Chapter 13: Exploring the Dragon Cave

"Later, the rumors spread farther and farther." At the request of Amy, Chi Hanfeng, and Reger, Da Qingshan recounted his past while eating.

Within a hundred miles, almost everyone had heard of the inheritor chosen by the mountain god from Xiao Jiao Village at the western foot of Longya Mountain. It was said that his parents had not died but had been selected by the mountain god to serve as guardians of the mountains. Some claimed to have seen his parents racing down the mountain on snow leopards; others said that whenever Da Qingshan went hunting, all the animals in the mountains would line up to wait for him. He would touch one on the head, and that beast would follow him down the mountain, only to let out a thunderous roar and kill itself as they approached the village. There were even more stories…

"How did you actually kill it? You were only nine years old; how could you possibly kill a snow leopard?" Amy asked anxiously.

"Look, it's like this." Da Qingshan pulled out two wooden sticks, each about fifty centimeters long and pointed at both ends, from his pack. "Once, I found a dead snow hare. When I skinned it, I realized it hadn't frozen to death; there was a long grass root piercing its stomach. It must have been searching for food in the freezing cold and ended up swallowing a whole grass root without realizing it would puncture its stomach. So, I tried to find some of the most resilient types of wood and sharpened both ends." He bent one stick's pointed ends together with force. "Then, you see, I bent them together, tied them with string, and froze them in a bowl to make an ice ball. Finally, I cut the string with a knife, covered the ice ball with animal fur or smeared it with oil, and threw the ice ball in places where animals often frequented. In winter, there isn't much to eat, so some animals would swallow the meaty ice balls whole. The warmth inside their stomachs melts the ice quickly, and the sticks spring back, usually puncturing the animal's stomach. So, I just went to collect the already dead animals." Da Qingshan humbly explained.

"Why didn't you use this method to kill the snow bears?" Amy pressed further, while Reger shot a glare at his apprentice, annoyed at the distraction from the story about the little green dog.

"Snow bears hibernate in winter, and in summer, it's hard to find ice. Plus, snow bears don't eat dead animals in summer," Da Qingshan explained earnestly.

"Oh, and what about that little dog?" Reger asked, showing interest.

The villagers had not noticed that as the weather warmed, Da Qingshan's catch had dwindled, with fewer carnivorous animals and more herbivores like snow hares and snow chickens appearing instead. The prey also began to bear arrow wounds.

After the weather warmed, carnivorous animals could generally find prey, rarely eating rotting carcasses. Da Qingshan gradually learned to use his father's steel crossbow to shoot arrows and set up ambushes to hunt smaller animals.

As the weather continued to warm, Da Qingshan occasionally camped outside to hunt more effectively.

One evening in late spring and early summer, Da Qingshan gathered some firewood and lit a roaring bonfire. The temperature fluctuated greatly during late spring, and even in a sheltered spot, he could feel the piercing northern wind.

Watching the flames dance, Da Qingshan carefully skewered the two cleaned snow hares with wooden forks and hung them over the fire.

He kept rotating the forks, listening to the sizzling sound as the flames toasted the hare meat, oil oozing from the flesh and dripping onto the fire, making the flames leap higher. With the mountain breeze, the aroma of the roasting meat mixed with the heat of the fire spread warmly around. After a long day of hard work, enjoying a delicious roasted hare was a rare reward.

As the meat neared completion, it was crucial not to scorch it over an open flame but to roast it slowly over a small charcoal fire. This was a lesson his father had taught him. As the meat approached readiness, Da Qingshan rekindled another pile of firewood, extinguished the original fire, and lowered the meat rack, allowing the residual heat to continue cooking it. Taking this moment, he found a flat spot at the cliff's edge, laid out the animal skins, and prepared to sleep once he finished eating.

With everything set, Da Qingshan turned back to adjust the roasting forks. Just as he did, he froze in place: a little green dog was sitting where he had just been, struggling to shake the roasting fork and move the hare. Green drool hung from its mouth, and when it noticed Da Qingshan, it showed no fear, whining at him while pointing with one paw at the hare and the other at its own small belly, its tail wagging furiously.

"So cute," Da Qingshan thought as he walked over to pet the dog's small head. "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

"Woof—woof—" The little dog excitedly nodded.

"It must have been abandoned by its owner." Upon closer inspection, Da Qingshan noticed that this little dog was actually disabled; its front legs had severely atrophied, making it unable to run on all fours and only able to clumsily walk on its two hind legs, often stumbling and tumbling. "Poor thing." Remembering his own sad background, Da Qingshan felt a pang of sympathy.

As the cold wind blew, the dog curled up and sneezed, "Achoo!" Da Qingshan felt a twinge of pity and lifted his fur coat, pulling the little creature inside, exposing only its small head as they both watched the slowly darkening, aromatic hare meat.

