Zhang Chen was deep in thought. After washing up, he ate some roasted meat, then lay on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Zhang Chen went into the mountains to check his traps. To his surprise, the traps had caught two wild ducks, a wild chicken, and a swan. Seeing the struggling swan, Zhang Chen was amazed at his luck, thinking that the nearby swan flock must not have migrated yet.
Zhang Chen carefully tied up his catch. He didn’t dare to return home for fear that the Fox Spirit might take away his prey, so he decided to head straight to Mr. Wuliu’s home with his catch.
Mr. Wuliu did not live in the village; instead, he resided in a grass hut in the mountains.
From a distance, one could see the beauty of clear springs and waterfalls in the mountains. A grass hut was situated near the waterfall, and over a dozen robust guards with knives at their waists were bustling about in the forest, either cooking or drying books.
This was Zhang Chen’s first visit to Mr. Wuliu. Seeing those over a dozen burly book-carriers with knives at their waists, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. Especially noticing the brawn visible under their clothes, he felt a sense of curiosity: "Are these guys book carriers? Is this the grandeur of a scholar? No wonder Mr. Wuliu dares to live in the mountains; turns out he has guards."
While Zhang Chen was inwardly wondering, one of the book-carrier-styled men noticed his presence and shouted coldly: "Who’s there?" At the same time, his hand rested on the hilt of his knife, cautiously approaching Zhang Chen. Hearing the commotion, the other book-carriers also stopped what they were doing, placing their hands on the hilts of their knives, and stared at Zhang Chen with vigilant eyes, startling him into raising the swan in his hands:
"I am a villager from below the mountain, here to seek apprenticeship under Mr. Wuliu!"
"Apprenticeship?" The man sized up Zhang Chen for a moment, seeing his rustic appearance and especially his weather-beaten face, spoke with disdain: "What a foolhardy individual. How can a poor wretch like you be worthy of apprenticing under our master? Leave this place quickly, lest you pollute this tranquility."
As he spoke, he drove Zhang Chen away, smacking him with the flat of his knife. Facing a crowd of burly men, Zhang Chen dared not argue and could only swallow his pride and step back.
"Stop!"
At that moment, a female voice came from within the grass hut. A girl dressed in white, holding a Scripture, walked out and angrily halted the situation.
The girl in white moved gracefully, exuding an ethereal aura, her features exquisitely beautiful, overshadowing even the natural scenery. The burly men, seeing the girl, all saluted in unison, not daring to act out further, while Zhang Chen, looking at the girl like a fairy descending to the human world, was momentarily dazed: "Could this person be Mr. Wuliu?"
"I am Zhang Chen. I have met the master and wish for the master to accept me as an apprentice and impart knowledge to me." Zhang Chen quickly knelt down, offering the pair of swans in his hands.
The girl’s eyes flickered over Zhang Chen before landing on the pair of swans, a trace of astonishment in her gaze: "These are rare indeed. Even nobles seldom have the chance to taste them. You using these as tuition indicates your effort."
"As long as the master likes them, that’s good." Zhang Chen responded quickly.
The girl shook her head: "I am not the master; you have mistaken."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen was taken aback, then turned red with embarrassment, quickly getting up from the ground, realizing his mistake: "May I ask for the young lady’s name?"
The girl, seeing Zhang Chen’s embarrassed and flushed face, smiled and said, "I am Zhu Qingyan, a disciple of the master. Unfortunately, you came at the wrong time. The master is traveling and won’t return for at least half a year. Your pair of swans might not last until then; I’ll give you fifty taels of silver to buy them and try something fresh, to prevent them from dying."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen felt a wave of disappointment, but he knew that fifty taels of silver were an exceedingly high price since his pair of swans, although rare, would not sell for even twenty taels.
"As the young lady says." Zhang Chen agreed quickly.
The girl was straightforward; she turned back into the grass hut and brought out fifty taels of silver, handing it to Zhang Chen, then instructed the nearby man to take the swans away.
Zhang Chen took his leave, and the girl watched his departing figure, gently shaking her head. She said nothing more, turning back into the house.
Zhang Chen descended the mountain, frowning: "What should I do now? The master has gone on a long journey. How can I decipher the characters on the stone tablet?"
Thoughts swirled in Zhang Chen’s mind, and he was troubled. As he pondered, he suddenly saw a flash of white in the mountains from afar, and that white-furred Fox Spirit was perched on a small hill, watching him mischievously.
Seeing the Fox Spirit, Zhang Chen suddenly had an idea: "I have an idea!"
"The Fox Spirit often takes things from my house. If I accidentally hand the rubbings to the Fox Spirit and the Fox Spirit shows them to Zhang Chen, and if Zhang Chen reads them to the Fox Spirit, then I can learn the content too." Zhang Chen silently praised himself: "I’m quite the genius."
"Of course, there’s also the issue that the ancient tomb might get discovered by the Fox Spirit." Zhang Chen’s mind raced with thoughts: "However, the ancient tomb holds much experience to be gained; there must be something unusual. With the Fox Spirit watching me every day, why not use the Fox Spirit to explore the tomb’s secrets? If there’s something strange inside and the Fox Spirit and the strange thing defeat each other, I can take advantage of the situation. If there’s nothing strange, I can always hand over the treasures to the Fox Spirit. With the Fox Spirit constantly watching me, I wouldn’t be able to keep the treasures even if I obtained them. What’s most important to me is decoding the inscriptions on the stone tablet. There’s a chance I might acquire a new Skill afterward, and perhaps find a way to counter the Fox Spirit, which is the most crucial."
"That’s the plan!" Zhang Chen made up his mind, then swept his gaze past the bushes, only to find the Fox Spirit had disappeared.
"Ink is a rare item, only available in the city. With the Fox Spirit watching me at all times, I probably won’t get the chance to leave the village." Zhang Chen found this difficult, but quickly came up with an idea, casting his gaze on a nearby muntjac: "I might be able to use animal blood as a substitute for ink."
As for white paper, although precious, it’s not that rare. Zhang Chen’s family had some, left by his late father, but unfortunately...
Zhang Chen returned home and sure enough, saw the Fox Spirit squatting in the courtyard, watching him. Zhang Chen ignored the Fox Spirit and hung his catch on the wall. He didn’t have to wait long before the wild chicken on the wall vanished without a trace; the Fox Spirit was getting bolder, almost openly taking things.
Zhang Chen didn’t mind, only made sure to hide the silver on his chest. Now that he had Golden Light Body Protection, he wasn’t afraid of the Fox Spirit stealing his silver.
He took out the white paper that his father left from the box under the bed, carefully brushed off the dust, then rolled it up and placed it in his basket.
He remembered his father as a very scholarly person, always with a gentle smile on his face, but unfortunately, he was short-lived. Shortly after coming here, he married a widow and then passed away.
Zhang Chen took his basket and went back up the mountain, beginning to hunt traps and gather Baiji.
To make rubbings of the inscriptions, the most crucial material is Baiji. You must crush Baiji into a paste, then apply the juice to the stone tablet to complete the rubbings.
But after searching for half a day, Zhang Chen couldn’t find any Baiji.
"There’s no Baiji in these mountains." Zhang Chen frowned, not expecting his grand plan for rubbings to be aborted right at the start.
"Maybe I could use blood directly?" After pondering for a long time, Zhang Chen, without finding an alternative, had no choice but to consider using animal blood.
"I could try it." With an idea in mind, Zhang Chen took the wild chicken and his equipment and headed toward the cave.
ps: Do any of you have recommendation votes, brothers?