Showing Strength

Fang Yuan did not head straight up the mountain at once.

Carrying that conspicuous logging axe, he deliberately took a circuit around the village's main paths.

It was not that he had suddenly become flamboyant. Rather, he knew full well that in a rural village like this, sometimes one had to properly "show strength."

If a household had lost the man who held up its roof, or if its men were too sickly to even get out of bed, it was like a slab of fat meat, drawing the covetous eyes of countless jackals and wolves.

He had to let everyone in the village see that although Fang Yuan had lost his scholarly title, his body was still sound. He could still lift an axe and enter the mountains.

Sure enough, several villagers out gathering firewood or carrying water early in the morning saw him so fully equipped and in such good spirits.

Surprise appeared on their faces. Hadn't they said the Fang Family boy had only a few days left to live? They all took the initiative to greet him.

"Brother Yuan, heading into the mountains so early?"

"Oh, your complexion looks much better, Brother Yuan!"

"Be careful. The snow is deep in the mountains!"

Fang Yuan nodded in response to each of them. He said little, but his steps were steady and his eyes clear, deliberately displaying the look of someone recovering well.

He appeared to be strolling casually, yet his footsteps led him toward the path by Hou San's house. Without drawing near,

his gaze swept from afar over Hou San's dilapidated courtyard at the eastern end of the village.

Sure enough, quite a few people had gathered there, pointing and whispering among themselves.

Several hooligans who usually ran around with Hou San had surrounded the village head and several village elders, gesticulating wildly as their spittle flew.

"Third Brother just drank too much! He lost his footing and smashed his head right into that stone edge!"

"Yeah, yeah, we can all testify to that! He was perfectly fine when he came out to take a piss!"

"Who would've thought it would happen so coincidentally... What rotten luck!"

Someone muttered from the side, "It's still a human life. Shouldn't we report it to the authorities and have them take a look..."

But someone else immediately cut him off.

"Report it? In this freezing weather, it's over a hundred li away! Which lord at the yamen would make that trip for a hooligan?

After all that fuss, wouldn't they just call it an accident and be done with it? You'd only be making trouble for yourself!"

In the end, an old man who looked to be Hou San's clansman uncle let out a sigh and stamped his foot.

"Enough, enough! Send someone to the city at once and get word to his cousin Zhang Biao! Let's see what he says! He was his cousin, after all. He has to come make the decision!"

At the mention of Hou San's cousin Zhang Biao, who worked as a guard for a wealthy household in the city, the hooligans who had been shouting just moments ago immediately shrank their necks.

Their swagger dropped by half, and obvious fear showed in their eyes. They repeatedly nodded in agreement, not daring to raise another objection.

Watching this from afar, the last taut string in Fang Yuan's heart loosened slightly.

Sure enough, no one suspected him.

Everyone's attention was fixed on the accident and how to notify that cousin who sounded like a very troublesome man.

The outcome was even better than he had expected.

Fang Yuan quickened his pace and followed a narrow path blanketed in snow toward the mountain.

He deliberately adjusted the rhythm of his breathing and steps, treating the journey itself as training for [Basic Footwork].

With every step his foot took—pressing down, exerting force, pushing off—he felt the stretching and contracting of his leg muscles.

The aching swell brought by racing blood and vital energy, along with the growth of his strength, intoxicated him.

From time to time, a message surfaced in his mind: [Basic Footwork Proficiency +1]

After walking for more than two hours, the mountain path grew steeper, and the surrounding woods became denser and more secluded.

Just as he was about to turn toward a mountain hollow where he had previously discovered signs of prey, his gaze swept over the snow ahead, and his expression changed sharply!

Several clear lines of footprints were stamped into the snow!

The prints were deep, chaotic, and crisscrossing. Clearly, more than one person had passed through, and not long ago either—the edges had not yet been fully covered by fresh snow.

"Someone?" Fang Yuan's heart immediately rose into his throat.

Ordinary villagers would not come this deep into the mountains in a group.

Other hunters?

He crouched down and inspected them carefully.

The footprints were large, and the strides wide, revealing their owners' strong physiques and experience walking in mountain terrain.

They were definitely seasoned hunters, and most likely a group of them.

Fang Yuan's thoughts raced.

Great Green Mountain was vast, but most hunters operated around its outskirts, and there was only so much prey to go around.

Conflicts between hunters over good hunting grounds or large prey were common.

He was alone, with only an axe and a few lengths of rope. If he ran into veteran hunters with ill intentions, he would likely come off badly.

Better avoid them. He made his decision at once.

Rather than continue in his original direction, he decisively turned around and chose a more remote route where there was barely even a trace of a path.

Using both hands and feet, he climbed a steep slope, intending to circle around from the other side.

His [Basic Footwork] proved useful now. Even on the wet, slippery slope, he could find relatively stable footholds, and his speed did not slow much.

Not long after he went around them, in a wind-sheltered oak grove reached by that original path,

several figures lay silently in ambush behind thick snow and dead branches. Like rocks waiting for prey, they had nearly blended into their surroundings.

