Cutting In

Qin Ming withdrew his gaze, slung the hide sack over his back, and headed back the way he had come.

Today's haul had been considerable, and he was already satisfied. With more than half a sack of food, he would not go hungry for a while.

There were hollows and rocks beneath the snow, making the path difficult to traverse, but Qin Ming was in a good mood.

With enough food, he no longer had any concerns. If he trained with those specific movements for a long time, perhaps he would make new progress.

At the same time, he looked forward to early spring, when the season of bursting vitality would arrive.

Though everything was currently frozen beneath ice and snow, with grass and trees facing desolation and all things sunk in silence, once the barren period passed, Fire Springs would surge from the dangerous parts of the mountains, and Earth Light would begin steaming up frequently. Vegetation would sprout new branches and buds, and all things would revive. It would be an entirely different sight.

As he neared the edge of the Dense Forest, Qin Ming abruptly stopped, threw down the hide sack, gripped his hunting fork in both hands, and spun around.

A pair of scarlet eyes appeared in the darkness, deeply unsettling as they rapidly closed in.

His hair stood on end. Though it was still some distance away, he could sense that the creature following him was large and extremely ferocious. A gust of cold wind carried over a stench of blood.

He planted the hunting fork in the snow and swiftly took down his bow and arrows. His arm strength was astonishing; he instantly pulled the stiff bow, which ordinary people could barely use, into the shape of a full moon. A powerful iron arrow flew forth, and even the bowstring's twang rang loud.

In the distance, the creature rushing toward him with a savage aura suddenly paused, seemingly struck by the arrow.

Qin Ming concentrated completely and drew his bow again and again. His superb archery was on full display as iron arrows with tremendous killing power shot one after another into the night.

A dull growl came from the Dense Forest. The scarlet eyes vanished, and amid the sound of dead branches snapping, the creature hid behind the trees.

Qin Ming did not dare relax. Though the unknown dangerous creature had been injured, it was not enough to kill it. Once it lay hidden in the forest, it would become even more dangerous.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the hide sack and hunting fork, then charged swiftly out of the mountain forest and onto the open snowfield.

He did not want to remain in the dim surroundings, afraid of being ambushed. He suspected it was a troublesome mutated creature.

A considerable commotion arose from the forest, accompanied by the sound of snow being violently churned up. Clearly, the creature was fiercely pursuing him.

Qin Ming drew his bow without hesitation. Some iron arrows struck thick tree trunks with a thud, shaking the snow from the entire trees in an instant like cascading snowfalls.

The creature was forced back once again and fell silent within the forest.

If it had been an ordinary Fierce Beast, it would either have been frightened away or rushed forward in a frenzy stirred by its wounds. Yet this mutated creature prowled in the darkness, still waiting and searching for an opportunity.

Qin Ming held his bow toward the Dense Forest, confronting that dangerous creature.

The snow on the ground heaved and churned. A huge Black Shadow repeatedly appeared and disappeared among the trees, its scarlet eyes cold and grim, especially oppressive in the night.

In the end, however, it was blocked by Qin Ming's bow and arrows, whose force was astonishingly great. It let out an unwilling, low hiss and vanished into the Dense Forest.

Qin Ming's expression was grave. Though the forest was dim, he could still make out that it had been a figure capable of running upright. He did not know what kind of mutated creature it was.

He slowly backed away. There was no movement in any direction, but he never lowered his guard.

Even when he was less than a mile from the Fire Spring at the Village Entrance, he remained vigilant.

There had been bloody lessons from the past. Some villagers had already approached the village entrance, only to relax and be pounced on by unknown creatures trailing them through the darkness, dragged away without a sound.

Outside Double Tree Village, three young men shivered from the cold, stamping their feet and rubbing their hands. They exhaled great clouds of white mist, their eyebrows crusted with ice.

They waited on the snowy trail Qin Ming had trampled out when he entered the pitch-black wilderness, speaking in low voices.

"In weather this cold, waiting here is pure torture. If it really comes down to it, we should leave. I'd say there's an eighty-percent chance he'll die in the wild and never bring back any prey."

"What's the rush? What if he gets lucky like Old Man Li and finds a mountain beast that froze to death in the outer parts of the forest?"

The three usually loafed around, loved eating but hated working, and did not dare enter the dangerous areas of the mountains. Yet in the village, they put on quite a tough front and loved mooching food and drink.

After learning that Qin Ming had left the village to hunt, they had harbored crooked thoughts and wanted to wait here to cut in and steal his haul.

