Sunset at the head of the building, home mountain far away

  The next day, the three of them rushed to Ant Tribulation Village. Miao girl Ah Li's house was not in the village, but on a mountain waist hundreds of meters away from the village. It was a two-story house, mostly made of wood structure, with bricks and stones as the base, covered with dark green tiles, and several large trees by the side of the house, hiding it underneath.

  The entrance was a flat ground, but several bamboo mats were laid out, and medicinal materials were drying inside. A middle-aged woman was turning over the medicinal materials on the other side, although she was middle-aged, her charm still existed. As soon as she saw the three people arrive, she obviously recognized Principal Du, stood up, and greeted Principal Du: "Principal Du, it's rare to have you visit, please come in and sit down! Who are these two?"

  "De Gu, these two are distinguished guests from afar, looking for Ah Li to buy some wild ganoderma and other medicinal herbs. Do you have any?" Principal Du asked, the Miao people are a nation with "no distinction between old and young, no respect or inferiority". When receiving things and treating people, they only follow the order of seniority, not taking wealth or status into account. "De Gu" is a Miao term, equivalent to what is commonly referred to as "older sister", Principal Du turned around to introduce the identity of the Miao aunt in front of Sun Lao and the others, this was Ah Li's mother.

  "My daughter Ah Li has gone to the mountain to pick herbs, but we have a few lingzhi mushrooms." Ah Li's mother said. Liu Zhi was somewhat disappointed in his heart, he wanted to see Ah Li, but Ah Li wasn't there. Sun Lao was very happy and bought three lingzhi mushrooms, one sanqi, and some other precious medicinal materials. Liu Zhi also bought two lingzhi mushrooms and other things.

  On the way back to school, Liu Zhi asked Principal Du about Ah Li's situation. Ah Li's real name was Lei Li, and surprisingly, she had graduated from a university, although it was an ordinary one, which was extremely rare in this place. After graduating, she worked in the city for a period of time, but for some reason, she came back to make a living by collecting medicinal herbs. Her medicinal materials were very famous, and she often got precious wild medicinal materials that other collectors didn't know how she managed to get.

  Liu Zhi sent Sun Lao to the nearest station, after sending away Sun Lao, he bought some daily necessities. From now on, he will stay in school, although it is summer vacation, there is still work to be done, mainly repairing the school building, and he is responsible for quality control.

  The school conditions were quite harsh, Liu Zhizhi lived with Principal Du's family and was a volunteer, but also a supervisor sent by the foundation to oversee the place. He didn't need to receive a salary from the local education department, instead, he was paid by the foundation, although not high, Liu Zhizhi wasn't short of money, as a martial artist, he needed to keep up with his nutrition or else his body wouldn't be able to take it, so he spent his own money to ask Principal Du's wife to buy meat every day.

  Another aspect is bathing. Now it's summer, and we have to bathe every day. The school conditions are simple, with only a small bathroom near the kitchen, which is just a small room without showers or bathtubs, but only a large wooden tub and two water buckets, as well as two long benches. We carry a bucket of hot water and a bucket of cold water from the kitchen, then wash ourselves in the tub, an ancient yet convenient way of bathing.

  Fortunately, it's summer now. Not far from the school, a mountain stream flows down from the top of the mountain and forms a small stone pool in the shade of trees not far below the school. The water is very clear. Most of the time, Liu Zhi knows to swim in it, then wipe his body dry, which counts as taking a bath.

  The days are very dull, and for ordinary people, it's boring. There is no TV, let alone internet. However, the mobile phone can communicate with the outside world, although the signal is poor. Liu Zhi knows this and feels a sense of nostalgia. Look at how diligent China Telecom and Mobile are, and then look at government departments, making money is the top priority!

  A simple life suited Liu Zhi very well. He got up every morning before dawn to practice martial arts, then watched the tile and wood craftsmen repair the school buildings, chatted with the masters, quickly became familiar with the locals, strolled around the mountains in his free time, and also met several medicine-picking masters. Sometimes he followed them to see how they picked herbs, and unknowingly became familiar with the habits of many medicinal materials and learned how to decoct them.

  Time has passed unknowingly, and it's already August. There is less than a month left before the start of school, and the campus repairs are almost complete. Liu Zhi-zhi finished writing his work report and handed it over to the postal worker to be sent to Shencheng.

  These days, Liu Zhi felt that his skills had improved a lot and he liked the simple and peaceful life here. However, he received a call from Cheng Zhenqian, saying that he would drive to pick him up and go to a nearby town for fun.

