Chapter 341: The Hunters Harvest Festival on Niu Kui Mountain

Ji Yuan was in no hurry to return. Instead, he observed the surface of the waters around Dragon Rock Island. The island itself was not too small. It was lush with vegetation, though many spots bore scorch marks from lightning strikes. Of course, at the moment, the weather around the island was sunny and calm.

After looking around for a while, he still couldn’t figure out why the island was named Dragon Rock Island; perhaps it was just a name someone made up on the spot.

1

With that complete, Ji Yuan then flicked his finger a couple times towards the beach.

One by one, green coconuts fell from some of the coconut trees in that direction and rolled to Ji Yuan’s feet. The waters of the Northern Sea waters were clearly colder than those of the Eastern Sea, yet unexpectedly, Dragon Rock Island had thriving coconut trees — a sight he had never witnessed in Dazhen nor in Zuyue.

Behind him, another wave broke the surface of the ocean, and a current lifted Ying Ruoli out of the water.

“Uncle Ji, are you picking coconuts on the island? Wouldn’t it be better to have the servants do this? “

Ji Yuan didn’t reveal the truth. After picking about twenty coconuts, he gathered them up and went back into the water, asking a different question to change the subject.

“I just came over for a walk and picked them along the way when I saw them. So how did it go, did your mother agree to return to the Tongtian River? “

This was the goal Ying Ruoli had set before she arrived, so Ji Yuan was certain she must have mentioned it earlier.

Ying Ruoli shook her head.

“Mother absolutely refuses to go to the Tongtian River. “

Even so, the Dragon Daughter still smiled.

“However, I persuaded her to go to the Eastern Sea. When the time comes, I’ll ask my elder brother to help me find a suitable temporary home for Mother there, so it will be easier to look after her.”

“That’s good. This place is, after all, a bit too remote. “

Though Ji Yuan verbally agreed, he privately thought that the Dragon Mother was no delicate woman; the lightning scorch marks around Dragon Rock Island alone were evidence of that.

Upon arriving at the underwater palace of Dragon Rock Island, Ji Yuan felt a bit awkward bringing out the twenty coconuts, so he simply tucked them into his sleeve. Ying Ruoli, of course, didn’t say anything, merely stating that Uncle Ji had gone out for a stroll.

The so-called banquet at Dragon Rock Island was indeed lavish. However, there was one thing that Ji Yuan found slightly unusual: almost everything was raw—fresh fish, fresh shrimp, fresh shellfish, all had been filleted, neatly sliced, and served on exquisite platters.

Ji Yuan had never been fond of sashimi in his past life, and had rarely had similar dishes in this one, but after politely sampling some, he found the taste surprisingly good.

…

At the foot of Niu Kui Mountain in Ji Province of Dazhen, in a village nestled against the mountainside, the villagers were just beginning to stir.

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

The man surveyed the cooking smoke rising from both ends of the village, then planted his spear into the ground, cupped his hands around his mouth, and bellowed loudly.

“Mountain hunters, we’re heading out!”

His voice echoed through the village for a while, then he repeated his words.

Before long, people emerged from many houses in the village. Most carried bows and arrows, as well as long staves or pitchforks. A few carried ropes.

Over a dozen men gathered, of all sizes and statures.

As they reached the village gate, their families came to see them off, and everyone bid them farewell.

“Don’t worry, our luck has been good lately. And with the weather so cold, we won’t be going deep into the mountains, just checking traps around the outer perimeter. “

“Husband, come back soon! Dinner is waiting for you!”

“Honey, the mountain paths are treacherous in this cold. Whether we have a harvest festival or not doesn’t matter;we still haven’t finished the meat from last winter!”

“Alright, alright, I know, I know. “

“Go back, everyone, it’s still cold outside! “

The group took a few steps forward, turned back, and called out one last time. Once they entered the mountain, their pace quickened.

The leader rubbed his hands together, then took the long spear from his back to use as a walking stick.

“Let’s go check the traps first!”

Having grown up in the mountains, scrambling around like wild monkeys as children, the cold weather and thick clothing had little impact on these hunters. Their steps remained nimble, and even a martial arts expert would find it difficult to rival their skill.

After walking in the mountains for over an hour, they reached the first pre-set trap. The leader was still a dozen steps away when he peered through the gaps in the trees and saw that the camouflage covering the trap had collapsed. A smile crept onto his lips.

“It’s very likely something fell fell in! “

Soon, more than a dozen men gathered around the edge of the trap.

“Wow, a wild boar!”

“Not bad, not bad, lots of meat, I like it! “

“Haha, but its hide isn’t worth much…”

“It’s good enough to have something. “

Watching the wild boar charge around and strike the sides of the pit after catching sight of them, the hunters’ faces lit up with joy.

“Leave it for now, let’s go check the other traps! “

The leader waved his hand, and the group set off again, checking one trap after another. They had set a total of ten traps in different locations, including both pitfall traps and net traps. Five out of the first nine traps had game, which was a very high success rate indeed.

Even before they reached the last trap, the hunters were already laughing and chatting quietly.