They were the seasoned hunters led by Heizi.

Holding their breath, they watched sharply as a few scattered corn kernels and dried fruits lay in a small clearing among the trees. That was the bait they had set.

Heizi's eyes were cold and fierce, his ears twitching faintly as he caught the slightest sounds in the mountain forest.

The other two hunters also gripped their steel forks and hunting bows tightly, their muscles taut as though facing a great enemy.

They were lying in wait for a group of wild boars that frequently roamed this area.

After suffering a setback yesterday, they had come better prepared today, determined to win back their pride.

Heizi suddenly frowned slightly and tilted his head almost imperceptibly. He seemed to have heard an extremely faint rustling from the distant slope, unlike the wind, snow, or animals.

But when he focused and listened again, the sound had vanished, leaving only the mournful howl of the wind.

He shook his head, taking it for an illusion, and refocused all his attention on the trap ahead.

Hunting wild boars allowed no distraction whatsoever.

They did not know that the "lone traveler" they had discussed had just silently passed around the edge of their ambush.

Fang Yuan carefully traveled a while along his new route. Only after confirming that he was completely away from the direction of those footprints did he relax slightly.

Looks like I'm not the only one in these mountains looking for food. He remained inwardly alert and watched his surroundings even more cautiously.

Heizi and the others' ambush point was deathly quiet, with only the wind and snow whimpering through bare branches.

Suddenly, hurried rustling and heavy snorting came from the forest clearing!

A Black-furred Wild Boar with a massive body and coarse, bristling mane burst from the bushes.

Its tiny crimson eyes greedily stared at the bait on the ground while it warily scanned its surroundings.

Step by step, it approached the bait, its thick snout rooting through the snow.

Now!

A sharp gleam flashed through Heizi's eyes as he abruptly made a hand signal!

Whoosh! An arrow tore through the air first, shooting accurately toward the wild boar's neck!

Almost at the same time, two nooses sprang from the snow on either side, looping precisely toward the wild boar's front and rear legs!

The boar was exceptionally alert. The instant it heard the bowstring, it violently tried to bolt away, but it was ultimately a step too slow!

With a pfft, the arrow buried itself deep in the thick flesh of its shoulder blade. It had missed the vital point, but it completely ignited the beast's fury!

"Aoo—!" The wild boar let out a pained, enraged howl and suddenly reared up, instantly pulling both nooses taut!

The hunters lying in wait on either side clung desperately to the ropes!

"Hold it down!" Heizi growled, leaping from his hiding place first.

The heavy iron-bound steel fork in his hand carried a vicious wind as it stabbed fiercely toward the wild boar's flank!

The other two hunters pounced at the same time, their steel blade and axe striking toward the boar's body!

The wild boar's vitality was astonishingly tenacious. After suffering such heavy blows, it only grew more frenzied!

It violently twisted its huge body and unleashed brute force, actually dragging the two hunters holding the nooses into a stagger!

The rope binding its rear legs was even tugged slightly loose by its struggles!

With a toss of its head, its blade-sharp tusks slammed brutally into Heizi's steel fork, sending sparks flying! The immense force numbed Heizi's tiger's mouth and drove him stumbling backward.

Amid the chaos, a man holding a hunting knife seized his chance and chopped it down onto the boar's back, opening a bloody gash so deep that bone could be seen!

Pain-stricken, the wild boar let out an even shriller scream and kicked violently with its hind leg!

The kick carried tremendous force and struck the shin of the hunter whose footing it had dragged unsteady moments before!

A tooth-achingly crisp crack! faintly rang out!

"Aaah—!" The hunter let out a miserable scream as the kick sent his whole body flying backward.

He crashed heavily into the snow, clutching his visibly twisted and deformed lower leg as he rolled about in agony!

The noose loosened, granting the wild boar a brief moment to catch its breath!

Its crimson eyes swept over its surroundings. Then, dragging its still-bleeding body, it charged madly toward the direction with the fewest people.

In an instant, it crashed through the dead branches blocking its way and vanished into the depths of the forest!

Only a chaotic trail of bloody hoofprints remained in the snow, along with the fading sound of its furious snorts.

"Fuck!" Heizi cursed viciously as he stared in the direction the wild boar had fled, his face livid.

"Quick! See how Liu Zi is!" Forgetting the pursuit, he hurried over to the injured hunter.

The hunter called Liu Zi was pale as paper, his forehead covered in cold sweat. His right lower leg bent at a strange angle, clearly broken.

He was trembling all over in pain, unable to even speak.

The other hunter also gathered around. Seeing his companion's miserable state and the pool of blood on the ground, fear and dejection filled his face.

They had failed again! And this time, one of them had been crippled!

Heizi crouched down and gave the injury a rough examination, his brows knotting tightly. He tore off strips of cloth and hurriedly used them to crudely set Liu Zi's broken leg.

"Damn it... that beast..." He gritted his teeth, staring in the direction the wild boar had escaped, his gaze so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water.

This time, their losses were severe.