Chapter 117: With the Wolves

Chen Wuji waded in a pond that didn't reach his knees, his gaze fixed on the movements beneath the water.

He truly wanted axolotls and tree frogs today.

But those two seemed to have heard Chen Wuji's thoughts, and were nowhere to be found.

Chen Wuji wandered for a long time and only caught an axolotl only slightly larger than his palm.

He did manage to catch quite a few crabs and big‑headed shrimp.

Especially the big‑headed shrimp.

Today's pond resembled a big‑headed shrimp arena; a careless step would bump into one.

This creature, scientifically named Northeast camel cricket, is now chiefly found in the northeast.

Because its habitat demands extremely high water quality, it is rarely seen elsewhere.

Shenxian Ling lies in the southwestern region of Da Yu's domain; seeing this creature here surprised Chen Wuji.

What was stranger was that he hadn't encountered it before; today not only did he find it, but in great numbers.

Could this creature migrate? Or is it simply its season of appearance?

Chen Wuji scooped them out of the pond one by one, while Licentiate Yuan on the shore went completely numb; he truly didn't understand why the Family Head was collecting this.

After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Brother Wuji, this can't be eaten; why are we picking it up?"

"Whoa, why can't this be eaten?" Chen Wuji asked in surprise.

Licentiate Yuan was stunned for a moment, "Brother Wuji, you didn't know?"

"I've been foolish for a few years, so I really didn't know," Chen Wuji casually offered as an excuse.

Foolishness is his strongest shield right now.

Licentiate Yuan hurriedly explained to Chen Wuji, "Brother Wuji, this is poisonous; eating it will kill you, just like a scorpion. It appears around May each year, wherever there is water—even in rice fields. Its sting is severe, scaring everyone this season away from watery places."

"When people ran out of food, they tried eating it. The taste is quite good, but there's barely any flesh; eating it is almost like not eating at all. The village once even had a death from it. Brother Wuji, you didn't know any of this?"

Chen Wuji knew only a little; his memory was like a cassette tape rebuilt after being destroyed, with only scattered fragments and most of it a blank void.

Many things he only learned recently.

"Don't worry, this can be eaten; the belief it's poisonous is because they can't handle it, or they're allergic to it!" Chen Wuji said.

A perfectly decent thing, yet they classified it as a poisonous insect.

It's a total loss of culinary fortune.

Licentiate Yuan offered no further rebuttal.

But looking at the sack filled with a dense, tangled mass of camel crickets, his expression twisted into a knot.

This thing truly is poisonous.

He had been poisoned before; his lips swelled for days, he was dizzy, vomited and had diarrhea, nearly dying in a latrine.

Now just seeing this thing scares him.

However, his older brother is fine; whenever the household runs out of food, the brother catches these creatures, cooks them, and prepares other dishes for him.

"You're saying they only appear around May each year?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Yes." Licentiate Yuan replied crisply, "They're virtually unseen before May, peak in June and July, then start dwindling in August, and we don't know where they go."

"My grandfather said these are foot soldiers sent by the Mountain God to patrol the foothills; each season they descend, wander, observe the locals' lives, and return in August to report."

Chen Wuji: …

Dayu Commoners' worship of the mysterious mountains sometimes truly defies logic.

In their worldview, the towering, vast Shenxian Ling, filled with countless mysteries, hides a realm of the Mountain God, or perhaps a great Mountain God's sanctuary.

"These explanations can be heard, but don't take them too literally; regarding this world, you must have your own understanding and perspective, not just repeat what others say," Chen Wuji said seriously.

"Young people should stand atop the mountain to view the world, not stay at the foot like predecessors, tiptoeing upward, gazing at an unclear summit, imagining what deities reside there and what mysterious subordinates crawl beneath their feet."

"If you're curious about that place, climb up, reach the summit, and see with your own eyes what lies there, rather than relying on imagination. Throughout history, great sages never misinterpret the saints' teachings; they repeatedly practice, adding their own commentary, especially the words of the elders."

Licentiate Yuan looked up thoughtfully toward the distant Shenxian Ling.

He couldn't see Shenxian Ling from here, yet suddenly he truly wanted to see whether that distant mountain housed a mighty Mountain God who protects all living beings for thousands of miles.

"Brother Wuji, I think I understand."

Licentiate Yuan nodded heavily, "But eating these insects really does cause poisoning…"

Chen Wuji: …

You only know a little!

"Then don't eat them; you might have a congenital weakness, a frail constitution, making you allergic to these water creatures," Chen Wuji said.

"Oh."

Licentiate Yuan didn't understand at all, but he thought the Family Head's words made sense.

After all, his older brother ate them and was fine.

Maybe it's just his problem.

Chen Wuji, carrying Licentiate Yuan and a sack, trekked upstream, turned over the stone slabs in five ponds, scooped up a huge pile of camel crickets and crabs, plus three modest‑sized axolotls.

These were enough for their family to eat two or three meals.

"Let's go check the traps."

Chen Wuji twisted his dripping clothes and headed west.

Today's traps were not looking good.

He inspected four in a row; all the traps had been destroyed.

Only a carpet of hair remained, proving that prey had once visited here.

Chen Wuji muttered curses, grumbling about being late again; after a few steps forward, the gloom suddenly cleared, and around a corner he encountered prey.

It was a fox, its fur entirely snow‑white and quite adorable.

Unfortunately, there is only one tail.

Chen Wuji is actually quite curious, wondering whether there truly exists a nine-tailed fox in this world.

He was about to step forward to rescue this injured nine-tailed fox, toss it into his own sack to comfort it well, when he suddenly noticed that the pit trap nearby had also been triggered, with some movement inside.

Chen Wuji peered in, and instantly he was overjoyed.

There are wolves, and also sheep!

A single pit actually caught two large game animals; this pit was worth digging.

This place, not long ago, probably staged a grand spectacle.

Inside the pit lay a yellow sheep whose throat had been bitten through, already dead beyond death, also known as the rumored 'bottom-of-the-prison sheep that wears through'.

Also there was a gray wolf, its body twisted and squeezed beside it.

The gray wolf is not dead; at this moment it is flopping in the pit, seemingly still trying to toss itself out.