Pursuing Immortality

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

“I’m lighting it up!”

It was nighttime. In the woods near Hongqi Village of Baoshan Town, You Yu took up the role as the commander in chief. After making sure that everyone was prepared, he poured a small tank of gasoline over a pile of wood, then tossed a handful of hay over it.

Whoosh!

Flame surged from the ignited pile of wood, and billowing smoke was soon carried deep into the woods by the wind.

Right now, they were standing in a clearing that was circled inside a tall protective wall made from damp mud from the river, which was to make sure that the fire would not spread out of control. Apart from that, a few high wattage searchlights had also been set up nearby; they were switched on, and turned in various directions, lighting up the dark woods like the bright daylight.

“Let’s go!”

“Gotta flush the bird out!”

Of the twelve people, four stayed behind as guards, while the other eight scattered into the woods with wooden and bamboo sticks in hand. They moved from the periphery towards the center as they swept their tools across the bushes and grass around them, uttering an “oh, oh, oh” sound.

Whee!

Squeak!

All sorts of creatures were startled and woken up from their sleep, utterly frightened. The area wasn’t all that big, and it was easy to spot the light of that clearing.

In the darkness of the night, the clearing was as dazzling as a lighthouse. Phototaxis made most animals run in that direction without giving it any thought.

“They’re coming!” You Yu picked up a makeshift bird-catching net, and reminded his three teammates, “Don’t be nervous! Make the move only after you’re certain!”

“Yes!” The other three nodded with excitement.

Flutter! Flutter!

Birds were naturally the first batch to arrive. They came in all sizes, colors, and species, and circled in the air above the clearing, chirping incessantly.

“No, it’s not here yet. Stay still!” You Yu called out loudly to steady his teammates. A couple of minutes later, his face lit up as two small sparrows with green feathers and bright red beaks dashed out of the woods.

“There’re two of them! Catch them! I’ll take the one on the left!”

You Yu strode out to the left. His hands kept extremely steady as he inclined the net to one side with the opening turned upwards. When the sparrow was close enough, he swept the net down forcibly.

Chirp!

A green-feathered red-beaked sparrow was trapped right inside the net, and stuck to the strings that had been painted with glue—it was going nowhere. The other three reacted nervously to their task, and simply waved their nets aimlessly in the air. Luckily, the sparrow was even more flustered, and bumped into one net by itself without knowing where it was going.

“Hahaha! We got them! We got them!”

“We didn’t spend the two days here for nothing!”

The other eight members also arrived at the clearing, and were happy to see the result. Zhou Zhiming tied the birds’ claws up with some strings, then picked up one carefully and stuck it to the trunk of a tree.

After a tiny fluctuation—which they could not perceive—the green feather and red beak began to change color, both turning into taupe. In the end, the bird’s color was almost identical to that of the tree trunk that one could not tell one from the other.

“We got it right! This is the green-feathered red-beaked sparrow, and we caught two in one go!” Zhou Zhiming was exhilarated. “Xiao Yu is so good at this. I’d never guessed that! It’s all thanks to you!”

“We all did it together. I saw people catching birds on Fish Mountain once, that’s why I knew a little about this.” You Yu did not look as excited, which was understandable. It was the only time that he went bird-catching with his cousin, and he ended up witnessing dozens of his fellow villagers get killed—not exactly a good memory.

“Teehee. Brother Yu, you’re too modest. We saw what you did!” An Susu chuckled.

“That’s right. You’re like that saying: good lenses, bad frames. Unlike we three—our hands were shaking the entire time.” A fellow praised him, and the others muttered in agreement.

At this early stage, when everybody was a weak novice, working together was the key to success. When they were capable enough to have conflict in interests, they wouldn’t be able to find such harmony anymore.

The two quests they claimed both had the briefest introduction. There was the general location of the targets: one in Hongqi Village, and one in Yushu Village.

They were also given some characteristics of the targets: green-feathered red-beaked sparrow—good at changing color as a camouflage; blood-sucking grass—good at long-distance ambush.

And then? There was nothing else!

‘Are you f*cking kidding me?!’ The group arrived at Hongqi Village in high spirits, and their search came up empty. When they finally managed to spot the bird, it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It was then that You Yu offered his suggestion, which was to use light as a trap at night to catch the bird. They spent half a day preparing the tools, but luckily, they succeeded.

