Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

The three gold coins in his arms had already warmed up, but he could only hand them to the doctor's cold palm.

It was morning.

Liu Xingmo carried Bao Hei, wrapped up like a zongzi, in a wooden basin and left the clinic.

I walked home with heavy steps.

Pushing open the door, I saw Su Mali, with dark circles under her eyes, busy in the kitchen.

She wasn't feeling well either. She had a batch of medicine that she planned to finish making by midnight. But because she was delayed from leaving home, she had to work through the night until dawn.

So, by all accounts, Bao Hei's divination trip not only didn't yield any profit, but actually resulted in a loss of manpower.

At the breakfast table.

Liu Xingmo was taciturn and withdrawn.

Sumali yawned and ate a few orange segments. The sweet and juicy flavor melted in her mouth, and she felt a little more awake.

"Xingmo, how much did your pet's medical treatment cost?"

"No more, no less, exactly three thousand."

"That's good. It seems the price of its 'dark magic' isn't too high."

"Haaah—" Liu Xingmo slumped back in his chair. "If I had known this would happen, I should have listened to my great-grandfather... This so-called 'way of luck' is too complicated; I have no grasp on it at all!"

"Don't worry, your turtle is just a hatchling right now. Perhaps it will have even more powerful dark magic after it evolves."

"That's true. All life forms at the first level can only simply manipulate spiritual energy. Hopefully, when Baohei reaches a higher level, he'll be able to separate misfortune from fortune."

After dinner, there are still various tasks to be done today.

Liu Xingmo led out the insect cart.

Deliver the manufactured medicine to the West Town Pharmacy and replenish some raw materials.

They went to the river to fetch water, to the bushes to cut firewood, and then used pulleys to hoist it up into the trees.

There are also winter foods, which require a lot of effort to prepare.

I bought some smoked dinosaur jerky at the market, salted it, and stored it away. I bought half a carrot, shredded it, and put it in a jar to marinate. I bought many fish, scaled and gutted them, and hung them on tree branches to dry.

I was busy until dark.

Liu Xingmo looked at the black treasure in the basin.

Thanks to the effects of the expensive elixir, the turtle's cracked shell had healed, and it began to stretch its head out again, begging for food.

Through the soul imprint, Liu Xingmo conveyed a more accurate message: "Your stomach hasn't fully healed yet, so you can't eat anything. Wait two more days until your internal organs are completely healed before you can eat whatever you want."

The old turtle looked at its owner pitifully with its beady green eyes and stretched out its head to gently rub against the side of the basin.

Another faint but clear emotion came through the soul imprint: "grievance" and "hunger".

Liu Xingmo shook his head with a wry smile and reached out to transfer three strands of blood energy.

……

After finishing his meal, Liu Xingmo wiped himself down and lay down on the bed.

Feeling troubled.

I need money.

Currently possessing the strength of the fourth level of the first rank of the Blood Path, he can generally only earn three or four yuan a day.

Thanks to a good job, I only need to work two days out of seven days to earn two or three hundred yuan, which is comparable to the income level of a second-tier powerhouse.

I'll be going out to work tomorrow and the day after, so I need to be careful with the money I earn and spend it wisely.

the next day.

After having breakfast, Liu Mo left her own peach tree and came to the foot of a row of unique birch trees.

Many people lined up and climbed the stairs to the tree.

At the top of the birch trees, there is a road with bamboo poles as beams and wood as planks, spanning a row of tall and straight birch trees, connecting the valley and the forest, and linking the entire Black Dragon Village.

Pedestrians streamed along the main road.

Some were going to school, some were going to work, and some were riding beasts and pulling carts, carrying persimmons and pears as tall as a person to sell at the market.

Various animals appear from time to time—centipedes, geckos, scorpions, toads—carrying wooden crates and shelves. The owner nearby shouts loudly, selling steel nails, matches, soap, and perfume.

In fact, the technological level of this world is not very low; advanced regions have already reached the level of the Republic of China era in the previous world.

Although Heilongzhai is remote and underdeveloped, it has been working hard to catch up with development in recent years.

