Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 326 - 325 Big Goose: Swallow, how can I live without you!

Chapter 326: Chapter 325 Big Goose: Swallow, how can I live without you!

At the bottom of the river, Xu Yang was rummaging through the cracks in the bedrock, managing to clear out the silt and debris.

Luckily, the buoyancy in the water means it wasn’t too labor-intensive.

Holding his breath, eyes closed, Xu Yang would swim up for a breath of fresh air whenever he couldn’t hold it any longer.

Treasure hunting in nature wasn’t so straightforward.

Many treasures were hidden in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.

After several attempts, Xu Yang had nearly half his body inside the cracks of the bedrock, still reaching downward.

The scene was particularly striking.

It was a pity that it couldn’t be live-streamed, otherwise it would certainly have amazed the viewers.

When out of the public’s eye, Xu Yang’s actions were even crazier than during a live broadcast.

Actually, Xu Yang felt somewhat frustrated.

The treasure was well-hidden.

He thought a quick clean-up would allow him to reach it, but it was still deep down.

No wonder it triggered a Treasure Hunting Task.

Under normal circumstances, it really wouldn’t have been found.

Finally, Xu Yang was almost fully inside the bedrock fissure when he felt the piece of sand gold.

The sand gold was rough in his hand and slightly uncomfortable to hold.

It was about the size of a ping-pong ball, but irregular.

It felt heavy in his hand.

Xu Yang was delighted.

"This size, it wasn’t a waste of effort."

Upon retrieving the gold, he immediately swam upstream.

He soon emerged at the riverbank, then climbed out and sat, catching his breath.

Being in the water was exhausting, but not noticeably so until he got back on land and realized how tired he was.

"Truly exhausting."

Xu Yang looked at the large piece of sand gold in his hand and remarked with a smile,

"This treasure hunting business isn’t for just anyone."

Saying this, he stood up, took out a towel, and dried his hair first.

"I am grateful for the gift from Changbai Mountain."

Xu Yang expressed his thanks to the mountain again.

When Xiao Hua saw Xu Yang come out, she also stood up and waited nearby.

With two uses left on the Treasure Compass, Xu Yang decided not to look for more gold grains but to enjoy the scenery in the forest.

After all, the gold grains he found previously were very small.

It took triggering a Treasure Hunting Task to find a bigger one.

Overall, the gain was still good.

After that, Xu Yang changed clothes and continued to stroll in the forest with Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua was thrilled, hopping and jumping joyfully.

Clearly, she was happy just coming out to play.

But now, having spent a lot of time with Luna, she wouldn’t go without her.

Almost every day Luna was responsible for hunting, and she provided emotional support to her mate.

Being able to sneak out alone occasionally to laze and play also made her happy.

Seeing Xiao Hua so cheerful, Xu Yang couldn’t help but smile too.

These days, where else could you find such an adorable leopard in the forest?

Most leopards seemed rather aloof.

At that moment, a large grassy slope appeared ahead with an amusing gradient.

Xiao Hua ran over to the slope, then lay down on her side.

Next, her plump body began to slide down.

Xu Yang was taken aback by this sight and quickly pulled out his phone to record:

"This fat leopard even knows how to play in the grass, how smart!"

He added a voice-over, laughing.

Xiao Hua visibly enjoyed herself.

Indeed, men who look after kids still need some space to play.

The deep forest was profound, filled with trees and wild grass, with all kinds of environments.

Xu Yang, along the way, even found a red flower and a pale blue flower, and completed a selfie with them.

His Seven-colored Flower task was now five parts complete.

Only two left, but those were not as easy to find.

Apart from white, pink, yellow, red, blue, other colored wildflowers were rare.

Flowers from the floral market didn’t count.

One man and one leopard continued their leisurely dalliance through the woods.

When they headed back, Xu Yang had used up two chances on the Treasure Compass.

The first time, he found Schizandra, a familiar find, but since there was plenty, Xu Yang didn’t pick it.

The last time, he found Iron Stone Orchid, also dubbed as the "herb of immortality," which was certainly a valuable item.

The nutritional value of wild Dendrobium was very high.

Xu Yang harvested some, packed it up, and felt completely satisfied.

Finding good items while Mountain Rushing always made him happy.

And especially since Iron Stone Orchid was hard to come across.

Nowadays, it’s also cultivated, which decreases its value.

They made their way back to Xiao Hua’s territory.

At that moment, Luna was lying on the ground, helplessly watching the two little Leopards cause trouble.

Hearing Xiao Hua’s movement, Luna immediately stood up and ran towards Xiao Hua.

Her eagerness seemed to say:

"Waiting for you felt like forever, you’re finally back.

Do you know how I spent the day?"

Xu Yang then went to tease the two little Leopards.

He named the one with leopard spots "Huahua", and the all-black one "Nana".

Huahua was a male, and Nana a female, just like little versions of Xiao Hua and Luna.

These two Leopards were quite interesting, having brought forth their own kind.

