[Broken Beast Tooth Necklace, wearable]
[An unknown person's beast tooth necklace, can be upgraded at the Treasure Forging Workshop. Attack Power +25, Speed +10, Critical Strike +15%. Would you like to wear it?]
Jiang Yuan didn't hesitate to choose "Yes." With a flash of light, a discreet cord with a curved beast tooth appeared around his neck.
[Achievement: Wore the first necklace. Reward: Spirit Stones X100]
"Hey, free stuff is the best!" He casually tucked the beast tooth into his collar, discreetly enjoying the accessory's bonus; even his walking speed increased. Very practical!
Millennium Driftwood and Hundred-year-old Agarwood are common materials, collected along with the feed-making pond grass into the storage box.
The eleven Jade Fish he caught were still alive, enveloped in a pool of water. The system notified that they could survive for seven days in the storage bag and fifteen days in the storage box. If he constructed a fish pond, they could be raised there.
Once everything was neatly organized, Jiang Yuan exited the game, sat up on the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief.
The plan to dig for treasure at the northeast corner of the homestead was ever-present in his mind. It's not that he wasn't eager; in fact, he was very excited to dig for treasure.
However, after the ups and downs on the meadow, he was genuinely famished. Without eating something, he feared he wouldn't have the strength to swing the pickaxe. Furthermore, after following the clues to the treasure's burial location, he felt a bit conflicted.
What if the home described wasn't this place he was living in?
What if someone else had already dug it up?
What if that Earth Mirror Book was just an ordinary item with no value in the game?
His two decades of life had taught him that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. He should adopt a more laid-back mindset and treat it as a side quest's task item. So, the best course of action was to eat something, calm down, and then proceed with the excavation.
This time, Jiang Yuan was smarter, aware that fighting for a day in the wilderness game was just a matter of minutes in reality. Constant binge-eating would arouse Yang Hongye's suspicion. Therefore, while shopping at the market, he also picked up a bunch of ready-to-eat foods from the supermarket.
Canned food, beef jerky, eight treasure porridge, along with some bread and braised eggs. As he ate, he considered putting a small fridge in his room for storing some braised meat and buying some self-heating hot pots and rice for a quick hot meal.
"I wish I could cook in the Wilderness game." As he gulped down the chewy, bagged braised eggs, Jiang Yuan washed it down with cool, sweet well water, letting out a satisfied burp.
Turning back into the wilderness game, he took the pickaxe from his storage bag and headed straight for the small courtyard's northeast corner.
This was still an undeveloped area. Previously, Jiang Yuan had considered turning the entire yard into farmland for strawberry farming. Later, he realized that after establishing a Level Two homestead, the opposite area would become accessible. Before that, he'd need to construct buildings like the Floating Market and Melting Workshop. Occupying the farmland would only waste seeds, wouldn't it?
So, he set aside some space for future buildings, leaving the large piece of land in the northeast corner idle.
The parchment didn't specify any landmark references, so he had to start digging from the farthest corner where the simple fence intersected with the cliff. The hoe he bought from the shop was labeled as a broken version but was quite usable for digging. A simple wooden handle attached to an iron piece made the most common hoe, and Jiang Yuan found it functional for digging a neat 10×10 square, around thirty centimeters deep, with each strike.
He huffed and puffed under the moonlight, digging from the northeast corner southward to the well and westward to the thatched hut. He turned over the entire ground, yet there wasn't a trace of treasure or even a broken tree branch.
"Could it be that the homestead where 'Ya' lived wasn't this land?" Jiang Yuan took out the parchment and examined it twice, puzzled. The map showed the words Shuiyun Lake covering a rather large area. Who knows where the other party lived? Or which northeast corner they buried it in, or if someone had already discovered and dug it up. Everything seemed unclear.
What now?
There was still more than an hour until six in the morning. He pondered a bit and decided that since he had started digging, why not dig a bit deeper for peace of mind?
They always say to dig three feet deep to find something. Maybe it was buried deeper than he had thought.
After all, staying idle was pointless, and exerting more physical strength wasn't a bother. He took the pickaxe and deepened each previously dug section. With less than five minutes left until Wilderness Ascension, Jiang Yuan, drenched in sweat, was just about to rest and pick some cherries when the pickaxe made a dull thud—"Thunk!"
"I've found it!" he exclaimed joyfully, dug a few more strikes, and unearthed a three-inch square wooden box from about a meter and a half deep in the soil.
Ignoring the dirt all over his arms and face, Jiang Yuan wiped his sweat, jumped into the pit, and pulled up the wooden box. He smashed the iron lock with the pickaxe, and with a pry, it opened. Inside, there indeed was a large and exquisitely crafted hardcover book with three large words on it—Earth Mirror Book!
"What a pleasant surprise, but wouldn't it have been more considerate to mark the treasure's location clearly while writing the diary? If I were to leave treasure for future players, I'd be sure to write it down clearly, saving them half a day of effort..." he muttered, breathlessly and eagerly opening the book. The familiar handwriting on the front page greeted him—
"Congratulations on finding my treasure! If you managed to dig this deep, you must be either a determined person or incredibly lucky. In any case, you are a person of fate, so I give you this first volume of the Earth Mirror Book. If we truly are destined, perhaps you'll find the more interesting second volume. I wish you luck!"
Jiang Yuan looked back at the ground he had painstakingly dug and nodded in genuine agreement, grateful that his effort wasn't wasted.
At a point where most would give up seeing nothing after two rounds of digging, Jiang Yuan hesitated but never truly stopped, which led him to the wooden box. After all, he'd already come this far, and staying idle wasn't an option. The fact proved that persistence, despite the odds, could sometimes yield rewards!
[Would you like to learn 'Earth Mirror Book'?]
Without even fully grasping the content, the system prompted him. He clicked "Yes," and within a smooth five-second progress bar, the thick, intricate book vanished.
[Skills: Earth Mirror Book (Volume One)]
[Earth Mirrorer, legendary Treasure Mirror, can reveal subterranean treasures. This skill cannot be upgraded but can detect underground treasures within a certain range]
"Such an awesome skill?" Jiang Yuan was amazed and quickly stood up to look around.
However, with one glance, his courtyard was clean and tidy with no indication of anything. Through the protective barrier, the wilderness outside also showed no changes.
Just then, the system notified of Wilderness Ascension. The towering trees, lakes, and meadows became semi-transparent, supported by rolling white clouds as they floated upwards.
The dawn wasn't very bright; dark clouds loomed overhead, brewing a storm. Jiang Yuan saw the unopened, densely wooded area full of wild grass on the opposite side. His vision revealed a flashing point and a detailed analysis: [There is a 100% chance of gold coins in the ruins; try excavating]
So there is a ruin hidden in those lush trees?
He felt even more eager. Though it's exhausting to explore, the excitement is worth it! Furthermore, opening up larger areas allows for more strawberry planting, with a harvest every four days; the entire spring would yield a large number of strawberries, and selling them would bring in real money!
Climbing up a tree to pick cherries, Jiang Yuan eagerly made his plans.
By quickly completing the tasks to upgrade to a Level Two homestead, he would have a vast area across, clear the land of trees, grass, rocks, and ruins, and cultivate it into a spacious large farmland, planting it thick with strawberries!