Nongmen Shenjue

The two of them didn't go to the hot spring immediately. According to the plan, they went to the surrounding mountains today.

After the housekeeper introduced Zhuangzi, he called Shi Dahu to give instructions before leaving.

Wen Jixue checked the bow and arrow, tried the strength, and thought it was okay.He is a martial arts practitioner, with profound internal strength and great strength. Ordinary bows and arrows cannot bear his strength.The two bows that Jin Lilin sent were different, probably because they were very careful considering their respective strengths.

Mu Qingyan tried to draw the bow, but to his frustration, he had strength but not enough strength to draw the bowstring completely.People who don't know how to draw a bow and shoot arrows always feel that the bow is competing with themselves.

"Give it to Gao Tian." Mu Qingyan felt that he should have self-knowledge, so he didn't have to fantasize about taking action himself.

Wen Jixue looked at what he was wearing, and then at the packed luggage: "Have you brought everything?"

"Ah."

The baggage mainly contains a pack of dry food, a small hanging pot, a pot of water, a pack of mixed seasoning, salt, flint, dagger, etc. In addition, Shi Dahu is a guide, with an ax pinned to his waist and a homemade leather bag tied Little bits and pieces.If you did not run far, or went well, you will naturally return to Zhuangzi at night. If you run too far and it is not convenient to return, you will spend the night in the mountains.Shi Dahu said that there are caves in the mountains. If you are lucky, you can meet the hunter's hut and light a fire. Their respective big woolen clothes or cloaks can be used as quilts.

Gao Chun and Gao Dong stayed in Zhuangzi, Gao Tian was with them, plus Shi Dahu, a total of four people.

Shi Dahu led the way.

The snow in the forest is not thick, but it is enough to cover the insteps, and there is no sign of melting.This is beneficial to them. If the snow melts, not only will the road be difficult to walk, but the temperature will also be lower.

"What kind of animals are there around here?" Wen Jixue asked.

Shi Dahu said: "The pheasants and hares are the most common. Foxes, robes, and wild boars are also common. This side is a bit shallower. If you go through our village and go deep into the mountains, there are many big guys, tigers, wild boars, and badgers. , and bears."

Shi Dahu has a strong figure and is a bit simple-minded. Because of his ancestral skills, he himself likes hunting. When this topic is mentioned, he can't stop the car: "Young masters, you can go around now. If you can't find good prey You can go to our village. There are also hot springs there, and there are hot spring villages, and there are many people who go hunting. The young masters of the Qi family in the county often go there. A few days ago, I saw the Qi family convoy passing by the road , the first one is the eldest son of the Qi family, that arrow is very good, and he never goes empty-handed every time he goes back."

"Qi's family?" Hearing "Qi's family" again, Mu Qingyan asked one more question: "Did the Qi's family just build a Zhuangzi, or did they buy medicinal materials from the top of the mountain?"

On the way here, the housekeeper introduced that the Qi family has hills on the outskirts.

Shi Dahu said: "The Qi family has a big business. Not far from Wu Ye's village, there is a hot spring village of the Qi family. The hills over there belong to the Qi family. There are two mountains in the south of our village, which are also the Qi family's. Yes, we also built a hot spring village, and also planted medicinal materials. The medicinal materials over there are more valuable, and the guards are usually very strict, and the villagers are absolutely not allowed to step in. Moreover, the people of the Qi family are very domineering. Last time, a villager chased a hare. I didn’t pay attention and ran into the mountains of Qi’s family for a while, but not only got my bones broken, but also said that the villagers stepped on the ginseng seedlings and asked the villagers to pay 50 taels of silver.”

Mu Qingyan frowned, the Qi family that Shi Dahu said was completely different from the Qi family that Jin Lilin said.

Jin Lilin said that the hilltop of the Qi family was suspected to have been set on fire, but he thought it was a mountain fire and never reported it to the authorities.It seems that the Qi family is very trouble-free, and they don't want to cause trouble in everything, and would rather suffer a loss for themselves.

As for what Shi Dahu said, it is not ruled out that the servants of the Qi family are domineering and extorting, but it is also likely to be the attitude of the Qi family.In order to protect precious medicinal materials, it is understandable to kill chickens and monkeys as a deterrent.

The reason why Mu Qingyan cared about it was because Liu Huan was buying goods at Qi's house and had a constant dispute with a Fang Xuhai.

Ever since he speculated about Liu Huan's smuggling, he had thought about it, if Liu Huan was smuggling, where would the source of the goods come from?To be prudent, he definitely needs a stable and secret supply channel.After all, Hexian County is a big county of medicinal materials. Even if it produces jade, wouldn't it be easy to see through the purchase of jade by a medicinal material dealer like Liu Huan? He certainly wouldn't be so stupid.

It's a bit far-fetched to say that it has something to do with the Qi family.

There are many mountains in the Qi family, and there are also a lot of medicinal materials planted. Where can I have the financial resources and energy to do other things?They can make a lot of money just by relying on medicinal materials.

Just as he was distracted, Wen Jixue reached out and pressed his shoulder.

Taking a closer look, a gray-haired hare appeared on the snow not far ahead.The rabbit looked plump, looked around vigilantly, pawed in the snow with its paws, and then looked around, as if it was sure that there was no danger, then lowered its head and gnawed on the snow-covered grass.

There are hot springs in this area, and there is heat overflow from the ground, so some green grass vegetation will sprout, and hares love to eat these fresh and tender grasses.

