"Jingjing! Since you know what they're saying, can you speak their language?" Lu Fan asked, his eyes lighting up.
"If I spend more time with them, I believe I can. Brother Fan! Don't forget I'm a learning genius. My dad says so too!" Li Jingjing said, tilting her chin up proudly.
"Hahaha! Good! Good!" Lu Fan was so happy he almost jumped. Not only was this girl not afraid of the savages, but she also had this ability. He felt it was absolutely right to bring her along.
At this moment, more than a dozen savages had run out of the cave. Led by the one who seemed to be the leader, the group suddenly knelt before Lu Fan, babbling something.
The little savage girl, emboldened, tugged at Li Jingjing's clothes. This older sister was truly beautiful, and her clothes were so pretty.
"Brother Fan! They are celebrating the arrival of the Mountain God and thanking him for his blessings! Are you really the Mountain God they speak of?" Li Jingjing asked Lu Fan with surprise.
Rustle, rustle... Lu Fan took out a large pile of food, drinks, and clothing. He had bought more this time, including a wild boar king weighing several hundred pounds. This made the dozen or so savages cheer and jump again.
Li Jingjing's learning ability was truly beyond imagination. By watching the savages' eyes, she learned some simple words from their speech. After practicing a few times with the little girl who liked her and wanted to be close to her, she could communicate with the savages in a proper manner.
Lu Fan gestured for Li Jingjing to have the savages carry the supplies into the cave. There was a lot, and they couldn't eat it all at once, so the rest could be eaten tomorrow.
Li Jingjing conveyed this to the apparent leader of the savages. Then, several savages began to carry the items into the cave.
Lu Fan was delighted. He immediately picked up a piece of wild boar meat and followed them. As expected, the savages did not stop Lu Fan this time.
However, after walking about thirty meters into the cave, they turned a corner. Beyond that corner, the cave seemed to stretch endlessly. Lu Fan had no idea how far it went. Nevertheless, a cool aura continuously emanated from within the cave, making it very refreshing.
And at the bend of the cave, a large pile of rubble was stacked. The stones ranged from small, fist-sized pieces to large ones as big as footballs. Each stone had a different colored luster. Damn it! They were all jade stones of decent quality!
Was this for real? Even if there was a jade mine in this mountain, they wouldn't have brought out so much jade at once! Lu Fan's eyes suddenly glowed with a blue light. Any one of these jade stones was worth hundreds of thousands, even millions. Where did they get them?
Several savages placed their loads next to the pile of jade. Seeing Lu Fan staring blankly at the jade, the savage leader reached out, picked up a football-sized jade stone, and handed it to Lu Fan, babbling something.
"Brother Fan! He says these are divine stones left by their ancestors, but they don't know how to use them. They've been here for who knows how long. If the Mountain God likes it, this divine stone is for you," Li Jingjing said, walking over from behind and explaining.
"Jingjing! Tell them I like it very much. When I come next time, I will bring them more things and strive to improve their current living conditions." Lu Fan was overjoyed. How could he not like it! This was all money!
Li Jingjing immediately said a few words to the savage leader.
"Thank you, Mountain God! Thank you, Mountain God!" The savage leader immediately picked up a few more stones and stuffed them into Lu Fan's arms.
Lu Fan accepted them without politeness. He then looked at the cave and suddenly said to Li Jingjing, "Ask them, where does this cave lead?"
"Brother Fan! They say this is the Extreme Cold Cave! It's extremely cold inside, and people can't bear to go in. But it's said that their ancestors' spirits are inside the cave! Their ancestors' spirits can only be immortal in this Extreme Cold Cave.
So they have lived in this place for generations, just to guard their ancestors' spirits and protect this cave. However, their once thousand-strong tribe has now dwindled to only a dozen people," Li Jingjing said to Lu Fan after communicating with the savage leader.
The savages' ancestral spirits? It should be the burial place of the savages' ancestors, Lu Fan thought. He didn't believe any spirits could be immortal. But it was possible that the savages' ancestors chose their burial sites and were buried here. After all, ancient people were very particular about their burial grounds, requiring auspicious locations.
If it was a burial ground, then forget it. Although he could guess that there might be more treasures among the pile of jade stones, he wasn't interested in grave robbing!
Emerging from the cave, Lu Fan prepared another barbecue for the savages. This time, it was wild boar meat. The dozen or so savages ate until their stomachs were full. They were still reluctant to let go. They had always eaten raw meat before and had never tasted such delicious meat! If they hadn't been too full to eat, they would have wanted to devour the entire boar.
When Lu Fan and Li Jingjing left, the sun was already setting.
Li Jingjing was very excited. When she was a child, riding a horse meant riding on her father's shoulders, and she was very happy then. Now, riding on Brother Lu Fan's shoulders, it was more than just happiness...
As the two emerged from the deep mountains, the sun had just set. Lu Fan gently put Li Jingjing down from his shoulders, and they returned home.
"Lu Fan! You... you... you took my daughter into the mountains all day, you didn't do anything, did you?" Li Mantang, who had been anxiously searching for his daughter, suddenly saw her return with Lu Fan and immediately glared at Lu Fan, shouting.
"Dad! What are you saying? Brother Fan brought a wild boar into the mountains, but the boar ran away. Brother Fan and I searched all day and couldn't find it. That's why we're late!" Li Jingjing quickly went to Li Mantang's side and tugged at his clothes. She was afraid that Li Mantang's careless words would anger Lu Fan and he would stop taking her along.
"You really didn't do anything?" Li Mantang glanced at Lu Fan incredulously. His daughter was so beautiful, and spending a whole day alone with this boy, he didn't believe the boy wouldn't have any thoughts. Humph!
"No! Really not!" Li Jingjing said hurriedly.
"Let's go! Go home with Dad!" Li Mantang grabbed Li Jingjing and left the courtyard, driving away.
Zhao Rongrong, Liu Ruyan, and Lu Changfu's gazes suddenly fell upon Lu Fan! Lu Fan felt goosebumps all over his body.