Chapter 173 The Transmigrated Boy Used as Cannon Fodder (Twenty) Lin...
Lin You and Mo Kaiyang set up several more formations in the forest outside the valley. Except for the largest formation, which can be triggered manually or passively, the other formations are all nested.
It's like the "cut a knife" feature on some modern platforms. You think that's the final step, but then I added another layer.
After finally managing to get through this layer, you realize there are still layers upon layers to come. Even if you have the ability and patience, there's still a final, insurmountable obstacle.
Even Lin You, who is usually very easygoing, has been worn down and lost her temper. Very few others can persevere.
Mo Kaiyang was a talkative and very enthusiastic person. He got along well with the young Ah Hu and, seeing that he was quite talented, he even taught him internal energy cultivation techniques and movement skills.
Anyway, his master was still thinking about taking on disciples before he died, so he must have wanted to pass on his martial arts skills.
Before nightfall, the two dug up two more array stones from the previous formation and pulled up some grass that could be exchanged for money.
Then they cut a large section off the top of the tree on the gate of life, which was as thick as a person could hug, and loaded it onto the cart that they had casually tossed onto the grass earlier, and hauled it away.
Lin You also offered some pointers, "If you want to conceal it, the exit shouldn't be too obvious; ordinary trees will suffice."
Ah Hu nodded. "Grandma Mingyue said that the old lady said the same thing, but she was worried that we children might wander into the forest and not be able to get out, so she never replaced the tree."
The original plan was to replace the tree once they grew up, but that's no longer necessary. The array set up by these two gentlemen is even more powerful, and their method of entry and exit is also quite unique.
He has already learned how to open, close, and enter/exit the new formation. If someone doesn't understand formations, they can wait in place, and the tiger carrying the jade talisman will lead them out of the formation.
Martial arts practitioners are unpredictable; for a master, killing a tiger is not much different from killing a chicken.
He wouldn't have dared to release his tiger if he hadn't been certain the newcomer wasn't skilled in martial arts.
This tiger is not actually the first one to appear in the legends of Silent Forest. That tiger was killed when he was a child by a wandering swordsman who came looking for treasure.
In front of his mother, he skinned and deboned the tiger, then roasted it over a fire. The tiger was named Ah Long, and he was raised by his mother like a child; he was her younger brother.
If his mother hadn't been protecting him when he was still young, she probably would have gone out and fought that person to the death. It was from that time that her health began to deteriorate. After teaching him how to control beasts, she left him with only one sentence: never name the wild beasts you control again.
But feelings don't just disappear without a name. This tiger is a cub he found while hunting. He raised it from a tiny chick to its current size, spending every day with it. The tiger is now his closest relative in the world.
If something were to happen to it one day, even the young Tiger wouldn't know what he might do.
Therefore, he studied his internal skills and techniques with exceptional care, because only by becoming powerful could he become the protector.
The boy was also very grateful to Lin You for putting the jade talisman on the tiger, because now it could hide in the formation if it encountered someone it couldn't beat.
Granny Mingxin's martial arts skills are impressive compared to ordinary people, but in the martial arts world, they can only be considered second-rate. The skills that Mo Kaiyang taught her are far more profound than hers.
But he taught him without any intention of taking on any disciples. Young Ah Hu watched the two figures leave until they were no longer visible, then he respectfully knelt down and kowtowed three times in the direction they had gone.
In any case, this person will be his master from now on, and he will definitely take good care of his master.
Mo Kaiyang had no idea that he had only given a casual lesson and had gained a disciple who would take care of him in his old age. As he pulled the cart, he complained, "I should have bought a donkey to pull the cart. This thing is too heavy."
If it weren't for the need to swindle money from the waiter, he wouldn't have bothered bringing this thing back.
The waiter, who had been sleepy, immediately perked up when he saw the large tree trunk. He kindly helped pull the cart over and took it to the backyard of the inn, not forgetting to praise and admire Mo Kaiyang's skills.
