Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Water Source
In less ti than it takes to drink a cup of tea, Cheng Zongyang followed the trail into a grove of low-lying shrubs.
The surrounding trees were short, with nurous vines and a patch of bamboo.
In the distance, Cheng Zongyang saw the gray wolves on a flat slope, their heads bowed as they did sothing, while the alpha wolf stood guard, alert to its surroundings.
’Are they drinking water?’ Cheng Zongyang grew excited.
He had encountered countless pests along the way. If not for his protective suit, he would have already been poisoned—bitten by one of the camouflaged snakes or by a spider or centipede falling from the trees.
But perhaps his luck was good, as he hadn’t run into any Fierce Beasts like leopards or tigers.
Fortunately, he had finally found what looked to be a water source.
Cheng Zongyang waited a little longer, and after seeing the gray wolves leave, he quickly made his way to the spot.
When he saw the place, his eyes lit up with excitent.
It was a long stream, a little over two ters wide, stretching off into the distance.
The current wasn’t turbulent, but the flow was plentiful and the water was clear.
Many animal tracks remained on the bank at his feet, indicating this was a watering hole for nurous creatures nearby.
Cheng Zongyang imdiately began to inspect the area.
Now that he had found his objective, he had nothing to worry about.
Thankfully, the terrain here was relatively flat. Further on was a downward slope; he had been walking almost entirely uphill to get here.
But at least his efforts had paid off.
’Now that I’ve found the water source, I need to figure out how to get it down the mountain.’
Cheng Zongyang scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally landing on the patch of bamboo.
He took out a Firewood Knife from the Wilderness World and hacked away the weeds and branches blocking his path to the bamboo grove.
He was very satisfied as he looked at the lush, green bamboo swaying in the wind.
Both their thickness and length t his requirents.
He first chopped down a bamboo stalk as thick as a baby’s thigh, then another as thick as his arm, and dragged them both back to the stream.
Cheng Zongyang began scouting for a location, eventually finding a spot where the stream curved slightly. It was a convex bank.
’This should work as an outlet. The current is strong enough here, and the direction of the flow should prevent it from getting clogged with dead leaves and mud.’
The next part of the job was ti-consuming. He used his knife to shave off all the branches from the thinner bamboo stalk, then did the sa for the larger one.
Finally, he used the thin bamboo stalk to ram into the larger one, knocking out all the internal nodes.
He then cut a section off the now-hollowed bamboo, which was naturally thicker at the bottom, leaving a wide piece to serve as the first part of the water outlet.
Setting it aside, Cheng Zongyang took out a hoe and started digging a ditch.
He had already chosen the path downward. As long as there was a steep enough slope, he could get the water down the mountain.
He knew the path down would be long, but he had to do it for the survival of the people on the other side.
After digging a ditch about thirty to forty centiters deep, Cheng Zongyang entered the Wilderness World and retrieved a small bamboo basket he had bought for holding fruit.
He buried the bamboo pipe in the ditch and partially buried the basket at the river’s edge. Then, he broke through the last earthen barrier. As water began to flow out, Cheng Zongyang deftly inserted the end of the bamboo pipe into the basket. He used vines to lash the basket and pipe together, securing them, before pushing the entire assembly into the water.
Finally, he packed mud on both sides of the pipe’s opening to ensure water wouldn’t leak from the gaps.
With that, the simple protection for the water outlet was complete.
It ensured a steady outflow of water while preventing leaves, small creatures, and other things from entering the pipe. Furthermore, the pipe’s position in the stream—not too high and not too low—also reduced the intake of silt and floating debris.
Cheng Zongyang was delighted as water gushed into the bamboo pipe and poured out the other end.
Next, he continued to dig the ditch while burying the bamboo pipes, which would protect them from being damaged by passing animals.
He continued this tedious, ti-consuming, and laborious process, fitting one bamboo pipe into the next, extending the line all the way down the mountain.
To minimize bends, Cheng Zongyang had to double back to scout the path and alter the route, ensuring the pipeline took the shortest possible path down the mountain. This would also make it easier to replace pipes if problems arose later.
He worked like this from morning until around three to five in the afternoon before finally returning to the settlent.
CRACK!
With a final strike of his hoe, Cheng Zongyang drove the last five-ter-long bamboo pipe into the end of the previous one, completing the connection. He let out a sigh of relief.
He nodded in satisfaction as he watched the clear, fast-flowing water spew from the pipe into the pit he had dug earlier.
Water!
Even with his great strength and Endurance, he was exhausted from the day’s work.
He was also grateful for the protective suit; otherwise, he would have been bitten by countless venomous creatures.
Without pausing to rest, he directly entered the Wilderness World. Inside the marketplace hut, he sat on a long bench and said, "Rest!"
The next second, a box popped up in front of him:
[Resting can instantly restore your stamina and ntal state. You may rest three tis per day. The first ti costs 5 Points, the second costs 10 Points, and the third costs 20 Points. Would you like to take your first rest for today?]
[Yes] [No]
--
"Yes!"
Cheng Zongyang didn’t have ti for a slow recovery, so he accepted imdiately.
The next mont, he saw a mysterious light envelop him.
About three seconds later, the mont the light vanished, Cheng Zongyang felt the exhaustion in his body and the fog in his mind disappear as if he had just had a deep sleep.
A feeling of being completely refreshed and clear-headed filled his entire body.
"This feels amazing!"
Cheng Zongyang smiled. With this "stamina hack," he really didn’t have to worry about getting tired.
He didn’t linger and returned outside.
Seeing that the pit was already half-full, Cheng Zongyang wasted no more ti and began searching for an easier path.
The elderly and children would be coming later, so he had to find a path that was easy to traverse. This would also make it convenient to carry things in and out in the future.
By the ti he returned to the foot of the Outer Mountain, the sky was already growing dark.
By the ti he reached the village entrance, his back-basket was filled with over twenty dead snakes and the butchered carcass of a sika deer—its four legs and head. He had discarded the other parts that had been gnawed on by the wolves.
As for the dead snakes, he had killed them all while laying the bamboo pipes.
His feet and hands had been bitten countless tis by these snakes, which had lunged out suddenly from various corners.
If not for the protection of his boots and gloves, he probably wouldn’t have had enough Points to pay for the treatnt.
But now, they would beco his family’s dinner for the night.
When he reached his front door, even before he could knock, he heard the sounds of children’s laughter and squabbling from the courtyard inside.
"Hahaha, it’s not in this hand! Third Brother, you lost again! You owe
four pieces of candy now..."
"Impossible! I’m sure I just saw it in this hand..."
"Second Brother, you’re carving wooden knives again! Dad told you to read more. Cousin said reading makes people wise, and your brain isn’t working so well... Ah! Big Brother, Second Brother is about to hit ..."
"That’s right! My big brother, he told
so! He said that if Snow White burns too much firewood, she gets covered in soot and turns into Cinderella, so he won’t let
burn firewood..."
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