Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 84 - 66: Poaching (Second Night Watch)

Chapter 84: Chapter 66: Poaching (Second Night Watch)

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"Damn it, I want to go down and reason with them," Yezi, distressed about the birds and beasts in the forest, was eager to jump down.

"Wait," Xiao Xian held onto Yezi. From the depths of the jungle, that group of poachers suddenly pulled up their nets and, without even daring to take their prey, hurriedly fled down the mountain.

"Everyone come down, and undo the net," after several months, Xiao Xian saw the Great Wizard Red Locust of Dongnan Miao Village again. The Red Locust Great Wizard was not tall, with a curved back in her old age, she appeared to be only about 1.5 meters tall, and twelve-year-old Yezi was already taller than her.

Yet such an old lady, with wrinkled skin and eyes no longer clear, exuded an aura, as soon as she stood in front of people, that even the most ferocious animals in the mountains would not dare to approach. The old woman carried a bamboo basket on her back, and as she approached, one could hear a dense rustling sound—it was not just filled with a number of crawling insects and snakes.

Xiao Xian and Yezi quickly climbed down, and "Little Pig" also belatedly circled angrily above the iron net, incessantly screeching at the fleeing figures.

When the Great Wizard Red Locust was capturing suitable gu insects on the mountain, she also heard the cries of the birds and beasts in the mountains; as she hurried down, she just saw the iron net falling down, about to rescue Xiao Xian and Yezi, but then saw the two kids soar into the air and land safely under the tree.

These poachers had also come to the mountain a month earlier and had encountered Red Locust. After being bitten by the gu insects released by the Great Wizard, they fled. The Great Wizard only intended to teach them a lesson and did not actually kill them, unbeknownst to her that once their wounds healed, they would forget the pain and return to the mountain to commit wrongdoing. As chance would have it, they were caught by the Great Wizard again, but her gu insects had also been mostly collected, and in a few days, she would have to go into seclusion to nurture the gu, and couldn’t stay in the mountains every day.

"Why catch so many birds? And the iron thorns wound them—if they were taken down the mountain, they wouldn’t survive anyway," said Yezi, who was close to birds and animals. As he untangled the iron net, the trapped birds were already breathless. The net and iron thorns were specially made, with thorns shaped into long thin needles, penetrating fur without visible wounds, but the pain inflicted on the birds was not lessened one bit.

"I don’t know what for, the birds in the mountains are wild and even if they were transported down safely and kept in cages, they wouldn’t survive on the best bird feed if they refuse food and water. Years ago, some people also came to steal birds, but gave up when they realized they couldn’t keep them alive. I did not expect the trend of poaching to rise again; the mountains will probably become troublesome in the future." The Great Wizard Red Locust saw that Yezi was upset about the birds and let him take a few of the most seriously injured birds and affected animals back with them.

The Great Wizard then called Yezi’s mother to wash the wounds of the birds and animals and bandage them one by one. After hearing about the incident, Yezi’s mother was terrified and immediately issued an order forbidding Yezi from entering the mountain again—"Little Pig" wanting to eat bugs would have to dig for earthworms in the fields or catch grasshoppers in the grass.

"Mama, eating those tame things doesn’t give any strength. Besides, should we just let those bad people destroy all the birds in the back mountain?" Yezi was indignant. Every bird and animal in the mountain was a treasure given by nature, now left wounded or crippled. Who knew how many more would suffer later on? Thinking of this, Yezi couldn’t help the desire to split those villains into halves like centipedes—they were even more vicious than poisonous centipedes.

"Don’t worry about this matter; I’ll have your father and the village chief talk to the town to apply for a poaching ban sign to put at the foot of the mountain. If those people dare to go in, they will be arrested." Although the Great Wizard had some deterrent effect, she could not stay in the mountains every day, and at such times, proper channels needed to be sought.

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Yezi listened but didn’t feel relieved. Instead, she went off sulkily to fix the makeshift bird nest.

Xiao Xian helped out. Only halfway through building the nest, Yezi snapped back to reality. "Zhu Xiaoxian, what just happened? How did you ’whoosh’ me up into the tree like that?" She had seen people with nimble movements, like the Red Locust Grandma who could step out and glide over two or three meters without touching the ground, even climb faster than the sturdiest men in the village. But nobody, like Xiao Xian, was able to zip someone up into the trees without even panting - as easily as if she were picking up a cat or dog.

"That wasn’t flying, that was..." Xiao Xian tried to come up with an excuse.

"That’s because she learned a spell from Grandma," the Great Wizard walked out from the house, her face full of understanding.

"What kind of spell? Grandma, you play favorites. I’ve followed you for more than a decade and you didn’t teach me any spells. You meet Zhu Xiaoxian once and teach her such powerful magic," Yezi actually believed it.

"That’s a spell passed down only to women, not men. Yezi, you’d better stick with your father and learn silver making. You’ll make something of yourself in the future," the Great Wizard said kindly as she patted Yezi’s shoulder. Once Yezi heard that it was a women-only spell, she deflated, remembering how she pestered Grandma to teach her Gu Technique, and Grandma fobbed her off with the same excuse.

The Great Wizard took Xiao Xian aside, both of them contemplating. The Great Wizard knew that this world was filled with wonders—what flies in the sky isn’t necessarily a bird and what swims in the water may not be a fish. This little girl from the Han Clan looked ordinary but had managed to shatter the Dragon Suppressing Bell. Seeing various snakes and bugs, she showed disgust but not excessive fear, which was not ordinary.

Xiao Xian thought that the Great Wizard was different from ordinary people—she can raise and use gu insects. Even if she were honest about the iron space, she wouldn’t be burned at the stake for being different. So, Xiao Xian vaguely explained that she had the Iron-grade space since she was young, omitting the part about Yunteng Sect and the Ninth Heavenly Thunder, saying only that she had it since she was small. She also roughly mentioned the issue about "sugarcane seedling" and the restrictions on absorbing Spiritual Energy.

After all, the Great Wizard was experienced and knowledgeable. After listening, she contemplated briefly and came up with an idea. "There are such marvelous things in the world, having such a space, you will eventually have command over all the plants. What a pity you can’t learn Gu Technique with me." If Gu Technique is Yin, then trees are Yang. Yin and Yang are difficult to integrate; Xiao Xian relies on the Spiritual Energy of trees for her cultivation, naturally making it difficult to cultivate with Gu Techniques.

According to the Great Wizard’s analysis, the "sugarcane seedling’s" recent loss of appetite was not due to a bottleneck but because it was about to make a breakthrough. In due time, the space could break through on its own, and all Xiao Xian needed to do was to wait.

After listening, Xiao Xian felt somewhat relieved. It was getting late, and Xiao Xian hurried home, despite Yezi’s mother’s attempts to have her stay. Yezi volunteered to walk Xiao Xian back to Ge Village. Ever since he believed Xiao Xian learned spells from the Great Wizard, his attitude became more ingratiating, automatically switching back to calling her "Zhu Xiaoxian."

When the two kids reached the entrance of the village, they saw several cars from afar.

Several vehicles with Guizhou license plates parked haphazardly—about three or four of them. It was rare for so many cars to visit the mountains at once. One of the vehicles’ wheels even encroached on the field ridge, almost crushing Xiao Xian’s yet-harvested rice. Xiao Xian thought the cars looked familiar. On closer inspection, wasn’t it the Santana belonging to Qian Duoduo, the son of the village Party Secretary?

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)