Chapter 260: Chapter 155: I Came Prepared This Time

With a flash of his hand, Lu Yuan snatched the Iron Sword from the back of the Mansion Guard beside him and hurled it forward.

’There are other people around,’ he thought. ’I can’t just pull an Automatic Rifle out of my system and start spraying bullets.’

Propelled by Lu Yuan’s power, the Iron Sword glowed with a faint purple light as it shot forward like a bullet.

It was clear that Lu Yuan’s abilities had improved immensely.

Lu Yuan wanted to kill the Long Snake before it reached the water. To him, every part of the creature was a treasure.

He could use his knowledge to harvest materials from the Long Snake’s body.

Some parts could be forged, others used for medicine; he would be sure to put it all to good use.

THUD!

The Iron Sword struck the snake’s body with a dull thud.

The snake’s skin was as hard as iron. A strike like that from Lu Yuan would have split a boulder in two.

It left only a shallow gash on the Long Snake’s body.

The Long Snake cried out in pain.

The sound was as resonant as a great bell, yet it also carried the sharp shriek of scraping metal.

The sound was so jarring that everyone clapped their hands over their ears, shaking their heads in disorientation.

The snake’s cry felt like it could give you a concussion.

Covering her ears, Gu Ziye yelled, "Yuan~! Why did you have to provoke it?"

Lu Yuan was some distance from Gu Ziye, and over the snake’s cry, he couldn’t make out what she was saying.

His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to subdue the Long Snake.

He did have a few tricks up his sleeve.

’Since cold weapons aren’t working, it’s time to bring out the firearms.’

After stunning the group with its roar, the Long Snake turned and plunged into the waters of the Divine Pool.

The water splashed several meters high.

When the spray crashed against the rocks at the pool’s edge, it sent them flying.

Watching the Long Snake disappear into the Divine Pool, Lu Yuan was momentarily at a loss.

’I’m no match for it on land.’

’If I go into the water, won’t I just be swallowed alive?’

Lu Yuan looked down at the Divine Pool below the waterfall.

He swallowed hard. The bottom of the pool was completely invisible to the naked eye.

’Who knows what other strange things are lurking in that water.’

’What if it’s a nest? A whole pit of them, all coiled and twisting together.’

At the thought, the hair on the back of Lu Yuan’s neck stood up.

Lu Yuan comforted himself, ’I’ll just forget it for now.’

’Not something I can handle right now. Once I’ve caught the Snow Clams and I’m fully prepared, I’ll come back for you, you beast.’

The encounter had left Gu Ziye too frightened to get any closer. She waved from a distance, urging Lu Yuan to return.

Lu Yuan had no choice but to retreat for the time being. ’If I wasn’t afraid of others seeing my methods...’

’I’d definitely catch that thing and steep it in wine!’

Lu Yuan walked over to Gu Ziye and said, "Let’s go. We can’t beat it. Let’s get back to catching Snow Clams."

A Mansion Guard behind Lu Yuan reached back, his hand patting his empty Sword Scabbard.

The Mansion Guard thought to himself, ’Good grief, Young Master, you sure are quick. You just threw my sword.’

’And I’m not about to go down there to retrieve it. That’d be a death sentence.’

He had only heard that Buxian Mountain was rich with Spiritual Objects, like Snow Clams, Alpine Aconite, and Grass Cistanche.

Most of them were small animals or plant-type Spiritual Objects.

Lu Yuan put the Long Snake out of his mind.

As they continued walking, a thought suddenly struck Lu Yuan.

He turned, patted the Mansion Guard behind him on the shoulder, and said, "When we get back to the estate, go see the old steward and get a new sword. A Sword Scabbard shouldn’t be empty, after all."

Lu Yuan was a firm believer in separating public and private affairs. What was lost in the line of duty had to be replaced.

He refused to be like those who shamelessly exploited their subordinates.

The Mansion Guard nodded. The young master always treated them well, never like outsiders.

That’s why the Mansion Guards followed the young master so willingly.

Having failed to catch any Snow Clams halfway up, Lu Yuan had no choice but to lead the group higher.

Gu Ziye’s four Personal Guards began to shiver as they felt the biting chill.

Before they even reached the snowy peak, they saw the Snow Clams. This time, there was a whole group of them squatting in a patch of grass.

It was the sixth month, so even Snow Clams probably didn’t want to hibernate forever. They had to come down the mountain to find something to eat.

Lu Yuan had the Mansion Guards surround them from four sides.

Even Gu Ziye’s Personal Guards joined in.

Everyone moved with extreme caution.

The biting cold on the mountain must have been getting to the Personal Guards.

They, too, wanted to catch the Snow Clams quickly so they could get down the mountain sooner.

These Personal Guards were afraid that Lu Yuan would mess up again and let the Snow Clams get away.

’If he lets them get away again, who knows how long we’ll be stuck up here?’

’We can’t just keep following them around in these thin clothes, freezing our butts off.’

The four Personal Guards drew their swords and were in charge of herding, while Lu Yuan and his men swung grappling hooks to make the captures.

During this Snow Clam hunt, Gu Ziye’s Personal Guards really put in a lot of effort.

It was a complete change from before, when they had simply stood by and watched.

After considerable effort, Lu Yuan and his party managed to catch five or six Snow Clams.

Still, more than half of the Snow Clams hopped away.

This was already an excellent result!

Hunters often came to Buxian Mountain, but few ever managed to catch a Snow Clam.

Unlike plant-type Spiritual Objects that stayed put, Snow Clams had an astonishing jumping ability.

This made Snow Clams extremely precious. The local region only offered two or three to the Court as tribute each year.

But don’t underestimate those two or three; in exchange for them, the Court would exempt the entire region from a full year of taxes.

Lu Yuan’s luck was quite good; he had managed to catch Snow Clams on his very first day on Buxian Mountain.

If his luck had been worse, he could have wandered Buxian Mountain for five or six days without even spotting one, let alone making a catch.

"Alright, we’ve had a fruitful day. Let’s head down the mountain," Lu Yuan said to the group.

"Okay, Yuan~" Gu Ziye replied.

Lu Yuan continued, "Catching the Snow Clams went smoothly. We can delay our return to Taiping City by a few days. Why don’t we go have some fun in the county town near the foot of the mountain?"

Gu Ziye’s eyes lit up when she heard this. ’Isn’t having fun the whole reason I came out here?’