After comforting Shen Qian'er, Lu Changping finished breakfast and left the house with his tools and medicine basket.
However, from that day on, Lu Changping stopped going to the Niu Brothers to rent the grass clothes.
With the Human Crow helping him gather herbs, he didn't need to enter the mountains himself, nor did he need to give the Niu Brothers money anymore.
For the next three or four days, Lu Changping didn't go into the mountains himself.
But the Human Crow's daily harvest was far greater than what he could gather on his own.
Furthermore, after the Human Crow became familiar with the medicinal herbs,
the yield even increased compared to before.
After things stabilized, he earned almost a thousand to thirteen hundred wen every day.
The highest, even twice what Lu Changping had before.
This was still because Lu Changping felt sorry for the Human Crow and hadn't pushed it too hard.
At the same time, he was afraid that others would discover something amiss.
Lu Changping would go out every morning before dawn.
He tried his best to be the first to find the Li's Pharmacy's workers and sell the medicinal herbs brought by the Human Crow.
He kept a low profile.
If he met familiar herbal collectors during the day or in the evening and they asked,
Lu Changping would just use the excuse that he was sick and resting.
Over the course of four days, Lu Changping had earned a total of six taels of silver, plus several hundred more copper coins.
During these few days, Lu Changping hadn't wasted any time either.
He had been circling the edge of the mountain forest, chopping firewood while also keeping an eye out for other Yao Beasts.
Although he hadn't found any Yao Beasts, he had chopped a lot of firewood.
This meant Shen Qian'er wouldn't have to be so frugal with firewood every day.
It would prevent her from getting sick from the cold.
However, Lu Changping knew he couldn't avoid going into the mountains forever.
And the market fair was coming up soon, after resting for several days.
He'd be going to the market to buy a lot of things then, which might arouse suspicion.
So, on the morning of the fifth day, Lu Changping went to the path the herbalists used to enter the mountains.
He found The Niu Brothers and rented a grass cloak, entering the mountain forest once more.
Another heavy snowfall had occurred last night, and the mountain forest was still covered in thick snow, making it difficult to walk.
Lu Changping walked very slowly and carefully, even a little absentmindedly.
Because the Human Crow had already flown into the deep mountains to gather herbs.
He didn't need to go too far, lest he himself encounter danger.
He came over in the morning.
Big Niu asked him why he hadn't come for the past few days.
Lu Changping still used the original excuse, saying he was sick and resting.
Big Niu didn't say anything, just smiled and patted his shoulder.
Lu Changping understood what that meant; it was a threat.
It was to tell him not to think about "reneging on the debt."
So, ever since he entered the mountain forest, Lu Changping had been thinking about one thing.
"What if, even when I've gathered enough money, Big Niu still forces my hand?"
He believed that, given Big Niu's character, he was absolutely capable of doing such a thing!
"The Niu Brothers, although they haven't learned martial arts in the town, the Niu family could build up their business, it is said, because they have inherited skills.
To say nothing of other things, just look at Big Niu and Second Niu's height and build, and you can tell that they are not people that ordinary folks can handle.
The poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts. If you want to train in martial arts, you must build your body, which means you must eat and drink well. In this regard, I'm far behind!"
Lu Changping lowered his head, looking at his thin arms and legs, his mood somber. "The day to pay off the debt is getting closer and closer.
Even if the Human Crow can help me earn money and help me find a martial arts school in the town, I won't be able to train anything in such a short time. What should I do..."
Lu Changping frowned, his mood growing heavier.
For now, the only thing he could rely on might be the Myriad Demon Ranking.
If he could Dominate a sufficiently powerful Yao Beast with a combat talent...
Then all his problems would be solved.
But, putting aside how difficult it would be to find such a Yao Beast...
He hadn't been able to find one in the past few days.
More importantly, even if such a Yao Beast were to suddenly appear now,
he wouldn't be able to deal with it, let alone Dominate it.
Now, five days had passed since he Dominated the Human Crow.
Perhaps it was from frequently communicating with the Human Crow.
Lu Changping's Domination, which is to say his mental strength, had indeed increased slightly.
But right now, it had only increased to 1.9.
If that Yao Beast had been a little stronger...
He probably wouldn't have even been able to use Domination.
There was also another method: wait until he had three strands of Myriad Demon Essence, and then enlighten the Human Crow, allowing it to continue growing stronger.
He'd see if a new combat-related talent could be born from that.
But the Myriad Demon Essence was really too difficult to obtain. Since he had nurtured one strand last time, there hadn't been a second one in the past five days!
