Gongyi Tianheng heard this, and actually smiled: “Ah Zuo can serve as our chef. Though, Ah Zuo naturally has the final say on this matter.”
Gu Zuo gave a few hollow laughs, feeling that he was healed [1].
His patron sincerely was a good person. Unexpectedly, Tianheng didn't mock him. In the future, he wouldn't go hunting wild beasts with other people. He would only think about how to eat them… Good. He wouldn't think about it as much as possible. More so, he wouldn't consider directly blurting it out.
The wolf corpses arranged here would easily attract those that were hunting for food. After Tianheng put him on the ground, Gu Zuo trotted ahead and quickly handled everything.
However, Gu Zuo's treatment process of the ingredients left bloodstains and the whole place reeked of it. Still, one could see that Dragon Two was used to such missions, and there was still the jack-of-all-trades Xu Wenhe.
Those two retrieved essential medicinal powders from their sleeves. After they scattered it over the bloodstains, it removed the odors. A short moment later, all of it was taken care of.
Gu Zuo finished packing up the the best meats he butchered and stored them in the carriage Dragon Two brought.
After that, they all spent the night here.
Even though there weren't any nearby water sources — Or rather, even though there were water sources, they didn't dare use them casually. They also didn't use it for bathing. Even Gongyi Tianheng could only wipe off the dust and clean his face. The other three people had even less options.
As for Gu Zuo who lived in the modern era, although he couldn't do as he pleased, it wasn't so bad that he was caked in dust. However, after coming to this world, there was nothing else to be said except that spending the first few days observing his patron wasting time already gave him a taste of excessive suffering. It seemed that not bathing for several days, this kind of thing…one must be pragmatic during states of emergency [2]. Truly, it didn't really make him feel all that uncomfortable.
The tent was huge. Besides Gu Zuo, the other three had to take turns on night watch.
Gu Zuo found it a little embarra.s.sing: “Young master Tianheng, wouldn't it be better for me to also come?”
His own superior, his patron who'd been taking care of him, also didn't receive special treatment. Even if the work he gave a person was specialized, if the treatment was too good, it would make others lose confidence.
Gongyi Tianheng saw through his thoughts at a glance, smiling placatingly: “Pharmacists and martial artists originally walk very different paths. Ah Zuo, you just relax. I'll go on night duty. It's also for the sake of tempering myself, okay?”
Gu Zuo remained silent. He obediently did what he was told and entered the tent.
His patron's IQ was just too high…but he understood something even more clearly. Certainly, his patron was a Clan heir and lived like a prince, but this Clan heir still wasn't very similar. Wanting to slowly build up one's martial strength wasn't so easy.
When he thought about it, it was for this reason.
He'd never heard of being able to practice martial arts without hardship.
In order to have enough energy tomorrow to go all out, after he entered the tent, he didn't continue refining pills. Rather, he meditated in a cross-legged position, working his cultivation method for several cycles before obediently going to sleep.
Because he knew that his patron had a firm grasp on the situation outside, he didn't perceive the dangers of being out in the wilderness. Not long after, his breathing evened out and he fell into a deep sleep.
A night without… This night wasn't one without its troubles.
When Gu Zuo woke up and lifted the tent flap, he unexpectedly discovered that, in front of the recently extinguished bonfire, there was a pile of at least twenty to thirty wild beast corpses.
Among them, there was still only one Meridian Condensing realm wild beast. The rest were all Bone Forging realm. Yet, under Gongyi Tianheng, these three people totally reached the state of Meridian Condensing. When these wolves came, it only made them use a bit more strength. Only if there were fifty, sixty, or even more than a hundred surrounding them, would that genuinely create a threat to them.
Seeing Gu Zuo's whole face full of misgivings, Gongyi Tianheng gently explained: “In the outer edges of the Stampeding Oxen Mountain Range, it's estimated that there weren't too many wild beasts. It's impossible for a large-scale wolf pack to form. The unlucky head wolf that found us yesterday originally led a group of only thirty or so wolves. After it died by our hands, the most powerful one in the wolf pack was naturally promoted to head wolf. Because the former leader went and died, in order for the next leader to stabilize its position, it had to lead the wolf pack here for vengeance. Also, we didn't know if any of them had special skills, so we seriously kept an eye out.”
