Paying Taxes

The wild boar in the grass suffered this heavy blow and suddenly rose to its feet.

This Lone Boar had crimson eyes and instantly locked onto Lu Chuan not far away.

This arrow had indeed already caused it a fatal wound.

The arrow had penetrated deep into its internal organs, and this giant beast had absolutely no possibility of surviving for a quarter of an hour.

However, a dying beast is often the most terrifying.

It mustered the last strength in its life, lowered its massive head, and charged fiercely at Lu Chuan with its two tusks!

A fishy wind hit their faces, and that hill-like physique rapidly closed in on Lu Chuan.

Lu Danian in the tree was scared out of his wits and almost cried out involuntarily.

Yet Lu Chuan, facing the charge of this giant beast, kept his gaze steady throughout, his fingers already resting on a second arrow.

The arrowhead of this arrow was different from the previous one. It was the Mysterious Iron Arrowhead prepared beforehand, with a gloomy color.

The wild boar's massive body had already charged within thirty paces, roaring, its crimson eyes locked tightly onto Lu Chuan.

Right now!

The dark, gloomy arrow left the string, tearing through the air and heading straight to meet the wildly charging head of the wild boar.

"Plop!"

A piercing sound rang out.

Relying on its hardness and the tremendous force infused by Lu Chuan, the Mysterious Iron Arrowhead forcefully cracked the hard skull beneath that thick hanging armor, burying itself entirely!

The wild boar's roar stopped abruptly.

Its charging body instantly lost its driving force because its brain was destroyed.

However, the powerful momentum brought by a weight of over five hundred catties did not disappear immediately.

The wild boar still maintained its forward momentum and continued to crash toward Lu Chuan's direction.

Lu Chuan did not dodge or evade, his feet firmly planted in a bow stance, instantly channeling all his strength into his right leg and kicking out fiercely!

"Bang!"

Lu Chuan's figure swayed slightly before standing firmly.

As for the wild boar's massive body, its momentum was blocked by this kick, and it stopped moving entirely.

Lu Danian up in the tree had already been staring dumbfounded, and only at this moment did the stone in his heart drop heavily.

His voice trembling, he said excitedly, "Chuan, Chuanzi... You... You just... knocked it down?!"

Lu Chuan revealed a trace of a relieved smile:

"Dad, it's fine, come on down."

Only then did Lu Danian snap out of it, running somewhat unsteadily to the side of the wild boar.

He circled the behemoth twice and couldn't help poking it with his foot to confirm that it was truly dead.

"Good heavens..."

Lu Danian said with wild joy, "Two arrows... just two arrows... This is a large Lone Boar wearing armor! Chuanzi, this strength of yours, this archery of yours..."

The rims of his eyes actually reddened somewhat. "Good! Good boy! Dad... Dad is convinced!"

"Heh, Dad, we were able to find this big guy—we mostly have you to thank for it," Lu Chuan chuckled.

While laughing, he also pulled both arrows out from within the wild boar's body.

The Mysterious Iron Arrowhead was intact, but the shaft needed to be replaced.

"That goes without saying. Your old dad has been groping around the ways of this mountain for a few decades after all. No matter how crafty this beast is, whenever it passes by, it's bound to leave some traces."

Lu Danian thought for a moment, and his brows furrowed again:

"Yet such a big fellow... How are the two of us going to carry it back? It's at least five hundred catties."

Lu Chuan thought for a moment: "We can carry it back!"

As he spoke, he drew the hunting knife from his waist and chopped out two sturdy wooden poles.

One look from Lu Danian and he understood his son's plan, smiling bitterly: "We'll just have to do it this way..."

Afterward, the two of them used ropes to bind the wild boar securely in separate places.

Father and son joined forces to thread the wooden poles through the rope loops, one in front and one behind.

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"Lift!"

The two of them exerted strength together, and that massive creature weighing over five hundred catties was actually lifted off the ground.

