Chapter 75

"Sir, this is Feng Xiaoniang." Cui Lan pulled over a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, somewhat nervously introducing her: "Sir, the number of civilian workers building the school has increased, and Feng Xiaoniang is very skilled, so I had her prepare meals for these workers. Do you think it's good, Sir?"

Lin Bei glanced at Feng Xiaoniang, who was not at all frightened and gave Lin Bei a slight bow, speaking with composure: "Feng Xiangyu greets Sir."

Lin Bei nodded at her, acknowledging her, and then said to Cui Lan: "You don't need to consult me about these matters in the future. Arrange them yourself. Also, I need to go out to hunt rabbits and mountain chickens. I'll take some hunters with me, so clear out the ox cart."

"Sir, are you going out now?" Bian Ji asked.

"Of course. The locusts have already been caught, so we should deliver the items for the exchange to the villagers as soon as possible. This time, I'm going out to hunt because there are many, and we'll need the ox and the hunters to help transport them."

"Then, Sir, can I go too?" Cui Lan quickly volunteered.

Lin Bei pondered for a moment: "Someone needs to watch over the school, and I also need someone to help guard here. Once I leave, wild beasts might appear."

"Sir, Zhen Ding is willing to serve you. If you trust me, my guards can help you watch this place," Zhen Ding interjected, eager to make a good impression.

"Then, Sir, I'll stay here as well," Bian Fuzi said. "An Tingzhang can go to the school, and Cui Lan can go with you. Is that okay?"

"Alright, then pick a few more hunters to go into the mountains with us. Oh, and Feng Xiaoniang, I'll go out to hunt some wild animals first and have An Zhongzhi take them to the school for the workers to eat."

Feng Xiaoniang, seeing she had something to do, nodded immediately.

After everything was arranged, Cui Lan selected the hunters, and Lin Bei went out and dragged back two wild oxen, handing them over to An Zhongzhi. Then he led the group into the forest.

This time, besides Lin Bei and Cui Lan, six hunters and an ox were also going. The ox was for carrying the load.

"Sir, are we going deep into Fushan?" Cui Lan asked excitedly, closely following Lin Bei.

Even the old hunters from Xishan Village couldn't clearly describe the depths of Fushan. They only knew it was infested with wolves and tigers, and there were legends of demons and ghosts. It was extremely dangerous, so hunters from Xishan Village, Dongshan Village, and the surrounding counties never ventured deep into Fushan. They only operated within fifty miles of it. Cui Lan was naturally very excited to be going into the mountains with Sir, as it was a rare opportunity.

"Yes."

The number of small animals was too large, so Lin Bei had decided to catch five hundred rabbits and five hundred mountain chickens. Such a number couldn't be caught in one place, as it would disrupt the ecological balance. Therefore, Lin Bei planned to catch these animals in different areas. Additionally, he wanted to catch some young rabbits and chicks.

Young rabbits and chicks were different from young snakes. With the current conditions, raising young rabbits and chicks was definitely feasible. As long as he fenced off an area and drove away the surrounding wild animals, the young rabbits and chicks would grow well and quickly. Once they were grown, Lin Bei could release them, keeping only the breeding pairs. Many forest animals relied on rabbits and chickens for survival. As long as there were enough rabbits and chickens, the food chain of these wild animals would not be broken, and they would continue to thrive. If Lin Bei expanded the breeding grounds, the entire Fushan animal population would also grow.

Another benefit was that artificial breeding could solve many people's food problems. If one could easily kill wild rabbits or mountain chickens, it would be impossible for people to starve. This was possible because of Lin Bei's current form. If Lin Bei were human, even knowing how to set up a breeding ground would be difficult. What if the rabbits and chickens ran away in the vast forest? It would be impossible to catch them, and one would have to be cautious of fierce wild animals. But now, as a python, Lin Bei was enormous and had no natural predators. The forest was his pasture. He could treat the entire forest as a breeding ground. As long as the animals didn't leave the forest, Lin Bei could catch them. It would be extremely difficult for humans to enter, so Lin Bei's breeding ground faced no difficulties.

Lin Bei's plan was to start with mountain chickens and wild rabbits, as these animals reproduced the fastest. Once their numbers grew, he planned to breed wild sheep, deer, or oxen. As long as there were enough herbivores, the predators would not go extinct but would thrive. Additionally, Lin Bei would take special care of some endangered animals from the future. In short, Lin Bei hoped to see Fushan as a place full of life.

Imagine, in the future, the entire Fushan, spanning hundreds of miles, would be Lin Bei's pasture. The sense of achievement for Lin Bei was more satisfying than being an emperor. He hoped to achieve this in his lifetime.

The hunters, of course, were unaware of Lin Bei's grand ambitions. They were still excited about their first deep venture into Fushan, but this excitement didn't last long.

In the first few dozen miles, there weren't many wild animals because they were still close to Longtan. But as they moved further away from Longtan and Lin Bei's presence weakened, birds and beasts became more numerous. The ancient trees towered, and the dense forest was filled with thick vines, a true picture of a primeval jungle.

"Smack." A hunter slapped his face, killing a mosquito smaller than a pinky finger. "These mosquitoes are fierce."

The hunters' hemp clothes were almost torn to shreds, and even with Lin Bei leading the way, it was still difficult for them.

The sounds of tigers roaring and wolves howling echoed in the hunters' ears, reverberating through the forest. It seemed as if they were everywhere. The hunters looked at Lin Bei, feeling somewhat reassured.

"Be careful, that's miasma," Cui Lan suddenly shouted.

A beautiful but dense fog drifted in the distance. Cui Lan immediately warned everyone to be cautious. This miasma was quite dangerous. Ordinary people would quickly fall into a coma and vomit upon inhaling it, and it was also a killer of forest animals.

Lin Bei glanced at it and inwardly wondered. He remembered coming here before, but there was no miasma. Since they weren't too deep into the forest yet, he paused, and the hunters naturally stopped as well. Lin Bei signaled the hunters to wait and slowly crawled over.

"Sir, be careful," Cui Lan said worriedly.

Lin Bei nodded. His current body wasn't too afraid of the miasma. As long as he didn't breathe it in for too long, he could handle it.

Still some distance from the miasma, Lin Bei felt a slight lightness in his body. He poked the ground with a stick, and it sank nearly two to three meters. It turned out to be a forest swamp.

Lin Bei quickly retreated a bit. Suddenly, the decaying leaves in front of him began to move rapidly. Lin Bei immediately became alert. Suddenly, a huge head emerged from the decaying leaves, piercing through the miasma and lunging at Lin Bei with a bite.

"Sir..."

"Be careful!"

The hunters shouted in alarm.