Qin Ziwen sat for quite a while longer, but still couldn't wait for any new guests.
He picked up the book case from the ground. The case was woven from bamboo, not woven very finely, with some rough edges, but it was quite sturdy.
Inside were several sutra books bound with hemp paper, along with a small bag containing a writing brush, and another small animal skin pouch holding ink sticks and an inkstone.
Apart from these, there was a set of spare clothes. At the bottom of the book case lay several pieces of broken silver, some scattered copper coins, and a pair of new hemp shoes.
Without clothes or money, where could this scholar possibly go after running out?
After some thought, he took out the book case and placed it on the living room floor.
In the morning, after eating breakfast, the blacksmith shop once again echoed with Li Tieshan's blacksmithing sounds.
"Sir, please wait a moment. Just the final polishing remains to complete the process."
The spearhead inserted into the shaft was rubbed against the bluestone. The spear blade gleamed coldly. As cold spring water was splashed over it, this great killing weapon was successfully completed.
Qin Ziwen took the long spear. This spear was longer and thicker than the one he currently held in his hand.
It was slightly heavier. Because the spear shaft was thicker, he still felt somewhat unaccustomed to wielding it.
"Brother, brother." Qin Ziwu looked eagerly at the cudrania wood long spear in his elder brother's hand.
"Here." Qin Ziwen tossed it horizontally over. Qin Ziwu caught it in one hand, "Haha, I have a weapon too!"
"Let's go, heading out."
Li Tieshan wiped his hands and hurriedly said, "Sir, shall I accompany you?"
Qin Ziwen did not agree, instead instructing him: "You've been blacksmithing every day these past few days and didn't rest much last night either. Just wait for us at home, guard the house well, and don't let anyone else in."
Receiving the instructions, Li Tieshan straightened his posture, "Yes!"
At the residential complex's east gate, the four people gathered.
Everyone was fully armed. Qin Ziwen and Qin Ziwu each held a long spear, making them extremely conspicuous.
On Qin Ziwu's back, he carried a black case.
Extending from both sides of the case were retractable shoulder straps that passed over his shoulders.
Qin Ziwen carried a cloth bag in his left hand; it was heavy and made clinking metal sounds as he walked.
"Today, going up the mountain, our main goal is to find that mountain cave, then retrieve the cards inside the cave. We aim to successfully make the round trip within one day, and try our best not to stay overnight outside."
The other three nodded in agreement.
Qin Ziwen took out a drawing from his chest. This was the mountain ascent map he had finally drawn based on his analysis of the video recorded along the way by the Crowned Eagle when they retrieved the fish trap last time.
"Mr. Qin, I went to Renhe Hall and bought four sachets that can repel mosquitoes and insects." Zhao Pu took four sachets from his bag and distributed them to the three others.
Qin Ziwen took the sachet. Though called a sachet, it actually resembled a cloth bag sewn from a bedsheet, emitting a faint fragrance of Chinese medicinal herbs. "Thoughtful of you."
Zhao Pu laughed heartily, "We're a team, after all."
Coincidentally, a team of people passed by nearby. As they passed, this team stopped. Lu Hongtao examined the long spear in Qin Ziwen's hand: "Brother, did you make this spear yourself?"
"Yes."
"Willing to sell? Price is negotiable."
"Not selling for now." Qin Ziwen waved his hand. He didn't even have enough of these things for himself; how could he possibly sell them?
"Alright then." Lu Hongtao felt somewhat regretful and took a few more glances at the imposing iron spear.
"Cough, cough, cough~"
Someone in Lu Hongtao's team covered their mouth while coughing.
"Zhou Hu, if you're not feeling well, just go back. You've been coughing all day; it's making me damn nervous."
"I fucking said I'm fine, cough cough cough, I went to see the doctor, who said it's just a cold, a chill." Zhou Hu said angrily, "Damn it, what the hell are you scared of?"
