Chapter Twelve: The Eagle's Footprints

  After tidying up for a few days, Chen Yunfeng finally set off. This little cow was the child of a farming family he had found. Due to war and official extortion, this family was already on the verge of collapse.

  This young cow's old mother is already over 50 years old, and the old father has long since gone to the battlefield and become a ghost under the knife. It is said that Chen Yunfeng's family has taken in an apprentice, and the former owner of this house introduced him to Chen Yunfeng. This young man is honest and diligent, so Chen Yunfeng kept him on directly, paying him three taels of silver per month to take care of his household chores.

  Chen Yunfeng didn't know when he would return, so he left behind some loose silver and a 100-tael silver note for Xiao Niu. Firstly, he wasn't concerned about the small amount of money, and secondly, he wanted to test whether his judgment was correct or not.

  "Alright, young master, I'll clean the house thoroughly and every month my mother will come to collect her wages. When you return, I'll go home to see her." Little Cow said respectfully to Chen Yunfeng.

  After a few days of getting along, Chen Yunfeng learned from Xiaoniu that the current life of the villagers is not good. Even during the harvest season, they can't make a living for a family. If they encounter a disaster, it will be a scene of starvation and death. Looking at Xiaoniu's tight but determined face, he smiled and said:

  "If there is a grain shortage at home, let your mother come here to help me too. I took a look and found that we have a loom and spinning wheels for thread, as well as plenty of silk threads left over. Let her spin cloth to sell, it's better than farming at home."

  "Hmm, I'll listen to Young Master's words. If Mother is willing, I'll let her help Young Master." Little Cow said foolishly as he looked at the always gentle Young Master.

  Chen Yunfeng smiled and mounted his horse, taking the backpack from Xiaoniu's hand and putting it on his back. Inside the backpack were quite a few dry rations and two jars of strong liquor. This Xiaoniu liked to call him Young Master, but Chen Yunfeng had told him several times to call him Big Brother instead, yet he still hadn't changed his ways.

  Riding out of the city, Chen Yunfeng had a fine steel long sword hanging from his waist. In fact, he didn't like using fancy swordsmanship, but now he only knew Yu Nu Jian Fa and Quan Zhen Jian Fa. Next, he would probably have to use that heavy sword again. Fortunately, that heavy sword was more like a giant club than a sword, and it would be more effective for hitting people.

  Racing out of the south gate of Xiangyang, Chen Yunfeng continued to head south along the small road, from occasionally still being able to see woodcutters asking for directions, to gradually becoming a desolate wilderness, and finally even horses could not set foot in. After that, Chen Yunfeng placed his horse in a mountain valley and began searching in the mountain streams and gorges using his relatively pure lightness skill.

  One day...... half a month...... for nearly half a month, Chen Yunfeng had set foot in various mountain valleys within hundreds of square kilometers around him. These days he had been constantly using his lightness skill to hurry along the road, and even traversed through extremely dangerous mountain streams, which made his light body skill become even more smooth and effortless.

  Every night, he sat in stillness on the high mountain to cultivate himself, but he didn't dare enter a state of meditation. Even with the Nine Yang True Classic that had been in his hands for many days, he only analyzed and researched it, and made some shallow attempts at cultivating it.

  He must find the Gu Bo snake, even if the Divine Eagle and Heavy Sword are not in hand, they can still be tracked down later and obtained beforehand. However, having a strong inner power is necessary, and he is now showing signs of great anxiety.

  Looking at the empty food bag, only two jars of strong wine prepared to worship the divine eagle were left inside. Looking at the gloomy sky after noon, Chen Yunfeng picked up a jar of strong wine and broke the seal.

  A whiff of wine fragrance wafted through the air, Chen Yunfeng's nostrils flared twice, and the wine worm in his belly crawled up to his throat.

  "It smells so good, worthy of being the daughter of a five-tael silver jar of girl's red wine. Unfortunately, Old Eagle didn't have this luck." Chen Yunfeng gulped down two mouthfuls, and after a faint warmth spread across his body, he let out a loud sigh.

  He took a sip, the aroma of wine spreading throughout the valley, he actually wasn't very good at drinking, after just a few sips he already looked somewhat tipsy, but he didn't want to use his internal energy to suppress the effects of the alcohol, shaking his head and looking towards the distant layered mountains, letting out a loud roar.

  "We ordinary people are really happy today... we ordinary people... ah... uh... today is... uh... really happy..."

  A song that moved heaven and earth shook the valley, Chen Yunfeng raised his wine jar high and was about to throw it down from the mountain top. This time he almost didn't come in vain. He prepared to cultivate diligently for two years first, and then follow Yang Guo again when they gather in Xiangyang for the first time.

  "A loud, harsh cry suddenly came, Chen Yunfeng, who was holding a wine jar in a daze, turned his head to look back, and a giant bird with a height of over two meters flapped its wings and flew rapidly from afar."

  "Old Eagle? It actually came out by itself...... Hehe......" Chen Yunfeng, who was slightly drunk, muttered to himself as he watched the large eagle quickly approaching.

  It is said that if you plant flowers with all your heart, they will bloom. But after searching for half a month with great effort, I couldn't find it. However, after drinking a few mouthfuls of strong liquor, this old fellow was attracted out.

  "Ggg...". The divine eagle swooped down and stared at the wine jug, making a low humming noise. At this time, Chen Yunfeng finally shook his head hard, circulating his true energy to slowly suppress his intoxication.

  After calming down a bit, Chen Yunfeng carefully looked at the divine eagle. This divine eagle was indeed as ugly as Jin Dada had written, with a big lump on its head, sparse and messy feathers all over its body, but its sharp claws grasped the iron hook-like talons tightly, and its big eyes stared at Chen Yunfeng with curiosity.

  Chen Yunfeng watched as Shen Diao slowly put down the wine jug, and seeing Shen Diao's eyes following the rotation of the jug, he smiled and said:

  "Old fellow, would you like some wine?"

  "Hmm...!" The divine eagle nodded its head and cried out loudly.

  Chen Yunfeng knew that this wine jug was at least a top-notch master, he slowly put down the wine jug and retreated to one side. The wine jug didn't care about these things, jumped in front of the wine jug, buried its head, and heard the sound of gurgling continuously rising up. In less than a minute, more than half of the strong liquor was drunk clean by it.

  "Hmm... quite a drink." Chen Yunfeng patted his still flushed face and said in surprise.

  "Gugugu..." The divine eagle finished its wine and called out to Chen Yunfeng with a tilted head.

  Chen Yunfeng took a look at the Divine Eagle, which was still in high spirits, and quickly opened the remaining jar of wine. He took two mouthfuls to show that nothing was wrong, then placed the wine jar in front of the Divine Eagle again.

  "Groggily..."

  The Divine Eagle's capacity for liquor was astonishing, and in no time at all, a jar of over five kilograms of Heightened Daughter Red had been drunk, yet it still looked at Chen Yunfeng with an air of elegance.

  "Old bird, don't worry, I'll bring more for you next time." Seeing the divine bird looking at him, Chen Yun Tian took out his backpack and said.

  "Ggg...". The divine eagle nodded its head, jumped in front of Chen Yunfeng, and after a careful look, it surprisingly shook its head.

  "Gah......" Just as Chen Yunfeng was about to ask the Qubuti snake for information, the divine eagle nodded at him and flapped its wings before rushing off wildly.

  Chen Yunfeng's mouth was agape, and he stood there stupidly. Was that it? He had eaten his fill and run off with a clean slate. Looking at the two empty wine jars on the ground, he felt a pang of sadness and simply lay down to sleep.