Night Without End-Chapter 4 - 3 The Wilderness World

Shallow Night arrived, and the tranquility was broken as everyone was busy heading to Fire Spring to fetch Sun Stones.

Qin Ming was ready to leave at any moment, fully armed with a Hunting Fork, Short Blade, bow and arrow, and more.

He had already eaten the pancakes brought by Lu Ze, but he did not mention his outing plans, fearing dissuasion.

Qin Ming did not wish to endanger himself and planned to try his luck in a relatively safe area.

He had pondered for a long time, recalling a glimpse of a shadow he saw in the woods during autumn. Based on the habits of that creature, it should be residing nearby.

"I hope it's still there to bring me a surprise."

The outside gradually quieted down, and no one went to fetch Sun Stones anymore.

Qin Ming set off, encountering two villagers along the way. He smiled and greeted them, quickly moving past before they could react.

He passed by the location of Fire Spring, entering a pitch-black world.

The environment outdoors was extremely harsh. Qin Ming trudged through the snow, only his chest and above visible, the rest of his body obscured.

The weather was exceptionally cold; his exhaled breath formed frost on his eyebrows and hair tips.

Even during Shallow Night, the surroundings were dark and distant objects were indiscernible.

Qin Ming, holding his Hunting Fork, trekked with difficulty; progressing was not easy.

Finally, after about four miles, he neared his destination.

Ahead was a dark mass, dense woods. Although still some distance away, he could already make out its outline.

Qin Ming's target was the edge of the forest, not venturing too deep.

He stepped unevenly into the dense forest, where, apart from a few tree species, most trees were bare with branches covered in snow.

Qin Ming stopped to carefully recall the activity trajectory of the creature he saw initially.

He had discovered tree holes in that area, which might be one of its nests.

"It's bigger than its kind, probably a mutation. If I can find the main nest, the rewards will be significant."

After a brief pause, Qin Ming continued forward.

The forest was pitch-black, with strange birds suddenly crying out, making the uninhabited area eerily serene.

Suddenly, Qin Ming tensed up. Amidst a faint odor of decay, which was very abnormal.

He held the Hunting Fork with both hands, scanning around, ready for combat.

Suddenly, he thrust the sharp steel fork vigorously towards something above his head!

He heard an unusual whistling of wind and determined the source of the smell, and at the same time, he looked up to see what it was.

A dark shadow hung from a tree branch about dozen meters high, possessing a pale old man's face, diving down aggressively towards Qin Ming's head.

In this dead and dense forest, the sudden appearance of such a scene was indeed terrifying.

Fortunately, Qin Ming, with his keen reflexes, had sensed something wrong in advance and met the airborne creature swiftly with his steel fork.

A sharp cry echoed through the forest, chilling to the bone. The creature didn't continue its fierce attack, but instead glided sideways while still meters away.

The cold wind blew, it spread its powerful wings, rushed into the night sky through the gaps in the woods, circled briefly, and then disappeared.

Although the visibility was not clear, Qin Ming was still certain of its identity.

Human faced vulture, a carrion-eating raptor with a gray-black eagle body. Except for the bird's beak, its wrinkled ashen face bore no difference from that of a pale old man, and it normally weighed no more than forty kilograms.

Normally, it would not actively attack a living adult, only scavenging on corpses. Was it behaving abnormally now due to the scarce prey at this stage?

Qin Ming carefully stayed on guard, and after a long wait, it did not reappear.

Not far from his destination, he could not just give up, so after a brief rest, he continued on his way.

"It should be here."

The area was mainly populated with pine, broad-leaved trees, and birch. Qin Ming was certain this was the place; he found the tree hole he had seen before.

Although it was dark in the forest, he could still clearly see that the area around the tree hole was clean, which was not a good sign.

If the creature was lurking in the tree hole, the vapor it exhaled would have formed some frost at the mouth of the hole in this severe cold.

It was impossible not to feel disappointed. Qin Ming slightly frowned. Could it be that the creature did not settle in this area at all?

He took a deep breath, preparing to search carefully nearby.

He firmly held the Hunting Fork in his right hand and clenched the Short Blade in his left, remaining in a defensive stance, as no one could predict the dangers in the wilderness.

Qin Ming slowly explored and searched without making any noise.

Half an hour later, he saw traces left by an animal in the snow, suddenly feeling hopeful!

Suddenly, a vast burst of rosy light surged in the mountain area ahead, illuminating the dense forest in an instant.

Qin Ming was startled, then highly vigilant, using this opportunity to carefully observe the surroundings to see if any large beasts were lurking.

At the same time, he also quickly scanned nearby to see if there were any suspicious tree holes.

Soon, the bright rosy light disappeared, and the world returned to darkness.

That is the "Earth Light" steaming from the Fire Spring deep within the earth's strata, which occasionally appears.

It is generally more common after the weather warms up, especially in summer, sometimes Earth Light steaming can last one or two days, affecting the weather, or bringing large rain clouds.

At that time, dense raindrops accompanied by colorful clouds make the heaven and earth extraordinarily splendid, quite a sight to behold.

For those living without Day, that is the most beautiful scenery.

