Cleaning Up the Back Mountain

Chen Qinglin had still underestimated his strength.

With a good bow and archery at Great Accomplishment, even Martial Artists at the Body Tempering Fourth to Fifth Layer Realm might perish beneath his arrows.

Without any unexpected complications, Chen Qinglin hoisted the tiger onto his shoulder and left the forest.

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

"What for? If even Qinglin can't handle it, going in would just be throwing our lives away."

"But..."

"Look! Is that Qinglin?" A few Chen Clan members were squatting on a rock, chatting, when sharp-eyed Chen Qingzhi spotted someone carrying a tiger out of the forest toward them.

Following the direction Chen Qingzhi pointed, they saw Chen Qinglin drawing closer.

"Wow, Qinglin really killed the tiger! I told you he could do it."

"Bullshit. Weren't you just doubting that Qinglin could kill it?"

"Was I? You must've heard wrong."

"Quit your damn yapping. Qingzhi, hurry back to the village and tell the clan head."

"Right, and tell the village chief while you're at it."

"I'm on it!" Chen Qingzhi jumped off the rock and raced toward the village.

"Qinglin, you're incredible!"

"Yeah, amazing!" The few of them crowded around Chen Qinglin as he emerged from the forest, excitement written across their faces when they saw the tiger on his shoulder.

"..."

Meanwhile, Chen Qingzhi hurried back to the village ahead of the others, shouting breathlessly long before he reached it.

"Clan head, the tiger's been... killed by Brother Qinglin!"

"The tiger... was killed!"

The chief of Linhe Village, Li Changhe, and Chen Clan head Chen Yucheng had already been waiting behind the village for news from the mountain.

Once Chen Qingzhi reached them, he repeated the news, still panting.

"Is it true?" Li Changhe asked, a flicker of excitement in his eyes as he grabbed Chen Qingzhi.

"I... saw it... with my own eyes. There's... no mistake." Chen Qingzhi panted, bracing his hands on his knees.

"Good! Excellent!"

Then he turned to Chen Yucheng. "Old Chen, your family has produced quite a talent!"

"He's one of the Chen family, but he's also a son of Linhe Village, isn't he?" Chen Yucheng stroked his beard.

"Exactly, he's one of ours too. In the past, when ferocious beasts came down to the back mountain, we couldn't always hire a Martial Artist even if we paid. By the time we found someone to kill the beasts, who knew how many villagers would already have died?"

"Shanghe Village has it much better than us because someone from their village married a Martial Artist. So many girls want to marry into Shanghe Village."

"Even the girls from our own village are eager to leave. Plenty of boys here are old enough to marry, but they've turned twenty without finding a wife."

"But now things are looking up. Our village has someone to protect us!" the village chief sighed.

"Indeed." Chen Yucheng thought of the past and sighed as well. And the one who'd emerged was a Chen, too.

Remote little villages like theirs, nestled near the forest, had to guard against not only natural and man-made disasters but also the beasts in the woods. Large predators were especially dangerous; if the villagers weren't prepared in advance, there would be no shortage of casualties.

Over time, the population of a village would dwindle, and people would gather in the larger settlements that could offer them safety.

Fortunately, the dynasty had only recently been established, and the farmland still belonged to the villagers.

By the time Chen Qinglin and the others approached the village, most of Linhe's residents had gathered at its edge. Everyone wanted to see the tiger—and the person who had killed it.

"How did we never realize Qinglin was so impressive?"

"Right? He doesn't even have three heads and six arms!"

"Qinglin was just keeping his talents hidden."

"Heh heh, Cuihua, I'm actually someone who keeps his talents hidden too."

"You? With barely an inch to your name, there's no point hiding it."

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

"Hey, I wonder if Qinglin has a girl he likes."

"Probably not. Qinglin's only fourteen, and he won't turn fifteen until next year. I've never heard his mother mention anything like that."

"Not to brag, but I've got a niece who's quite pretty. I'll go talk to Old Wu's Wife later..."

While the foolish ones were still standing around talking, the clever ones had already started making their moves.

After reaching the Body Tempering Realm, Chen Qinglin's sight and hearing had improved. As he dealt with the villagers, he overheard someone trying to arrange a match for him.

What a joke. I'm still a kid! He said a quick goodbye to the village chief and clan head, then hurried home with the tiger on his shoulder.

"Qingyun, Xiaoxiao, come look! Your brother killed a tiger and carried it home! He's amazing!" Several children were playing games in the village when one of them ran over and shouted.

As soon as Chen Xiaoxiao and Chen Qingyun heard, they dropped everything and raced home.

The moment they entered the courtyard and saw the tiger lying there, they jumped in fright, then hurried behind Chen Qinglin and clutched his sleeve with their little hands.

Chen Qinglin patted them both, then comforted Chen Xiaoxiao. "Don't be scared, Xiaoxiao. The big tiger is already dead. It won't move."

Father Chen and Mother Chen were excited too, but mostly they were worried about Chen Qinglin. "Qinglin, are you hurt? Let your mother have a look!"

Yang Xiu looked worried as she pulled Chen Qinglin closer to examine him.

"Mother, I'm fine. The blood on me is all tiger blood."

After checking him over and finding nothing wrong, she finally relaxed. Then her face lit up with joy. "My son has made us proud!"

Father Chen wore the same proud expression beside her.

Elder Uncle Chen Liangyuan and his family came out of the house too. Looking at the tiger, he exclaimed, "A Wu, I told you everything would be fine. You can relax now."

As the family chatted, village chief Li Changhe and clan head Chen Yucheng knocked and came in.

"Qinglin, this is a little money the village gathered to pay for hiring someone to kill the tiger. Don't think it's too little."

After praising Chen Qinglin to his parents, Li Changhe took a few taels of silver and several strings of coins from his sleeve, altogether worth about ten taels.

"Village chief, I'm from Linhe Village too. My home is here. How could I take this money?" Chen Qinglin quickly refused. He was willing to accept some kinds of payment, but this sort of money didn't sit right with him.

Watching them go back and forth, Chen Yucheng saw that Chen Qinglin was sincere in refusing. He praised him, then urged Li Changhe to take the money back.

"Village chief, please return this money to everyone."

"All right. Since you've said so, Qinglin, I'll explain things to everyone and give the money back."

After talking a little longer, the two old men left Chen Qinglin's home together.

The two families went inside to talk and sent the little ones back into the house. Only then did Chen Qinglin begin processing the tiger.

This time, he stayed home for a few extra days. He planned to sell only the tiger hide, preserve the rest of the meat, and soak the bones in liquor to store in the cellar.

After spending several days tanning and drying the hide, he finally prepared to return to town.

He left some of the tiger meat for his family and planned to take most of what he'd preserved with him.

As for things like the tiger penis, he left those for his father.

Over the next few days, he went into the forest several more times, hunting wild boars, antelope, pheasants, and rabbits to leave at home.

He led the village hunters in clearing out the forest, and the hunters who followed Chen Qinglin over those few days all came away with something.

They even distributed meat around the village several times, clearing away some of its hidden dangers.

As for his family, Chen Qinglin planned to take his younger brother Qingyun to train at the martial arts school next year, once he turned twelve.

Twelve was the best age to begin martial arts training. Before awakening to his own potential, Chen Qinglin had only considered himself somewhat clever; he had never thought about practicing martial arts.

Besides, back then, his family hadn't been able to afford martial arts training for him. But it wasn't too late now.

He told the two children to listen to their parents and promised to bring them gifts next time he came home. Then he took his things, climbed into the carriage, and set off for Qingyan Town.