Mountain-trekking is not like picking weeds by the roadside; it always requires time and luck for a good harvest. After an area has been "trekked," it might not yield new goods for several months. Therefore, one constantly needs to change locations and routes.
Every mountain-man keeps a few "nests"—places where mountain goods, like fungi or lingzhi mushrooms, are likely to grow regularly. Naturally, these are the mountain-men's greatest secrets.
Su Yan was a newcomer with no father or elder to guide him, so he had no such secret spots. All his success relied on exploring areas no one else had, which meant taking risks.
With the Dark Water Centipede having advanced a rank while in its Growth Stage, Su Yan could naturally venture deeper into Cloud Ridge Mountain.
Over the next three to five days, he and the Dark Water Centipede made two more trips into the mountains. Although the harvest wasn't as rich as the first time, the centipede's increased ability made up for it. It found many poisonous creatures, and Su Yan primarily gathered poisonous herbs like Viper Berry , Black Recluse, and Black Wood Ganoderma, along with potent medicinal materials like Blood Essence Grass and Fo-ti. The age of these herbs was not bad, earning him twenty to thirty taels of silver.
As a result, his skill at mountain-trekking spread like wildfire. The mountain people frequenting the market all heard, one way or another, that a highly skilled mountain-man had emerged from Cloud-Front Village.
At the tea stall in the Mountain Market, an old man brewing cool tea and his clerk were busy running around. With a rag over their shoulder, they carried a teapot in one hand and served the one-copper-coin-per-three-bowls cool tea to guests seated at seven or eight square tables. The tables held mixed groups of mountain people and villagers gathered with their companions.
"Pah! That little brat dared to fool me! Said the goods weren't just his own, and old fool Xie Yuzhu didn't suddenly get rich. Turns out, it was all his damn stuff."
Wang San was cadging a cup of tea at the market stall when he overheard the news. For days, he had been asking around and saw no sign of any mountain-men from Cloud-Front Village getting rich. Only now did he realize Su Yan had lied to him.
His yellow teeth ground audibly. Being duped by Su Yan was more painful than a beating. They were both orphans in the village; why did that brat get rich, and he, Wang San, couldn't? Furthermore, he didn't believe the kid had any real skill. If he did, why would his father have died?
Gulp, gulp. He chugged the cool tea. Wang San pondered: 'Should I spill the beans about that brat to Niu Han ? I don't believe Niu Han will let him off.'
The moment the thought occurred, Wang San hesitated, his eyes flickering with greed.
'No way! Those bastards, Niu Han and his gang, rely on their strength and won't even give me the scraps. I won't get anything good.'
Wang San was torn between wanting revenge on Su Yan and wanting to steal his fortune.
"What are you thinking about, Wang San the Leech?"
Lost in thought, a rough, big hand landed on his shoulder, startling him so badly that the bowl in his hand crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.
Wang San looked up and saw a six-foot-tall brute standing next to him, with a rough face and a wide, grinning mouth, like a smiling tiger. The man sat down uninvited, propped an old hardwood bow on the side, poured a bowl of tea for himself, and downed it in one go.
"Li Hu, are you trying to scare me to death?"
Wang San relaxed the moment he saw the man, cursing under his breath.
"I hear someone in your village struck it rich?"
Li Hu didn't acknowledge the curse, staring intently at Wang San as if he were only bringing it up casually.
But Wang San knew exactly who he was. Did he not know what a gambling addict Li Hu was? Although he was a hunter, his massive physique was wasted. He was vicious and unscrupulous; he might be a mountain-man outside the forest, but once inside, it was hard to say what he was.
Wang San's eyes darted around, and a few ideas suddenly sprang up in his mind.
"What's wrong? You planning to rope him into gambling a few rounds, too? That guy isn't like me."
Wang San was speaking about Su Yan, but Li Hu and he were two peas in a pod. How could Li Hu not sense the unusual tone in Wang San's voice?
Li Hu scrutinized Wang San, his eyes narrowing slightly, and his smile broadened.
"Oh, looks like you two know each other well. How about you connect us? Let's get acquainted."
Wang San glanced around, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, and gave a meaningful look.
Li Hu, having been associated with Wang San for years, immediately understood: 'Wang San is plotting something wicked again.'
Li Hu picked up his hardwood bow and stood up. Wang San also rose, acting as if they didn't know each other.
The two left the tea stall, exited the market, and found a quiet, overgrown area.
Li Hu stopped Wang San: "Alright, what are you up to? Why find such a secluded place? Are you trying to set up a scheme to rob Su Yan's silver with me?" He had heard that a young man had made a fortune and was interested. If the family was easy to bully, he'd be sure to grab a share.
"Not gambling."
Wang San shook his head. Li Hu looked annoyed: "If you're not gambling, why call me here? What's the deal with Su Yan? He got three or four ten-year-old herbs in a few days. I heard he made twenty or thirty taels of silver."
Wang San sneered: "You only know he got aged herbs, but you don't know that on his first day, he got a Treasure Plant, the Dark Scarlet Root! It's more than twenty or thirty taels. I'd say at least this much."
He held up his thin, pale, chicken-claw-like hand and shook it in front of Li Hu. The five fingers were particularly striking.
Li Hu looked shocked: "That much?! Damn it, that's enough fortune to move to the city." Jealousy was evident in his tone. Why was it that while they both scraped a living in the mountains, only he missed out on such good luck?
"Move to the city?"
Wang San scoffed: "Why would an orphan move to the city? A child with no father or mother."
Li Hu's eyes darted around, like a wolf smelling blood: "He has no one to help him? Then let's figure out a way to team up with him for mountain-trekking. We can 'help' him out."
"No."
Wang San stopped beating around the bush, his eyes flashing with malice: "We follow him into the mountains. How old is that kid? How can he have this kind of mountain-trekking skill? He must have accidentally discovered a Treasure Nest. Li Hu, are you in?"
If a place in the mountains accumulated spiritual energy, it would typically grow Treasure Plants or highly potent herbs continually for several years or even more than a decade. Such a place was enough to make a family rich. It was a secret a mountain-man would die to protect.
Now that Su Yan had suddenly come into wealth, Wang San was convinced he had accidentally found a Treasure Nest.
"Are you serious?"
Li Hu widened his eyes, not having expected such a windfall.
"Are you in or out?"
Wang San pressed him. He couldn't handle this job alone.
"I'm in!"
Li Hu immediately agreed. After a moment of thought, he said, "Let's call Huang Tian and Zhao Fu too. Just the two of us aren't safe."
Wang San looked pained at the thought of sharing, but remembering the strength in Su Yan's grip the other day, he nodded: "Fine, but afterward, you guys have to help me figure out how to get his house. After all, you're not from Cloud-Front Village..."
The house wasn't worth much, but it could at least be sold for drinking money.
"No problem," Li Hu readily agreed, already calculating his next move. The mountains were perfect; there were few people. If a mountain-man suffered an "accident," wasn't that the most normal thing?