The next morning, Cheng Xiaofan received a call from Bai Yiling. She, along with Shen Ruobing and her two workers, were about to head to the back mountain to meet him.
Cheng Fugui couldn't make it due to a last-minute errand.
Thinking he wouldn't be able to make it to Nanshan Lake to sell earthworms today, Cheng Xiaofan realized he couldn't afford to lose this income. After all, a bottle of earthworms could sell for over a hundred million in just one morning. Furthermore, the village could earn a considerable amount for every Ang Ding Dragon Fish that cultivators caught. Where else could he find such a good deal!
He immediately dug up fifty earthworms on the spot. Like yesterday, he infused fifteen of them with spiritual energy, mixed them with the others, and packed them into bottles.
"Sky-Breaking Eagle!"
"Chirp—"
As Cheng Xiaofan spoke, the Sky-Breaking Eagle flew down from a nearby treetop and landed before him.
Cheng Xiaofan held out a bottle to it. "Take this bottle of bait and deliver it to Long Xingyun on the lake island. Have him sell this bottle of earthworms for me today!"
"Chirp!"
The Sky-Breaking Eagle immediately grabbed the bottle with its claws and flew towards Nanshan Lake.
Shortly after, Cheng Xiaofan called Long Xingyun and informed him about the Sky-Breaking Eagle delivering the earthworms.
"I have something to do today and can't come to Nanshan Lake, so I'm entrusting you to sell this bottle of earthworms for me!" Cheng Xiaofan told Long Xingyun.
Long Xingyun chuckled, "Master, this is what your disciple should do."
Cheng Xiaofan asked, "Are you and Xueyan settling in well here?"
Long Xingyun replied with a smile, "Yes, we are. It's much better than staying at home. Food and lodging are free, and the meals at the hotel are simply out of this world!"
"Xueyan says she doesn't want to leave this place even if she lives here her whole life!"
Hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan burst into laughter. "Zhuxi Village used to be a place where not even rabbits would defecate or crows would build nests. Now it's become a blessed land that really makes people want to stay."
"I welcome you to stay here for as long as you wish!"
Long Xingyun happily exclaimed, "That's great! Master, Xueyan and I will just stay here and not leave!"
Just then, Cheng Xiaofan spotted Bai Yiling and the others approaching in Shen Ruobing's Porsche Cayenne from a distance. He quickly told Long Xingyun that someone was coming and hung up.
He went inside, changed his clothes quickly, put on a bag, and hurried down the bamboo pavilion.
Just as he did, the Porsche Cayenne stopped at the foot of the mountain. Before they could catch up, Cheng Xiaofan had already walked down.
Bai Yiling and the others were all dressed in hiking gear, but Shen Ruobing was dressed differently. She wore a black pencil skirt, flesh-colored stockings, and red high heels. Combined with her slender figure, she looked exceptionally alluring. Her mature, sophisticated style made her a beautiful sight wherever she went.
Her neckline was too low, revealing a prominent cleavage. Cheng Xiaofan's eyes were momentarily fixed. Suddenly remembering that his own goddess Bai was nearby, he hastily averted his gaze from Shen Ruobing's seemingly bottomless cleavage and asked, "Did you change your mind and decide not to go into the deep mountains today?"
Shen Ruobing smiled radiantly. "No, we're still going. We agreed yesterday, of course, I'll be going."
"Nonsense!"
Cheng Xiaofan's expression immediately turned stern, and he angrily said, "Do you think going into the mountains is like going shopping? What is this outfit you're wearing?"
"Didn't you see everyone else is in hiking clothes?"
Shen Ruobing was startled by Cheng Xiaofan's sudden outburst. Her face flushed, and she said, "I brought hiking clothes; they're in the car. I'll change in the car right away!" She hadn't expected Cheng Xiaofan to get so angry.
Seeing Shen Ruobing flustered like a frightened little rabbit, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. *Serves you right for dressing so provocatively in front of my goddess Bai.* *If I don't get angry, how can I appear to be an upright man!*
"Xiaofan, how can you treat my good friend like that?"
Bai Yiling gave Cheng Xiaofan a sideways glance. "I checked the weather forecast this morning, and there's a heavy rain expected around 3 PM. I called Ruobing urging her to go into the mountains as early as possible."
"She got my call and, without time to change into her hiking clothes, rushed to drive us here!"
"You'll apologize to my friend later!" The goddess Bai declared dominantly to her mysterious man.
Just then, Shen Ruobing emerged from the car after changing. Cheng Xiaofan immediately stepped forward, a wide smile on his face. "I'm sorry. My goddess Bai just explained, and I misunderstood you. Please forgive my rudeness just now!"
"No, no, no... Master Cheng, or rather, Xiaofan, you're right to criticize. I'll definitely pay attention next time!" Shen Ruobing said hastily. In her heart, Shen Ruobing knew she had dressed deliberately like that, wanting to test Cheng Xiaofan and see if she had any charm in his eyes. She hadn't expected to receive a reprimand from him.
"Let's go, we're heading into the mountains!"
Cheng Xiaofan waved his hand and led the way.
"Chirp—"
"Woof woof!"
The Sky-Breaking Eagle and Taoqibao arrived simultaneously, one leading and the other following.
During the construction of Bai Yiling's project, her team had encountered some fallen timber and also felled some. However, the path they took consisted mostly of ordinary pine trees.
People flock together, and things of a kind are drawn together. Similarly, wood also groups itself. For instance, around Zhuxi Village, bamboo is the predominant type. Deeper in the mountains, bamboo becomes increasingly scarce. Only in the vicinity of Bai Mang Lake can one find extensive bamboo groves.
In the virgin forest behind Zhuxi Village, precious woods like rosewood, boxwood, and camphorwood are abundant, often appearing in clusters. These areas are typically treacherous, with frequent sightings of ferocious beasts. In the past, loggers were usually skilled martial artists, and when they entered the mountains in groups of three to five, the wild animals would not dare to attack them casually.
Nowadays, the logging profession has almost disappeared. Besides being too arduous, if one gets separated in the mountains, their life would be in jeopardy. If ordinary people were to venture into the mountains today, specifically searching for these precious woods, it would undoubtedly be difficult. However, for Cheng Xiaofan, it would be much easier.
Last night, upon returning from Bai Mang Lake, Cheng Xiaofan had paid close attention to the mountain terrain while riding the Sky-Breaking Eagle. He and the eagle were already well aware of the locations where precious woods grew in abundance.
The path was overgrown with weeds, and there were scattered rocks and fallen branches blocking the way. Cheng Xiaofan had to take on the role of the trailblazer. With a swing of his machete, a large swath of weeds fell. When he encountered large rocks or fallen logs, he would kick them away, sending them flying dozens of meters. The two engineers under Shen Ruobing were dumbfounded, thinking they had encountered a divine being.
After walking for about half an hour, one of Shen Ruobing's engineers pointed ahead and exclaimed with surprise, "Ah, everyone, look! That's a camphor wood forest ahead!"
Cheng Xiaofan gazed intently and, from a distance, saw spiritual energy swirling within the camphor wood forest. A sudden thought struck him. He recalled a sentence in the Shennong Jing: "Precious woods have souls." This meant that high-quality timber contained spiritual energy.