Eastern Wasteland, Wei Kingdom, Li Family Village.
Li Hu was one of the more capable hunters in the village. He had a blind old mother at home, and his wife was already pregnant. Li Hu made his living by hunting, and their life was manageable.
A mountain stream flowed past the end of the village. The villagers used its water to irrigate their fields and had always lived self-sufficiently.
Whenever Li Hu went into the mountains to hunt, he would be gone for at least several days and sometimes as long as several months.
One day, at dusk.
Li Hu and several other hunters strolled along the mountain path, each of their faces brimming with blissful smiles.
"We actually managed to hunt a Blind Bear this time. If we take its pelt to town to sell, it'll definitely fetch a good price. We can have a good New Year this year."
Li Hu said with a laugh. He had already thought of how to spend the money: buying some nourishing supplements for his wife and several doses of medicine for his frail, sickly mother.
"Huh? Before we entered the mountains, we hadn't seen anyone living here. Did someone move in recently?"
One of the hunters asked curiously.
Li Hu followed his companion's pointing finger and saw a crude thatched hut, with a wisp of cooking smoke slowly rising into the air.
The thatched hut stood atop a low earthen slope, not far from the mountain stream.
"They must have moved here recently. These are troubled times. I heard Liu Mazi from the neighboring village say that bandits robbed several wealthy households and killed quite a few people. The authorities even offered a hundred taels of silver as a bounty, but still couldn't catch them."
"No one has it easy these