Chapter 17 Harvest

“Only a single rebirth...” Fu Entao was greatly affected; he had been reborn many years ago, and his foundation was deep enough, yet he was defeated by a newly reborn youth. He leaned on his long knife with one hand and forcefully pulled out the iron spear that had pierced through his thigh, causing a large amount of blood to gush out, making him sway unsteadily. Shao Chengfeng, missing an arm and pinned to the ground by the iron spear that pierced his abdomen, struggled to pull out the spear but saw Qin Ming turn his head to look at him, and he weakly let his single arm drop. “The entire mountain patrol team... was wiped out by a single person.” Shao Chengfeng knew he could not escape death; there was no way the opponent would leave any survivors. “He has only been reborn once; why is he so strong?” Feng Yian whispered as he wiped the blood from his mouth. Qin Ming spoke up: “Tell me something interesting.” “You must be dreaming!” Fu Entao replied defiantly, knowing there would be no good end for him; even lowering his head wouldn’t change anything. On the other side, Feng Yian and Shao Chengfeng showed no intention of speaking. Usually, they were as fierce as wolves, hardened by their experiences, but if they had to humbly beg for their lives now, they wouldn’t mind prostrating themselves, but that was unrealistic; both knew they couldn’t escape death. “Talk about the Blood Bamboo Forest.” Qin Ming approached Shao Chengfeng. Shao Chengfeng remained silent, staring blankly at the night sky, already beginning to reflect on his past because he knew his life was about to end. “Not going to talk, huh?” Qin Ming didn’t waste time, his hatchet fell with a thud, separating him from his corpse. Shao Chengfeng's eyes widened in shock, unable to close them, as his opponent decisively chopped him down without a second thought. Qin Ming came to eliminate this mountain patrol team; he had no interest in torturing them. Since they were tight-lipped, it was best to just end it. He wanted to see if the other two would soften under such life-and-death circumstances. Fu Entao’s face twitched slightly, but his eyes grew fiercer as he gripped his long knife tightly and began to slowly move forward, attempting to attack again. A second reborn who had been dominating this area for many years, unafraid of death’s threat, after all, he was a hardened warrior forged in the deep mountains. On the other side, Feng Yian lay on the ground, the iron spear piercing through his back, pinning him there, preventing him from rising, and he trembled slightly. The wind and snow howled as Fu Entao charged like a human beast, using all his strength to unleash the most ferocious strike of his knife, making a final desperate attempt. After a fierce clash, Fu Entao’s right arm was severed by a knife, and his long knife fell to the ground. His face turned pale as he staggered backward. Coupled with the earlier injury from the long spear that pierced his leg, he lost his balance after sustaining heavy injuries and knelt on one knee in the snow, gasping for breath, his naturally curly hair damp and stuck to his head, his face filled with resentment and despair. “Do you have anything to say?” Qin Ming asked. “Use my own long knife to give me a quick death.” Fu Entao said, beads of cold sweat on his forehead, his left hand trembling to cover his severed arm, but blood had already soaked half his body, and the snow beneath was a pool of crimson. “Why do you think I would fulfill such a wish?” Qin Ming moved forward, holding the hatchet. “You... want to humiliate me?” Fu Entao struggled to get up. “Do you even deserve it?” Qin Ming dashed past, the hatchet sweeping across his neck, sending a head with a look of unwillingness flying, the body collapsing to the ground. Feng Yian, lying there with a pale face, struggled to get up, but the iron spear lodged in him merely trembled slightly, making it hard to pull from the frozen ground. He felt humiliated because his opponent was already standing in front of him, a foot on his head. “Do you want to say something to me?” Qin Ming looked down at him. Feng Yian clenched his fists but weakly released them, breathing heavily, “You want to find spiritual beings? I won’t tell you.” Qin Ming pressed down slightly with his foot, causing a faint cracking sound from Feng Yian’s skull, a partial fracture that inflicted excruciating pain, contorting his face. Without hesitation, Qin Ming struck down, beheading him as well, ending the life of this bearded man. As for where the Blood Bamboo Forest was, he could just ask Old Liu when he returned. In his youth, Liu had great aspirations, often entering the mountains with the older mountain patrol team and had a good understanding of the fire spring distribution in the mountains. Only the sound of the wind remained on the mountain, without the ear-piercing sounds of blades and spears clashing; this team of mountain patrollers was entirely wiped out by Qin Ming alone. He murmured: “I actually killed so many people, and I didn’t hold back.” Qin Ming stood still, reflecting, probably because he didn’t see these people as his kind, but rather as mountain monsters threatening the villagers. He began to clean up the battlefield; the bodies only needed to be thrown down the mountain for “stomach burial,” as various ferocious beasts roamed the dense forest, leaving not even bones behind. Qin Ming had developed the habit of thriftiness. While rummaging through Fu Entao, Feng Yian, and others, under the reflection of the fire spring, some brilliant items appeared in his hands—Night Silver. This was a currency with purchasing power far stronger than copper coins, which could be seen in trade in the town. The coin was round, with a circular hole in the center, representing the absence of the sun, referred to as Night Silver. Then, Qin Ming discovered an even more precious item—Day Gold. It was entirely golden and radiant, a