“Roar…”

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

The leader gestured with a hand, signaling. Those behind him grabbed their bows or spears. Others untied what had appeared to be ropes from their backs, unfurling them to reveal two large nets.

“What’s the last trap? A net or a pitfall? “

“A pitfall. “

The leader nodded, waved his hand, and pointed to the ground. The hunters understood, and stealthily made their way forward.

They were all experienced hunters; the wind direction was in their favor, and as long as they made little noise, they had a good chance.

The sound suggested a fierce beast. Though the risk was higher, they outnumbered it and weren’t too afraid. Plus, the hides of wild beasts were very valuable.

When they reached a few dozen paces from the pitfall, they peered through the trees, and saw that a sound was indeed coming from within, accompanied by the sounds of chewing, gnawing, and tearing of flesh and bone.

The leader thought for a moment, then pointed to seven or eight of the men. About half of them held bows and arrows, and stayed put to provide support. Then he suddenly waved his hand.

The next moment, all the men he had pointed to rushed towards the pit trap, shouting loudly to intimidate the beast.

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!”

“Come on, aaaaaaaaaaah! “

“Charge! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! “

…

“Roar, roar…”

A panicked roar came inside the pit. After a moment of hesitation, a mottled, patterned shadow suddenly leaped out of the trap, only to run straight into a large net of thick ropes that had been cast over it.

“Roar…”

“Hahahahaha… a big leopard! “

“This pelt is worth a fortune, hahahahaha…”

“Not bad, not bad. Tiger or leopard hides are rare treasures; I can go to town and buy my wife a piece of patterned floral fabric with this! “

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

After laughing, the leader couldn’t help but say,

“Since last winter, there have been many more wild animals on the periphery of the mountain, and they’ve been exceptionally easy to catch. “

“Hey, isn’t that a good thing?”

The leader glanced towards the depths of Niu Kui Mountain.

“It is indeed a good thing, but I keep feeling that some of the animals from deep within Niu Kui Mountain have moved out to the perimeter. “

“Huh? Could it be that there’s no food inside? “

The leader shook his head.

“I don’t know. Niu Kui Mountain is so vast; perhaps it’s just our area that’s like this. In any case, it’s a good thing for us. “

With that, the man joined them in processing the game. The net trapping the leopard had already been gathered into a ball. After pulling the leopard’s four limbs through the mesh and binding them securely, they directly strangled the leopard with a rope. Unless someone had paid for a live capture, fierce beasts were generally not taken out of the mountain alive.

The prey in the pit had already been killed by the leopard, its belly torn open, but the hunters didn’t waste it. The leopard had only eaten the entrails; most of the meat was still there, so they naturally took it with them.

At this moment, the sky suddenly darkened. However, it was only noon, so it couldn’t be nightfall; rather, thunderclouds had gathered.

“Rumble…”

The sound of thunder and the darkening sky startled the hunters.

“Oh no, the weather’s changed again! Quickly, take the game and head back. “

“Let’s go, let’s go! Take everything and go! Don’t reset the traps! “

The group, returning with a full load of spoils, hurried back. Little did they know, similar scenes were unfolding in many places around the vast Niu Kui Mountain.

Dark clouds once again densely blanketed the sky above Niu Kui Mountain, lightning flashing through the thick, rolling, lead-like clouds.

“Rumble…”

“Crack… boom…”

The lightning brilliantly illuminated the depths of the great mountain.

A massive, majestic hairless tiger poked half its body out of its cave, its intricately patterned face gleaming in the lightning. However, it showed no fear. Instead, it gazed intently at the thunderclouds in the sky.

“Honored Master once casually asked, ‘Who controls this thunder? Is it not Heaven itself?’”

Gradually, Lu Shan Jun emerged from the cave, his steps seemingly unhurried, yet each of his strides covered a significant distance. He soon arrived at a stone promontory and looked up at the ink-black clouds pressing down from the sky.

“Rumble…”

“ROAR—”

The tiger’s roar instantly drowned out the thunder, accompanying the howling winds that echoed throughout the mountains and wilderness.

2

However, the animals in this part of the mountain had long since fled, migrating to the outermost periphery.

“Shan Jun, are you going to transform into human form? “

A weak voice came from the side of the stone platform. Lu Shan Jun looked over; a red fox’s head was poking out.

“Haha, that depends on when the clouds overhead dare to strike me. I advise you to stay far away from me, or take temporary refuge in my cave. Though you’ve made much progress these years, with your cultivation level, if you were hit by such a lightning strike, you would be severely injured, if not killed.”

Severely injured? Hu Yun looked up at the sky, feeling like Lu Shan Jun was overestimating him.

“Then I’ll leave too. Be careful!”

Leaving these words, Hu Yun took off running, not heading for Lu Shan Jun’s oppressive cave, but rather directly towards the edge of the mountainside.

T/n: I mean, it’s not like you traveled with a dragon to meet their dragon mother who lives under this rock, but yeah take a wild guess, buddy

T/n: heck yeah, LSJ, assert dominance on the sky!