Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 81 The Man Who Blocked the Road in the Forest

Qin Ziwen sat for quite a while, but still couldn't get any new guests.

I picked up the book from the ground. The book was woven from bamboo, not very finely, and the edges were a bit rough, but it was very sturdy.

Inside were several revised scriptures on hemp paper, a small bag containing a writing brush, and another small animal skin bag containing ink blocks and an inkstone.

In addition, there was a change of clothes, and at the bottom of the book box were a few pieces of silver, some loose copper coins, and a pair of new hemp shoes.

Without clothes or money, where could this scholar go after running away?

After thinking for a moment, I took out the book and placed it on the living room floor.

In the morning, after breakfast, the sound of Li Tieshan hammering iron echoed through the blacksmith's shop again.

"Please wait a moment, sir. Just a final polishing is all that's needed to complete the process."

The spearhead, stuck in the pole, rubbed against the bluestone, its blade gleaming coldly. In the splashed cold spring water, this deadly weapon was successfully forged.

Qin Ziwen took the spear, which was longer and thicker than the one he was currently holding.

It's a bit heavier because the spear is thicker, so it takes some getting used to to wielding it.

"Brother, brother." Qin Ziwu stared longingly at the mulberry wood spear in his older brother's hand.

"Here you go." Qin Ziwen tossed it over, and Qin Ziwu caught it. "Haha, I have a weapon now!"

"Let's go, let's go out."

Li Tieshan wiped his hands and quickly said, "Sir, I'll go with you."

Qin Ziwen did not agree, but instead instructed him: "You've been forging iron every day these past few days, and you didn't get much rest last night. Just stay home and wait for us. Keep the house safe and don't let anyone else in."

Upon receiving the instructions, Li Tieshan stood up straight. "Yes!"

The four of them gathered at the east gate of the residential compound.

Everyone was fully armed, and Qin Ziwen and Qin Ziwu were particularly conspicuous, each holding a long spear.

Behind Qin Ziwu was a black box on his back.

The box had retractable shoulder straps extending from both sides, which went just over his shoulders.

Qin Ziwen carried a heavy cloth bag in his left hand, which made a clanging sound as he walked.

"Our main goal today is to find that cave, get the card inside, and try to make a round trip within a day, avoiding spending the night outside."

The other three nodded in agreement.

Qin Ziwen took out a map from his pocket. It was a map he had drawn up the mountain after analyzing the video recorded by the harpy eagle along the way when he retrieved the earth cage last time.

"Mr. Qin, these are four sachets I bought from Renhetang to repel mosquitoes." Zhao Pu took out four sachets from the bag and handed them to the three men.

Qin Ziwen took the sachet. Although it was called a sachet, it was actually a cloth bag made from a bed sheet, emitting a faint fragrance of Chinese herbs. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Zhao Pu laughed and said, "We're all part of a team."

Just then, a group of people passed by and stopped. Lu Hongtao examined the spear in Qin Ziwen's hand and asked, "Brother, did you make this spear yourself?"

"Ah."

"Will you sell? The price is negotiable."

"Not for the time being." Qin Ziwen waved his hand. He didn't even have enough of this stuff for himself, so how could he possibly sell it?

"Alright then." Lu Hongtao said with some regret, taking a few more glances at the imposing iron spear.

"Cough cough cough~"

Someone in Lu Hongtao's team coughed while covering their mouth.

"Zhou Hu, if you're not feeling well, you should go back. Your coughing all day is making me anxious."

"I told you I'm fine, cough cough cough, I went to see the doctor, he said it's just a cold." Zhou Hu said angrily, "Damn it, what are you afraid of?"

Zhao Pu gave Qin Ziwen a signal, and Qin Ziwen led his troops away.

After walking a distance, Zhao Pu said, "When I went out yesterday, I noticed that there were quite a few people coughing in the neighborhood."

Qin Ziwen understood the implication: "Is it some kind of infectious disease?"

Zhao Pu shook his head: "I don't know. The symptoms look like a cold, but this isn't Earth anymore. It's normal for an unheard-of virus to appear here. Besides, there was just a flood, so I think we should be careful."

"Um,"

After the flood, the weather was sunny for two consecutive days. Much of the silt on the ground had dried up, making the roads easier to walk on.

They ventured into the woods and climbed up the hillside, heading northeast.

This sachet must be really useful; there were far fewer mosquitoes along the way than usual.

It is said that going up a mountain is easy but coming down is difficult, and the road up the mountain is not easy to walk either.

After walking for more than three hours, the surrounding trees gradually became sparse, and the clear chirping of birds echoed overhead.

"There's a leopard there, watch out!" Zhao Pu spotted a leopard's head peeking out from the slope to his right.

Following the direction Zhao Pu pointed out, they saw a leopard peeking out from behind a tree, staring at them.

"Awoo!" the leopard cried out.

The voice wasn't very fierce; it even sounded a bit childish.

Seeing that the group of humans didn't react, the leopard watched for a while and then ran off in the other direction.

Looking at its gait, Qin Ziwen recognized it; it seemed to be the leopard he had encountered last night when he was carrying the wild boar back.

"Let's go, let's continue up the mountain."

The four of them supported each other as they walked up the mountain. By noon, the temperature around them had quietly dropped, and they could feel a slight chill.

"Horned Eagle, fly up and see how far we are from the cave." Qin Ziwen put his phone on its chest after starting to record video.

"quack!"

Frequent bird calls came from overhead.

The harpy eagle flew downwards, followed by two dark shadows.

"Ready!" Qin Ziwen raised his spear and stood side by side with his younger brother.

The harpy eagle spread its wings and circled behind it.
Two dark figures followed closely behind, but Qin Ziwen showed no mercy and thrust out with his spear.

But the two birds reacted quickly, flapping their wings and turning back at lightning speed to avoid the spears. They finally landed on a nearby branch and looked down at them from above.

"Its flight posture looks a bit like a falcon, but a typical falcon isn't this big."

The feathers of these two falcons are jet black, and against the light, the specific patterns are not visible.

However, they are not small; any one of them is about the size of a harpy eagle.

"Caw, caw, caw, caw!" The two falcons let out high-pitched, rapid short cries.

Aside from issuing warnings, the two falcons did not launch any further attacks.

"They're probably trying to drive us away," Qin Ziwu said, turning to look at the horned eagle.

“No, it sounds like they’re calling for their companions. We can’t let them keep calling.” Qin Ziwen frowned as he heard a response coming from the dense forest not far away.

The harpy eagle, which had been hiding behind them, was no longer so nervous. It raised its crest, spread its wings, and swaggered at the two falcons overhead.

Qin Ziwen handed the spear to Deng Guang for safekeeping, then took out his cell phone from the eagle's chest and watched the video playback.

After reading it, he breathed a sigh of relief. "The cave is just above us. If we chase them away, we'll be there."

Qin Ziwen turned to his younger brother, "Xiao Wu, take the things off your back."

"Good!"

Qin Ziwu took off the bow and arrow equipment box he was carrying.

Qin Ziwen opened the lid and took out the compound bow.

Draw the bow and nock the arrow.

The falcon had never seen such a rare creature before, so it stared intently at it from the tree.

Until the arrow flew,

"Gah!"

A black falcon flapped its wings and took flight.

The other one fell to the ground.