The Golden Age - Chapter 75: Going into Danger
When Qin Xiao was still with Mr. Zhong, he never stopped secretly learning how to read and write. Even after he arrived at Jia Prison, he also learned quite a lot from the prisoners.
He happened to be familiar with mandrills.
Mandrill was a type of monkey that lived in the mountains. But due to the fact that they were extremely fierce, many people even regarded mandrills as demons.
It shouldn’t be too unnormal in the Changling Mountains. After all, it stretched for hundreds of miles, there were all kinds of creatures and animals.
However, a group of hunters and a cultivator tried to kill the mandrill but failed, and several people even died or were injured, which did sound a bit weird.
Qin Xiao saw pictures of mandrills before. Although they may be fierce, it wasn’t something that can’t be taken down by several people.
“Han Bo, did the mandrill attack you guys first?” Qin Xiao asked.
Han Bo hesitated before replying, “Not really. The first time we met the mandrill, it did not attack us. But since they were very rare, the hunters thought if they captured the mandrill, it might be worth a few bearskins.”
So apparently, these hunters angered the mandrill, which caused all these deaths and injuries. Qin Xiao seemed to understand the situation here.
Mandrills were an easily angered species. They might be okay if they don’t get bothered, but since someone tried to capture it, no wonder it will attack these hunters.
“No matter what, we must eliminate this mandrill.” A hunter spoke, “If it doesn’t die, we can’t get the bearskins, and at that point, we will be the ones who die.”
Although everyone knew what he said was true, they also knew that there was no way they can take down that mandrill.
“Han Bo, why don’t we get more people later. Like getting people from surrounding villages too, and then take that beast down together?” One suggested, “We can prepare extra bows and arrows, then we find the right timing to shoot it to death.”
“If they help us, then we’ll have to allow them to hunt here later.” Han Bo replied, “There are not many bears to start off with. If they come here and hunt with us, how do we pay our taxes?”
Everyone immediately became silent.
After eating food, Han Bo went over to check on the wounds of Yang Wa’s father. Then he came back to Qin Xiao and said, “Son, your medicine is incredible. Like magic, the blood stopped completely. Yang Wa’s father is finally saved.”
Another hunter on the side patted Qin Xiao on the shoulder and smiled, “Son, you saved Yang Wa’s father. Why don’t you come with us to the village and start hunting with us? It’s much better than homelessly wandering around all day. We may not give much, but at least we have enough food.”
Qin Xiao was a bit surprised. He had no real destination right now, but following these hunters doesn’t sound like a bad idea. The only problem was that this was still within the territory of Zhen County. Would it be too obvious if a teenager suddenly appeared in a village?
Although Mu Yeji attracted their attention to the east and made the Zhen Family suspect that they were going to the Pass, this didn’t mean the west side will be safe.
The Zhen Family was likely to send more people to find his whereabouts.
If the wanted posts were distributed everywhere, and all the villagers knew that the Zhen Family was looking for a teenager, then the news will spread out like fire.
While he was hesitating to reply, he suddenly heard Han Bo’s voice, “Chang Sheng, where are you going?”
Qin Xiao looked over and saw a hunter, about the age of thirty, standing up. This man hadn’t spoken from the beginning until now. His expression doesn’t look so good either.
While everyone was eating food, he hadn’t moved his mouth at all.
“Liu Zi’s corpse is still in the mountains. I need to find it.” The hunter, Chang Sheng, replied.
Han Bo frowned, “You’re his cousin, I can understand your concern. But now’s not the time. We all know that the mandrill appears frequently there. If the mandrill finds us, then…” He did not continue, but everyone knew what the results would be.
“The only person in Liu Zi’s house is his old mother.” Chang Sheng replied, “The person is already dead, how can we explain to the mother if we can’t even bring her the corpse?” He grabbed the bow and arrow and took the iron fork. “Don’t worry about me. I’m going to go by myself. If I don’t come back by tomorrow morning…please take care of my family for me.”
A couple of his companions walked up and held him by his shoulders. “Chang Sheng, are you seeking a death wish? You still need to take care of the old mother. If you go and accidentally die, what do we do with both of your families?”
The others also tried to persuade him, but Chang Sheng was determined. “Han Bo, Liu Zi didn’t want to come with us. Since we don’t have enough people, we begged him several times before he agreed. If we don’t even bring his corpse back, how do we live in the future? Don’t worry about me.” He bowed and then continued, “If something did happen, please take care of my family. I’m going to thank you guys ahead of time.”
Hmm, this Chang Sheng guy is a true man. He knows what’s dangerous, yet goes there just to bring the corpse back. Qin Xiao thought to himself.
