Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 208 - 207: The Gold Panning Journey, A Huge Harvest!

Chapter 208: Chapter 207: The Gold Panning Journey, A Huge Harvest!

Xu Yang found an excuse to end the live stream.

He used the Treasure Compass five times in a row, and the compass pointed to treasure locations all within the lake.

Just as he had expected, this lake was indeed an excellent gold nest.

"Only the Treasure Compass could accomplish such gold panning. Even if others knew about the sand gold scattered in the lake, they wouldn’t be able to search for it."

"After all, you can’t drain the lake, nor can you go down and search bit by bit."

"You have to search in designated spots."

Xu Yang used a rock to break through the ice layer and prepared to dive in.

"Xiao Hua, stay here and keep an eye on my clothes,"

Xu Yang said to Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua looked at Xu Yang with a slightly dazed and adorable expression.

"Just don’t move from here. With you here, no other animal dares to come close."

"This leopard print tattoo of yours has come in handy as well,"

Xu Yang added with a laugh.

He began to strip.

Although the weather was good today, the snow hadn’t completely melted, and the cold wind was still whistling, making him feel colder.

But the thought of sand gold at the bottom of the lake warmed him up a bit.

Xu Yang stripped down to his swimming trunks while Xiao Hua watched in surprise, disbelief filling her eyes.

She couldn’t understand Xu Yang’s actions.

She just tilted her head to the side, her clear eyes brimming with silliness.

Xu Yang simply touched her.

He estimated that the depth of the lake was between one to two meters.

It wasn’t much different from that of West Lake.

Due to the constant renewal of lake water, the flow was very clear.

There were a few aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake, but not many, and some small fish were moving in the water.

He stripped down to just his swimming trunks, took out swimming goggles from his backpack, put them on, and plunged into the lake with a dive.

As he anticipated diving today, he had prepared thoroughly.

In his backpack, he also carried a dry towel and underwear.

"Splash!"

Xu Yang fell into the lake and dived down.

Xiao Hua had been playing with her back to Xu Yang. Startled by the noise, she jumped on the spot and then immediately ran to the edge of the lake and lay down to look.

She looked around anxiously.

"Where’s my dad?"

Xiao Hua was curious about where Xu Yang had gone and felt a bit panicked for a moment.

Xu Yang continued diving deeper.

The water wasn’t deep, a little swimming down brought him to the bottom of the lake.

But the bottom of the lake was relatively complex, filled with silt.

Xu Yang found the first treasure spot and started groping in the silt.

Soon, he caught the first piece of sand gold.

The size of the sand gold was about that of a broad bean, and it had some weight in his hand.

While he still had the energy, Xu Yang swam forward rapidly.

Then, he scooped up the second piece of sand gold.

As the air in his lungs was nearly exhausted, Xu Yang immediately surfaced.

Only to see that above was still a layer of ice, Xu Yang charged up, and with a punch, broke through the ice layer.

"Crack!"

Shards of ice splattered, and Xu Yang’s body surfaced from the water.

He held two pieces of sand gold in his right hand, shook out the silt in the water, and then took a closer look.

The shape of the sand gold was irregular, but the surface was very smooth, with a somewhat dull color.

Xu Yang thought of jade’s seed material.

Seed Material is so-called because jade was originally attached to a rock. After years of water flow rounding it in a river, the rock was worn away to form seed material.

The sand gold had been polished in the river for who knows how long.

"This one must be over 50 grams. With the current gold price of over 700 per gram, one piece is almost 40,000."

"Just enough to cover more than half a month’s expenses on my farm,"

With the gold in hand, Xu Yang dived back down through the opening in the ice.

Leopard paced anxiously by the lake.

She was worried that something might have happened to Xu Yang.

Initially, Xu Yang did feel a bit cold, but he soon got used to it and didn’t notice much.

Especially when he was swimming, he didn’t feel cold at all, but if he stayed still for a while, the cold would return.

This was normal.

If he felt that the lake water was warming up, then that would spell real trouble.

Xu Yang continued diving into the lake.

This treasure-hunting trip was truly extraordinary.

Deep in the forest, high mountain lakes, beneath the ice.

Who could have imagined this was a treasure gathering spot!

Originally, Xu Yang intended to try his luck further up, hoping to find other gold hotspots. If not, he planned to go back to the previous bank to search for treasures.

But after traveling a long distance, he eventually found it.

The lake was extremely clear, with many fish swimming around, none of them very large.

These fish were timid, and as soon as Xu Yang made a slight commotion, they would flee in a flash.

Xu Yang easily found the next three treasure spots as well.

