Chapter Eleven: Appointment for Next Time

  Choi Ah-ran has been carried on his father's back to hunt in the Fu Mountains since he was three years old, and it has been twenty years so far. However, he has never encountered such a strange thing as today - a long worm that can understand human language wants to exchange things with them.

  Yes, Cui Shi Alan has already communicated with Lin Beigou. As for how they communicated, it's actually a pretty simple thing to talk about.

  There was a Dr. Bai in Xishan Township, whose medical skills were very high. Whenever someone in the village had a headache or fever, they would go to see him. Cui Shi Alan had once seen Dr. Bai diagnose and treat a patient who had mistakenly eaten a strange fruit, causing his limbs to become stiff and only his eyes could move. In traditional Chinese medicine, "inspection, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking" are emphasized, with "questioning" being an important foundation. This was how Dr. Bai diagnosed and treated the patient.

  "Does it hurt? Blink once if it hurts, blink twice if it doesn't."

  "Does it hurt here? Blink once if very painful, blink twice if not very painful."

  "What color is the fruit? Blink once for red, twice for white, otherwise don't blink."

  It was this questioning method that allowed Dr. Bai to easily understand the source of the patient's illness, and at that time, Cui Shi Alan felt that Dr. Bai not only had good medical skills but also an exceptionally agile mind, which is exactly what Cui Shi Alan needed at that moment.

  Lin Bei couldn't speak, but he could understand, and nodding or shaking his head was also possible. This way of communication wasn't unusual, yet it was surprisingly effective. So soon, Cui Shi Alan knew that the wolf skin in front of him wasn't given for free, but rather to be exchanged for something.

  It's easier to exchange things here, no more than food, clothing and daily necessities. Cui Shi Alan guessed that Lin Bei wanted to exchange food at once.

  "Is it carnivorous?" asked Cui Shi Alan.

  Lin Beidong nodded and let out a sigh of relief in his heart. After asking for so long, he finally got to the core of the matter.

  Chui Shi Alan entered the wooden shed and took out a package, opened it, and inside was the dried meat that Lin Bei had smelled earlier: "Is this the meat?"

  Lin Bei nodded again.

  Although the process was tortuous, the result was very good. Lin Bei's performance had made Cui Shi Alan and others thoroughly understand that the long worm in front of them indeed possessed wisdom no lower than that of humans. Lin Bei unintentionally became an enemy of humanity, and the hunters still held a respectful fear for Lin Bei, so they didn't dare to play any tricks.

  "Long insect lord, shall I throw these dried meat down for you?" Although it had been confirmed, Cui Shi Alang didn't dare to get close to Lin Beita now.

  Lin Beichao swam forward a few times, then swam to the lower part of the stone wall, and put down the wolf skin tied to the tree stick. After that, he retreated very far away. This method finally made the hunters let their guard down. Cui Shi Alan exerted himself, and Bao Fei flew out, throwing it near Lin Beichao.

  Lin Beifeng unrolled the package, opened it, and saw the dried meat inside. He felt a surge of emotions, almost to the point of tears, thinking about how hard it was to get something to eat. After suppressing his excitement, he nodded at the hunters on top of the stone wall, turned around, and was about to leave.

  "Long insect lord." Choe Alahn suddenly shouted.

  Lin Bei turned back, tilted her head and made a questioning gesture.

  "Choi's Aran calmed down: 'Long insect lord, do you really need this meat?' "

  Lin Beida nodded. Deep down, he was still human and would never get used to drinking blood and eating raw flesh. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to trade for dried meat with these people.

  "So, if Master Long Worm needs it again in the future, we can also exchange with you."

  Not just Lin Bei's eyes lit up when he heard this sentence, but the hunters' eyes also lit up, and they all recognized that this was an opportunity.

  No matter why the Long Worm Lord can understand human language, but the Long Worm Lord is a demon, and demons are very powerful. The forest is extremely dangerous for hunters, but it shouldn't be anything for demons. One is a demon, one is a human, and there shouldn't be any conflict between them. So, exchanging things with each other would be a win-win situation. Others might need to accumulate good deeds for several lifetimes to encounter such a thing.

