passed. Zhang Chen glanced at the Golden Finger Interface:
[Name: Zhang Chen]
[Skill (Tier 2): Light of the True God (0/5000)]
[Points: 800]
"It’s only the second day, so it seems accumulating five thousand experience points isn’t too hard. Perhaps I can slow down the digging pace and first find a way to transfer the writings from the stone monument and try decoding them to see if I can acquire a new skill," Zhang Chen mused, climbing out of the pit. With the setting sun on the horizon, he brushed off the soil on him and started checking the mountain traps.
The day’s harvest was still good, as Zhang Chen had caught a young wild boar. The piglet wasn’t large, probably just born, making it perfect for roasting.
"This little piglet is just right as a gift for Blacksmith Cui. Piglets are valuable, and once grown, they can be slaughtered for hundreds of pounds of meat, enough to repay past debts." Zhang Chen, carrying the little piglet, headed to Blacksmith Cui’s house.
"The little wild pig is a treasure, especially this one, which seems to be a sow. If managed well, it can breed in the future, potentially allowing for annual feasting on wild boar. Unfortunately, I don’t have extra grain to feed it, so it’ll have to be Blacksmith Cui who benefits." Zhang Chen tied up the little piglet and quickly vanished into the woodland.
PS: Request for some recommendation votes, friends. Hahaha, asking for recommendation votes.