In short, it's quite difficult to make a fortune using skills from your past life.

The things Liu Xingmo can make, like refined salt and cane sugar, exist in this world. The things Liu Xingmo can't make, like televisions and telephones, also exist in this world.

There must be other reincarnated individuals, and quite a few of them, who have promoted many of the cultural and technological aspects of their previous lives.

Liu Xingmo is accustomed to concealing his identity as a reincarnated person.

The sky is high and the air is crisp; the pterosaurs fly south.

We boarded a large bus towed by wild rabbits and traveled through forests and tunnels, taking two hours to get from West Town to Central City.

After winding and turning around on the ground several times, it arrived at its destination, a huge house.

It has beautiful fish-scale tiles, neat stone brick walls, and transparent glass windows.

This is a library, which also serves as a newspaper office.

Upon entering the room, you can see a large macaque sitting behind the reception desk. Its gray fur is interspersed with a few strands of snow-white, and its cloudy eyes are framed by gold-rimmed glasses.

Liu Mo waved and greeted, "Hello, Curator!"

This macaque is the librarian and newspaper editor-in-chief. He possesses the strength of the top level of the third tier of the Blood Path and can already fully transform into human form.

The large macaque stretched out its furry paw and pushed up its gold-rimmed glasses on its nose: "You've arrived. There's been a lot going on in the village these past seven days. You'd better keep an eye on things."

"Don't worry, Curator! Since I became editor-in-chief, when hasn't our 'Heilong Weekly' sold incredibly well?"

"Haha, young people should still be down-to-earth."

"By the way, manager! I have some great ideas to boost sales. But... I need a raise!"

"To feed your old turtle?" The giant macaque smiled knowingly.

"You already know."

"Although I, Old Monkey, don't have much power, I'm still in the cultural field, so I do have a tiny bit of authority. I've been notified by my superiors to give you some consideration."

"Huh? Are you going to give me money?"

"Ha, how could that be! Our ancestors set a rule that all members of the Liu family must cultivate through their own labor."

"That's so heartless! Someone with such potential should be heavily invested in!"

"As our ancestors said, if you treat your children too well, they will take everything for granted and grow up to be ungrateful, treacherous wretches."

"So what kind of care did I receive?"

"After you get off work, go to window number 13 at the pharmacy. There's a limited supply of good stuff there." The macaque stroked its beard, a strange glint in its eyes. "I reckon it'll have a miraculous effect on your old turtle's growth. Of course, you'll have to pay for it."

"Those old guys are so stingy!"

……

Liu Xingmo arrived at the office.

He works as a newspaper editor.

Thanks to his accumulated knowledge from the information age in his previous life, he was able to complete paperwork very well even at the age of ten.

He is now a top editor-in-chief and deputy director of the newspaper, and his serialized novel, published on the last page of the newspaper, is widely acclaimed.

Liu Xingmo took a manuscript from his desk and checked the work progress.

Article 1.

A unique dragon was spotted in Mantou Mountain, Zhenxi; it has been eradicated.

The title isn't shocking enough; it must have been written by that newbie, Liu Zhili.

Let's change the title: A Night of Horror: A Carnivorous Dragon Attacks Mantou Mountain, and the Guard Fights a Bloody Battle to Slay the Dragon!

Article .

Shocking! The garrison captures a rare, innate beast – a rock boar!

Too deliberate, lacking soul.

Liu Xingmo picked up his pen, about to write a new title, when he suddenly realized something.

Huh! What's that?

A rock boar? A wild boar that controls rocks? Or a naturally occurring mythical beast?

These large beasts, if raised casually, become top-tier combatants and can even defeat smaller creatures of higher levels.

No wonder the situation with Bao Hei was so quiet before; it turns out there was this explosive news suppressing it.

In terms of sheer development potential, wild boars far surpass turtles.

Thinking about it carefully, it's unlikely that the Allosaurus would travel thousands of miles to track down a baby turtle. It was probably lured there by the rock boar, then its attention was diverted by the black turtle, and finally it started chasing the fisherman by the roadside.

Ugh! What bad luck!