Wen Jixue shot an arrow with a bow, and the arrow flew out with a whistling sound, piercing the rabbit's head and staring straight at the ground.

Good start!

Immediately afterwards, two more pheasants and two rabbits were harvested. Because I wanted to hunt for other things, I didn't care about the pheasants and rabbits.

Wen Jixue suddenly asked Shi Dahu: "Are there any deer?"

Shi Dahu was slightly stunned, and nodded: "Yes, there are, but there is no such area on the other side of the deep mountain. The young master also knows that the mountains here have been turned into medicine fields, and to prevent wild animals from destroying, set up There are many traps. In addition, there are many Zhuangzi, many people, and the wild animals are also smart, so they are not willing to come here."

"Winter is suitable for eating venison, do you want to try it?" Wen Jixue asked Mu Qingyan.

"It depends on your ability." Anyway, he didn't do it, not even mentioning the prey, he just came here to play.I have eaten venison, but it is artificially raised, and I have never eaten wild ones.

Unknowingly, the sky gradually darkened.

In winter, the days are short and the nights are long, so they simply ate dry food at noon, took clean snow water and boiled it in a small hanging pot, and each drank some.In the afternoon, they searched for suitable prey in the mountains until they realized that there was not enough sunlight. Under the reminder of Shi Dahu, the group began to look for a suitable place to stay overnight.

There was no hunter's lodge nearby, but they found a cave.

This cave is about Zhang Fangyuan, and the entrance of the cave is very large. If a person is inside the cave, he can basically see everything from the outside of the cave. What's worse is that the entrance of the cave is facing the wind.All in all, this cave is not suitable for overnight stay, especially on such a cold winter night.However, they had no other better choice but to add a storm door to the hole.

I cut down the pine branches, pressed them together tightly, and stuck them at the opening of the hole, leaving only a gap for ventilation.

A fire pond was dug out in the cave, a small hanging pot was set up, and a pot of boiling water was first boiled.Move the pot away, and roast the prepared rabbit and pheasant on the fire. They have seasonings. Although they are not brushed with oil, the seasonings are sprinkled, and the taste is very tender and delicious.

Mu Qingyan remembered that the last time he ate wild game in Jinhe Mansion, because there was no seasoning, neither of them was full.

Mu Qingyan ate half a rabbit and drank some hot water, feeling full and comfortable.

"Sleep when you're tired." Wen Jixue also finished dinner.

The bed for sleeping has been made, and it is also made of pine branches, which are soft and soft. It has been laid in several layers, mainly to isolate the cold air from the ground.Wen Jixue spread the cloak on it, and asked Mu Qingyan to take off the cloak and cover it on his body.

Mu Qingyan simply wiped his hands and face, sat on the pine bed and tried it, but it was still annoying, but when he was away from home, he was not particular about food and lodging, which was already good.The space is also limited, he and Wen Jixue sleep on the left side of the fire, Gao Tian and Shi Dahu are on the right.

He lay down first, fearing that there would not be enough room, so he chose to lie on his side.

Immediately afterwards, the pine bed sank, and Wen Jixue slept beside her.

"If it's cold, tell me." The two were very close, and Wen Jixue's voice was filled with heat.

The size of the cloak was limited, and the two of them had to stick close to each other to be barely covered by the cloak. Wen Jixue stretched out to hug him, her slender big hands wrapped around his hands, warm and dry, very comfortable.

I didn't think it at first, but now I was eroded by the warm heat, I couldn't help but hi, and fell asleep.

Listening to the steady and slow breathing around her, Wen Jixue secretly regretted that she shouldn't have brought two people who were an eyesore.With the light of the fire, he stared greedily and scorchingly at the person close at hand, but no matter how many impulses he had, he could only suppress him, and he could only hug him tightly in his arms.

At dawn, the four of them woke up one after another.

The first thing I did when I woke up was to get out of the cave and move my body. I slept on a pine bed all night, and my body was stiff.Mu Qingyan didn't feel cold, and had to say the benefits of Wen Jixue, his whole body was like a stove.

According to Shi Dahu, the dry food for breakfast can reach their village before noon.

Wen Jixue simply put away his bow and arrows, and just focused on his journey, obviously the small prey here made him feel boring.Mu Qingyan didn't care about the hunting results, they were not walking very fast, enough for him to enjoy the scenery while walking.Although the scenery is nothing special, it is full of trees, white snow, and small animals that occasionally come out to look for food, but the silence and emptiness in the mountains and forests seem to be able to purify the soul, let people break free from impetuousness, and have a pure heart.

Shi Dahu suddenly shouted: "You can't go ahead, let's go around by the path on the right. Going forward, we will pass the mountain top of the Qi family. It's better for us not to cause trouble."

Naturally, Mu Qingyan and the others had no objection.

After walking for another half an hour, I finally saw the village, Shan'ao Village.

"Is that the Zhuangzi of the Qi family?" Mu Qingyan asked, pointing to the half-hidden house in the mountains in the distance.

Shi Dahu nodded: "That's right, that's the Zhuangzi of the Qi family. Don't look at it as if it's not far away, but if you want to go from the village, you have to take a detour. There is no way to go directly. There is a river across there."

"Every time the Qi family comes in and out, do you take the fork in front of you?" Mu Qingyan remembered that there was a fork in the road when he came.

"Yes, the Qi family built the road over there, so it's convenient for driving."

Maybe it's a psychological effect, but looking at that Zhuangzi again, it reveals a sense of mystery.