The dense forest turns dark again, Qin Ming reveals a genuinely brilliant smile, because he just found another tree hole, encrusted with frost.

He slowly moves his feet in the snow, slight sounds are masked by the rising cold wind.

He tiptoes to a tree as thick as a water bucket, looking at the tree hole a bit high off the ground, he raises the Hunting Fork until it nearly reaches.

Qin Ming puts down the Hunting Fork, then suddenly leaps out of the snow, he hugs the trunk and climbs forcefully, agile and swift, directly arriving in front of the tree hole.

His right hand wielding the Short Blade strikes, chopping at the entrance of the hole, making a 'thud' sound.

At the same time, a creature about to rush out quickly retreats, narrowly missing the sharp blade.

Qin Ming did not expect to really block this creature inside the tree hole, thus it was a pleasant surprise.

In his mind, if he could locate its main nest and take all its stored food, it would be considered a success, and he would gain quite a harvest.

Continuous noises come from the tree hole, accompanied by frantic cries.

The hole was not very wide, Qin Ming finds it a bit difficult to reach in with his hand, continuously swinging his blade, the portion of the tree had long dried out, and within a few strikes, the hole widened.

He quickly pulls out a Beast Skin Bag, wraps it around his hand, and begins to catch the creature.

From the dark hollow of the tree hole, panicked cries come.

Qin Ming's whole arm reaches in, feeling a barrage of impacts, luckily the Beast Skin Bag is thick enough, otherwise, he definitely would have been bitten.

He grabs the prey with one hand and swiftly pulls it out.

He takes a Sun Stone from his bosom and shines it deep into the tree hole, instantly a joyous look appears on his face, inside there are walnuts, chestnuts, red dates, and other dried goods.

These were his main targets.

The feeling of hunger is hard to bear, these dried fruits could be used to stave off hunger, a life-saving item, making Qin Ming's clear eyes sparkle with fiery light.

He turns his head to look at the small creature caught in his hand, its whole body covered in fiery red fur that under the Sun Stone's illumination, appears even silkier than satin.

This is a red squirrel, normally not weighing more than half a kilogram, but this one is over a kilogram, clearly mutated.

It's gnawing on the Beast Skin Bag fitted on Qin Ming's hand, attempting but failing to escape.

Its entire fiery, shiny red fur is glowing, undoubtedly of great value.

Qin Ming pulls out a piece of wire, swiftly binds it tightly, and then hangs it on the tree.

What follows is the joy of harvest as he reaches into the tree hole to pull out handfuls of various dried fruits, quickly filling up the shriveled Beast Skin Bag.

In the end, he weighs it, more than four kilograms.

Nearby, the upside-down mutated red squirrel, eyes like black jewels, stare bulgingly, ceaselessly squeaking, seemingly immensely angry.

Qin Ming feels it's cursing at people.

"If you're this heavy, how could over four kilograms of winter food be enough for you?" Qin Ming hangs it on the Hunting Fork, holding the Sun Stone and searching nearby.

Every winter the snowfall is heavy, and these mutated creatures generally do not bury their food underground as they themselves would not be able to find it.

Indeed, Qin Ming discovers a second tree hollow nearby, then a third, along with the first one without frost flowers, surprisingly all having "stored food".

He peels a pile of walnuts and eats a handful of chestnuts, feeling truly delicious, then he washes red dates with snow, eating five consecutively, his mouth full of sweetness.

Qin Ming is no longer hungry, his delicate face full of happy smiles, these dried fruits are delicious, and more importantly, they resolve his immediate predicament.

A crafty rabbit has three burrows, however, this glowing-furred red squirrel has four nests, storing up to over thirteen kilograms of food, truly a mutated creature.

Qin Ming fills up most of the Beast Skin Bag.

"Squeak, squeak..." The mutated red squirrel initially struggles violently, constantly squeaking, but when seeing all four nests found and emptied, it suddenly stiffens completely and then stops moving.

Qin Ming is surprised, shaking it, has it died from rigidity?

He had heard that these mutated mountain beasts have a physique far surpassing their kind, and are very clever, but he did not expect them to actually die from anger.

"Perfect, Little Wenrui said he wanted to eat meat, I can cook a pot of meat soup." He mutters to himself, surprisingly able to fulfill that child's wish so quickly.

In Shuangshu Village, some villagers are discussing.

Someone mentions, Qin Ming went into the wilderness fully armed, looking at his posture, it feels like he is going hunting for a large Raptor!

Lu Ze also receives the news, frowning deeply, how could that kid recklessly venture out alone, he shouldn't be hunting bears, should he?

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Qin Ming stands on a high ground, realizing he is very close to the mountain peak, this is the outer area of the dense forest's low mountains.

Regrettably, he searches for a long time, but does not find any other squirrel holes.

He arrives at the mountain peak, looks forward, the forest a dense black mass, and towering mountains stand majestically, only parts of vague shadows visible.

Deep in the mountains, there is actually a very bright area, but it is obscured by the vast night mist, with only a little hazy light shimmering through.

Qin Ming knows, there lies the unknown, the mysterious, the dangerous, a realm not within his reach.