Chapter 8

Wang Buping walked on the mountain, and because there was no path, he had to take out his machete, cutting through the weeds and branches as he walked. He also collected various wild fruit trees, planning to plant them in his space.

On the way, Dahuang caught five rabbits and three pheasants, all of which were dead. Wang Buping then told Dahuang to catch them alive, intending to raise them in his space. Dahuang did not disappoint; all the animals he caught afterward were alive, totaling over a dozen rabbits and pheasants. Wang Buping then stopped him.

They walked and stopped along the way, seeing many small animals. In the past, they rarely saw so many animals, but now they saw many more, indicating that the national wildlife protection efforts were effective.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Wang Buping wondered what to eat. Looking at the rabbits in his space, he decided to roast one. Worried that Dahuang might not have enough to eat, he also took out a fish. Thinking about making a soup, he took out some wild mountain vegetables and water from his space to cook a pot of mountain vegetable soup. He thought that such a meal in the city would cost four or five hundred yuan, but at home, it was so convenient. While cooking the wild mountain vegetables, roasting the rabbit and fish, he thought about the beautiful scenery of his hometown and its proximity to Qinan City. If a road were built, it would certainly attract tourists, which would be good for development.

Thinking about this, Wang Buping felt that the villagers should raise some mountain chickens, wild rabbits, and bamboo rats. This would bring income to the village when tourists came, and even if no one came, he could sell them to restaurants. He decided to discuss this with his grandfather when he returned.

After lunch, he continued walking into the mountains but did not find the wolves his grandfather mentioned. He only saw some monkeys and squirrels, which he observed from a distance.

Seeing that it was getting late, Wang Buping decided to go down the mountain. He moved much faster on the way down, reaching the lake in a third of the time it took to climb up.

When he arrived at the place where he had fished in the morning, he was stunned. The area was now teeming with fish, and he could see many dark shadows beneath the fish, some over a meter long, and even a couple over two meters. He wondered why so many fish were floating there and why the carnivorous fish were not attacking each other. He also wondered why the fish were only gathered where he had fished, and realized that it must be because of the water from his space.

Looking at the fish, Wang Buping decided to catch a large one and put it in his space. He thought that if he placed some space water on the surface, the large fish would float up. He tried it, and as the space water fell into the lake, the fish began to gather at the spot. The large fish below also started to rise, and the surrounding fish moved aside, making way for something powerful. Wang Buping stood up, curious.

He saw a mouth as big as a human head emerge from the water, with two whiskers, followed by a pair of fist-sized eyes that glowed golden. The fish opened its mouth to drink the space water, revealing a large carp over two meters long.

Wang Buping was amazed. He had never seen such a large carp and wondered if the legend of the carp jumping over the dragon gate was true. He decided to catch the fish and put it in his space, wondering if the small pond could accommodate it. He slowly moved his hand toward the fish's head, and when he touched it, he quickly pulled the fish into his space. To his surprise, he felt a sudden pain in his head, nearly fainting. If he hadn't been leaning over, he would have fallen into the lake.

When he put the fish into the space, the fish cluster became chaotic but quickly calmed down due to the space water. Another slightly smaller carp took the place of the fish king.

Wang Buping's headache subsided, but he felt something licking his finger that had been dripping space water. He looked and saw a large black shadow, the size of a pot. He stood up and stepped back, startled. The shadow, no longer able to drink the space water, extended its head. It was a turtle, but an unusually large one.

Wang Buping poured some space water in front of the turtle, and it extended its head to drink. He examined the turtle closely, noting the raised patterns on its shell that resembled mountains. He realized they formed the character for "mountain." He remembered the old legend of the mountain-carrying turtle and wondered if this was one. He decided to take it home and ask the elders.

He took a basket from his space, removed its contents, and placed it on the ground. He put the turtle in the basket and then into the space. He wondered why his head had hurt when he put the fish in, recalling that he could only store things twice his size. The fish had been slightly over that limit, and if it had been much larger, he might have become a vegetable. He was relieved that there was no such restriction when taking things out of the space.

He realized that the limit was based on his mental capacity, which doubled with each evolution of his space. He decided to focus on other things and entered the space to check on the fish and the turtle.

He found the vegetables he had collected and decided to buy some baskets for storage. He also thought about getting some animal helpers, like monkeys, and feeding them wisdom fruit to see if they could understand human speech. He decided to try this later.

He walked to where he had placed the turtle, which was happily drinking from the pond. He then went to the small stream and looked for the fish king, but it was not there. He thought it might have swum into the white mist. He waded into the water and touched the mist, which felt soft. He realized the fish king had been too large for the stream and had been moved to the mist. He wondered what it was eating there.

He decided to leave the space and return home, as it was getting late. He dug up three ginseng plants, two large and one small, planning to keep the small one for his father and sell the large ones to fund the construction of a cable car.

He also checked the beehive near the ginseng and found it full of honey. He cut some and put it in a bottle, planning to tell his family it was wild honey from the mountains. The bees were unusually docile, and he thought it might be because he was the space's owner.

After everything was done, he left the space and walked back to the lake. He saw the fish were still there and caught two more, each over two pounds, to take home. He then poured some space water into the lake to disperse the fish, so they wouldn't attract attention.

He and Dahuang started down the mountain, and halfway down, he put the items in the basket, including the turtle. He carried the fish, pheasants, and rabbits, planning to take out the ginseng near his home.

He quickened his pace, as he was carrying the turtle. When he reached his courtyard, it was not yet dark, and it was only 5:30. His father, hearing the door, asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me, I'm back from the mountain. Dad, why are you still working?"

His father came from the back yard, and Wang Buping quickly took out the ginseng and placed it on the table. His father walked over and saw the ginseng.

"These are ginseng! Two of them are over a hundred years old! Where did you find them? I haven't heard of anyone finding hundred-year-old ginseng in years."

Seeing his father's reaction, Wang Buping realized that such ginseng existed in the area but was rarely sold. He then remembered the turtle.

"Dad, do you recognize this turtle? It's huge. I found it at the reservoir."

His father thought it was an ordinary turtle but soon realized it was different.

"Son, where did you catch it? At the reservoir? That's impossible. This looks like the legendary mountain-carrying turtle from our area. I'm not sure, but you should show it to your grandfather. He has seen one, but that was decades ago in Guijianchou."

"Let's clean up and go ask Grandpa."