The other mountains near the valley had been explored by Chen Lan with Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen. Today, Chen Lan decided to take them further afield, with the sole purpose of scouting new foraging locations.
Chen Lan, carrying a basket, led Cui Qiao and the others to the tall mountain behind the valley. As they journeyed through the forest, they felt as if they were walking through a golden sea, with golden light shimmering everywhere. Chen Lan and Cui Qiao were as if in a dream, strolling through a golden gallery.
The autumn wind blew through the golden forest. The birch trees, their leaves turned yellow by the wind, were like beautiful maidens wearing golden crowns. The oak trees, their leaves as red as flames, were like passionate and radiant young women in red dresses. The Scotch pines, their leaves edged with gold, were like dignified and elegant married women.
The mountain forest here was like God's discarded palette on earth, a riot of colors, so vibrant and multi-hued.
Looking at the picturesque scenery and feeling the cool autumn breeze, those who had been chattering and laughing moments before fell silent. They walked quietly into the birch forest, carefully treading on the rustling fallen leaves, afraid of disturbing the tranquility of the forest or startling the beautiful and charming mountain spirit maiden.
Gentle sunlight filtered through the golden leaves, casting dappled white light on the ground. Ahead lay a maple forest, a sea of red stretching across the mountainside, resplendent, brilliant, and fiery.
Chen Lan led everyone to the summit, and as they looked out, patches of red appeared on the slopes, in the valleys, and beside the streams in the distance. In the gentle autumn breeze, they were intoxicatingly red, dazzlingly so. This was a place of layered, vibrant colors, mountains ablaze with red, a beauty that was utterly unrestrained.
Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen, like everyone else, couldn't help but exclaim in hushed tones, "So beautiful! It's like a painting."
After everyone had expressed their awe and admired the poetic, picturesque, and brilliant scenery, Chen Lan used her mind to activate the system's search function, scanning a five-hundred-meter radius for any large beasts. Finding nothing, she decided to have Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen lead the group to stay put, searching for monkey head mushrooms in the oak forest, as it was the prime season for harvesting them.
Chen Lan then said to Cui Qiao and Hu Yuzhen, "Sister Cui Qiao, Sister Yuzhen, you and everyone else should stay here! Search for monkey head mushrooms in this oak forest!"
She said this while pointing to the oak forest they had just passed.
The others nodded in agreement. Cui Qiao hurriedly asked, "Xiao Lan, where are you going alone?"
Chen Lan replied, "I observed carefully just now. There are no large beasts nearby. You can rest assured and stay here, harvesting monkey head mushrooms while you wait for me. I'm going down to the valley to try my luck."
Regarding the growth habits of monkey head mushrooms, Chen Lan had learned about them in her previous life. True wild monkey head mushrooms grew in very specific environments.
She explained to Cui Qiao and the others, "Sister Cui Qiao, Sister Yuzhen, Sister Yingzi, monkey head mushrooms like to grow on the branches and trunks of oak trees, especially on the branches of dead oak trees. They are also often found in tree hollows or holes pecked by woodpeckers. You'll have a better chance of finding them in these places."
Cui Qiao and the others nodded repeatedly, saying they understood. Everyone repeatedly urged Chen Lan to be careful, stay safe, and return soon. Chen Lan accepted their concern with nods and reassurances, promising to return soon.
Chen Lan, carrying her basket, bid farewell to the group and quickly departed. She decided to make it a swift trip, returning early to avoid worrying everyone.
When she was with the group on the mountaintop admiring the scenery, Chen Lan had spotted a considerable valley nearby and decided then and there to go down alone to try her luck.
Having spent years walking in the mountains, Chen Lan was now very swift. In just about half an hour, she arrived at the mountain near the valley. She dared not be careless and took out her crossbow from the system's warehouse, loading it with six carbon steel arrows.
She immediately activated the system with her mind and continued forward cautiously, scanning a five-hundred-meter radius for large animals.
Because Chen Lan walked very carefully and made no noise, she happened upon the legendary "Fei Long," a rare bird native to the Northeast, foraging. "Fei Long" is also known as Házhen or forest hazel grouse.
Chen Lan stopped and observed carefully. She noticed five "Fei Long" foraging in the area. These "Fei Long" were not large, smaller than the domestic chickens raised at home but larger than pigeons. Their feathers were a brownish-gray with dark brown barring.
The five "Fei Long" were scattered, heads down, foraging, maintaining a certain distance from each other. They occasionally emitted cooing sounds, as if communicating, and appeared quite vigilant. The "Fei Long" were spread too far apart, and their high level of alertness presented a certain difficulty for Chen Lan's hunting.
Chen Lan had heard people in her previous life talk about how "Fei Long" meat was tender, delicious, and nutritious, known as "dragon meat from the sky" and listed as one of the eight delicacies of the Northeast.
Chen Lan really wanted to hunt a few "Fei Long" to let the children, her mother, her mother-in-law, and Madam Liu taste something special. She immediately softened her breathing, unloaded the six carbon steel arrows from her crossbow, and stored them back into the system warehouse with her mind. She then took out five returnable darts with spools, reloaded the crossbow with the darts, and adjusted the infrared sight. There was no time to overthink it; she would leave it to fate. She would hunt as many as she could.
Adjusting her mindset, she stared intently through the scope, aiming the five darts one by one at the foraging "Fei Long," and quickly pressed the launch button. With a few "poof" sounds, feathers flew everywhere. Chen Lan pressed the dart retrieval button, and the five darts returned with five "Fei Long." Chen Lan was delighted to see that she had caught them all. This was a good omen. Sudan Novel Network
Chen Lan removed the darts from the "Fei Long," wiped them clean with a flaw cloth from the system, and then stored them, along with the five "Fei Long," directly into the system warehouse. Wasting no more time, she took out six carbon steel arrows from the system warehouse, reloaded the crossbow, and prepared to move on. Chen Lan kept her eyes fixed on the system screen, cautiously moving towards the valley not far ahead.
Chen Lan patiently circled the valley for about another twenty minutes. Her persistence paid off; dozens of small red dots finally appeared on the system screen.