  Lin Beibei thought that this woman was quite quick-witted, directly asking if there would be any possibility of cooperation next time. Presumably through this transaction, the woman had already seen a good prospect for both parties' transactions, and Lin Beibei naturally wouldn't refuse, as it would also benefit him.

  Lin Bei nodded slowly, indicating that they could cooperate again next time.

  Choi Seo-ah's face flushed with excitement, and she rattled off in a string of words: "So, Longworm-sama, shall we meet again here next time? Let's set... a limit of ten days."

  "We'll bring enough dried meat, Lord Long Worm just needs to help us catch some beasts."

  "Master Longworm, there is a bear's den in the west with a big bear inside. Can Master Longworm kill the big bear?" A hunter asked bravely.

  Lin Beibei nodded, with a weapon in hand, let alone one big bear, even if there were many more Lin Beis, he wouldn't be afraid.

  "Hey Long Worm, back then could you bring me the bear that you killed? I'll give you dried meat."

  Lin Beixin said, "Is it that everyone has the potential to be a swindler? A big bear's weight is at least several hundred catties, and how much dried meat can he carry? No matter how you look at it, this guy seems to be doing a risk-free business, and treating himself as a laborer. However, this time Lin Beixin must agree, after all, you have to give people some benefits. Even if Lin Beixin wanted to find someone else to trade with, it would probably be very difficult, so it's better to just let these people have their way."

  Seeing Lin Beifeng nodding, the hunters were all excited and had many associations with this.

  Hunters don't always have a harvest every time they enter the mountain, and most of them are in danger. However, the long worm in front of him obviously doesn't have this worry. The long worm can find anything they need in the forest, and they only need to pay some dried meat. Is there a better deal than this? Unless you're an idiot, who would refuse such a good thing?

  "Long insect sir, do you know about the lingzhi mushroom? It's like an umbrella, growing between the rotten wood, its color is red or like ink. Long insect sir, if you want to find the lingzhi mushroom, I'll exchange it with dried meat."

  "Long insect sir, can you help me see if there is a red fox in the forest? If there is, can you help me catch it alive?"

  "Long insect sir..."

  Lin Beixin said, "I'll go with that. These guys all pick the most valuable things to listen to. Indeed, human nature is greedy. However, Lin Bei still nodded slightly. As for whether he would give it to them in the end, Lin Bei wasn't stupid. He had to give them some benefits, but couldn't give too much at once. He had to slowly release small benefits, making these people realize that Lord Long Chong wasn't a fool either."

  Compared to those hunters, Cui Shi Alan's request was relatively lower, "Long insect lord, it is said that there is a kind of herb in the forest called 'Shenggucao', if the lord can find it, the young girl will be grateful."

  Choi Ah-ran was clearly asking for her own brother, Lin Bei looked at her and nodded slowly, indicating that if he saw him, he would help the woman bring him back.

  The requests have all been made, and Lin Bei's stomach is also hungry, so he directly went for a walk, he needs to eat.

  After Lin Bei walked away, these people still had a feeling as if they were in a dream. Of course, there was more excitement, excitement that they could interact with a forest demon.

  "This matter should be kept from others for the time being. Although Master Chang Chong has a good temperament, he may not necessarily like to meet outsiders." Cui Shi Alang had no choice but to give these hunters a preventive warning.

  "Don't worry, Alan, it won't be said."

  "Right, we won't say anything either."

  "If only Master Changzhong could catch the red fox, I heard from a fellow at the Zhen family's store that a live little red fox can sell for over a hundred taels of gold. Converted to wu zhu qian, that would be several tens of thousands of coins."

  "Even a bear's head is not bad. The nobles of Luoyang are said to love eating bear meat, and an intact bear skin can be worth several dozen gold pieces."

  "I'll be rich soon and then I can marry Little Red."

  "Big Mountain, I'm afraid you've been driven mad by thinking of marrying Little Red?"

  "So what?"

  Everyone burst out laughing, filling the air with joyful atmosphere.