Someone Else Picked Up the Spoils

Fang Yuan blended into the thinning crowd as it dispersed, and every word of the conversation between Heizi and the fat shopkeeper, Wang Laowu, reached his ears clearly.

His heart tightened, but his steps did not falter in the slightest. He merely turned sideways without drawing attention, hiding his face in deeper shadow.

He quietly took several steps back, completely melting into the shadowed gaps between the tents.

Sure enough! The rightful owners had come looking!!

Heizi had grown suspicious and was tracing the source of that wild boar.

Fang Yuan's gaze swept over several especially bustling tents in the market. Large pots had been set up inside.

Milky-white broth churned and boiled within them, sending up billowing steam. The rich, gamey scent of mutton mixed with the sharp fragrance of spices drifted through the air.

It stirred the cravings in people's bellies.

Chunks of bone-in mutton could vaguely be seen rising and sinking in the pots. Coarse porcelain bowls sat on the tables beside them, and several men who looked like traveling merchants were gathered around.

They ate until sweat covered their heads, smacking their lips and sucking their fingers, letting out satisfied sighs.

Under normal circumstances, Fang Yuan might have squeezed inside and spent a few dozen coins on a steaming-hot bowl of mutton soup to eat with his Dry Rations.

He would have let that warmth soothe its way from his throat down into his stomach, driving away the bitter cold of the winter night.

But at this moment, the scent felt like invisible hooks, while those noisy tents seemed like open traps.

Silver rested in his clothes, White rice and Fine salt were on his back, and at home he still had half a wild boar and the even more valuable Snow Ginseng.

Any unexpected complication could bring unnecessary trouble, at least until he held an absolute advantage!

"I have to go back immediately." Fang Yuan suppressed that small craving for food and no longer lingered.

He tugged down the brim of his hat, tightened the straps of his basket, and turned to stride away.

Using the night, wind, and snow as cover, he avoided the market's main road and chose a more secluded, more roundabout path.

He hurried toward Fang Family Village.

[Basic Footwork Proficiency +1]

The notification sounded repeatedly.

His Basic Footwork left steady yet swift tracks in the snow, but fresh snowfall soon covered them.

At the other end of the market, Heizi emerged from Wang Laowu's tent with a dark expression.

He did not believe Wang Laowu's nonsense about not noticing which direction the man had gone, but the fat man was slippery as an eel, and he could not pry out anything more.

"Damn it, it had to be that brat!" Heizi spat and said to his companions.

"Come on, let's ask the nearby stalls again. See whether anyone saw an unfamiliar young man with some strength selling meat!"

He led his men through the market for a while longer, questioning stall after stall.

When those vendors saw Heizi, most were quite polite, and some were even afraid.

"Brother Heizi, I didn't really notice..."

"There were all sorts of people today, and several were selling meat. I don't remember..."

"Strong? Ah, that's hard to say..."

The Heizi Hunting Team truly had quite a reputation in this area.

They had numbers on their side, and every one of them was an experienced old hunter. They entered and left the deep mountains all year round, fierce and skilled, and ordinary villagers did not dare provoke them.

They brought in many prey animals of good quality and were steady suppliers for several major buyers in the Black Market. Their connections were tangled and deep-rooted.

Whenever ordinary villagers saw them, they had to politely call them "Brother Heizi" or "Hunt Leader."

That invisible air of swagger and intimidation had made Heizi accustomed to others fearing and obeying him.

After asking around, he found no useful clues, and Heizi's mood grew even more irritable.

When you encounter advertisements asking "Are you a real person?", there is no need to pay attention. Just close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!

At last, he arrived before Hu Lao San's tent.

Hu Lao San was directing his assistants at the entrance as they packed up, preparing to close the stall. When he saw Heizi approach,

he paused, his face displaying his usual unfathomable smile.

"Heizi? What brings you over? I heard Liu Zi was badly hurt. How is he?"

"Shopkeeper Hu." Heizi suppressed his anger and cupped his fists.

"Thank you for your concern. Liu Zi broke his leg and is being treated by Old Sun Tou. I came to ask about something.

"Did you happen to see an unfamiliar young man just now, about this tall, wearing a ragged padded jacket, selling wild boar meat? He looked rather strong."

Upon hearing this, Hu Lao San put on an appropriately thoughtful expression before shaking his head, his tone certain.

"Wild boar meat? I took in some mountain goods today, but I didn't see any unfamiliar face selling whole cuts of wild boar meat. What, did you lose some goods, Heizi?"

His response was flawless, as though he had no idea Fang Yuan had come earlier, and he did not mention the transaction for two taels of silver at all.

Heizi stared at Hu Lao San for a moment, but Hu Lao San's expression remained calm and open.

Heizi knew that Hu Lao San had a somewhat deep background. He valued "rules" and "reputation" in business and was not like Wang Laowu, who dared swallow any money handed to him.

Since he said he had not seen the man, either he truly had not, or he simply did not wish to say.

"It's nothing. I was just asking." Heizi had not gotten the information he wanted, and his heart felt even more stifled. Still, he could not very well lash out at Hu Lao San, so he cupped his fists.

"Shopkeeper Hu, carry on. I'll be leaving first."

Watching Heizi and his men depart, Hu Lao San's smile gradually faded.

His thoughtful gaze turned toward the vast darkness beyond the market, while his fingers unconsciously tapped against the counter.

"An unfamiliar face... strong... wild boar meat..." he muttered softly.

The corner of his mouth curved almost imperceptibly. Then he shook his head and called to his assistants again.

"Move faster. Once you're done packing, we're done for the night!"

After Heizi had gone far away and his figure had completely vanished into the darkness at the market's edge,

the trace of polite smile on Hu Lao San's face disappeared at once, replaced by faint mockery.

He gave a soft snort, his voice low enough for only himself to hear.

"Hmph, what airs. He couldn't keep watch over prey already in his hands, and when someone else picked up the bargain, he came running over in a rage?

"Since when did the rules of these mountains become rules set by Heizi's family? Whoever the prey ends up in the hands of, it belongs to that person!"

Hu Lao San had heard plenty about conflicts between hunters. In the past, the Heizi Hunting Team had relied on their numbers.

Had they done little of stealing wild game others had wounded and tracked, or claiming hunting grounds others had discovered first?

Now that it was their turn to suffer a loss, they could not stand it?

Besides, even if they found the person, who could say for certain who would be the one to suffer?

Fang Yuan's image surfaced in Hu Lao San's mind: steady-footed, carrying a hundred jin of pork without flushing or even breathing hard.

He shook his head, no longer paying the matter any mind, and turned back to continue checking the accounts.

He had seen plenty since gaining a foothold in this Black Market. The weak were meat and the strong ate it; that was the most fundamental rule. Heizi's tactics could only frighten ordinary people.

Inside the tent at the edge of the market, where a tattered herbal medicine banner hung, the atmosphere was stifling and heavy.

A thick smell of medicinal herbs mingled with blood.

Old Sun Tou, a thin, silent old man, was using wooden splints and strips of cloth to set Liu Zi's broken leg as he lay on a crude Bed Board.

Liu Zi's face was deathly pale, cold sweat covered his head, and he bit down on a wooden stick to suppress his pained groans.

Heizi and two other core team members stood around him, all wearing grim expressions.

They became even more certain that someone else had picked up their prey!