The night was cold and the north wind howled. Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo snuck out of the Li family's home.
After circling around the main house, Li Zhengguo turned on his flashlight.
At the foot of the mountain, where the trees became denser, Tian Jing held Li Zhengguo's arm, activated her ability, and leaped onto the treetops, swiftly heading into the dense forest.
Li Zhengguo truly felt like he was riding in a car with a windshield, a hovercar at that.
Over a dozen rabbit pelts were hung on Xiao Lü, the tallest among them in the dense forest, and were soon stiff from the north wind.
Tian Jing worried, "Li Zhengguo, how many days will it take for these to dry?"
Seeing the rabbit pelts already showing signs of freezing, Li Zhengguo had no solution. "They probably won't be dry before the New Year."
"Shall we take them back and roast them with fire?"
"No, roasting them will leave a smell, and putting them on the kang will also leave a smell."
"Then we'll come every day during the day to roast them. We don't have enough cotton, and if we don't line the pelts with fur, your mother's health won't hold up."
"Alright, I'll listen to Tiantian."
Under the beam of the flashlight, Li Zhengguo lowered his head and kissed the forehead of the person before him. "Let's go back."
After being like thieves in the middle of the night, they slept until well past dawn the next day.
Hurriedly exiting the courtyard gate, they found that the straw mats on the plastic shed had already been rolled up.
"Who rolled them up?" Tian Jing asked Li Zhengguo behind her.
"It should be Chen Suozhu. I asked him to come by in the afternoon, and I've given him an opportunity. Now it depends on his own capabilities."
Tian Jing opened the door left at the head of the shed and ducked inside, bending her waist.
Li Zhengguo could only guard at the entrance. The plastic film was not enough, and the shed was only stretched to one and a half meters high. Moreover, Tiantian would definitely use her abilities to nurture the seedlings inside, so it was better for him to guard outside.
After a walk around the shed, Tian Jing came out with satisfaction. All the vegetable seedlings had taken root. She had only supplied a little bit of her ability. From taking root to starting to grow, it would take time. Her vegetables couldn't be too outstanding.
The two ate the leftover food from the pot and then hurried up the mountain.
Li Zhengguo also instructed his mother that if Chen Suozhu came to cover the straw mats, she should help him. He might not be able to get down the mountain before three o'clock.
Li's mother said she would be careful. She also felt very content looking at the seedlings in the shed. The plastic film was too thin, and they had to be careful when covering and rolling up the straw mats to avoid puncturing the film and freezing the seedlings.
Upon reaching the dense forest, Tian Jing saw that the rabbit pelts had softened, but they were still about the same as when she first took them out. She wanted to set up a fire to roast them but also wanted to check out the Eagle's Beak.
"Li Zhengguo, you roast the rabbit pelts here. I'll go to the highest point of this Ku Mountain."
"No, I'll go with you. We won't roast the rabbit pelts today. If there's really a cave, wouldn't it be safer to roast them inside?"
This reason convinced Tian Jing. She pulled Li Zhengguo and leaped onto the treetops. "Tell me, which way?"
Li Zhengguo raised his hand and pointed. "Go straight into the depths. The highest point is there."
Putting on an ability shield for himself and Li Zhengguo, Tian Jing headed directly for the highest point.
Soon, she saw a mountain that resembled a crouching eagle.
"Is that it?"
"Yes."
Li Zhengguo marveled at his surroundings. "This ability shield of yours is invisible but tangible, and it doesn't seem to affect communication."
"Of course, did you think the ability shield only helped us block external attacks and wind and rain?"
"You never told me about its functions."
"Hehe, there aren't many functions inside. Besides what you've discovered, it can also regulate temperature, it's just a waste of ability."
This was something she had specially researched based on her fire and ice abilities to deal with extreme weather in the apocalypse.
Li Zhengguo held the person in his arms tighter. "I don't need the temperature. Don't waste your ability."
Tian Jing looked up and smiled at him. "I didn't plan to test it on you. This temperature hasn't reached the point where I need to adjust it, and it probably won't be used in the future."
"It's best if it's not needed. When you remove the ability shield, the temperature around your body won't be different. It's better to be safe than sorry."
"Mm, I'll listen to you."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the side of the high mountain. Looking up, the highest point on the left resembled a raised eagle's head, the sloping terrain on the right resembled an eagle's tail, and the horizontal mountain body in the middle, gradually rising from right to left, presented an arc shape, like the eagle's spine and belly.
Li Zhengguo excitedly clasped Tian Jing's hand. He was finally able to climb this legendary Eagle Mountain.
"You've worked hard, Tiantian."
"Shh." Tian Jing motioned for him to be quiet.
Li Zhengguo also felt that something was wrong. It was too quiet here, so quiet that only the sound of flowing water remained.
"Roar~" A beastly roar came from the direction of the mountain peak.
A wolf?
Li Zhengguo pulled Tian Jing over, pushed her behind him, and quickly took out his wood-chopping knife from his backpack, on guard.
Tian Jing poked her head out from behind Li Zhengguo and saw that more than ten wolves had gathered on top of Eagle Mountain. Had they stumbled into a wolf's den?
"Li Zhengguo, are you planning to fight them hand-to-hand?"
"Uh, what do you plan to do?"
"It's simple, watch me."
Tian Jing condensed her psionic pressure into a line and charged towards the alpha wolf in the middle.
That alpha wolf swayed and lay down.
As soon as the alpha wolf lay down, the other wolves immediately moved towards it, but were pressed by the psionic pressure and couldn't get close.
Having merely scared this alpha wolf, Tian Jing released the pressure. "You all leave this place. It belongs to me now."
"Roar~"
The alpha wolf let out a cry towards Tian Jing but didn't move.
Tian Jing grabbed Li Zhengguo. "Let's go, let's drive them away."
"Tiantian," Li Zhengguo stopped her. "There's water here, it should be their breeding ground. It won't be easy to drive them away."
Listening to the faint sound of flowing water, Tian Jing nodded. "Alright, considering that alpha wolf is as stubborn as you, I won't drive them away."
Li Zhengguo, who had been tense, was amused by her words. "Are you insulting me or praising me?" Sudang Xiao Shuwang
"Praising you. You possess most of the wolf's character traits."
"Then I'll take your words as genuine."
"Mm, absolutely genuine."
When Tian Jing brought Li Zhengguo onto the mountaintop by leaping, the more than ten wolves quickly gathered together.
This display of being on high alert made Tian Jing chuckle. "I will probably come here often in the future. We'll mind our own business, and I won't drive you away."
"Roar~" The alpha wolf cried out and led the more than ten wolves down the mountain rapidly.
Only then did Tian Jing look ahead, to the other side of Eagle Mountain.
What greeted her eyes was a large lake surrounded by numerous peaks. The blue lake water flowed slowly, emptying from an opening on the right side of the mountain.
The blue lake surface reflected the staggered peaks and the blue sky and white clouds above, forming a beautiful painting.
"Li Zhengguo, is this a volcanic crater?"
"I don't know, it looks a bit like one."
Li Zhengguo was stunned by the scenery. It resembled the Grand Heavenly Lakes. "But I know this must be the source of the Ku River."
The source of the Ku River? Tian Jing looked at the seemingly tranquil lake. Could this be the source of the Ku River, which was swift-flowing in spring and summer?
Li Zhengguo understood Tian Jing's surprise. "In winter, there's a lot of snow in the Ku Mountain range. In spring and summer, when the snow melts, it's the flood season for the Ku River. And this is the highest point, and there's such a lake here, it must undoubtedly be the source of the Ku River."