Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 17 Danger in the Mountains
“Flutter flutter~”

A plump pheasant sensed danger, quickly flapped its wings, and fled into the forest.

"Shh!"

In an instant, a blade of light struck, piercing the empty space six inches in front of the pheasant.

The next moment, the pheasant suddenly accelerated, stretching its head forward until its neck was right in front of the knife tip…

"Pfft~"

Twenty-five or twenty-six paces away, Zhao Lei released the bow and arrow, shaking his head with a wry smile:

"Ah Sheng, your throwing knife technique is getting more and more amazing... You never miss within thirty paces."

Liu Sheng glanced at the wisp of spirit that had appeared on the pheasant's corpse, shrugged, and said nothing.

With the blessing of being a "born swordsman," his throwing knife skills have reached the limits of ordinary people.

After an hour or so in the mountains, they had already caught three wild rabbits, five pheasants, and six mountain rats.

Scattered here and there, there are about fifty catties, which can be sold for seventy or eighty coins.

But paying summer taxes is far from enough.

According to the new policy of the imperial court, the summer tax is paid at 100 catties per mu. If a family has 1 mu of land, they pay 100 catties of grain, and if they have 10 mu of land, they pay 1000 catties of grain.

Of course, one could also pay in silver according to the price given by the government.

As for farmers without land ownership, their taxes are calculated and paid according to regulations based on their other industries.

Besides these, what terrified ordinary people the most was the equalization of corvée labor!
This includes, but is not limited to, prison guards, gatekeepers, post station attendants, warehouse workers, militia members, road builders, miners, river workers, and canal transport workers.

Among them, those who could make money, such as prison guards, militiamen, and warehouse workers, had long been monopolized by people with connections, and were completely isolated from ordinary people.

The rest were all arduous and exhausting jobs, where a slight misstep could cost you your life or even bankrupt you, and you had to bring your own food.

For example, when transporting grain, one had to provide one's own horses and boats. If natural disasters occurred along the way, or if officials embezzled funds, one had to bear the losses oneself.

Moreover, even if you're lucky enough to avoid natural disasters, there's still the risk of war.

The grain transport soldiers often extorted money from the people under the guise of "excessive tax" and "excessive tax," resulting in the people having as much as 50% or 60% of the grain they paid being withheld!
You'll have to pay for this part yourself.

Of course, this kind of "package" is not available to ordinary poor families; it is prepared specifically for well-off families, wealthy farmers, or gentry who have offended powerful figures.

Often, a single instance of forced labor could wipe out generations of their accumulated wealth, leaving them destitute.

Of course, you can also pay silver in lieu of service fees. As for the price, it varies from year to year, and it's ultimately up to the government.

If they refuse to serve in the military, their property will be confiscated, they will be fined, and they will be sentenced to exile.

You could also abandon your property and evade service, hiding in the deep mountains and forests, and then become an unregistered vagrant.

Inspectors and constables in various places love this kind of thing the most; by labeling someone a "thief," they can collect heads and get promoted and make a fortune.

Before the Liu family, they had been selected to transport grain for three consecutive years. At that time, Liu Xiucai was bedridden and could only pay money to do the work in lieu of the duty.

After three years, of the more than ten acres of land, only three acres remained after selling off the produce.

“My family’s summer tax this year will be at least two and a half ounces, and yours will be about three ounces. We can’t raise enough money with just these wild rabbits and pheasants.”

We need to find a way to get into the mountains and hunt a big one.

Zhao Lei stepped forward, picked up the pheasant, put it in his hunting bag, hesitated for a moment, and looked at Liu Sheng.

The term "large game" refers to large prey such as tigers, leopards, bears, boars, and deer, which can only be found in the Black Wind Mountains.

Now that tiger attacks are spreading, hunters in nearby villages dare not enter the mountains; they can only now roam around the small hills on the outskirts.

When Master Qin and his group went into the mountains, he was the only one who returned, which was extremely dangerous.

But if we don't go into the mountains to catch large trucks, we won't be able to collect enough for the upcoming summer tax...

"Well..."

Liu Sheng still has several dozen taels of silver on him, and given the relationship between the two families, giving Zhao Lei two or three taels would not be a problem.

However, this would be difficult to explain and would easily expose his relationship with Wu Song.

Moreover, he now has two beast-level avatars, especially the Blade-Tailed Azure Sparrow, which is extremely fast. If he wanted to escape, it would be a piece of cake.