They are not afraid of Xu Yang at all; they take every chance to climb onto Xu Yang’s body when they see him.

Especially Huahua.

He even likes to climb onto Xu Yang’s head.

Thinking it offers a better view.

Xu Yang always manages to pick him down in time, so his desire to reach new heights goes unfulfilled.

"You two really are troublesome,"

Xu Yang said, holding the two little rascals and laughing.

After finishing, he added another comment, "But you’re much better than your father, he was such a handful when he was young."

"Like a wind-up toy!"

"Even Big Flower, with her good temperament, couldn’t stand it."

Upon hearing Xu Yang’s words, Little Leopard showed no reaction, but Xiao Hua let out a soft cry.

It seemed he didn’t want to bring up such matters.

So, Xu Yang dropped the subject.

It was getting late, and after a relaxing, joyful day in the mountains, it was time for Xu Yang to head back to the farm.

It was a busy season at the farm, and there were many things waiting to be handled by him.

The villagers, business negotiations, government publicity events, and commercial activities on the platforms.

In the mountains, he was just an ordinary mountain runner.

Outside, his identity was different; fans called him Brother Yang, and business partners called him "Mr. Xu."

Of course, to Xu Yang, these titles didn’t matter, and he wouldn’t change anything because of them.

Back at the farm, after storing the sand gold, Xu Yang started to busy himself with work matters.

The next afternoon.

Xu Yang was walking on the open ground of the farm, discussing the sale of pork with a boss over the phone.

The farm’s pigs were ready for market.

Recently, many piglets had been born, and it was time for the mature pigs to go where they needed to go.

There was no helping it.

At that moment, Xu Yang saw something small following two Red-crowned Cranes from afar.

It had brownish fur and was much smaller than the Red-crowned Cranes.

He thought he had seen it wrong, so he checked again carefully.

On the phone, he replied to the boss, "Alright, the quality of my pigs is pretty good, I’ll think about the price and get back to you."

"Let’s leave it at that for now."

After that, he hung up and headed towards the direction of the Red-crowned Cranes.

Liu Zai and Qi Zai, the two Red-crowned Cranes, were now inseparable buddies, long past their initial ferocity when they first met and had to fight.

Their feathers were still brown, not yet turned white.

He didn’t know when they would complete their transformation.

Perhaps the ancient saying of "ascension to immortality" had something to do with the Red-crowned Cranes turning white.

They just wandered around the grass area of the farm and didn’t stray far.

Generally, Xu Yang didn’t bother them much.

Of course, they still needed to be fed daily.

Today was a bit strange; Xu Yang saw a little one following the two Red-crowned Cranes.

As Xu Yang walked closer, he saw that it was a big goose chick.

The sight at the moment was rather amusing.

Both Red-crowned Cranes were standing on one leg, the other leg tucked into their feathers.

Standing like this was meant to reduce heat loss and alleviate physical strain for the Red-crowned Cranes.

But what surprised Xu Yang was that the big goose chick was imitating the cranes, tucking up one leg as well.

"Huh?"

Xu Yang was momentarily stunned.

Wait, was the big goose also standing on one leg?

With such short legs and a big body, was that necessary?

What was going on?

Upon closer inspection, Xu Yang realized that the big goose chick must have thought it was one of the Red-crowned Cranes.

Thus, it was imitating them.

But this was somewhat far-fetched.

Suddenly, Xu Yang remembered a story he had seen before, where a big goose had joined a flock of swans, thinking it was a swan, living like them, and also standing on one leg.

When winter came, and the swans took flight, the poor goose could only run strenuously beside them while honking mournfully.

The scene was rather tragic, as if it was shouting:

"Swallow, wait for me, Swallow!"

"Swallow, how can I live without you!"

Unfortunately, reality is cruel; a swan is a swan, and a big goose is a big goose.

Now, to top it off, a chick from the farm was starting to imitate the Red-crowned Cranes!

Even more bizarre!

Xu Yang watched the big goose chick struggling and didn’t quite know what to say.

He couldn’t tell the little fellow that the Red-crowned Cranes were protected animals, whereas it was just a dinner option.

After watching for a bit, Xu Yang thought, let it be.

On one hand, he respected the big goose chick’s beliefs.

On the other, perhaps a goose raised this way might even taste better.

"Strange things keep happening."

"It must be a little goose from the goose shed that slipped out, couldn’t find other geese, and ended up following the Red-crowned Cranes."

"Liu Zai and Qi Zai just let it be."

Looking at this scene, Xu Yang made up his mind.

"Here’s the deal, if you can fly when you grow up, I won’t eat you, I’ll let you be free."

"If you can’t fly, and can’t soar with Liu Zai and Qi Zai, better to suffer less."

"It’s your choice."

Xu Yang said to the big goose chick.

He had even given a name to this fellow:

Ba Zai.

Xu Yang couldn’t help but laugh; maybe Ba Zai would really turn out to be different. You never know.