He didn't know when he'd be able to gather three strands.
"Could it really only come down to running away with Qian'er?"
This was the last resort.
It was also the worst option.
Leaving Apricot Blossom Village would indeed allow them to escape the threat of Big Niu.
But where to go after leaving, and what they would encounter, were all uncertain.
"Mmm…"
Suddenly, an extremely faint sound reached Lu Changping's ears.
Lu Changping's footsteps immediately stiffened, and he froze in place.
Then, he instantly wrapped his entire body in grass clothing, found a stone, and hid behind it, not daring to move.
At this moment, the Human Crow had already finished collecting the medicinal herbs and was heading this way.
Lu Changping stayed put, waiting for several minutes.
When the Human Crow arrived, he immediately instructed it to check the surroundings.
As a result, the Human Crow flew around several times, but didn't detect any danger.
At this point, Lu Changping also calmed down. Indeed, although he had heard a sound just now, his Danger Avoidance Talent had not been triggered.
In other words, he wasn't in any danger.
"Then, where did that sound come from?"
Lu Changping was somewhat puzzled when the voice from before sounded again.
"Ooo…"
This time, Lu Changping listened carefully and immediately pinpointed the direction of the sound.
At the same time, he also realized that the voice seemed a little weak and tender.
As if on the verge of death.
It didn't give him any sense of danger.
Lu Changping took the medicinal herbs the Human Crow had gathered, steadied himself, and started walking towards the source of the sound.
After a moment, Lu Changping stopped beside a rock.
He could hear the sound coming from beneath the snow-covered ground.
Lu Changping picked up a wooden stick from the side and slowly brushed away the snow on the surface.
Immediately, a dirt cave appeared before him.
"A cave? What kind of animal's den is this?"
Lu Changping thought to himself.
Just then, perhaps having noticed the snow outside the cave being cleared away, a sound came again from within.
It was still so weak, so tender.
Because there was no warning from the Human Crow or the Danger Avoidance Talent, Lu Changping's courage grew considerably.
He held a stick and lay on the ground, peering as far as he could into the depths of the cave.
Then he saw a small wolf, covered in downy fur, only a few days old, lying at the mouth of the cave.
This little wolf was almost emaciated, barely able to open its eyes, and looked as if it wouldn't survive much longer.
Looking further in, he found several other small wolves deeper inside, but they had already stopped moving.
Lu Changping used the wooden stick to pull out the small wolves from the depths of the cave, and found that they had all died.
This was clearly a wolf den, but the mother and father wolf were nowhere to be seen.
They had likely perished.
So, the small wolves had almost all starved to death.
Only one remained, and it didn't look like it would last long.
The whimpering sounds he had just heard were coming from the only surviving wolf cub, a desperate plea for survival.
Lu Changping stared for a while.
Although these wolf cubs were young, judging by their fur and the shape of their snouts, they were likely the Mountain Wolves, the most troublesome creatures in the surrounding area.
These wolves were quite intelligent, highly skilled at group tactics, and even understood some strategies.
When they were extremely hungry, they would raid human villages.
More importantly, Mountain Wolves were robust, belonging to the earth element. Their fur was incredibly tough, and their endurance was remarkable.
Even swords and strong bows struggled to inflict fatal wounds.
Ordinary hunters couldn't handle them.
If you encountered a pack of Mountain Wolves in the wild, you were basically dead, unless you were a martial artist.
Logically, seeing these Mountain Wolf cubs, you should immediately kill them to prevent them from growing up and harming others.
But, looking at the little cub struggling desperately on the ground, fighting for its life…
Lu Changping's heart stirred.
Mountain Wolves, while primarily acting in packs, were still formidable individually!
If this Mountain Wolf had a talent for combat, once he dominated this little cub, wouldn't his own strength increase instantly?
The problem that had been plaguing him, didn't it have a solution?
The moment this thought surfaced, he couldn't suppress it.
Lu Changping looked at the small wolf cub in front of him, which was lying on the ground, whimpering, as if it was about to die any second.
Finally, he made a decision!
"There probably isn't a better choice!"
He immediately picked up the only surviving wolf cub from the cold snow and tucked it into his arms.
He used his own body heat to warm it.
The wolf cub seemed to sense that someone was helping it and immediately burrowed into Lu Changping's embrace.
At the same time, it let out excited whimpers.
It was showing a strong will to survive.
Lu Changping looked up, glanced around, and frowned in thought.
He couldn't find a single thing on him that the little wolf cub could eat.
"I need to go back!"
Lu Changping glanced at the Human Crow, which was still clutching five or six medicinal herbs in its claws.
