Root Him Out

"Brother Heizi, did you get anything out of them? Can we find that kid?" a team member with a scar across his face asked in a low voice.

Heizi shook his head with a dark expression. "That slippery Wang Pangzi didn't cough up a damn thing. Hu Lao San said he hadn't seen anyone either. Fuck!"

Another, slightly older team member pondered aloud:

"Brother Heizi, I think there's something strange about this. To take down an injured wild boar alone, then carry over a hundred jin of meat to the market—

going by what Wang Pangzi said, he was pretty strong too... That's not something an ordinary farming household could pull off.

We know all the hunters in the nearby villages who have that kind of ability."

Scarface cut in, "And from the description, he was alone? Came and went by himself? That sounds more like... a Lone Wolf?"

Heizi's gaze sharpened. He slapped his thigh hard.

"That's right! A Lone Wolf! Some greenhorn who popped up out of nowhere, relying on a bit of brute strength and happening to pick up what was rightfully mine!"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. "He definitely isn't an old hunter from around here. Old hunters all know the rules. They wouldn't dare touch prey someone else had their eye on so openly!"

"If he ate what belongs to me, he'll have to spit it back out with both principal and interest!"

Heizi gritted his teeth, his tone vicious. "In these parts, no one has ever dared stroke the tiger's whiskers of the Heizi Hunting Team! Does he really think we're made of mud?"

He swept his gaze over the team members in the tent, his voice carrying the hunting team's usual arrogance and confidence.

"Liu Zi's injury can't be for nothing, and we have to get back the money and meat from that wild boar! Otherwise, every stray cat and mangy dog will dare shit on our heads!"

"Right! Brother Heizi is right!"

"We have to root that kid out!"

Heizi took a deep breath, forcing down his anger before making arrangements.

"Scarface, go back to the village first thing tomorrow morning. Then make the rounds of the nearby villages. Be sharp, and don't make a fuss.

Just ask around—see which household has suddenly become well-off lately, started eating meat, or has unfamiliar faces coming and going. Keep an eye on all the nearby villages!"

No matter what, they could not let a single clue slip by.

"The rest of you, when you go into the mountains these next few days, keep your eyes peeled! If you run into someone alone, someone unfamiliar—especially someone strong—keep a close watch on them!

I want to see what sort of god dares break ground over the Grand Tutor's head!"

"Yes, Brother Heizi!" the men answered in low voices, Sha Qi written across their faces.

With a heavy basket on his back, Fang Yuan trudged through the ever-deepening snow. By the time the sky had turned completely gray, he finally saw the outline of Fang Family Village's entrance.

The village entrance was surprisingly lively at the moment, unlike its usual silence after nightfall.

Groups of two and three villagers were returning from different directions. Most wore exhausted expressions, though there was also a trace of hope on their faces.

Quite a few carried things in their hands. Some held a pair of scrawny mountain chickens, some shouldered a small bundle of firewood,

while one half-grown child held up a gray-furred wild rabbit that kept struggling, showing it off like a prize.

When they saw Fang Yuan—especially the bulging basket on his back, clearly packed with no small weight—

they all cast surprised, probing glances his way and greeted him.

"Brother Yuan, you're back?"

"Well, look at that, Fang Family's boy. You've got quite a haul!"

"Heading into the mountains in this weather—you've got guts!"

Fang Yuan nodded to each of them in response, but he understood inwardly that there were quite a few households like his, forced to brave the snowy mountains in hopes of finding some luck.

In this winter of disaster, every household's meager stores of grain were likely about to run dry.

Just then, a commotion and cries of alarm rose from the other side of the village entrance.

Four men were carrying a crude stretcher and hurrying into the village. The person on the stretcher had one leg mangled into a bloody mess and was howling in agony,

while a sobbing woman followed alongside them.

"What happened?" someone gathered around and asked.

"Ah, don't mention it! He stepped into a trap set by an old mountain hunter! An iron clamp—it nearly snapped his leg clean off!"

One of the men carrying the stretcher answered between ragged breaths, fear still lingering on his face. "He wanted to set a few traps to get something to eat, but then..."

A wave of sighs and regret arose from the crowd.

"When has the mountain ever been an easy place to enter..."

"Exactly. There are traps everywhere, and big beasts starving badly enough to go mad..."

"He's lucky to have come back alive..."

Fang Yuan glanced over. The man on the stretcher looked unfamiliar, and did not seem to be from any of the lanes near his home.

He did not ask further. Silently withdrawing his gaze, he continued toward his own house.

Fang Yuan quietly made a note of it. In the future, if he returned to the village, he would either have to choose the stretch around midnight or risk running into quite a few people.

Fang Family Village was a large village, with over a thousand households. Its houses sprawled across the terrain in uneven tiers, covering a vast area.

In times like these, a large village with many people had its advantages.

For one, they could huddle together for warmth and fend off small bands of bandits and vagrants;

for another, their strength lay in their numbers. Ordinary mountain bandits generally would not come looking for trouble with a large village full of able-bodied men.

The cost of raiding it was too high, so they were more likely to bully smaller villages with only a few dozen or a hundred households.

But precisely because the village was so large and populous, the neighbors did not necessarily all know one another.

Aside from blood relatives and immediate neighbors, many villagers might only recognize each other by sight and not even know each other's names, much less have any close ties.

Just like the injured man from earlier—Fang Yuan barely knew him.

That actually made things more convenient for him. At least in the short term, he would not draw the attention of the entire village so quickly.

He quickened his pace, wanting only to return to that small courtyard, shabby though it was, where it could at least shield them from wind and rain,

and hand the silver in his arms and the things on his back to Liu Wanwan, so she could rest easy and Little Bean Sprout could have something good to eat.

The chatter and wailing behind him gradually faded, replaced by the howling wind.

The scattered villagers returning at the village entrance also dispersed into the maze of village lanes.

When Fang Yuan pushed open the creaking courtyard gate, only a faint yellow glow from an oil lamp shone from inside, barely illuminating a small patch of snow by the door.

It seemed Liu Wanwan had not slept. She had been waiting for him to return.

Perhaps while he had been gone, she had been terribly worried too.

At the sound of movement, the room door was immediately pulled open a crack from within. Liu Wanwan's wary face appeared, and when she saw Fang Yuan,

she finally let out a breath of relief and hurriedly opened the door all the way.

"Husband, you're back!" Her voice carried the joy of a heavy burden being lifted,

but when her eyes fell upon the basket on Fang Yuan's back, stuffed so full it seemed ready to spill over,

and the bolt of thick cloth in his hand, her eyes instantly widened and her voice rose in pitch.

"Th-That much stuff?!"

Like a little tail, Little Bean Sprout slipped out from behind her sister-in-law and timidly called, "Brother."

Then her gaze was drawn to the brightly colored bolt of cloth. Her little mouth unconsciously formed a round O.

Fang Yuan squeezed sideways through the doorway, bolted the door behind him, then dropped the heavy basket onto the ground with a thud and let out a long breath.

After hurrying all the way while carrying such a load, even with his current strength, he felt a trace of fatigue.

"Quick, come warm yourself by the fire. You must be freezing, aren't you?" Liu Wanwan hurriedly urged, then fumbled to ladle out hot water.

Fang Yuan waved his hand, though a faint, relaxed smile rested on his face.