"Flap, flap, flap ~"
A plump pheasant sensed danger and quickly flapped its wings, darting through the forest.
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, a flash of blade light struck the empty space six inches in front of the pheasant.
The next moment, the pheasant suddenly accelerated, extending its head forward, just enough to put its neck onto the blade tip…
"Puff ~"
Twenty-five or six steps away, Zhao Lei released the bow and arrow in his hand, shaking his head with a bitter smile:
"Asheng, your flying dagger technique is getting more and more formidable… Within thirty steps, it never misses."
Liu Sheng glanced at the cluster of spirit energy emerging from the pheasant's corpse, shrugged, and said nothing.
Under the blessing of "Heaven-Born Swordsman," his flying dagger technique had reached the limit of a Mortal.
After an hour or so in the mountains, they had successively harvested three wild rabbits, five pheasants, and six mountain rats.
Scattered, it was about fifty catties in total, which could sell for seventy or eighty Wen.
But it was far from enough to pay the summer tax.
According to the new imperial policy, the summer tax was levied at 100 catties per mu; if a family had 1 mu of land, they paid 100 catties of grain; if they had 10 mu, they paid 1000 catties of grain.
Of course, it could also be converted into silver and paid according to the price given by the government.
As for farmers without land, they were taxed based on other industries they engaged in, converted according to regulations.
Besides this, what made the common people change color the most was the equalized corvée!
This included but was not limited to jailers, gatekeepers, post station workers, storehouse clerks, militiamen, road construction, mining, river channel repair, grain transport, and so on.
Among these, positions with perks, such as jailers, militiamen, and storehouse clerks, had long been monopolized by those with connections, making them inaccessible to the common people.
The remaining tasks were all arduous and exhausting, where a slight carelessness could cost one's life or even lead to financial ruin, and one also had to bring one's own dry rations.
For example, for grain transport, one had to provide one's own horses and boats for transport, and if natural disasters or official embezzlement occurred along the way, one had to bear the losses oneself.
Moreover, even if one was lucky enough not to encounter natural disasters, there was still "military disaster"—
The grain transport soldiers often extorted money under pretexts like "skimming the top" and "wastage," leading to five or six-tenths of the grain paid by the common people being embezzled!
This part, you had to make up for out of your own pocket.
Of course, this kind of "package" was not for ordinary poor families, but specially prepared for well-off families, rich farmers, or gentry who had offended powerful figures.
Often, a single corvée assignment could wipe out generations of their accumulated wealth, leading to financial ruin.
Of course, you could also pay silver to substitute for corvée, as for the price, it varied from year to year, and it was up to the government to decide.
If one refused to serve, then one's property would be confiscated, a fine imposed, and one would be sentenced to exile.
You could also abandon your property and flee from corvée, hiding in the deep mountains and old forests, becoming an unregistered vagrant.
Local inspectors and constables loved this, as they could label someone a "thief" to harvest heads, get promoted, and make a fortune.
The Liu family, before this, had been chosen for grain transport for three consecutive years; at that time, Scholar Liu was bedridden, so he could only pay money to substitute for the corvée.
After three years, out of more than ten mu of land, only three mu remained.
"My family's summer tax this year will be at least two and a half taels, and your family will probably need over three taels. Relying on these wild rabbits and pheasants won't be enough.
We need to find a way to go deeper into the mountains and hunt a large animal."
Zhao Lei stepped forward, picked up the pheasant, put it into his hunting bag, hesitated for a moment, and looked at Liu Sheng.
"Large animal" referred to large prey like tigers, leopards, bears, pigs, and deer, which could only be found in Black Wind Mountain.
Now that the tiger menace was spreading, hunters from nearby villages dared not enter the mountains; they were currently only circling the small hills on the outskirts.
Previously, when Qin Wuye and a few others entered the mountains, only he returned, which was extremely dangerous.
But without going into the mountains to hunt large animals, they wouldn't have enough for the upcoming summer tax…
"Well…"
Liu Sheng still had dozens of taels of silver on him; given the relationship between the two families, giving Zhao Lei two or three taels was not a problem.
However, doing so would be difficult to explain and could easily expose his relationship with Wu Song.
Moreover, he now had two Evolved Beast Incarnations, especially the Blade-tailed Finch, which was extremely fast; if he wanted to escape, it would be effortless.
