A Butcher Returns Late (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Boundless Mountain Dorm Old Fifth)

As he neared the shore, Li Wei casually tossed the five fish onto the bank. Then he crouched down, pretending to wash his hands, while actually gripping the Wooden Spear tightly with both hands.

He wasn't sure whether there was an ambusher, nor whether he was simply being overly nervous. But even if it was a false alarm, he couldn't afford to let down his guard.

The moment he crouched, a filthy, emaciated old dog shot out of the grass more than ten meters away on the shore like lightning.

Almost instinctively, Li Wei shouted and lunged onto the bank, thrusting his Wooden Spear forward.

He missed. He had struck too soon.

The old dog was clever too. It spun around and leaped back, stopping seven or eight meters away. It neither barked nor fled, merely staring coldly at Li Wei with its grayish-brown eyes.

"Wait, a dog? A wolf!"

In that instant, Li Wei finally realized with a jolt that this wasn't a dog at all, but a wolf. His mind buzzed and went completely blank. His whole body stiffened, leaving him unable to move. He didn't even know what to do with the Wooden Spear in his hands.

All the blood in his body seemed to turn cold. His heart pounded violently, as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

A sudden urge to urinate surged up, and he was on the verge of losing control, but at the last moment, Li Wei managed to hold it in.

His awareness gradually returned, and a sound escaped his throat that he himself couldn't tell was laughter or crying. He didn't even have time to think about life or death. There was only one thought in his mind: he couldn't run. If he ran, he would die. He had to fight it. He couldn't retreat.

Still making those strange cries, Li Wei forced his nearly unresponsive legs forward, pressing toward the old wolf. The Wooden Spear in his hands shook so violently that it was practically performing a spear flourish.

Yet the old wolf did not attack. It merely circled to one side.

At least Li Wei knew he couldn't let the beast get behind him. A line even popped into his mind: a butcher returning late, with a wolf pretending to sleep before him.

So despite his trembling, he kept the spearhead aimed at the old wolf. He was already prepared to perish together with it.

But once that reckless, nothing-to-lose thought surfaced, he became much less afraid. The grievance and fury in his heart seemed to melt into his blood, then erupt like a volcano. He suddenly let out a series of wolfish shrieks and charged the old wolf, intending to pierce its belly with his spear and bite off its head with his teeth.

My life is already hard enough, and you still want to rob me? Screw you! Come on, let's die together! Let's both be destroyed!

In the end, Li Wei's charge hit nothing. Though the old wolf looked bedraggled and skeletal, it was still agile. With a quick leap backward, it vanished into the grass and soon disappeared into the distance.

At that moment, Li Wei wanted to cry.

His entire body felt chilled to the bone. Even drenched in sweat, he had never felt this miserable.

After calming himself slightly, Li Wei did not dare linger. He shouldered the Wooden Spear, strung up the five fish, held the duck eggs and short knife in one hand, and stepped back into the stream. He followed the water upstream rather than walking along the shore. He truly feared that the old wolf might ambush him from the dense wild grass.

He rushed back to camp as though every rustle of wind hid danger. When he saw Penny and Phila busy at work, he found them unusually dear despite how much he disliked them both.

Only then did several messages arrive belatedly.

[You gathered eight Wild Duck Eggs. Your Gathering Experience +1]

[You caught five fresh Grass Carp. Your Fishing Experience +10]

[Do you wish to contribute the above supplies to the family? You will receive one Family Contribution Point. Friendly reminder: after donating food to the family, consuming it requires no payment.]

Sure enough, only by bringing his harvest back to camp did it count as a successful gathering.

Was this some kind of consideration for beginners? If not for that small detail earlier, he would not have prepared in advance.

Of course, it was more likely that he had simply stumbled onto the right answer by chance.

Steadying himself, Li Wei decisively chose to contribute them. Family Contribution Points were what he needed most right now.

The moment he received that one Family Contribution Point, Phila and Penny both looked over in surprise. Clearly, they had received the notification at the same time.

Li Wei did not care. This was not his first time contributing supplies, but Penny and Phila had not contributed anything even once.

He strode over and handed the Grass Carp and duck eggs to Phila. He did not need to worry that she would pocket them for herself. The rules of this mission were rather interesting: they could scheme against each other in private, but within the mission's storyline, they had to act like a genuinely loving family.

"George, I didn't expect you to be such an excellent hunter."

Phila praised him, then efficiently began cleaning the five Grass Carp. As an Apprentice Chef, this was child's play for her.

Li Wei sat to one side. The aftereffects of facing down the wolf were hitting him hard, and he needed a moment to recover.

Lunch was fish soup and Barley Porridge, with the Wild Duck Eggs mixed directly in. The taste was nothing to praise, but Li Wei and Penny both ate until they were stuffed.

Li Wei ate five huge bowls, while Penny somehow ate six. Even the sickly Phila finished three bowls.

The food was free, so naturally they had to eat as much as they could, until they could not eat another bite.

The five fish were completely finished in a single meal.

"George, it would be wonderful if we could eat fish every day."

Penny gave Li Wei a brilliant smile, rubbed her stomach contentedly, and left. If she wanted to become the head of the household, she had to make sure the family was fed and satisfied. That was the most basic requirement, wasn't it?

Li Wei ignored her. Carrying his Wooden Spear, he returned to the house and slept deeply. When he woke, it was already around four in the afternoon. It was naturally too late to go hunting, so he went straight to the stream and began carrying stones back to reinforce the fence around his Wheat Field.

Since he had encountered a wolf today, he might encounter a Wild Boar in the future.

His current fence of wooden stakes could stop small animals, but it would not stop something like that. He needed to prepare for the worst.

But as evening approached, thick clouds began piling up in the sky.

After dinner, mountain winds began to blow. It was obvious that a heavy rainstorm was on the way.

Li Wei was not worried, however. When he had built the fence around his Wheat Field, he had already dug a drainage ditch around it. Now that he had reinforced the outside with a low stone wall, there should be no major problem.

The newly built house was also sturdy enough to withstand the rain. He would not even need to stand watch over the Wheat Field tonight.

Penny and Phila, on the other hand, were in a flurry of panic.

Penny hurriedly carried the dried bricks back into the house, while Phila was chasing after the cow. For some unknown reason, the Old Ox had been frightened, broken free of its rope, and was running everywhere.

It was worth mentioning that the cow was also Phila's private property. She treasured it immensely, leading it to the stream every day for water and finding places with lush wild grass to graze.

But there was nothing she could do now.

When the torrential rain finally came down, Penny had already moved most of the dried bricks into the house. However, some of them were still doomed to be ruined by the rain, meaning two days of effort had essentially gone to waste.

At that moment, Penny stood at the entrance of the house. Her expression could not be seen in the dim light, but it was probably not a pleasant one.

Li Wei sat in a corner of the house, secretly delighted. No matter how well they plotted against each other, they could not outscheme nature.

But at that moment, two lines of information suddenly appeared.

[Apprentice Chef *** has decided to donate the cow belonging to her to the family. She has received ten Family Contribution Points.]

"Damn it, it's that wolf! The wolf wants to eat the cow!"

Li Wei froze for a moment, then immediately grabbed the Wooden Spear beside him and rushed into the pouring rain.

Because that cow now belonged to the family.