Chapter 78

Because the adult black bear was definitely nearby, Lin Bei was afraid of disturbing it. If it left, the next time he came, the place would be empty. So, Lin Bei quickly climbed to the middle of the hill, picked a few cactus fruits, and didn't even catch a wild rabbit before hurriedly leading the hunters away.

Next time, Lin Bei would come alone. Because once a bear cub is nearly grown, the mother bear will drive it away. By then, Lin Bei should have already set up a breeding farm, and he could bring the cub there so it wouldn't die prematurely. After all, even in the forest, not many bears and tigers grow to adulthood.

After being scolded by Cui Lan, the hunters became somewhat silent and no longer asked what Lin Bei was doing. They just followed quietly.

By noon, the group's harvest was not much. There were plenty of wild pheasants, but fewer wild rabbits. The giant trees gradually became smaller, and the shrubs increased. Lin Bei thought they might be about to leave the mountainous area. If that were true, then Fushan wouldn't be very large.

However, Lin Bei soon realized his guess was wrong. Climbing a tall tree, he looked around and saw several towering mountains in the distance, each higher than the last. The highest one was thousands of meters tall, and Lin Bei could even see several white streams cascading down from the mountain valleys—these were the rivers in the mountains.

These high mountains are truly the primeval forest, Lin Bei thought to himself, and then he sped up. This made the hunters suffer, as although Lin Bei's presence kept snakes and insects away, there was no path on the ground. They had to cut their way through with hunting knives, which was very difficult for them.

"Sir, let's rest a bit," Cui Lan said, looking tired. The hunters were in no better shape, with many small wounds from various vines. Fortunately, these wounds were very small.

The hunters stopped to rest, drink water, and eat. Lin Bei, however, was full of energy and climbed the tree again to look ahead. A large mountain was already very close, at least two to three thousand meters high. Below the middle of the mountain was a primeval forest, and above the middle, the trees gradually became sparse. With Lin Bei's current sensing ability, he could see many groups of wild animals above the middle of the mountain.

"Probably sheep or deer," Lin Bei thought, believing this judgment was about right.

Herbivores like wild sheep and deer actually prefer open areas because it helps them escape. The area above the middle of the mountain ahead was very suitable for this. Of course, there might also be wild horses or elephants, as the natural resources in this era were still quite abundant, and the ecosystem in the deep mountains had not been destroyed by humans. There were very few people like Dian Wei who could chase tigers across ravines.

In his previous life, Lin Bei was a person who yearned for nature. Now, as a python, he found it even more convenient. Seeing the situation ahead, Lin Bei really wanted to go there immediately. Unfortunately, although it didn't look far, the saying "a mountain may look close but it takes a horse to die to reach it" applied. Lin Bei had to take care of the hunters, so he could only suppress this urge.

Finally, after the hunters had rested enough, Lin Bei started moving again. The hunters were all sore and tired, and what they most wanted to do was find a place to sleep. Unfortunately, with Lin Bei in the lead, they could only grit their teeth and follow. They were somewhat resentful but also admired the demon dragon's abundant physical strength. Indeed, he was a demon dragon, different from humans.

The first large mountain looked very close to Lin Bei and the hunters, but getting there was extremely difficult. As the terrain rose, deep ravines became more numerous. The hunters were just ordinary people and couldn't leap over them, so they often had to take detours, which wasted a lot of time.

"Sir, are we still going forward?" Cui Lan asked. She was really tired, and so was the ox carrying hundreds of mountain goods, which was panting and had worn hooves. Without the ox, the hunters clearly couldn't carry hundreds of wild pheasants and mountain rabbits.

Lin Bei pointed ahead, and Cui Lan thought for a moment and asked, "Sir, do you want to go to the large mountain ahead?"

Lin Bei nodded.

"Sir, we don't know what mountain is ahead, but this area is definitely part of Fushan. Crossing Fushan seems to lead to the sea."

The sea? Lin Bei had never heard that the back of Fushan was the sea. He looked at Cui Lan, hoping she would explain more.

Cui Lan wiped the sweat from her face, bringing up a few drops of blood. "That's really the sea. Far, far away on the other side of the sea is an island, which is also under our county's jurisdiction. It's called Zhulu County, I think."

"I think so?" The other hunters were also unsure. They had never left Hepu, but they were also not very clear about the counties in their own prefecture.

"Confucius would definitely know," another hunter said.

Zhulu County? Lin Bei racked his brain. He had heard of Zhuya, which is modern-day Hainan, but Zhulu County? Could Cui Lan have heard it wrong?

However, Lin Bei thought that if Hainan was also under the jurisdiction of Hepu Prefecture, then this prefecture was indeed quite large, managing such a wide area, including Hainan. But Lin Bei was skeptical—had the governor ever been to Zhulu? The area was rugged and dangerous, and it would take years to travel around.

Cui Lan clearly didn't want Lin Bei to go further. They were really exhausted and too tired. Although Lin Bei really wanted to go and see, he had to give up. They had been out for a long time and should return. Since he could move freely in the forest, he could come alone next time. With this thought, Lin Bei stopped moving forward.

That night, Lin Bei found a mountain stream to rest. There was a small pond in the stream, but the water quality was poor, and there were several three- to four-meter-long water snakes. Lin Bei drove them away. The next day, they started their journey back.

On the way back, Lin Bei no longer caught wild rabbits or pheasants because the ox couldn't carry any more. However, he did kill a fat wild boar, which, when roasted, provided the hunters with much-needed energy.

The return trip was slower than the journey there. On the fifth night, Lin Bei and the hunters finally reached Longtan, and it was already dark.

Seeing Longtan, the hunters all took a deep breath, including Cui Lan. They had stayed in the mountains for longer periods before, but never had they been on the road for five days, exhausted. Seeing the wooden houses, they felt a sense of familiarity.

"Gu, gu." Didi was the first to spot Lin Bei, flying from the grapevine to Lin Bei's side and perching on his head, pecking him hard. Having not seen his "mother" for several days, the little guy was greeting Lin Bei in his own way.

"Sir, you're finally back," Bian Fuzi said, coming out of the house with a torch. Recognizing Lin Bei, he sighed in relief. Although nothing had happened in the past few days, he had felt a sense of loss. Now that Lin Bei was back, that feeling was gone, which was strange.

Lin Bei felt a sense of familiarity seeing Bian Ji. He hadn't written for several days, so he quickly wrote, "The hunters are exhausted. Let them rest."

Bian Fuzi conveyed Lin Bei's message, but the hunters didn't go to rest. Instead, they first unloaded the mountain goods from the ox's back. These goods needed to be processed, or they would rot.

That night, Longtan was very lively.

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End of the chapter.