"With the Human Crow here, the fifteen taels of silver he owed to Big Niu can definitely be gathered. There's no rush for today."
Lu Changping made his decision.
The most pressing matter right now was undoubtedly keeping the little wolf cub alive.
The cub was too weak; Lu Changping didn't even dare to use Domination/Control.
He feared a mental shock would kill the little thing.
Lu Changping tore open his clothes, cradled the wolf cub in his arms, and turned to leave.
But he hadn't gone far when he met someone.
"Changping, where are you going?" The person spoke, pulling down the cloth covering his face to reveal a familiar visage.
It was Wang Gui, another herbal gatherer from the village.
And, technically, Lu Changping's cousin.
This Wang Gui was a good-for-nothing, and among all the herbal gatherers, he usually had the smallest harvest.
Now, the other gatherers should have already gone deep into the mountains, but he was still wandering around the edges. How could he possibly find any herbs?
In the past, this cousin had often taken advantage of the original owner.
Yet, the original owner was not only timid but also somewhat blindly filial.
Moreover, Wang Gui had a strong older brother.
This made the original owner very afraid, and even when he was treated unfairly, he didn't dare to resist.
This allowed Wang Gui and his brother, Wang Cai, to become even more overbearing.
However, at the moment, Lu Changping didn't have the time to deal with him. He nodded casually and walked away.
"Hey, seeing your brother, you don't even say hello? Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Did your wife die?" Wang Gui immediately said, trying to chase after him.
The tone was flippant, and the content of his words showed he didn't respect Lu Changping at all.
Lu Changping frowned immediately upon hearing this, turned around, and glared at the other person.
Wang Gui's footsteps faltered, as if he had been frightened by Lu Changping's gaze, and he didn't move forward or say anything more.
"Hmph..."
Lu Changping was in a hurry and didn't want to waste any time, so he turned and left directly.
Only after walking some distance did he hear Wang Gui's grumbling voice behind him.
Lu Changping walked out of the mountain area and returned the grass clothing, paying the rent.
After explaining to the Niu Brothers that he wasn't feeling well, Lu Changping quickly returned home.
Shen Qian'er was still washing clothes.
She was somewhat surprised to see Lu Changping back so early, but didn't question it. She took the tools and went inside to pour hot water.
"Qian'er, don't worry about anything else for now. Go cook some porridge, use the fine rice for the Human Crow!" Lu Changping instructed.
Shen Qian'er was a little puzzled, but seeing Lu Changping's urgency, she didn't ask further and turned to leave.
Lu Changping took the little wolf cub out of his arms and placed it on the kang.
Then he quickly went outside, found some firewood and charcoal, and heated the kang.
After all this time, the Mountain Wolf cub seemed increasingly weak.
Lu Changping could only pour some hot water and feed it to the other party first.
Although very weak, the little wolf cub still drank with all its might, unwilling to give up the possibility of survival.
\n\n
A moment later, Shen Qian'er, carrying the cooked japonica rice porridge, walked into the room. Seeing the little wolf cub on the kang, she let out a cry of surprise.
"This… Brother Ping, what is this?"
She walked over, her eyes full of curiosity.
Women in the Zhou Dynasty, after getting married, basically did not leave the house.
Even if they had heard some things, they had mostly never seen them for real.
Even if an adult Mountain Wolf stood in front of her, Shen Qian'er might not be able to recognize it.
Not to mention, this little wolf cub that had just been born not long ago.
"This is a... little mutt. I don't know who abandoned it outside the village, so I brought it back because I felt sorry for it."
Fearing Shen Qian'er would be scared, Lu Changping changed "little wolf" to "little mutt."
To be fair, this little wolf was entirely earth-colored. And, it hadn't grown up yet, looking small and pitiful. Calling it a little mutt wasn't wrong.
"It's so small, it's really heartbreaking. How is it so skinny..." Shen Qian'er heard it was a little mutt, and the last bit of fear in her mind disappeared completely.
She immediately brought the bowl over, handed it to Lu Changping, and gently stroked the little mutt on the bed.
To reassure the mistress, from now on, you'll be called little mutt!
Lu Changping thought to himself, picked up chopsticks, dipped some fine rice porridge from the bowl, blew on it, and waited until it wasn't hot before feeding it to the mutt.
The little earth dog first licked it with its tongue. Finding it was food, it immediately used all its strength to move forward and devoured it!
Lu Changping was finally somewhat relieved.
As long as it could eat, it wouldn't starve, and there was hope of survival!
His efforts to save it hadn't been in vain.