Chapter 32

"Sir, you're letting us sleep inside the house tonight?"

Lin Bei nodded.

The hunters had arrived at Jiutan around three in the afternoon today. After eating, the moon was almost up in the trees, so they naturally couldn't return to Xishan Township. Many people in ancient times had night blindness, and walking in the dark was like being blind, and the forest was not easy to navigate, so they had to rest for the night. The hunters originally thought they would just make do with a night by the fire, as they had done before, but Lin Bei let them sleep inside the house.

Lin Bei's generosity left the hunters somewhat surprised. Although the wooden house was built by the hunters, it was now the residence of the sir. By giving up the wooden house, what kind of spirit was this?

"This spirit is to let you also experience how uncomfortable it is to have nothing in a house, no bed, no furniture, and an uneven floor," Lin Bei thought somewhat mischievously.

Amu had already gone out in the afternoon to check the wood and was preparing to get things for Lin Bei in the morning. However, they still had to make do for the night. In fact, Lin Bei underestimated the hunters. They were professionals, and sleeping in the mountains with their clothes on was common. Having a wooden house to shelter from the wind and rain made them feel quite good.

Just as they were about to enter the house, the hunters heard a wild animal howl in the distance.

Instantly, the hunters tensed up, their hands instinctively reaching for their hunting knives. Cui's Alang made a listening gesture and asked uncertainly, "A wolf?"

"It sounds like a jackal."

"Whether it's a jackal or a wolf, everyone be careful."

These hunters had extremely rich hunting experience. Once they heard the animal's sound, they could roughly understand its strength. Whether it was a wolf or a jackal, they were famous for their numbers. When there were many, they wouldn't even fear humans. Last time, Cui Jie was bitten by a wolf because of this. If it weren't for the bone-healing grass, Cui Jie would have been crippled.

Lin Bei also recognized the sound and quickly wagged his tail to the hunters, indicating that there was nothing to worry about. It was naturally the female jackal from before.

The female jackal had settled on the outskirts of Longtan. Lin Bei originally thought the female jackal was foolish, but later realized that the female jackal wasn't stupid at all.

After feeding the female jackal a wild chicken last time, five days later, the female jackal, with a flat belly, ran to the fence again, preparing to wait for another chicken. Lin Bei, who had given her food last time, couldn't bear to not give her anything this time, so he gave the female jackal two more wild chickens. After eating, she came back two days later, and then it became a regular two-day visit, treating Lin Bei like a nanny.

To keep the hunters quiet, Lin Bei went to the Flying Dragon Wall, caught two wild chickens, and then quietly approached the female jackal.

Lin Bei didn't have night blindness, and his senses were sharp, so he could see clearly. The female jackal was lying in the bushes, occasionally sniffing, looking very content. She knew that it wouldn't be long before wild chickens would fall from the sky.

The wild animals in the forest were all resilient and had amazing recovery abilities. After a few full meals, the female jackal no longer looked so thin, and her fur was much smoother. However, her body became heavier because the little jackals in her belly were growing. Judging by the trend, she might give birth in the next few days.

Lin Bei threw the wild chickens over. This time, the female jackal, smelling the wild chickens, didn't hesitate and started eating immediately, without any politeness. Lin Bei stepped back, knowing that the female jackal would leave after eating.

The hunters saw what Lin Bei was doing. Seeing the wild chickens gone, Cui's Alang asked curiously, "Sir, was that a wolf or a jackal outside?"

"Jackal? Sir just fed it wild chickens? Sir truly has a good character."

The hunters were actually quite puzzled. This sir didn't eat humans, raised birds, and was preparing to hatch snakes. Now, he was even feeding a jackal. Everything seemed so novel to the hunters.

However, for the hunters, this was a good thing. If the sir was so concerned about fierce animals, they didn't have to worry about the sir eating them.

The moon was high in the sky.

People in this era went to bed early, and the hunters fell asleep early, showing great trust in Lin Bei. They didn't even have someone on night watch because Lin Bei told them he would take the night watch.

Lin Bei, however, was full of energy, a natural bodily response. He didn't try to suppress it; at worst, it would just be a case of day and night being reversed.

Doudou and Qiqi had already gone to sleep. They were no longer small, and their feathers were almost fully grown, but they still didn't need to worry about food. Lin Bei planned to let the two little ones try flying in a few days. Otherwise, they would get fat and wouldn't be able to fly, and flightless birds in the forest wouldn't last long.

The night passed without incident.

When the sun rose above the horizon, the hunters were already awake. It was only around six o'clock, and the forest was never quiet. The morning was the time when the birds sang the most joyfully.

"Sir didn't sleep all night," Cui's Alang squatted by the river, washing her face with water.

"Last night, I thought there would be many mosquitoes and other insects in the house, and I wouldn't sleep well. But I slept until dawn, and there were no mosquitoes here. Sir's place is really good."

Lin Bei smiled inwardly. Generally, there were few mosquitoes where snakes had been, and Lin Bei's aura was so unrestrained that mosquitoes instinctively stayed away.

Hutou went out for a while and came back with a large handful of grass. He separated the group, and Lin Bei was surprised to see the hunters directly breaking the grass and chewing it, a cool mint flavor spreading.

Seeing Lin Bei's surprise, Cui's Alang waved the half of the grass in her hand, "Sir, this is mint. It's very refreshing and can remove bad breath. Has Sir never seen it before?"

Lin Bei was surprised by the mint and even more surprised that these hunters were so hygienic. Who said ancient people were dirty?

In fact, from the Qin Dynasty, people were already quite particular about hygiene. Ancient officials even had a few days off each month, called 'xiu mu,' which later changed to a five-day cycle, with one day off. This was because ancient people had long hair, making washing quite difficult and requiring drying. Our modern two-day weekend is based on the ancient 'xiu mu' system.

Seeing Lin Bei's curious expression, Hutou went out again and quickly returned, handing Lin Bei a large handful of mint. Lin Bei put it in his mouth and chewed, the mint juice making his mouth feel much better.