"We're back..."
The children's slightly weary voices, their exhaustion trailing out in long, drawn-out notes, rang through the little house already swallowed by night.
"So tired..."
Along with those weary trailing words came scattered cries of exhaustion.
"What happened to you...?"
Hearing the children, He Yin came out of the house. Her expression changed slightly, surprise flashing across her face before it filled with concern.
At that moment, the children returning from checking the traps stood before her looking utterly bedraggled. Though they bore no obvious wounds, mud stained their faces, hands, clothes, legs, and feet in varying degrees. They looked as though they had just gone through a fight.
"Hehe!"
Seeing the surprise on Sister He Yin's face, Ming Tai and the others, who had looked exhausted moments ago, immediately perked up.
"Look, Sister He Yin!"
The liveliest of them, the little bald Ming Tai, hopped forward and raised both hands. A pheasant was in one hand and a squirrel in the other. Blood dripped steadily from them as a row of white teeth gleamed in the darkness.
"And this! This too!"
As Ming Tai hopped about, Xiao Zhen, the comparatively steady one behind him—a spirited-looking boy with thick brows and big eyes—also stepped forward and raised his hands. Two pheasants hung upside down from his grip, slowly spinning in circles. This time, even the usually calm and honest Xiao Zhen wore the same proud grin as Ming Tai, his teeth flashing brightly.
"This is..."
Looking at the children's faintly smug expressions, He Yin was startled. She could tell that the three pheasants and the pigeons bore injuries unlike those caused by traps. Clearly, they had not been caught in traps.
These children...
Could it be that they caught prey themselves?
They were able to hunt on their own!