Small River Village Shaken

"Er, Er Gou!"

At the village entrance, a middle-aged man who had just finished farming stood with his mouth agape. He stared dumbfounded at the figure before him, then at the enormous wild boar Chen Xuan was dragging behind him. His thoughts seemed to have jammed at that instant, and even his words came out stammering.

"San Ya Shu!"

Facing the man's stunned expression, Chen Xuan merely chuckled, his voice as casual as ever.

"Er Gou, y-you hunted it?"

The middle-aged man was still stammering, his face full of disbelief.

"Good luck."

"I ran into it on the mountain and happened to be thinking of taking it to Chen San Ye's house in exchange for some silver."

Chen Xuan spoke with a smile, dragging the wild boar onward.

Even after Chen Xuan had gone far away, the middle-aged man had yet to recover from his shock. He could not help rubbing his eyes again.

And when Chen Xuan entered the village,

figures with the same reaction as the middle-aged man appeared one after another.

There was no helping it—this was a wild boar, a fully grown wild boar. Not a single hunter in the village was confident of killing an adult wild boar. The last time one had been killed, several villagers had worked together.

Yet what were they seeing now?

Such a small body had actually hunted a wild boar alone. Their shock was almost beyond imagination.

They even instinctively wondered whether they were dreaming.

But no matter how fiercely they rubbed their eyes, everything before them remained undeniably real.

"Er Gou actually hunted a wild boar?"

"Th-this..."

"Could he have picked it up?"

"Picked it up? Where would you pick up a wild boar?"

"And that's a wild boar. Looking at its size, it must weigh two or three hundred jin. Yet Er Gou dragged it without the slightest effort."

"Th-this..."

Voices mingled behind him, some disbelieving, some questioning, some envious.

Their expressions varied greatly.

Chen Xuan paid no attention to those voices.

Villagers could be simple and honest, but sometimes they could also be exceedingly vicious. Yet whether they were honest or vicious depended on whom they faced. He had now completed skin tempering, and his archery had reached minor mastery. He could not say the same elsewhere, but in this small village, he already possessed absolute strength.

Naturally, there was nothing to worry about.

Dragging the wild boar amid the astonishment of the onlookers, Chen Xuan arrived at East Village.

Compared to the rest of the village, this place was undoubtedly far more impressive. A particularly conspicuous four-courtyard brick-and-tile house stood there, surrounded by a two-meter wall. Its grounds were roughly four or five times the size of Chen Xuan's home.

And this was Chen San Ye's residence.

Chen San Ye was undoubtedly the most prominent figure in Small River Village.

It was said that his son had joined Fierce Mountain Hall. Though it was not enough to make Chen San Ye's entire Lineage rise to heaven with the chickens and dogs, it still made his life in the village stand alone above the rest.

By the time Chen Xuan reached Chen San Ye's gate,

someone had clearly already informed him.

At the main gate stood a plump fifty-six-year-old man, cleanly and neatly dressed in clothes that fit him perfectly. A beaming smile covered his face.

"Haha, you must be Er Gou. I never thought our village would produce a Qilin Child. To hunt a wild boar at such an age—your future is boundless!"

Chen San Ye spoke with a hearty laugh, his expression full of admiration.

"Third Master, it was only luck. How much silver do you think this wild boar is worth?"

Chen Xuan smiled as well, then set the wild boar down.

"Easy enough!"

"Er Gou, I'd say this one weighs around two hundred and fifty jin. It is in excellent condition, and its market price would be around four taels and five mace of silver. But this old man thinks highly of you, Er Gou. How about five taels?"

Chen San Ye looked over the wild boar, his eyes flickering before he smiled and spoke to Chen Xuan.

As he spoke, a servant behind him swiftly brought over a small tray, upon which silver was plainly laid out.

Clearly, while Chen Xuan had dragged the wild boar through the village in such a showy fashion, Chen San Ye had already made preparations—even deciding in advance how much silver to pay.

Chen Xuan froze slightly. Five taels—even he had not expected Chen San Ye to offer five taels of silver.

Zhang Shan's wild boar from a few years ago had only sold for two taels. Yet Chen San Ye was giving him five taels for this one, more than double the amount.

However, his surprise lasted only a moment. Chen Xuan accepted the silver without the slightest hesitation.

"Then thank you, Chen San Ye!"

Taking the silver, Chen Xuan was somewhat excited as he hurriedly spoke.

"You're too polite!"

"Er Gou, if you hunt another fierce beast like a wild boar someday, make sure to come here. Third Master will absolutely give you a fair price. Even if you took it to sell in Green Mountain City, you would only get this much!"

Chen San Ye smiled and nodded, then could not help adding a reminder.

"Certainly!"

Chen Xuan answered, then turned and left Chen San Ye's house.

As he watched Chen Xuan leave, the smile on Chen San Ye's face did not fade in the slightest.

Only after Chen Xuan had completely vanished from sight did he turn and return home.

At the same time, he called for the servants to gut the wild boar.

"Be careful, all of you. Don't you dare rupture the pig heart!"

"And collect the Pig Blood for me as well!"

"Hurry up! Have it ready within a quarter of an hour!"

Back in the courtyard, Chen San Ye was no longer so mild and refined toward his servants. His words were stern.

The three servants in the courtyard immediately busied themselves.

Oddly enough, Chen San Ye did not care at all about the pork being cut apart. His gaze remained fixed on the pig heart, as though afraid something might go wrong.

Naturally, Chen Xuan knew nothing of this.

On his way back, people greeted him and tried to strike up familiar conversation wherever he went. Compared with before, the villagers' gazes and their manner of speaking to him were clearly much warmer.

Along the way, he heard almost nothing but praise.

Of course, Chen Xuan knew it was all merely polite talk.

More than anything, it was because he had hunted a wild boar this year.

If something happened to his family one day, most of these people might turn into wolves and jackals.

Devouring an orphaned household was not something found only in the ancient times of his previous life. In this world, it was even more common than blades of grass.

Shaking his head, Chen Xuan's thoughts shifted.

His figure gradually reached the entrance of his home.

At the door, Zhang Chunhua had been craning her neck in anxious anticipation. Only when she saw Chen Xuan did she hurry forward and quickly inspect his body. When she found that he was unharmed, Zhang Chunhua finally let out a breath of relief.

Tension and worry filled her face. She instinctively wanted to scold him, yet no words would come out.

"Mother, look, aren't I fine?"

"And I got five taels of silver from Chen San Ye. We can buy plenty of grain now, and we can buy clothes too."

Seeing Zhang Chunhua's expression, Chen Xuan quickly spoke.

His voice was light as he tried to reassure his mother.

Yet his words only made Zhang Chunhua pull Chen Xuan into a tight embrace. Chen Xuan even felt his body tense involuntarily.