  Linsan Town is a town more than 20 kilometers away from Majiazhuang. Within the range of dozens of miles around, villages and stockades nearby all come to Linsan Town for market on the tenth day of each month.

  Today was not a market day, a jeep drove into the town and stopped at a place. Liu Zhi-zhi and Cheng Zhen-qian got off the car, and Cheng Zhen-qian asked a passerby how to get to Master Xiang's knife shop. The passerby gave detailed directions, and the two followed the directions given by the passerby, turning over several intersections, and saw a small shop with a sign at the door that read "Xiang's Knife Shop".

  Earlier in the car, Cheng Zhenqian had told Liu Zhizhi about the situation. During his inspection tour, he heard from local people that there was a famous knife-casting master named Xiang Ye in this place. Cheng Zhenqian liked knives and swords very much and collected many of them. He also liked traveling and at one stage even wanted to be a donkey friend, walking through all the famous mountains and rivers. Hearing that there was a famous knife-casting master here, he took Liu Zhizhi to take a look when he had nothing else to do recently.

  Two people entered the store, with various knives hanging on the walls. A woman sat behind the counter, and the sound of ironwork came from the back. When she saw the two enter, the woman stood up. After asking, they found out that this woman was Itemu's wife, Itemu was forging a knife in the backyard, and she was taking care of the store in the front.

  Liu Zhi and Liu Zhi carefully selected a few, Liu Zhi bought two knives, one Miao knife, and one pointed Miao knife. The Miao knife is not strictly the long knife of the Miao people, the Miao people use more short knives, called pointed Miao knives, which are no longer than 30 cm. The Miao knife is much longer, reaching 135 cm, and it is a rare domestic knife species that retains double-handed grip.

  Cheng Zhenqian bought three knives, in addition to the Miao knife and the pointed Miao knife, he also bought a Jingpo long knife. The Xiangshi knife shop has a certain reputation in the world of swords and knives, and the knives produced are all made using traditional methods, with an exceptionally sharp edge. A normal ceramic bowl can be split open with one cut, and ordinary steel nails can also be severed with one slash.

  Liu Zhi bought two knives for over a thousand yuan, with the Miao knife costing over a thousand and the pointed Miao knife costing three hundred. Liu Zhi's purpose in buying the knives was different from that of Cheng Zhenqian, who collected them out of personal interest. Liu Zhi, on the other hand, had a sudden inspiration to practice knife techniques, having previously learned about weapons from his master and being familiar with the training methods for the Jingpo knife technique, including the three-and-a-half knife method, as well as the one-second-three-knife method used in Miao knife training.

  Cheng Zhenqian drove to send Liu Zhizhi to Mazhai, and made an appointment with Liu Zhizhi to find a time to venture into the mountains and contact him by phone at that time.

  Ryū Chihaya practiced boxing every day, and also started training in knife techniques. His training combined the three-and-a-half knives and one-second-three-knives methods. The three-and-a-half knives method was simple: he would toss a wooden stick into the air, perform a series of three consecutive cuts before the stick hit the ground, cutting it into four pieces, then advance half a knife to split the last piece vertically in two, like chopping wood. His knife technique was as swift as lightning and didn't involve any specific stances; whereas the one-second-three-knives method involved "one second for three knives, one step for three knives, half a second for two knives".

  One knife across the throat, two knives into the chest, three knives to lift the hem, doing it in one move with two knives.

  (Second knife falls on the ground), then step back and turn around with three swings.

  This knife method is purely a fast word, Liu Zhi currently has entered the Ming Jin, and his understanding of martial arts is not comparable to that of ordinary martial arts enthusiasts. He improved the knife method by taking out the knife. Originally, those two knife methods did not have any requirements for Fa Jin, only pursuing speed and quick switching between each knife. Liu Zhi's knife method is led by the step with the waist, with the waist leading the knife, one step forward, the force starts from the heel, the waist naturally rotates, the knife light almost splashes out from the waist, the whole body's Jin is transmitted from the spine to the arm through a slight rotation, and naturally reaches the knife tip. Not only did the knife speed increase, but the power also increased a lot.

  Twenty days later, Liu Zhi knew that in the mountains, in a clearing between trees, he hooked his foot and a withered branch as thick as an arm flew into the air. A flash of silver light flew out from his waist, slightly upwards, and the tree stump fell to chest height. Immediately, it split into two segments. Liu Zhi took one step forward, his foot landed on the ground, and his wrists flipped, the knife light made a turn, and the shadow passed by. The tree stump was again divided into two segments. Before it ended, the knife light made another turn, and the tree stump was split open once more. One segment fell to the ground quickly, Liu Zhi took another step forward, and the knife light chopped down vertically, like chopping firewood, splitting this segment in half.

