Turning Against Each Other

As the sun dipped west, Qin Meng dragged his prey back to Luming Fort.

After entering the fort, he said to Wang Tieniu, "Tieniu, I've got money now. Go tell your grandfather I want a strong bow. We can talk price."

"Sure thing. Leave it to me." Wang Tieniu thumped his chest in promise.

His grandfather had retired from the Border Army. Not only was he a renowned hunter in the fort, he was also a highly skilled craftsman, famed for his bows.

Qin Meng took the plumpest pheasant and ten jin of polished rice from his basket and handed them over. "Take these. Stew the pheasant to help your grandfather regain his strength."

"No, no!" Wang Tieniu backed away repeatedly, his face flushing with anxiety. "Grandpa said your family has it hard too. We can't take these!"

"Enough fussing." Qin Meng stuffed them into his arms, then pulled out a handful of bright pheasant tail feathers. "These will come in handy for making arrow shafts."

With that, he turned and left, leaving Wang Tieniu standing there in a daze.

The two parted ways.

Qin Meng dragged the prey toward home. The live deer thrashed about, flipping half its body over and exposing its head.

That caused quite a stir. Several women chatting near the fort gate and men returning from the fields immediately noticed.

"Oh! What's that? Is it a deer?"

"Good heavens, what a huge spotted deer—and it's alive!"

"Is that... Qin Meng? Did Mengzi get it in the mountains?"

The exclamations instantly drew more people over.

This was the liveliest time of day in the fort. Farmers returning from the fields, laborers finishing work, and neighbors visiting one another all gathered around when they saw Qin Meng dragging back two enormous spotted deer. They pointed and chattered among themselves.

"Brother Meng, you've struck it rich!"

"Oh, those deer are worth a fortune!"

"Look at those velvet antlers—the velvet's streaked with blood. That's good stuff, fit for medicine!"

"That meat looks so firm. It'll be a real tonic!"

The crowd buzzed with excitement, their undisguised envy plain to see.

Deer were rare. Their meat could be eaten, their hides made into leather, and their antlers, blood, sinews, and penises all used in medicine. It was no exaggeration to say every part was a treasure.

An ordinary hunter was lucky to bring home a muntjac or a hare from the mountains. Qin Meng had dragged back two enormous adult stags. How could people not envy him?

The crowd grew larger and larger, nearly blocking the road.

Qin Meng frowned slightly and gave a few perfunctory replies. Just as he was about to quicken his pace and push through the crowd on his way home, a shout suddenly came from the side.

"Move aside! Make way!"

Three figures swaggered through the crowd.

The burly man at their head was Qin Lai. His gaze locked onto the live deer and its antlers, his pupils contracting sharply as greed flashed in his eyes.

He knew all too well what they were worth!

Enough for him to win back his losses at the gambling den—and live in drunken debauchery for half a month.

"Why, Brother Meng!" Qin Lai's face instantly broke into his usual smile, three parts warmth and seven parts calculation. "You're incredible, bringing down such huge prey. You must be worn out. Let us help you carry it!"

His hand reached for the rope, as naturally as if he were in his own home.

Qin Meng shifted aside, leaving his hand grasping at empty air.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Qin Lai's smile froze, then greed flooded back over his face. "Come on, why so formal with your own brother? We're family..."

"Who said we were family?" Qin Meng cut him off, his gaze sharp as a blade. "I'm a penniless nobody. I could never presume to be your brother, Master Lai."

The words cut Qin Lai to the quick in front of everyone. His face reddened, and he snapped in shame and fury, "You little bastard! How dare you talk to me like that?

"I'm honoring you by taking a few things! Don't forget, you still owe me fifty taels of silver. Without that money, you'd be dead already."

"Fifty taels? You're the one who came offering me money. You must have had an ulterior motive." Qin Meng's voice wasn't loud, but the surrounding clamor immediately died down.

He didn't look at Qin Lai, but stared at the shadows stretched long across the ground by the setting sun. "You tricked me into thinking the gambling den in town had a way to win back my losses, that I could make big money and buy precious medicine to strengthen my body. I believed you. And what happened?"

He paused. Each word seemed dipped in ice. "You took me to the Rigged Gambling Den run by your lover. The dice were loaded, and the cards were marked.

"I lost everything I owned and nearly had to pawn my ancestral home. You were in the next room, using your cut to pay three women. Liu San got drunk and let it slip. Have you forgotten? I didn't settle accounts with you because I was giving you face."

The crowd let out a low gasp.

