Chapter 88: Going Up the Mountain
After finishing her meal, Ning Xiyue tidied up, took a bath, and went to bed early. She had to get up early the next day, so it was important to stay in good condition. Yet, just before falling asleep, she had this nagging feeling — as if she’d forgotten something — but she just couldn’t remember what it was.
Ning Xiyue was the type to not stress over small things, so if she couldn’t recall it, she simply let it go.
She took a stroll inside her space, checked on the pigs she was raising, and then inspected the wild pheasant eggs she had collected last time when she visited her second brother. After that, she studied some herbal illustrations, prepared a few medicines she would need the next day, and practiced a round of Tai Chi.
Finally, she took a sip of Mango Pomelo Sago, and with a cheerful mood, washed up and went to bed.
The next morning, the sky was still dim and misty when everyone in the educated youth dormitory began to wake up and pack. Coincidentally, they were all planning to go up the mountain that day.
Liu Yao came to invite Ning Xiyue to join them, but Ning Xiyue politely declined.
She was the earliest to get up — by the time she left, the others were still packing their gear.
Liu Yao looked at Ning Xiyue, who was neatly dressed and carrying a large bamboo backpack, and called out, “Xiyue, you’re so fast!”
“Mm, I’m heading out first. My brother is waiting for me. You guys take your time — see you up in the mountains.”
Waving her hand through the mist, Ning Xiyue walked straight out of the dormitory, with Little Gray trotting closely behind.
The other youths, seeing this, hurried their pace. They couldn’t afford to fall too far behind her.
Behind the dormitory lay Mount Da Qi. Ning Xiyue entered the mountain through a small trail instead of meeting up with her second brother right away.
She wanted to explore the area behind the dormitory first to see if there were any major changes from the locations marked on her map — that way, she could adjust her future plans accordingly.
With her combat skills and trusty brick weapon on hand, Ning Xiyue wasn’t afraid of any wild beasts.
Once inside the mountain, she pulled out her map, checked the route, and chose a direction to head toward.
Not far from there was a rabbit warren — a big one. She wanted to check it out first to see if it was just an abandoned burrow or still home to a family of wild rabbits. Ning Xiyue was quite excited.
She had already imagined the scene of catching a whole nest of rabbits many times in her mind.
Ten minutes later, she reached the location marked on the map — a slope.
Ning Xiyue used a stick to carefully part the grass, and finally, under a few cypress trees, she found the rabbit burrows.
The soil under the cypresses had been dug hollow by the rabbits, leaving only the twisted roots — the big ones, at least.
Seeing fresh rabbit droppings near the entrance reassured her. There were still rabbits inside, which meant her map was still reliable.
“Clever rabbits have three burrows,” as the saying goes. With Little Gray’s help, she searched the area and found five rabbit holes. She wasn’t sure if there were more, but she decided not to keep searching. It was time to test things out.
She set traps at all five burrow entrances, then burned different types of herbal smoke at three of them, leaving two untouched. Ning Xiyue stood a good distance away, quietly waiting for the rabbits to come out.
A minute later — thump, thump — sounds echoed.
“Gotcha!” Ning Xiyue exclaimed excitedly, clenching her fist and pounding a tree.
She decided not to be greedy. As long as some rabbits fell into the traps, that was enough. It was her first time hunting wild rabbits, so her expectations weren’t too high.
At the three entrances where she burned the herbal smoke, each trap had caught rabbits: one held a large grey rabbit, another a big grey-yellow one, and the last one contained two small grey rabbits. Even better, a silly rabbit had run out of one of the un-smoked holes and fallen into the trap too.
“System, am I amazing or what? I caught five rabbits in one go!”
The little turtle rolled its eyes. “You’d be more impressive if you hadn’t used rabbit-attracting herbal smoke and your custom-made rabbit lure. With that deadly combination, of course the rabbits would come running.”
Most people used smoke to drive the rabbits out. Her host, however, was using it to lure them out — essentially a “catnip” for rabbits. Naturally, it worked.
Ning Xiyue was quite pleased with herself. “Well, one of them did come out from a hole without smoke, didn’t it? Besides, this is the result of my studies — it’s my own skill. Why shouldn’t I use it? Knowledge is meant to be used! And look, I even unlocked the plantain totem with this — it’s not just for saving people!”
Plantain was known for clearing heat, relieving phlegm, and acting as a diuretic — perfect for making tea in summer.
The little turtle liked how shameless and proud its host was and gave her a half-hearted compliment: “Host, you’re amazing.”
Ning Xiyue laughed happily. In a good mood, she placed the three small rabbits into her space to raise them — they’d make a nice meal once they were fattened up.
As for the two big rabbits — they were too cute not to become lunch.
With one brick strike, the two rabbits were knocked unconscious. Ning Xiyue tied them up with hemp rope and dangled them in front of Little Gray. “Little Gray, we’re having rabbit for lunch. Keep up the good work!”
“Awwooo!” Little Gray wagged his tail excitedly, jumping around.
Ning Xiyue placed the rabbits into her bamboo basket and continued on her way.
Along the path, she dug up many common herbs and collected a lot of firewood to store in her space for winter use.
She also picked some fresh mushrooms and stored them in her system backpack so she could enjoy dew-fresh mushrooms anytime she wanted.
Additionally, she dug up some of the soil where the mushrooms had grown and stored it in her space, hoping mushrooms might grow there too. Whether it worked or not, she wanted to try — if they grew, she’d never run out of mushrooms again.
By the time she finished all this, it was about time to head to the meeting spot.
When she arrived, Ning Qingyuan was already waiting and waved the moment he saw her from afar.
“Little sister, I’m here!”
As soon as Ning Xiyue walked over, she proudly showed off the rabbits in her basket.
“Brother, look what I got — wild rabbits! I was lucky today. I ran into these two silly rabbits, and with Little Gray’s help, they basically knocked themselves into trees before I even had to do anything. It was like experiencing the joy of ‘waiting by the tree for a rabbit.’”
Ning Qingyuan picked them up and weighed them. “Wow, they’re pretty plump. You and Little Gray did great. I’ll show you my cooking skills at lunch — you’ll have the most delicious roasted rabbit ever.”
“Alright, lunch is all yours then.”
