Hunting Wild Boars

The morning class had just ended when Lu Chen heard a notification.

[Under the host's guidance and influence, the destinies of fifteen people, including Lu Chengzong and Lu Yaozu, have changed]

[Fate Value Settlement: 15]

I get a settlement after the very first proper class?

Lu Chen was delighted.

With those 15 points, he had 150 in total.

After returning home and eating, he began practicing squats, high jumps, long jumps, sprints, shuttle runs, and other exercises.

An hour later.

[Host's footwork skill detected. Trait generated]

[Nimble Footwork (beginner)]

Why did I get an entry like this? Lu Chen found it a little strange and looked at its description.

[Improves agility and running speed, stabilizes the lower body, and reduces stamina consumption]

Lu Chen was reasonably satisfied when he saw the effects.

Add points right away!

After spending 10 points, Lu Chen felt as though his legs had been immersed in a hot spring and thoroughly massaged. Every one of his toes felt wonderfully comfortable.

It felt much better than having his feet washed!

After a long while, Lu Chen jumped on the spot and could clearly feel that he had jumped much higher than before.

He tried sprinting and running shuttles. He really was much more agile and much faster.

The improvement was visible to the naked eye.

[Nimble Footwork, minor mastery - 1%]

"Not bad. If I need to run away or chase someone, I'll have a better chance with this Trait."

Lu Chen told Lu Ming and Lu Tang not to go out. Then he picked up his bamboo spear, slung a bamboo basket and a woodcutting knife over his back, took a bag of pebbles, and headed into the mountains.

On the road from the county town to Qingshan Village, two ox carts trundled along.

The carts were covered with straw mats.

A man of medium build with a mole on his chin walked alongside the carts, looking rather pleased.

He was Huang Chao, a subordinate of Cheng Datou, a minor boss in the Green Bamboo Gang.

Cheng Datou had only five trusted core subordinates in all. Now four were dead, leaving Huang Chao as the only one.

With no rivals left, some lucrative assignments had fallen into his lap.

Like this trip to Qingshan Village to collect a debt.

A man named Lu Chen owed Young Master Li Feng ten taels of silver. Li Feng had sold the debt to the Green Bamboo Gang, and the gang naturally intended to make a profit from it.

For a debt of ten taels, he intended to bring back at least fifteen.

Wasn't that easy money?

The ox carts creaked and groaned their way to the entrance of Qingshan Village. Some villagers spotted Huang Chao and the others and grew wary.

Before long, however, Huang Chao caused a stir among the villagers of Qingshan Village.

Those ruffians Lu San, Lu Si, and the others were dead!

Their bodies had been brought back.

Dead?

Many people were secretly delighted, unable to keep the smiles off their faces.

Good riddance! How wonderful that they were dead!

Those scourges should have died long ago!

Even Lu San and Lu Si's own parents felt little grief. They were merely numb, and there was even a trace of relief in their eyes.

Life had been hard for them too, having given birth to two beastly sons like those.

Teng Jun was an orphan, with only a cousin of his father's and his family left. Luo Yong had only his mother and elder brother.

The four were taken away by their relatives without so much as a ripple, leaving the villagers with nothing more than something to gossip about after meals.

After seeing his colleagues off, Huang Chao asked around the village about Lu Chen.

Who would have thought that Lu Chen had already gone into the mountains?

The villagers were wary and hostile toward him too, which left Huang Chao thoroughly displeased.

But there was nothing he could do. Alone in a village like this, he didn't dare make trouble. If they beat him to death, there would be nowhere to seek justice. After circling Lu Chen's house twice, he could only reluctantly find a shady spot to sit and wait for him to return.

That brat went into the mountains even though he's injured? Isn't he courting death? If I can't collect the money, I'll sell his house. It looks like it's made of gray bricks with a proper tiled roof, so it should be worth some silver.

Huang Chao leisurely found a flat spot under a tree and lay down with his neck resting on his arm, thinking about how he would scare the brat into obediently paying back the money.

He had heard that the boy had a younger brother and sister. If the brat dared to disobey him, he would simply snatch his sister and sell her to a brothel. She would fetch a good price too.

As he thought about it, he fell asleep.

Lu Chen hadn't encountered any pheasants or rabbits in the mountains. His luck wasn't very good this time; he hadn't seen a single living creature.

There were plenty of birds in the woods, but unfortunately they were all too small, with hardly any meat on them, so he left them alone.

But whether he was lucky or unlucky, he didn't know. He was now facing off against a herd of wild boars.

