Chapter 50

Before setting off for the examination, Yang Ji clutched the silver ticket in his chest and, following the address he had obtained from Doctor Zhou, first went to Yang Erniu's house.

"Never forget the well-digger when drinking water," Yang Ji thought. He had received an opportunity to change his fate from Yang Erniu, and now that he had the chance, he naturally did not forget to help him in return.

However, Yang Ji had been in seclusion for cultivation until this moment, and only now did he have the leisure time.

A huge locust tree stood majestically, its branches and leaves lush. Beside it stood a dilapidated thatched cottage. From outside, the room looked dark, and the white reed grass on the roof was riddled with holes. If it weren't for the large locust tree, it would be hard to survive a rainstorm.

"This is Yang Erniu's home," Yang Ji thought, his eyes dimming. Life was tough, and for Yang Erniu to be self-reliant in such an environment was already quite commendable.

Pushing open the somewhat rotten door, Yang Ji stood at the entrance for a while to adapt to the dimness inside. A blackened, broken bed, a wooden table with one leg missing, a mottled rice jar, and a few simple chests—this was Yang Erniu's home.

Surprisingly, there was no one in the room, not even Yang Erniu or his mother.

"Strange," Yang Ji frowned, his gaze falling on the empty bed.

"If someone had gone out, why are there no quilts on the bed?"

Not only the bed, but the chests and cabinets were all empty, giving the impression that the place had been abandoned.

Yang Ji, full of doubt, confirmed that there were no living items in the room and then stepped out, knocking on the door of a neighboring house.

"Excuse me, Auntie, do you know where the Yang Erniu family has gone?" Yang Ji asked.

"Oh, you mean the foolish Erniu," the slightly plump "Auntie" replied, her face glowing as she shelled a plate of beans.

"That boy, though foolish, has had good fortune. He recently received help from a kind person who gave him a large sum of money to cure his mother. He also received news of a distant relative, and so, with the money, he and his mother went to seek refuge with that relative."

"His distant relative is said to be a wealthy family, quite remarkable. When Erniu's mother was about to leave, she looked so spirited. — It's a blessing! But it's also because he is a filial son!..."

The "Auntie" smiled broadly.

"Is that so," Yang Ji was taken aback. This news was completely unexpected. He had brought silver tickets to help Yang Erniu, but never thought that Yang Erniu would have moved away to seek refuge with a distant relative.

"Perhaps, this is for the best..." Yang Ji murmured, feeling somewhat relieved.

Yang Erniu and his mother had lived in poverty for the first half of their lives. Now that they were safe and had a place to stay, they no longer had to live the way they used to, which was enough.

"Thank you," Yang Ji said, taking out the silver tickets he had obtained from Zhao Wu and others.

"I have some money here. If Yang Erniu and his family ever return here, or if you ever get in touch with them, please pass this to them. As for the other half, consider it a reward for you."

Yang Ji divided the silver tickets into two piles and placed them on the table, in case Yang Erniu and his family needed money again one day.

"Oh, okay," the "Auntie" said, her head down, shelling beans without much attention. In such a poor area, how much money could people have? Yang Ji's clothes were not particularly luxurious, so she didn't take it to heart.

"By the way," just as he was about to step out of the door, Yang Ji paused, asking, "Do you know which mountain Yang Erniu usually goes to?"

"That one, Erniu has a problem with his mind, not knowing the danger, and always goes to the deep mountains. Those places, even the village hunters dare not go. But he has good fortune, always returning safely. Young man, you're not thinking of going there, are you?"

The "Auntie" looked up, surprised.

"Do you know which direction it is?" Yang Ji smiled, not answering directly. After asking for the direction, he left in large strides. Just as Yang Ji reached the intersection, a cry came from behind him:

"Money! So much money! —"

Yang Ji smiled and quickly left.

Around the city, the green mountains stretched endlessly, numbering in the thousands or at least hundreds, towering and verdant, with a primitive appearance.

The mountainous area was vast, and even Yang Ji had never been there. On the way up the mountain, he encountered several woodcutters and hunters. Although Yang Erniu was not well-known in Jin'an City, he was quite familiar among these woodcutters and hunters.

After asking around, Yang Ji quickly learned the area where Yang Erniu usually went.

"Boy, Erniu is a fool, not knowing the danger, and that's why he goes so far. No one knows how he gets there. But you don't seem to be a fool, so don't go to such a dangerous place."

A kind old woodcutter looked at Yang Ji and said.

"Danger? Are there many fierce beasts?"

Yang Ji asked curiously.

"Fierce beasts? Ha! Not only are there many fierce beasts, but there are also some brave hunters here. In those deep mountains, there are also monsters, taller than humans, faster than horses, and strong enough to kill fierce beasts with a single blow. Everyone is afraid when they see them from afar, and now no one dares to go there. Only Erniu, the fool, dares to mess around there."

