Chapter 384: An Accident in the Mountain Village, the South China Tigers Escaped?

Private jets, much like cruise ships, took time to customize before Fuxing Technology Company could arrange for delivery.

However, Ning Fei did not have much need for one.

Generally speaking, buying an airplane required processing all sorts of permits. For an ordinary person to take off, they had to contact air traffic control thirteen days in advance, submitting their departure and landing points so the aviation department could coordinate the flight.

Planes were fast, but airspace regulations were far stricter than those on the ground.

Therefore, Ning Fei contacted the people at Fuxing Technology and asked if he could swap the private jet for a high-performance small helicopter—preferably one that could be stored aboard the Qingfeng Cruise Ship.

Since the cruise ship was produced by the same tech company, the helicopter and the yacht would integrate seamlessly.

Fuxing Technology Company agreed to his request.

They also mentioned that the Qingfeng Cruise Ship would need an upgrade to accommodate it, which would take about a month.

Ning Fei gladly agreed.

After sailing the Qingfeng Cruise Ship back to his villa, he handed the vessel over to Fuxing Technology for the modifications.

It was the perfect time to return to the Daoist temple and rest.

After recuperating at his seaside villa for a short while, he drove straight back to Qingfeng Temple.

The Daoist temple was as familiar as ever.

The moment he stepped back inside that night, his entire body relaxed.

He didn't turn on his stream. While he was busy unpacking, Village Chief Qin Zheng—who had heard he was back—dropped by for a visit.

Ning Fei had not expected the village chief to stop by, so he brewed a pot of tea to welcome him.

"Ning Fei, did you do something big while you were out again?" Qin Zheng asked meaningfully as he sipped his tea.

"Something big? I just went out to visit a few scenic spots and enjoy the view," Ning Fei replied with a light chuckle.

To him, the trip truly had been just an ordinary sightseeing tour.

But others did not see it that way.

A dragon-like oarfish in an ocean trench, a sunken ship a thousand meters deep in the ocean, a giant squid lurking inside that wreck—these were not things an ordinary person would ever see.

And his heroic rescue of a fishing boat from an ocean maelstrom was even more extraordinary.

"Chief, what made you ask?" Ning Fei asked.

"Well, a pretty powerful boss sought me out," Qin Zheng said after taking another sip of tea. "He told me he wanted to develop some tourism projects in the village."

"Tourism projects?" Ning Fei frowned in slight confusion.

Qinshan Village was just an ordinary little mountain village.

Further in was the Qinshan Mountain range. Barely any cars drove past, so very few people ever came here.

Moreover, Qinshan Village did not have any scenic beauty worth developing; the village's environment was nothing spectacular.

Why would a developer want to launch a tourism project in a place like this?

"That boss said he wants to turn Qinshan Village into an 'Immortal Village,'" Qin Zheng explained. "He wants to use the name of the Immortal Village to attract Daoist believers and gather incense offerings."

Ning Fei could not help but frown.

Wasn't this clearly an attempt to scam people using his name?

It was exactly like how trending celebrities monetized their fanbase. This developer wanted to create a 'believer economy' in Qinshan Village to wring money from the faithful.

If they launched a marketing campaign claiming that praying to the immortals here was highly effective, people would likely flock to the village in endless droves.

In Huaxia, a large segment of the population was more than willing to believe in such things.

"Chief, isn't that an obvious scam? Plus, would the Government even approve something like that?" Ning Fei asked, taking a sip of tea.

Qin Zheng shook his head. "Don't worry, I already turned him down."

"I know exactly what it is. It's just a gimmick. The village is tiny and there's nothing to sightsee, so what else could they do?"

"People would just open up some restaurants, set up a few mystifying decorations, spin a few tall tales, and swindle the tourists out of their cash."

"But that would leave the village in a foul, chaotic state."

"Even old Liu from the nongjiale came to me and begged me not to agree. The village is perfectly fine the way it is right now; doing something like that would easily cause huge problems."

Ning Fei nodded secretly in agreement.

Good lord. It was a vast world, and there was no shortage of bizarre things in it.

To think someone actually wanted to use his name to create an Immortal Village and rake in the cash.

Their business sense was certainly undeniable.

However, if that had actually happened, Ning Fei figured he would have to follow Bai Yuanche's example and move somewhere else to live in seclusion.

For people like them, any place with a good environment was suitable for living.

But Ning Fei still loved the Qinshan Mountain range, so it was best that nothing had come of it.

Ning Fei rested well at Qingfeng Temple that night. The next day, he took Little Dog for a stroll down to South Lake.

This time, he did not start his live stream.

He was entirely too famous at the moment, so he planned to lay low for a couple of days and let the netizens calm down.