"That kid Qin Ming is agile and incredibly strong. Let's not capsize in the gutter here and end up getting dealt with by him instead."

"What are you afraid of? He's only just recovered from a serious illness. His body must still be weak. Later, just throw the hide sack over his head. Watch your strength when you strike—don't actually beat him to death."

Though they wanted to do evil, they lacked the courage to kill. They merely intended to strike Qin Ming from behind and secretly rob him of the prey he brought back.

Qin Ming had remained on guard the entire way, his nerves taut. His eyes were sharp, and from some distance away, he had already spotted three Black Shadows.

He immediately crouched down. The snow already reached nearly to his shoulders, and now he vanished completely.

He silently crept along the snow path he had previously trodden out and finally recognized the figures ahead as three idle men from the village.

Qin Ming stopped at a suitable position, where he could hear the three men talking.

A moment later, his expression darkened. These three actually wanted to ambush him here and steal his prey?

Although he had not hunted a bear, merely raided a squirrel nest, and it would not sound particularly "glorious" if word got out, he had truly endured two brushes with death. He had been attacked first by a Human-faced Vulture and then by an unknown mutated creature. One moment of carelessness could have gotten him killed. They dared rob the food he had fought for with his life—he could not tolerate this kind of cutting in.

Hu Yong, Ma Yang, and Wang Youping shivered from the cold as they worked together to dig out a snow hollow that could block the freezing wind. It counted as an advance ambush, and they huddled inside to wait.

They had assumed Qin Ming would risk going deep into the mountain forest to hunt, and had misjudged when he would return. Otherwise, they would not have spoken so freely just now.

"Be more careful. Don't make a sound later," Ma Yang said.

Hu Yong nodded. "When we strike from behind, we need to be fast, accurate, and ruthless. Make it clean!"

Wang Youping complained, "I just hope he comes back alive with prey and shows up soon. Let's give him a few iron-bar rewards already—I'm nearly frozen stiff."

Suddenly, the snow hollow where they hid collapsed with a crash, burying all three in an instant. Caught completely off guard, their mouths and noses filled with snow.

Hu Yong reacted the fastest and was the first to burst out. But before he could steady himself, he saw a foot right before his eyes. With a bang, it slammed heavily into his face.

The agonizing pain twisted his features. Then a hunting fork smashed violently into his shoulder. It felt as though his bones were about to break, and the pain made him stagger and fall onto the ground.

Ma Yang was in much the same state. The moment he poked his head out of the snow, Qin Ming kicked him in the nose. The piercing pain mixed with a sour ache was unbearable. He let out a wail, tears and snot streaming down his face as he rolled ceaselessly through the snow.

Hearing that something was wrong, Wang Youping burrowed into the waist-deep snow and did not dare emerge. Then he suddenly felt pain in his back. The sharp steel fork pierced through his clothes, drawing blood.

"Don't... don't kill me." His voice trembled, and so did his lips. What made him feel even more ashamed and humiliated was that he had wet himself. He was terrified of being stabbed straight through the heart.

Qin Ming had not intended to take his life. Judging by feel, he had only pierced his skin, barely drawing blood.

He jabbed Wang Youping out, then raised his foot and kicked him three meters away, sending him tumbling into another snowbank.

"Qin... Ming."

"Ming Ge, we're all from the same village. We see each other every day. Please show mercy. We were wrong this time."

Once the three saw who it was, then saw the cold-glinting steel fork in his hand pointed at them, they immediately wilted.

They all had knives and clubs on them, but seeing Qin Ming so fierce and brimming with killing intent, they were afraid from the bottom of their hearts. On top of that, they were injured, and like complete cowards, they did not dare resist.

Usually, they bullied the weak and feared the strong. When they truly encountered someone tough, they did not dare stir up trouble at all.

Though the actions of the three were hateful, Qin Ming was not about to kill them over it. A fierce "lesson" was unavoidable. He used the steel fork to press against their bodies and made them squat obediently on the ground.

Then he gave them a thorough beating, fully working out his muscles and bones.

In the end, the three were bruised and swollen, their mouths full of bloody froth. They howled miserably for a long while and were only released after a stern warning.

Qin Ming felt that people like them were outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly. They did not have the nerve, much less the ability, to become truly vicious villains. One ruthless beating was enough to teach them a lesson.

Meanwhile, outside the Dense Forest where Qin Ming had confronted the mutated creature, a donkey ambled over from the distant open land. It seemed familiar with the road ahead and appeared to be heading into the mountains.

