It's Just a Few Pieces of Meat

Although the items in the room were somewhat old, they were clearly not abandoned and were kept in a very tidy manner.

"Why is Brother Yu so lazy today? He used to be up and ready to go hunting with Daddy by this time." Mai Mai looked at Yu Xing waved her little hand in front of his eyes.

Yu Xing snapped out of his daze, not showing any outward surprise at the situation. He knew that he had skipped time again.

It still jumped back.

Judging from Mai Mai's tone, he seemed to have been staying at Old Zhang's house for quite a while. Moreover, Mai Mai was calling his name, which meant that he was with Old Zhang's family at this time and should not have suffered from amnesia.

In other words, is he currently in a timeline unaffected by his amnesia? Is it a timeline that actually happened after he arrived in the village before he lost his memory?

He looked down and saw that he was still wearing the black long gown that the Witch Doctor had made him wear. But Mai Mai didn't seem surprised by his attire, nor did she ask him why he had to sleep so covered up.

Could it be that... these people's thinking is being manipulated by that "power," and that selectively ignoring reason is reasonable?

"Brother Yu? If you stay in bed any longer, Dad will have to leave!" Mai Mai spoke to him in a familiar and casual tone, much better than when she was shy during their first meeting.

Yu Xing shook her head, got up and got out of bed, and found that her hair was tied back with a strip of cloth, which made it much easier to move around.

He replied, "I'll go right away."

If he did jump back in time, then this day must be significant, and he must carefully consider how it can benefit his investigation of the whole matter.

However, just as he was about to get something out of Mai Mai, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door.

Yu Xing's ears twitched, and she focused her attention, vaguely hearing the content of the commotion.

A strange male voice spoke in an unfriendly tone, "Your family has a bit more grain here, I'm just borrowing a little meat, are you being so stingy?!"

Then came Old Zhang's wife's indignant voice. "Did you borrow it? Have you ever returned anything you borrowed?"

The male voice shouted, "Your family is so well-off, what's wrong with giving us some help?"

What happened?

Yu Xing glanced at Mai Mai, who looked somewhat uneasy, then walked out of the bedroom and onto the door. There, she saw Old Zhang wiping a rather sturdy-looking longbow.

Old Zhang had an axe tucked into his waistband, dressed smartly, and wore simple hard armor on important parts such as his chest, perfectly matching Yu Xing's image of a jungle hunter.

Beside him lay a soft tube that could be strapped to his body, filled with many wooden arrows. Some of the arrows still bore dried bloodstains, suggesting they were old arrows that had been shot before without damaged arrowheads.

What should have been a perfectly normal scene of preparing for a hunting trip has turned into a scene where Old Zhang, with a furrowed brow and a mixture of annoyance and helplessness, watches his wife arguing with three or five men.

The men were of varying builds and heights, some strong, some thin, some tall, some short. The leader, with a pointed face and monkey-like features, glared at them, speaking with an air of self-righteousness, "Look at our village. Since it was built, we haven't even been able to get enough to eat every day. Only your family, Old Zhang, can hunt for meat. What about us? We're so used to eating vegetables that our mouths are practically tasteless! And you expect us to pay for some meat? Which family in the next village isn't doing better than us?"

"What use is your money? There's nowhere for you to spend it here! If you don't want to share, just say so, stop making excuses... Haha, that's the kind of person your family is."

Old Zhang's wife put her hands on her hips and yelled, "This money is saved for my daughter to go to school in the city. You might not need it, but we will!"

The man with the pointed chin and monkey-like face chuckled, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, your girl, still thinking about going to school? Dreaming! She's quite efficient at work; she should be helping you farm!"

"Li Fugui, don't go too far! My daughter is great, much more promising than your good-for-nothing son who only knows how to steal chickens and dogs!" Old Zhang had been silent all along, seemingly not wanting to escalate the conflict, but when others openly looked down on Mai Mai, Old Zhang became truly angry.

Old Zhang was strong and the only hunter in the small village. He was quite skilled, and although he usually had a good temper, Li Fugui was still a little afraid of him once he got angry.

But Li Fugui was gently nudged by the person who came with him. He coughed twice and then smiled at Old Zhang, "I'm serious, tsk tsk. You two never thought about sending Mai Mai to school before, did you? Ever since some random guy came to our house and taught Mai Mai a few words, you've started having such unrealistic ideas? Hahahaha... Maybe he's just teaching her for fun, or maybe he's taken a liking to your wife or your ten-year-old daughter!"

