Windfall

A wolf's anguished howl rang out. The Wolf King, which had been directing the Wolf Pack's attack, took an arrow through the belly. Blood gushed from the wound in an instant.

Hearing the Wolf King's pained cry, the wolves surrounding the Hunting Team turned and ran toward it. They formed a circle, protecting the Wolf King in the middle.

Just as Wang Meng was falling into despair, he saw an arrow fly from a distant tree and strike the Wolf King in the belly.

Whoever had shot it was at the very least a master archer.

He shouted to the surviving members of the Hunting Team, "Brothers, hang on! Reinforcements are here to save us!"

The few men with despair on their faces heard there were reinforcements, and hope blazed in their eyes.

Standing on a tree branch, Luo Yi looked at the gathered wolves. They were living, breathing targets.

He drew his bow and nocked an arrow. He barely needed to aim, firing arrow after arrow toward the Wolf Pack.

With each arrow he loosed, another Wild Wolf was wounded.

As he watched the companions beside him get struck by arrows one after another, the lead wolf turned toward where they were coming from.

On a large tree not far away stood a young man with a bow in hand. His arrows fell upon him and his companions like rain from the sky.

Hatred filled his eyes. He etched the young man's face into his memory.

The Wolf King let out a howl, then turned and fled into the Mountain forest.

The Wild Wolves around it heard its cry. They bit their wounded companions and fled deeper into the Mountain forest.

When the Wolf Pack ran, Wang Meng clasped his hands toward the person in the tree and said, "I'm Wang Meng from Dongsheng Town. I came into the Mountain to hunt with my brothers today and ran into the Wolf Pack. Thank you, brother, for coming to our aid."

The man in the tree didn't answer. Wang Meng looked up and saw him smiling down at him. The man seemed familiar.

Looking closer, Wang Meng realized that the person who had saved him was Luo Yi. He was stunned.

Seeing the men bleeding from their wounds, Luo Yi walked over to them.

"Uncle Wang, Brother Chen, are you all right?"

Wang Meng slowly came to his senses. "Don't worry. We're not going to die just yet."

"But your archery is something else, kid. You've been hiding your skills!"

Seeing that Wang Meng still had the energy to tease him, Luo Yi felt relieved.

"Uncle Wang, don't make fun of me. My archery can't hold a candle to yours. There's too much blood here. Let's get back to town first, then we can talk."

Wang Meng looked at the six Wild Wolf carcasses on the ground. He and his brothers had killed five of them, while Luo Yi had shot the remaining one.

He asked Luo Yi, "Xiao Yi, how do you want to divide up the game?"

Luo Yi smiled. "I'll just take the one I killed. Uncle Wang can divide up the rest."

Hearing this, Wang Meng put aside his worry that Luo Yi might covet the wealth and turn on them.

"Xiao Yi, I'll remember what you did for us today. If you ever need my help, just say the word. I won't turn you down."

The other members of the Hunting Team heard this and chimed in as well.

Feeling the mood turn strange, Luo Yi packed the Wild Wolf carcass into his hunting pack.

"Uncle Wang, some other large beast might catch the scent of blood and come looking. Let's head back to town first. We can talk about everything else there."

Seeing what Luo Yi was doing, Wang Meng and the wounded men packed up the Wild Wolf carcasses too. Then they left Yunling Mountain and headed toward Dongsheng Town.

As they walked along the dirt road toward town, Wang Meng asked, "Xiao Yi, what are you planning to do with the Wild Wolf carcass? These beasts are valuable. A carcass with its pelt intact is worth at least twenty taels of silver."

His question surprised Luo Yi. "Wasn't I supposed to sell it to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion?"

At the mention of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, Wang Meng thought for a moment. "Manager Chen's restaurant only uses the meat. They don't offer much for the pelts."

"If you tan a Wild Wolf pelt and sell it in the county seat, you can get at least twenty taels of silver. Sell them a whole Wild Wolf carcass, and the most they'll offer is five or six taels."

As he listened to Wang Meng, Luo Yi recalled the memories of his predecessor.

The farthest place his predecessor had ever gone was Yunling Mountain. Since coming to this world, Luo Yi had also gone back and forth between Yunling Mountain and Dongsheng Town every day. He wanted to see the bustle of the county seat for himself.

"Uncle Wang, when are you planning to go to the county seat? Could you take me along?"

Wang Meng smiled at his reply. "First, go home and take care of the Wild Wolf pelt. Once I've recovered a little, I'll have Liu Zi notify you. Then we can head into town together."

After teaching Luo Yi how to tan the pelt, the men returned to Dongsheng Town.

Wang Meng and the other members of the Hunting Team thanked Luo Yi again, then hurried to the biggest clinic in town.

Remembering Wang Meng's words about the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion's low prices, Luo Yi carried the Wild Wolf carcass straight home.

In a lavishly furnished room, Mister Li listened to his subordinate's report.

"You're saying Wang Meng took the Hunting Team into the Mountain today, and only a few of them made it back?"

Thinking of Wang Meng, who was always working against him, and the man's background, Mister Li gave a cold smile. "This time, he'll finally fall into my hands, won't he?"

He summoned the Steward and ordered him to take one thousand taels of silver from the storeroom and bring it to the county seat to grease the wheels.

When Luo Xi saw her brother return to the little courtyard, she rushed over from where she had been sitting by the door. "Brother, you're finally back!"

He ruffled the little girl's hair and took out the Wild Wolf carcass.

Luo Xi stared at it, her little face full of shock.

"Brother, you're amazing! First a wild rabbit and a roe deer a few days ago, and now you've brought home a Wild Wolf! I want to learn to hunt with you someday, too."

Seeing the admiration on his sister's face filled Luo Yi with pride.

But then he remembered: Evil Spirits and demons ran rampant outside town, and Mister Li posed a threat inside it. His sister needed a way to protect herself, too.

"Xiao Xi, do you want to learn martial arts?"

His sister had still been dreaming of becoming a master hunter someday. At his question, she didn't respond for a long while.

Looking at her brother's serious expression, Luo Xi hesitated. "Brother, practicing martial arts costs too much. Our family can't afford it."

"Don't worry about the money. I'll find a way to deal with it. You only need to decide whether you want to learn."

After confirming his sister's wishes, Luo Yi went into the kitchen. He rummaged around for quite a while before finding the Skinning Knife their father had used to process game.

Taking the Skinning Knife, he carried the carcass to a corner of the courtyard to avoid splattering wolf blood all over the house.

He followed the wound where the arrow had struck the Wild Wolf and carefully cut the pelt away from the bone and flesh, bit by bit. Before long, he had a whole wolf pelt.

After skinning the wolf, he went on to butcher it. First, he opened its belly and removed the organs. Then he cut the meat into roughly equal pieces, yielding about sixty jin of wolf meat.

Seeing her brother finish processing the carcass and get ready to tan the pelt, Luo Xi came over.

"Brother, you worked hard practicing martial arts and hunting today. Go rest for a while. I'll tan the pelt and prepare the meat."

She ushered Luo Yi back into the room, then cleaned dirt, blood, and droppings from the wolf pelt.

Watching how skillfully his sister tanned the pelt, he remembered that she had always handled the pelts from the game their father brought home.

Reassured, Luo Yi went into the kitchen, found the Chinese medicine left over from the morning, lit the firewood, and set it to boil again.