Seeing Lu Xuan only carrying a basket on his back and no sign of any other prey, he guessed that his hunting trip over the past few days might not have gone smoothly. He didn’t ask further, merely patting his shoulder. “It’s good that you’re back safely. But no more reckless behavior from now on!”
Lu Xuan had already learned from the villagers who first surrounded him that they had gone into the mountains several times to look for him. Though it hadn’t been necessary, he still appreciated their concern and said to the village chief, “I’ve made you worry, Iron Uncle.”
Li Tie smiled. “Your sister and brother-in-law were the most worried. Alright, stop with the pleasantries; you must be exhausted. Go home and get some rest.”
Lu Xuan nodded and soon returned to the Lu house with Lu Qing, Lu Chen, and the others, who had been gripping him tightly as if afraid he might run away again.
Once home, Lu Xuan first changed out of his dusty clothes, wiped himself down, and put on the new outfit before returning to the main room.
Throughout the process, Lu Chen followed behind him like a little tail, staying glued to his side even after sitting down, as if terrified he might vanish, which left Lu Xuan feeling somewhat helpless.
As Lu Qing handed him a cup of hot water, her eyes red, she nagged incessantly: “You are not allowed to go into the mountains again! It’s too dangerous, and you were gone for days. I haven’t been able to sleep for the past few days. Every time I dozed off, I dreamt of you covered in blood—you scared me to death!”
Lei Yan also spoke up: “Ah Xuan, from now on, why don’t you farm with me? It’s hard work, but at least it’s safe.”
Lu Xuan didn’t answer directly, only saying, “I found quite a few good things in the mountains over the past few days. Let me show you first, and later, I have something important to tell you.”
He brought the basket over and took the items out one by one.
First were the wild fruits, carefully wrapped in leaves to prevent bruising, followed by a large bag of mushrooms, and some wild vegetables and common herbs.
In addition, there were the unexpectedly discovered wild Sichuan pepper and black peppercorns—about eight to ten jin in total—along with the half-full box of honey, which he opened for them.
The sweet fragrance of honey permeated the room. Lu Qing and the others, who had felt heavy-hearted, instinctively sniffed the air and instantly perked up.
Lu Chen quickly wiped away his tears and looked at the box with shining eyes, asking, “It smells so good! Big Brother, what is this?”
“Honey.” Lu Xuan went to the kitchen to fetch a pair of chopsticks and clipped a small piece of golden honeycomb from the box. “Open wide.”
Lu Chen opened his mouth instinctively, and Lu Xuan shoved the honeycomb inside.
Lu Chen chewed instinctively, then his eyes widened in excitement, murmuring vaguely: “Mmm—so sweet! So delicious!!”
Lu Qing’s eyes brightened slightly. “Honey? You actually found something this good?”
Then she noticed that the box holding the honey looked strange—it was completely transparent, and she could clearly see the golden honey inside.
Lu Xuan nodded. “Keep these at home; have some every day, either chewing on it or mixing it with water to nourish yourselves. And there’s the wild pepper and peppercorns—dry them in the courtyard for a few days. Use them when you stew meat; it’ll taste much better.”
Looking at the table filled with items, Lu Qing and Lei Yan realized that Lu Xuan’s trip hadn’t been completely fruitless.
Though it couldn’t compare to the previous two times, the honey and peppercorns were all valuable items. Selling them would likely bring in as much money as the wild boar.
Lu Qing immediately said: “Take these to town and sell them for money; it’s a waste for us to eat them ourselves.” It would also be a shame after the hard work he’d put in over the last few days.
“I’ve prepared something else for selling.” Lu Xuan took the most significant items from the bottom of the basket: a century-old ginseng root and a pile of red and purple lingzhi mushrooms.
Seeing these, Lu Qing and Lei Yan gasped audibly on the spot.
“This is… ginseng!? And lingzhi?” Lu Qing’s voice trembled. “Where did you find these things!”
Lu Xuan chuckled. “Naturally, in the mountains. Selling these two will earn more than enough money for what we need.”
“Such a big ginseng, it must be over a hundred years old, right? How much silver will this sell for!” Lu Qing’s expression was dazed.
Lei Yan, too, couldn’t keep his composure.
Because Lu Chen was young and didn’t quite grasp the value of ginseng, he tugged on his brother-in-law’s sleeve and asked: “Brother-in-law, are these things worth a lot of money?”
Lei Yan replied instinctively: “At least a hundred taels of silver.”
A hundred taels! That much!?
Lu Chen’s eyes went even wider. He looked down and started counting on his fingers how much grain they could buy with that much silver—it was impossible to calculate!
The viewers in the livestream were laughing hysterically at Lu Chen’s dazed little expression.
This is only the beginning; the host still has several even older specimens in his space! What he brought out is just a fraction.
Lu Xuan waved his hand in front of the dazed Lu Qing and Lei Yan to bring them back to reality. “Don’t be shocked yet; it’s not too late to be shocked after you hear what I have to say next.”
The two looked at him suspiciously—wasn’t finding a century-old ginseng enough to be shocked by?
As it turned out, it certainly wasn’t.