Gu Zuo suddenly realized.
It was now his responsibility. He also didn't know how long they'd be staying here hunting prey or extracting the best ingredients in case things came to a head. When everyone was hungry, he wouldn't have anything to cook.
— This was very simple work. After a short while, everything was settled.
However, once it was finished, Tianheng walked to Gu Zuo's side. He nudged his shoulder, and his eyes fell to the carriage. His movements were very quick and didn't alert Xu Wenhe.
Gu Zuo instantly understood.
Because Dragon One and Dragon Two had been closely protecting them for a long time, they roughly understood that he had a storage device on hand. However, his patron didn't want to let even more people know. He also felt that it was always beneficial to keep many cards close to his chest. This would make Xu Wenhe think that the one who had a storage device was his patron.
Gongyi Tianheng casually waved his hand.
At the same time, Gu Zuo moved his psychic power.
Instantly, the carriage vanished into the storage s.p.a.ce.
Sure enough, Xu Wenhe didn't reveal any strange expressions. Further, there wasn't any suspicion.
Tianheng said: “Let's take advantage of the morning. We'll go straight into the Stampeding Oxen Mountain Range.” [3]
The three remaining people all obeyed without exception.
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Within the Stampeding Oxen Mountain Range, the trees were lush with layers of vines. There were many dark and sinister things about [4], and the wild beasts were absolutely vicious.
Once they arrived here, they were careful of their surroundings when harvesting medicinal herbs used for supplementing their expenses. After they delved deeper, the number of wild beasts gradually increased. Unless there was a group of martial artists who believed in their own martial strength, one usually wouldn't enter alone.
Perhaps because they came early, the group didn't encounter any unfamiliar people. Actually, while following the mountain road deeper, Gu Zuo still could see a few medicinal herbs here and there… Maintaining the notion of not wasting anything, his was quick with his hands and feet, and plucked everything that was in good physical condition.
Gongyi Tianheng was experienced in handling matters. Naturally, he couldn't just hasten their journey. He'd thought of a way long ago. He opened his mouth and said: “Wenhe, take out the map.”
This was all prepared in advance. From the direction they went in, their route was clearly calculated.
The others gathered to take a look.
Tianheng pointed to a black dot: “This here is the Eagle's Beak Hollow. It's a tract of land that grows viper flowers. The name is a little unpleasant, but Ah Zuo should know that it actually isn't poisonous. Rather, it's a good medicine for enriching the blood.”
Gu Zuo was certainly aware of it.
In the prescriptions he had on hand, it didn't matter if it was for medicinal cuisines, decoctions, or pills, all of them needed to use this kind of medicinal herb. If there was a lot, then saving up extra was also very good.
— Right now, he already enjoyed collecting medicinal herbs very much.
There was nothing to do about it. So many prescriptions he could choose from, and he had to wait to use them until the requisite medicinal herbs showed up. Wasn't this just too inconvenient? In addition, his interests in refining medicine had grown. Naturally, the more herbs, the better. Viper flowers weren't the kind of medicinal herb one could see everywhere and casually grow them. Encountering them was an opportunity he couldn't miss.
Gu Zuo said: “Then, we'll go pick them?”
Tianheng smiled: “The viper flowers over there haven't been s.n.a.t.c.hed by others because there are a pair of tiger-headed raptors [5] that linger along the mountain walls. Between those two, the male is a Meridian Condensing third stage realm and the female is a little weaker, at the Meridian Condensing second stage… If Ah Zuo wants, we can go challenge them.”
Gu Zuo raised his head and saw his patron's look of self-confidence. It was obvious that he already decided that he wanted to go and fight the pair of tiger-headed raptors! According to his patron, who constantly planned ahead, this was killing two birds with one stone. It wasn't surprising that he chose this region in the first place.
He didn't object, and simply nodded: “Many thanks, young master Tianheng.”
