Chapter 342: The Harvest Festival of Niukui Mountain Hunters

Ji Yuan was in no hurry to return. Instead, he observed Dragon Rock Island from the water. The island wasn't too small and had lush vegetation, though many areas bore scorch marks from lightning strikes. Of course, at that moment, the island was enjoying calm winds and clear skies.

After observing for a long time, he still couldn't figure out why the island was called Dragon Rock Island; perhaps it was just a casual name. So, Ji Yuan flexed his fingers and flicked several times towards the beach.

From some coconut trees there, green coconuts fell one by one, rolling towards Ji Yuan's feet. The North Sea waters were clearly colder than those in the East Sea, so it was surprising that Dragon Rock Island had coconut trees, and healthy ones at that. He had never seen them in Dazhen or Zuyue Kingdom.

Behind him, the surface of the sea rippled again, and the Dragon Girl was lifted out of the water by a current.

"Uncle Ji, so you were picking coconuts on the island? Wouldn't it be better to have servants do this kind of thing?"

Ji Yuan didn't reveal the truth. After gathering about twenty coconuts, he took them and re-entered the water, changing the subject with another question.

"I was just strolling around and picked them when I saw them. By the way, has your mother agreed to return to Tongtian River?"

This was a goal the Dragon Girl had wanted to achieve before coming. Ji Yuan believed she must have mentioned it just now.

The Dragon Girl shook her head.

"Mother adamantly refuses to go to Tongtian River."

As she said this, the Dragon Girl still smiled.

"However, I persuaded her to go to the East Sea. When the time comes, I'll ask my brother to help me find a suitable temporary home for Mother there, which will make it easier to look after her."

"That's good. This place is a bit too far after all."

Although Ji Yuan said this, he also thought to himself that the Dragon Mother was no delicate woman; the lightning strike marks on Dragon Rock Island alone were evidence of that.

Upon arriving at Dragon Rock Island's underwater mansion, Ji Yuan felt a bit awkward about taking out the twenty coconuts, so he simply put them into his sleeve. The Dragon Girl, of course, didn't expose him, merely saying that Uncle Ji had been out for a stroll.

The so-called banquet at Dragon Rock Island was indeed lavish, but one thing made Ji Yuan slightly uncomfortable: almost all the dishes were raw. Fresh fish, shrimp, and shellfish were mostly deboned, sliced, arranged into exquisite platters, and then served.

In his previous life, Ji Yuan had never been fond of sashimi or similar raw foods and had barely tried them in this life. He was surprised, however, when he politely tasted them, to find that they actually tasted quite good.

At the foot of Niu Kui Mountain in Jizhou, Dazhen, a village nestled against the slopes was just stirring to life.

A burly man, dressed in thick early spring clothing, finished his hot breakfast, retrieved his bow and arrows, long spear, and rope-like items, then stepped out of his courtyard.

The man looked at the smoke rising from both ends of the village, thrust his spear into the ground, cupped his hands around his mouth, and bellowed loudly.

"The mountain hunting party for today, get ready to go!"

After his voice echoed through the village for a moment, the man shouted again.

Soon, people emerged from many houses in the village. Most carried bows and arrows, long staffs, or forks; fewer brought ropes.

Gradually, about a dozen men gathered, some tall, some short, some lean, some robust.

As they reached the village gate in the wall, family members came to see them off, and everyone said goodbye to their loved ones.

"Don't worry, our luck has been good recently. And with the weather so cold, we won't go deep into the mountains, just check the traps around the periphery."

"Husband, come back early, dinner's waiting for you!" "Father, the mountain paths are difficult in this cold weather. The harvest isn't important; we haven't even finished all the meat from before winter last year!"

"Alright, alright, I know."

"Go back inside, it's still cold out here!"

The group walked a few steps, then turned back to shout a final word. Once they entered the mountains, their pace actually quickened.

The leading man rubbed his hands together, then took out the long spear from his back and used it as a walking stick.

"Let's go, first check the traps!"

Having grown up in the mountains, leaping around like wild monkeys, the hunters remained agile despite the cold weather and thick clothing. Even a martial artist from the jianghu, unless highly skilled, might not be able to match their agility.

After walking into the mountains for over an hour, they reached the first pre-set trap. The leader, still a dozen paces away, looked through the gaps in the trees and saw that the camouflage covering the trap had collapsed. A smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Eight out of ten, something's fallen in!"

Before long, all dozen men gathered around the trap.

"Whoa, a wild boar!" "Nice, nice, lots of meat, I like it!"

"Heh heh, too bad the fur isn't worth much..."

"Something is better than nothing."

Watching the wild boar charge and crash around inside the pit after seeing them, the hunters' faces lit up with smiles.

"Leave it for now, let's check the other traps!"

The leader waved his hand, and the group set off again, checking one trap after another. In total, ten traps had been set in different locations, including pit traps and net traps. Five out of the first nine already had prey, which was a very high success rate.

