In the vast mountain forest, Fang Yuan advanced cautiously.
Sunlight pierced through the tall trees, shining in and casting completely mottled and fragmented tree shadows.
By his feet, the green grass was lush, and wild flowers bloomed in full glory.
By his ears were the sounds of birds chirping or the murmuring sound of flowing water.
The further away from the village and towards the outer periphery he advanced, the more dangerous it was. Therefore, Fang Yuan was even more extremely careful.
The wild was extremely dangerous; a Gu Master had to have at least Rank three cultivation to explore the wild alone. But this did not mean it was safe; many Rank three Gu Masters died in the wild, and even Rank four ones. Wild beasts, poisonous insects, human disasters, and the occasional extreme weather could all lead to the loss of life.
However, the wild boars Fang Yuan wanted to hunt and kill appeared in the vicinity of the village. Otherwise, the mountain dweller hunters would not be able to occasionally catch wild boars.
"In the environment surrounding the village, at set intervals, clan Gu Masters are dispatched to clear it once. Such an environment can still be considered safe for a Rank one middle stage Gu Master like me. But I still must pay attention; wild beasts and Gu worms all have mobility."
Relying on his past life's experience, Fang Yuan searched cautiously.
As time gradually passed, Fang Yuan had found absolutely nothing.
"Damn it, the scope of Qingmao Mountain is still too large for me right now. I have no reconnaissance Gu worm, nor am I familiar with the environment here. Added to the fact that the vicinity of the village gets regularly cleared, wanting to find a wild boar is still a bit too difficult. I'll go to the foot of the mountain!"
Having searched fruitlessly, Fang Yuan immediately changed his mind and walked towards the foot of the mountain.
Qingmao Mountain had three great villages, namely the Gu Yue village, the Xiong village, and the Bai village. Among them, the Xiong village was at the front of the mountain, the Gu Yue village was at the waist of the mountain, and the Bai village was at the waterfall at the back of the mountain.
Other than these three great villages, there were also dozens of hamlets distributed at the foot of the mountain; those living there were all mortals.
The three great villages carved up these hamlets, becoming the controllers behind the scenes. Whenever they lacked family servants, they would select from these hamlets.
But they would not select Gu Masters.
To nurture Gu Masters, they would only nurture clansmen. Even though they knew there were figures with cultivation aptitude among these mortal villagers, despite the very small ratio, they still did not take them.
In this world, bloodline and kinship were highly valued; holding power within the hands of one's own relatives was the foundational policy for a clan's stability.
Many villages, in order to expand their scale, haphazardly accepted outsiders into the clan, which ultimately led to an outflow of power, triggering internal strife, thus causing them to decline or fall into ruin.
No matter which world it was, the foundation of political power was the military; this was the truth.
And the military was the apparatus of violence; it was power. Only by grasping power could one have status and rights.
Of course, the clan system was not entirely unchanging; it would also take in new blood. Every year, there would be people of foreign surnames marrying into the clan, breaking away from their slave status; the children they gave birth to would have the surname Gu Yue, thus becoming a new generation of clansmen.
This was like a deep pool inviting a stream to flow into it. Do not underestimate this stream; without it, the deep pool would be dead water and would sooner or later become putrid. With it, it became living water, and the deep pool would slowly grow larger.
Fang Yuan's former personal maidservant, Shen Cui, hit upon this exact idea to cling to the wealthy and powerful and break away from her slave status.
Fang Yuan went down the mountain; after walking for half an hour, he faintly saw curling cooking smoke rising from the foot of the mountain.
Walking for a moment longer, on an open-viewed hillside, he saw a hamlet from afar, entrenched alongside a small river.
The hamlets nearby here were all under the rule of the Gu Yue village. Although the vicinity of the hamlets was not as safe as the surroundings of the Gu Yue village, it was also regularly cleared. Since mortals could survive in such an environment, it was naturally acceptable to Fang Yuan.
"Mm?" By the mountain path approaching the hamlet, Fang Yuan sharply discovered tracks on the ground. His past experience told him that these were the traces of a wild boar.
"Chase!" Fang Yuan's spirit roused, and following these traces, he gradually went deeper into the mountain forest.
Green moss and jade lichen paved the shaded rocks; ancient cypresses and tall locust trees formed a great forest.
Under the harsh shining of the hot summer sun, the summer mountain forest actually appeared even more deeply secluded.
The lush grass suddenly moved a little.
Several wild deer that were eating the rich wild grass immediately raised their heads, their gazes cautiously staring at the grass as their ears twitched sequentially.
The half-human-tall grass was suddenly parted, and a teenager drilled out from the grass.
This teenager had pale skin and short black hair, wearing plain linen clothes; it was exactly Fang Yuan.
Swish swish swish.
Startled, the several wild deer abruptly moved their four slender yet vigorous legs, leaping in coordination with a trot, instantly darting away and disappearing from Fang Yuan's line of sight.
"These wild deer are all does. If their fur was skinned, it could be made into warm leather jackets, and the deer meat is also food for some Gu worms. If there were stags, the deer antlers and velvet would be even more precious; some golden-haired deer velvet is exactly a necessary item for the advancement of Gu worms."
The wild was fraught with peril, yet it equally hid rich treasures.
Fang Yuan glanced in the direction these wild deer fled and then withdrew his gaze. The target of his trip was wild boars, not these wild deer.
He continued advancing.
Buzz buzz buzz.
Such a sound coming from ahead made Fang Yuan halt his footsteps.
"A beehive." He looked from a distance and saw a beehive hanging on a tree.
