Chapter 12

Lin Bei is now very happy.

The hunters might not have noticed, but Lin Bei could tell that the entire forest, which the hunters naturally assumed belonged to Lin Bei, represented something significant. It meant that the hunters subconsciously considered the forest to be Lin Bei's territory. Lin Bei thought this was a great idea.

Being the master of the forest sounds impressive. In modern society, where every inch of land is valuable, Lin Bei's parents had to contribute most of the money for his wedding house, which was only seventy square meters. Lin Bei always felt a bit indebted to his parents and Gao Rou. But now, it seemed that he had unknowingly acquired a vast amount of land, many times larger than before. Although he didn't have ownership rights and it could be reclaimed at any time, Lin Bei still felt very happy.

My territory!! Haha.

With this feeling, he made a wide circle and then walked upstream along the small river.

The source of water is always the most important. Lin Bei naturally understood this. Although the water source in the forest was dangerous, the risk to him was quite low. This is called having a solid foundation and feeling content. Besides, Lin Bei needed water.

The wolf's blood and his own blood had started to coagulate. Lin Bei went into the small river, using his tail to vigorously rub off the bloodstains. His body soon felt refreshed. Lin Bei wanted to maintain his hygiene habits, even though he had turned into a snake.

While bathing, Lin Bei casually observed the aquatic life in the small river. "This river is now mine," Lin Bei thought happily. He found that there was actually quite a lot of life in the river.

There weren't many fish, but there were plenty of other creatures, such as small shrimp. These shrimp were about the size of shrimp grains, but they were the most numerous, active under almost every patch of grass. Seeing these shrimp, Lin Bei smiled.

With small shrimp, could there be a lack of large shrimp? In fact, there were quite a few larger shrimp in the river. Lin Bei's senses were now very acute. Through the ripples in the water, he could even sense the large shrimp hiding deep in the stone crevices. So, as he moved along, Lin Bei was grinning from ear to ear.

In a river like this, located in the forest, aquatic life is rarely eaten by wild animals unless the fish are particularly foolish and climb onto the shore to die. Therefore, there were quite a few shellfish here.

"Surprisingly, there are lobsters as big as fists. Tsk tsk, the lobster shells are covered in green moss. How many years have they lived?" Lin Bei marveled. "Wow, crabs, even bigger than fists, three of them, a whole family. Together, they must weigh at least two pounds. It's autumn now, the time when crabs fatten up. Wow, if I could steam them or make them into osmanthus crabs, the taste would be absolutely delicious."

Thinking about these things, Lin Bei's mouth watered. The number of lobsters and crabs he had seen on his journey was already quite impressive, very abundant.

In the past, Lin Bei had read some biographies that said ancient people rarely ate aquatic life from rivers, even during famine years. Lin Bei didn't quite believe it, but now, he thought it might be true. Of course, it could also be because this river was deep in the forest, and no one dared to come and fish. Regardless, Lin Bei felt very happy. He was always content.

The river may be small, but it is quite long. Lin Bei kept crawling upstream, feeling that he had already traveled about thirty to forty miles before finally reaching the end of the river.

The end of the river turned out to be two springs, flowing out from a mountain wall, one on the left and one on the right. The left spring was about the size of a fist, and the right one was smaller. Due to the long-term impact of the spring water, a small pond about twenty meters in diameter had formed. The pond was not deep, with the deepest part being only about four meters. The bottom of the pond was entirely made of green stones, with no mud, making the water exceptionally clear. The surrounding grass was very lush, adding a sense of mystery to the pond. Just looking at the environment, it was quite nice.

Lin Bei rolled around in the pond. Snakes generally know how to swim, and Lin Bei was no exception. He splashed around a few times and found it quite easy. Then he lifted his head.

The mountain wall was not very high, only about a hundred meters, and was covered with grass. A large locust tree grew horizontally, which was at least a few hundred years old. Some of its roots protruded from the rocks, thicker than Lin Bei's body, firmly anchoring it to the wall. The locust leaves formed a canopy, shading the sky above the pond, making the place even more serene.

"Nice, the environment here is great," Lin Bei nodded. In modern times, he had always wanted to find a good place, a place with beautiful scenery, water, and mountains, a few acres of farmland nearby, and rarely visited by people. Although Shuangya Mountain was a protected area, such a place was hard to find. He didn't expect to find one so easily in ancient times.

Looking around, Lin Bei saw a large green stone. The stone was exposed to the air, and its surface had been worn smooth. Lin Bei put down his things and crawled over, wrapping his tail around the stone and trying to lift it, but he couldn't.

Uh, Lin Bei didn't need to lift it. He shook the large green stone back and forth, loosening it, and then started pushing. The stone weighed at least two thousand pounds. With Lin Bei's current body, lifting it was impossible, but pushing it was effortless.

Rumble, rumble.

Lin Bei pushed the large green stone to the edge of the pond, positioned it correctly, and then washed it with water, cleaning off all the mud. He then coiled himself around the stone and started eating the dried meat.

"Hmm, this pond needs a name," Lin Bei thought, holding the dried meat in his mouth and slowly dissolving it with saliva, savoring the flavor. He was thinking about what to name it.

Lin Bei definitely needed to find a place to live. This place met his requirements, so he decided to claim it. Since he was claiming it, it needed a name.

"The pond is clear and serene, and I live here. Snakes are often called little dragons in folklore. How about calling it Dragon Pond? The stone is green and I moved it, so let's call it Green Dragon Stone. Dragon Pond, Green Dragon Stone, haha."

Lin Bei found joy in the midst of hardship. He needed to find something to do; otherwise, just complaining would only waste time. At the same time, Lin Bei was thinking about building a wooden house here.

Lin Bei didn't know how other predecessors who had been reincarnated as animals managed, but he didn't want to live in a cave or a tree. He preferred to live in his own house, a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and a place to lick his wounds.

"After building the wooden house, it would be best to cultivate a few acres of land nearby, planting some crops and vegetables. Even if I don't eat them, it would be nice to look at. Otherwise, with nothing to do, wouldn't I go crazy?"

Lin Bei lowered his head and took a sip of water from the spring. The water helped him dissolve the dried meat faster. The spring water was slightly sweet, and the dried meat was made from wild rabbit, using an unknown method. Lin Bei found the taste quite good, and it was worth the effort to get it.

A pack of dried rabbit meat weighed about five to six pounds, and Lin Bei ate it all. Finally, he no longer felt hungry, and a strong drowsiness came over him. He coiled the tree branch and climbed directly to the top of the locust tree, finding a spot with the densest leaves. He rolled around a few times to ensure the tree could support his weight, then rested his head on the branch and fell into a deep sleep.