Before they even reached the last trap, the hunters were already chatting and laughing in low voices.

"Roar…"

A distant roar instantly silenced the group. However, no one panicked; everyone immediately crouched low.

The leading man signaled with his hands. Behind him, some took out their bows, others grabbed their spears, and some unwrapped what looked like ropes from their backs, which turned out to be two large nets.

"What's the last trap? A net or a pit?"

"A pit."

The leading man nodded, then gestured towards the ground. The hunters understood, slowly and silently creeping forward.

They were all experienced old hunters, and the mountain wind direction was currently in their favor. As long as they remained quiet, they had a good chance.

The sound suggested a fierce beast. Although the risk was higher, they weren't too afraid given their numbers, and the fur of fierce beasts was very valuable.

When they reached a spot dozens of paces from the pit, looking through the large trees, the sound indeed came from within. There was also a chewing sound of tearing flesh and grinding bones, indicating it was feeding.

The leading man thought for a moment, then selected seven or eight people. With nearly half of the group remaining in position with bows and arrows ready to provide support, he suddenly gestured.

The next moment, all those selected charged towards the pit, shouting loudly to intimidate the beast.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!" "Come on ah ah ah ah!"

"Go go go!"

"Howl, howl..."

A panicked roar came from within the pit. After what seemed like a moment of hesitation, a mottled, patterned silhouette suddenly leaped out of the trap, only to collide with a large net of coarse ropes that was falling over it.

"Roar..."

"Hahahahaha... a big spotted leopard!"

"This hide is worth a fortune, hahahahaha..."

"Excellent, excellent! Tiger and leopard hides are rare and valuable. I can go to the city and buy my wife some patterned cloth now!"

In contrast to the panicked leopard, the hunters were overjoyed.

After laughing, the leading man couldn't help but comment,

"Since last winter, there have been many more animals on the outer perimeter of the mountain, and they've been exceptionally easy to catch."

"Hey, isn't that a good thing!"

The leader looked towards the depths of Niu Kui Mountain.

"It is a good thing, but I always feel that some of the animals from deeper within Niu Kui Mountain have moved to the outer areas."

"Huh? Could it be that there's no food left inside?"

The leading man shook his head.

"I don't know about that. Niu Kui Mountain is so vast; perhaps it's just like this in our area. Either way, it's a good thing for us."

After speaking, the man joined the others to process the prey. The net that had trapped the leopard was already crumpled. They pulled the leopard's limbs through the mesh, tied them securely, and then directly strangled the leopard with a rope. Unless someone specifically paid for a live animal, fierce beasts were generally not taken out alive.

The prey in the pit had already been bitten to death and its belly torn open by the leopard, but the hunters were not wasteful. The leopard had only eaten the internal organs; most of the meat remained and was naturally taken as well.

At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened. However, it was only noon, so it wasn't nightfall; rather, thunderclouds had gathered.

"Rumble..."

The thunder and the sudden change in the sky startled the hunters.

"Oh no, the weather's changing again! Quickly, take the prey and head back."

"Come on, come on, let's go! Take everything and leave. Don't bother resetting the traps!"

The group, now laden with their catch, hurried back. What they didn't know was that scenes like this were unfolding in many other parts of the vast area surrounding Niu Kui Mountain.

Above Niu Kui Mountain, the sky was once again heavily overcast, with lightning flickering within the thick, rolling leaden clouds.

"Rumble..." "Crackle... Boom..."

Lightning illuminated the depths of the mountain.

A massive, majestic, hairless tiger extended half its body out of a cave. Its intricately patterned face glowed brightly in the lightning, yet it showed no fear of the flashes, instead staring intently at the thunderclouds in the sky.

"My master once jokingly asked who controls the thunder. Is it not Heaven?"

Gradually, Lu Shan Jun stepped out of the cave, his pace seemingly not fast but covering significant ground. He soon reached a stone platform and looked up at the ink-dark clouds pressing down from the sky.

"Rumble..."

"Roar————"

The tiger's roar momentarily drowned out the thunder, sweeping with a fierce wind through the entire mountain area.

However, the animals in this part of the mountain had already fled, moving to the outermost regions.

"Mountain Lord, are you about to transform?"

A faint voice came from beside the stone platform. Lu Shan Jun looked over to see the red fox's head poking out.

"Heh heh, that depends on when the clouds above dare to strike me. I advise you to stay far away from me, or take temporary shelter in my cave. Although you've made significant progress over the years, with your current cultivation, if you were affected by such lightning, you'd be severely injured, if not killed."

Severely injured? Hu Yun looked up at the sky, feeling that Lu Shan Jun overestimated him.

"Then I'll leave too. You be careful!"

With that, Hu Yun turned and ran, not towards Lu Shan Jun's oppressive cave, but directly out of the mountain.