On November 14th, Yin Jin'an gave Ma Chenyang another three days off.

"From now on, you'll have three days off every month on the 14th, 15th, and 16th, and your wages will remain the same," Yin Jin'an told Ma Chenyang. "Shut up if you shouldn't ask questions."

Ma Chenyang nodded with a grin: "Okay, thank you, young master."

Three days off a month, and full pay—where else can you find such a great employer?

Early on the morning of the fifteenth, the two packed their bags and folded and tied up a quilt, which Yin Jin'an carried on his back.

He put on a mask, draped a thick cloak over himself, locked the door, and rode off on horseback.

He had Jiutian sit on his chest, using his cloak to cover her face, and the uncle and niece left Longmen Town.

These past two days, Yin Jin'an wore a mask and rode out for a stroll. He found the Qishan Mountain God Temple and decided to spend the full moon night with Jiutian in the temple.

The mountain god temple was dilapidated and could not be compared with the Gokoku-ji Temple in Kyoto.

The temple houses three statues: the mountain god of Qishan in the center, flanked by the earth god and the ox king god. It is about the size of three rooms, built of stone, and is a single-eaved hip-roofed building.

The room hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and there were no offerings in front of the statues; the altar was covered with a thick layer of dust.

The temple was spacious, with thick straw laid along the walls, and some cooking utensils and several pieces of cured pork hanging on the walls.

Yin Jin'an had secretly hidden an iron pot, a wood-chopping knife, a water-filled ladle, and a tinderbox behind the statue.

The two rode away from Longmen Town and went to the county seat first.

In Longmen Town, some people might know Jiutian, but in Yongle County, where there's a high turnover of people, nobody knows anyone else.

Wearing a mask is a bit strange, but some wandering knights just like to wear masks, and no one can stop them.

Yin Jin'an bought a bow, a quiver of arrows, steamed buns, cooked food, soaked broad beans, and some seasonings.

"Second Uncle, what are you buying seasonings for?"

"I'll cook you a few of my specialty dishes."

"My second uncle can cook?"

"Just cook it however you like, as long as it's cooked through, you can eat it however you like."

"whee."

By the time we entered the mountain god temple, it was nearly noon.

Yin Jin'an tied the horse to a tree at the temple entrance and cut several large bundles of dry grass and weeds, enough for the horse to eat for two days.

Then they set up a stone stove in front of the temple and boiled water.

The two had already had a hearty meal in the county town, so they weren't actually that hungry.

Yin Jin'an took a bow and arrow, circled around, and shot down two pheasants.

He took it to the stream, quickly killed and washed it, and finding plucking the feathers too troublesome, simply peeled off the skin as well.

"Jiutian, are you going mushroom picking with your second uncle?"

"There are mushrooms?"

Yes, I just saw it.

What child doesn't love picking mushrooms?

Jiutian originally stayed at Fanghu Mountain, meditating and studying the art of divination all day long. Her senior brothers were all old and rarely came back, so she didn't have much time to play.

Yin Jin'an said, "Your second uncle is the ancestor of all playboys. He's not good at anything else, but he's an expert at eating, drinking and having fun."

Could such a task in the wild be difficult for him?

Two children, one big and one small, were using ladles and sticks to rummage through the pine needles at the base of the spruce trees, searching for mushrooms.

Yin Jin'an suddenly spotted several milky white and pale yellow things. "Found them! Yellow mushrooms!"

"Nine Heavens, there!"

The two strode over and carefully parted the humus-covered leaves. Wow, there were not only many mushrooms, but they were also fleshy and large.

After carefully clearing away the withered grass and decaying leaves, I discovered a huge patch of mushrooms. The roots of the spruce and juniper trees intertwined, making the mushrooms look like a sky full of stars.

Qishan is full of weeds and wild trees, and farmers who are struggling financially often go up the mountain to look for mushrooms. They never expected to find such a large number of mushrooms that had escaped their catch.

These large yellow mushrooms are very precious these days. Locals who find them are reluctant to eat them themselves and want to sell them to wealthy people or restaurants.

There must be at least several hundred of them in this large area.

The two of them quickly gathered a large ladle.

Yin Jin'an washed the yellow mushrooms, sliced ​​them, blanched them in boiling water, and set them aside.

Slice fresh green bell peppers diagonally and slice garlic cloves.

Slice the garlic cloves, sauté the dried chili pepper segments in oil until fragrant, add a few scallion segments, stir-fry, then add the yellow mushrooms and stir-fry for two minutes. Add the chopped fresh green chili peppers, add salt, and stir-fry for two minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped green onions, stir-fry the yellow mushrooms, and serve!

It has a rich aroma and a crisp, smooth texture. The presentation is especially appealing, with red dried Qin peppers, bright green Qin peppers, and yellow and white mushroom slices that make it very appetizing.

The aroma is irresistible, the flavor is pure and fresh!

Jiutian drooled and hissed, then said with a grin, "Second Uncle, I want to eat, I want to eat."

The steamed buns were already toasted and fragrant over the fire. The two of them ate stir-fried mushrooms from the pot, and Jiutian kept praising his second uncle.

"Second Uncle, your cooking is delicious."

"You should cherish this, I don't usually cook, and I don't cook for others either."

Jiutian nodded in agreement. "That's right, Second Uncle used to be stupid...not very smart!"

Yin Jin'an chopped one of the two pheasants into small pieces and stir-fried it in a pot with dried chili peppers until it became dried meat bits.

"If I have an attack and you're hungry, just grab some meat pieces to eat. It's dry-fried meat, it's okay if it gets cold, it won't give you diarrhea."

The weather wasn't very good today. It was overcast in the morning, and the sun didn't come out until noon. Yin Jin'an's head didn't hurt as much.

"Don't be afraid at night. Although I'm not fully conscious, I'm still warm. Just snuggle in my arms to keep warm."

Jiutian nodded and said, "I'm not afraid."

With hands clasped together, I pray to the heavens and the earth, that the moon may never come out.

Yin Jin'an rubbed her head.

If she hadn't repeatedly demonstrated her exceptional acting skills, he wouldn't have felt comfortable taking her to the deep mountains and forests.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!