Chapter 24 – Searching for the Spiritual Ginseng (2/2)

“I am very relieved that you can learn hunting and stop relying on me. I can finally rest up. From today onwards, you better take care of yourself!”

As expected, the black ox stuck to his words and would never help him out. Li Qingshan had not properly planned on relying on him either. As for stealing from the jaws of the two villages, he felt even less confident. He would probably just lose his life for nothing, so he sighed a few times and discarded the thought. He chewed up another ginseng and began to meditate, only going to sleep deep in the night.

A wisp-like ghost rose up from the wooden tablet, turning into a child with delicate facial features. He glanced at Li Qingshan before seemingly making up his mind, entering the mountains with the night breeze as he opened and closed his pale lips.

If someone skilled at lip-reading were present, they would be able to tell that he was muttering ‘spiritual ginseng’.

The black ox opened its eyes and glanced at him before closing them again. Xiao An flew out of the Drawn Reins village and into the stretch of mountains. He moved through the forest freely, but he would have to avoid stronger mountain winds from time to time. He saw a speck of firelight in the distance and only saw hunters from the Drawn Reins village resting by a bonfire with their weapons. Huang Binghu was discussing battle tactics with a few hunters quietly. Xiao An circled around them a few times and listened for a while before riding the wind to Bailao peak. He carefully inspected every stream and rock he passed by. Of course, he would get carried by some small animals he came across from time to time and lose focus of his original objective. However, he would always return to the objective very quickly, continuing to search. Only a single thought existed in his head, I must, must find the spiritual ginseng. I can help him that way. Early in the morning, the ginseng foragers launched a night attack, but they were repelled by the prepared Huang Binghu. Neither of them found the spiritual ginseng. It was the same for Xiao An too. Using the time before the sun had risen, he returned to the village exhausted, basically rather tired of it all. The minds of children would always wander, never able to remain focused for long. Moreover, such work was simply too lonely for him. He had already experienced enough loneliness. However, when he saw Li Qingshan’s sleeping face, new motivation suddenly flowed through him again. He clenched his fist and dove into the wooden tablet, going to sleep.

Early in the morning, a stern-looking old hunter woke up Li Qingshan. “The hunting chief sent me to teach you archery!”

Li Qingshan noticed that his left leg was slightly lame, but he only glanced at it from the corner of his eye to remain polite. However, he never thought the old hunter would notice it and say nonchalantly, “It was mauled by a wolf. Come with me!”

On the empty land to the west of the village, a group of half-grown children were already waiting. The older ones were around the same age as Li Qingshan, while the younger ones still had snot running down their noses. However, every single one of them carried a hunting bow on their backs. They all looked at Li Qingshan rather warily with gazes of hostility.

“Grandpa Zang, will he be with us?”

Grandpa Zang nodded slightly and did not try to explain anything. He directly said, “Draw your bows!”

The group of children immediately stopped talking. They drew their hunting bows and aimed at the target in the distance. Grandpa Zang corrected their forms one by one and explained the essentials of archery, leaving Li Qingshan standing on one side.

Li Qingshan did not find it boring. Instead, he listened carefully. This continued for an hour before grandpa Zang ordered everyone to rest. He finally spoke to Li Qingshan, “Go train your strength first!” He pointed at the stone dumbbells on the side.

Li Qingshan went over and grabbed the stone dumbbells. Compared to a teacher like the black ox who did not even care for his safety, the level of dismissal right now was within a range he could tolerate.

Grandpa Zang was rather surprised. He did not like Li Qingshan, but he could not disobey Huang Binghu’s orders. As such, he purposefully gave Li Qingshan the cold shoulder, basically to train his temperament. He never expected Li Qingshan to show no anger at all, completely different from what he had originally expected. He thought to himself, No wonder the hunting chief favours him so much!

“Kid, where are you from?” The group of kids could not help but approach him in a provoking manner.

“The Crouching Ox village.”

“Hmph, you’re just a farmer, but you do have some ox-like strength. I heard you brought an ox with you. We don’t need cows here, so let’s butcher it!”

Li Qingshan could not stoop to their level and pick a fight with them, but he could not let them simply insult him either. His arms suddenly erupted with strength, and he tossed two stone dumbbells several dozen kilograms in weight high into the air.

“Mother of heaven!” The group of children scattered frantically. If one of the dumbbells fell onto them, their heads would crack.

The stone dumbbells fell down heavily. Li Qignshan did not try to avoid them. Instead, he maintained his concentration, grasping the timing to grab the dumbbells. He turned around to nullify the force and smiled at them.

The group of children were dumbfounded. They all gulped. Just how much strength was needed to raise the two stone dumbbells? Most of them could do that, but it was impossible for them to toss them so high in the air, let alone catch them.