Unexpected Fortune

A miserable wolf howl rang out as the Wolf King, commanding the pack's assault, had its belly pierced by an arrow, blood gushing instantly from the wound.

Hearing the Wolf King's pained cry, the wolves besieging the Hunting Team turned and ran toward their leader, forming a circle to shield him at the center.

Wang Meng, on the verge of despair, saw the arrow shot from a distant tree strike the Wolf King's belly.

He guessed the shooter was at least a master archer.

He shouted to the surviving Hunting Team members, "Brothers, hold on—reinforcements are here to save us!"

The men, faces etched with hopelessness, lit up with hope at the news of help.

Standing on a tree branch, Luo Yi watched the gathered wolves—a living target range.

He drew his bow and nocked arrows, barely needing to aim, firing volley after volley at the pack.

Each arrow loosed wounded a Wild Wolf.

Seeing his companions struck down one by one, the Wolf King turned his head toward the source of the arrows.

On a nearby tree stood a young man, bow in hand, arrows raining down like heavenly droplets on him and his pack.

The Wolf King fixed a hateful glare on the man's face, searing it into memory.

With a long howl, he turned and fled into the mountain forest.

The Wild Wolves around him, hearing the cry, bit onto their wounded comrades and escaped deeper into the woods.

Seeing the wolves retreat, Wang Meng cupped his hands toward the man in the tree and said, "I'm Wang Meng from Dongsheng Town. My brothers and I came into the mountains to hunt today and ran into the Wolf Pack. Thanks for your help, brother."

When the man didn't answer, Wang Meng looked up and saw a familiar face smiling down at him.

Looking closer, he was stunned to realize their savior was Luo Yi.

Seeing the blood still flowing from their wounds, Luo Yi walked over to them.

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

Wang Meng, snapping back to reality, said, "Don't worry, we won't die just yet. But your archery skills are incredible, kid—you've been hiding your talent!"

Seeing Wang Meng still had the energy to tease him, Luo Yi relaxed. "Uncle Wang, don't make fun of me. My archery's nothing compared to yours. The blood smell here is too strong—let's head back to town first."

Wang Meng looked at the six Wild Wolf corpses on the ground—five killed by him and his brothers, one shot by Luo Yi.

He asked Luo Yi, "Xiao Yi, how do you want to split the prey?"

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

Hearing this, Wang Meng's worry that Luo Yi might get greedy and turn on them faded.

"Xiao Yi, I'll remember this debt. If you ever need your Uncle Wang for anything, just say the word, and I won't refuse."

The other Hunting Team members chimed in agreement.

Feeling the mood turn awkward, Luo Yi stuffed the Wild Wolf corpse into his hunting pack.

"Uncle Wang, other big beasts might follow the blood scent here. Let's talk about everything else back in town."

Seeing Luo Yi's actions, Wang Meng led the wounded men to pack the wolf corpses into their bags, and the group left Yunling Mountain, heading toward Dongsheng Town.

On the dirt road back to town, Wang Meng asked, "Xiao Yi, what are you planning to do with the wolf corpse? This beast is valuable—a single intact pelt is worth at least twenty taels of silver."

Luo Yi was surprised by the question. "Don't we sell it to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion?"

Wang Meng thought for a moment. "Manager Chen's place only uses the meat. They offer very little for the hide."

"If you tan the Wolf Hide and sell it in the county town, you'll get at least twenty taels. Selling a whole wolf corpse to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion—they'd give you five or six taels at most."

Listening to Wang Meng, Luo Yi searched his predecessor's memories.

Since birth, the farthest he'd ever been was Yunling Mountain. Since crossing over, he'd only shuttled between Yunling Mountain and Dongsheng Town, and he longed to see the county town's bustle.

"Uncle Wang, when are you heading to the county town? Could you take me along?"

Wang Meng laughed. "First, go home and treat that wolf hide. Once my wounds heal a bit, I'll have Liu Zi notify you, and we'll go into town together."

After teaching Luo Yi how to tan the hide, they returned to Dongsheng Town.

Wang Meng and the Hunting Team thanked Luo Yi again before heading to the town's largest clinic.

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

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

"You say Wang Meng took the Hunting Team into the mountains today, and only a few made it back?"

Thinking of Wang Meng, who often crossed him, and recalling his background, Mister Li sneered. "Finally falling into my hands, are you?"

He called for the steward and ordered him to fetch a thousand taels of silver from the treasury to grease palms in the county town.

Entering the small courtyard, Luo Xi, sitting by the door, saw her brother return and rushed over. "Brother, you're finally back!"

Ruffling the little girl's hair, Luo Yi pulled out the Wild Wolf corpse.

Looking at the corpse of the wild wolf, Luo Xi's small face was filled with shock.

"Big brother, you're way too amazing. A few days ago, wild rabbits and roe deer, and today you brought back a wild wolf. From now on, I want to learn hunting from you too."

Seeing the admiration shining in his younger sister's eyes, Luo Yi felt a swell of pride.

But then he thought: with demons and evil spirits running rampant outside the town, and Mister Li inside it, his sister also needed a way to protect herself.

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

Hearing her brother's question, Luo Xi, still lost in dreams of becoming a hunting master, took a long while to snap out of it.

Looking at her brother's serious expression, Luo Xi hesitated. "Big brother, training in martial arts costs too much. Our family can't afford that kind of money."

"Don't worry about the money. I'll find a way. As long as you want to learn, that's enough."

Having confirmed his sister's intent, Luo Yi walked into the kitchen. After some rummaging, he finally found the skinning knife their late father had used to dress his kills.

Taking the skinning knife, and to avoid spilling wolf blood all over the room, he carried the carcass to a corner of the yard.

Following the wound where the arrow had struck the wolf, he sliced carefully, separating the hide from the flesh, cut by cut. Soon, he had a complete wolf hide.

After skinning it, he moved on to the meat. First, he slit open the wolf's belly and removed the innards, then carved the meat into roughly equal chunks, yielding about sixty jin of wolf meat.

Watching her brother finish dressing the wolf carcass and prepare to tan the hide, Luo Xi walked over.

"Big brother, you've worked hard hunting and training today. Go rest for a while. I'll tan the hide and handle the wolf meat."

She pushed Luo Yi back into the room, then cleaned the debris, blood, and filth off the wolf hide.

Seeing how deftly his sister handled the tanning—remembering that the game their late father had brought home was always processed by her—Luo Yi felt reassured.

He went into the kitchen, found the leftover medicinal herbs from that morning, lit the fire, and began to re-boil them.