And there were many prey in the mountains, which could also serve to filter targets and prepare for the next Incarnation refinement…
Liu Sheng looked up at the sky and nodded:
"Alright, we'll just circle the outer perimeter, don't go too deep."
"We definitely won't go deep, follow me!"
Zhao Lei was overjoyed at the sight, and quickly stepped forward to lead the way.
It was already summer, and the vegetation was lush and vibrant.
However, the vegetation on Black Wind Mountain was terrifyingly dense, with vines connecting branches, tree canopies blocking the sky, misty mountain air, and shrubs as tall as a person everywhere.
If not for Zhao Lei leading the way, an ordinary person would probably get lost after turning a couple of times.
After entering the mountain, the air suddenly became cool, even slightly…
A hint of chill!
"…It wasn't like this years ago, I remember it started the… second year after I started hunting in the mountains.
About three or four years ago, the plants in the mountains grew like crazy, and many of the original mountain paths disappeared…"
Zhao Lei told Liu Sheng to follow closely, introducing as they walked:
"However, there are also many more prey, so I earn more than before…"
Three or four years ago…
The original body's memory seemed to have a slight impression, as if there was a large-scale light rain at night?
At that time, the private tutor who taught him said "heaven and earth have changed," and soon left Baishui Village…
So, the frantic growth of vegetation on Black Wind Mountain was related to the light rain that fell that year…?
Liu Sheng nodded, deep in thought.
An hour later, the two arrived at Zhao Lei's usual hunting spot…
Pea Pod Gully.
This was a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, where three streams converged, carving out staggered gullies.
Red Deer, musk deer, sika deer, and wild boars, among other large animals, often appeared here.
Zhao Lei was experienced and, to ease the tense atmosphere, began to tell some interesting anecdotes circulated among hunters:
"Legend has it that many years ago, Black Wind Mountain was occupied by a great demon. During its peak, it gathered thousands of demonic creatures, ruling hundreds of miles around, feeding on humans and animals.
Later, a Divine Being came here to subdue the demon, fighting so fiercely that the heavens collapsed and the earth split, and most of the eight-hundred-mile mountain range sank, forming a large lake…"
"There's a large lake hundreds of miles wide in this mountain?"
Liu Sheng immediately became interested; if he could refine a great demon, or even a demon, wouldn't he just take off directly?
"…I also heard it from others, I haven't seen it with my own eyes."
Zhao Lei opened his mouth, smiled a little awkwardly, and quickly changed the subject:
"…However, this tiger menace is a bit unusual.
Usually, tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves in the mountains only come down in winter, when prey is scarce in the mountains.
Now it's summer, everything is growing, and there's plenty of prey in the mountains…"
Hearing this, Liu Sheng's eyes flickered a few times, recalling Qin Wuye's abnormality and the subsequent encounter…
He did not intend to get involved in it, only seeking self-preservation.
He even planned to move his family to the county town after some time.
If he couldn't provoke them, he could always hide from them.
"Shh!"
Just then, Zhao Lei made a shushing gesture, lying prone on the ground, looking towards the stream in the distance.
Liu Sheng quickly crouched down and looked over, seeing a Red Deer elegantly stepping towards the water.
Behind it, a series of plum blossom hoof prints were left on the wet mud.
This Red Deer weighed about two hundred catties; counting its most valuable short antlers and fur, it could probably sell for three or four taels of silver.
It was a good prey.
However, the distance was a bit far, about two hundred steps, too far for a flying dagger.
"Asheng…"
At this moment, Zhao Lei turned his head and quietly gestured to him:
"I'll go over there and drive it this way, you shoot with your flying dagger…"
"Okay."
Liu Sheng thought for a moment and nodded.
As long as this Red Deer entered within thirty steps of him, it wouldn't be able to escape.
Actually, if Zhao Lei wasn't by his side, he could transform into the Blade-tailed Finch and kill it with one tail strike.
Speaking of which, these deep mountains and old forests were truly the main stage for his Incarnations…
A moment later, he came back to his senses and saw that Zhao Lei was already in position, quietly creeping behind the Red Deer.
Just then, a streak of yellow and black flashed through the bushes behind him.
Liu Sheng was suddenly startled, feeling his scalp tingle, and immediately disregarded the hunt, rushing out and shouting:
"Run—!"