Once the rabbit was fully cooked, Da Qingshan disassembled it and placed the best two hind legs in front of the dog's paws. It seemed this little fellow was quite satisfied with Da Qingshan's roasting skills, eagerly devouring the meat before rolling onto its back, contentedly patting its round belly and dozing off in Da Qingshan's arms.

The next day, Da Qingshan took the little dog up the mountain to hunt. Ah, this little creature had now been given a name: "Green." It was so clumsy, unable to run faster than a hare, often tumbling down the mountain while chasing prey. Da Qingshan laughed until his stomach hurt, and that day, he caught very little, only a small snow chicken.

That night, it was the same routine: Da Qingshan roasted the meat while Green nestled in his fur coat, enjoying the aroma.

On the third day, the catch was a bit better—two rabbits and one snow chicken. They roasted the meat again on a wind-sheltered slope.

Suddenly, the howling night wind grew fierce, and large snowflakes drifted down from the sky like goose feathers. "Strange, the weather was fine during the day," Da Qingshan wondered as he added more firewood to the bonfire.

"Crack, crack," distant sounds of dry grass being stepped on echoed in the air.

A man in black walked out from the night, glancing at Da Qingshan before slowly sitting down beside the bonfire. Green poked its head out from Da Qingshan's fur coat and, upon seeing the old man, jumped up excitedly and dove into his arms.

"Looks like he's found his owner." Da Qingshan felt a pang of disappointment. Although this little dog was clumsy when it ran, he had longed for companionship in his solitude.

Swallowing hard, Da Qingshan finally found the courage to ask for something for the first time. "Uncle, hello. Is this little dog yours?"

The old man was taken aback for a moment. "Little dog, oh, you mean him? Yes, he's mine."

"Um… um… could you give him to me?" Da Qingshan hesitated, unsure.

The old man's eyes suddenly lit up, like a flash of lightning across the night sky. "You want him?"

"Yeah, I'm Da Qingshan. I'm all alone and really want a companion. I'll take good care of him."

"Hmm, that's fine." The old man seemed to be making a decision. He looked at the little dog, then back at Da Qingshan, before asking in a firm tone, "Da Qingshan, do you promise to stay with him for life?"

"I promise. Of course, I do." Da Qingshan felt a sense of solemnity wash over him in that moment.

"And you?" The old man lowered his gaze to the little dog. "Do you promise to stay with Da Qingshan for life?"

"Woof… woof…" The little dog nodded enthusiastically, wagging its tail.

The old man extended his thin, withered hand and grasped both Da Qingshan's hand and the dog's front paws. "Oh, sacred deity, Parrot, your descendant wishes to form a sacred contract with the descendant of the Creator God—may heaven, earth, and the divine witness this holy moment!"

At that instant, thunder rumbled and lightning cracked across the sky. When Da Qingshan opened his eyes again, the old man had vanished.

A voice echoed from the sky, "Da Qingshan, whenever you face difficulties or doubts, you can go to Longya Mountain, Green Dragon Platform."

"Oh, the boy isn't being honest." The old mage Reger huffed angrily, his beard bristling. "You've already signed a contract, yet you're deceiving an old man like me."

"I didn't! What's a contract?" Da Qingshan feigned innocence.

"It's that cursed dragon god, Parrot!" the old mage shouted.

"Crack!" A bolt of lightning split the clear sky, causing Reger to flinch.

"Hoho, someone dares to insult the dragon god, who stands equal to the Creator God. That takes guts, and I admire it," a middle-aged man's voice chimed in, filled with a sense of appreciation.

Reger, not ready to give up, insisted on going to the Green Dragon Platform. He was calculating in his mind: since Da Qingshan had signed a contract with the dragon, it wouldn't harm them. If they could gain anything from it—like ancient magic, magical weapons, or other treasures—how great would that be? Chi Hanfeng, well aware of Reger's thoughts, was also eager to see if they could find something valuable in the dragon's lair. Knowing the journey would be safe, only a fool would pass up such an opportunity, so he raised both hands in agreement.

Amy felt something was off but, due to her limited experience, couldn't quite grasp the intentions of the two old foxes. Da Qingshan, unwilling to part with his new friend and curious to see what the old man had mentioned about the Green Dragon Platform, was equally eager to go.

Cough… sigh… If that man in black had known such things would happen, he surely would not have agreed to any contract between Green and Da Qingshan. Making friends carelessly and running into the wrong crowd!

Power Rankings:Sacred Dragon Knight (Legendary)Dragon KnightBeast KnightHigh-Level BerserkerSpirit Beast KnightHeavy CavalryHeavy InfantryLight CavalryLight Infantry

Reference for Magical Power Rankings:

2 High-Level Archmages = 1 Sacred Dragon Knight1 High-Level Archmage = 1.5 Dragon Knights1 Archmage = 0.75 Dragon Knight1 Grand Mage = 3 Beast Knights1 Level 1 Mage = 1 Beast Knight

— From Chi Yizi's renowned work "Unit Types and Power"