He held the treasures in his hand and continued to surface.

Then, he broke through the ice again and emerged from the water.

Although the ice layer wasn’t very thick, Xu Yang’s fist still hurt when he smashed through it.

For him, this wasn’t a problem; being in the mountains for so long, such bumps and bruises were normal.

He turned to glance in the Leopard’s direction.

At this moment, Xiao Hua’s eyes were filled with an ever-growing curiosity.

It felt like Xu Yang was performing magic, popping up from one place to another.

Xu Yang swam towards the shore.

Due to the ice, he had to dive, and once he climbed out of the lake, he was gasping for breath, panting heavily.

The moment he surfaced, the cold wind howled.

Xu Yang quickly took out a clean, soft towel and vigorously dried off his body.

This was far more thrilling than taking a cold bath in winter.

The process of drying off and getting dressed was simply torturous.

Xu Yang dried himself and then began putting on his clothes one by one.

He took off his swim trunks and put on a pair of underwear.

The Leopard, seeing him do this, covered its eyes, unable to watch.

The animal ran off to the side to play by itself.

Soon, Xu Yang was fully dressed.

He picked up the sand gold he had found and upon inspection, his expression suddenly changed.

"Damn, what’s this?"

In Xu Yang’s palm were four irregular pieces of gold, and one piece, about the size of a thumb, was a smooth white Jade.

"Jade?"

Xu Yang picked up the white Jade and examined it closely.

It was definitely valuable.

To have such a smooth effect after being washed in the lake water for who knows how many years, it was naturally valuable.

Today’s trip into the mountains was with the intention of making some money.

The farm was still waiting for the turnover of capital.

To him, these finds were an excellent harvest.

Xu Yang wiped his hair again, then put on a cotton hat.

You have to keep your head protected at such times, he thought, or you’re guaranteed to catch a cold.

Of course, his special constitution and cold protection meant getting sick wasn’t that easy for him.

"Today’s haul isn’t bad, I can go for alchemy when I get back."

"There are people panning for gold in the country, so it’s not illegal. To sell it, it’s better to have it formed into a nice shape."

"And this Seed Material, I need to find a good buyer for it."

Xu Yang was already planning how to make money.

The livestream would be put on hold for the moment.

On the way here, the Treasure Compass had located sand gold three more times that he hadn’t salvaged.

Since there wasn’t enough time, he didn’t bother with them.

He planned to search on his way back.

Since it was all fore shore, there would be no need to dive anymore.

At most, he would just have to take off his pants and thermals.

Today’s Mountain Rushing adventure was particularly exhilarating.

Xiao Hua ran alongside, clearly enjoying herself.

The critter was having the time of its life today.

He figured that after feeding her a bit when they got back, she would sleep right through to the next day.

Cats can really sleep a lot.

"There are so many treasures in the mountains."

"With the Treasure Compass, it’s like truly living off the mountain."

Xu Yang made his way back.

The journey was long, and it was around six in the evening by the time he returned to the farm.

After getting back, he fed Xiao Hua some food, then he took a tour of the farm to check on the greenhouses.

Two greenhouses were already constructed and in use.

The Blueberry Seedlings had just been planted.

Once another batch of blueberries was ripe, Xu Yang’s assets would grow rapidly.

That’s when he would truly be wealthy.

Not like now, where all his money was tied up in investments, leaving him with very little.

After inspecting the greenhouses, Xu Yang went to check on the three Little Foxes.

The three critters had made their den in what used to be the grassy area; although Xu Yang suggested they move to the living area, they refused to go.

They didn’t need much care from Xu Yang, just the safe environment of Xu Yang’s Farm.

After all, wild foxes have a strong wild nature and prefer to play in the forest.

They liked more freedom.

Everything on the farm was wonderful.

That evening, after locking the gates, Xu Yang went into a room to begin the alchemy process.

He had already purchased the equipment; it was simply about melting the gold at high temperatures, then pouring it into molds and waiting for it to cool down.

Xu Yang donned heat-resistant gloves and clear glasses, looking quite professional.

He resembled the protagonist of ’Breaking Bad’.

He melted all of the sand gold he had picked up today, and with what he had previously, it amounted to over 500g.

A pound of gold.

At 700 per gram, that was 350,000.

The buyback price of gold was pretty stable and easy to sell.

Xu Yang didn’t melt it into one big block of gold but instead into bars of 100g each.

That way, he would sell them at different gold recycling places, and the money would come quickly.

Gold is truly a wonderful thing, so smooth and fine to the touch.

Xu Yang planned to buy more gold and keep it as a fixed asset when he had the money in the future.