Not far from the mountain pond, three giant mountain tortoises were moving about in the undergrowth!
Each mountain tortoise weighed somewhere between two and three hundred catties.
"Look, mountain tortoises!" Someone excitedly cried out, but was quickly stopped by Li Xiu.
"Keep it down, don't startle them!" Li Xiu whispered orders: "Li Mingda, take a few men and flank them from the left. Li Fengwu, take a few men and flank them from the right. I'll circle around the front."
Under Li Xiu's command, the group silently dispersed to form a circle.
Just as they were about to surround the three mountain tortoises completely, someone accidentally stepped on a dead branch, producing a crisp "snap" that sounded exceptionally loud in the dead silence of the forest.
The three mountain tortoises were instantly alerted. Realizing people were near, they scrambled toward the water of the mountain pond!
"Nowhere to run!" Li Xiu shouted loudly.
With a "whoosh," a Flying Dart sped forward with lightning speed, striking dead center on the neck of one mountain tortoise!
That mountain tortoise let out a shrill cry, collapsed to the ground, and after struggling twice, stopped moving.
The remaining two mountain tortoises were terrified and ran desperately toward the pond.
Li Xiu threw a second dart, hitting the second mountain tortoise right in the neck.
The second mountain tortoise struggled a few times and lay motionless on the ground.
The third mountain tortoise was running at an extremely high speed and was about to break through the encirclement.
"Whoosh!" Li Xiu's third flying dart shot out, hitting it squarely in the thigh.
The third mountain tortoise's pace instantly faltered, and its movements slowed down.
"After them!" The group shouted in unison and rushed after it.
"Mingda, quick, stop it!" Li Xiu suddenly yelled.
Li Mingda stepped forward, hunting knife flashing in his hand, and blocked the mountain tortoise's path.
With no other choice, the mountain tortoise had to change direction, right into the trap Li Fengwu had set beforehand!
Li Fengwu shouted excitedly: "Got it!"
Not a single one of the three giant mountain tortoises escaped; all of them were caught by Li Xiu and his men!
"Haha, we've struck it rich this time!"
"This tortoise meat is enough to feed us for days!"
"As expected of Li Xiu, with him around, we never have to worry about going hungry!"
Everyone cheered, jumping up and down with excitement.
Their harvest from this mountain trip had already surpassed all the game they had hunted in the past entire month!
Li Xiu was very pleased. The three mountain tortoises were all treasures; the meat could be eaten, and they had medicinal value that could be traded for a lot of silver.
"What are you standing around for? Go harvest the tortoise blood!" Li Xiu hurriedly instructed.
The villagers quickly took out bamboo tubes and carefully collected the mountain tortoise blood.
As the blood poured into the bamboo tubes, a pungent, fishy odor filled the air.
Without a word, Li Xiu picked up a bamboo tube and drank the mountain tortoise blood in one go.
The others looked on in bewilderment.
What was Li Xiu doing?
Why was he drinking raw blood?
Was he a savage?
Seeing everyone staring at each other with wide eyes.
Li Xiu didn't bother to explain.
Mountain tortoise blood was a potent restorative.
This stuff was great for invigorating "yang" and tonifying the kidneys.
Having traveled through time to this ancient world, having three wives and four concubines was completely normal.
Especially since he already had two lovely young wives, and would have even more women in the future.
If he couldn't satisfy them, would he still be a man?
Li Mingda wiped a cold sweat from his forehead: "How should we divide the tortoise meat?"
"Same old rules, I take eighty percent, and you all take twenty percent," Li Xiu said decisively.
Normally, the villagers would consider themselves lucky just to catch a rabbit; now, catching three giant mountain tortoises felt like a dream.
Even though they only got twenty percent, in their eyes, this was still a massive haul.
After packing up their gear, the group hoisted their loads onto their backs and headed down the mountain.
About halfway down, Li Xiu noticed some rock bees flying around nearby.
"Wait!" Li Xiu called out, and everyone stopped.
Li Mingda asked: "What is it?"
Li Xiu pointed at the swarm of rock bees: "See that? If we follow them, we might find a rock beehive."