  Liu Zhi knew to put away his sword and catch his breath, his swordsmanship had already reached perfection. This kind of swordsmanship could be said to be able to take down all the enemies around him in an instant when entering a chaotic battle. However, Liu Zhi didn't reveal a joyful expression, instead he furrowed his brow. He felt that his swordsmanship should have been perfected, but it lacked something. What exactly was lacking? Liu Zhi wasn't clear.

  Liu Zhi sighed and knew he couldn't be impatient. Maybe one day, he would suddenly understand. Without the right opportunity, no matter how hard he thought about it, it was useless.

  The school is about to open, and the school has been renovated. The desks and chairs in the classroom are neat and tidy, the glass on the windows has been fully installed, the blackboard has been repainted, and some simple scientific experiment equipment and medicines for primary schools have also arrived.

  Liu Zhi Zhi teaches elective courses in the new semester, including calligraphy and scientific knowledge. There are only five teachers and staff members in the school, including Principal Du and his wife, as well as a local teacher named Wang Benlin, who is a middle-aged man from the area. Another teacher is Cao Yu Ying, a young woman who graduated from normal school just a year ago and is also a volunteer, originally from the provincial capital. There is also a kitchen staff member who works with Du's wife to prepare lunch for the students.

  New semester, students don't need to bring their own desks and chairs. What's more exciting is that after each class, every student gets a boiled egg. Although they still bring their own lunch boxes for steamed rice, there are two pieces of meat added to each box. This is because Liu Zhi and Sun Lao saw that the students were having plain steamed rice with soybeans last semester, so they set aside part of the donated funds to give each student an egg and a small piece of meat every day. The meat was marinated in seasonings and then put directly into the lunch box for steaming. With only over 100 students in the school, it's just over 10 kilograms of meat per day, and the prices here are much lower than in Shenzhen, so it doesn't actually cost that much money.

  Sun Lao said before leaving that the foundation had discussed with Project Hope whether to provide students in poor areas with an egg and a cup of milk every day.

  Liu Zhi didn't have a teaching background, but his knowledge was more than enough to teach these young students. From primary school to university, he listened to teachers' lectures every day. Although he hadn't studied education, he taught them in a very authentic way. Before long, it was the National Day holiday. Liu Zhi had planned to return to Shen City for a visit, but Cheng Zhenqian invited him to go on an adventure in the mountains instead. Cheng Zhenqian had already returned home once before National Day.

  Liu Zhi called He Shu to tell her that he wouldn't be returning, and then made another call to his father Liu Chuan Yi. Originally, the father-son relationship wasn't very harmonious, so he decided to take a trip with Cheng Zhen Qian as a mule friend for a few days in the mountains.

  Cheng Zhenqian left the car at Ma Family Stockade and, carrying a large bag, entered the mountains with Liu Zhizhi. They first went to the Heavenly Pit. To be honest, Liu Zhizhi didn't want to come here; after all, he had killed three people here, and their bodies were still at the bottom of the pit. But it wasn't good to show this, while Cheng Zhenqian was full of interest, marveling at the grandeur of nature.

  Cheng Zhenqian had been preparing for this mountain expedition tour for a long time.

  Sleeping bag, a set of windbreaker pants, underwear, dry rations, stainless steel tea cup bowl, first aid kit, raincoat, personal hygiene products, water bottle, Swiss army knife, and other small items, all packed into the backpack. What's most eye-catching is that he also brought a steel crossbow with ten steel arrows.

  Cheng Zhenqian was originally going to bring a tent, but Liu Zhizhi said, "The Miao people in the mountains spend the night on the mountain, what tent do they have? Don't worry, I've learned from them, we can get by without a tent." So Cheng Zhenqian threw the tent into the car.

  As for the crossbow, Liu Zhi was very curious and asked where he got it from. Cheng Zhenqian smiled and told Liu Zhi to search online, it can be settled with a few hundred yuan. This crossbow is equipped with a scope, has a range of 100 meters, and an accurate range of 80 meters, but it costs around six or seven hundred yuan.

