Chapter 2

"Old Man..."

Yeshang had always yearned to see the outside world, but when Old Man Gu finally agreed, he didn't know what to say.

"Alright, since you want to go out, I'll tell you in detail about the outside world." Old Man Gu turned and walked back into the bamboo house.

Yeshang knew that Old Man Gu had also ventured out when he was young, but he returned to Bamboo Garden Village due to an injury.

As Old Man Gu spoke, Yeshang gained some understanding of the outside world.

The area where Bamboo Garden Village was located was under the control of the Medicine Valley cultivation sect. The densely populated towns were managed by the disciples of Medicine Valley.

The main gate of Medicine Valley was on Dan Ding Mountain, and its control extended for tens of thousands of miles.

Talking about the outside world kept the two of them up until dawn. However, not long after Old Man Gu went to rest, Yeshang got up. He wanted to prepare more food for Old Man Gu before leaving. Bamboo Garden Village was primarily a village of hunters, and their food mainly came from hunting.

In the afternoon, Yeshang returned to the village carrying a black iron spear with game hanging from both ends. This time, Yeshang did not distribute the game but went straight home, which puzzled the villagers. Yeshang had been hunting for over a year, and every time he would keep enough for the two of them and share the rest with others.

Yeshang's behavior made the villagers curious, and a few of them followed him to Old Man Gu's bamboo house. They were not greedy for Yeshang's game but were worried that something might have happened to him. The villagers in Bamboo Garden Village were like family, living in harmony.

"Kid, why did you bring back so much game?" Old Man Gu glared at Yeshang, seeing the villagers who had followed.

"Old Man, you misunderstood. We just came to see if anything happened. Yeshang, are you hurt?" Aunt Lin, who usually treated Yeshang well, looked him up and down.

"No!" Yeshang's face turned a bit red. He felt guilty for not sharing the game with everyone.

"It's like this. I plan to send Yeshang out to train. He's doing this for me, the old man. Brat, do you think I'll starve to death without you?" Old Man Gu glared at Yeshang.

"Yeshang, you're leaving?" Aunt Lin and Uncle Niu looked at Yeshang, their eyes full of reluctance.

"Yes, I plan to go out and see the world." Yeshang's voice was low. He knew that in Bamboo Garden Village, not just Old Man Gu, everyone cared about him.

"That's good. You're the most outstanding child in our village. You should go out and see the world." Uncle Niu patted Yeshang's shoulder.

"I haven't finished the coat I made for you, but it should be done tomorrow." Aunt Lin's eyes were full of reluctance.

After chatting for a while, Yeshang saw Aunt Lin off and then processed the game, hanging it under the eaves to dry.

After doing this, Yeshang started practicing his boxing routine beside the bamboo house, a habit of his.

Old Man Gu had ventured out before, but he had offended a powerful enemy, resulting in a mutual defeat. He killed his opponent but was left with a damaged dantian, losing his cultivation. However, his strong physique remained, and the boxing routine Yeshang practiced was taught by Old Man Gu.

It was because of the boxing routine taught by Old Man Gu that Yeshang had such strength.

In the following days, Yeshang went hunting early every day, hanging game under the eaves of the bamboo house.

Old Man Gu knew this was for his own good and didn't say anything. The villagers knew Yeshang was leaving and brought him many things.

Aunt Lin brought clothes, Uncle Niu brought two leather bags of wine and a trained leopard. Yeshang was young but had a good tolerance for alcohol, which everyone in the village knew.

The trained leopard was a mount, raised by Uncle Niu, and it was the only mount in the village.

Yeshang initially refused, but when he saw Uncle Niu's face turn red with anger, he accepted it.

With everything prepared, Yeshang was ready to leave.

Yeshang didn't prepare much, just some dried meat and two leather bags of wine from Uncle Niu.

"Be very careful out there. If things don't go well, come back." After helping Yeshang tie the things to the trained leopard, Old Man Gu took out a small leather bag, "Here's some silver. Take it in case of emergencies."

"Old Man, I don't need it. I have dried meat, I can hunt, and there's mountain spring water if I'm thirsty." Yeshang pushed the small leather bag back into Old Man Gu's hands.

"Take it, I said." Old Man Gu glared, his beard trembling as he shouted at Yeshang.

Yeshang nodded and tucked the money bag into his waist. He knew that Old Man Gu's beard only trembled when he was particularly agitated.

"Go! Go!" Old Man Gu waved his hand and turned to enter the bamboo house.

Standing in the courtyard, Yeshang looked at the bamboo house for a moment before leaving. He knew that Old Man Gu didn't want to face the parting.

Patting the trained leopard, Yeshang left the bamboo house. Leaving the place where he had lived for over a decade, he felt a bit sad.

After walking a few hundred meters, Yeshang turned to look back at the bamboo house. In the dim morning light, he saw a figure under the old bamboo tree in front of the house.

Biting his lip, Yeshang turned and continued on his journey. He knew that the figure was Old Man Gu, who had taken care of him for over a decade.

Leaving the village, Yeshang mounted the trained leopard and chose a direction to start his journey.

There were no roads in the vast mountains and marshes, only directions to follow.

The nearest town to Bamboo Garden Village was Gu Nan Town. Yeshang had been there once with the village hunters about half a year ago. That time, they had traveled slowly with goods, taking six or seven days.

The villagers of Bamboo Garden Village only went to Gu Nan Town when they needed to exchange for daily necessities. The journey was long, and there were wild beasts and demons on the way, as well as ruthless bandits.

Some bandits only robbed goods, while others would kill and rob, leaving no survivors.

After traveling for a few dozen miles, it was already bright. Yeshang didn't have time to admire the scenery in the mountains and forests. He patted the trained leopard's neck, urging it to move quickly. Fortunately, the trained leopard was familiar with Yeshang and understood his intentions.

By nightfall, Yeshang had traveled three hundred miles. At this speed, he could reach Gu Nan Town in three days. Yeshang didn't dare to travel at night. The deep mountains and marshes at night were the domain of venomous insects, snakes, and ants, and one misstep could lead to disaster.

Before it got dark, Yeshang found a place to rest under an ancient pear tree. He unloaded his pack from the trained leopard, fed it a rabbit, and then started a fire to roast the other rabbit.

The trained leopard, having finished its rabbit before Yeshang, lay down to rest. Yeshang leaned against the tree, eating the rabbit while thinking. He was worried that Old Man Gu wouldn't be used to his absence.

A gust of wind blew, and Yeshang shivered, feeling something was wrong. There was a special smell in the wind, a bit of a pungent odor. At this moment, the trained leopard's body trembled.

Danger!

As an experienced hunter, Yeshang sensed something was wrong and stood up to look around.

What he saw made his heart race. About twenty feet away, there were two large, green lanterns. With his hunting experience, Yeshang knew these were not lanterns but the eyes of a wild beast.