The father and son then carried this astonishing game, step by step, and stepped onto the road down the mountain.

Right before the sky darkened completely, that five hundred-plus-catty wild boar was finally brought back to Kaoshan Village by the father and son.

This journey into the village truly startled quite a few people.

Many people saw Lu Danian and his son carrying a wild boar back, one in front and one behind, and instantly the pot boiled over.

"My good mother! Is that... a wild boar? Such a huge size?!"

"Didn't they just get a Snow Fox and a Golden Pheasant a few days ago? It hasn't even been quiet for long, and they've even carried a pig king back?!"

"I heard the Chuan lad shot it dead with his own hands! Goodness me, that old fellow Lu Danian really has smoke rising from his ancestors' graves..."

Amidst the crowd, Wang the Blacksmith was also watching, and the stone in his heart dropped completely: Good fellow! The bow he bought on credit on the first day hunted back such a big guy on the very same day!

This account of four taels of silver seemed secure, and he even got a favor for free!

At dawn the next day, Lu Danian went to invite several villagers with good relations, as well as Uncle Zhao.

The few of them joined forces to lift the wild boar onto a large flatbed cart and set off for Qinghe County.

They pushed the cart directly to a large tavern.

Martial artists who practiced martial arts frequently patronized this tavern, as they loved the robust qi and blood vigor of game.

The proprietor personally came out to inspect.

"A total of five hundred and eight catties. Wild boar meat fluctuates in market price, but considering it's so complete and majestic, I'll calculate it at twenty wen per catty. How about that?" The proprietor stroked his mustache.

This price was nearly double that of ordinary domestic pigs, which could be considered fair.

Lu Danian looked at his son, and Lu Chuan nodded slightly.

"Deal! We'll go with the proprietor."

Silver changed hands, forming a heavy little pouch.

Deducting the fifty wen of hard-earned money promised in advance to each of the several fellow villagers, Lu Danian clutched the remainder tightly to his bosom.

On the way back, Lu Danian muttered under his breath: "Five hundred and eight catties, twenty wen a catty, that makes..."

Hearing this, Lu Chuan couldn't help saying, "Dad, you can calculate it a few more times, but the number won't change."

This wild boar sold for a total of ten taels and one qian of silver.

After repaying Wang the Blacksmith's four taels of silver, one qian and two wen for the mountain tax, and the travel expenses for the fellow villagers, four taels and seven qian remained.

In his heart, Lu Chuan also dwelt on those words: four taels and seven qian. Such a small amount of silver was truly not enough to spend.

Especially since the blood-food he consumed nowadays was increasing more and more.

"Oh well, I'll head up the mountain to take a look when the time comes..."

Before long, the day arrived for the Black Tiger Gang to collect the mountain tax.

On this day, three members of the Black Tiger Gang entered the village early in the morning.

They knocked on doors from house to house, calling out in loud voices the name of the head of the household, the number of family members, and how much mountain tax silver ought to be paid.

Most of the villagers had already prepared copper coins and fractional silver, silently handing them over in exchange for a coarse piece of paper stamped with a blurred red seal.

When it came to Lu Chuan's turn, Lu Danian had prepared that one qian and two wen of silver early on and handed it out.

Yet, his gaze lingered on the leading man for a split second.

"Qi and blood are full and abundant, circulation is well-regulated... This is someone who has truly practiced kung fu, and I'm afraid he has already touched the threshold of Blood Pass," Lu Chuan thought to himself.

This person was completely different from the two underlings beside him.

That leading fellow accepted the silver, tore off a receipt, handed it to Lu Danian, and led his men toward the next house.

Lu Danian let out a sigh of relief and put away that receipt.

"Good thing, good thing. The fellow who came this year is quite observant of the rules..."

Yet very soon, things began to go wrong.

Next door, Uncle Zhao's anxious and pleading voice rang out:

"...Big Brother, have mercy, spare us two more days!"

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