Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Recognizing Characters, Surveillance, and Cloud Palm_2

Seizing this final stretch of time, Lu Yuan planned to push himself to hunt more animals and earn money for his martial arts practice.

“And there’s also the Black Wolf Gang. A few days have passed, and I wonder if they are still in the mountain?”

At the foot of the mountain, looking at the vast expanse of snow-covered landscape, he thought to himself as he confidently walked into the mountain.

…

In the following days, besides studying, Lu Yuan went into the mountains every day to hunt.

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At the same time, he occasionally crossed mountains to return to his previous residence, confirming whether or not the Black Wolf Gang had left, and monitoring their movements in the process.

The Black Wolf Gang seemed to be very determined to find the swordsman Ma Jiqing, as if they would not let go until they found him.

Even now, when the heavy snow had sealed off the mountain, they didn’t give up. With hunters from the mountains, they crossed the rugged terrain in a desperate search for any traces of their enemy.

However, Dayu Mountain was vast, stretching over several prefectures and counties, with countless towering mountains and ridges.

Even if the Black Wolf Gang mobilized every member they had, they could only gather around a couple of hundred people for the search.

With such a small group, how could it be easy to find a single person among these boundless mountains?

Moreover, the hunters who were captured by the Black Wolf Gang were quite unfortunate. They had to follow a rough search in the mountains during the freezing winter days, all while being scolded and beaten by the gang members. Some even lost their lives, wronged beyond words.

Fortunately, their arduous days didn’t last long.

Half a month later, during one of Lu Yuan’s routine surveillance missions, he discovered that the Gang had vanished from the mountains.

After searching the mountains for more than two weeks and unable to find their target, the Black Wolf Gang finally left begrudgingly.

Yet, even though he noticed their departure, Lu Yuan didn’t act carelessly.

Given the treacherous nature of the Jianghu, who knew if they were just setting a trap?

Lu Yuan, with all the time in the world and an unlimited lifespan, wasn’t in a hurry. He focused on hunting for prey while waiting patiently.

After another ten days had passed, and it was confirmed that the Black and Blue Gang had truly left with no further movements, he finally decided to return to his cave dwelling in the mountain.

…

The morning mist still lingered in the mountains, and despite the sun shining brightly overhead, the thick tree shadows shielded this stubborn fog that clung between the foliage.

By the babbling stream, mountain springs gathered and flowed away into the distance with a gentle murmur.

Among the snow-covered plants, Lu Yuan moved cautiously, his stare vigilantly fixed on the slightest movement around him, assessing the situation.

“It seems that the people have really left.”

After a while, he emerged from the plants and walked to the stream nearby.

Upon reaching the stream, he scooped up a handful of clear water, fiercely rubbing it on his face, instantly washing away the exhaustion with a long-missed cool sensation.

Having regained his composure, Lu Yuan headed toward his cave dwelling.

Taking into consideration his previous experience, he carefully approached the cave’s entrance again, one cautious step at a time.

About ten steps from the disguised vines, he stopped.

“It looks the same as when I left, with no traces of movement.”

After studying the vines for some time, Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that during his absence, the Black Wolf Gang hadn’t discovered this place, so his dwelling remained secure.

“No, it may not be that it wasn’t discovered, but that someone intentionally misled them,” he thought of the hunters who were forced to search the mountains in the dead of winter.

Of course, the vast Dayu Mountain wasn’t inhabited solely by Lu Yuan as the only hunter.

In fact, in the region of Dayu County’s mountains, there were hundreds of scattered hunters.

These hunters occasionally interacted with one another, knowing each other’s whereabouts, and even joined forces to hunt fierce beasts. They shared a bond.

When the Black Wolf Gang entered the mountains to search, they relied on the local hunters for guidance. However, having been captured for no reason as labor, the hunters were naturally resentful.

At such times, it was difficult to say how many hunters would be willing to give their all to help the Black Wolf Gang, or if they instead led them to other hunters’ homes?

After all, the Black Wolf Gang’s mountain search was temporary, but the hunters were active in the mountains for a lifetime.

