He quickly found the river and after walking less than a mile along the bank, he encountered a blood-drinking monster.
It was somewhat smaller than a wolf, with particularly thick skin, sharp claws, and a head like a rat's.
It was fond of drinking blood, its teeth were poisonous, and it had an extremely violent temper, daring even to provoke Old Hu.
Ma Lin walked towards it, and it didn't run away but instead called out to Ma Lin.
When Ma Lin got within five or six meters of it, it let out a loud cry and charged at Ma Lin, who thrust his spear at it.
It went straight through its body, and with another thrust after pulling it out, the creature was dead.
Containing the power of demons, all kinds of wild animals despised it.
After thinking it over, Ma Lin hung its corpse on a tree branch to the side, to keep wild dogs or foxes from eating it, since he needed it for a ritual with the demon thorns.
He cleaned his spear in the snow and continued on.
He hadn't gone another two miles when he met three blood-drinking monsters head-on. Naturally, they were not afraid of him, but instead ran towards him, intending to bite him to death and eat him.
He carefully chose his path and waited patiently.
When they closed in to less than ten meters, he shouted, "Minion's Escape Technique!"
Then he sprinted with the speed of the wind, raising his spear, and with a rush, he stabbed one of the blood-drinking monsters to death, ran a few meters away, turned back, sprinted again, and killed the second one. When he ran swiftly enough, it was very hard for the spear to be dodged.
The third one fled north.
He sprinted and caught up with it using momentum, delivering another spear thrust. It was efficiently dispatched.
Four, that was enough.
He dragged the sled over, put the three blood-drinking monsters on it, and then turned back.
Before long, he came upon the one he had hung in the tree and loaded it onto the sled, too.
It was half an hour later by the time he got back home.
Following the prompts from the "Book of Minions," he tossed the four blood-drinking monsters onto the demon thorns and then began to recite a spell.
The thorns came to life as if they were animals, extending spines and roots, which penetrated the bodies of the four blood-drinking monsters.
The sounds and sight were somewhat revolting; it seemed to absorb the flesh and nefarious energy of the four blood-drinking monsters, growing taller and taller.
It grew until it was one meter high, then stopped growing, and the four blood-drinking monsters were reduced to just bones, their skin and fur completely digested away.
Ma Lin thought to himself, these thorns really do look frightening.
Luckily, he now had his own yard and a ring of fences.
Utilizing a spell, he created a one-meter-wide gap in the thorn wall so he could drag things in and out.
He was quite confident in this fence yet felt a bit worried about the gate. He hoped for a door that could keep out fierce animals like bears and Old Hu.
Without further ado, he started tidying up the yard. He shoveled out the snow, tossed out the broken stones, pulled out all the weeds, and threw them out too.
The pile of obstructive stones and rotten wood was also cleared out. After all, he was strong and didn't tire easily from physical work.
Then he went to the stone mound at the back and cut down a dead tree, whittled it into sections with his jagged dagger, and dragged them into the yard. He split them into many small pieces to use as firewood.
Feeling that was not enough, he chopped down another dead tree and dragged it back.
He again split it into firewood, stacking two large piles, enough to last him for who knows how long.
He then constructed a breezy stove with several stones, lit a fire, and boiled water in a wooden pot.
He felt it would be best to have an awning above the pot, and that the firewood should be stored under a shed, too. He also needed a toilet.
Thinking there was still some time before dark, he pulled out the sled again and headed northeast to the stream, where there was a section that didn't freeze over, right? There were hot springs, and beside them was red clay.
When he reached the site and investigated, he found a large expanse of very high-quality red clay, dug it out with sharp stones and his fingers, took a hundred pounds of it, and dragged it away on the sled.
He entered his yard as the sun set.
Now, with no gate in his thorny fence, he could only recite a spell to close the gap.
