Chapter 35 Hunting Together

Chapter 35 Hunting Together

In the afternoon, they kneaded the adobe bricks they needed and laid them out in rows under the sun. They would first dry for two days to set their shape, then be flipped over to continue drying. It would take several days of continuous drying before they were thoroughly dry.

The next day, Tang Yuan started taking the fake agricultural expert on a tour to provide assistance to the existing farmland.

Her idea was that one should not be greedy with planting; it’s better to cultivate one plot at a time and harvest it. If one only focuses on clearing land without ensuring a good harvest, wouldn’t that be a waste of seeds?

In the original text, the expert’s efforts in clearing land in the mountains would likely result in a year of learning and experience, which made her feel sorry for the seeds and the effort spent.

Without paper and pen, she used a burnt stick to draw on a stone slab, marking out the plots that Feng Chen had already cleared and planted.

Plot One was by the pond. Since it had been flooded, the microorganisms in the water provided nutrients, so phosphorus wasn’t lacking. Feng Chen had planted soybeans, which could replenish nitrogen in the soil, but potassium was still needed.

Tang Yuan marked it down. "We can sprinkle the ash we’ve burned these past two days."

To conserve the ash, it shouldn’t be sprinkled randomly. Instead, ridges should be plowed around the young plants, and the ash should be placed there.

It would be best to water the plants afterward, which would help the young plants absorb the nutrients faster and soften the clumps of soil, breaking them into finer particles.

Plot Two was also by the pond but slightly higher in elevation, making its soil less nutritious. However, the soil quality was decent without large clumps, so it could be improved by bringing in humus.

Plot Three had different conditions. It might have been a waterlogged area before, now dried up into a wetland with sticky soil, unsuitable for crops like corn or soybeans but ideal for rice.

Feng Chen had followed Tang Yuan’s advice and planted soybeans and peanuts for the first season, along with a few rows of sweet potatoes and red sorghum, but no corn or millet.

The soybean seedlings in Plot Three visibly had no future; even digging drainage ditches wouldn’t help as the roots would rot. The hope was that they could grow a bit more to serve as green manure.

Tang Yuan looked up at Feng Chen. "Can you get some rice seeds?"

She saw him turn his head, looking in the direction of Plot Three. His usually expressionless face showed a hint of sorrow.

Was she seeing things?

Was the expert so sentimental?

Rather than sorrow, it seemed more like a moment of silence.

He was mourning his first attempt at clearing land.

Tang Yuan thought about Feng Chen’s astonishing appetite and his solo efforts in clearing land in the mountains. According to the original text, he must have lost an entire season, maybe even two seasons of crops. He must be very heartbroken, possibly even skipping meals.

Tsk, tsk, too pitiful.

She consoled him, "This is a necessary step in clearing land."

Feng Chen turned to look at her, puzzled.

Tang Yuan explained, "Turning barren land into fertile fields isn’t easy. It takes at least three years of accumulation, and the first year is mostly about growing green manure."

Clearing land in the mountains without chemical fertilizers was similar to ancient times.

The first step after clearing land isn’t planting but accumulating green manure. It’s best to plant a crop of vetch or beans, which can be plowed back into the soil as fertilizer in summer, making the autumn planting much better.

Plots One, Two, and Three don’t need such trouble.

Other barren lands do.

With Tang Yuan’s comfort, Feng Chen felt a little better and less heartbroken about losing the soybean seeds.

He also realized that clearing land wasn’t as easy as he thought.

Initially, he assumed that clearing the land, turning it over, and planting seeds would lead to a harvest.

Tang Yuan boosted his spirits, praising him, "You’re clearing land so quickly!"

Feng Chen: Alright, comforted again.

He thought for a moment and said to Tang Yuan, "Write down what we need, and let’s try to get everything next time we go out."

Tang Yuan: "If we can’t get rice seeds, we can plant water spinach, celery, and leafy greens there."

Of course, rice would be best since they needed food staples.

Now, even if they went to the city with something to trade, they couldn’t get much grain since everyone was rationed. Unless they knew someone from the grain bureau.

Feng Chen carefully asked about the type of rice. Honestly, neither the original character nor he recognized wild rice. Eating rice didn’t mean knowing what it looked like in the field.

Tang Yuan gave him a brief history and explanation of rice cultivation, "Actually, rice isn’t limited to certain areas. The most important condition for growing rice is water, not temperature."

