Chapter 85

After a conversation, Qin Xianyu learned that the gray ape was a ferocious creature.

This mountain was different from other ranges, often having beasts with red eyes and dull fur, which were collectively known as ferocious beasts. Not only the gray ape, but also tigers, wolves, bears, and even goats and deer.

Any beast with red eyes and dull fur was extremely fierce and bloodthirsty, sometimes even rabbits could harm and eat meat, showing a ferocious nature.

"Our ancestors lived in the mountains. Many years ago, clan members were often eaten by these ferocious beasts. Later, we found that these ferocious beasts were afraid of Red Sun Stones, so we ground the Red Sun Stones into powder and sprinkled them on arrowheads and blades, which finally drove away these ferocious beasts."

The hunter sighed, "Even with Red Sun Stones, these ferocious beasts are still very powerful. A single misstep could result in being ambushed from the dark, and before you can react, you might lose your life."

The leader of this group of hunters, named Li Ying, had the most hunting experience, being an expert in setting traps and pursuing prey.

Although Qin Xianyu was an outsider, Li Ying and others treated him kindly because of his young age and good looks.

Hearing Li Ying talk about the ferocious beasts and the Red Sun Stones, Qin Xianyu couldn't help but ask, "What is a Red Sun Stone?"

Li Ying smiled, "It's a red stone found in the mountains. Although it's a stone, it has a pungent smell that is harmless to humans. However, for ferocious beasts like the gray ape, it's as deadly as poison."

At this moment, a young man behind him said, "The Red Sun Stone specifically restrains these ferocious beasts and is not toxic to other animals. Not long ago, Uncle Li shot a red-eyed black bear with an arrow. A few days later, the black bear was found dead by a tree, with the arrow wound on its shoulder completely rotten."

Qin Xianyu was secretly shocked.

Black bears are large and have thick skin. A regular arrow wouldn't be fatal, especially if it only hit the shoulder, which is not a vital area. But Li Ying's arrow not only injured the black bear but also caused it to die from a rotten shoulder wound a few days later, showing that the Red Sun Stone was indeed highly toxic.

From what they said, it seemed to be toxic only to ferocious beasts.

"It's just the toxicity of the Red Sun Stone," Li Ying said with a smile. "But you should be careful. These gray or black-furred red-eyed ferocious beasts are much more powerful than their ordinary counterparts, and their skin is very thick. Arrows without Red Sun Stone powder might not even injure them. Even if you have a sword, it might not be able to cut through them."

Qin Xianyu smiled inwardly, thinking, "This Brother Li doesn't know that I have true qi cultivation and a secret sword technique that can split rocks, let alone beasts. But from what he said, these ferocious beasts have very thick skin, and ordinary people with weapons can't even injure them. How can there be such ferocious beasts?"

Thinking about it, the gray ape he encountered earlier was indeed strange, not just in its ferocious nature but also in its appearance.

Now, thinking about it, this gray ape was indeed much more ferocious than ordinary apes. If its fur was thicker, it wouldn't be surprising.

Qin Xianyu followed Li Ying and the others back to their village.

The village was built on the mountain, surrounded by a fence about a person's height, with large stones piled outside to prevent wild animal attacks. There were about a hundred households in the village, with dried meat and hunting tools like bows and hunting knives displayed in front of each house.

Every household had a hunter, skilled in hunting.

Qin Xianyu had heard that some villages were built in the mountains, isolated from the outside world, self-sufficient, and lived by hunting and fishing, without contact with the outside. But this was the first time he had seen such an isolated village.

The villagers were quite curious about the outsider, but the village was not so mysterious. There were mountain paths nearby, and people often passed by, so the outside world knew about this mountain village.

For example, the map of the terrain marked this village.

"Although outsiders see us as isolated, occasionally people walking on the mountain paths might accidentally enter the forest and come to our village. Besides, sometimes we need to go outside to buy things, but we are used to living in the mountains and might not go out for half a year or more."

Li Ying smiled and explained, then led him into the village.

The villagers were simple and had no suspicion of the outsider, and were even quite friendly. Especially since the outsider was a young boy, who seemed more approachable, making everyone less suspicious.

To the older people, a young boy was just a slightly older child.

Children are always easy to approach.

Qin Xianyu understood this and smiled bitterly.

...

That night, Li Ying warmly entertained him with fish soup and cured meat, which were quite good.

Cured meat was rare outside, more expensive than ordinary meat. A small piece could cost dozens of silver coins, nearly one tael. Ordinary families could only eat it during festivals, and the poorer ones might never taste it in their lives.

