In rural areas, half-year-old children are already a very important labor force. The only time that can be used for classes in a day is from 2:00 to 2:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon, which adds up to four hours.
The weather is hot during this time and the children can rest under the scorching sun.
The break time is also their class time.
Seven days passed.
Xu Junming had just finished class. He took his fishing basket and steel fork and prepared to go fishing in the river. When he walked to the entrance of the village, he saw many people gathered around the old village chief's door.
"Auntie, what's going on?"
The middle-aged woman standing outside saw a trace of respect on her face when she saw it was Xu Junming.
Just like in ancient China, scholars who are literate in Chinese and Chinese are more respected.
"It's Mr. Xu. Qiao Sanlang's wife inside is begging the patriarch to send someone up the mountain to find her man."
"What's wrong with Saburo?"
"I heard that I haven't seen him down the mountain for two days. I'm afraid he's gone!"
Xu Junming's face changed slightly, he separated from the crowd and walked in.
In the yard, Chen Sanlang's wife, whom she had seen many times, was lying on the ground, crying and wiping away her tears.
"Patriarch, you can't just ignore it. Our family relies on Sanlang as the backbone. If he is gone, how will we, the three of us, live?"
Next to her, daughter Qiao was holding her infant sister, her lips pursed tightly, and her eyes revealed sadness.
"Sanlang's wife, you get up first." The old patriarch said.
"I won't get up if you don't agree."
Seeing how arrogant she was, the old patriarch was helpless.
"I have told you a long time ago that there has been a big bug in the mountain recently, and no one is allowed to go up the mountain from now on. Why don't you listen?"
When Qiao Sanlang's wife heard this, her expression froze, and there was a hint of regret in her eyes.
A few days ago, someone from my hometown came to tell me that my younger brother was getting married, and the family gift was not enough, so I asked her, the eldest sister, to help with some. She checked the family assets, and found that there was still a tael of silver missing.
Then he let Qiao Sanlang take the risk and go hunting in the mountains to earn more money to support his parents' family.
I never thought that Qiao Sanlang would actually leave and never come back.
Regret is regret, she will definitely not tell the reason why Qiao Sanlang went up the mountain at this time.
He simply waved his right hand, fell to the ground, and started crying again.
"Uuuuu, clan leader, you must save our Sanlang!"
Seeing her acting up, the elder Changshou raised his eyebrows and was about to scold her, but seeing how pitiful the three mothers were, he stopped talking.
Sighed heavily.
After all, they are their own people and cannot be ignored.
"Let me help you ask, if someone is willing to go up the mountain to find your Sanlang, that's it. If no one goes, the old man can't help you."
After that, he said loudly.
"You have all heard it, who is willing to go up the mountain to find Qiao Sanlang?"
When everyone heard this, they all shrank back. You looked at me, I looked at you, but no one answered.
No wonder everyone doesn't dare, big bugs can kill people at every turn, and no matter how good a friendship is, it's not as important as life.
And who doesn’t have a family and a family? What will happen to his wife and children if they are gone?
"I'll go!"
With a clear voice, the tall Xu Junming walked out of the crowd.
Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on him.
"Mr. Xu?!"
"Old patriarch, let me go!"
"you?"
In ordinary people's impression, the teacher had a weak image, but looking at Xu Junming, who is now tall and strong, holding a steel fork, and extraordinary in martial arts, the old patriarch changed his words.
"The big insect on the mountain has devoured many people in the past six months. The county has posted a notice saying that people with less than 100 people are not allowed to go up the mountain. Are you...really planning to go?"
Xu Junming nodded.
"Sanlang was kind to me, but now that he is in trouble, I have to save him!"
The old patriarch nodded happily.
"Good man."
Look around for a week.
"Who else is willing to go with Mr. Xu...?"
"No need, old patriarch, I can do it alone."
Xu Junming interrupted.
He is used to acting alone, and with his current strength, no one here can match him. Carrying too many would be a burden.
Seeing that no one responded, the old patriarch nodded helplessly.
"Then it's up to you. Don't be stubborn. Come back and let's find a solution together."
"Don't worry, old patriarch, I'm awake."
"Quick, Miss Qiao, kowtow to your husband."
Qiao Sanlang's wife took her daughter and knelt down in front of Xu Junming.
Xu Junming took a step forward and quickly reached out to help him.
"Get up quickly. This is what I should do."
"Mr. Xu, our Sanlang depends entirely on you," the woman cried.
"Don't worry, I will do my best."
Although he hated her for her lack of moral character, Qiao Sanlang was kind to him.
"Old patriarch, life is at stake. I'll go back and make preparations before setting off immediately."
"Come back early and pay attention to safety."
Xu Junming nodded, separated from the crowd and returned to his home.
I took off the fish basket from my waist, took a bath to get rid of the fishy smell, changed my clothes, and went out with the steel fork.
"Mr. Xu, you must come back safely."
The surrounding villagers saw him and spoke one after another.
"Thank you for your concern, father!"
After Xu Junming bowed, he turned around and strode towards the back hill of Qiaojia Village.
Since his body recovered and he had some strength, he often went into the mountains to hunt, but mostly in the outer areas, hunting pheasants, rabbits, deer and the like, and he did not dare to go deep into the mountains.
After all, this world is so rich in aura, it would be strange if there were no demons.
Before his own strength could be restored, he didn't want to cause trouble for himself.
But this time was different. He had to repay Qiao Sanlang for saving his life.
After entering the mountain, he took off his clothes.
Find a hidden corner and put it away.
Although the clothes are patched and very worn, in Qiaojiacun, the clothes are quite good.
He still couldn't bear to give up.
Wearing big pants, Xu Junming picked some leaves, squeezed out the juice, and rubbed it on himself.
