Everyone burst into laughter. In fact, there weren't many fat people in this era. It was not easy to gain weight.
The other educated youths, having eaten and drunk their fill, went back to their cabins in the forest to rest. Old Man Knocking Mountain, after finishing his dumplings, went to deal with the man-bear corpse.
To be fair, it was truly not easy to have a meal of meat-filled dumplings. These guys had already been working hard all day, and with their empty stomachs, they were both tired and hungry. They all stared at the meat-filled dumplings, their eyes gleaming green with hunger.
Two large bowls of meat-filled dumplings, enough for eight people to eat, and not a single one was left.
It was simply terrifying!
Old Hu and the Fat Man returned to their room. They shared a room with Xu Lang, and they sat around the brazier, chatting away.
The Fat Man laughed, "Old Hu, do you want to go out for a walk?"
Old Hu replied, "No, I just want to rest. You're not tired after a day of running around?"
Xu Lang said, "Don't go out after dark. I was going to give Sister Huamei a taste of the fresh meat, but you guys ate it all. What a waste of my flour and cured meat. You guys were so fast, Yanzi and I were desperately trying to catch up, but we missed the hunt for the man-bear. It's such a pity."
The Fat Man laughed, "You're just a little kid, it's better for you to stay at home. Today, you almost got into a big accident. It's a good thing you didn't go with us. If something had happened to you, how could we two brothers explain it to Old Branch Secretary?"
Xu Lang said, "Don't try to pull my leg. My stamina is no worse than yours. Next time you want to leave me behind, I'll stop you. From now on, you two better stop coming to my place for free meals. If you come again, I'll send Xiong Da to greet you."
"Besides, the great leader once said, 'To struggle against Heaven is endlessly enjoyable. Fear not!' "
"If I were to become a quiet and beautiful man, wouldn't that be a betrayal to my name? One must be carefree and adventurous while young!"
Was that how you say it?
Old Hu and the Fat Man looked at each other, just about to speak, but they realized Xu Lang had already laid down to rest.
Soon, Xu Lang was asleep. He vaguely heard the Fat Man and Old Hu talking.
It seemed that Old Hu had discovered something at the Yellow Weasel Grave, saying that the location looked like a tomb. He also mentioned finding some stone statues in the bear cave, but they couldn't see them clearly without going down, and they didn't have time to explore during the day.
They couldn't delay Huamei's treatment just because of their curiosity, nor could they give up on the man-bear they hunted at the risk of their lives. This man-bear was not only their winter food, but also their work points.
Old Hu and the Fat Man were both exhausted after a day of running around. Even if they had any ideas, they wouldn't act on them tonight.
On this point, even without Old Hu saying it, they knew that the Yellow Weasel Grave was named as such because it resembled a grave. Otherwise, it would have been called the Yellow Weasel Nest. But knowing it and actually studying it were two different things.
The next morning, Old Hu and the others, through some unknown agreement, decided to enter the forest again.
It seemed that they wanted to search for the gold vein and tomb. After all, the gold beads the Yellow Weasel brought had to have a source.
Rabbits don't eat grass near their burrow, but man-bears are the opposite. Man-bears are gluttonous and sleepy, and they love to scavenge for food near their den. When Old Man Knocking Mountain dissected the man-bear yesterday, he actually found a gold nugget in its stomach. This made him doubt the origin of the gold.
Huamei had woken up, but she was still weak. Therefore, the task of finding the gold fell upon these few people.
However, as Xu Lang was about to set out with them, he saw Feng Jian She running over in a hurry, saying that Old Branch Secretary was injured and that Xu Lang should return to the village because there was urgent business.
Upon hearing about Old Branch Secretary's accident, Xu Lang greeted Yanzi and turned back towards the village.
At this moment, he was anxious and couldn't think straight.
The forest was not close to the village. As Xu Lang walked, he felt something was wrong.
If Old Branch Secretary was seriously injured, Yanzi and the others would have no reason not to go back together. The matter of finding the gold vein could be done any time. Shouldn't they go back to check on Old Branch Secretary's condition?
And Feng Jian She stayed at the forest last night. It would take him quite a while to go back and forth. Did he return to the village before dawn? And he happened to know about Old Branch Secretary's injury right after he got back?
This was clearly unreasonable. Yet, Xu Lang didn't think they had any reason to lie, unless they wanted to leave him behind.
Thinking this way, it made sense. At this point, Xu Lang couldn't help but stop and look back at the forest before continuing to run towards Gangzi Camp. Compared to Old Branch Secretary's condition, exploring with Old Hu and the others wasn't as important.
According to Xu Lang's guess, Old Hu and the others were deliberately making up lies because he was young, afraid that he might get into an accident. Old Branch Secretary might not have been really injured.
When Xu Lang arrived in Gangzi Camp and inquired with the women in the village, he confirmed that he was indeed tricked. His suspended heart finally settled.
Back home, Xu Lang felt a sense of inexplicability. His age brought him many conveniences but also many inconveniences. This time, he missed out on going into the mountains with Old Hu and the others. He had essentially missed a good opportunity.
Thinking about it, Old Hu and the others didn't seem to find anything that Xu Lang cared about in this trip.
But Xu Lang was thinking about something else. He remembered that not long after, Old Hu and the others would go to the grassland to find a girl named Ding Siteng, which would lead to a series of subsequent events.
Old Hu was just a young man now, not the company commander who retired from the army many years later.
He was far less experienced and mature than he would be years later, even his understanding of the Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique was only superficial.
Xu Lang was also just a child. He had not yet begun his cultivation and was still weak in many ways. It wasn't wise for him to go on an adventure now. If he died prematurely, it would be too late for regrets.
The idea of being carefree and adventurous that he had previously made up his mind about was shattered by Old Hu's kind lie. Listening to advice wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Studying the Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique required a lot of time. Xu Lang didn't plan to waste his energy on it for now. Besides, with their current relationship, it was unknown whether he could ask Old Hu to let him see the family heirloom.
Reality and stories are not always the same. In reality, Xu Lang was not all-knowing and couldn't know everything. He even suspected that this wasn't simply the world of Ghost Blows Out the Lamp.
For example, Xu Lang had long asked Old Hu and learned that there was a very famous restaurant in Beijing called the Crescent Hotel...
If this was a combined world, then Tianzhen should not have been born yet, and Little Brother wouldn't know where he was suffering...
Therefore, Xu Lang planned to travel, at least find a place with relatively abundant spiritual energy, where cultivation would be twice as effective. This was related to his future. However, this era had limitations. Transportation and other aspects were incomparable to decades later.
This thought, once it arose, became unstoppable. The environment here was too harsh, Xu Lang didn't really like it.
But this wasn't the main reason. As long as cultivation was the reason, Xu Lang had been in Gangzi Camp for three years, and he hadn't even achieved the first level of the Qing Yuan Sword Art. This made him eager to find a place suitable for cultivation.
The income from the man-bear and the gold beads, along with some of his savings, gave him the confidence to travel.
Xu Lang casually cooked some food at home, his thoughts had already drifted to unknown places.
As night fell, Xu Lang couldn't sleep, constantly thinking about the road ahead.
After a long time, Xu Lang sighed, "Perhaps, Kunlun Mountain is a good choice."