"You're talking shit!" Qin Lai leapt up, veins bulging on his forehead.

Exposed in front of everyone, overcome by shame and anger, he decided to drop all pretense and pointed at Qin Meng's nose. "Debts must be repaid. That's only right.

"These two deer will cover your debt. You're getting off easy! Liu San, Wang Laizi, drag them away!"

"Cover my debt?" Qin Meng suddenly smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes. "Qin Lai, listen carefully."

He took a step forward. The setting sun shone from behind him, stretching his towering shadow until it completely engulfed Qin Lai.

"First, I'll repay that fifty-tael debt tomorrow. Second, these velvet antlers are worth at least eighty taels at market price. Third—"

His voice suddenly dropped. "My father taught me a hunter's rule: stealing a man's prey is like killing his parents. Go ahead and touch that deer today. I dare you."

He spoke the last few words softly, yet everyone around them shivered.

That was the look of a man who had truly seen blood.

Qin Lai was pinned in place by that gaze, cold sweat soaking his back in an instant. But he couldn't back down. With so many people watching, if he retreated now, he'd never be able to throw his weight around in the fort again.

"Are you rebelling against me?" he shouted, trying to steel himself and make sure everyone heard. "You refuse to repay your debt, and now you're trying to act tough? I'll take it myself!"

He bent sharply to grab the rope, moving fast and viciously—he meant to take the deer by force.

Qin Meng didn't move.

Only when Qin Lai's hand was about to touch the knot did Qin Meng's right foot shoot out like a striking viper.

Thud!

The muffled impact rang out. Qin Lai didn't even see it coming. He only felt as if a sledgehammer had smashed into his stomach, sending him flying and crashing heavily into the dirt.

"Urgh—" He curled up like a shrimp. His insides felt as though they'd been turned upside down, and he couldn't even manage a full scream.

The crowd scattered in an uproar, then fell dead silent.

Under the setting sun, Qin Meng slowly lowered his leg, standing straight as a spear. He didn't even glance at Qin Lai on the ground. Turning to the two henchmen frozen with fear, he asked, "You two want to touch my prey too?"

Liu San and Wang Laizi went deathly pale and backed away, shaking their heads like rattles.

Only then did Qin Meng look down at Qin Lai, who had finally caught his breath and was struggling to get up.

He didn't strike him again. He merely crouched down and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"That night by the irrigation ditch, when I was dead drunk, did someone deliberately push me in?"

Qin Lai stiffened all over, his pupils contracting violently.

"You're disappointed I didn't die, aren't you?" Seeing the panic in Qin Lai's eyes, Qin Meng understood. His voice remained calm, but Qin Lai felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cavern.

"With so many people watching today, you were the one who tried to steal my prey first. Even if I beat you to death on the spot and the case went to the county yamen, it would still be 'defending my property in self-defense.' But I won't kill you. We'll take our time, just like with Song Zhong."

"It was you..." Qin Lai's body trembled faintly, the fear in his eyes growing even deeper.

Qin Meng rose and raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"Qin Lai, I'll repay the fifty taels I owe you tomorrow at noon. Let the clan elders and Captain Qin bear witness. I'll pay every last coin, principal and interest."

He looked around at the familiar faces, his gaze passing over the pity and scorn they had once shown him, now transformed into shock and fear.

"But there are other debts to settle."

"Neighbors, if you want venison, come to my house and trade for some."

With that, Qin Meng took hold of the sled and pulled it onward. The crowd parted automatically to let him through.

No one noticed the schemes hidden beneath his cold expression.

He had deliberately fallen out with Qin Lai to provoke that pack of bullies into action. With Qin Lai's vengeful nature, he would surely retaliate after suffering such humiliation.

Qin Meng needed a sufficiently "justifiable" reason. If the other man broke into his home at night with ill intent, then "killing a bandit in self-defense" would be entirely reasonable.

Strength gave him confidence. With Born Divine Valor and Thick Skin and Fleshy boosting him, his physique far surpassed that of ordinary people, and Wild Instinct warned him of danger. Qin Lai and his pack of bullies in the fort were nothing but stepping-stones for him.

Qin Meng dragged his prey home, step by step.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long behind him, like a blade slowly sliding back into its sheath.

Behind him, Qin Lai was finally helped to his feet, his face smeared with dirt and cold sweat. He pointed at Qin Meng's retreating figure and tried to curse, but broke into a violent coughing fit.

He glared venomously at that ever-distant back, his lips trembling. In the end, he could only choke out a few words. "You... just you wait..."