He dug a pit in the southwest corner of the fence and placed a stone on each side as a toilet. He would feel very secure here, as the fence made of demon thorns was no laughing matter; if a wild beast jumped in and got cut, the wound would hurt for days, so they generally deemed it not worth the trouble. Creatures with jumping abilities, like wolves, leopards, and black bears, basically wouldn't consider jumping in.
He then started a fire in the yard and used the red clay to make furniture for himself.
First, taking a flat stone, he slapped the red clay on it, the more he slapped, the better its tenacity, and then he shaped it into what he wanted.
What did he want?
Because he had very little confidence in his crafting skills, he first shaped a bowl and set it aside.
How ugly it is.
Then he made a rather large plate and put it aside.
All of these have rather simple designs.
Then he made a basin as big as the vegetable washing basins in his old home and put it aside.
Next, he made a very large jar, which was quite ugly, and also set it aside.
Looking around, he still had a lot of red clay.
Now the sky was completely dark.
He washed his hands and then roasted mutton on the fire and cooked porridge to drink. The sweet potatoes he picked in the morning were said to taste very good, and he wanted to try them.
The light from the fire could travel far, as could the aroma of the meat, yet he didn't feel afraid.
Wolves were indeed nearby, but it might be difficult for them to get through his thorny fence.
Old Hu and those demonic apes are afraid of fire.
Whether there were other fierce animals capable of leaping over the thorny fence, he wasn't quite sure. Perhaps he would find out soon enough.
He casually placed those unbaked clay pieces made of red soil into the fire to burn, as he didn't care at all about their appearance right now. As long as they were sturdy and didn't crack, he could use them.
Soon the meat was roasted, and the porridge was cooked. Now he was cooking porridge in a wooden bowl, but in the future, he could use those very thick stoneware pots, which he had pinched with ears for easier handling when he wanted to carry them.
He sprinkled salt and two kinds of seasonings he had just collected today on the meat and ate slowly.
While eating, he saw fierce beasts circling around him in the darkness, staying outside his thorny hedge.
Their eyes were all glittering.
However, Ma Lin noticed that they all were very wary of the thorns, not daring to approach it at all.
Ma Lin felt very good about it.
After finishing his meal, he washed the pots and pans, then put a large piece of mutton into the fire to smoke. The aroma was indeed enchanting.
This was to lure the beasts inside if they had the capability.
The thorny shrubs were one point two meters high and half a meter wide, which was not too hard to jump. Demonic apes could jump over, and with a running start, so could Ma Lin, given his current physical condition.
Then he continued to slam red clay on the stone slab and pinch pottery.
Having plenty of red clay, he successively pinched four jars and a crock.
He also pinched two soup spoons and four bowls.
What was all this tableware for? To hold seasonings.
All were placed in the fire to burn.
Now what did he lack? Actually, he lacked everything.
But at least he felt much more settled in his heart.
Indeed, no fierce animals had crossed the fence.
After a bit of thought, he decided to leave the piece of smoked meat in the fire and went into the cave, closing the door behind him. Then, while reading a book, he observed the situation outside.
Any capable animal that wasn't afraid of fire would come in to pick up that piece of smoked meat.
The wild animals were all reluctant to approach the light of the fire, keeping their distance.
Waiting for an hour, no animal dared to come in.
He was very satisfied.
The content of the book was truly difficult to understand; he could only flip and tap randomly to pass the time.
As the fire gradually dwindled, he went out to check on the pottery, threw on some more firewood, and returned.
Reading this book really made it easy to fall asleep.
He washed his feet, climbed into bed, and slept.
He slept very well. He got up early in the morning, went outside, saw that the fire had not gone out, that the pottery was all well-fired, and the piece of smoked meat was gone.
As expected, there were animals capable of jumping over his devilish thorny shrubs and taking the smoked meat from the fire. His situation was still not safe enough.
First, he checked the pottery and found that all could be used.
He washed them several times to ensure they were clean. Then he carried four wooden buckets out to draw water, filling the water jar in two trips.