Chapter 43: To have a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?

Squeak~

The pitch-black night sky blanketed the dome, with brilliant stars still scattered across the firmament.

Zhang Hao pushed open his bedroom door and took a deep breath.

He was dressed in the exact same attire as yesterday: straw sandals, a spirit-securing basket slung over his arm, and a traveler's pack strapped to his back.

Inside the spirit-securing basket were the useful items he had gathered over the past few days. His pack contained a water flask, the [Travelogues of Mountain Walking], and other daily necessities.

He glanced up at the starry sky, then looked back at the pitch-black little courtyard.

He was about to set off into the mountains right now.

According to the records in the [Travelogues of Mountain Walking], when attending major mountainous events similar to a fox's wedding procession, one not only had to ascend the mountain three days in advance to make preparations, but also had to depart after the Hour of *Zi* (midnight) and before the Hour of *Yin* (dawn), specifically during the Hour of *Chou* (1:00 AM to 2:59 AM).

Among this timeframe, 2:00 AM was the moment when the *yin* energy was densest.

He must under no circumstances exceed 2:59 AM, meaning he had to enter the mountains during the Hour of *Chou*.

Otherwise, once the Hour of *Chou* passed and the Hour of *Yin* began, the *yin* energy would gradually weaken.

Furthermore, the crowing of roosters would occur at that time.

Once the roosters crowed, it signaled that *yin* energy was waning while *yang* energy was beginning to rise.

A mountain walker needed to enter the mountains while *yin* energy was flourishing; it could be said that carrying *yin* energy within oneself allowed for a better integration with the aura of the great mountains.

If *yang* energy began to rise, it would cause one's body to become tainted with *yang* energy, thereby being repelled by the mountain's aura and making it difficult to blend into it once more. This would likely cause that pack of foxes to discover abnormalities, ruining the entire plan—a loss that outweighed the gain.

Therefore, regarding such circumstances, Zhang Hao had always been extremely cautious.

He would rather suffer a little bit himself than let a minor oversight cause the entire plan to abort, making him miss out on the potential mountain treasures that might appear.

Quietly closing the door, Zhang Hao prepared to leave right then and there.

However, as he passed the kitchen, his expression paused, his gaze drawn to a note stuck on the door.

[There are dry rations in the kitchen. Take them to eat on the mountain.]

The handwriting was delicate and refined—it belonged to Li Siyu.

Zhang Hao's expression flickered. He gently pushed open the kitchen door and immediately saw stacks of dry rations, wrapped in oil paper, piled like small mountains upon the stove.

Were these... made by Li Siyu who stayed up late last night?

When he returned to his room last night, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, paying no attention to whether there was any movement outside.

Thinking about it now, after he had fallen asleep last night, Li Siyu must have finished her chores and then come to the kitchen to prepare some dry rations for him.

Was she afraid that he wouldn't have anything to eat on the mountain?

That was actually quite likely; the edible things on the mountain were limited to wild fruits, or perhaps wild chickens and hares.

Without any carbohydrate intake, the body could easily run into problems.

A thought of this brought a curve to Zhang Hao's lips, and an undisguised joy flickered deep within his eyes.

To have a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?

Stowing all the dry rations into his pack, he stealthily closed the kitchen door.

Under the hazy moonlight, Zhang Hao walked toward the front door. Just as he was about to cross the threshold, he turned his head to glance in the direction of the main hall, and then turned and stepped across the threshold.

...

Coo-coo-coo~

A resounding rooster's crow pierced the nocturnal sky, summoning a hint of dawn in the eastern horizon and allowing soft, vibrant sunlight to wash over the earth.

Li Siyu had changed into a light pink, plain-colored Hanfu dress.

Slightly lifting the hem of her skirt, she crossed the threshold, her gaze immediately landing upon the side room.

Then, shifting her gaze, she saw that the note on the kitchen door was gone. Descending the steps, she approached, gently pushed the door open, and upon seeing that all the dry rations had vanished, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Zhang Hao should be up in the mountains by now.