Lu Xuan didn’t beat around the bush; he told them straight out that a catastrophe would begin in half a month.
Drought, torrential rain, blizzards, tsunamis… every disaster they had heard of or hadn’t, experienced or hadn’t, would occur one after another, and it would continue without rest for several years.
Lu Qing and Lei Yan listened with vacant expressions and dazed eyes, as if they couldn’t understand a word he was saying, and for a long time, they gave no reaction.
Livestream viewers: Scared stupid?
Lu Xuan snapped his fingers. “Come back to reality.”
Lu Qing and Lei Yan jumped.
Lu Xuan looked at them and raised an eyebrow. “Anything to say?”
Lu Qing took a deep breath, her voice dry: “Ah Xuan, do you know what you’re saying? Some catastrophe… you can’t say such things recklessly. Besides, how could you possibly know this?”
Lu Xuan had already prepared his excuse on the way back, so naturally, it flowed right out: “When I fell and was unconscious, I was taken to the Celestial Realm. I saw the gods there, and they were the ones who told me.”
Lu Qing: “…”
Lei Yan: “???”
Lu Chen looked up, glancing left and right, his expression confused: What is a god? Is it edible?
The viewers in the livestream burst out laughing.
[Pfft—! Gods, he went to the Celestial Realm and saw gods? The host implies that the Star Alliance is the Celestial Realm, so does that make us gods?]
[Hahaha, accidentally changed species and became an immortal—is that okay?]
[I thought the host might find a reasonable reason to convince his family, but I never expected him to say he’d seen gods. 666!]
Lu Qing and Lei Yan were equally speechless.
Lu Qing sighed helplessly: “Ah Xuan, you can’t say such things.”
“It’s not reckless talk. Look.” Lu Xuan casually pulled a wild boar from his space and tossed it to the ground, which hit with a heavy thud.
Seeing the massive creature appear out of thin air, the three’s expressions changed drastically. They scrambled back a few steps in fright. Lu Qing let out an involuntary cry, and Lei Yan instinctively shielded her behind him, pulling Lu Chen along as well.
Lu Xuan said: “Don’t worry, it’s dead.”
The three stared in disbelief at the giant wild boar, then at Lu Xuan, then back at the boar. They looked back and forth several times, completely unable to imagine how this pig had appeared.
Lu Chen, curious, ran out from behind Lei Yan and grabbed Lu Xuan’s hands, turning them over as if to figure out where he had hidden the boar.
Lu Qing’s expression turned completely dazed, and she muttered to herself: “I must still be dreaming. Right, this must be a dream…”
Saying this, she pinched her finger hard. “Sure enough, it doesn’t hurt at all.”
Lei Yan: “…Wife, you pinched me.”
Lu Qing: “…”
Livestream viewers: Pfft.
Lu Xuan made the boar disappear under their very eyes again, and as the three gasped once more, he clapped his hands.
“This is also an ability given to me by the gods. In the last few days in the mountains, besides finding things to earn money, I also found a cave that can serve as a temporary shelter. Once the catastrophe begins, we will hide in the mountains to take shelter.”
He reassuringly ruffled Lu Chen’s hair, whose face was filled with unease. “To cope with the disasters of the next few years, after I sell the ginseng and lingzhi, I will use the money to buy grain and other useful supplies. We’ll set off tomorrow.”
“The town may not have everything I need, so I might have to take a trip to the city. If I can’t return the same day, it might take two or three days, or even longer.”
“You’re going out again?” Still traumatized by the anxiety of the past few days, Lu Qing panicked and blurted out: “No!”
Lu Xuan reassured her: “Going to the city and going into the mountains are two different things; you don’t need to worry. Once the drought hits, the fields will yield nothing, and there will be no food or water. Sister, do you want us to starve to death?”
Lu Qing opened her mouth, speechless. She instinctively imagined the scene, and her heart tightened.
Drought… it wasn’t as if it hadn’t happened before.
Their village was relatively united, and they helped each other during difficult times. Even the poorest families could barely pull through, but the bitter taste of hunger was something unforgettable.
Not to mention that in other villages during famine years, there were no shortage of families selling their children—that scene alone was too painful to watch.
Lu Chen didn’t fully understand the situation, but he still loudly stated: “Don’t starve! I want to eat until I’m full!”
Lu Xuan nodded. “Don’t worry, with me here, I’ll never let you go hungry. Not only will there be enough grain, but you’ll also be able to eat meat every day.”
Lu Chen’s eyes shone. “I believe in Big Brother!”
Lu Qing opened her mouth wanting to say something else, but thinking of the way Lu Xuan had made the wild boar appear and disappear, she pursed her lips and fell silent.
Because the news Lu Xuan had broken was too shocking, Lu Qing and Lei Yan’s minds were a mess. When he pulled out two bags of warm honey-glazed chicken later, aside from Lu Chen, who was jubilant, the couple didn’t give much reaction.
…They did, however, eat every single bite without wasting a thing.
After the meal, they ate a large bowl of washed, sweet-and-sour wild fruits.
Late at night.
Lu Qing lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.