With sufficient water, rice could be grown in the northern wilderness.

The difference was that the north had one season of rice, while the south could have two or even three.

Feng Chen noted this.

Over the next few days, they collected humus, and Feng Chen gathered riverbed silt.

Unfortunately, the mountain rivers were mostly snowmelt and rainwater, and the riverbeds were full of stones, not silt.

Without silt, they decided to create their own compost pits. They dug pits, mixed leaves and grass with soil, and filled them with water to compost.

After five busy days, they dug three compost pits and marked them with branches to avoid accidents.

By then, the adobe bricks were almost dry, and they spent another day preparing the needed stones.

Unfortunately, the nearby area had either large boulders or small pebbles, and they couldn’t find suitable stones.

Feng Chen considered it and discussed with Tang Yuan, "I remember a cliff to the north where there are flat stone slabs washed down. We can chip some off and bring them back, and check the fish traps and snares along the way."

The wild chicken and fish they had caught earlier were all gone, and their rations were limited. It would be best to catch some more game to replenish their supplies.

Tang Yuan naturally agreed.

If there was shale, there was no need to look for any other stones; just bring it back directly.

Without a cart, they could only drag a makeshift sled.

In the evening, they made a thick porridge of coarse grains. The next morning, when the sky was still dim, the two of them got up. They didn't need to cook breakfast; they simply drank the leftover porridge from the night before and set off with their baskets and tools.

Feng Chen also brought along the iron pot, the kitchen knife, and their rations. Traveling in the mountains was not easy, so wherever they spent the night, they would cook there.

Tang Yuan found this experience novel, much like camping in her previous life.

With Feng Chen by her side, she wasn't afraid at all.

Especially after he carried her up the steep Boulder Peak, she began to see him as a source of security.

After walking for half a day, they caught several fish in a deep pool. There was a dried-up waterfall on this small mountain peak.

During the flood season, there would likely be beautiful cascading waterfalls to admire.

Neither the traps for wild chickens nor rabbits yielded any results.

In this season, they weren't short of food and rarely fell into human traps.

At noon, they cooked by a stream, cleaning the fish and stewing them all in one pot. Eating more fish provided nutrition and saved on rations.

This was a path that Feng Chen often took, and it was usually safe. Feng Chen asked Tang Yuan to cook here while he went into the woods to try catching a wild chicken for dinner.

After Feng Chen left, Tang Yuan added more firewood to the simple stove and then went to find some wild vegetables to eat.

Eating only meat felt incomplete to her; she preferred to have some vegetables.

Although wild vegetables often had a bitter taste, they were better than nothing.

There had been no rain recently, so there were no mushrooms to pick, leaving only wild vegetables.

She saw a patch of tender wormwood and dandelions and squatted down to dig them up.

While digging, she suddenly heard grunting sounds nearby and the thudding of something heavy hitting tree trunks.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look, only to see a wild boar behaving erratically, charging around wildly.

It was heading straight toward her!

Was it crazy?

She abandoned her basket, grabbed the shovel, and turned to run back, shouting, "Feng Chen—wild boar—!"

Damn it, what kind of luck was this? Even the master had said this stream was a path he often took, and there were no fierce beasts.

The male wild boar was unlucky too; it had been injured in the eye during a fight with another boar and, in its panic, had stumbled into an area where wild boars never ventured.

Its impaired vision caused it to charge recklessly through the woods, repeatedly falling into low areas until it burst out of the forest edge.

It charged toward Tang Yuan.

Tang Yuan ran as fast as she ever had.

Ah—ah—ah—

She screamed in her mind, panting heavily as she ran, hoping to go even faster.

Unaware that the wild boar's eyesight was impaired, she naturally ran to seek help from Feng Chen.

Hearing the commotion, Feng Chen immediately came to her aid.

He saw Tang Yuan running so fast that her straw shoes flew off, and the string binding her hair had come loose, causing her hair to stand on end.

Seeing Feng Chen approach, she shouted, "Quick, climb a tree!"

There was a sturdy tree nearby, which the wild boar couldn't possibly knock over.

She changed direction abruptly, running toward the tree and climbing up the trunk swiftly.

She couldn't hold Feng Chen back!

Climbing about a meter up, she looked down but didn't hear Feng Chen approaching. Instead, she saw—

Feng Chen running toward the charging wild boar!

Oh my god...

