I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Chapter 8: The Anti-Pitfall Scheme

Before even approaching Cui the Blacksmith's house, the clanging of hammering iron could be heard from afar, and two donkey carts were tied up in front of his gate.

“Oh? Cui the Blacksmith has guests?”

Just as Zhang Chen was sizing up the donkey carts, Wang Wu's door suddenly opened, and five men dressed as old farmers walked out, carrying rice straw. Zhang Chen saw the five old farmers, and they also saw him. One of them, in particular, noticed Zhang Chen staring at the donkey carts and constantly sizing them up, and his hand slowly reached into the straw. However, an older farmer with a face full of wrinkles grabbed his arm and whispered, “Don't be nervous, this is the village hunter, I've seen him before.”

Zhang Chen had seen the older farmer before; he was the one who had exchanged five hundred coins for game from him last time.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Chen's pupils constricted: “Where would Wang Wu get rice straw? This is clearly for disguise! The straw must be covering weapons; these people are not simple!”

Especially when Zhang Chen saw one of the men's hands reaching into the straw, he couldn't help but feel his nerves tighten, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind: “Run? I can run, but my family can't hide; my little sister is still here! These people only need to inquire a little to track down my mother and sister.”

As for the iron knife in his basket, he was afraid that he wouldn't even have time to take it out before being chopped into mincemeat.

“Unless I run away and immediately report to the authorities, but then Cui the Blacksmith in the house would probably not survive and would be silenced.” Zhang Chen's mind raced with thoughts. Just as he didn't know what to do, the old farmer-like man's eyes fell on him: “Little brother, are you a hunter from the mountains?”

“Yes, I owed Cui the Blacksmith for an iron shovel a few days ago, so I hunted some mountain delicacies to pay off the debt!” Zhang Chen's expression was relaxed, as if he didn't know the danger of the situation at all.

The old farmer's gaze fell on the little piglet in Zhang Chen's hand: “This is a good thing. Do you want to sell this piglet?”

“Of course, I'll sell it. If you give me a reasonable price, you can take this piglet.” Zhang Chen shook the roe deer in his hand.

“How much money do you want?” The old farmer-like man's eyes looked at Zhang Chen.

“This piglet, when fully grown, can produce at least three hundred catties of meat. It's not too much to ask for three taels of silver, right?” Zhang Chen said with a smile.

“Not much, of course not much! I want this piglet and the rest of your game. How about I give you four taels of silver in total?” The old farmer's gaze swept over the roe deer and pheasant hanging on Zhang Chen's shoulder.

“Uncle, you're generous.” Zhang Chen nodded with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the old farmer took out four taels of silver from his sleeve, counted them, and handed them to Zhang Chen. Then, Zhang Chen handed over the roe deer: “The deal is done.”

“In the future, if you hunt larger animals like roe deer, just come here to find Cui the Blacksmith and ask him to accept them for me. I won't refuse anyone.” The old farmer looked at the prey with a smile.

In this day and age, it's really not easy to eat meat, especially catching a piglet. Raising it can lead to a whole litter.

The hunter slowly drove the donkey cart away, while Zhang Chen, standing in front of Cui the Blacksmith's house, was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat. His eyes watched the carriage disappear into the night, and his body trembled non-stop: “I was only one step away from death! I really was only one step away from death! I must become stronger and find new skills as soon as possible. I always feel that this small village will be implicated in the future.”

“I must make gunpowder as soon as possible, otherwise, I won't have any self-protection against these guys. There's absolutely no sense of security in this era.” Zhang Chen sighed, further strengthening his determination to make gunpowder.

Since the prey was gone, Zhang Chen didn't need to go to Cui the Blacksmith's house. Listening to the clanging sounds coming from Cui the Blacksmith's house, Zhang Chen knew very well that Cui the Blacksmith was already on a pirate ship and had no chance to get off, while he had only just made contact and could completely retreat.

“I should have less contact with Cui the Blacksmith in the future.” Zhang Chen said to himself.

This time, Zhang Chen returned home empty-handed. Fortunately, he had hunted a lot of game these days, and the fox spirit next door hadn't run out of food yet, so she wouldn't bother him for the time being.

At this time, the fox spirit was sitting in front of the window, watching Zhang Chen return safely, her big eyes also filled with doubt: “Strange! Why didn't this kid bring back any prey today? Could it be that this silly boy has learned to hoard things? I wonder how far this 'mole' has dug, whether he has dug to the entrance of the tomb.”

