Chapter Thirty-Five: The Sensation of Xishan Township

  The next day, the hunters left Longtan early in the morning and prepared to return. Lin Bei did not go to see them off this time.

  When the hunters arrived at the edge of Mount Fu, it was almost noon. Today was still a violent weather day.

  As they walked out of the forest, Cui Shi Alan said seriously: "Don't think I'm annoying you, we have to keep adult things secret, don't tell anyone."

  The hunters all nodded in agreement. This was already the several times that Cui Shi Alan had said it, and every time they entered the mountain and left Cui Shi Alan, they had to be reminded once.

  Jiulang replied, "A Lan, we certainly won't reveal the affairs of adults, but now every time we enter the mountain and reap a rich harvest, some young men are suspicious and try to guess where we are hunting. For example, that giant bear last time, and the wild boar you brought back, people in the village already have their suspicions. This time if we bring back the lingzhi mushroom again, those people will definitely be extremely envious. We need to think of an excuse."

  Jiulang said this, and several hunters on the side also chimed in: "Yes, Alan, my wife asked me the same thing, I didn't know what to say either."

  "My dad also asked me, asking where I was beaten up after all. The black bear only had a fractured skull, but its fur was intact, which is quite frightening. Even those wandering warriors didn't have this kind of skill."

  Choi Ah-ran also knew that it was only natural for the villagers to be suspicious, and she was also having a hard time.

  The first time they brought back a few wolf skins, because Choi Je was bitten by wolves, so it's said that the hunters killed a few wolves which is normal. However, the subsequent giant bear and wild boar are not easy to explain. The three taboos of the mountain: bears and wild boars are among them. The hunters have not hunted such ferocious beasts for many days, yet Choi Alang and his group brought them back one after another. Once in a while they might be lucky, but two or three times in a row? Not to mention this time they brought back lingzhi mushrooms. The villagers are simple-minded, but that doesn't mean they're brainless.

  Because of the great harvest of Chui Shi Alan and his group of hunters, many other hunters have wanted to join them, but were rejected by Chui Shi Alan. They are all neighbors from the same village, so rejecting one or two people is not a problem, however if they reject multiple people, then their relationship with their neighbors will be difficult to maintain, therefore it's also hard for Chui Shi Alan to handle.

  "Let's come up with a story and get our alibis straight so we don't slip up," suggested Cui Shi Alan.

  "It's not easy to deceive Uncle and the others. Who doesn't know that Shenggucao and Lingzhi are only found deep in Mount Fu? We've only been in the mountains for two days."

  The hunters nodded one after another, their uncles were also hunters, with more experience than them. The old men knew very well what was in the mountains of Fu Shan. Black bears and wild boars would run wildly, but lingzhi and shenggucao wouldn't grow legs. If it weren't for these two things being deep in the mountains, difficult to pick, how could they be so precious?

  "Or just don't say anything at all." Cui Jie naturally supported his sister.

  The hunters thought this was a good idea. The more you say, the more mistakes you make; the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make; if you don't say anything, you won't make any mistakes at all.

  As they spoke, Xishan Township was already in sight.

  Xishan Township and Dongshan Township have the same architectural style, all like a village, with earth walls built outside. This was built in the early years when wolves were rampant, and it is also the closest place to Mount Fu in Xishan Township, which is the most frontier area.

  Xishan Township is not just a small village, there are many other villages behind it. When the villagers gather for small meetings, they will rush to Xishan Township. However, usually, there are only about 100 households in Xishan Township, and eight hunting families live in the township.

  When they arrived at the gate of the village, Cui Shi Alan was about to call out when the heavy wooden door opened by itself, revealing an old man with a face full of deep wrinkles.

  "Ah Bo." The hunters called out respectfully.

  This old man was also very skilled at hunting when he was young, and his son was also very promising. However, his son was later bitten to death by a wolf, leaving behind the old man's grandson and daughter-in-law. Within two years, the daughter-in-law fell ill and died, now only the old man and his seven-year-old grandson are left. Naturally, there is no labor force in the family, so the old man usually just guards the village gate and can also get some pocket money to support the family's living expenses.

  "Back?" Ah Bo smiled warmly. Ah Bo's personality was very good, and he took care of his younger generation. Seeing the hunters return safely made him happy.

  Choi Ah-ran walked in and saw the bustling crowd in the village, only then did she realize: "I forgot that today is a small gathering."

  "Ah, it's a small gathering, several merchants have also arrived, and there are even vendors selling perfumes. Alan, you should dress up."

  Choi Ah-ran felt a bit embarrassed, and being unable to get married was a lifelong pain in her heart.

  Originally, everyone would return home to report their safety after coming back, but today is a small gathering, so they are actually preparing to stroll around first. Cui Shi Alan is a celebrity in the countryside, and from time to time someone greets her, she smiles until her face is a bit sour.

  "Hey, Alan, you're back." As soon as Cui Shi heard this voice, her eyebrows furrowed. This was Wang Shizi, Wang's aunt, who was a thief catcher in Xishan Township. All the hunters here had to call him "Uncle", although he wasn't an official, he still had some power here.

  Here's the translation:

  "This refers to the position of 'Seeking Thief', which is a post under the jurisdiction of the Tingchang, and can be considered as a minor official. It is in charge of capturing thieves and bandits, and has very good intelligence."

  Wang Auntie was also a bit gossipy, often talking about trivial matters at home. Whenever she saw Cui Lan, she would intentionally or unintentionally bring up the topic of marriage, which annoyed Cui Alang, but she had to be careful in her response.

  "Auntie, we're back! Auntie, what are you preparing to buy?"

  "I was just looking, how come there's no prey this time?" Aunt Wang looked at the empty back of the big cow behind her.

  "The beast is going to spend the winter, and the thief is fierce, but there's also a small harvest." Cui Shi Alan hesitated whether or not to mention the Lingzhi matter, not saying it would mean hiding it from people, but saying it would seem like boasting.

  "What good things?" Wang aunt's ability to observe words and expressions was very strong, the hunters all had happy faces, looking like they didn't just have a small harvest, but rather as if they had picked up a fortune.

  "It's just three years of cordyceps." Cui Shi Alan finally decided to be honest, lest this Wang aunt heard it from someone else's mouth, and then another round of ridicule.

  "Three years of Ganoderma?" Aunt Wang suddenly exclaimed loudly, her voice rising by at least eight degrees, and almost everyone in the village heard it.

  "A three-year-old lingzhi, good fellow, this is worth hundreds of gold."

  "Alan and his group have only been in the mountains for two days, how can they get their hands on Lingzhi?"

  "In previous times, I even got a black bear, and its fur was intact. It's said that if you take it to the county, you can sell it for over 100 gold."

  "This is good luck."

  "What good luck."

  "This is not luck, Lingzhi doesn't grow on the outskirts of Mount Fu, but deep inside."

  "Oh, right, can you pick lingzhi in two days? Are they all growing outside now?"

  Choi's Alan several hunters all wry smile, indeed, this matter still let the countryside stir, rural relatives, news spread fastest, can't get through noon, estimated to be able to pass to Dongshan countryside, when the time inevitably another round of questioning.

  P.S: Today is National Day, I went out to play in the afternoon, so there will only be one update today. Updates will resume tomorrow. Finally, wishing everyone a happy National Day.