complete round coin resembling a missing sun, embodying a beautiful wish of the people. The Day Gold carried by the mountain patrollers was scarce, totaling only eleven pieces, but for ordinary people, it was already a fortune. This wasn’t Qin Ming’s first time “finding” Day Gold; before falling ill, he had seen several corpses near a crevice, discovering not only Day Gold but also a very precious mineral. Day Gold circulated less in Yinteng Town, so he had never used it, as it would attract too much attention. He also temporarily left untouched a finely crafted, intricately designed crystal bottle, because he had reborn on his own after recovering from his illness. Besides, he didn’t know much about the mineral and needed to understand it better to avoid wasting its true value. The key was that the events at hand would soon unfold; he best keep a low profile as a newly reborn individual. “I have only been reborn once, and I lack the strength to deal with the mountain patrol team. Once this ‘storm’ brews, if I were to be reborn a second time, it would be no problem.” Qin Ming continued to search for spoils on the mountain. “Excellent armor and a well-forged long knife; these are great items!” He lamented, fondling the armor and weapons, preparing to scatter them to bury in various places in the forest, to be dug up when he needed to explore the Blood Bamboo Forest. He was so plain and unadorned, turning everyone from head to toe, not even sparing that golden mastiff, lifting it up, wanting to chop off a big piece of dog meat to eat in the wooden house. He had come out at midnight, waiting in the mountain forest until the night mist dispersed, and then fought fiercely with the mountain patrol team until now, expending a lot of energy, his stomach was already hungry. But he sighed and gave up, throwing the mastiff on the snow; to be cautious, he couldn’t linger here and had to quickly clean up the battlefield. Qin Ming entered a wooden house, finding it very livable and comfortable, with thick animal skin blankets on the floor, silver bowls and chopsticks on the dining table, and a beautifully crafted knife for cutting roasted meat. One row of wine jars, even if he opened just one, would overflow with rich wine fragrance, which was far superior to the spicy old wine that had long been drunk dry at Xu Yeping's home. After rummaging around here, he found little, but in the wooden house that had collapsed due to the fierce battle, he discovered a knife manual. The old leather pages were worn and curled at the edges, showing that it had been frequently read and studied, with dense notes and annotations in various handwritings, carrying an ancient charm. As he flipped through, Qin Ming saw familiar knife techniques; Fu Entao’s knife skills were only a part of what was recorded in the manual, and the later sections also mentioned “Sky Light” and deeper descriptions. He didn’t flip further, quickly closing it and taking it with him; this old leather ancient book was worth more than those Day Gold coins. After thoroughly searching here, fragments of gold patterns appeared on his surface; as he unleashed his fists and feet, the remaining wooden house shattered one after another. The wind was strong now, instantly sweeping up the splintered wood, lifting it into the air, blown down the mountain by the storm. The snow on the ground was frequently lifted, mixing with the goose-feather snow in the sky, making it difficult to leave any traces at the scene. “What a pity for my hatchet.” Qin Ming observed the blade, which had many nicks, densely packed; although it was forged from fine iron, it was ultimately inferior to the weapons of the mountain patrol team. “But it can still be used.” He found a sharpening stone here and quickly ground away the nicks, then re-sharpened the blade, which was now slightly narrower than before. Qin Ming took all the bodies down the mountain, tossing them into the dense forest, witnessing some wild beasts appear, quickly dragging the bodies away. As for the four people he had intercepted on the road earlier, when he searched again, he found not even a fragment of bone left. Qin Ming moved heavy stones and retrieved his pack from the snow hole, stripping off his tattered, blood-stained outerwear and armor, changing into clean clothes he usually wore. He burned what needed to be burned and buried what needed to be buried, leaving behind the Day Gold and the knife manual in the mountains, soon disappearing into the dense forest. Qin Ming returned discreetly, dragging a piece of prey; no one knew that this seemingly gentle youth, who looked no different from usual, had just bathed in blood. He boiled a pot of water, unusually not using cold water, and enjoyed a hot bath, his well-proportioned and tall body glistening, smooth muscle lines. He washed carefully, avoiding any odd smells left after the bloody battle. Soon after, he appeared at Lu Ze’s home. “Uncle, what kind of meat is this?” Wen Rui approached. Qin Ming held a large piece of fresh meat, smiling, “This is delicious, dragon meat from the sky and donkey meat from the ground; today, Uncle hunted a wild donkey.” Mainly because he couldn’t stop thinking about the copper pot dog meat and regretted not being able to eat that golden mastiff, he now prepared to eat copper pot donkey meat to compensate himself. Soon, laughter filled the air. “Uncle, donkey meat is really delicious!” In front of the steaming copper pot, Lu Ze, injured, spoke up: “Xiao Qin, you’ve laid the golden foundation; you should seriously consider the matter of second rebirth.” Qin Ming nodded, “Don’t worry, Lu Ge, I have it all under control.” After the meal, he returned home, pondering how to discreetly ask Old Liu, wanting to clarify the matter of the Blood Bamboo Forest. If he could be reborn a second time earlier, he naturally wouldn’t want to delay, wanting to quickly take a trip to the mysterious Blood Bamboo Forest.