He first went to the back mountain to check on Dark Circles. As a national treasure giant panda, the creature naturally received the highest treatment.

Dark Circles was exceptionally excited to see him, doing two consecutive rolls on the ground before hugging Ning Fei's calf in a ridiculously cute display.

Little Dog barked twice at Dark Circles.

The pup sometimes ran to the back mountain to play with the panda, so the two of them were essentially friends now.

When he arrived at South Lake, Little Black Bear was blissfully scratching his back against a tree. The bear was equally thrilled to see Ning Fei.

It had been a while since they last saw each other, and Little Black Bear had grown considerably sturdier. He finally gave off the vibe of a true black bear spirit.

Just then, a flash of silver lightning streaked through the waters of South Lake.

It was Little Dragon, the dragon lightning electric eel Ning Fei was raising.

With Ning Fei's arrival, South Lake instantly grew lively.

Ning Fei was happy too.

It had been a long time, but the little guys hadn't changed a bit.

The fish in South Lake had also grown quite a bit. From the looks of it, he would have to sell another batch in two or three months.

Ning Fei spent the rest of the day leisurely fishing at South Lake, relaxing his mind.

After wandering the sea for so long, returning to the Daoist temple felt deeply comforting to his very bones.

On his way back that afternoon, an adorable sable blocked his path.

This was the sable that had once stolen wine at Qingfeng Temple. Ning Fei had allowed it to roam free ever since, and whenever it visited, he would feed it a little wine.

The moment the sable saw him, it began squeaking and chattering in an exasperated manner. Its expression seemed to say, 'Where the hell did you go? I've missed your wine to death!'

Understanding the sable's intent, Ning Fei chuckled in amusement. He brought the little creature back to Qingfeng Temple and poured it some wine.

Everything was harmonious and joyful.

Two days passed like this. Then, Ning Fei received a call from Yong Tao.

Yong Tao was his middle school classmate and a civil servant at the Forestry Bureau, spending his days patrolling the forests of Qinshan.

This time, Yong Tao brought bad news.

"Ning Fei, something just happened. Are you in Qinshan Village?" Yong Tao asked anxiously.

"I am. What's wrong? Take your time and tell me," Ning Fei said, immediately picking up on his distress.

"It's like this: a while ago, people from the Wildlife Protection Association and the Nature Conservation Bureau were monitoring the South China tigers and discovered that both of them had sustained varying degrees of injuries."

"Their initial assessment was that the injuries were caused by a conflict with a herd of takins."

Ning Fei's heart tightened at the words.

"Fortunately, the protection association noticed early. After sending out a drone to scout and confirm the extent of their injuries, the conservation bureau deployed a team. They tranquilized the tigers, brought them back to the reserve, and had specialists treat them."

"The two wild South China tigers stayed at the reserve for over a dozen days. Their regenerative abilities are incredibly strong, and with the doctors' help, they've practically made a full recovery."

Ning Fei listened quietly. Though he felt anxious, he knew better than to interrupt Yong Tao now.

Hearing that the wild South China tigers had recovered, Ning Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Today was supposed to be the day the conservation bureau returned them to Qinshan Mountain. They prepared a specialized armored transport truck and drove it straight toward Qinshan Mountain."

"But something went wrong. While driving into the mountains, they encountered a landslide. A massive boulder smashed down, the wheels slipped, and the truck went right over the edge!"

"We've lost contact with the driver, and search and rescue teams are currently looking for them."

Only then did Yong Tao finish recounting the entire incident.

Hearing the severity of the situation, Ning Fei immediately asked, "Where did the crash happen?"

"Just on the second peak to the south," Yong Tao replied. "The mountain with all the golden snub-nosed monkeys."

"Alright, I understand. Thanks for letting me know."

Ning Fei hung up the phone.

He was still wearing a dark blue Daoist Robe at the moment. Without caring about anything else, Ning Fei rushed straight toward the crash site in Nanshan.

At this time, it just so happened that Ning Fei had returned to Qingfeng Temple and had just turned on his live stream.

As a result, the netizens heard every word about the tiger transport crash loud and clear.

'The transport vehicle encountered a landslide? My god, is it really that terrifying?'

'Rocks tumble down the mountains all the time. It's a major culprit behind mountain road accidents.'

'Heavens, there were tigers in that truck too. I don't even dare to imagine what could happen.'

'I hope both the people and the tigers are okay.'

'What is Ning Guan master going to do? Don't tell me he's going to save them?'

'Perhaps he's more concerned about the South China tigers.'

Everyone discussed it fervently.

The moment Ning Fei returned to Qinshan Village, this incident caused his stream to explode in popularity once again.