“There, there. It’s not time for flattery yet. Let’s wrap up for the night, and go to Yushu Village tomorrow.” Seeing that the team was moving into a prolonged happy chit-chat, Zhou Zhiming intervened. They then began their journey back.

Zhou Zhiming stayed at the rear of the team and stared at You Yu’s back. The look in his eyes changed suddenly—instead of the foxy and worldly-wise look usually found in them, there was only toughness and fierceness now.

Of the twelve people from the two dormitories, most of them were mediocre both physically and psychologically. An Susu was the only one that stood out a little.

You Yu turned out to be a surprise. The teenager struck Zhou Zhiming as taciturn, introverted, and easy-going, with nothing extraordinary about him. However, after the past two days, Zhou Zhiming had reversed this conclusion completely.

This boy would be of great use to him!

Such individuals could be found in many teams in companies; they would keep a low profile on a daily basis, but would prove to be of great use like a burst of energy at critical moments.

‘Hoho!’

Zhou Zhiming wiped the strange smile off his face, and put that shrewd face back on.

It was an open enrollment of Phoenix Mountain. Only idiots would choose not to use the opportunity to smuggle in their own people!

***

Yushu Village, Cockscomb Mountain.

This was not the small woods like that of Hongqi Village. Cockscomb Mountain was officially the stretching branch of Phoenix Mountain, and extended for over 50 km. Right now, the sun was high up in the sky, but thanks to the dense spiritual essence on the mountain, the heat was not as overpowering.

That was probably the only luck they had now.

“We’ve searched every inch of this mountain. Where on earth is that blood-sucking grass?”

“We’d have to go back without completing the quest if we still can’t find it… Hey, Susu, stop running about!”

“That’s ok. I’ll check over there!”

A man and two women were talking. The man was Guo Xu, and the two women were Wang Rong and An Susu. The twelve people had been divided into four groups, which had searched the mountain like plowing a field. Unfortunately, they found nothing.

“Hey, I don’t think we’ve been here before. Look at that tree.” An Susu pointed at a crooked old tree, and said, “That tree looks so funny. We’d definitely remember it if we saw it before… Brother, Sister, let’s have a look around here. Maybe we’ll find it.”

Being the youngest of them all, she was the one comforting the two adults. The other two were a little abashed at this, and perked up a little. The search went on.

Wang Rong seemed to be on the short-tempered side, and soon began to complain again. “Is this blood-sucking grass a real thing? There’s nothing on the app. How did they find out on the mountain?”

“Maybe someone stumbled upon it and didn’t have time to study it yet. That bird didn’t have any information either, right?” said Guo Xu.

“Blood-sucking grass, blood-sucking grass… that name is so random! Sigh, I wonder if this thing can actually defend us.”

Wang Rong removed a string from around her neck, attached to which was a piece of turtle shell. She examined the dangling pendant, and said, “They said it’s a one-off thing, so it won’t be of much use even it can ward the grass off.”

“Don’t worry. We still have this.” Guo Xu drew out a short sword that was made of fine steel and had a hint of green to it.

The sword was forged with modern technology, only that some green jade stone was added to the material. With the limited amount of spiritual mines so far, they didn’t have much option but to use it thriftly. This method was actually invented by the government, which had come up with quite a lot of equipment by mixing cultivation material into modern ones.

“I used to be a cold steel collector, and had my own circle. Honestly, I have never seen anything this sharp.” Guo Xu was from an affluent family, and a little willful in his temperament. He swept the sword casually across the air, and with a slashing sound, a cluster of grass was severed from the middle with a very smooth and even cut.

“Save it for later!” Wang Rong could not bear the sight of the fellow, and would mock him whenever she got the chance. “Don’t go all coward when it’s time for the real action— ouch!”

She didn’t watch the road as she spoke, and tripped on something all of a sudden. The turtle shell dropped out of her hand.

“Watch out!” An Susu screamed; panic filled her flickering black pupils. There was a shuffling sound inside the thick growth of grass as if a snake was slithering around. It was meters away at first, but the next moment, it was right at their feet.