HLnovel Chapter 5: Mining doesn't provide enough food, so they have to hunt wild animals.
Chapter 5: Mining doesn't provide enough food, so they have to hunt wild animals.
After quickly finishing lunch, Ye Xiaobai planned to ask Niu Dazhuang to go hunting for some wild game in the surrounding area.
"Brother Dazhuang, have you eaten yet?" Ye Xiaobai asked Niu Dazhuang.
"No, it's still not quite there."
"Shall we go hunt some wild game together?"
"Let's go, let's go together!"
After saying that, Ye Xiaobai and Dazhuang went to look for wild game around the mine. They had less than an hour to rest after the meal before they had to rush back to mine.
Ye Xiaobai and Dazhuang didn't run far. There was a forest next to the mine, and they had already asked the person in charge of the mine. He said that there would be no danger if they didn't go too deep.
Ye Xiaobai and the lawyer searched for a while, and although they heard some noises along the way, they found nothing. Ye Xiaobai was really at a loss and could only ask Senior Jing Qianli for help, "Senior, what should we do? We can't find any wild game."
"Idiot, wait a minute! You! Once you reach the Qi Refining Realm, I'll teach you the cultivation technique."
What kind of animal dug up the soil around here? Should there be something nearby? Ye Xiaobai observed the surrounding environment with some curiosity.
"There's a pheasant smell nearby, about a kilometer to the northeast. Be careful and walk lightly."
Upon hearing his senior's voice, Ye Xiaobai was overjoyed. His senior was indeed amazing; now he would have some wild game.
"Dazhuang, walk carefully, there might be something ahead," Xiaobai said, reminding Dazhuang. Sure enough, after walking about a mile to the northeast, they found a pheasant digging in the dirt for food under a towering tree.
Junior Brother Ye, how did you know there were pheasants around here?
"I just had a feeling that the soil in some places around here had been dug up, so I guessed that some animal was looking for something to eat nearby," Ye Xiaobai hurriedly made up an excuse.
"So that's how it is. Junior Brother Ye's intuition was quite accurate."
Then, Ye Xiaobai and Dazhuang attacked from both sides and successfully captured the pheasant.
Actually, the main problem was that Dazhuang killed it with a single shot. Following Jing Qianli's instructions, Ye Xiaobai and Dazhuang caught two more pheasants, and it was almost time to head back.
Ye Xiaobai and Dazhuang roasted three pheasants and divided them among themselves. They ate some and saved the rest to eat when they got hungry in the afternoon. Then they went back to the mine.
On the way back, Jing Qianli transmitted his voice to Xiaobai: "Your intuition is pretty accurate, but your cooking skills still need improvement. Dazhuang was too embarrassed to praise you after eating the roast chicken you made."
Ye Xiaobai gave a wry smile: "The main problem is the lack of ingredients. I'll show off my skills another time."
Soon, Ye Xiaobai and Niu Dazhuang returned to the mine. After resting for a while, they began their afternoon mining work. In the afternoon, Ye Xiaobai pondered what to do if he couldn't complete his daily tasks while mining.
If there's no food, I can hunt some wild game. But without contribution points, I can't exchange them for cultivation resources. If I just keep cultivating like this, I don't know how long it will take.
Before entering the mine, I asked the mine manager what other conditions were required to complete the daily mining task.
The mine manager said that you could submit one spirit stone to count as a 7-day daily task, or submit one piece of iron ore essence to also count as a 7-day daily task. Ye Xiaobai couldn't help but sigh at how greedy the sect was.
Completing the daily tasks for 7 days doesn't even earn you a single spirit stone in sect contribution points, and iron ore is also very hard to find, after all, this mine has been dug for over a hundred years.
The readily available iron ore concentrate is long gone.
The first day ended without completing the task, but Ye Xiaobai was too tired from mining all day and went to sleep without much cultivation.
The next day, Xiaobai woke up with arms so sore he could barely lift them. He could barely hold his bowl while eating. Several new disciples were in the same boat, suffering terribly while eating, their fingers aching so badly they could barely use chopsticks.
Seeing the pain on Xiaobai's face, Dazhuang asked, "Junior Brother Ye, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Ye Xiaobai replied with a wry smile.
"It seems you didn't complete your task yesterday. How's it going today? Need me to help you dig some?"
"It's alright, I have a way." Ye Xiaobai was also too proud to admit it. His condition on the second day was even worse than on the first day. Although he tried his best to dig, he still failed to complete the task.
Exhausted that night, Ye Xiaobai tossed and turned, thinking about his tasks for the next day. After a long while, he finally fell asleep. On the third day, Ye Xiaobai was at his wit's end. After much thought, he realized that finding a piece of iron ore was the only solution to his current problem.
Before entering the mine, I specifically asked the mine manager about the specific appearance of the iron ore concentrate and the distribution of the surrounding ore.
After entering the mine, Ye Xiaobai frantically searched for iron ore essence, digging here and there, almost running all over the outer perimeter.
After a long day, everyone was exhausted. They hadn't found any iron ore, and the amount of ore they mined was the lowest they'd seen in days. The mine manager had warned them that if they didn't finish by tomorrow, they wouldn't get any food.
Eating is a minor matter; contributing points and cultivation resources is the real issue.
That night, Ye Xiaobai didn't cultivate much again and fell into a drowsy sleep.
In his dream, Ye Xiaobai discovered a huge pile of glittering iron ore. Overjoyed, he quickly reached into his clothes to grab it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach it. Just a little short, he kicked his foot in frustration and finally caught it.
Just as Ye Xiaobai was about to put it in his pocket, he suddenly noticed a cockroach-like insect, about the size of an adult's thumb, crawling onto the back of his hand. Before Ye Xiaobai could shake it off, it had already started gnawing on the back of his hand.
Ye Xiaobai immediately felt the excruciating pain of her hand being gnawed at, and then woke up with a start. She shook her hand, glanced at the back of her hand, and only felt relieved after confirming that everything was alright. She also realized that she had been having a nightmare.
"Are you alright?" Jing Qianli asked.
Ye Xiaobai wiped the sweat from his forehead, let out a long breath, and said, "I had a nightmare. I dreamt that I found iron ore essence, but I got bitten by insects."
"You little rascal, are you dreaming? But lately, you've been thinking too much during the day. Don't rush anything; things will work out if you take your time," Jing Qianli comforted him.
"Understood, Senior."