With that thought, dwelling on it no longer, she retrieved the [Soul-Guarding Pillar] from her loose sleeve and walked over to the room situated at the southernmost part of the courtyard.

This was a storage room, usually scarcely used for holding items.

Walking to the southwest corner of the storage room, she produced a lighter and ignited the wax wick at the top of the [Soul-Guarding Pillar].

A faint cluster of flickering flame rose and swayed unsteadily in midair for quite a while before gradually stabilizing.

Seeing this, Li Siyu finally relaxed and carefully placed the [Soul-Guarding Pillar] in the southwest corner.

Ensuring the flame would not go out, she slowly stood up.

Lowering her head to gaze at the faint firelight, she sighed softly.

Hopefully... Zhang Hao would be alright, and everything he wished to do would go smoothly.

Following that, Li Siyu exited the room with extremely light footsteps.

...

Deep within the dense forest.

Zhang Hao sat upon a large boulder, holding a half-eaten flatbread in one hand and his water flask in the other, chewing something in his mouth.

Swallowing the bite of bread, he took a large gulp of water, wiped away the moisture from the corner of his mouth, and muttered, "This bread... sure is chewy."

Gazing at the blinding light rising in the east, he narrowed his eyes.

Daybreak had fully arrived, *yin* energy retreated, *yang* energy reascended, and all things experienced a new beginning.

Reciting the incantation from the Mountain-Guiding Art, Zhang Hao packed away the unfinished bread and stowed his water flask.

Furthermore, he adjusted all his traveler's gear, ensuring every single item was properly secured.

Subsequently, he forged ahead.

Treading in straw sandals, with the spirit-securing basket on his arm, his pack on his back, and leaning upon a branch-turned-walking-stick, he pushed straight ahead through the tangled weeds before him.

Today's mountain-walking was not for searching for mountain delicacies, nor for hunting down the fox wedding procession, nor even for finding rare treasures to reap rewards.

Today, it was solely about walking the mountains and observing the mountains.

Simply put, it was about blending into the mountain, observing the mountain, and traversing every corner of the mountain.

Counting today, there were still four days until the fox wedding procession, and Zhang Hao needed to familiarize himself with this mountain as much as possible within these four days.

This was not only to integrate into the mountain, but also to map out an escape route after securing the treasure.

One must realize that those foxes were all veteran aboriginals dwelling within the mountains; they were far too familiar with the terrain.

One could say they could gallop across the entire mountain with their eyes closed without crashing into anything.

If he wanted to leave the mountain with that treasure right under the noses of these foxes, remaining unfamiliar with the mountain trails and ignorant of how to evade wild mountain spirits would practically mean waiting for doom.

When he ascended the mountain yesterday and walked through the weeds, the underlying principle was the same: he needed to leave a path for himself—a path free of wild mountain spirits, undisturbed by any interference, belonging solely to a mountain walker.

This path would serve as his primary reliance to guarantee his safe return home.

His secondary reliance would be the [Soul-Guarding Pillar].

Although he didn't know whether this [Soul-Guarding Pillar] was truly as effective as generations of senior mountain walkers claimed, it was, after all, an accumulation of experience from past practitioners.

Presumably, as long as the flame of the [Soul-Guarding Pillar] remained unextinguished, he should be able to return home safely.

Moreover, taking advantage of this mountain-walking period allowed him to trace the movements of those foxes, pinning down the exact location or marching route of their wedding procession.

This would lay the groundwork for what he planned to do next.

To put it accurately, everything was in preparation for acquiring the treasure from the fox wedding procession.

Once all preparations were complete, all that remained was to quietly await the arrival of the fox wedding day and the manifestation of that treasure.

As chaotic thoughts swarmed through his mind, his footsteps never halted. Leaning on his cane and treading in his straw sandals, Zhang Hao felt the weeds continuously brushing against the soles of his feet and tickling his ankles.

He had grown somewhat accustomed to it by now; this level of tickling was not enough to make him laugh out loud.

Hmm?

Right at that moment.

Zhang Hao's brows furrowed, and he instantly halted his steps.

Just now, he clearly sensed that something had slithered past his ankle, and that tactile sensation... felt somewhat unusual.