Qin Mu was certainly not a person who could sit still. Although he preferred to lie down, the bed he was lying on was still rock hard, even though it was padded with thick mattresses. It was better to sit than to lie down.
A surge of restlessness welled up inside him, and for some reason, Zhao Zhongxiang's voice echoed in his mind: "Spring has arrived..." He shook his head to stop his wild thoughts and went out to eat.
In some ways, life is pretty good these days. At least we don't have to worry about food, and we can ask someone to cook for us whenever we're hungry.
Nighttime is more suitable for meditation and cultivation, not only because it is quieter, with birds returning to their nests and no other sounds disturbing the peace except for the chirping of insects, but also because the spiritual energy during the day contains the celestial fire energy of the sun, which one dares not absorb too much of.
After reading by lamplight for half an hour, Qin Mu put away the secret scroll and his precious sword, and went back to bed to continue nourishing his meridians.
"Huai Dao, you're really working hard! You're still practicing your sword at this hour!"
"Don't you have anything to do? Aren't you going to tend to your fishpond?" Hearing the voice behind him, Qin Mu sheathed his sword and turned around.
"Miss Qin, Miss Yanran, you've arrived too." Turning around, he noticed two other people following Qin Yue into the courtyard.
"Brother Qin Mu!"
"Huai Dao!" the two women greeted with smiles.
"We ran into the little girl as soon as we got to the door," Qin Yue explained, explaining why they appeared together.
"I haven't seen you for the past few days, I thought you went home." Qin Mu felt a little uneasy as he watched Xiangli Yanran take out pine nuts from her pocket in her left hand and popcorn in her right.
Fortunately, the little girl didn't seem to mind at all. She pouted and said, "I was thinking of asking my great-grandfather to make you a mechanical doll when he came, but we were short of a piece of wood, so my second uncle and I went to the Taihang Mountains to look for it."
Judging from her expression, she probably hadn't found it yet, but Qin Mu still expressed his gratitude: "You're very kind. You can take your time to do it next time."
"We've already arrived, it took us many days!" the little girl said.
Qin Mu then realized that the reason he wasn't happy was because he was spending too much time on it.
“I already had someone dig a fishpond yesterday. I was just wondering if you could take a look,” Qin Yue said.
“Okay! Let’s go!” Since staying in the villa was boring anyway, it would be good to go out for a walk, so Qin Mu readily agreed.
"I want to go too!" Xiangli Yanran swallowed the popcorn in her mouth and raised her arm.
"Let's go together!" Qin Yue agreed.
They summoned the Fang brothers and ten other guards, and the group rode out of Juyong Pass, heading straight for a village ten miles away.
Mountains are plentiful here, but plains are scarce, and most of the land is mountainous, which is why the three passes have limited food supplies. The villages built against the mountains, and the houses of the villagers, are scattered and arranged in a pleasing, staggered fashion on the hillside.
Unlike another world where houses were built along main roads for travel, nowadays people build their homes near their land for farming. This is especially true in mountainous areas, so it's not unusual to see a family living on a mountaintop.
Although there are many wild animals, this densely populated area has been cleared out many times, and now the only wild animals left are rabbits and the like.
Small mountain villages often have a stream running through them, fed by springs from the mountains. Qin Yueyuan's place is right next to this stream.
After passing through the narrow path in the field, we came to a river beach where a pit about one acre in size had been dug out.
"In the summer, heavy rains here can easily wash away the land, so we don't farm here," Qin Yue said, pointing to the wasteland.
"Since this place will be washed away by heavy rain, why did you build the fishpond here?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"There's no other way, this is the only open space. That's why I asked you to come and solve the problem!" Qin Yue said, pointing.
Looking at the crops that had already borne ears of grain in the distance, Qin Mu nodded in understanding, but Qin Yue had just presented him with another difficult problem.
"You really think I'm an expert?" Qin Mu said, somewhat speechless.
"Hehe! Brother, you're quick-witted, of course I'll ask you for help."
Although Qin Mu said it, he didn't complain in his heart. With Qin Yue and Xiangli Yanran smiling, he began to investigate.
The stream wasn't very wide, only two or three meters across, and the water was crystal clear. It was estimated that the flow would only increase during heavy summer rains. But Qin Yue had someone dig a channel right next to the stream.
"You're really giving me a headache!" After walking around and returning to the group, Qin Mu sighed.