"You're talking nonsense!" As soon as these words were spoken, not only was Old Zhang's wife furious, but Old Zhang's face also darkened, and he blurted out a curse, making the scene tense.

Yu Xing had just stepped halfway out the door when he heard everything clearly.

Mai Mai, who followed behind, began to sob softly, clearly frightened, and understood the nonsense Li Fugui was spouting.

That's a really dirty thing to say.

Yu Xing narrowed her eyes and walked out.

He was the kind of person who always stood out wherever he went. The people gathered at the door noticed his arrival, and immediately, Li Fugui took a step back, no longer having the confidence to spread rumors about him behind his back.

This was a kind of retreat that had become a habit, Yu Xing. It seemed that even before she lost her memory, she wasn't in a very good mood right now.

As soon as Old Zhang's wife saw him, she quickly said, "Yu Xing, don't be angry, don't misunderstand, our whole family didn't even think about you!"

She also saw Mai Mai sobbing, her expression changed, and she went over to hug Mai Mai and comforted her, "Good child, don't be upset, don't cry, don't cry. Your brother Yu is fine, don't listen to what others are saying, Mommy will take you back to your room..."

With both men in the family out, she figured they could handle the rest. She had been worried that her husband, being kind-hearted, would give away the meat he had worked so hard to hunt for free, Yu Xing was out, she felt relieved.

This child never lets his family suffer.

Yu Xing listened to Mai Mai's quiet accusation, "I'm not afraid, but they're talking badly about Brother Yu," he looked up at the villagers who had come to ask for meat but hadn't gotten it and were now spewing filth.

Although he had just returned from a time jump and didn't have much of a connection with the Old Zhang family, he still didn't want to betray the trust they showed him.

"Why did you stop talking? Have you become mute?" Yu Xing's eyes gleamed coldly as he faced the villagers with an expression that was almost never seen on his face in modern times.

Since he'd already been caught, Li Fugui figured he didn't care about saying more. Instead, he felt a surge of confidence. "Yu Xing, do you really think everyone's afraid of you just because you're a little tough? They might not say it to your face, but behind your back, which family isn't gossiping about your background? Can you honestly say that your staying at Old Zhang isn't because you have designs on Mai Mai?"

Yu Xing glanced around and saw that Old Zhang's wife had already carried Mai Mai into the house.

Old Zhang was clearly furious, his hand almost gripping the axe handle, but he still managed to control his temper and refrain from doing anything outrageous.

It's obvious at a glance that Old Zhang, a man who isn't good with words, has suffered a lot at the hands of someone like Li Fugui, who loves to talk nonsense.

Ugh, I really want to kill all these kinds of people and be done with it.

Such cruel thoughts uncontrollably arose in Yu Xing's mind. After his mind was alienated, dark thoughts swirled in his mind almost constantly.

But he didn't become a complete madman or evil person because he was still able to control the kindness in his heart.

In this situation, he was even willing to waste his breath arguing with these people based on what he had just heard. "Old Zhang knows best whether I have designs on Mai Mai or not. As for you unimportant people, if you want to gossip behind someone's back, then keep it to yourself. If you say anything more in front of Old Zhang and Mai Mai, I don't mind cutting your tongues out."

"You're not afraid, you can leave whenever you want, but what about Mai Mai? How will she, a young girl, survive after losing her innocence? Have you ever cared?" Li Fugui sneered, trying to dispel Yu Xing's toughness.

Yu Xing looked at him as if he were a dead man, a corpse, a piece of trash. "Isn't Mai Mai's innocence destroyed by the mouths of maggots like you? Since you're so disgusting, don't try to care about Mai Mai like others do. Oh, and you want meat too? Where did you get the nerve?"

Li Fugui and the other men exchanged glances, realizing they had gone off-topic. Since they didn't dare confront Yu Xing directly, they seized the opportunity to steer the conversation back on track. "Right, meat! Old Zhang, we all need five rabbits together, is that so difficult? You won't even deliver that?"

Old Zhang never expected that after insulting his daughter, his wife, and the people his family had taken in, they would still have the nerve to ask for rabbits.

He cursed angrily, then warned, "Get lost while I still have the patience to talk to you!"