Tang Yuan's eyes widened.

Feng Chen watched the wild boar charging toward him. Its injured eye made it unsteady and posed little threat to him.

If it had been a healthy boar, he would have needed to use some tactics, but this one—

As the wild boar charged, he quickly sidestepped and, in a flash, smashed a stone hard against its neck.

With a loud "bang," the stone struck the boar's neck, and it collapsed.

The boar's body was covered in layers of mud from rolling in the mud, acting as a protective shield, but its cervical vertebrae were vulnerable to a heavy blow.

To avoid damaging the blade, Feng Chen didn't use his knife. To prevent numbing his hand, he didn't use his fist but instead used a sharp stone as a weapon.

He pulled out a bone knife from his thigh sheath, stabbed it behind the boar's ear, and dragged it to the roadside to bleed it out.

Not having any tools to collect the pig's blood, it could only go to waste.

Initially, he didn't know that the pig needed to be bled after slaughter; otherwise, the blood would clot inside the organs and meat, affecting both the quality and the price. It was a buyer who informed him of this.

He took out a shovel and dug a pit in the ground, planning to bury the pig's blood there to avoid attracting other fierce beasts with the scent of blood.

After finishing, he turned and waved toward Tang Yuan's direction, "It's done."

He clearly saw the little girl climb up a tree, and now she was sitting on a branch more than two meters off the ground.

Tang Yuan was in awe, truly deserving of being called a master, not just an agricultural one but also a master of providing security!

She quickly slid down the tree and took a few steps before feeling pain in her soles, inner thighs, and belly. She guessed it was from running too fast and rubbing against the rough bark while climbing the tree.

She limped toward Feng Chen.

He frowned slightly, "Did you twist your ankle?"

Tang Yuan replied embarrassedly, "No, it's just rubbed raw."

Feng Chen gestured for her to sit down, then got up and searched around, eventually picking up her straw sandals.

The shoelaces had long since broken.

He took two thin hemp ropes from his waist and used the basket-weaving technique he learned from Tang Yuan to repair the sandals, then handed them back to her.

Tang Yuan took the sandals and looked at them. Truly, a master is a master, with strong learning abilities and the skill to apply knowledge in new ways.

With his weaving, the originally ugly sandals now looked much neater.

"Thank you," she said as she tried to put them on.

Feng Chen stopped her with a gesture, "Wait."

He knelt down on one knee in front of her, signaling her to lift her foot for inspection.

Tang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. Although the master wasn't interested in women, he was still a man, and it was awkward to have him look at her feet.

Feng Chen: "I apologize." He gently grasped her slender ankle and lifted it to examine, confirming that her sole was indeed rubbed raw.

Tang Yuan tried to sound nonchalant, "It's fine. I climb mountains all the time, so my feet have calluses and don't hurt that much."

Feng Chen: "Wait here, I'll get some herbs."

He searched nearby and found a few plants of Prunella vulgaris, not cutting them but instead rubbing their leaves between his palms to extract green juice.

He applied the juice to Tang Yuan's soles, treating both feet.

In recent days, he had learned a lot from working together with Tang Yuan. She was generous and willing to share her knowledge, teaching him about many common medicinal herbs.

The most common were herbs for stopping bleeding, reducing swelling, and dispersing blood stasis.

Herbs like Prunella vulgaris, Equisetum hyemale, Isatis leaf, Plantago asiatica, Typha, Cymbopogon, and ginger.

Everything she taught him, he remembered well. Whenever he saw a plant she had taught him about, its name and uses would silently flash through his mind.

The herbal juice stung when applied to the wound.

Actually, Tang Yuan felt that her feet weren't too badly worn, and there was no need to apply the herbal juice because the stinging pain was worse than not using it at all, making it somewhat counterproductive.

She pointed at the massive wild boar lying on the ground, "How will you handle this? Are you going to carry it down the mountain to sell?"

With the weather warming up, such a large boar couldn't be consumed entirely by their household before it spoiled.

It would be better to take it to the city to exchange for supplies.

If they could get some seeds and fertilizer, that would be ideal.

Feng Chen shook his head. If he lived alone in the mountains, he would definitely carry it down to exchange for supplies without hesitation.

Now that Tang Yuan was here, to ensure she ate well, he preferred to process it for meat.

"Let's kill it for meat."

Tang Yuan: "Eat the meat ourselves? It's so big! We should make smoked meat!"