Zhao Pu gave Qin Ziwen a meaningful look. Qin Ziwen led the team away.
After they had gone some distance, Zhao Pu said, "When I went out yesterday, I noticed quite a few people in the complex were coughing."
Qin Ziwen understood the implied meaning, "Is it some kind of infectious disease?"
Zhao Pu shook his head, "Don't know. Currently, the symptoms just look like a common cold. But this isn't Earth anymore. It's quite normal for an unheard-of virus to pop up. Plus, there was just a flood. I think we should be careful."
"Mm."
After the flood, there had been two consecutive days of clear, sunny weather.
The mud on the ground had dried up considerably, making the path somewhat easier to walk.
They entered the forest, climbing along the hillside towards the northeast, following the upward slope.
These sachets might really be effective; along the way, there were far fewer mosquitoes and insects than usual.
They say going downhill is harder than going uphill, but the uphill path wasn't easy either.
After walking for over three hours, the surrounding trees gradually became sparser, and clear bird songs echoed overhead.
"There's a leopard over there, be careful!" Zhao Pu spotted a leopard's head emerging from the slope ahead to the right.
Looking in the direction Zhao Pu indicated, a Golden Leopard revealed half its head from behind a tree, staring at them.
"Ao wu." The Golden Leopard made a sound.
The sound wasn't very fierce, even a bit cute.
Seeing that this group of humans showed no reaction, the Golden Leopard watched for a while longer before running off towards another direction.
Observing its walking posture, Qin Ziwen recognized it; this seemed to be the same Golden Leopard they encountered that night when carrying the wild boar back.
"Let's go, continue up the mountain."
The four supported each other as they walked towards the mountain. By noon, the surrounding temperature had quietly dropped, and they could already feel a slight chill.
"Crowned Eagle, fly up and see how far we are from the cave." Qin Ziwen started the video recording on his phone and placed it on its chest.
"Screech! Screech!"
Frequent bird calls came from overhead.
The Crowned Eagle flew down towards them, with two black shadows chasing closely behind it.
"Prepare!" Qin Ziwen raised his long spear and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his younger brother.
The Crowned Eagle spread its wings and circled around to their back.
The two black shadows followed closely. Qin Ziwen showed no hesitation, thrusting out his spear.
But these two birds reacted very quickly, flapping their wings and sharply changing direction, avoiding the spear. They finally landed on nearby branches, looking down on them from above.
"Their flying posture looks somewhat like falcons, but ordinary falcons aren't this big."
These two falcons had jet-black feathers. Against the light, their specific patterns were unclear.
But their size was considerable; either one was about the same size as the Crowned Eagle.
"Screech, screech, screech, screech!" The two falcons emitted high-pitched, urgent short cries.
Apart from the warning cries, the two falcons did not launch any further attacks.
"Probably trying to drive us away." Qin Ziwu looked back at the Crowned Eagle.
"No, it seems like they're calling for companions. We can't let them keep calling." Qin Ziwen frowned; he heard responding sounds coming from the dense forest not far away.
The Crowned Eagle, which had retreated behind them, was less tense now. It raised its crest, spread its wings, and flaunted its strength towards the two falcons above them.
Qin Ziwen handed his long spear to Deng Guang for safekeeping, then took the phone from the Crowned Eagle's chest to observe the video playback.
After watching it, he let out a long sigh of relief, "The cave is just a short distance above us. Drive them away, and we'll be there."
Qin Ziwen turned to look at his younger brother, "Xiao Wu, take down the thing on your back."
"Alright!"
Qin Ziwu took off the archery equipment case he was carrying on his back.
Qin Ziwen opened the lid and took out the compound bow from inside.
He drew the bow and nocked an arrow.
The falcons hadn't seen such a rare contraption before and watched intently from the tree.
Until the arrow flew out.
"Screech!"
One black falcon flapped its wings in startled flight.
The other one tumbled and fell to the ground.
......