Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 55 Strange Wolf (1)_1

Chapter 55: Chapter 55 Strange Wolf (1)_1

The cold wind whistled, all things withered, the road up the mountain was not difficult to walk, and during the deep winter season, there was no need to worry about snakes, insects, mice, or ants scurrying out to scare people.

Mo Yan gazed upon the swathes of withered yellow. Apart from the easily-identifiable pine and cypress trees that remained lush and green, the other trees were leafless, leaving only bare trunks and branches, which made it impossible to determine whether they were fruit trees or not.

It seemed that if she wanted to transplant fruit trees from the mountain to the Space, she would have to wait until next spring.

After wandering around for the better part of the day to no avail, Mo Yan was not in a hurry to descend the mountain. Taking advantage of the easy path, she decided to scout ahead to make future ascents easier.

By this time, she had reached deep into the forest where there were no signs of human activity, only the woo-woo sound of the cold wind blowing through. Thankfully, with the sunlight today, it didn’t feel eerie or frightening.

After walking deeper into the mountain for half an hour, she found a few Sichuan pepper trees. Mo Yan took a shovel and hoe from the Space and carefully dug up two smaller trees that were easier to handle. She transplanted them into the Space and watered them with Spirit Spring Water, unconcerned about their survival.

The culinary industry in this era was already quite advanced. Spices such as Sichuan pepper, chili pepper, and star anise had long since become staples on dining tables, necessary for seasoning in every household. However, fruits were a rarity. Grapes and apples were seldom seen, and it was difficult to find a trace of them in the markets. Mangoes, lychees, longans, and other fruits were only found in the South, and the North didn’t even see a piece of fruit skin. Whether places like the Imperial Palace and the homes of the World Family nobility had them was another matter.

She had long been planning to buy those few barren mountains with more gentle terrain behind the hill. If she had the chance to get ahold of these rare fruit trees, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to turn those barren mountains into fruit orchards.

Seeing that it was still early, Mo Yan decided to walk further inward. If there was no gain, she would return. Although she hadn’t seen any medicinal herbs or fruit trees, the forest was indeed full of animals, as she had guessed. Wild rabbits and pheasants were everywhere, but their hasty dashes out were always startling.

There were plenty of squirrels and yellow weasels too, perhaps because this place was seldom visited by humans. These smarter animals were not very afraid of people. When they saw Mo Yan, they would leisurely run away and occasionally turn their heads, curiously looking at her with their small eyes, making Mo Yan itch to capture them with the Space.

At this moment, Mo Yan was unaware that these somewhat intelligent animals were unafraid of her because she often bathed with Spirit Spring Water, which emitted an aroma they very much liked. If it weren’t for their natural wariness of humans, they would have approached to sniff around her.

But before long, Mo Yan felt something was wrong. In this patch of woods, sparser in vegetation, there weren’t even sparrows to be seen, let alone rabbits or pine trees. The whooshing sound of the wind passed by her ears, casting flickering shadows, as an eerie silence prevailed all around.

"Ao—"

Suddenly, a long howl resounded, catching Mo Yan completely off guard. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. She quickly steadied herself on a tree trunk, looking around nervously. That was the howl of a wolf; she was certain of it, and it was close by, lurking somewhere nearby!

"Ao— Ao—"

"Ao— Ao— Ao—"

As if responding, howls continued to come from all directions, one after the other. It was not just a matter of weak knees; even her hair stood on end. Startled, Mo Yan had no idea she could hide in the Space.

Just as Mo Yan turned to flee, a series of panicked "baa baa" sheep cries came from the thicket up ahead. The sounds were short and urgent, clearly indicating great fear. Following this, a group of brownish-gray, hooved animals burst quickly out of the brush, rushing into Mo Yan’s field of vision.