A Weasel sat on the donkey's back. It was white as snow without a single stray hair. In this era when the sun had set and never risen again, white creatures were relatively rare.

Unlike ordinary small animals, which were so lively, it was remarkably calm—one could even call it mature. It sat cross-legged on the donkey's back, riding backward and facing the road behind it.

It did not seem like a wild animal. Its Divine Charm resembled that of a steady human, its eyes deep as it rode the donkey onward at an unhurried pace.

The mutated creature that Qin Ming had forced back suddenly pounced when it saw the donkey approaching. Yet upon spotting the snow-white Weasel on the donkey's back, it abruptly stopped, turned, and disappeared into the Dense Forest. It plunged headfirst beneath the thick snow, its body trembling faintly.

The donkey was not startled. It merely gave the creature a faint glance, then, like an old horse that knew the way, carried the silent Weasel toward the mountains.

The Fire Spring was in sight, and the Black White Twin Trees swayed.

Qin Ming quickened his pace and reached the village entrance moments later. He finally relaxed completely.

"Qin Ming's back." Someone splitting firewood looked up and happened to see him.

Before long, several Courtyard Gates facing the street opened.

Qin Ming's decision to venture out alone had long since spread through the village. Many people had been wondering whether he could return alive and whether he would gain anything.

"He went out fully armed just as Shallow Night arrived..."

Double Tree Village was small. Villagers who heard the commotion along the road all came out.

Every household had Sun Stones that cast out Fire Haze, giving even the street a faint glow.

When people saw a Red Squirrel hanging from Qin Ming's hunting fork, they fell utterly silent.

This was completely different from what they had imagined.

Lu Ze hurried over. Seeing that Qin Ming was Safe and Sound, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, the weight in his heart finally lifting.

He was an honest man. Breaking the silence, he said, "Everyone said you went into the mountains to hunt bears, but in the end you... caught a squirrel?"

"I also raided its home," Qin Ming said with a smile.

People noticed the hide sack on his back and immediately understood what was inside. Their eyes instantly turned red with envy.

Then they noticed that the squirrel's fiery-red fur gave off a faint glow. It was clearly a mutated creature, and its value was certainly not low.

"Not only did you return safely from this trip, your harvest was substantial too," Old Man Liu, who lived by the village entrance, remarked.

Some villagers Take the Opportunity to ask whether it was safe outside. Qin Ming truthfully recounted what he had encountered On the Way. He did not dare mislead his neighbors; that would cost lives.

When they heard that dangerous mutated creatures were active in the outer regions of the mountain forest, everyone's expressions changed. For a while, they still could not go out alone.

Afterward, Qin Ming did not hide it either and Mentioned the actions of Ma Yang, Hu Yong, and Wang Youping. This immediately stirred the outrage of the village's young and old alike.

"Shameless! They don't dare enter the mountains themselves, yet they wanted to strike at a fellow villager from behind. They weren't just trying to cut in—they wanted to harm someone's life, didn't they?"

Ma Yang, Hu Yong, and Wang Youping were supporting one another as they limped into view at the village entrance, only for Lu Ze and others to give them another vicious beating.

"Brother Lu, Uncle Yang, Grandfather Liu, stop hitting us! Help!" The three had bloody snot bubbles frozen to their faces as they screamed heart-rendingly. Mainly because they had provoked public anger—many people had long disliked them.

Qin Ming gave every child on the street a large handful of nuts, immediately setting off a chorus of delighted cheers.

Then he saw Grandma Zhou. Her face was pale as she leaned against her Courtyard Gate. He quickly walked over and, not allowing her to say anything, left her some dried food.

"Uncle, you're amazing! The wild walnuts are so delicious, and the pine nuts smell so good!"

At Qin Ming's home, Wen Rui lavished him with praise. He was delighted beyond measure and had sampled every kind of dried fruit, his little mouth unable to stop.

"Jujube mush, yummy, sweet." Little Wen Hui, barely over two years old, spoke unclearly as he ate red-date mush made by steaming, pitting, and mashing the dates. Then he smacked a kiss onto Qin Ming's cheek.

Beside them, the Red Squirrel hanging from the hunting fork woke from its unconscious state. It Opened Eyes and saw them rummaging through its "Family Fortune," immediately falling into despair.

"As expected of a mutated creature—hardworking and capable. It stored more than thirty jin of food," Liang Wanqing praised.

The Red Squirrel's eyes widened until they were round, nearly spitting fire.

At that moment, Lu Ze spoke seriously. "Little Qin, I think your body has recovered almost completely. It's time to seriously consider the matter of 'New Life.'"