In this mountain village, there was no concept of money. They hunted and fished every day, with plenty of food, and didn't care much about meat.

After thanking Li Ying that night, Qin Xianyu talked to him and inquired about the ferocious beasts and the nearby geological veins, but Li Ying knew little about these matters and said the village elders knew more.

So, Qin Xianyu sought out an elderly man in the village and asked him.

This old man had gray hair and was over ninety years old, but he was still healthy and sometimes went hunting with a bow and arrow. He liked to lean against a tree outside the village, so many people called him Old Tree.

"You, a young boy, actually encountered a gray ape? Hmm, to survive is quite lucky."

Old Tree glanced at him, took a sip of wine, and said, "Our village has been here for hundreds of years. Our ancestors came to hide from war and gradually settled here, with over a hundred households. Of course, there were more people originally, but some wanted to move out of the mountains and settle outside. For example, a few months ago, a young man from the Li family moved to the city with his family."

Qin Xianyu coughed lightly and said softly, "Old Tree, I actually want to know about these ferocious beasts."

"Oh, I digressed," Old Tree smiled and said, "These things appeared about a few decades ago. Originally, the village lived by hunting and fishing, generation after generation, in peace. But a few decades ago, a red-eyed gray wolf suddenly jumped over the village fence and carried off a child. Arrows were shot at it, but it shook off the arrows, and everyone realized that its skin was very thick, and even arrows couldn't hurt it."

"After that, people often went out hunting but didn't return. Later, it was discovered that several kinds of beasts had red eyes and changed fur color."

"These ferocious beasts are very fierce, like to hunt, and have thick skin, making arrows ineffective. Even cutting with a hunting knife only caused surface wounds."

Old Tree sighed, "Actually, even before the gray wolf, people often went hunting and didn't return. But after that, everyone realized it was because of these ferocious beasts."

Qin Xianyu listened quietly, thinking, "There were no such ferocious beasts for hundreds of years, but they suddenly appeared a few decades ago? Could it be related to the geological veins? According to the theory, the geological veins have evil qi, which is what cultivators seek. If there were any changes, they should have been discovered long ago. But the Chancellor reported to the Astronomical Bureau, which took it very seriously, indicating that it was previously unknown."

Qin Xianyu listened quietly to Old Tree without interrupting.

Old Tree, reminiscing about the past, said, "If it weren't for the discovery of the Red Sun Stone, everyone would have moved away long ago. But later, we found that these ferocious beasts were afraid of the Red Sun Stone, and we finally found a solution. We ground the Red Sun Stone into powder and sprinkled it on weapons, and found that as soon as the ferocious beasts were injured, they were like being poisoned."

"With the Red Sun Stone, the village was finally preserved."

Old Tree looked up at the sky and said, "At that time, there was still a war outside, and it was said that the Great Chu Dynasty was fighting the Great De Dynasty. If we had moved out of the mountains then, we might have been caught in the war and perished. Now, with the Red Sun Stone, we are not afraid of ferocious beasts, so we have stayed here for decades."

Qin Xianyu, hearing this, finally asked, "What is the Red Sun Stone?"

Old Tree said, "It was dug out of the mountain. Originally, a family was filling a ditch with soil and dug out the Red Sun Stone. The small mountain is right behind us, and all the Red Sun Stones come from there."

Qin Xianyu became interested and said, "Red Sun Stone? I'd like to see it."

"Want to see it?" Old Tree smiled and said, "No need to trouble yourself, I have some here."

He took out a red stone from his pocket, which glowed red in the dim light.

Qin Xianyu took the Red Sun Stone and suddenly felt a bit hot, but it was very familiar.

Old Tree watched the young boy play with the Red Sun Stone and said with a smile, "This thing is ground into powder, mixed with water, and smeared on weapons, making them immune to ferocious beasts. I see you have a sword, so I'll give you some."

As he spoke, he took out a small packet of powder from his pocket.

Qin Xianyu respectfully took it, opened it, and felt even more familiar. He picked up some red powder and sniffed it, frowning in thought.

"Cinnabar?"

The word flashed through Qin Xianyu's mind.

Isn't this cinnabar?

But this packet of cinnabar was even purer than the one from Mount Qingcheng?

How is that possible?

How could a stone dug out of the mountain, when ground into powder, become cinnabar? Even if it were natural cinnabar, how could it be purer than the cinnabar from the ancestral mountain of the Daoist sect on Mount Qingcheng?

Qin Xianyu was stunned.