"How is it? Is there any way? If not, we'll have to use the farmland." Qin Yue asked, slightly nervously.
"There is a way, but it would be much more complicated," Qin Mu thought for a moment and said.
"It's alright! A little trouble is fine, as long as it doesn't take up farmland," Qin Yuesong said readily. He was doing this behind his father's back, and taking up farmland put him under a lot of pressure. If he didn't succeed in a short time, the people would probably complain.
“The terrain here is low, so let’s find a way to raise it. Also, let’s dig the stream and build a river embankment.”
“That’s what I thought too. There are a lot of rocks here, so building a simple river embankment shouldn’t be a problem. However, there’s also a problem. You said yourself that we must prevent flooding. What if we don’t do it well? Wouldn’t all our efforts be in vain?” Qin Yue shook his head and said.
Qin Mu understood his concerns. It wasn't that he couldn't afford the losses, but rather that he couldn't afford to fail the first time. Aquaculture is a business that takes a long time to see results, and failure before any returns are seen would undoubtedly damage people's confidence.
"There is a way to prevent this. The water flow in the upper reaches of this stream is much smaller than that in the lower reaches. People should build dams to irrigate their farmland."
"That's right, there are indeed two dams up there, but they're not very big and don't hold much water, so they're not enough for flood control," Qin Yue replied.
“I know! If one dam isn’t enough, we’ll build more. The water from the dam is diverted to the farmland, so there must be irrigation canals. If we deepen and widen the canals, they’ll become a flood discharge channel when floods come. As long as we bypass the fishpond, we’ll be safe,” Qin Mu explained.
"That's right! We just need to go around the fishpond, and it's not far. It won't take too much effort," Qin Yue exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration.
"When you dig a fishpond here, you have to be careful. You must line the whole area with stones, otherwise some fish might break through it and escape through the hole," Qin Mu reminded him.
"Hmm! Did you write it down?" Qin Yue nodded and instructed the guard beside him.
"I understand, I'll arrange for someone to do it right away!" the guard replied, bowing, before turning and running away down the path.
"This is the location we chose yesterday. We just dug it out, and I'm quite confident in it, which is why I asked you, brother, to oversee it," Qin Yue explained.
"Actually, you've done very well; you just lack a little confidence," Qin Mu said with a smile.
“He’s never had any confidence from childhood to adulthood,” Qin Yue said with disdain, giving him a disheartening look.
"hey-hey!"
"Hehe!" In response to Qin Yue's resentful expression, he was met with merciless laughter from the group.
It seems that Qin Yue has been oppressed by Qin Yue for a long time, and he dares not speak out against her.
Having finally managed to get out, the group had no intention of turning back immediately. They first followed the stream for a while, but the country path was too difficult to traverse, and in many places, there wasn't even a proper road. Therefore, they lost interest in continuing.
“How about we go up the mountain and hunt some game for lunch?” Xiangli Yanran suggested.
"There's no prey here, only in those mountains over there," Qin Yue said, shaking his head and pointing to the distant, indistinct mountain peaks.
"Let's go! It doesn't matter if it's a bit far. After the reservoir is built, we'll have to come here to hunt anyway," Qin Yue said, somewhat tempted.
While building the reservoir, Qin Yao was already mobilizing manpower to clear out the wild beasts in the mountains. If you wanted to hunt, you would have to find another place.
The distant mountains were still far away, so the group had to set off on horseback again. As the saying goes, "Looking at the mountain makes the horse run itself to death," and it took them a full half hour to finally stop at the foot of a mountain.
It's not that the mountains are very far away; in fact, they've been quite close for a while. It's just that finding a path up these mountains isn't easy. These mountains basically have no roads, and even if you could walk a certain distance, cliffs and precipices would block your way.
There are many places in the mountains that are bare rocks, places where there is obviously no prey. They look for trails where hunters or herbalists have taken them up the mountain. These trails will have some traces of their activity.
Bu Fang led his men to stay behind to guard the horses and prepare firewood for lunch, while the rest of the group headed up the mountain. This group consisted of strong and healthy men, so climbing the mountain was a piece of cake for them.
People's luck is very strange. Many times, when you want to find something, you can search for a long time and still not find it, but when you don't want to look for it, it may appear in front of you immediately.