The fox spirit stared at Zhang Chen, looking at his dusty face, her heart also filled with doubt.

At this time, Zhang Chen returned home, boiled water to wash up, and then pondered how to learn to read: “The only person nearby who can read is Zhang Chen's current teacher, known as Mr. 'Wuliu'. According to the rumors in the village, this person is knowledgeable and has real knowledge. Since Zhang Chen became his disciple, he has been able to decipher all kinds of ancient books, so he obviously has real skills. And since Zhang Chen can become a disciple, I should be able to as well!”

Countless thoughts ran through Zhang Chen's mind. He didn't know the process of Zhang Chen becoming a disciple, but since that bookworm Zhang Chen could become a disciple, there was no reason why he couldn't.

Then, Zhang Chen began to think about the problem of the apprenticeship fee. He now had five taels of silver in his hand, plus the five taels of silver he had saved before, which could make up ten taels. If he went into the mountains to hunt some pheasants and rabbits as an apprenticeship gift, it should be enough.

Zhang Chen thought about things in his mind, washed up, ate roasted meat, and then fell asleep on the couch.

The next morning, Zhang Chen went into the mountains to check the traps. To his surprise, the traps actually caught two wild ducks, one pheasant, and one swan. Looking at the swan struggling in the trap, Zhang Chen was surprised, thinking that he was so lucky that the swan flock nearby hadn't left yet.

Zhang Chen carefully tied up the prey. He didn't dare to go home, fearing that the fox spirit would directly move the prey away, so he simply took the prey directly to Mr. 'Wuliu's house.

Mr. Wuliu did not live in the village, but in a thatched cottage in the mountains.

Looking from afar, there was a beautiful view of clear springs, waterfalls, and flowing water in the mountains. A thatched cottage was not far from the waterfall, and a dozen strong men with swords around their waists were busy in the mountains, either cooking or drying books.

This was the first time Zhang Chen had come to visit Mr. Wuliu. Looking at the dozen or so burly bookboys with swords around their waists from afar, Zhang Chen couldn't help but shrink his pupils, especially when he saw the bulging muscles under the men's clothes, he couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt: “These are bookboys? This is a scholar's pomp? No wonder Mr. Wuliu dares to live in a hut in the mountains, it turns out he has guards.”

Just as Zhang Chen was slandering in his heart, a boy servant had already noticed his presence and shouted sternly, "Who's there?" As he spoke, he stroked the handle of the knife at his waist, cautiously approaching Zhang Chen. At this moment, the surrounding servants, hearing the commotion, all stopped what they were doing and placed their hands on the swords at their waists, their eyes glaring at Zhang Chen, startling him into quickly raising the swan in his hand:

"I am a villager from the foot of the mountain, here to seek Master Wu Liu as my teacher!"

"Seek a teacher?" The man sized Zhang Chen up for a while, seeing his farmer's attire, especially his weathered face which couldn't be faked. He couldn't help but mock, "What a whimsical fellow! A poor boy like you dares to seek apprenticeship with our master? Leave this place immediately, lest you taint this pure place."

As he spoke, he tried to drive him away, using the back of his large knife to strike at Zhang Chen. Facing the large group of strong men, Zhang Chen didn't dare to argue and could only swallow his anger and retreat.

"Stop!"

Just then, a woman's voice came from inside the thatched cottage. A girl in white, holding a scripture in her hand, walked out of the cottage, scolding to stop the situation.

The girl in white was ethereal and full of immortal aura, like someone ascending to heaven. Her features were exquisite and beautiful, even the natural scenery seemed to pale in comparison. The men all bowed respectfully when they saw the girl, not daring to continue their actions. Zhang Chen looked at the girl, who seemed like a fairy descending to earth, and couldn't help but be stunned: "Could this person be Master Wu Liu?"

"Zhang Chen greets you, Master. Please accept me as your disciple and impart knowledge to me." Zhang Chen quickly knelt on the ground and presented the pair of swans in his hand.

The girl's eyes swept over Zhang Chen, then landed on the pair of swans, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "These are rare items. Even princes and nobles rarely have the chance to taste them. You can use these as tuition, which shows you have put your heart into it."

"It's good as long as Master likes them," Zhang Chen quickly said.

The girl shook her head: "I am not the master. You have the wrong person."

Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard this, and his face turned red. He quickly got up from the ground, realizing he had made a mistake: "May I ask for the lady's name?"