After praising him at length for a while, seeing that this difficult fellow finally relaxed and looked very happy, the waiter then asked:
“You’ve returned with a full load, but why did you only bring back a section of tree trunk? The rest are difficult to move. I can find you some helpers.”
After saying that, he added, "They're all innkeepers, no wages needed. If the hero is in a good mood, just give each of them two ounces of wine."
The wine at this inn is so-so; two ounces only cost three coins, which shows they are very considerate of Mo Kaiyang.
Mo Kaiyang suppressed his smile and waved his hand, saying, "The rest of the trees haven't been cut down yet. I only brought a small dagger, so it's good that I managed to get this many. The list didn't clearly state what the heartwood was. You can check how many pieces there are. If there aren't many, I won't bother."
The waiter didn't know how he had offended this troublemaker again, so he could only smile apologetically and invite the man into the house. He even found someone to carry the two-meter-long, hundred-pound tree trunk into the house.
They found a craftsman who was probably a carpenter. In front of the two of them, he stripped the trunk open, leaving only the so-called heartwood, which weighed about fifty pounds.
The waiter bowed obsequiously, "Sir, the price recorded on this tree heartwood is naturally the price after it's completely dried. Fortunately, ours is fresh, so we won't offer too much of a discount. How about this price..."
In the end, the waiter took 350 taels to buy the tree heart, 200 taels to buy the stone, and 70 taels to buy a pile of junk.
He then personally cleaned up the sawdust in the house before respectfully leaving. He also made sure to have someone deliver food and hot water, and repair the cart in the yard.
The master said that nearly half of the forest's formation has been broken. If these two go there again, the secret of the Silent Forest will probably be completely revealed.
The waiter left excitedly. He had heard his master say many times that Mingxin Sect was as beautiful as a fairyland, with beauties everywhere and gold and silver scattered all over the place. Maybe he could even snatch a pretty woman and bring her back as his wife.
In the courtyard next to this inn, a middle-aged man dressed in a long robe, looking refined and handsome, was playing with three stones in his hands. These were the array stones that Mo Kaiyang had sold for one hundred taels each.
The man poured himself a cup of tea, his lips twitched, revealing an excited smile, but his eyes were like those of a bloodthirsty wolf.
Back then, those brothers only wanted to sleep with a few women. They had already slept with those women countless times on the way to escape, yet they pretended to be chaste and virtuous women.
And those three old nuns in the temple, with their looks, it's their good fortune that the brothers are interested in them, yet they dared to launch a sneak attack while everyone was asleep.
Of the five sworn brothers, only he survived. Naturally, he wanted to avenge this. Who would have thought that among a group of women, one of them would know such a profound formation?
He had painstakingly planned for so many years, spreading the reputation of that Mingxin Sect and attracting many martial arts practitioners to the area, which allowed him to make a fortune. But no matter how good the money was, nothing was more important than avenging his brothers.
Besides, they're just a kid who hasn't even grown up yet, and a little girl who's supposedly not very good at martial arts. If they manage to get things done, the money will still be theirs anyway.
The waiter had been with his master for so long and knew his personality well. He might not have cared about the hundred taels of silver yesterday, but today he spent more than five hundred taels.
He didn't care about the little silver he had sent in. The master always ordered his subordinates to do things, and he would probably be the one to clean up the mess afterward, since he had handled both of these people.
Although the two of them are very frugal, they are generous when it comes to spending money. In the end, not to mention the hundred or so taels of silver he took out, he might even make a small fortune.
Thinking this to himself, when he heard that gossipy kid say that he didn't treat his subordinates like human beings, only giving them two ounces of wine after ordering them around, and that the wine might even be watered down, he wasn't angry anymore.
All I'm thinking about is cutting this guy's tongue off when I get back to doing this.
The next day, Mo Kaiyang and Lin You got up early, which was unusual for them. After having breakfast at the door, they pulled their cart out to prepare.
Perhaps because they had earned quite a bit of money yesterday, they went out of their way to buy an axe and saw for cutting down trees, and generously bought a donkey to pull a cart, and also bought a sheep to tie to the back of the cart. The two of them, however, simply sat on the cart without any trouble.