When your strength is insufficient, you must rely on some small means to increase your strength.
After a short time, the bronzed skin became colorful. If you turn into the grass, you won't be able to catch it.
As an alchemist, Xu Junming has dabbled in medical and poison techniques, and is even more proficient in identifying medicines.
Sprinkling the anti-mosquito medicine he made on his body, he grabbed his double fork, strode away, and quickly disappeared into the mountains.
The mountain behind Qiaojia Village is called Luoxia Mountain.
Every time the sun sets, the top of the mountain will show a scenery of thousands of miles of red clouds, hence the name.
Luoxia Mountain stretches hundreds of miles across and is a branch of a larger mountain gap.
Trying to find traces of Qiao Sanlang in such a huge branch is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. However, a person who has never practiced cultivation will not go too far.
Not surprisingly, he would probably die in the mouth of that big insect.
In this case, Xu Junming also had an idea of how to find someone.
After entering the deep mountains, there are basically no paths.
Several people hugged the thick giant tree, and a huge crown grew, darkening the surrounding light.
There were dead branches and leaves on the ground, exuding an aura of decay.
Shade-loving vines and weeds grow wildly, making the already rugged path even narrower.
Insects of all sizes come and go among the shrubs and grasses, adding countless wild elements to the forest.
Xu Junming walked through it, stopping and walking.
Back in the wilderness, he learned many hunting techniques from the mountain tribes.
One of them is to find the whereabouts of wild animals by identifying footprints and smells.
Moreover, after developing the five senses through physical training, his sense of smell is more than ten times that of ordinary people. He can accurately determine the source of these smells.
The steps stopped.
Xu Junming knelt down on one knee and peeled off the fallen leaves. On the moist ground, a paw print was revealed, which was one size larger than an adult's hand.
"Fortunately, it hasn't rained heavily in the past few days, otherwise it would be really difficult to find traces of this beast."
Measure in the palm of your hand.
"The width of the palm is nearly a foot, and the stature of this beast is probably more than ten feet. Even if such a big tiger does not become a monster, it will soon become a monster."
He frowned, even though his health was much better now.
But in fact, he has not recovered even 1% of his strength.
Although he might not necessarily lose against a tiger that was close to turning into a demon, he finally survived from Lord Huosang and came to this world with strong spiritual energy. He didn't want to take risks.
Think for a moment.
"Forget it, let's find the traces of this beast first."
As his heart moved, two mirror images emerged from his pupils.
A series of tiger paw prints instantly became clear.
I followed the paw prints and gradually came to a place halfway up the mountain.
Xu Junming stopped and with the help of the bronze mirror, he could clearly see a large cave three feet high and five feet wide beside a stone platform a hundred feet wide and a hundred feet wide.
The cave is about thirty to forty meters deep and gets wider as you go inward.
The innermost part is more than ten meters wide and six to seven meters high.
In the cave, a huge tiger with a head and tail length of one foot and three feet, a shoulder height of nearly five feet, and a body covered with yellow and black stripes appeared in front of his eyes.
The tiger was lying down and dozing in the middle of the big cave, surrounded by the bones of the human beast and a lot of leftover meat.
Xu Junming didn't know if there was Qiao Sanlang among the pile of bones and leftover meat.
However, in the deep mountains on the side of Qiaojia Village, only this tiger could kill Qiao Sanlang, the best hunter in Qiaojia Village.
"Sure enough, he has already started to become a monster!"
With the help of the bronze mirror, Xu Junming could clearly see the faint blue-black demonic energy on this big tiger. Although it was still far from forming a demonic elixir, it was comparable to the demonic cultivator in the innate stage.
After observing for a while, Xu Junming slowly retreated.
"This tiger can only outwit, not defeat."
He is now seriously injured, his magic power has been blocked, and his strength has been reduced to 99%.
It would be unwise to rush forward and fight head-on.
After leaving the mountainside, Xu Junming began to look around.
The cleverness of human beings lies in their ability to use tools.
When he was in the wilderness, he learned a lot of ways to create traps.
"Right here!"
Two days later, Xu Junming chose the battlefield for himself.
The trees here are neither sparse nor dense, and the terrain is open, which is perfect for fighting.
He pulled out the short knife from his waist and started whittling a short spear.
Xu Junming specially chose a branch that people in Qiaojia Village call "hazel".
It has a hard texture and a certain degree of flexibility, making it an excellent material for making wooden guns and spears.
Dozens of short wooden spears were made, and it took two days to dig a large pit two feet deep and three feet wide.
First, lay stones at the bottom of the pit, then fill it with half a meter of soil. After inserting the wooden spear, tamp the soil firmly.
In this way, the wooden spear will not sink after being hit by a giant object.
Cover the branches, scatter dead branches and leaves, and clear the dug soil away.
This isn't the end yet.
I found a big tree in the woods that had been blown down by the strong wind, and cut off the head and tail, leaving only the thickest stake in the middle.
Twist the vines into a rope and hang it high on the tree crown to make a battering ram.
Many horse traps were dug within ten meters in front of the pit.
There are horse ropes, wooden arrows, and wooden spears at the back.
Everything within the fifty meters surrounding was turned into a trap by Xu Junming.
Looking at the results of his seven days, he nodded with satisfaction.
As long as that tiger comes in, there is no hope of getting out alive.
Looking at the sun setting in the west, Xu Junming found a thick tree and climbed up.
He took out the hare he shot yesterday. There was no fire and he was too lazy to drill wood to make a fire. After peeling off the skin, he ate it alive.
The night passed quickly, and the white fish belly appeared on the horizon.
Xu Junming, who had practiced toad fishing all night, opened his eyes, turned over and jumped down from the tree. After checking that his trap had not been destroyed by other beasts, he put on his short knife and steel fork and turned around to drill into the dense forest.