The mountain behind the new village was neither large nor small. As few people came here, the path was not easy to walk. But it was also because of this that there were many wild animals in the mountains. Not long after they started, Sanlang, with his sharp eyes, spotted a large wild rabbit.
"Wanwan, you wait here. Third Brother will go catch a rabbit for you!"
Sanlang, the carefree fellow, abandoned Jiang Wan and rushed towards the rabbit.
Jiang Wan rolled her eyes speechlessly. If she were truly a five-year-old child, being abandoned in the mountains like this would surely terrify her.
However, it was good that Sanlang had left. This way, she could wander around the forest by herself. If she encountered anything good, it would be convenient for her to cheat.
So, Jiang Wan turned and walked in the opposite direction of Sanlang.
There were no paths in the forest, so Jiang Wan faced many obstacles as she moved forward. But this did not trouble her. With a little bit of her ability, the thorny vines and branches that looked like they were clawing and dancing automatically parted to make way for her.
As she walked and looked, Jiang Wan discovered that the forest was indeed rich in resources. There were many edible fungi, and she even saw a dead tree covered with dense wood ear mushrooms.
She did not touch these things, as her family was not short of food. Instead, the villagers were the ones who really needed them.
Thinking this, whenever Jiang Wan found something edible, she would channel a bit of her ability into it, making it grow bigger and more abundant.
This subconscious action had been cultivated during their journey.
When the villagers lacked food, her father took her into the mountains every day. After several months, it had become second nature.
But she did not dislike it. Her ability was the same whether she used it or not, so it was better to use it to help the villagers, considering it as accumulating good deeds.
As she walked and browsed, Jiang Wan ventured deep into the mountain forest.
"Huh? Does someone come here often?"
Jiang Wan discovered traces of human activity in this area.
And the further she went, the more obvious the traces became.
Jiang Wan's curiosity piqued, so she followed the traces.
After walking for a short while, she found a small courtyard hidden among the trees ahead.
The courtyard was enclosed by fences made of branches of varying heights, forming a yard about half an acre in size. Inside, there was a main house and a small kitchen next to it.
There was a family living in these mountains?
But hadn't Magistrate Cheng said that this area had been uninhabited all along?
Jiang Wan muttered to herself and walked towards the courtyard.
The little pony scout flew ahead, inspecting the front and back of the courtyard. Then, it whinnied a few times at Jiang Wan, signaling that there was no danger.
Jiang Wan walked to the wooden house door and called out loudly, "Is anyone home?"
The courtyard was silent.
Jiang Wan looked around the courtyard and noticed that many weeds had grown there. It seemed that no one had been active in this courtyard for some time.
Such a small courtyard hidden in the mountains, with a hint of mystery, piqued Jiang Wan's curiosity.
So, she stepped forward and pushed open the simple gate of the courtyard. The gate creaked open with a groan.
The weeds in the courtyard were as tall as her half-body. As soon as she stepped in, there was a rustling sound from the grass.
Using her ability, she saw that it was a small colorful snake that had been startled by her.
Jiang Wan rolled her eyes. The ecological environment here was quite good.
Passing through the weed-filled courtyard, she reached the front of the house.
The house door was not locked. With a gentle push, it opened, and a puff of dust fell down.
She fanned away the dust and stood at the doorway, looking inside.
The layout of the wooden house consisted of a central hall and two bedrooms on either side.
The furnishings in the hall were very simple, with only a few essential tables and chairs. On the walls hung several animal skins and a large bow. Jiang Wan mused, "Could this family be hunters?"
Although there was no one in the courtyard at the moment, Jiang Wan did not intend to enter the house, as it would be impolite.
Just as she was about to close the door and leave, she suddenly felt a faint energy fluctuation from the bedroom on the left.
Although the fluctuation was very subtle, it made Jiang Wan tremble!
She was too familiar with this kind of fluctuation; it was the energy that could upgrade her ability!
Without time to think, Jiang Wan strode into that bedroom.
The bedroom was not large, only about ten square meters. The furnishings were even simpler: a bed, a simple wardrobe, and by the window, a small table and a chair. There was nothing else.
And the fluctuation was coming from the wardrobe by the bed.
Jiang Wan quickly stepped forward and reached out to open the wardrobe, but then suddenly stopped and looked around the room.
"Ahem, may I open this wardrobe?"
"If no one objects, I'll take it as consent."
Then, Jiang Wan pulled open the wardrobe.
Indeed, the energy fluctuation felt stronger, but only relatively speaking.
In the dim light, Jiang Wan looked into the wardrobe. Inside, several pieces of clothing were neatly folded, all autumn wear.
"It seems the owner of this house hasn't returned since last autumn. No wonder there are so many weeds in the courtyard."
She reached out and touched the clothes, discovering that the energy fluctuation was emanating from them.
How could clothes have energy fluctuations? Something that produced energy must be pressed underneath these clothes.
She moved all the clothes out of the wardrobe and searched inside, but found nothing. As the clothes were moved away, the faint energy in the wardrobe quickly disappeared.
Jiang Wan's confused gaze fell on the clothes. Could they be wrapped inside these clothes?
So, she picked up the clothes one by one to search, but in the end, she still found nothing. As she searched and shook them, the energy from the clothes also began to dissipate rapidly.
Jiang Wan had no time to think and quickly absorbed all the pitifully weak energy.
As her innate ability came into contact with the energy, it began to become restless. The agitated feeling made Jiang Wan anxious.
She never dreamed that she could find energy in this world that could greatly benefit her ability.
But this energy was too weak, so weak that it could be ignored.
Yet, she was unwilling.
She picked up the clothes and felt them carefully, but there was nothing left. It was clear that the energy did not originate from the clothes themselves but was transferred from the energy source.
Unwilling to give up, Jiang Wan put the clothes back into the wardrobe and then searched everywhere in the room.
But the room was so small, and there were so few things, that nothing could be hidden.
Since there was nothing on the surface, Jiang Wan activated her ability again, summoning the rats in the room to help her search underground.
Still, she found nothing.
It seemed the energy source was not in this room.
Jiang Wan walked to the wardrobe and looked at the clothes inside, narrowing her eyes.
Since it had nothing to do with the wardrobe, it must be related to the owner of these clothes.
The energy source was on the owner of the clothes, so these clothes were stained with energy. And the owner of these clothes had left last autumn. After half a year, these clothes still retained some residual energy, which showed how strong the energy contained in the energy source was!
She had to obtain that energy source!
At this moment, the little pony's calls came from outside. Jiang Wan then remembered that she had forgotten her little companion in the mountains!