Rock honey was not only a premium nutritional supplement, but it also had high medicinal value, particularly for boosting human immunity.
Everyone put down their loads and followed Li Xiu in pursuit of the rock bees.
Soon, they spotted a huge rock beehive clinging to a cliff.
"It's so high up, what do we do?" Li Mingda asked, feeling completely helpless.
Li Xiu smiled and pulled a Flying Dart from his waist.
"Whoosh!" The sound of air being pierced echoed out.
The giant beehive came crashing down.
"Everyone down, don't move!" Seeing the huge beehive falling, accompanied by a swarm of rock bees buzzing around it and refusing to leave, Li Xiu hurriedly warned.
When the beehive hit the ground, the swarm of rock bees had no choice but to fly away.
Li Xiu collected the beehive.
"Let's head back to the village!" Carrying a mountain of goods, the group marched down the mountain, smiles beaming on all their faces.
As soon as they entered the village, many people swarmed over, surrounding them tightly.
"Holy crap, mountain tortoises?"
"How did you get so many?"
"Li Xiu, did you guys catch these?"
The hunters puffed out their chests, looking thoroughly proud of themselves.
Li Xiu had everyone unload all the game in an open space at the entrance of the village.
Over a dozen wild pheasants, seven or eight rabbits, three huge mountain tortoises, a basket of herbs, rock honey...
It left everyone dumbfounded.
According to the rules, Li Xiu took eighty percent, and the rest split the remaining twenty percent.
Even so, everyone received a generous share of meat, enough for several hearty meals.
"Brother Li Xiu, remember to call me next time you go hunting!"
"I'll definitely be early next time!"
"Brother Li Xiu, from now on, I'm following your lead!"
"..."
Li Xiu smiled and nodded.
After settling everything, Li Xiu began to inspect the construction of his new home.
The foundation had been laid, and the timber work was underway.
At this rate, it wouldn't even take a month before he could move in.
......
When Li Xiu returned home, he was surprised to find Sister Chunhua helping out in the courtyard.
Right then, Sister Chunhua was washing clothes alongside Yang Ruixue and Yang Ruiling, while Xiao Qingqing sat nearby, happily rubbing mud between her hands.
"Sister Chunhua, you're here?" Li Xiu set the things in his hand on the table.
Sister Chunhua blushed: "I heard you were building a new house, so I came to help out."
"That's great, let's have a meal together tonight," Li Xiu said happily. "We got a lot of good stuff from the mountain this time, just in time to improve our meals!"
"No need, we'll be leaving in a bit," Sister Chunhua rubbed her hands together somewhat self-consciously.
"It's getting late, you should stay for dinner. We even have rock honey," Li Xiu walked over and took Sister Chunhua's hand, accidentally brushing against her chest.
"Ah!" Sister Chunhua's face turned beet red down to her neck.
Li Xiu was stunned as well and quickly let go: "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Sister, just stay for dinner," Yang Ruiling walked over and took Sister Chunhua's hand.
Persuaded by the two of them, Sister Chunhua finally agreed.
At dusk, the family gathered around the dining table.
Li Xiu roasted the game until it was golden brown and scooped out a large basin of rock honey, placing them on the table.
Xiao Qingqing pointed and asked: "What's that?"
"Rock honey, sweet and delicious." Li Xiu picked up a spoon and fed a bite to Xiao Qingqing: "Have a taste."
Xiao Qingqing took a bite, and her eyes instantly lit up: "So sweet, too sweet!"
In this ancient era lacking sugar, honey was a luxury item.
Yang Ruixue and Yang Ruiling also tasted it, their faces showing sheer delight.
Yang Ruixue's eyes sparkled: "Darling, this rock honey is so sweet and fragrant."
"If you like it, eat more," Li Xiu smiled and scooped another spoonful for her.
Sister Chunhua took a bite and finally broke into a rare smile: "So sweet. I've never tasted anything this sweet before."
Seeing everyone happy, Li Xiu felt happy too.
Unable to help himself, he reached his leg out under the table and brushed it against Sister Chunhua's...