Smoked meat is great. There are plenty of pine and cypress trees in the mountains. We can use some pine and cypress branches to smoke it for a couple of days, ensuring we have meat for several months.

Smack...

She couldn't help it; her mouth watered so much that she almost drooled.

Feng Chen's lips curved into a warm and handsome smile.

Tang Yuan stared for a moment, thinking how incredibly handsome he was!

Feng Chen whispered, "Why don't we go back today and process the pork? You can rest your injury, and we'll go dig stones in a couple of days."

He originally wanted to say he would go move the stones himself while Tang Yuan stayed at the base, but considering the possibility of a blind beast suddenly charging out, he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone. It was safer to keep her with him.

Tang Yuan nodded, "Okay!"

Meat first!

Haha.

Feng Chen initially planned to carry Tang Yuan back first and then return for the wild boar, but Tang Yuan said she could walk herself.

"Once, I sprained my ankle but still carried my backpack and walked dozens of miles in the mountains."

This was from her past experience of going to the countryside for poverty alleviation, where she had to get her bones set at a small clinic by a traditional doctor, causing her excruciating pain.

A hint of confusion flashed in Feng Chen's eyes. Mother Tang and Dad Tang would let her carry her own luggage pack... Oh, he realized, this must be another one of her experiences, similar to his own.

He suddenly became curious about what kind of mysterious experiences she had hidden away.

They were certainly not as unlucky and dull as his, where his world was filled with nothing but killing and scheming.

On their way back, Tang Yuan leaned on a stick, while Feng Chen carried the wild boar and their luggage.

Even with the weight of a two-hundred-pound wild boar, he walked steadily without showing any strain.

Tang Yuan watched enviously and couldn't help but wonder, "What does the big shot eat to have such immense strength? Usually, someone with extraordinary strength needs an extraordinary height and weight, but the big shot is... around 185 centimeters tall, and his muscles are well-proportioned without being overly bulging."

Just how dense and strong must his bones and muscles be?

Feeling her direct and intense gaze, Feng Chen's ears started to heat up again.

He glanced down at her, "Is there something wrong?"

Tang Yuan: "How did you develop such incredible strength?"

Feng Chen chuckled, "Your strength isn't bad either; no need to envy me."

Strength comes both from natural endowment and training, but its limits are determined by genetics and physical condition.

Unless one is a weightlifter, there's no need to dwell on it.

Tang Yuan thought about it and decided, okay, if she lacks strength, the big shot can do the heavy lifting.

She'll just give orders!

No problem!

By the time they returned to their residence, it was dark.

The mountains at night looked like towering giants, and the wind howled mournfully, carrying the sounds of animals—some powerful, some pitiful.

Thinking about it made one feel uneasy.

But with the big shot by her side, Tang Yuan wasn't scared at all.

Upon returning, they first lit a bonfire and then worked together to process the wild boar.

Feng Chen used a deboning knife to slaughter the pig as if performing surgery, his movements fluid and smooth, slicing through the meat effortlessly as if cutting tofu.

Tang Yuan enjoyed watching him work.

She also took out the small knife given by Rich Peasant to help cut the pork, only to find that it wasn't as easy as it looked.

Feng Chen: "Which part do you want and how do you want it divided? Tell me, and I'll do it."

Tang Yuan didn't hesitate to give instructions; she wanted some belly pork to eat.

Feng Chen followed her requests and divided the meat accordingly.

Belly pork, tenderloin, pork chops, ribs, shoulder meat, hind leg, front leg, ham, offal, head...

Each piece was laid out on a stone slab, the meat firm and beautifully colored—truly good meat!

She asked him to slice a bowl of fatty and lean meat, which she then rubbed with salt and marinated for a few minutes before dry-frying them in an iron pot.

The slices of meat sizzled until the edges curled, the fat turned golden, and the oil glistened, making them look incredibly appetizing.

She scooped out the fried meat and skewered a large piece, offering it to Feng Chen.

Feng Chen had already finished deboning the meat and was now rubbing salt onto it according to Tang Yuan's instructions.

Unable to use his hands, he simply bit into the meat and ate it directly.

The dry-fried meat, with its mix of fatty and lean parts, had a satisfying chewiness and burst of flavor.

Feng Chen found it the most delicious pork he had ever tasted!

"Delicious," he praised.