After failing to persuade him, a hunter, who was about in his forties, finally spoke, “Well how about this, I’ll go with Chang Sheng. We might be able to help each other.”
“Kan Shu, you…” Chang Sheng said gratefully.
“That’s enough. I’m more familiar with the surroundings of the mountain.” Kan Shu sighed. “When you need to escape, I can help.”
Finally, Han Bo spoke, “It seems that you are determined to go. If we bring too many people, that might cause more trouble. Chang Sheng, you and Kan Shu must be careful. Try to bring Liu Zi’s corpse back, but don’t risk your life too much.”
Qin Xiao also knew that going back to find the corpse must be very dangerous. Technically, this was none of his business, but he was admired by Chang Sheng’s determination. After thinking for a while, he spoke, “I can come with you.”
Everyone was shocked.
After all, Qin Xiao still had his blood pills. After taking one, his eyesight and smell were both incomparable to that of ordinary people.
Mandrills were not demons after all. As long as he had enough sight and smell, he could definitely detect it once it was nearby.
Chang Sheng was a brave man, but through their conversation, Qin Xiao also learned that Liu Zi still had an old mother, and Chang Sheng had a family of his own too. If this person died, then there’d be a lot of extra trouble in the village.
Qin Xiao knew that it’ll be extremely dangerous going back up the mountain and he was still willing to help. The least he could do was to spot the danger fast enough and bring them back down the mountain alive.
Back in those days, Meng Zimo saved him from the most dangerous situation. Now Chang Sheng needs help too. He can’t stand there even though he knew he could be useful.
“Son, the mandrill is not a joke,” said Han Bo, “the beast is extremely fierce and you might die if you get near it.”
Qin Xiao smiled. “I have a good nose. Let me follow along, if the mandrill appears, I can spot it early.”
Han Bo thought to himself. If this boy really has this ability, then it might not be a bad thing to follow along. After hesitating for a second, he asked Chang Sheng, “Chang Sheng, what do you think?”
Chang Sheng shook his head. “We’re already very thankful that he saved Yang Wa’s father. Now we need to go back up the mountain, it’s best if we bring no more trouble to him. Han Bo, bring him back to the village.”
How nice of him. Even reminded Han Bo to bring me back to the village. Qin Xiao smiled. “Brother Chang Sheng, I know it’s dangerous. I’m not trying to be a hero either, I just think that I might help. Please don’t refuse.”
“Chang Sheng, since this little brother is so kind, just let him come with us,” said Kan Shu.
After thinking about it, Chang Sheng bowed. “Thank you.”
“Brother Chang Sheng, here let’s settle one thing down first. When we go into the mountain, if I notice something’s wrong and tell you guys to leave, then you must leave immediately.”
“Sure.” Chang Sheng nodded. “It’s best if we can find Liu Zi. If not, I’d like to keep myself alive too.”
Another hunter walked up and gave Qin Xiao an iron fork. “Child, take this.”
Qin Xiao knew that in the mountains, it was best to have a weapon handy. He took over the fork, Kan Shu grabbed the bow and arrow along with an iron fork, and Chang Sheng led the two of them up the mountain. The other hunters worriedly looked at their disappearing backs.
The mountain was packed with forests. Kan Shu was familiar with the surroundings so he ended up going in the front and leading the way. Qin Xiao and Chang Sheng followed behind.
In the middle of the night, the mountain was very dim. Fortunately, there was a moon in the sky. As the light shone from gaps of the leaves, one could somewhat see the paths.
After entering the mountain, Qin Xiao knew that the mandrill wouldn’t be the only thing possessing threat. There were all kinds of animals on the mountain. If one was not careful, it would be a lot of trouble running across a tiger or leopard too.
However, Kan Shu was a very experienced hunter. He knew which paths were safer than the others and if there were wild animals around, he could sense them too. This was the reason he volunteered to come along. He was worried that Chang Sheng was too young and didn’t have enough experience.
As they went deeper and deeper into the mountains, there were sounds of howling wolves and other animals every once in a while. Now thinking about it, Qin Xiao actually regretted a bit following them up here.
But he offered to come himself, now it’ll be awkward to chicken out and go back.
While the other two weren’t paying attention, Qin Xiao secretly took a blood pill. Soon enough, his vision and sense of smell improved rapidly. Even in the dim night, he could still see very far.
After walking for another four or so hours, Kan Shu stopped and turned around. “We’ll be arriving at the area where the mandrill appears often. Be careful.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiao immediately tensed up and looked around. Their steps became lighter as quietly walked.
There were many thorns and vines in the forest. It was all thanks to Kan Shu, who knew exactly what he was doing that they were able to come this far without problems. If it was Qin Xiao by himself, he would have been long lost among these identical trees.