  In comparison to Cheng Zhen's fully equipped gear, Liu Zhi knew was much simpler. In his backpack, there was a thin sleeping bag, a piece of plastic cloth, some dry rations, and two catties of rice. Other than that, he only had some small items, including a water bottle, but instead of water inside, it contained the local villagers' self-brewed white wine, to which Liu Zhi knew added one of his own refined Ginseng Spirit Pills. What was unexpected by Cheng Zhen was that Liu Zhi knew actually brought along a Miao Dao and a pointed Miao knife.

  "Don't be so exaggerated! What are you bringing a dagger for? Are you going to fight beasts?" Cheng Zhenqian said with exaggeration.

  "If you go up the mountain and there's no road, use it to cut down trees and open a path!" Liu Zhi knew of another use for it. He wasn't just talking nonsense. He was familiar with many herb collectors in the area. If Cheng Zhen's equipment was ordinary hiker gear, then Liu Zhi's standard was wilderness survival gear, which might be more practical.

  When Cheng Zhenqian heard Liu Zhizhi's response, he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, saying: "You used a collectible worth 1,000 yuan as a chopping board knife, it's really impressive that you thought of it!"

  "A knife is meant to be used!" Liu Zhi didn't think so, he bought the knife not for collection, but because he had seen several knife techniques before and wanted to practice them.

  The two of them stopped at the Tiankeng for a while, admiring it for half a day before heading into the depths of the mountain. At first, there was still a path, but gradually, there wasn't much of a road left. The two of them were currently following a mountain stream deep into the mountains, and it wasn't difficult to walk. Under the shade of the trees, Liu Zhi knew picked some Huang Jing. Over the past two months, he had been interacting with herb collectors, not idly passing the time. Cheng Zhen didn't recognize any of them, but fortunately, the scenery along the way was unique and strange, so the two of them were greatly satisfying their eyes.

  After walking for half a day, the two of them were also getting tired, so they rested under a big tree by the stream. Cheng Zhen looked at the time and suggested that since they had set out from more than 6 o'clock in the morning and it was almost 10 o'clock now, they should walk for about another hour before eating.

  Liu Zhi nodded, and the two were about to get up when they heard a sound. The mountain was originally quiet, and where they were, the stream flowed gently, without any water sounds, making them somewhat tense. The two looked in the direction of the sound, but it was just a woman picking herbs. Liu Zhi recognized her at a glance - it was actually her!

  It's just Ah Li, Liu Zhi immediately stood up: "Ah Li sister, what a coincidence to meet you here!"

  "It turned out to be Han Jia Liu A Ge, how did you end up here?" Ah Li was somewhat surprised, Cheng Zhen Qian was a bit dazed, in the deep mountains, a beautiful Miao girl actually appeared.

  "I and Cheng Ge entered the mountain to play, considered donkey friends! This is my friend Cheng Zhenqian. Cheng Ge, this beautiful sister is Li Li whom I mentioned before." Liu Zhizhi introduced them.

  "Nice to meet you, Lili? Is that a surname or a given name?" Cheng Zhenqian said somewhat perplexedly.

  "No, it's the 'Li' of the common people, and the one behind is the 'Li' of pear flower." Ah Li said.

  "It's me who was mistaken, Li Li, what a nice name you have! You're even more beautiful than the legendary heavenly sister on the internet!" Complimented Cheng Zhenqian.

  Aly's face flushed red as she looked around, her eyes fixed on the big tree where they had just rested. Liu Zhi knew something was off and couldn't help but ask: "Aly, what kind of tree is this?"

  "You guys are really bold, it can be said that ignorance is bliss, this is a bloodbark tree!" Ah Li said.

  The two men's faces changed immediately, and Cheng Zhenqian involuntarily exclaimed: "This is the legendary Blood-Sealing Tree, also known as the Arrow Poison Tree!" The two men's eyes met, and fear inadvertently shone through. They had actually been leaning against this big tree to rest for a while, wasn't that like Old Shouxing eating arsenic, living recklessly!

  "It's not as scary as you think, as long as the wound doesn't come into contact with the sap, it'll be fine!" Ari reassured them, but they quickly distanced themselves from the tree, as if avoiding a plague.

  The three of them walked forward along the stream together, and in their conversation, two people learned that Ali came to collect medicine. After going to a bamboo forest ahead, they would head in another direction and not be on the same road as the other two.

  They arrived at the bamboo forest, it was already around half past ten. Cheng Zhenqian saw a patch of hairy bamboo, which was very elegant and refined. He had an idea and said to Liu Zhizhi: "Little Liu, why don't we rest here for a while and have something to eat?"

  Liu Zhi knew that it was getting late, so he nodded in agreement and said to Ali: "Ali, you also take a rest, and have dinner with us!"