"Oh, oh, oh~ So the good guy's showing his true colors now? So heartless if he doesn't give us money, we won't have any meat to eat! Who was it that stopped us from going to the next village?" Several villagers mocked, because they knew Old Zhang was a kind person, and even with Old Zhang around, if that weirdo Yu Xing wanted to mess with them, Old Zhang would stop him.

"I told you, something's wrong with that village next door. If you go there, something bad will definitely happen!" Old Zhang retorted.

"You're asking for nothing without paying?" Yu Xing asked coolly.

"What? Shouldn't it be like this?" a rather burly man behind Li Fugui retorted.

"You guys are really pathetic, having to beg to survive." Yu Xing slowly walked up to the burly man who had spoken up. Although he was angry about the word "begging," no one dared to stop him.

Under the burly man's tense gaze, he placed his hand on the other man's shoulder.

Then, he pressed down suddenly!

With tremendous force, the burly man was forced to his knees. He cried out in pain, Yu Xing said in a sinister tone, "But since you're begging, at least be professional. Kneel down, kowtow a few times, and then wait for others to give you alms, before leaving on your knees with a tearful expression of gratitude."

"You!" The burly man gritted his teeth in pain, but none of the people who seemed to be on good terms with him, such as Li Fugui, stepped forward to help him; they all stayed far away.

This farce finally ended with Yu Xing's intimidation.

Yu Xing knew he was currently very irritable, but he also knew that adjusting one's mindset wasn't something that could be done overnight. Given the extent of his memory recovery, it was already quite remarkable that he could resolve things so peacefully.

Old Zhang apologized to him, and then asked Yu Xing if he still wanted to go hunting with him today.

"No, I'm a little tired today and want to rest." From Old Zhang's tone, Yu Xing could tell that he wasn't forced to go hunting. The Old Zhang family respected him a lot, as evidenced by letting him sleep until he naturally woke up.

Mai Mai's claim that they "used to hunt together" was most likely made voluntarily by him.

The only reason he wanted to stay was because he thought of the neighboring village that the villagers had mentioned.

It sounds like, apart from Old Zhang, the people in this small village envy the material conditions of the Witch Doctor's family?

Old Zhang packed all his tools and set off, leaving Yu Xing alone to ponder.

The Witch Doctor spoke of betrayal and jealousy.

The little girl Xiao Hu mentioned who was kidnapped from the next village.

A deserted village in a future timeline.

These traces reminded him of a less-than-pleasant incident.

"Could it be... that the people of the small village, wanting to join the Witch Doctor's larger village and gain Witch Doctor approval, kidnapped Mai Mai as a gift for the Witch Doctor while Old Zhang and I were hunting? Old Zhang's wife certainly wouldn't stand by and watch this happen, and was killed while resisting," Yu Xing murmured. "When we returned and found Mai Mai missing and Old Zhang's wife in trouble, we went to the larger village to look for her, and thus got caught up in the Immortal Lord's affairs?"

"What would I have done then...?"

He frowned, trying to simulate and guess his own behavior.

In the real timeline, I only came into contact with the Witch Doctor when I went to the Witch Doctor with Old Zhang. I learned about the existence of the Immortal Lord and the village's custom of offering meat as sacrifices, and then I discovered that Mai Mai had already been eaten by the Water Ghost...

What are the chances that I'll lose my mind...?

Perhaps because he was thinking too hard, and because this time he was trying to recall and speculate on his own, Yu Xing could sense that the barrier that was restricting his memory seemed to be loosening.

A small scene flashed before his eyes for a moment.

That was the scene of Old Zhang, with a ferocious face, raising his axe high inside the house and hacking Li Fugui to death.

Yu Xing could almost still hear Old Zhang's furious roar of extreme pain.

"As expected, I guessed right." The change in his memory meant that he had at least guessed the general direction correctly.

And the day he's returned to now might just be the day Mai Mai was kidnapped.

Did the argument in the morning lead Li Fugui and his friends to attack Mai Mai and the villager's wife?

It seems that in reality he went hunting with Old Zhang and didn't stay in the village; otherwise, he wouldn't have let those good-for-nothings hurt Old Zhang's family.

Now, his choices in this fake world are different from before, so this time, he wants to see what actions these villagers will take.

Thinking this, Yu Xing's lips curled into a sinister smile. Instead of going to a haunted house, she walked into the woods, but didn't go far before crouching down in the bushes.

That way, others would assume he left with Old Zhang.