Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 274 - 273: The Beautiful Peacock, The Despised Xu Yang!

Chapter 274: Chapter 273: The Beautiful Peacock, The Despised Xu Yang!

In the open forest, two green peacocks were strolling around.

The trees here grew strangely, with especially thin trunks and small canopies.

The weeds on the ground tended toward a withered yellow color.

Xu Yang stood at a distance, observing the two green peacocks.

"Wild green peacocks are nationally-protected first-level animals, which is really rare."

"Ordinary peacocks are blue, with a neck that shines an iridescent blue. Green peacocks, on the other hand, are all green, including the feathers on their necks."

"This is a peacock unique to Huaxia, and now they are very rare."

Xu Yang’s commentary came from the live stream.

The netizens watching the green peacocks in front of them were all amazed.

[My God, wild peacocks, I’ve never seen them before!]

[So beautiful!]

[There are still beautiful animals in this place!]

[Seeing peacocks makes Ailao Mountain seem not so scary anymore.]

The green peacocks were leisurely foraging in the forest.

They were in good shape.

This was deep in Ailao Mountain, and seeing two first-level protected animals made his mood brighten.

Xu Yang planned to take a photo with the peacocks.

But the old problem persisted, he had to get close to do so.

Taking a photo might seem easy, but in reality, it was very difficult.

It would have been fine if some animals took the initiative to approach, but the green peacocks didn’t recognize Xu Yang at all.

"I don’t even know what food the green peacocks are interested in, and it seems I don’t have anything on hand that would attract them."

Xu Yang was truly stumped.

The netizens in the live stream were all praising how good-looking the green peacocks were.

At that moment, Xu Yang said:

"It’s very rare to encounter wild green peacocks like these."

"I was thinking of taking a photo with them as a souvenir."

"But taking a photo is not easy, these guys will definitely run if they see me approaching."

Hearing Xu Yang’s words, the netizens couldn’t help but laugh.

[Old Xu, don’t forget your Druid constitution!]

[Hahaha, is there an animal you can’t attract?]

[The peacocks don’t come over to beg for a pat?]

[We don’t believe they’ll run!]

Everybody still had obvious misconceptions about Xu Yang.

Seeing these comments, Xu Yang couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

Where did this Druid constitution come from?

It would be strange if those peacocks didn’t run when I approached!

Xu Yang looked around the vicinity.

At that moment, he noticed the two peacocks approaching the front, where there was a slope and some bushes.

Xu Yang got an idea, and stealthily bent over and crouched behind the bushes.

Seeing him like this, the netizens immediately started laughing.

[Hahaha, Old Xu, what are you trying to do?]

[That looks a bit shady!]

Xu Yang remained silent.

He couldn’t speak at this moment.

He had to stay hidden.

And so, he watched the peacocks getting closer step by step.

Xu Yang stayed quiet, maintaining his position.

He didn’t stick his head out to look around, but instead held his phone, watching the live stream footage.

This was the best approach at the moment, to avoid being seen by the peacocks.

Just as he expected, the peacocks didn’t notice his presence.

They continued to stroll and move forward.

As the peacocks got closer and closer to Xu Yang, the netizens became anxious.

[Old Xu is living on the edge every day, playing with wild animals!]

[Who could have imagined playing with wild animals like this!]

The peacocks were already very close, passing by the bushes.

Xu Yang was ready to take a selfie.

Just then, as if compelled by an otherworldly force, one of the green peacocks, with its back to Xu Yang, suddenly displayed its feathers to the other peacock.

In an instant, the patterns on its feathers seemed to be eyes, radiant and colorful.

The scene was exceptionally beautiful.

While the netizens were immersed in the beauty of the peacocks, they saw Xu Yang pop out from behind the peacock’s rear end, holding up his phone and snapping a photo.

His presence was jarringly out of place with the scene.

[Damn! Old Xu, that was a bit shady!]

[Hahaha, the peacock was in full display, and then someone pops out from behind!]

[What quick selfie reflexes!]

[As expected of you!]

The comments exploded with activity.

Xu Yang internally sighed in relief.

It was a desperate measure.

When you’re on a mission, you have to take some risks.

But the peacock’s display was truly beautiful, so after he finished taking the selfie, he peeped out again, secretly watching.

Seeing him like this made the netizens laugh all over again.

Xu Yang had a pretty good image, and the young man was rather handsome.

But no matter how you looked at it, a head popping out from the bushes just seemed inappropriate.

The two peacocks were engaging in a courtship dance, with the male showing off his feathers to the female.

Just then, the female peacock caught sight of Xu Yang, paused briefly in surprise, and then quickly stepped away.

The male peacock, finally realizing what was happening, followed suit and ran away.

It looked back at Xu Yang as if to say:

"Bad luck."

