Entering the Mountain

"Aren't you supposed to be in Binhai City? Why are you back early?" Han Fei asked.

"I accidentally beat up my boss. Couldn't stick around after that."

When Han Fei heard that, he nearly sprayed out the liquor in his mouth. He stared at him in disbelief.

"You beat up your boss? Damn, seriously?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

"Hahahaha, awesome. Shame I wasn't there. I would've applauded you for sure."

"What about you? Weren't you in Guanxiang City?"

"Don't even mention it. Tightening screws in a factory every day—you have no idea, it was boring as hell. I don't know what those people are thinking. I lasted half a year before I couldn't take it anymore, then went to deliver takeout. In the end, I accidentally hit an old man. It wasn't anything serious, but I still had to pay quite a bit. After that, I really couldn't find any suitable work, so I came back to see if there was anything I could do at home."

"Fair enough. Being home is fine too. Saves Auntie from worrying about you all day."

"Next Monday, I'm planning to go into the mountains with Uncle Han."

"To hunt wild boars?"

"You know about that too?" Han Fei's brows lifted as he smiled. "These days, one wild boar is worth at least ten or twenty thousand. Might as well try our luck."

"Can you handle it? Wild boars aren't exactly easy to mess with."

"If I were going alone, of course I wouldn't dare. But Uncle Han will be there."

"The wild boar sold in the village today—he caught it?"

"Who else? But it wasn't just him. There were two others with him then. The three of them crouched in the mountains for three days and three nights before finally finding a chance to lure that pig into a trap."

Lin Yuan thought for a while, and there seemed to be quite a bit of interest in his eyes toward this wild boar business too.

So he said, "Can you bring me along the day after tomorrow?"

Han Fei looked hesitant. "I'll have to ask Uncle Han about that. Also, will your mom agree?"

"Then I just won't tell my mom for now."

"Alright. I'll talk to Uncle Han later. If he agrees, I'll call you. When the time comes, you and I can keep each other company too." Han Fei patted Lin Yuan and said happily.

As the two chatted, noon arrived before they knew it.

After Lin Yuan and Li Xiuqing had a simple meal there, they went back.

Before they left, Lin Fengjuan even brought over a bag of seasonal vegetables.

Compared with life in the big city, days in the countryside were always much more regular, and the changes in time felt even more distinct.

At dawn, roosters crowed to announce the morning; at sunset, dogs barked along the footpaths between the fields.

Spring blossomed and autumn bore fruit, summer lotus bloomed and winter stored its promise. Everything was so natural.

Over the next few days, Lin Yuan practiced martial arts at home as usual.

He woke at six, went to the banks of the Jinjiang River to practice boxing, went home near noon for lunch, took an hour-long nap after eating, then checked whether there was any farm work at home. If there was, he did it; if not, he tempered his fists and feet out in the fields.

At night, he went out for a run, did basic training, came back, took a medicinal bath, and went to sleep on time at around ten.

His life was practically disciplined to the extreme.

Even back when he took the college entrance exam, Lin Yuan had never been as disciplined as he was now.

And all of this stemmed from his love of martial arts, as well as the progress he could clearly feel.

Every jump in his attribute values filled him with motivation.

It was just like grinding monsters to level up in a game—as long as he didn't grind himself to death, he would grind like his life depended on it.

In the blink of an eye, the day he had agreed on with Han Fei arrived.

After returning from his aunt's house that day, he received a message from Han Fei the next day. Uncle Han had agreed, but he had repeatedly warned them that when the time came, they absolutely had to listen to him and couldn't act on their own.

The agreed time was seven in the morning, setting off from the village.

So that day, Lin Yuan packed his things early. Since they might have to stay in the mountains for several days, Lin Yuan had also prepared some easy-to-carry food in advance.

When Lin Yuan went out this time, he wore a set of outdoor jacket, nylon athletic pants, and Martin boots. He also brought a pair of leather gloves.

Around 6:40, Lin Yuan arrived at his aunt's house.

By then, Han Fei was already waiting.

His uncle-in-law, whom he had not seen a few days earlier, was also beside him.

When Han Yaobing saw Lin Yuan, he seemed somewhat surprised too. "A Yuan, you're going today too?"

Clearly, Han Fei had not told his dad about this either, afraid that his dad would get in touch with Lin Yuan's mom.

"I'm going along to take a look. I'm curious."

"Does your mom know?"

