Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 33 Altar
Deng Wen brandished her wooden stick and pointed to a spot on the water: "There's a snake in the water!"

On the water's surface, a small gray snake was swimming across.

Startled by the noise from the shore, the little snake swam quickly and disappeared into the water in the blink of an eye.

"You've been busy all morning, have some lunch."

Xiao Xuemei brought over two bags.

One bag contained a large, steaming clay pot, while the other held bowls and chopsticks.

Lifting the lid of the large earthenware pot, steam billowed out, revealing a fish and shrimp porridge made with stewed fish, shrimp, and wild vegetables.

"I've removed all the fish bones, so you can eat without worry," Xiao Xuemei said, serving Qin Ziwen a large bowl full.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Qin Ziwen quickly stood up.

I took the large bowl; the fish, shrimp, and vegetable porridge inside smelled delicious and was steaming hot.

After serving a bowl to each of them, Xiao Xuemei also served herself a bowl.

The five men sat by the river, blowing their flutes and slowly drinking.

In the afternoon, my luck improved a bit.

Qin Ziwen caught three fish in a row. Although they were all small fish, no bigger than the palm of his hand, the quantity was large.

These three fish are not the common carp or crucian carp; they have a rather gaudy appearance, with colorful scales and tails, making them look like some kind of ornamental fish.

In modern times, they might fetch a good price, but here, the only option is to be eaten.

"Hopefully, the flesh of this fancy-looking fish will taste good."

Throw the fish into the bucket.

Qin Ziwen peered around and said, "Old Deng, it seems like the crocodiles in the river have all disappeared these past two days."

Deng Guang nodded: "Yes, after that big male crocodile died, there are no fish left in the river."

The two were cautious all day yesterday, but didn't even see a crocodile.

Most of the day has passed, and there's still no sign of crocodiles.

Qin Ziwu pondered, "It might have run away, or it might be hiding. Speaking of which, crocodiles are territorial animals, right? There should only be one group in a river basin. If the leader of this group dies, will a new leader be born? Or will it migrate from other river basins?"

Qin Ziwen said, "It's possible, but even if there is a new leader, it shouldn't be that soon."

Seeing that it was getting late, Qin Ziwen carried a bucket to go home. In addition to the four fish he had caught during the day, the bucket also contained loaches and bitterlings from the fish trap.

As for those prawns, they were taken away when Xiao Xuemei went back to make lunch, and the prawns in the porridge at noon were them.

He carried the bucket home from the east gate.

After arriving home, I took out the recruitment card, pondered for a moment, and then silently recited "use".

The card transformed into a stream of light, and a ball of white light landed on the ground, revealing a raptor over a meter tall on the bedroom floor.

His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings before finally settling on Qin Ziwen.

“Wheeeeee-ah!”

The harpy eagle's voice is quite penetrating, but its underlying tone also carries the whimpering quality of a puppy trying to please its owner.

"Alright, keep your voice down, don't shout." Qin Ziwen put his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture.

The harpy eagle tilted its head, its bright eyes fixed on Qin Ziwen. It was unclear whether it understood or not, but at least it didn't make a sound.

A younger brother exclaimed from outside the bedroom door, "Brother, I think I just heard birds chirping!"

"It's just birdsong." Qin Ziwen opened the door and let his younger brother in.

As soon as Qin Ziwu opened the door, he saw the horned eagle staring at him.

Upon seeing the stranger, the harpy eagle immediately spread its wings and began to intimidate him. Its wingspan was more than two meters, and Qin Ziwu was so frightened that he took a half step back.

“He’s one of us.” Qin Ziwen rubbed the harpy eagle’s square head. The harpy eagle folded its wings.

Qin Ziwu looked at the extra horned eagle in his house and was speechless.

Okay, so this is something you dug up... no, something you picked up, right?
However, Qin Ziwu was already used to it. After all, he was his brother, and if he didn't want to talk about it, he must have his own difficulties. They were all family, so how could he possibly harm him?

Immediately, the younger brother looked at the harpy eagle with some envy, "Brother, can I touch it? This thing looks so majestic."

"You can touch it."

Under Qin Ziwen's reassurance, the harpy eagle, though not used to being touched on the head by strangers, still closed its eyes and let Qin Ziwu touch it a few times.

While stroking it, Qin Ziwu secretly observed the harpy eagle's dagger-like claws. The longest claw was probably over ten centimeters long, and one swipe of that claw could probably tear flesh and tendons off.

Qin Ziwen said, "I plan to have it guard the trap at night. If anyone tries to steal the trap, I'll have it attack them. That way, I can set up the trap without worry at night."

Qin Ziwu looked at the harpy eagle's gray feathers.

Standing on a tree branch at night does provide cover.

The younger brother laughed and said, "So from now on, it will work the night shift, and we'll work the day shift?"

"It also has to work during the day. I remember that birds can sleep with half their brains on the ground and stand guard with the other half. It's basically resting at night while it guards the place. I plan to teach it some simple things first to see how smart it is. If it's smart, I can have it help me draw a map of the surrounding area."

Qin Ziwu thought his older brother's idea was very reasonable. He had to work day and night, and looked at the horned eagle with pity.

"Dong dong dong."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Qin Ziwen gave his younger brother a wink, signaling him to open the door, and then he took the eagle back to the bedroom.

Qin Ziwen sat on the edge of the bed, put his arm around the eagle's wing, and whispered, "Don't make any noise."

The harpy eagle obediently took two steps forward and rested its head on Qin Ziwen's shoulder.

After a while, the living room door closed.

The younger brother came in and said, "Just now, Wang Xiaoli from across the street said she hadn't eaten cooked food for several days and asked to borrow a light. I used a flint and steel to make a fire for her."

"Hmm." Qin Ziwen nodded; it was just a small matter.

That night, Qin Ziwen opened the window and released the harpy eagle, letting it fly in the sky and wait for his instructions.

I bumped into Wang Jun just as I was about to leave the residential area.

Wang Jun's face showed some joy. Compared to his dejection yesterday, he was radiant and full of vigor today.

He patted Qin Ziwen on the shoulder, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Come to my house, I'll show you something good."

He tried his best to wink at Qin Ziwen.

Qin Ziwen pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Arriving at Wang Jun's house,
Upon entering the house, he almost thought he had gone to the wrong door. Several people were sitting inside, chatting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere. In the corner, a long-haired man whose attire and demeanor were out of place sat reservedly on a stool.

Most noticeably, a ball of light floats in Wang Jun's living room.

Isn't this home?

Did Wang Yun also get a card?

Wang Jun noticed the surprise on Qin Ziwen's face, laughed, and pointed at the ball of light, saying, "Brother, this thing is called a Home. As long as you can obtain cards, you can activate your Home. This thing has all sorts of wonderful uses."

Wang Jun didn't hold back, revealing the purpose of his homestead and finally explaining where he obtained the card.

It was in a cave on the east side, where there was an altar, and the card was floating on the altar at that time.

The entrance to the cave was somewhat hidden, and he was lucky to find it.

At this point, Wang Jun sighed. If he hadn't encountered a pack of wolves in the west and lost his companions, he wouldn't have gone to explore in the east, and thus wouldn't have been able to obtain this card.

　The later part of this chapter has been revised; just refresh the page.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)