Tang Yuan's eyes curved into crescents as she stuffed a piece into her mouth. It was a bit hot but incredibly fragrant.

Actually, since the wild boar hadn't been castrated, the meat had a slight gamey taste. But for people who rarely got to eat meat in this era, it was still very delicious.

Living in the livestock yard, Tang Yuan could eat despite the smell of animal urine and feces, so this was nothing compared to that.

Feng Chen had tasted everything in his past life.

This meat was truly delicious!

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen finished half the bowl of meat slices.

She poured out the oil from the pot, added water to boil, and made coarse grain porridge to drink.

With the fire slowly simmering, she didn't need to watch it constantly, so she helped Feng Chen rub salt onto the meat.

The best season for making smoked meat is winter, using fatty and lean belly pork and front leg meat. Mix salt with Sichuan pepper, star anise, and other spices, fry them together, then rub the meat with high-proof liquor before applying the salt mixture. Afterward, smoke the meat over low heat for two days.

Unfortunately, in the mountains, they only had salt, some Sichuan pepper, and chili peppers, and no liquor, so they could only rub the meat with salt and then smoke it.

Given the circumstances, perfection was impossible.

Having meat to eat in this era was already great!

Tang Yuan is not picky at all.

Thankfully, Feng Chen had previously traded a wild rabbit with Secretary Liu's family for quite a bit of coarse salt, which he ground up and brought over. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough for them to use.

After rubbing the meat with salt, it needs to be marinated overnight. They will smoke it over a low fire for two days.

Even with Feng Chen's strength and efficiency, it took them a considerable amount of time to handle one wild boar.

The intestines were still unprocessed, but Tang Yuan was already extremely tired.

Initially, she felt embarrassed about going to sleep alone, but after Feng Chen urged her several times, she went to sleep without hesitation.

She didn't even drink the porridge.

She lay down and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, Tang Yuan woke up to the chirping of birds.

She stretched lazily and yawned deeply, feeling the joy of sleeping in like she did when she was a child at her grandparents' house.

She knew that this feeling only came when she was at peace and felt safe.

She hadn't experienced this feeling for many years since her work in poverty alleviation in her previous life, as it was both physically and mentally exhausting.

Nor did she feel truly secure deep down.

She got up quickly and noticed that the large and small intestines had already been cleaned and soaked in a pot, and the porridge was served in an enamel basin.

Feng Chen wasn't there, but he had left a note on the ground saying he had gone to cut pine and cypress branches.

Tang Yuan started a fire to boil the intestines. Even without sufficient seasonings, they had salt, soybean paste, star anise, chili peppers, and wild spices like Sichuan pepper, perilla, mint, wild onions, wild garlic, and wild ginger.

Unfortunately, the mountains here were too cold in winter, so there were no wild laurel or cinnamon trees.

After a while, Feng Chen returned with a lot of branches, and they lit a fire to smoke the meat.

They hung the meat pieces on rods, including the pig's ears, tongue, and head split in half.

Squatting on the ground, they poked at the charcoal fire with sticks. Suddenly, Feng Chen had a thought: Why am I so stubborn about farming when it's so troublesome and has such a low return?

Why not hunt more wild boars and sell them?

He looked at Tang Yuan and wondered if he could trade a few wild boars for a bag of fine flour for her to eat?

Ordinary people couldn't get fine flour easily, and even Tang Bingde's family didn't have much wheat. But Feng Chen knew that those with power could eat fine flour every day.

For example, his aunt-in-law mentioned that some families in the county Revolutionary Committee ate white flour buns daily.

He also knew that there was white flour available for trade in villages two days away.

In the past, he thought coarse grains were filling enough and fine flour was too expensive, so he only bought a few pounds of noodles for his grandmother to eat when she was sick.

Now, seeing Tang Yuan eating coarse grains that scratched her throat every day, he felt sorry for her. She should have something better.

He wanted her to have something better!

Tang Yuan didn't know what he was thinking but sensed a sudden change in his mood. She turned to look at him and smiled, "What are you thinking?"

Suddenly so serious.

Feng Chen hesitated for a moment and said, "There are plenty of wild boars in the mountains over there. I want to hunt a few more. Smoking one is smoking, and smoking two is smoking, right?"

Tang Yuan: "!!!"

I'll thank you on behalf of the wild boars.

If this were modern times, hunting would definitely be prohibited, as wild boars are protected animals.

