The pheasant seemed to be injured; there were bloodstains on its feathers and claws, but it was too dark for people far away to notice.

The pheasant plunged headfirst between Li Xiangdong's feet and then remained motionless.

"That pheasant is so fat! Xiangdong, you're really lucky, you can take it home and have a nice treat!" the gap-toothed boy exclaimed excitedly.

The people in the group were also talking about how lucky Li Xiangdong was. Not only had he found wild giant honeybees, but now even plump pheasants had come knocking on his door.

Someone in the group said, "It seems this young man is truly blessed by the mountain god!"

Upon hearing the words "Mountain God," the crowd fell silent.

Could it be that Li Xiangdong has truly won the favor of the Mountain God, which is why the Mountain God has sent all the good things to him?

They were born in the mountains. They may not believe in other things, but the mountain god holds a very high place in their hearts, just like Mazu does in the hearts of people on the coast.

Some people were initially resentful, thinking, "Why should something from our own mountains be given to an outsider?"

Forget about giving face to Luo Hongkai and Luo Yonggang. This family is weak and alone. Even if they rob Li Xiangdong of his things, what can they do?

But things are different now. Since he is someone the Mountain God values, they can no longer act rashly.

In an instant, everyone's mind went blank, each with their own thoughts.

Although it was dark, Li Xiangdong could see the expressions on their faces clearly.

He glanced back at Bai Yulong, who stood at the end of the line as if nothing had happened, and nodded almost imperceptibly.

It was already 8 p.m. when the group came down the mountain. The sun had long since set, and a long line of torches stretched across the mountainside.

Today, Li Jiabao was forced to stay at home with Liu Jiangsu. Although he was extremely anxious, Li Xiangdong said that if he dared to sneak out, he would never be taken out with him again.

Li Jiabao's eyes darted around, and his sweet words began to coax Liu Jiangsu, attending to his grandmother with great care and trying to persuade her to allow him to go for a walk in the nearby mountains.

Liu Jiangsu watched with a smile as her little grandson fawned over her, accepting it gladly, but she just wouldn't let him go up the mountain to play.

Having no other choice, Li Jiabao followed Luo Hongkai to the stream to catch fish for a while and pick some wild vegetables. After returning, he lay listlessly on the bamboo recliner and closed his eyes to pretend to sleep.

Liu Jiangsu found it amusing and released the doves that Luo Hongkai had caught earlier from the bamboo basket for his little grandson to play with. The doves' legs were tied with ropes, so they could only fly within a two-meter range. Li Jiabao immediately perked up and started catching the doves again.

When Li Xiangdong and the others got home, Li Jiabao was already fast asleep in bed, exhausted.

People carrying pine cone torches and chatting and laughing came to the Luo family's courtyard. Luo Hongkai took out a scale and a long knife and cut two catties of honeycomb for each person.

Once everyone had gone home, the noisy courtyard finally returned to quiet.

Bai Yulong stayed home for dinner. Luo Yonggang stared at the pheasant, whose wounds had been bandaged and who was drinking water, and asked incredulously, "Was this a setup by the two of you?"

"Mmm!"

Bai Yulong and Li Xiangdong were so engrossed in eating that they were exhausted and hungry after a long day.

Luo Yonggang was speechless, looking at Li Xiangdong with accusatory eyes, "Why didn't you tell me? I can catch pheasants too!"

Bai Yulong chuckled, "With your simple mind, you wear your heart on your sleeve. If I asked you to do it, wouldn't you give yourself away?"

When his future brother-in-law and childhood friend teased him, Luo Yonggang chuckled, "That's true."

He was at ease as long as his second nephew was still the closest to him.

Li Jiabao didn't understand why his uncle Yulong had to secretly hunt a pheasant and then pretend that the pheasant had walked right into the trap.

"Uncle Yulong, why don't you just put the pheasant in front of everyone and show off your hunting skills? That would be so impressive!"

Everyone was amused by him.

After finishing their meal, everyone else rushed off to rest, as they had to go to Wild Boar Ridge tomorrow.

Finding a quiet moment when no one else was around, Liu Jiangsu asked Li Xiangdong, "Besides honey, what else did you find at Wild Boar Ridge?"

It was just a bamboo basket of Sichuan fritillary bulbs. People didn't know the value of this herb. Besides, there are still many wild Sichuan fritillary bulbs now, and they are far from being priced at five or eight thousand yuan per kilogram.

It wouldn't be because of the large-scale honey harvest. Wild honey, no matter how valuable, is only worth a thousand or so yuan. It wouldn't be worth Li Xiangdong going to such lengths to bring a wild pheasant to demonstrate a miracle.

That's right, it's a miracle.

Just like when Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, started his uprising by slaying a snake, and when Chen Sheng and Wu Guang overthrew the Qin Dynasty, they wanted people to find a scroll with the words "Chen Sheng is King" written inside the belly of a fish. In all dynasties, people would create miracles before they wanted to do something, in order to prove that they were destined by heaven.

Don't think this is a joke.

As Chinese people, some people may not say they believe in ghosts and gods, but ninety-nine percent of them believe in them deep down.

What kind of effect will Li Xiangdong's actions today, especially his unscathed fall off the cliff and the hundreds of kilograms of wild honeybees, have on the villagers who are already superstitious about the mountain god? It's easy to imagine!

If Li Xiangdong makes any further gains from the mountains in the future, I believe there will be very few people who disagree with him.

Li Xiangdong whispered, "I saw some wood in the pool at the bottom of the cliff, but I'm not sure if it's what I'm thinking of. I need to go down to the bottom of the pool tomorrow to check."

"Is this piece of wood a treasure?"

Li Xiangdong didn't hide it from Liu Jiangsu, "It's a big treasure! But getting it up here will take a lot of effort, and we'll need everyone's help."

Liu Jiangsu nodded knowingly, "Then how will you tell them?"

To be honest, that thing is a great treasure, worth a lot of money. I'm afraid even the mountain god's favor can't control the villagers' greed.

“I said that the wood looked pretty sturdy and I wanted to take it back to build a house.”

"What if someone says they'll cut down new trees for you?"

"The new wood is too damp; it can't be used!"

"What if someone wants to give you the best talent in their family?"

"How could I accept that? Nobody's family is wealthy. I'll just take what the mountain god gives me."

The grandfather and grandson went through the conversation, considering all the possible scenarios, before finally going to sleep.

The next day, Li Xiangdong was still half asleep when Luo Yonggang shook him awake, saying, "Get up and eat!"

After finishing their meal and packing up their tools, the uncle and nephew were about to leave when Liu Jiangsu called out to them, "Wait a minute!!"

Luo Hongkai was now neatly dressed, with a rope tied around his waist, a large, white, bladed machete hanging from the rope, and a British 77 rifle slung over his back.

"You're going too?"

Let's go!

Liu Jiangsu watched the three people gradually leave until their figures disappeared from sight before returning to his house.