The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

As we walked along the road in Changbai Mountain with Zhao Laosi, the surrounding air suddenly became humid.

Changbai Mountain is completely different from the dry forests surrounding Beijing. The humidity here is extremely high, and you can feel the cool and damp air with every breath.

Zhao Laosi walked ahead, his steps light, pushing aside the low branches blocking his way while turning back to chatter with Li Kaixin about the rules of the mountains.

"Brother, stay close and follow my footprints. All the forests look the same, it's easy to get lost."

He then pointed to a crooked tree next to him that had an inconspicuous mark.

"See? You have to leave your own mark too."

"Hey, Brother Zhao, I've got it."

Li Kaixin pretended not to know much and replied, while comparing it with the one on the mountain in Beijing.

Old Zhao continued to share his experience in this forest.

"The ginseng we're looking for requires fate. We have to tie it with a red string first, in case it runs away! We have to be extra careful when digging it up, so as not to damage the roots, as they are all treasures."

Zhao Laosi spoke earnestly, and Li Kaixin pretended to be focused as well.

In fact, Li Kaixin knew all these things through his experience as a god-level hunter and a national-level doctor.

When the conversation reached a crucial point, Zhao Laosi's expression turned serious again, and he emphasized it once more.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you about, that's the grasshopper! The two years ago, the eldest son of Old Wang in our village was bitten by one of these things. We didn't take it seriously, but he developed a high fever and didn't make it."

He then patted the tin box of ointment hanging from his waist.

Li Kaixin sensed the deep concern in the words and nodded solemnly: "Brother Zhao, don't worry, I just applied it all over my body."

The two chatted along the way, with Zhao Laosi doing most of the talking and Li Kaixin listening, occasionally interjecting with a few questions.

The deeper they went into the mountains, the denser and more secluded the forest became, and Zhao Laosi's expression gradually changed.

They stopped joking around, their eyes became sharp, and their ears seemed to perk up, capturing the faintest sounds in the forest.

He would stop every now and then, squat down, and examine the marks on the ground.

Just as we passed a dead tree.

Zhao Laosi lowered his voice and turned to give Li Kaixin some instructions.

"Stay close, and don't make a big fuss."

Li Kaixin, following behind Zhao Laosi, immediately got into the zone, walking even lighter and observing his surroundings.

After walking for about an hour, a patch of bushes ahead rustled slightly.

Zhao Laosi immediately raised his hand, signaling to stop.

The cat crouched down, its eyes locking onto its target: a grayish-brown hare was leisurely nibbling on grass roots not far away.

Zhao Laosi's movements were fluid and swift; he raised his gun, aimed, and fired in almost one smooth motion!

"Bang!" A crisp gunshot rang out.

The rabbit fell to the ground without even struggling, and then fell silent.

Zhao Laosi straightened up, a smug look on his face, and looked at Li Kaixin.

Li Kaixin quickly ran over, picked up the rabbit, and found it to be quite heavy, probably weighing seven or eight pounds, and unusually plump.

"Brother Zhao, your marksmanship is amazing! It's incredible! The rabbit was gone before it even had a chance to react. It was fast, accurate, and ruthless! I've really witnessed your skill today."

Li Kaixin acted exaggeratedly, his face showing admiration, and handed the rabbit to Zhao Laosi.

Zhao Laosi was a little embarrassed by the praise. His dark face flushed red, and he couldn't help but smile. He waved his hand.

Feigning nonchalance, he said, "It's nothing, nothing. Practice makes perfect. We mountain folk make a living this way. Perfect, lunch's taken care of!"

Then Zhao Laosi took the rabbit and skillfully hung it on his waist.

After this little incident, the two continued on their way.

As they passed through a mountain valley, Zhao Laosi would occasionally look up to observe the tree canopies.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a tall tree, and he pointed to a branch about three or four meters above the ground: "Hey buddy, see that? That white, stringy thing, doesn't it look like a monkey's head?"

Li Kaixin looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a fungus resembling a monkey's head attached to the tree trunk.

I knew in my heart that this must be the monkey head mushroom, which is known as a mountain delicacy.

I had seen many pictures and descriptions of it online in my previous life, but this was the first time I had ever seen such a good quality wild specimen in person.

Li Kaixin's face showed a suitable expression of surprise: "I see it! Brother Zhao, is that monkey head mushroom? I heard that stewing it in soup can make your eyebrows fall off."

"That's right! This is monkey head mushroom."

Zhao Laosi was even happier to see that Li Kaixin recognized the value of the goods.

"This stuff is a treasure of Changbai Mountain! It makes an incredibly fragrant soup!"

As Zhao Laosi spoke, he deftly put down his hunting rifle, spat into his palm, and rubbed it.

Then something surprising happened.

Like a nimble monkey, Zhao Laosi quickly climbed up the tree and soon reached the monkey head mushroom, reaching out to pick it.

After landing safely, Li Kaixin exclaimed in admiration, "Brother Zhao, you're so agile! Climbing trees is like walking for you. I've really learned a lot from you today."

Zhao Laosi was flattered and beamed with joy. He laughed heartily and carefully wrapped up the monkey head mushroom.

Then, feigning modesty, he said to Li Kaixin, "What's this talk about being skillful or not? It's just something we mountain folk do to make a living. It's nothing to mention!"

The morning passed by in this process of exploration and discovery.

Perhaps their luck had run out, because they never encountered any decent wild animals or rare mountain products again.

Zhao Laosi was not discouraged, seemingly already used to it. He led Li Kaixin to a clear mountain stream and chose a sheltered and dry spot.

He skillfully lit a small campfire, skinned and cleaned the fat rabbit. Zhao Laosi carefully scraped off the grease from the rabbit skin and spread it out on a stone to dry.

He muttered to himself, "Once this leather is tanned, I can make a pair of warm gloves for winter."

The flames roasted rabbit meat skewered on tree branches, the fat dripping into the fire and sizzling, filling the air with an enticing aroma.

After a while.

The rabbit was roasted, and the two of them each shared half.

Zhao Laosi sat opposite Li Kaixin, gnawing on a rabbit leg, and sighed contentedly.

He said to Li Kaixin, "Brother, you see? That's how it is when we go hunting in the mountains. Three parts skill, seven parts luck. Sometimes we wander around all day and get nothing; other times, like today, we get off to a good start!"

Li Kaixin nodded in deep agreement: "Brother Zhao is right. When it comes to hunting, patience and luck are both indispensable."

After eating and drinking their fill, the two found a flat, large rock by the stream and rested for a while.

Rest and recuperation complete.

Zhao Laosi stood up and patted the bits of grass off his buttocks.

Pointing to one direction of the mountain, he said, "Let's walk over there. That's a sunny slope that our villagers often go to. There might be more good stuff there."

"Alright! I'll do whatever Brother Zhao says!" Li Kaixin immediately stood up and tightened his grip on the gun on his back.