The old woodcutter smoked a pipe and laughed.

"Taller than humans? Faster than horses..."

Yang Ji smiled inwardly. The mountains were dangerous, and many people were superstitious, scaring themselves. They didn't see anything clearly and started making things up.

He believed in fierce beasts, but monsters... that was rare.

"Thank you," Yang Ji bowed and left. He was now confident and brave, not afraid of so-called fierce beasts or monsters.

"Whoosh!"

After leaving for a distance, Yang Ji leaped and climbed up a tree. With a "White Snake Lying in the Grass," he shot from one tree to another.

In the mountains, Xiao Ji shot out of Yang Ji's sleeve with a "Whoosh," happy and lively.

The mountain wind blew, and man and snake darted through the treetops.

Yang Ji relaxed and used the vast forest as a place to train his reflexes.

"White Snake Lying in the Grass!"

"White Snake Spitting!"

"Old Bear Turning Back!"

...

Yang Ji's body became a blur, leaping over the treetops. Without the obstruction of vines and trees, Yang Ji moved very quickly, heading directly to the place where Yang Erniu used to go.

"Yang Erniu said it was a meteorite. We'll see if it's true. Such a large meteorite would definitely leave a deep mark on the ground, even in the forest."

Yang Ji thought to himself.

Without seeing Yang Erniu, he couldn't confirm the truth. But if Yang Erniu was right, Yang Ji believed he could at least find the meteorite crater.

"Whoosh!"

A green, spotted forest python, over ten feet long, discovered Yang Ji and suddenly opened its huge mouth, revealing two large, white fangs. However, before Yang Ji could react, Xiao Ji hissed, and the python, which could easily strangle an elephant, was struck as if by lightning, its head trembling and immediately lowering in submission.

"Good job, Xiao Ji!"

Yang Ji praised with a smile.

The biggest advantage of flying through the treetops was the wide field of vision, speed, and the ability to avoid many fierce beasts.

The green mountains were left behind, and Yang Ji gradually went deeper, surrounded by a primitive, desolate landscape, with no sign of human presence.

Even during his previous training, Yang Ji had never ventured this deep.

"Roar!"

In the forest, the distant roar of a wild beast could be heard.

"How did Yang Erniu get here?"

Yang Ji was secretly amazed. He was confident and brave, with Xiao Ji "guarding" him, and was not afraid of any fierce beasts. But how did Yang Erniu get so deep? Was it really because he was a fool with good fortune...

"Yang Erniu had to take care of his mother, and he would return at most by the second day. In this situation, he couldn't have gone too far."

Yang Ji recalled the information he had gathered and estimated that he was probably at the limit of Yang Erniu's exploration.

"Xiao Ji, let's look around and see if we can find anything special."

Yang Ji slowed down and patrolled the vast forest. It was difficult to find a person in the vast forest, but it was easy to find a meteorite crater.

"Hmm?"

After about half an hour, Yang Ji finally found a special place. From a distance, it looked like a collapsed area in the forest, with large trees falling outward in a radial pattern.

Yang Ji could even see the scorched, blackened edges of the collapsed area, as if struck by lightning.

"Let's go take a look."

Yang Ji's heart stirred, and he immediately flew over.

Lightning strikes wouldn't cause a radial pattern, and Yang Ji had a vague feeling, though he wasn't sure. In the past half hour, he had even found a few small lakes in the forest, so the collapsed area wasn't necessarily a meteorite crater.

A moment later, Yang Ji arrived at the collapsed area. At the center of the fallen trees, there was a crater about six to seven feet in radius, with the ground inside crystallized.

However, this wasn't the focus of Yang Ji's attention. At the edge of the crater, he clearly saw some remnants of spoiled food and pieces of cloth, indicating that someone had been there.

"Whoosh!"

Yang Ji took a deep breath, looking at the food remnants and cloth pieces at the edge of the crater, feeling a sense of shock.

"Yang Erniu didn't lie. He really found a meteorite!"

These things were undoubtedly left by Yang Erniu. No hunter or woodcutter could have reached this deep into the forest.

"It's really a meteorite, really a meteorite... but why is it so small? And where did it come from?"

Yang Ji stood on the treetop, looking up at the vast sky, his mind racing, even forgetting to jump down.

The stars, since ancient times, have been vast and boundless, a place even the greatest warriors could not reach. Every person who looked up at the sky felt a deep sense of awe.

Although Yang Ji had always wanted to understand what he had obtained, he originally thought that finding Yang Erniu would clarify everything.

But standing at the edge of the meteorite crater, Yang Ji felt increasingly lost.

Yang Ji had read scriptures and knew that true meteorites were actually a type of iron from the sky, not fundamentally different from iron ore buried deep in the earth, and had no special uses. So what was the thing he had obtained...

Yang Ji's mind raced.