Red-bellied Golden Pheasant

"There's something!"

Lu Chuan's heart skipped a beat as he quickly lowered his posture, moving soundlessly behind a clump of bushes.

He focused his gaze once more, looking toward that speck of bright red.

As the distance closed, that patch of red could no longer hide itself—it was a brightly colored feather, about a foot long.

Right after that, he quickly discovered its owner.

It was a Red-bellied Golden Pheasant!

It was slightly larger than an ordinary pheasant, and at that moment it was cowering in that patch of bushes, pecking intermittently at the grass seeds beneath the snow.

In Lu Chuan's memory, this bird had gorgeous plumage and was often privately called a phoenix by the mountain folk. Extremely rare, its value was far beyond what an ordinary mountain chicken could compare to.

The most dazzling part was its long tail feathers, and its meat was said to be exceptionally delicious and nourishing.

Good treasure... Lu Chuan's gaze instantly turned sharp.

He carefully estimated the distance—about fifty paces, well within the effective range of a hunting bow.

The Red-bellied Golden Pheasant was still pecking away, having failed to notice Lu Chuan from the side and rear.

Lu Chuan did not hesitate.

He pulled an arrow that was still sharpened reasonably well from his quiver, notching it to the bowstring.

He firmly locked onto that golden pheasant.

The bow was like a full moon.

The arrow like a shooting star!

"Whoosh!"

A short, sharp piercing sound tore through the silence of the mountain forest.

The next moment came a muffled thwack, followed immediately by a mournful cry!

That arrow shot in from the side of the pheasant's chest, piercing clean through.

The injured Red-bellied Golden Pheasant thrashed violently.

Lu Chuan immediately leaped out from his hiding spot, rushing forward in a few strides.

The golden pheasant was still struggling, while Lu Chuan promptly clamped a hand around its neck, targeted the spot, and gave it a forceful twist to put it out of its misery.

Only then did Lu Chuan let out a puff of white vapor, his heart filled with the excitement of a successful hunt.

My first kill in this life!

The corners of Lu Chuan's mouth finally couldn't help but curve upward.

The value of this Red-bellied Golden Pheasant far exceeded that of an ordinary pheasant.

He quickly used the straw rope he carried with him to tie up the golden pheasant, hanging it at his waist.

Having scored a hit on the first try, Lu Chuan was not satisfied with turning back just like that.

Making a trip into the mountains wasn't easy; after freezing while walking for over two hours, he naturally wanted to find a bit more reward.

He slowed his pace, searching carefully in the depths of Thicket Slope.

Before long, in a wind-sheltered patch of grass, he spotted a few inconspicuous black pellets—round, slightly larger than soybeans, with a rough surface.

"Rabbit droppings."

Lu Chuan felt a surge of joy.

These droppings had a medium level of dryness and plump pellets; the fellow that left these tracks definitely wouldn't be small in size.

Wild hares were cautious in their habits, yet they still left traces to follow. They often moved along fixed routes, and this path trampled out by them was known as an animal track.

Using this as a clue, Lu Chuan successfully searched out an animal track nearby.

He quickly discovered a few more updated droppings along this animal track.

"Fresh goods! Just dropped not long ago!" Lu Chuan's spirits perked up.

Following the intermittent, minute traces, he advanced step by step.

These traces eventually led to a pile of rubble.

Finally, at the base of the rock pile, he discovered a plump wild hare, which was currently lurking there resting.

Lu Chuan drew an arrow once more, nocked the string, and drew the bow, his movements even smoother than before when hunting the golden pheasant.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow left the string, flying forth and tearing through the air!

"Squeak!" A sharp screech rang out.

Lu Chuan strode forward quickly, only to see an arrow deeply buried in the side of a gray wild hare's neck—a kill in one hit.

He reached out to lift the rabbit's two long ears, weighing them in his hand. It felt quite heavy, likely weighing seven or eight catties.

"Really heavy!"

Lu Chuan tied this fat rabbit up with straw rope as well, hanging it at his waist alongside the golden pheasant.

One on the left and one on the right, they had plenty of weight to them.

The sky was gradually growing late, and with a bountiful harvest in hand, Lu Chuan immediately decided to head home.

The coldness along the road remained, but when Lu Chuan looked at the two pieces of game on his body, his heart felt much better.

Tonight I won't just eat my fill, but I'll have meat too!

Along the way until he reached the village entrance, Lu Chuan hurried to get home, only to run into an unexpected person.

"Lu Chuan?"

A slightly astonished female voice came over.