  Ari looked up at the sun and thought for a moment, then agreed. The two of them took out some dry rations, and Ari suddenly laughed as she pulled out rice from her basket. She used a hatchet to chop down a bamboo stalk and started making bamboo tube rice. As they worked, they busied themselves gathering firewood and helping each other out. What was even more unexpected was that Ari actually pulled out a wild rabbit from the basket - it was unclear how she had hunted it. She told Liu Zhi to take it to the creek to skin and clean it, then took out a small bag of salt from the basket. Nearby, they found some plants, including some thin wild scallions that Liu Zhi recognized, which Ari sprinkled on top of the rabbit meat before roasting it over the fire. Before long, the aroma made their mouths water uncontrollably.

  Originally, I was going to invite Ah Li to dinner, but now it's the other way around. Liu Zhi Zhi made three bamboo cups with a bamboo tube and poured three cups of wine, one for each person. Fortunately, Ah Li also knew how to drink, otherwise two men would feel embarrassed, just like this, still feeling a bit awkward.

  A Li took a sip and her eyebrows relaxed: "This is medicinal wine, it contains Ganoderma lucidum and honey, what else?"

  "Wow, you're amazing!" Ryu Ji-knew exclaimed, and then told the situation of making medicine pills, Alie just understood.

  "Brother, you're also impressive. No wonder you bought the lingzhi last time. It's more effective when used like this." Ah Li said, adding some firewood to the bonfire and mixing in a type of white grass, releasing a faint fragrance into the air.

  "What kind of grass is this?" asked Liu Zhi Zhi.

  "This is lemongrass, we go into the mountain to collect medicine, or spend the night in the mountain, often collecting some, putting them on fire, burning after, its fragrance can drive away mosquitoes, snakes and ants, and also drive away evil spirits!" Ah Li replied.

  "There's such a good thing, much better than mosquito coils!" Cheng Zhenqian exclaimed.

  As they spoke, the bamboo tube rice was ready. Three tubes of rice, and for the first time, Liu Zhi Zhi and Cheng Zhen Qian found it truly delicious, with a natural fragrance of bamboo. Only then did the two realize that they were far inferior to Ah Li in surviving in the wilderness. As they ate, the two asked Ah Li to teach them how to survive in the mountains.

  After dinner, Ah Li shouldered the medicine basket, which was already full of medicinal materials, and bid farewell to the two men, preparing to head home. As she was about to leave, she remembered something and tossed the bag of salt to Liu Zhi Zhi, saying: "You two follow the stream upwards, at the end of the stream go up again, on top of the mountain there is a beacon tower left over from decades ago, although it's already dilapidated, but as a place to stay for the night, it can block the wind and rain."

  Two people saw Ah Li walk far away, and Cheng Zhenqian sighed: "I thought I had a good grasp of outdoor adventure travel knowledge, but compared to Ah Li, I was far behind. She is the real wilderness survival expert!" He changed his tone and joked with Liu Zhizhi: "Ah Li is so beautiful, are you having feelings for her? Brother has a family, if he were ten years younger and not married, brother would chase after her relentlessly. Little Liu, don't miss out!"

  "Cheng Ge, I've only met Ah Li twice!"

  "Haha, you're already calling me 'sister', but you're not a simple guy either!"

  Two people chatted and laughed, admiring the scenery. Liu Zhi knew had an additional task, which was to collect rare medicinal herbs if he came across any. As luck would have it, under a pine tree, he discovered a patch of Fuzi (Aconitum).

  Two people arrived at the watchtower before dusk, the watchtower was a two-story building, although it was somewhat dilapidated, but overall it was still okay. The two of them collected many dry branches and twigs in the forest, Liu Zhi knew wielded his knife like wind, chopping the firewood into pieces, Cheng Zhen saw that Liu Zhi really used his sword as a hatchet, couldn't help but shake his head.

  The two of them picked up some lemongrass, and by this time the sun had begun to set. The red sun slowly sank below the horizon. They climbed up to the rooftop, gazing at the magnificent view. Liu Zhi knew took out his phone and snapped a photo. Cheng Zhen looked out at the setting sun, then turned around, facing the already dark and misty east.

  "Cheng Ge, do you miss home?"

  "Where is the village at sunset? My wife and children should be having dinner now!"

  "Cheng Ge, you miss your wife, but I'm a lonely person with not-so-good relationships with my family members. However, home is still home after all. As the sun sets, where are the mountains and rivers of my hometown?"