Entering the mountains and forests, the trees blocked the sunlight, and the air instantly became fresher, with a faint coolness. Cultivators possess spiritual energy and have a strong resistance to heat and cold, so even though it was summer, the weather didn't affect them. However, the heat in the air was very noticeable and intense, and entering the mountains improved their mood considerably.
This is perhaps the nature of cultivators; while they possess the characteristic of being impervious to heat and cold, their senses are far more acute, capable of discerning all flavors, from the sour to the sweet, the bitter to the spicy, and the fragrant to the foul. There are advantages, but also some drawbacks.
Once inside the forest, the little girl, Xiangli Yanran, became even more active, excitedly walking at the front. However, after walking for a long time without encountering any prey, she slumped down.
"Sister Yue, why don't we just hunt a few birds and take them back?" Xiangli Yanran said, pulling Qin Yue's arm.
"Didn't you just say that birds don't have much meat, not even enough to fill your teeth?" Qin Yue asked, amused.
"How would I know? We've been walking for so long and haven't seen a single big one! Maybe there are too many of us and we scared the prey away," Xiangli Yanran said coquettishly.
"Why don't we split up and look for something? Otherwise, we really won't have anything to eat for lunch," Qin Yue suggested.
“Okay! Let’s have a competition to see who catches the most prey,” Xiangli Yanran replied happily.
"What happens if we lose?" Qin Yue asked.
"The loser will be in charge of grilling meat at noon," Xiangli Yanran suggested.
"Okay!" Qin Yue agreed immediately, not believing that the three of them were better hunters than him.
"No one else is allowed to help," Xiangli Yanran reminded the guards. She then added, "And no one is allowed to join forces either."
"Then I'm doomed to lose!" Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and asked with wide eyes.
As for hunting, he had only experienced it once. Although he had practiced archery, he was clearly far inferior to others.
"Hehe! Brother Qin Mu, you just need to prepare the barbecue." Xiangli Yanran said with a smile.
Although he knew he would lose, Qin Mu did not refuse the match. He smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not certain who will lose. Maybe I'll just be lucky and run into them."
"I'm leaving first!" Upon hearing this, Xiangli Yanran immediately turned around and left, as if she was afraid of losing.
"This girl is so impulsive." Qin Yue shook her head and hurriedly followed.
Although they are said to be separated, it is only relatively speaking. They are basically still within each other's line of sight, some on the hillside and some a little below.
Qin Mu picked up his bow and arrow and began searching for prey. Hunting was not easy; one had to watch one's step to avoid slipping or tripping, and also look around to see if there was any prey.
There are quite a few birds, and they often startle him from the bushes in front of him. Occasionally, a wild rabbit will flash by, leaving him no time to react.
Qin Mu wasn't in a hurry. Losing was fine; he treated it as a kind of fun.
"Ah!" After searching for a while, a sudden exclamation came from below.
"careful!"
"What is this!" Then two more voices came.
Qin Mu and Bu Mang exchanged a glance, then quickly rushed over.
Descending the hillside, one couldn't go fast even if one wanted to. After rounding a bend in the mountain, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a small flat area ahead. At this moment, Qin Yue and two guards were wielding longswords, attacking a ferocious beast.
At first, he didn't notice, but when Qin Mu stopped to take a closer look, he was shocked to find that what he saw was a ferocious beast that looked like a leopard, but it had a single horn and, more importantly, several tails.
"What is this thing! A nine-tailed fox?" Qin Mu exclaimed.
"I don't know! But it doesn't look like a fox, and I've never heard of foxes having horns." Bu Mang was also quite surprised, and he held his scimitar warily.
"Bang!" A guard was swept away by the monster's tail, flew into the air, fell to the ground some distance away, and couldn't get up.
"Brother Bu, please help!" Qin Mu hurriedly called out.
With a light step, Bu Mang charged out, carrying a bloodthirsty aura.
"What's going on!" Qin Yue also rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
"Kill!" The other guards also charged forward.
"Drink!" Xiangli Yanran shouted, leaping down the hillside and slashing her greatsword at the monster.
Qin Mu didn't mean to be unwilling to help, but he realized he couldn't. The quick-handed man was incredibly swift, his movements lightning-fast, no less than anyone else's. His strength was also immense; in just a short time, Qin Yue and the guards had already been repelled several times.
"What is this thing!" Qin Mu asked Qin Yue warily as he drew his sword behind his back.
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