The girl looked at Zhang Chen's embarrassed and flustered face and said with a smile, "My name is Zhu Qingyan. I am the master's disciple. Unfortunately, you have come at the wrong time. The master has gone on a long journey and won't be back for at least half a year. I'm afraid your pair of swans won't last that long. I'll offer fifty taels of silver to buy your swans and have a taste, to avoid the pity of your swans dying."

Zhang Chen was disappointed when he heard this, but he also knew that fifty taels of silver was definitely a high price. Although his pair of swans were rare items, they wouldn't sell for more than twenty taels of silver.

"As the lady says," Zhang Chen quickly said.

The girl was also straightforward. She turned around, went back to the cottage, took out fifty taels of silver, and handed it to Zhang Chen. She also ordered the man next to her to take the swans away.

Seeing this, Zhang Chen bid farewell and left. The girl looked at Zhang Chen's back, shook her head gently, didn't say much, and turned to enter the house.

Zhang Chen went down the mountain, his brow furrowed: "What should I do? The master is away on a long journey. How can I decipher the words on the stone tablet?"

Zhang Chen's thoughts raced in his mind, and his brow was furrowed with worry. As he pondered, he suddenly saw a flash of white in the mountains. The white-haired fox was squatting on a small hilltop, looking at him with a playful expression.

Zhang Chen looked at the fox spirit and suddenly had an idea: "I have a plan!"

"The fox spirit often moves things from my house. If I accidentally send the rubbing to the fox spirit, and the fox spirit shows the rubbing to Zhang Chen, and then Zhang Chen reads it to the fox spirit, wouldn't I be able to know the content of the article?" Zhang Chen secretly gave himself a thumbs up in his heart: "I'm really a little genius."

"Of course, there is also a problem, that is, the ancient tomb is very likely to be discovered by the fox spirit." Zhang Chen's thoughts flickered in his heart: "However, there are so many experience points in that ancient tomb, there must be something strange in it. That fox spirit is monitoring me every day, I might as well use a trick, use the fox spirit to explore the details of the ancient tomb. If there are strange things in the ancient tomb, then the fox spirit and the strange things in the ancient tomb will fight to the death, and I can also take the opportunity to pick up the cheap. If there are no strange things in the ancient tomb, I will just give the fox spirit all the wealth. With the fox spirit staring at me all day long, even if I get the wealth, I can't keep it. The most important thing for me is to decipher the words on the stone tablet, and it is very likely to get a new skill. Then find a way to restrain the fox spirit, this is the most important thing."

"That's it!" Zhang Chen made a decision in his heart, then his eyes swept over the bushes, the fox spirit had disappeared.

"Ink is a rare item, only sold in the city. The fox spirit is watching me all the time, I'm afraid I don't have the chance to leave the village." Zhang Chen was troubled in his heart, but soon he had an idea, and turned his attention to the roe deer next to him: "I might be able to use blood to replace ink."

As for white paper, although precious, it is not that precious. Zhang Chen has it at home. The white paper was left by Zhang Chen's cheap old man. What a pity...

Zhang Chen returned home, and sure enough, he saw the fox spirit squatting in the yard looking at him. Zhang Chen turned a blind eye to the fox spirit, and hung the prey directly on the wall. Before he waited long, the pheasant on the wall had disappeared. Now the fox spirit is doing things more and more arrogantly, already half-covered and half-open.

Zhang Chen ignored it, just hid the silver on his chest. Now he has golden light to protect his body, so he is not afraid of the fox spirit robbing his silver.

He took out the white paper that his old man had brought from the box under the bed. Zhang Chen carefully removed the dust from it, then rolled it up and stuffed it into his back basket.

In his memory, his father was a very refined person, with a gentle smile on his face forever. Unfortunately, he was a short-lived ghost. He came here not long ago, married that widow, and then died.

Zhang Chen took the back basket and went up the mountain again, and then began to patrol the traps and pick Baiji.

If you want to copy the inscription, the most important thing is Baiji. Mash the Baiji into a paste, then apply the juice to the stone tablet to continue the copying.

However, Zhang Chen searched for half a day and couldn't find Baiji.

"There is no Baiji in this mountain." Zhang Chen frowned, thinking that his great plan for copying had just begun and was aborted.

"Otherwise, just use blood instead?" Zhang Chen thought for a long time and couldn't find a substitute, so he could only focus on the blood of animals.

"It's worth a try." With an idea in his mind, Zhang Chen carried the pheasant and walked towards the cave with his equipment.

ps: Do you have recommendation tickets, brothers?