Lin Yuan gave an awkward smile. Han Yaobing shot him an annoyed look. But since things had already come to this, he could not say much more.

He only reminded him, "Be careful when you go into the mountains this time. Listen to your Uncle Han in everything."

"Don't worry, Dad. We'll definitely listen to Uncle Han," Han Fei cut in.

As soon as he finished speaking, a Mitsubishi minivan drove over from not far away.

Two people sat inside. One was Han Housheng, and the other was his younger brother, Han Shusheng.

Lin Yuan had seen this man before too. He was the one who had delivered the butcher knife to Han Housheng that day.

Han Housheng drove the minivan to the front of Han Fei's house and stopped, then stuck his head out the window.

"Get in."

Han Yaobing went up and tossed him a pack of cigarettes, gave a few reminders, and then Lin Yuan and Han Fei got into the vehicle.

"Uncle Han, Uncle Wang isn't going this time?" Han Fei asked as soon as he got in.

"Last time in the mountains scared him pretty badly, and he twisted his ankle too, so he didn't come this time."

"Oh, I see."

"You two brats listen up. Once we're in the mountains, don't go running around blindly. Those wild boars are no joke. Last time, we were just lucky," Han Housheng said in a rather serious tone.

"Don't worry. We'll definitely follow your lead."

Along with a Phoenix Legend song, the minivan started moving again.

"Smoke?" Han Shusheng turned his head from the front passenger seat.

Han Fei's eyes darted around, and he grinned. He immediately pulled a pack of Huazi cigarettes from his pocket.

"Uncle, smoke mine."

Though he also called him uncle, Han Shusheng was only in his early thirties. It was just that the family seniority was there.

Han Housheng and Han Shusheng, as brothers, were technically in the same generation as Han Fei's father by blood relation, though separated by many branches.

That was how it was in rural villages. Their ancestors were all one big family.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that in all of Redwood Village, anyone surnamed Han, if you counted back three generations, was brother or sister to the others.

"Damn, kid, you're smoking Huazi now?" Han Shusheng said as he took the cigarette and looked it over.

"Wasn't it a classmate's wedding a while back? I went to the banquet and casually swiped it off the table."

"Your classmate's something else. Holding a banquet and handing out Huazi, and soft-pack Huazi at that."

"Uncle Han, you have one too."

Han Fei handed another cigarette to Han Housheng.

Then he turned to look at Lin Yuan. "Lin Yuan, do you smoke?"

Lin Yuan waved a hand. "I don't."

"You don't drink much when people drink, and you don't smoke when people smoke. I'm telling you, Lin Yuan, going on like this, you'll have no friends."

"No need for you to worry about that." Lin Yuan gave him a disdainful look.

Han Fei raised a middle finger at him, then immediately started asking Han Housheng about their trip into the mountains to hunt wild boar the other day.

As the group chatted, they soon reached an intersection.

When they got there, Han Housheng suddenly stopped the vehicle.

"Uncle Han, why are we stopping?" Han Fei asked.

"To wait for someone."

"There are more people going into the mountains with us?"

Han Housheng did not say anything, but Han Shusheng quietly said, "There's a tycoon who arranged to go into the mountains with us this time."

Just as he finished speaking, a black off-road vehicle suddenly drove over from the east.

Lin Yuan focused his eyes and saw that it was a Hummer, though the license plate was not local.

Before long, the vehicle arrived a few meters in front of them.

Three men and one woman got out.

Of the three men, two were relatively young, around the same age as Lin Yuan. One had long hair parted down the middle. He was tall and thin, looking somewhat refined, though within that refinement was a bit of cynical carelessness.

The other had short hair and was not especially tall. He was slightly plump, with half-narrowed eyes, and was even yawning now, as if he had not woken up yet.

The older one also had short hair and a square face. His clothes were a little like Lin Yuan's, except he wore a brown assault jacket, while Lin Yuan wore a black one.

His whole bearing was full of energy and vitality. He looked strong and powerful, and his gaze was sharper than an ordinary person's. From the look of him, he probably had some real ability.

As for the woman, the moment she got out of the vehicle, Han Fei's eyes went completely straight.

Her features were extremely delicate, and she wore light makeup. She had long hair, and her aura gave off a very capable impression, yet did not lose any of its allure. Between her brows and eyes, she always seemed to give people the feeling that she wanted you to come closer, but could reject you from a thousand miles away at any moment.