Clearing the Back Mountain

Chen Qinglin still underestimated his current strength.

With a good bow and Great Accomplishment archery, even martial artists at the Body Tempering Fourth to Fifth Layer Realm might become Soul Under Arrows.

Without any detours, Chen Qinglin carried the tiger out of the forest.

"Do you think we should go in and take a look?"

"Go for what? If Qinglin can't handle it, we'll just be sending ourselves to our deaths."

"But..."

"Quick, look, isn't that Qinglin!" Several Chen Clan members were squatting on a rock, chatting. Sharp-eyed Chen Qingzhi saw someone in the forest carrying a tiger and walking this way.

Following Chen Qingzhi's pointing direction, they saw Chen Qinglin gradually approaching.

"Wow, Qinglin really killed the tiger! I knew Qinglin could do it."

"Nonsense, you were just doubting if Qinglin could kill the tiger."

"Did I? You must have misheard."

"Stop the damn chatter. Qingzhi, hurry back to the village and notify the Clan Leader."

"Yeah, and go notify the Village Chief too."

"I'm going right now!" Chen Qingzhi jumped off the rock and dashed towards the village.

"Qinglin, you're too fierce!"

"Yeah, yeah, amazing!" Several people surrounded Chen Qinglin, who had just emerged from the forest. Seeing the tiger on his shoulder, their expressions were excited.

Meanwhile, Chen Qingzhi returned to the village ahead of time and started shouting from a distance, out of breath.

"Clan Leader, the tiger... Qinglin brother... killed it!"

"The tiger... was killed... by him!"

The Village Chief of Linhe Village, Li Changhe, and the Clan Leader of the Chen Clan, Chen Yucheng, were already waiting behind the village for news from the mountain.

After Chen Qingzhi got closer, he repeated it breathlessly.

"Is the news true!" Li Changhe was also a little excited, pulling Chen Qingzhi and asking.

"I... saw it with my own eyes... there's no mistake." Panting, Chen Qingzhi supported himself with his legs.

"Good, good!"

He turned back and said to Chen Yucheng, "Old Chen, your Chen family has produced a capable person this time!"

"He's from our Chen family, but he's also from Linhe Village," Chen Yucheng said, stroking his beard.

"Yes, he's also one of ours from Linhe. In the past, when fierce beasts came to the back mountain, you couldn't even hire a martial artist with money. By the time they were hired to kill these beasts, the village would have already lost many lives."

"Shanghe Village is much better off than Linhe Village because someone from their village married a martial artist. So many girls want to marry into Shanghe Village."

"Even our village girls are all eager to go there. Many eligible boys in the village are twenty and still don't have a wife."

"This is great now, our village has security too!" the Village Chief sighed.

"Indeed." Chen Yucheng also sighed, thinking of the past, and that the person who emerged was from his own surname, Chen.

For remote villages like theirs, close to the mountains and forests, they not only had to deal with natural disasters and man-made calamities but also guard against wild beasts, especially large ones. If they weren't prepared in advance, the number of casualties would not be small.

Over time, the population of a village would dwindle, and everyone would gather in those larger settlements that could provide stability.

It was fortunate that the dynasty had just been established, and the fields were still in the hands of the villagers.

As Chen Qinglin and the others approached the village, most of Linhe Village was waiting at the edge of the village. Everyone wanted to see the fierce tiger and the person who killed it.

"How come I never saw Qinglin as so powerful before!"

"Who's saying that? He doesn't look like he has three heads and six arms!"

"Qinglin is just being low-key."

"Heh heh, Cuihua, I'm also a low-key person."

"You? Barely an inch long, no need to be low-key at all."

"Damn it, don't ruin my reputation!..."

"Alas, who knows if Qinglin has a sweetheart."

"Probably not. Qinglin is only fourteen, turning fifteen next year. I haven't heard Qinglin's mother mention it."