Moreover, the mountains are rich in prey, allowing for the selection of targets and preparation for the next refining of the incarnation...

Liu Sheng looked up at the sky and nodded:

"Alright, let's just wander around the perimeter and not go too deep."

"That's definitely not going deep enough, follow me!"

Zhao Lei was overjoyed at the sight and quickly stepped forward to lead the way.

Summer had arrived, and the vegetation was lush and vibrant.

The vegetation on Black Wind Mountain was terrifyingly lush, with vines intertwining, tree canopies blocking out the sky, and misty mountain air. Shrubs as tall as a person were everywhere. If it weren't for Zhao Lei leading the way, an ordinary person would probably get lost after wandering around for a while.

Upon entering the mountains, the air suddenly became crisp and cool, even slightly chilly…

A chill ran through me!
"...It wasn't like this in earlier years. I remember it started from the second year after we went into the mountains to hunt."

About three or four years ago, the vegetation in the mountains grew wildly, and many of the original mountain paths disappeared…

Zhao Lei told Liu Sheng to stay close, and introduced the place as they walked:
"However, there's been a significant increase in prey, so I'm earning more than before..."

Three or four years ago...

In the original owner's memories, there seemed to be a vague recollection; it seemed that a storm had struck at night...

Widespread solar rain?

His private tutor at the time said, "The world is about to change," and soon after, he left Baishui Village...

So, is the rampant vegetation growth on Black Wind Mountain related to the sunlight that fell that year?
Liu Sheng nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

An hour later, the two arrived at Zhao Lei's usual hunting grounds...

Pea Valley.

This is a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, where three streams converge and carve out a series of ravines.

Large animals such as red muntjacs, musk deer, spotted deer, and wild boars are frequently seen in this area.

Zhao Lei, being experienced, took the initiative to ease the tension by telling some interesting stories circulating among hunters:

"Legend has it that many years ago, Black Wind Mountain was occupied by a great demon. At its peak, it gathered thousands of demons and ruled over a radius of hundreds of miles, feeding on humans and livestock."

Later, a divine being came here to subdue the demon, causing the heavens and earth to collapse and the eight-hundred-mile mountain range to sink, becoming a large lake…

"Is there a large lake that stretches for hundreds of miles in these mountains?"

Liu Sheng immediately became interested. If he could refine a great demon, or even a monster, wouldn't he be able to take off immediately?
"...I only heard about it from others; I've never seen it with my own eyes."

Zhao Lei opened his mouth, smiled somewhat embarrassedly, and quickly changed the subject:
"...But this tiger attack is a bit unusual."

Generally speaking, tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals in the mountains only come down in winter when prey is scarce.

It's summer now, everything is growing, and there's plenty of prey in the mountains…

Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng's eyes flickered a few times, recalling Qin Wuye's unusual behavior and what happened afterward...

He had no intention of getting involved; he only sought to protect himself.

They even planned to move their family to the county town after some time.

If you can't afford to offend, you can always hide.

"Shh!"

Just then, Zhao Lei made a shushing gesture, lay down on the ground, and looked towards the stream in the distance.

Liu Sheng quickly crouched down and looked in that direction, where he saw a red muntjac gracefully walking to the water's edge.

A series of plum blossom hoof prints were left on the wet mud behind them.

This red muntjac weighs around 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), and including its most valuable parts—its short horns and fur—it can probably be sold for three or four taels of silver.

It's a good prey.

It was just a bit far, about two hundred paces, too far for the throwing knife to reach.

“Ah Sheng…”

At this moment, Zhao Lei turned his head and gestured softly to him:
"I'll go over there, hurry over, and you throw the knife..."

"it is good."

After a moment's thought, Liu Sheng nodded.

Once the red deer gets within thirty paces of him, it won't be able to escape.

In fact, if Zhao Lei hadn't been around, he could have turned into a razor-tailed bluebird and killed it with a single tail strike.

In truth, these deep mountains and forests are the real home ground for his incarnations…

A moment later, he came to his senses and saw that Zhao Lei was already in position, quietly sneaking up behind the red deer.

Just then, a yellow-black figure flashed through the bushes behind him.

Liu Sheng was suddenly startled, feeling a chill run down his spine. He immediately abandoned his hunting and rushed out, shouting:

"escape-!"

(End of this chapter)