Lu Chuan paused in his steps, looking back.

A young woman of similar age to him stood by the roadside, wrapped in a half-new, thick cotton-padded jacket with her cheeks frozen slightly red—none other than the original owner's goddess, Xinghua.

"It really is you," Xinghua looked him up and down.

"Why have you been out of touch for so long, and also... why didn't you come bring me fish that day? You vainly made me suffer an empty joy for nothing..."

Lu Chuan's gaze turned slightly cold.

In his memories, it was precisely this village girl before him who, with a single sentence of "I want to eat fish," had made the original owner's foolish self jump into an icy river in winter.

What goddess? She was merely a calculating village girl who enjoyed being pursued.

The original owner was nothing more than one of the stupid, bootlicking dogs she strung along with scraps of kindness, the easiest one to order around.

Hearing her bring up that matter at this moment, there wasn't the slightest bit of guilt in her tone; she was actually still blaming Lu Chuan for failing to catch fish.

Simply...

He gave a bland response and turned to walk away.

He truly had no mood to waste breath on this self-serving village girl.

"Hey, what are you rushing for?"

Xinghua followed after him instead, having already spotted the Red-bellied Golden Pheasant hanging at Lu Chuan's waist.

Even though it was getting dark, its feathers still rippled with a gorgeous luster, and the fat wild hare beside it also had substantial heft.

Light almost seemed to burst from her eyes: "Lu Chuan, did you... did you hunt this up the mountain today? You even have this kind of skill?"

Lu Chuan sneered: "What, you want it?"

Xinghua actually took this as an inquiry—or rather, she was accustomed to Lu Chuan being at her beck and call.

"Then I won't ask for too much, just leave this golden pheasant for me! My mother hasn't been looking well lately, exactly right to stew it and nourish her!"

Lu Chuan stopped in his tracks, almost laughing out of anger.

Good grief, she really dared to speak up!

Just considering its value, how precious was this Red-bellied Golden Pheasant?

Taken to town, if he met someone who knew their stuff, one tael of silver might not even cover it, while that wild hare at most was worth a few dozen copper cash.

And she had it good; with a single breezy sentence, she wanted to take away the most valuable item.

Seeing Lu Chuan's expression grow somewhat cold, Xinghua felt somewhat displeased.

She curled her lip: "Why aren't you talking? Just a chicken, do you have to be so stingy? In the past when your dad got mountain goods, didn't he hand quite a lot of it over to me..."

"The past is the past." Lu Chuan turned and walked away.

Yet Xinghua grew anxious, giving a tug on his sleeve and saying with dissatisfaction:

"Lu Chuan, what are you walking away for? You haven't given me the golden pheasant yet!"

"Give it to your ghost! Scram!"

Xinghua widened her eyes in disbelief.

Lu Chuan... this bootlicker actually cursed at her? And told her to scram?

"How dare you... How dare you curse at me?!" she shrieked,

"Lu Chuan! If you don't give me the chicken today, don't think about leaving! My dad is the one who manages the water channel in the village—believe it or not, I'll have my dad block the irrigation ditch at the edge of your family's land next year and dry your family's seedlings to death!"

Having said that, she haughtily raised her chin, waiting to see this bootlicker panic and apologize before submissively offering up his prey.

Yet Lu Chuan didn't even look at her, his pace never stopping.

This instead provoked her into extreme anger.

Seeing that Lu Chuan was about to walk far away, thinking of that valuable golden pheasant, and thinking that she was actually treated like this by a poor boy she looked down upon, a wicked fire surged straight to the top of her head.

"You hand it over to me!"

Emboldened by malice, she lunged directly to grab the golden pheasant hanging at Lu Chuan's waist!

Having been on guard for a long time, Lu Chuan sidestepped away the moment she pounced.

Yet this action completely ignited Lu Chuan's fury.

"Asking for a beating!"

He barked an angry shout, his right hand already lashing out swiftly.

"Slap—!"

A crisp, resounding slap landed solidly on Xinghua's greedy face.

Xinghua's head was knocked to the side, accompanied by a cry of pain.

The burning pain on her face left her dazed for quite a while before she reacted.

"Ah—!"

"Lu Chuan! How dare you hit me! Just you wait! I'm going back to tell my dad! You heartless bastard! Just you wait and see!"

Crying and cursing, she scuttled back toward the village in a disheveled state.

Lu Chuan glanced at Xinghua's fleeing back, nothing but utter disgust in his eyes.

The trouble might not be over yet, but this slap was one he did not regret landing in the slightest.