"It's not that I'm saying this, but I have a niece who's quite good-looking. I'll go to Old Wu's house later and talk to Old Wu's wife..."

While the foolish were still talking, the smart ones had already started acting.

After advancing to the Body Tempering Realm, Chen Qinglin's vision and hearing had improved. As he was dealing with the villagers, he heard someone planning to set him up on a blind date.

What a joke, I'm still a child! With this thought, he spoke to the Village Chief and Clan Leader, then carried the tiger and hurried home.

"Qingyun, Xiaoxiao, come quickly and see! Your brother killed a tiger and carried it home. He's so amazing!" A child ran over to a group of children playing a game in the village and shouted loudly.

Chen Xiaoxiao and Chen Qingyun heard this, and without a second thought, they ran home.

Upon entering, they saw the tiger in the courtyard, which startled them. They quickly ran behind Chen Qinglin, clutching his sleeves with their small hands.

Chen Qinglin patted them and comforted Chen Xiaoxiao, "Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid. The big tiger is already dead and won't move."

Father Chen and Mother Chen were also very excited, but more worried about Chen Qinglin. "Qinglin, are you hurt? Let Mother see!"

Yang Xiu, with a worried expression, pulled Chen Qinglin to examine him.

"Mother, I'm fine. I only got splashed with tiger blood."

After checking him and finding no injuries, their hearts finally settled, and then they beamed with joy, "My son is truly accomplished!"

Father Chen beside them also wore an expression of pride in his son's achievements.

Uncle Chen Liangyuan's family also came out of the house. Looking at the tiger, he exclaimed, "A Wu, I told you it would be fine. Now you can rest easy."

As the family was talking, Village Chief Li Changhe and Clan Leader Chen Yucheng knocked and entered.

"Qinglin, this is some money the village pooled together as a reward for killing the tiger. Don't think it's too little."

Li Changhe praised Chen Qinglin a few times to Father Chen and Mother Chen, and took out some silver fragments and several strings of coins from his sleeve, about ten taels in total.

"Village Chief, I am also from Linhe Village, and my home is here. How can I accept this money!" Chen Qinglin quickly refused. There were some monies he could accept, but this kind of money didn't sit well with him.

Seeing them pushing back and forth, and seeing Chen Qinglin's sincere refusal, Chen Yucheng, standing by, praised Chen Qinglin and then advised Li Changhe to take the money back.

"Village Chief, let's return this money to everyone."

"Alright, since Qinglin has said so, I will explain the situation to everyone and return the money to them."

After a few more words, the two elders left Chen Qinglin's house together.

The two families went into the house to talk. After sending the little brats back into the house, Chen Qinglin began to process the tiger.

He stayed home for a few more days this time. He planned to sell only the tiger's pelt. The rest of the tiger meat would be preserved, and the tiger bones would be steeped in wine and stored in the cellar.

It took him a few days to tan and dry the tiger hide before he prepared to return to the city.

He left some tiger meat for his family, but most of the preserved meat Chen Qinglin intended to take with him.

Of course, he left things like tiger penis for his father.

During these days, he went into the mountains a few more times, hunting wild boars, antelopes, pheasants, and rabbits to leave at home.

He led the village hunters in sweeping through the mountains. The hunters who followed Chen Qinglin in these past few days also had their gains.

Even the village received meat several times, helping to clear some potential dangers for the village.

Here at home, Chen Qinglin planned to take his younger brother Qingyun to a martial arts school to train next year, after Qingyun turned twelve.

The best age for someone to start practicing martial arts was twelve. Before Chen Qinglin awakened to himself, he was at most a bit clever, but he hadn't thought about practicing martial arts.

Moreover, at that time, he didn't have the conditions to practice martial arts, but it wasn't too late now.

He exhorted the two little girls to listen to their parents and promised to bring them gifts the next time he returned. Only then did he take his belongings and board the carriage, which then set off towards Qingyan Town.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Due to the requests of many readers, the VIP membership ad-free feature is now available.

Click to view.