Tianheng's brows rose slightly, and he reached out a hand to ruffle Gu Zuo's hair: “The tiger-headed raptors are capable of flight. I'll give a good try using the heavenly eagle steps to see if I can engage those birds.”
Gu Zuo heard this and laughed.
Afterwards, a group of four came to a decision. For the pair of tiger-headed raptors, Gongyi Tianheng would handle the female raptor with a similar realm by himself, and Dragon Two and Xu Wenhe would tangle with the male raptor.
As for Gu Zuo…they could first find a cave nearby for him to hide in.
Once they took out the map, the route through the Stampeding Oxen Mountain Range became easier to understand. Leading the way, even Xu Wenhe didn't know how to cross a few broken paths. The mountainous topography was gradually changing. The terrain was like an eagle's beak, which formed a basin within the mountains. It emerged like so in front of them.
However, it left them astonished. There were some people who came before them.
Just as Gu Zuo clearly saw the shadowed, multi-colored viper flowers hidden among the weeds, he heard a clamorous noise. There was an intense, ear-piercing call of a bird of prey as well as the sounds of clashing weapons.
What was worth mentioning even more was the stench of blood in the air.
Subconsciously, Gu Zuo turned his head and looked towards Tianheng. He didn't know what his patron had planned.
Gongyi Tianheng's eyesight was extremely powerful. He slightly parted the undergrowth and could already see the scene ahead.
There really was a group of people fighting the pair of tiger-headed raptors.
There were three men and two women. They had a woman protecting another young lady in the back, keeping watch. The other three men were all engaged in battle with the two raptors. The situation was very intense. The tiger-headed raptors soared high in the sky and occasionally swooped down. The raptors had a firm grasp on victory.
Moreover, besides the young lady, the other four had all suffered injuries. They seemed to be in dire straits.
From their attire, the four wounded people should be those who entered the Stampeding Oxen Mountain Range all year round, hunting wild beasts and searching for natural resources. It was only that the young lady's scared facial expression held a trace of displeasure and a continuously repressed arrogance. She was probably their employer. Someone who was pampered and spoiled since childhood had come here for adventure. If it wasn't too presumptuous, she was here to look for something.
Presently, despite the young lady's arrogance, she didn't order the woman to first guard her escape from the mountain range. The probability of her searching for something was getting larger.
Within two or three glances, Gongyi Tianheng was already nearly finished surmising their ident.i.ties.
He faintly smiled.
These people hadn't been maintaining themselves for long. The strongest one was only Meridian Condensing second stage. No matter how abundant their experience, it was impossible for them to escape unscathed. It was unavoidable for one or two to sacrifice themselves and ultimately return in low spirits after their defeat. Or it'd be a complete wipeout.
But, if someone were to come to the rescue, then it'd be different.
There were two options presented before Tianheng and the others.
One was to wait for the tiger-headed raptors to dispose of them, then take advantage of the situation and kill the birds. This was a very convenient method that could be counted as a steal [6].
And the second was to save those people in pa.s.sing, and then follow the original plan.
As far as Tianheng was concerned, since he wasn't hindered, lending a hand would produce good karma. There also wasn't any harm in helping out.
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>>
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[1] 治愈 - Zhi yu, to cure. It also has the implication of being restored to a healthy, happy, and comfortable mindset.
[2] 事急从权 - Shi ji (an urgent matter) cong quan (focusing on things of vital interest).
[3] It looks like they were on the borders of the mountain range the entire time.
[4] 蛇虫鼠蚁 - She (snakes) chong (bugs or worms) shu (rats) yi (ants), four animals that the common person would hate. Also used to compare to something petty, sinister, disgusting, vulgar, crafty, or dark.
[5] 雕 - Diao, bird of prey.
[6] 捡漏 - Jian lou, a situation where one purchases a valuable antique cheaply, while the seller doesn't know the antique's true value.
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T/N: It's getting to the point where named objects are appearing with greater frequency. I'm not going to give an explanation for them anymore in the endnotes to avoid clutter. I'll still keep doing it for important things or people, especially if additional explanations are needed.
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