Two large boars led the herd, followed by a group of boars weighing around a hundred jin and piglets weighing several dozen jin. The two sides had come face-to-face on a narrow animal trail.

Lu Chen held his bamboo spear ready, his breathing somewhat heavy.

The boars opposite him were uneasy too. The two big ones looked to weigh a good three or four hundred jin each. Their bodies were covered in dried mud, their bristles stood on end, and their tusks curved upward. They looked fearsome.

The lead boar took a few steps back. Lu Chen's heart tightened, and without a second thought, he added points to [Nimble Footwork, minor mastery].

Fifty Fate Value vanished.

[Agile Footwork: Great Achievement (1%)]

[Improves agility and running speed by 20%, stabilizes the lower body, and reduces stamina consumption by 20%]

He felt much lighter.

He had 90 Fate Value left, so he added points again.

[Chopping: Great Achievement (1%)]

[Fate Value -47]

[Improves chopping efficiency and speed by 30%, and armor penetration by 15%.]

"Huh, that only used 47 points? So practicing on my own really does help. It can save me some Fate Value?"

There was no time to adjust to the warmth flowing through his body, but Lu Chen felt somewhat more confident.

He hadn't considered upgrading Thrusting because all he held was a bamboo spear without even an iron spearhead. Against so many wild boars, it would be no use at all; it might even snap in a single strike.

The boar grunted and charged at him like a heavily armored tank, its four hooves thudding dully against the ground.

The other big boar followed close behind, thundering toward him.

Lu Chen steadied his breathing and forced himself to stay calm, his eyes fixed on the boar in front. When it was almost upon him, he suddenly turned sideways, stepped to the left, and lunged forward.

Thrusting.

Using all his strength, he aimed the bamboo spear at the boar's neck and thrust.

"Pfft!"

The bamboo spear pierced the boar's thick hide and buried itself in the flesh of its front leg.

The boar let out a piercing, anguished roar. It fell forward, quickly scrambled to its feet, and charged at Lu Chen again in a rage.

Without pausing for a moment, Lu Chen abandoned the bamboo spear lodged in the boar and dodged behind a large tree beside him.

The second boar nearly crashed into him. Luckily, he had added points to Nimble Footwork, or he really wouldn't have escaped it.

Once behind the tree, Lu Chen quickly set down the bamboo basket on his back, grabbed his woodcutting knife, and spun around, hacking viciously at the head of the wounded boar just as it charged toward him.

"Pfft!"

The woodcutting knife wasn't sharp, but with the Trait boost and 15% armor penetration, the blow, backed by the strength of his waist and abdomen, hacked savagely into the boar's skull and sank straight into its head.

The boar fell to the ground, its four legs rigid, and both its roars and its strength weakened.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth and pulled the knife from the boar's skull, bringing out a spray of hot blood.

The big boar's struggles instantly lost their strength, and it lay trembling on the ground.

Seeing this, the second boar turned and ran.

The smaller boars scattered and fled as well.

Lu Chen gripped the woodcutting knife tightly, his eyes red. He took aim at a small boar running at the back and hurled the knife with all his might.

The heavy knife left Lu Chen's arm aching slightly. It spun several times through the air before its edge struck the boar squarely in the rump, cutting deep enough to expose bone.

The small boar shrieked and tried to keep running, but Lu Chen's hands moved with extreme speed. He pulled two more pebbles from the bag and sent them shooting out.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The pebbles struck the small boar's hind legs, and it took only two more steps before falling.

Lu Chen ran forward, picked up the woodcutting knife, and planted a foot on the boar. He aimed at its head, raised the knife, and brought it down.

The shrieks stopped at once.

Only then did he draw a heavy breath and realize that sweat was pouring off him and his muscles were aching.

The other boars had long since vanished without a trace.

"Phew!" Lu Chen's heart pounded. After standing there and panting for a while, he carried the boar, which weighed twenty-odd jin, over to the large one.

The big boar wasn't dead yet, but its breathing was faint.

The bamboo spear was still lodged in its body. The front of the spearhead had split open and bent to one side, trembling unsteadily with every breath the boar took.

Lu Chen pulled out the bamboo spear, and blood spurted forth.

He looked at the Bamboo Spear.

He had only made it a few days ago, and it was already ruined.

Holding the woodcutting knife, Lu Chen aimed at the boar's head and chopped down again.

"It's such a big boar. How am I supposed to carry it out of the mountains by myself? Do I have to give it up?"