To avoid a bumpy ride, I bought several thick and warm quilts to put in the car. The quilt seller couldn't help but frown when he saw this, thinking that I was really wasting things.
The truck was packed with dozens of kinds of candies, pastries, dried fruits, and candied fruits. It also carried a lot of dry food such as fried dough sticks and meat buns, and even bought half a pig, which was placed on the rack in front of the truck.
The two of them sat in the carriage, driving the donkey and leading the sheep, and swayed into the woods. It was fortunate that Lin You had learned the beast-driving technique from Shen Zechen, otherwise neither of them would have known how to drive a donkey.
The sheep was a female sheep about to give birth. Lin You vaguely heard someone say yesterday that the new mother was too weak to breastfeed and could only feed her child with rice cereal.
The old man selling the sheep said that there were at least two calves in the sheep's belly, and it would give birth in five days at most. He said that if his child hadn't been sick and he hadn't needed the money urgently, he would never have been willing to bring the sheep out to sell.
Once the lambs are born, we can have goat milk for the children to drink. Besides, the mountains and forests are covered with grass, so it's good to raise a few sheep. Once they grow up, we can eat meat.
Seeing them arrive so early, the boy Ah Hu was overjoyed. Even the big tiger rushed over excitedly, startling the donkey and the sheep.
The donkey was alright; it brayed a few times and then shrank to the side. But the sheep was so frightened that its legs went weak, as if it was about to give birth.
Seeing this, Ah Hu scolded the tiger and immediately picked up the sheep and ran into the valley. The tiger seemed to know that it had made a mistake, and drooped its tail and rubbed against Lin You's side, looking like it wanted to help carry things.
Half a carcass of pork was given to the tiger to carry back, and several quilts were placed on the donkey. The remaining items on the cart were scattered and fragmented. Lin Tyou and Mo Kaiyang carried the cart together and walked towards the valley.
They don't plan to take the car back this time. Leaving it in the mountains would be a waste. Sending it to the valley would make it more convenient for everyone to use.
I don't know how the tiger understood it, but it didn't steal the pork from the donkey's back; instead, it bit the donkey's rope and led it away.
The tiger was smarter than they had imagined. It not only helped lead the donkey but also guided the two men. When it saw them carrying the cart, it even slowed down and waited for them to catch up.
When Lin You and Mo Kaiyang slowly walked to the valley, the lamb had already been born. It was the same lamb who had delivered Liu's wife earlier.
Although she had never done anything like this before, when the time came, she had no choice but to do it. Compared to others who knew nothing, she at least had some experience.
Lin You went to check on them and fed the ewe and lamb some water from the Lingxi River. After confirming that they were both alright, she was quite happy.
To be honest, this spiritual stream water is much more useful than she imagined. She'll definitely bring more with her next mission.
Everyone in the valley was quite happy today. They had a goat nurse specially prepared for the baby, several lambs whose eyes had not yet opened, a donkey bleating loudly and being led by a big tiger, and a cart that looked like it would save a lot of trouble.
The pig that the tiger was carrying was huge, weighing seventy or eighty pounds. Each person received more than a pound of meat, and some spare ribs were left for Liu Niangzi to make soup, while the big bones were left for the tiger to grind its teeth.
The donkey had four blankets, thick and large, all made of brand new cotton, each weighing about ten pounds. The fabric used to wrap the blankets was also of the finest quality. If you took them apart, you could make thirty or forty cotton-padded coats.
To maintain his public persona, Mo Kaiyang shamelessly had a large bag of fabric scraps and needles and thread delivered to him, enough not only to make clothes for the children but also to make a considerable number of shoes for the adults.
The snacks on the cart were of a mixed variety, but there were quite a lot of them. Each person got two packs, which was even better than what we ate during the Lunar New Year.
These things may seem insignificant, but they gave them a glimmer of hope for the future. The valley was bustling with lively conversations, and it no longer seemed so lifeless as before.
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