Xu Yang felt somewhat embarrassed; what he had done was not exactly honorable.

The green peacock spreading its tail feathers is just too rare, they definitely couldn’t resist coming out to take a look.

"I’ve been disliked, I’m truly sorry."

"Sorry."

Xu Yang apologized in the direction of the green peacock.

With time to spare, Xu Yang continued with the Mountain Rushing.

After the peacock incident, everyone felt that Ailao Mountain wasn’t so scary after all.

Xu Yang took a few steps further in, then said,

"If we go further inside, there might be miasma."

"These gases are poisonous; though not intensely toxic, they are the chronic type, and spending a few hours in miasma can make a person feel nauseous and unwell."

"I didn’t bring any equipment to detect gases, so I won’t go any further for now."

"I’ll come back another time."

"That’s roughly the situation with Ailao Mountain."

Then, he used the Treasure Compass to exchange for a Treasure Hunting Task.

[Treasure Hunting Task triggered: Photograph, a flock of White Eared Pheasants!]

[Task Description: Capture footage of six White Eared Pheasants, with the pheasants in the shot needing to be larger than a specified size.]

[Task Reward: white gemstone*1]

Looking for gemstones is indeed faster with a Treasure Hunting Task.

Using the Treasure Compass, the findings aren’t particularly good.

There are also many White Eared Pheasants around.

With time still on his side, Xu Yang hastened his pace toward the area where the White Eared Pheasants were active.

The activity area for the White Eared Pheasants was by a body of water.

These guys were especially alert.

Before Xu Yang got close, they sensed a disturbance and began to fly towards a not too distant place.

The males of this bird species are very beautiful.

Their backs and tails are white, their undersides black, with a touch of red on their heads.

Quite striking.

But the females are entirely grey and not so good-looking.

The shape of birds is peculiar, the males always look fantastic, but the females often aren’t so bright.

Seeing the White Eared Pheasants, the netizens became excited again.

[These white birds are so beautiful!]

[Another bird I don’t recognize!]

[What kind of birds are these, there are so many!]

[I hardly recognize any wild birds.]

At this time, Xu Yang explained to the viewers,

"These are White Eared Pheasants, currently second-level protected animals. The provincial bird of Guangdong Province is this pheasant, symbolizing auspiciousness, happiness, and abundance."

"They live in the subtropical regions, and their numbers are quite substantial."

"They usually live in small family groups, about 3 to 6 individuals."

As he explained, Xu Yang looked for an appropriate angle to take the photos.

It really wasn’t easy to find one.

The White Eared Pheasants were hiding quite far away.

Xu Yang thought for a moment, then put down his backpack and climbed up into a tree, waiting for a while.

Finally, he managed to photograph six White Eared Pheasants feeding in a group.

The task was successfully completed.

The journey in Ailao Mountain should also be about time to head back.

"I need to head back now; there are many snakes and insects at night here, and it’s quite dangerous."

"Also, the temperature is way too low, and I didn’t bring a tent, so I can’t stay."

"That’s it for today’s exploration."

"I’ll come back another time."

As he spoke, Xu Yang made his way to the river.

He carefully judged the direction of the river and took out the map for another look.

On both sides were cliffs, impossible to traverse.

The only option was to cross the river.

It looked like the river should be able to flow out of the mountain.

So, Xu Yang started to inflate the raft again.

The surrounding environment was still a bit eerie, but the appearance of the White Eared Pheasants and the peacock dissipated much of the fear people had.

Just as Xu Yang had said, both species were symbols of good fortune.

The green peacock is known as the king of birds, while the White Eared Pheasant is even the provincial bird of Guangdong.

With their presence, the mountain range was not as sinister as it seemed.

As the mystery unraveled, everyone became less afraid.

Soon, Xu Yang sat on the raft and began to drift towards the outside.

The river flowed slowly and was generally green in color.

There’s a saying that green indicates great depths.

So although this river does not look wide, it actually holds a large volume of water and is full of dangers.

Xu Yang could control the raft’s direction with the paddle.

The flow of the river didn’t affect him too much.

After drifting downstream for a while, he encountered two forks in the river.

At each, Xu Yang made an assessment and then proceeded down one of the paths.

The surroundings became eerie again.

The tension started to rise among everyone.

[Can Old Xu make it out? This place feels so unfamiliar!]

[Without his skills, you definitely shouldn’t venture into the mountains recklessly!]

[It takes an experienced old driver to lead the way!]

[Old Xu is really impressive, he has the air of a young man with the experience of an elder!]

The live stream chat continuously discussed these points.

Today, Xu Yang was the center of attention across the internet.

His popularity was extremely high.

Xu Yang, however, didn’t care too much about all these, simply followed the river on his way out.

After floating for over two hours, he slowly drifted out from the depths of Ailao Mountain.