If one offended their neighbors now, would they not fear being shot with a cold arrow while hunting in the future?

“One can only say that the Black Wolf Gang has done too much evil, and both people and dogs despise them.”

Lu Yuan shook his head, pushed aside the vines, and stepped into his own cave dwelling.

In his haste when he left, he had taken away money and valuable items, but had also left behind over a hundred pounds of smoked meat and several hundred hides in the mountains. These, added together, were worth about five or six silver tales.

By now, he had already learned three thousand characters from Sun Siwen, and had recognized all the characters in the martial arts secret book he had. He could now understand it.

All he had to do now was spend some time studying, understanding the meanings, and he could almost start cultivating.

It could be predicted that there would be a large expenditure of silver tales once more.

Practicing martial arts is, after all, like a bottomless pit.

He packed a large amount of fur and cured meat into a bamboo basket and arranged them neatly. The empty basket suddenly gained fifty or sixty pounds.

“It’s all because of the money.”

Carrying the heavy bamboo basket, Lu Yuan sighed and turned to walk out of the cave.

There was still a lot of stuff left inside, and it would not be possible to carry it all at once. He would probably have to do it two or three more times.

Sigh, running back and forth over tens of miles on mountain roads, there would be a few days ahead of him.

…

Three days later.

Under the dim red sunset, Lu Yuan carried a large backpack on his back, a wild rabbit in his hand, a hunting bow on his back, a short blade at his waist, and walked briskly along the mountain path.

In front of him, the peaceful small town had already risen in wisps of cooking smoke, and some farmers working in the fields around the town were gradually wrapping up their work, carrying their tools, and preparing to go home.

“Brother Lu is back.”

“Little Yuan caught some game again today, so impressive.”

On both sides of the path, some farmers who were still busy in the field saw Lu Yuan and greeted him one after another.

“Good luck, good luck,” Lu Yuan responded with a smile, “You’re all welcome to come to my house for rabbit meat.”

In the past few days, the residents of the small town had gradually learned of the arrival of a hunter from the mountains.

To settle down in the town and blend in, Lu Yuan had deliberately made friends with the neighbors and occasionally gifted some game he had caught.

After a month, his relationship with some of the closer residents had gradually grown closer.

At this point, although he couldn’t say that their relationship was very good, they were willing to help each other out in small matters. Even a few of the neighbors who had received his game would offer him homemade green plum wine or some eggs in return.

One could say that by now, Lu Yuan had completely integrated into Yangmei Town.

Walking through the fields and into the town, he quickly returned home by passing through the alleyways.

Bang!

After closing the courtyard door, Lu Yuan put down the bow and arrow, went to the kitchen next door, and then unbuckled the backpack and placed it on the ground, making a dull thud.

Opening the basket’s lid, it was filled with smoked meat.

He picked up a few strips of smoked meat and hung them on the prepared wooden racks in the kitchen, letting out a sigh of relief. “After spending three days, I finally managed to move all my belongings from the mountain.”

He peeled and cleaned the rabbit meat he caught today, added some vegetables, and threw it all into the pot to stew.

Seeing that dinner would take a while, Lu Yuan took the opportunity to draw water from the well and take a bath.

After washing away the sweat and putting on clean clothes, the sky had already begun to darken, and night quietly descended.

He took a book from the house, walked to the stove in the kitchen, and began flipping through the book by the light of the fire.

“I never thought that Ma Jiqing was actually practicing a palm skill. At first, when I saw him holding a sword, I thought he was a swordsman practicing swordsmanship. It turns out that it was all just a disguise.”

Lu Yuan flipped through the martial arts secret book that he had acquired from Ma Jiqing. Now that he could recognize the three thousand characters, he could already understand the content of the book.

After understanding the content, he discovered that it was actually a secret book of palm skills.

“Cloud Palm, it doesn’t sound that impressive.”

Flicking through the secret book, he made a few sarcastic comments, but his heart was filled with joy.

Martial arts!

Now that he can finally practice martial arts, will he also become a martial arts expert?