CHAPTER 108: CHAPTER 108: NO EFFORT REQUIRED

Seven days later.

Lu Zheng had just returned from Lin Wan’s house in the morning, ordered spicy hot pot delivery for lunch, accompanied it with smoked fish and steamed buns, and then changed his clothes, pocketed some jerky, and traveled to ancient times.

"Whoosh!"

He appeared on the branch of an ancient tree, close to the ground, as high as two people.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

As soon as he appeared, the two squirrels who were playing on the branch were startled, turned into two gray shadows, and darted into the forest.

Lu Zheng scanned around, and when he didn’t see any predatory leopards or snakes on the trees, his body slightly relaxed.

He agilely jumped off the tree, took out his compass to confirm the direction, and then retrieved his foldable shovel, clearing away obstructing branches and shrubs as he walked.

Without stopping his steps, Lu Zheng’s gaze continuously swept around in search.

The ancient mountain forest is indeed a treasure trove; no wonder people say that those who live near the mountains rely on them for sustenance. In these seven days, Lu Zheng spent most afternoons in the mountains, and even so, he had already gathered quite a lot of good medicinal herbs at home in the modern world.

Old ginseng and Huang Jing are of high value, but let’s not mention those; Lu Zheng also dug up some Danggui, Sanqi, Chonglou, Jin Xian Lian, and iron Dendrobium among other common herbs.

"Why do I feel more and more like a professional medicine gatherer?"

"Hmm?" Lu Zheng’s eyes darted.

In the bush not far away, a flash of light appeared briefly.

Heh, someone wants to pick up some cheap fortune.

Lu Zheng widened his eyes, stepped forward, his body full of vigorous energy, his presence soaring.

"Roar—"

A growl sounded, a yellow and black striped leopard suddenly turned and dashed away.

Lu Zheng shook his head, chopped another branch with his shovel; this wasn’t the first time this had happened. He had no shortage of food and didn’t need to kill indiscriminately.

An hour later, Lu Zheng reached the mountaintop.

Standing on a large rock at the peak, Lu Zheng surveyed the surrounding terrain, looking for areas suitable for growing medicinal herbs.

"Hmm, the mountain ridges here stretch endlessly, trapping wind and gathering Qi, with spiritual Qi converging over hundreds of miles. It is indeed a rare Grotto Heaven Blessed Land where there must be treasures," Lu Zheng mused convincingly to himself, "Doesn’t it really give a sense of cultivation?"

Actually, he didn’t know much, just noticed a location enclosed by three great mountains.

The White Cloud Temple actually possesses knowledge in face reading, fortune-telling, praying for blessings, and Feng Shui, but Daoist Mingzhang hadn’t taught Lu Zheng, thinking he wouldn’t need them.

Lu Zheng didn’t voluntarily seek to learn either, because he also thought he wouldn’t need them.

"Hmm, once the Light of Fortune is enough, I should delve into various kinds of knowledge."

Lu Zheng pinpointed the location, then speedily raced down the mountain.

...

He sniffed, suddenly feeling the air becoming much fresher.

Lu Zheng had just reached halfway when suddenly his eyes brightened, as he discovered a plant adorned with tiny purple-red flowers.

"What a find!"

Lu Zheng immediately approached, initially dug around with his foldable shovel, and then slowly uncovered the soil layer using a medicinal hoe, revealing the plant’s roots.

Old ginseng!

Lu Zheng dug a pit more than two square meters before he managed to uncover and pull out this root intact.

"If this old ginseng isn’t a hundred years old, I’ll chew it dry!"

Lu Zheng’s eyes sparkled as he weighed this root ginseng, easily exceeding two pounds.

Struck it rich!

He placed the treasures properly, crossed back, and pushed forward with hope.

"Wa la la—"

The sound of water flowing came.

Lu Zheng’s ears perked up; he kept forward.

"Rustle rustle—"

"Meow—"

A cat?

Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows, but did not pay much mind.

Having scared away a leopard, how could a wildcat stand a chance against him?

Lu Zheng turned a corner, the leaves and branches around him becoming sparse, and through gaps in the trees, he saw the scene ahead.

A trickling stream, not a high cliff, slightly flat grassland, with a wildcat jumping side to side, growling endlessly towards the mountain mouth.

"What’s it doing?"

"Rustle rustle—"

Lu Zheng focused his gaze to see that as the wildcat jumped, a small creature seemed to also dodge side to side.

No, the little creature moved first, the wildcat following behind, blocking it in the valley.

That small valley was gourd-shaped, with the wildcat blocking the exit, trapping the small creature inside.

But the wildcat dared not enter, for if it entered, the small creature could bypass it and escape.

The two little fellows were thus at a stalemate.

Lu Zheng squinted to try and make out what the small creature was, and raised the binoculars hanging around his neck.

The creature in sight was a four-legged being, red and white, only a foot tall, resembling both a horse and deer, with a head resembling both a cow and sheep, overall oddly translucent, but carrying an almost body-sized... reishi on its back?

"Damn! A Zhi Ma?"

Lu Zheng hoped for a miracle, and unexpectedly stumbled upon it!

In sight, the wildcat’s movements slowed, clearly growing exhausted.

While the Zhi Ma showed no signs of fatigue, continuously jumping side to side, attempting to break free from this mountain nook prison.

But the wildcat didn’t abandon its pursuit, instinctively knowing that consuming this small creature would mean great benefits.

Thus, the wildcat mustered all remaining strength, continuing to jump around the mountain mouth, charging forward at times, attempting to capture the Zhi Ma.

Lu Zheng immediately lowered the binoculars, began observing the nearby terrain.

A gourd-shaped mountain opening, judging from the Zhi Ma’s ground movement rather than climbing to escape, it either could not climb sufficiently steep slopes or had trouble moving across pure stone ground.

On the left of the entrance, the cliff sloped gently.

On the right of the entrance, a stream flowed past.

Lu Zheng looked up; the wildcat’s movements were increasingly slow.

No time left, take a gamble.

Lu Zheng bent low, quietly moving to a tree on the right side of the entrance, then swiftly traveled back to modern times, retrieved something unused for a long while, and hurriedly traveled back.

Just as he returned, a red and white shadow charged forth from the entrance, toward the riverbank, arriving right under the tree Lu Zheng sat.

Lu Zheng quickly raised his net-shooting gun.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three large nets descended from above, enveloping an area of over ten square meters.

The shadow became entangled with net ropes, abruptly stopping, tumbling into a ball, the net ropes winding tighter, soon turning it into a big lump.

"Meow—"

The wildcat leaped toward, only to suddenly find a huge figure standing in front of it.

He grabbed the scruff of the wildcat’s neck and tossed it onto the tree with a swing.

"Meow—"

The wildcat snarled angrily at Lu Zheng, then turned tail and ran.

Lu Zheng cheerfully approached the struggling bundle of nets, reaching out to grab it, "That was close! Almost let you slip away!"

"Cheep cheep cheep!"

"Spare me! Spare me!"