The beehive was massive, about the size of a woven basket, displaying a dismal yellow color. Dozens of soldier bees completely continuously circled and flew outside the beehive, and from time to time, worker bees went in and out.
"Inside the beehive is hidden honey. Honey is the food for the Bear Strength Gu, thus the Xiong village has a huge demand for honey. This beehive is merely a small-scale beehive, so the probability of producing a Gu is not large. If I had a Gu worm like the Copper Skin Gu, I could brave the danger of being stung to gather honey, pity." Fang Yuan thought inwardly.
In this world, not all insects were Gu.
Gu was the essence of heaven and earth, the carrier of laws; how could they be that cheap? Usually, within a swarm of insects, only the insect king was a Gu worm.
But this also depended on the scale of the insect swarm; if the scale was too small, there wouldn't be any either.
Take the bee swarm right before his eyes; because the population was too small, the possibility of there being a Gu was not large.
Fang Yuan bypassed this beehive from a distance and continued advancing.
The tracks of the wild boar on the ground became increasingly obvious. Fang Yuan knew he was getting closer and closer to this wild boar. He also became increasingly careful; wild boars were extremely dangerous.
A wild boar was not a domestic pig. If an adult wild boar fought a tiger, the tiger might not necessarily win.
In this wondrous world, wild beasts were also quite extraordinary.
"Mm? This situation!" When Fang Yuan finally discovered the wild boar, the wild boar was lying in a large pit. Tall, sharpened green spear bamboo spears stood up at the bottom of the pit; the wild boar was impaled by the green spear bamboos, its blood flowing outward with a gurgling sound.
Looking at the blood pooled in the pit, this wild boar had been trapped in the trap for at least fifteen minutes.
However, this wild boar was still struggling with all its might, grunting and howling from its mouth, still possessing considerable vitality.
"This trapped pit was evidently set up by a hunter. I couldn't imagine I would pick up such a cheap advantage." Fang Yuan smiled with his mouth, but his expression was somewhat solemn.
These traps were also a threat to him.
If he himself fell into this trap, it was estimated that he would die in half of fifteen minutes.
Although the vicinity of the hamlet was regularly cleared, hunters also frequently came here to hunt, setting up quite a few traps. Some traps could be identified, but some traps were designed hiddenly; if Fang Yuan was unobservant, it was highly likely he would be hit.
"All over these mountains and fields, any corner could be buried with traps by hunters. However, among hunters, whenever they set up a trap, they usually inform each other of the location. It seems I must find an old hunter and have him clearly state the trap arrangements here, as well as the active range of wild beasts nearby. With this intel, I won't have to be like fishing a needle out of the ocean like right now." Fang Yuan secretly pondered in his heart.
These were all the drawbacks of not having a reconnaissance-type Gu worm on his body.
But to find an excellent reconnaissance Gu, it was equally quite difficult.
Within a short period, if he had the intel of a hunter, he could barely manage to cope.
Thinking like this, Fang Yuan rotated his wrist, and a moonblade flew out, easily striking the wild boar.
Swish.
Only a soft sound was heard as the entire moonblade sank into the wild boar's neck, instantly causing a slender, long line of a wound. Then, with a spurt, a blood spring sprayed out in a geyser-like sheet.
The spraying blood caused the wound to grow bigger and bigger, and the blood spring surged more and more.
The wild boar howled, tossing and turning as if in a final resurgence of energy, and eventually, its movements grew smaller and smaller…
Fang Yuan watched silently, his face a field of calm.
The wild boar's life slowly drained away; its eyes glared as round as marbles, while the muscles on its body still twitched. Warm blood filled the trapped pit, and a dense bloody scent rushed towards his face.
"Survival or death, this exactly is the main melody of nature." He sighed in his heart.
Right at this moment, human voices faintly transmitted over.
"Second Brother Wang, speaking of our hamlet, no one's hunting skills can compare to yours. Especially hunting wild boars. The old master Wang of your family is the hunter king of a hundred miles around, extremely famous; who doesn't know him?"
"Yeah, yeah, Second Brother Wang, you inherited the old master's true teachings. Hunting a single wild boar is naturally an easy grasp for you!"
"Second Brother Wang, why didn't little sister Wang follow you here today?"
Following the flattering voices, a rigid and cold voice sounded: "Hmph! Just hunting one wild boar, how can that show my skills? Today I want to specially hunt and kill three wild boars so you guys can take a good look! Also, Er Gou Dan, stop lusting after my sister; be careful I don't beat you up!!"
Er Gou Dan merely replied: "When a man is grown, he should marry; when a woman is grown, she should wed. Is it against the law for me to like the Wang family's sister? Besides, I'm not the only one who likes her; which guy in our hamlet doesn't like her? Second Brother Wang, if you ask me, you'll be nineteen this new year; at this age, you absolutely should also marry a wife and have kids."
That rigid and cold voice sounded again: "Hmph, as a manly man, how can I covet this little bit of beauty! One day, I will walk out of this Qingmao Mountain, roam the outside world, and experience the world; only then will I not be unworthy of this man's body of mine!"
While speaking, four young hunters walked out from that side of the forest.
The hunter in the lead was tall and lengthy, carrying a bow and arrows on his back. His muscles bulged, and his eyes were spirited, revealing a formidable and highly capable aura.
When he saw Fang Yuan, he immediately twisted his brows and shouted: "Mm? Which hamlet and which household's kid are you, to actually think of picking up my, Wang Er's, cheap advantage? Scram quickly!"