Chapter 129 - 120: Day 25 Settlement
The man in official robes began to tell his story.
His was a long story, but it was short to tell.
Years ago, while traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations, he had lost his satchel and fled the mountains in a panic. By chance, he encountered the family of the woman who would become his wife. The following year, with the new emperor holding a special examination and with the help of the Yue Family, he returned to the capital for the exams and finally passed. He languished at court for twenty-two years as a minor official until he backed the wrong faction and was demoted to a post in the Southern Border. It was on his journey there that he had unexpectedly stumbled upon the same tavern from all those years ago.
The man gave Qin Ziwen a deep bow from a distance. "The road ahead is long and arduous. If fate allows, perhaps we will meet again."
After a pause, the man sighed wistfully. "I wonder, does the proprietor still have any of those Dali Garden mini-breads? After I tasted them back then, I searched all over Chang’an Prefecture but could never find that flavor again."
Qin Ziwen went out, got a mini-bread, unwrapped it, and placed it in one of the tavern’s small bowls for him.
The man picked up the small bowl and smiled. "I once told my wife about this, but she thought I was making it up. She said I was just starving back then. Today, I’ll have her try it and see if she still laughs at me."
With that, the man took a gold ingot from his robes and placed it on the table. He bowed to Qin Ziwen from a distance again. "Our paths diverge here. I hope the proprietor takes care."
He then picked up the small bowl, grabbed his satchel, turned, and left.
Qin Ziwen stood behind the counter, watching until the swaying door curtain came to a stop before reaching out to pick up the gleaming gold ingot from the table.
He weighed it lightly in his hand. ’About five taels.’
Like the silver he had obtained before, this was also usable currency.
Qin Ziwen sighed. "If only a few more customers like that would come by."
He waited in the tavern for a while longer, but no other customers arrived. Finally, Qin Ziwen took down the lantern and returned to his bedroom.
[You have successfully survived in the wilderness for 25 days. You obtained a Card, acquired some currency through tavern trades, and hunted a wild boar... Comprehensive Score: 100 points]
[You have received a reward: [Advanced Building Card] Level 1 Martial Arts Arena x1]
Qin Ziwen inspected the reward.
’A Level 1 Martial Arts Arena?’
’Arenas like this were places for training soldiers in ancient times.’
’But if I’m not mistaken, an arena’s footprint definitely won’t be small.’
Sure enough, when he took out the Card and saw the required area, Qin Ziwen’s expression darkened.
30x40.
It required a full 1,200 square meters of space.
Fortunately, although this Martial Arts Arena required a large area, it was considered small compared to others of its kind.
A massive arena capable of training tens of thousands of soldiers would require so much space that he might not be able to clear it even in a month.
He put the Card away and had breakfast.
Qin Ziwen went to the edge of the Fish Pond. After the water in the bucket had been replaced with pond water overnight, the Seven-Star Fish and two loaches had acclimated. He poured them into the pond.
Afterward, he led a group out, but he had Li Tieshan and Zhao Pu stay behind.
Li Tieshan and Zhao Pu each had their own tasks.
This time, Qin Ziwen planned to craft a batch of weapons first.
While they were still in the forest, he wanted to acquire more wood. It wouldn’t be as common once they reached the Gobi Desert.
Li Tieshan’s task was to forge spearheads. The refugees had dug up several large baskets of iron ore over the past two days, which was enough to get started.
Zhao Pu’s task was to acquire wood through their channels, prioritizing woods of suitable thickness like ash, Zhe Wood, oak, and jujube wood.
Later, the group gathered outside the south gate.
Qin Ziwen, Qin Ziwu, Deng Guang, Li Yue, Du Yu, Wang Yun, and Yang Cunshen—seven people in total.
They were still missing one person.
"Coming, coming!" A tall, sturdy boy with slightly loose-looking skin ran over from inside the south gate.
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Wang Yun said to Qin Ziwen, "This is Xiaopang. His real name is Yuan Ming."
"Brother Wang, Captain Qin!" Xiaopang greeted them as he approached.
Qin Ziwen nodded, sizing him up.
This Yuan Ming was tall, nearly 1.9 meters, and wore a black jacket. He had thick eyebrows and a fair complexion with a reddish undertone. His face was flushed from the run, suggesting he was the type who blushes easily.
"Welcome aboard. We’re teammates now." Qin Ziwen extended his right hand.
Yuan Ming quickly extended both hands to shake his. "Brother Wang told me everything. I’m pretty strong, so just leave the manual labor to me from now on!"
[Ordinary Human (Wang Yun): ☆☆]
[Ordinary Human (Yuan Ming): ☆☆☆]
So Yuan Ming also had a Three-Star Physique, the strong type among ordinary people.
Qin Ziwen said, "Alright, let’s talk as we head up the mountain."
On their way up the mountain, Wang Yun said, "I’ve been observing that Giant Toad for the past two days. It basically goes down to the river about once every half a day, eats all the dead mayflies on the surface, and then comes ashore to rest on the bank. I think once all the mayflies in the river are gone, it will probably leave."
"Mmm, this path we’re taking is the one it used to come down the mountain." Qin Ziwen stomped on the ground beneath his feet, paused, and then continued, "And I know where its lair is. Our main objective today is to find a suitable spot for an ambush."
Finally, Qin Ziwen explained the team’s plan for distributing Cards.
After hearing the first proposal, Wang Yun hesitated but ultimately kept his mouth shut.
Qin Ziwen took the initiative. "Dr. Wang, if you have any thoughts, just say them."
Wang Yun looked at Qin Ziwen, thought for a moment, and then said, "Uh, regarding this plan, I think there might be a small issue. If other members of the team have different tasks to perform and can’t participate in acquiring the Cards, won’t that lower their motivation to work?"
Wang Yun quickly added, "Of course, that’s just my humble opinion. My idea might have its own flaws that I just haven’t noticed."
Qin Ziwen nodded. "No, I think you’ve made a very good point."
Previously, after Zhao Pu became the building manager, he hadn’t gone up the mountain for several days.
But in the end, Qin Ziwen still gave him a chance to receive a Card, taking into account that Dr. Zhao, by staying behind in the Gated Community, had also contributed to the team in other ways.
Qin Ziwu suggested, "Then how about a contribution point system?"
After some thought, Wang Yun said, "That should be better, but figuring out how to assess contribution points is also a hassle."
Qin Ziwen nodded. "It’s fine. We can all discuss this again when we get back. We just need to establish a standard that everyone can accept."
As they were talking, Yang Cunshen suddenly spoke up. "How about this spot?"
The others stopped and looked in the direction Yang Cunshen was pointing.
Directly ahead was a sunken pit. The terrain here was the lowest in the vicinity, and right next to it was a cliff overlooking a mountain ravine. The ravine was a good forty to fifty meters deep and quite steep.
The bottom of the pit was filled with plenty of dry grass and withered leaves.
On the slopes of the other three sides, there were some trees and shrubs.
"We can lure it to the bottom of the pit, then throw in incendiaries. That would perfectly create an encirclement. Once it’s at the bottom, it’ll be choked by smoke and scorched by fire. Plus, the ravine is right there. If we can startle it into jumping down on its own, that would be even better."
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