Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

As night fell, dark clouds covered the sky, and a fierce wind howled.

Another storm is brewing, heralding the arrival of summer.

As dawn broke, the rain continued to fall.

After getting up, Liu Xingmo completed his routine tasks.

Buying and selling medicine, practicing spiritual cultivation, feeding...

The rain that had fallen all night finally began to stop.

Liu Xingmo arrived at the farm and knocked on the warehouse door: "Third Sister, are you there?"

"Young master~ It's cool outside, come in." The soft, charming voice went straight into my mind.

Liu Xingmo stood at the door without moving: "Well, I need your help with something today. I'd like to go out of town..."

"Alright, I will comply." The wooden door opened, and a snake head the size of a washbasin flicked its tongue, its long body slithering out.

"It is indeed a troublesome matter, but it's okay to refuse." Liu Xingmo took two steps back. "I want to go outside the city and get some moldy, rotten fruit."

"Rotten fruit?" The snake tilted its head, genuinely puzzled.

"To make a certain medicine, it has to be moldy." Liu Xingmo planned to start the penicillin project.

The first step, collecting Penicillium mold, requires going to the wild.

Because all the fruit trees in Heilongzhai had owners, the harvest time was calculated even before each fruit fell to the ground. The good quality fruit was given to humans, the poor quality fruit to livestock, and if all else failed, it was used as fertilizer. In short, there was very little waste.

"Young master, you really know how to make things difficult for me~" The snake looked up at the dark clouds and said, "Fine, I'll go with you. You'd better repay me well."

"How can I repay you?"

"Of course, it's for me to read to."

"no problem!"

They summoned their strongest gray wolf, had it carry the vine cage, and led the man and the snake onto the main road, rushing westward.

A wolf's speed is incomparable to that of a human; it can cross half a mountain in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

This rattan cage, similar in shape to a wooden wine cabinet, consists of two arched structures on either side, perched on the wolf's back, with a doorway at the bottom. The difference is that the ancient rattan, soaked in tung oil, is very sturdy yet lightweight, making it more suitable for outdoor use.

The cage was dimly lit, with only slivers of light filtering through the gaps in the vines.

Liu Xingmo was violently jolted, and the snake simply used its tail to tighten around his body, just like it would entangle its prey.

After traversing mountains and valleys, they soon arrived at the western city gate.

Another gray wolf approached; it was the city guard's instructor: "Going out? What are you planning to do?"

"Go out and gather fruit." The snake's head poked out from the doorway and looked at the gray wolf.

"At least come up with a plausible reason!" Gray Wolf snarled, "This is making it hard for me to explain to my superiors."

Liu Xingmo quickly chimed in, "Let's go fishing! To catch some strange fishing creatures!"

"That's more like it, pass, pass!" The gray wolf raised its front paw, signaling to let them pass.

"What nonsense! This is ridiculous! Are you kidding me?!" The giant snake opened its mouth and flicked out two venomous fangs, hesitated, and finally sullenly retreated into the vine cage.

Liu Xingmo explained, "The Mountain Goddess has always encouraged her descendants to work hard, so fishing is a legitimate reason to leave the city."

The heavy city gate slowly opened, and the gray wolf carrying the vine cage, its tail almost pointing to the sky, nimbly leaped across the boulders and quickly moved away from the village.

In early May, the mountains and forests are covered with dense, shady trees. Emerald green grass pushes aside the withered yellow leaves, carpeting every corner of the earth.

Faced with this dangerous world, the gray wolf remains fearless, for the mountains and forests are its true home.

Running, running all the way.

I ran across the moss-covered stones in the stream; I ran across the weathered, jagged stones on the mountain ridge; I ran across the stones buried by weeds in the plain.

The agile gray wolf, its eyes sparkling with glistening water, galloped across the vast天地山川 (heaven, earth, and mountains).

The willow branches in the rattan cage could only be seen through the gaps, their colors constantly changing.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived on land he had never set foot on before, the first time in his life he had been so far from home.

Even after the gray wolf stopped on command, lay down, and allowed its master to get down, the beast's paws continued to paw excitedly.

Liu Xingmo walked out with weak legs and a dizzy head, as if he had been sailing at sea for months.

The journey of leaping dozens of meters at a time was incredibly thrilling. I had to circulate my blood and wood energy to suppress the various discomforts.

"Young master, is this the place you're looking for?" The giant snake stretched out its tail and swept away the tall weeds around it.

Liu Xingmo's vision suddenly cleared, and the mountain breeze blowing in his face carried the sweetness of ripe fruit and a hint of fermented wine.

In the distance, the mountains and fields are covered with green trees, and red, yellow, and purple fruits of all colors adorn the branches.

"Great! This is it. Let's go find the moldy, rotten fruit."

Liu Xingmo took out a small bamboo bottle and a fruit knife, then disappeared into the dense forest.

The peaches that fell to the ground had large and small nicks on their skin, marks left by birds pecking at them.

"This won't do, it's too fresh."

Under another tree, the ground was covered with cherries and ants.

"Let's forget about this."

We came to a mulberry tree. The purplish-black fruits were clustered into small bunches. Some were already rotten, turning into a pool of dirty water, while others were shriveled and covered with colorful fuzz.

"This is it!"

Liu Xingmo was overjoyed. He used a wooden stick to pick out a fist-sized mulberry, cut off the part covered with grayish-green hair, and stuffed it into a small bamboo bottle.

The large, silver-scaled, red-striped snake watched from the side, somewhat bewildered. Meanwhile, the gray wolf, having run off with boundless joy, had vanished without a trace.

Before long, Liu Xingmo had collected several bottles: "Third Sister, that's enough. Let's go find some other strains of bacteria."

"Yes." The giant snake nodded.

suddenly!

"Awooo—!" the gray wolf howled mournfully.

Liu Xingmo quickly went on alert: "An attack? It doesn't sound like a large wild beast! Could it be humans?"

"You find a place to hide, I'll go see what's going on!" The giant snake plunged into the bushes to support its contracted beast.

Liu Xingmo quickly took out the blood droplet from his storage bag, threw the hook at the thick branch above his head, then climbed up the tree trunk and crawled into the squirrel hole.

The probe is looking outwards.

In the distance, in an open space, a huge gray wolf exhaled cold air, freezing an entire patch of grass into a snowfield.

We didn't see a trace of the enemy.

Not long after, a long, thin snake also appeared on the battlefield.

In an instant, it seemed as if swords and blades flashed, and the frost-covered wild grass shattered into many pieces.

"Damn it! Another spy from the Yin Kingdom? This is never going to end."

Suddenly, Liu Xingmo caught a bright reflection in the corner of his eye.

Are they coming for me?

There was a rustling sound in the grass, and several figures were moving quickly.

They soon revealed themselves under the tree. Their clothes were tattered, and their wounds were bandaged with strips of cloth.

They looked like refugees, yet they carried sharp knives, their eyes gleaming with malice, as they climbed up the tree bark.

We can't just sit here and wait to die!

Judging by his skills, he's only at the first level; I can handle him!

Liu Xingmo circulated his blood and qi, channeling it into the long iron chain.

He leaned out of the tree hole and threw the grappling hook downwards.