Chapter 40

When Lin Bei first arrived, he also thought about communicating with people. However, after seeing that most of the hunters were illiterate and Cui Ailan could vaguely understand his meaning, he put it aside. Now, he realized he needed an effective way to communicate with people. Lin Bei believed that writing would be the best method.

Lin Bei couldn't speak, likely because the structure of a snake was completely different from that of a human, making him mute. He had never learned sign language, and using his tail to gesture was impossible, so writing seemed much more reliable.

Although ancient Chinese was difficult, Lin Bei had some foundation. As long as he studied for a while, writing the characters of this era wouldn't be hard. Then he could express his thoughts and will.

To achieve this, he needed to start learning now. He needed to find ancient books. Oh, in this era, they should still be using bamboo slips, and it seemed only the noble families had them. There were few commoners, but Lin Bei remembered that Jiulang had mentioned that his family had a teacher. How could he express his desire for bamboo slips?

Jiulang noticed Lin Bei staring at him and felt uneasy. "Sir, why are you looking at me?"

Lin Bei didn't respond.

"Is there something you need from me?"

Lin Bei quickly nodded, thinking this kid wasn't too stupid.

However, Lin Bei soon realized he had overestimated him. Jiulang, mimicking Cui Ailan's way of asking, questioned Lin Bei for half an hour but never mentioned bamboo slips or knowledge.

Jiulang had already drunk several sips of water, feeling his throat on fire. He was anxious because he didn't know how to help when the sir needed him.

Lin Bei thought this method wasn't working. If the person asking couldn't think in the right direction, they would never reach an agreement. Lin Bei started writing characters on the ground with his tail.

"Characters? Are you writing characters? But sir, I don't recognize the characters you write."

Damn, can't you at least associate characters with bamboo slips? Lin Bei silently cursed but had to suppress his frustration. After some thought, he wrote the simplest character, '人' (person).

Jiulang jumped up. "Sir, I recognize this character. It's a 'person' character, taught by the teacher."

Not bad, at least you went to kindergarten and can recognize this character. Also, Lin Bei learned that the character '人' was written the same way in ancient times.

Jiulang recognizing the character was a good sign. Lin Bei continued and wrote a few more characters. Unfortunately, Jiulang, who clearly wasn't a serious learner, didn't recognize any of them, which frustrated Lin Bei. They wrote and recognized one by one, and finally, Jiulang guessed, "Teacher?"

"I get it." Houtu, who had been watching, was also anxious. He quickly said, "Sir, you mean to have Jiulang find a teacher to recognize the characters you write and then have the teacher relay the message to us, right?"

Lin Bei sighed deeply. Finally, he got it right, though only half. But this method could work.

"Ah, sir, you want to find my family's teacher?" Jiulang said hesitantly. "Sir, you might not know, my family's teacher is surnamed Bian. He is quite proud because of his knowledge. He only stays at our house because of my father's relationship with him. I usually don't dare to disturb him."

Lin Bei glared at him.

Jiulang shivered. "Alright, sir, I understand. I'll bring Teacher Bian to you, even if my father punishes me. But sir, you won't eat him, right?"

Lin Bei thought, "Damn," but shook his head, afraid the kid would misunderstand.

Houtu chimed in, "Sir said he won't eat people. Jiulang, just bring your family's teacher. By the way, sir, if you do this, others will know about you. Is that okay?"

Lin Bei shook his head. It was fine. The hunters had to consider their relationships with their neighbors, but Lin Bei didn't. He was a snake and could run away anytime. He had nothing to fear.

"Alright, since sir says so, I'll bring the teacher next time. Let me think of an excuse to get him out."

Lin Bei rolled his eyes. An excuse? Next time? Just bring him out directly. He pointed at Houtu, asking him to stay and watch the house, then made Jiulang follow him. He needed to leave the forest and get this done today.

"Sir... like this... sir, I'm not ready yet... sir... oh."

Jiulang, forced by Lin Bei, reluctantly walked out, but had no choice. Lin Bei didn't speak; his actions spoke for him. This was the first time Jiulang saw Lin Bei's dominance. Snakes were just that unreasonable.

Houtu watched Lin Bei and Jiulang leave, only able to smile bitterly. He didn't dare speak when the sir was angry and could only stay and watch the house for Lin Bei.

Lin Bei led Jiulang out of Fushan quickly, without any delay. He looked at the sun and continued.

"Sir, are you going to Xishan Village? Sir, this will scare people."

Lin Bei ignored him. When they saw the walls of Xishan Village from a distance, Lin Bei finally stopped. He pointed to a patch of grass and then to the village, meaning he would wait here while Jiulang brought the teacher out.

Jiulang understood Lin Bei's meaning and looked at him with a bitter face.

Lin Bei hid in the grass. The weather was unbearable, too hot. Jiulang sighed, resigned, and turned to go to the village.

Although the grass provided some shade, it didn't block the sun much. Lin Bei found the sun in this era particularly intense, probably around 40 degrees. After a while, he felt dizzy and quickly gathered some grass to cover himself, lying still to feel better.

He waited quietly for Jiulang. Lin Bei didn't wait long. Soon, he saw the large wooden gate open, and Jiulang, half-supporting a middle-aged man in his forties, approached. The man was talking non-stop, but Lin Bei couldn't hear what he was saying from a distance. However, he could see Jiulang's determined expression, indicating he had indeed brought Teacher Bian out by force.

"You little brat, how dare you insult me... no respect for authority..." As they got closer, Lin Bei heard Teacher Bian's angry voice.

Jiulang's face was completely black.