But this era is different. Many commune militia units organize hunts to control wild boars because they can cause significant damage when they come down from the mountains, destroying farmland, attacking villages, and even injuring people.

"Well... that seems okay? But don't hunt too many; wild boars in groups are terrifying. Stick to the solitary ones."

Tang Yuan eventually gave in to her cravings, thinking that wild boars were abundant in this era, so eating some was acceptable.

Besides, the crops hadn't grown yet, so there weren't any urgent farm tasks.

After smoking the pork, Feng Chen hung it high in a cave for ventilation, then led Tang Yuan out to hunt.

Tang Yuan discovered that although the expert couldn't farm, he was highly skilled at hunting.

The area he chose for farming was the safest place, free from dangerous beasts and snakes. But beyond two small peaks, there was a ravine where fierce animals roamed.

Tigers, bears, leopards, and wolves were all present!

Standing on the cliff opposite, Tang Yuan clearly saw the tigers and felt her legs go weak, instinctively hiding herself.

Fortunately, Feng Chen wasn't crazy enough to lead her to hunt there. Instead, they wandered around nearby larger forests and hills.

There were deer, wild goats, and other delicious game!

While hunting, Feng Chen would mark a safe spot outside and Tang Yuan would climb up a tree and sit there.

In one day, Feng Chen hunted a wild boar, two wild goats, and a deer.

Tang Yuan was utterly impressed by his speed and talent in hunting.

How could someone face a wild boar head-on!

With these skills, why did you wander around the city before?

Looking at the pile of prey that resembled a small mountain on the ground, Tang Yuan felt a bit troubled, "What should we do with all this?"

There's no way we can finish it all!

We don't even have enough salt to preserve it!

She never imagined that after transmigrating, she would one day be troubled by having too much meat.

Feng Chen, however, had already planned ahead, "We'll go to the neighboring county and trade for flour. You can see what else you need then."

Tang Yuan immediately responded, "Let's get a small jar and two basins."

They only had wooden buckets but no jars, which made fetching water and raising fish inconvenient. Additionally, they didn't have enough basins.

Actually, they could make clay pots themselves, but since they weren't truly isolated, there was no need to live so primitively.

Feng Chen naturally agreed. He cut some branches and vines, tying them together into a makeshift sled and lashed the prey onto it.

The ground was uneven with protruding rocks, making the sled very bumpy, but he didn't offer to let Tang Yuan ride on it.

It would take two days to reach the neighboring county. They carried their bedding and provisions, and although the journey involved crossing mountains and rivers, Tang Yuan remained cheerful, chatting happily with Feng Chen as if they were on a pleasant outing.

After a day, they began descending the mountain, crossing a mountain fissure in between. After walking for about another day, they arrived at the foot of an even taller mountain.

Here, there was a well-trodden path down the mountain, unlike the rugged terrain they had encountered in the mountains.

This area was still within the mountains, and they needed to continue going down to leave.

Feng Chen stopped.

Previously, he had only reached here and had never left the mountains from this route. It was said that there was still a long way to go.

There were several villages on this side of the mountain, located in remote areas with tough locals. The production team leaders always complained about poverty, so the commune designated them as poor villages, exempting them from public grain contributions.

However, they cultivated terraced fields in the mountains and grew plenty of wheat. Since they didn't need to contribute public grain, the villagers had ample food supplies.

But they were very united and dared not sell their surplus grain to the commune for other goods, fearing that the commune would revoke their poor village status and require them to resume grain contributions.

Feng Chen knew this because of his exceptional abilities, having secretly eavesdropped on their conversations.

If he wanted to hide somewhere, even the most sensitive wild animals couldn't detect him, let alone humans.

He intended to trade with them for flour.

Along the way, he introduced the situation to Tang Yuan, asking her to pretend she knew nothing.

Tang Yuan, being a skilled actress, understood exactly what to do.

They wouldn't reveal anything about their own mountainous area either.

Just as they were about to head up the mountain, Feng Chen heard something unusual and turned to look to the right, where a river flowed past the foot of the mountain.

Beside a large rock by the river, it seemed someone was lying there.

Drowning?

Tang Yuan followed his gaze, "What's wrong?"

Feng Chen: "There's someone there, and they don't look good."

Out of habit from his previous life, he wouldn't rush to help without caution.

Tang Yuan, however, was naturally inclined to help others, especially when there was no danger.

She immediately said, "Let's go check it out."