Tearing Off the Mask

The sun dipped toward the west as Qin Meng dragged his prey back to Luming Fort.

Upon entering the fort, he said to Wang Tieniu, "Tieniu, I have money now. Tell your grandfather I want a strong bow. The price is not an issue."

"You got it, leave it to me." Wang Tieniu patted his chest in assurance.

His grandfather was a retired border soldier. He was not only a renowned hunter in the fort but also a master craftsman whose bow-making skills were second to none.

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

"No, no way!" Wang Tieniu backed away repeatedly, his face turning red with anxiety. "Grandpa said your family has it tough too; we can't take this!"

"Enough talk." Qin Meng shoved them into his arms without allowing for argument, then grabbed a handful of vibrant pheasant tail feathers. "These will come in handy for arrow shafts."

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

The two parted ways.

As Qin Meng dragged his prey toward home, the live deer began to struggle and thrash, managing to flip half its body out, exposing its head.

This caused quite a stir. It immediately caught the attention of several women chatting near the fort gate and a few men who had just returned from the fields.

"Oh my! What is that? Is that a deer?"

"Good heavens, a massive spotted deer, and it's still alive!"

"Is that... is that Qin Meng? Mengzi caught this up in the mountains?"

The exclamations immediately drew more people.

At this hour, the fort was at its liveliest. People returning from the fields, finishing work, or visiting neighbors all gathered around as they saw Qin Meng dragging two large spotted deer. They pointed and whispered, buzzing with discussion.

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

"My goodness, this deer must be worth a fortune!"

"Look at those velvet antlers, the fuzz still has blood in it—good stuff, it can be used as medicine!"

"The meat looks so firm, it's a great tonic!"

The crowd chattered away, their eyes filled with undisguised envy.

Deer were rare treasures. Their meat was edible, their hides could be tanned, and their antlers, blood, sinew, and tails could all be used in medicine; it was no exaggeration to say they were valuable from head to toe.

For an ordinary hunter, catching a roe deer or a wild rabbit was considered a bountiful harvest. How could people not be jealous seeing Qin Meng drag back two large adult stags?

The crowd grew larger and larger, almost blocking his path.

Qin Meng frowned slightly. He offered a few perfunctory remarks and was just about to quicken his pace and push through the crowd to get home when a shout suddenly came from the side.

"Move! Everyone move!"

Three figures shouldered their way through the crowd.

The burly man in the lead was Qin Lai. His eyes locked onto the live deer and its velvet antlers, his pupils constricting as greed flashed in his gaze.

He knew exactly what that thing was worth!

—It was enough for him to win back his losses at the gambling den, enough to live in a drunken stupor for half a month.

"Yo, Brother Meng!" A smile instantly plastered itself onto Qin Lai's face—the usual kind, three parts warmth and seven parts calculation. "Truly impressive! You bagged such a huge prize; you must be exhausted, right? Let us brothers help you carry it!"

His hand reached for the thick rope, his movements as natural as if he were walking into his own home.

Qin Meng stepped aside, causing the hand to grab at thin air.

The air suddenly went quiet for a moment.

Qin Lai's smile stiffened, then was replaced by an even thicker layer of greed. "Look at you, still acting like a stranger with your brother? We're all family..."

"Who's family with you?" Qin Meng interrupted, his eyes sharp as blades. "I'm just a poor wretch, Qin Meng. I can't afford to climb the social ladder to someone like you, Master Lai."

Having been called out in front of everyone, Qin Lai couldn't keep his composure. His face flushed red with shame and anger. "You little beast, you dare talk to me like that?

Taking a few things from you is me doing you a favor! Don't forget, you still owe me fifty taels of silver. Without that money, you'd have been dead long ago."

"Fifty taels? A scoundrel like you offering to lend money—you clearly had ulterior motives." Qin Meng's voice wasn't loud, but it caused the surrounding noise to instantly die down.

He didn't look at Qin Lai, but instead stared at the shadow stretched long by the setting sun. "You tricked me, saying there was a way to win back my losses at the town's gambling den, that I could make a fortune to buy precious medicine to strengthen my foundation. I believed you. And what happened?"

He paused, every word sounding like it had been dipped in ice. "You took me to a rigged gambling den run by your mistress's lover. The dice were weighted, the cards were marked.

I lost everything I owned and nearly mortgaged my ancestral home, while you were in the next room, using the cut of the silver to pay for three girls. Liu San let it slip when he was drunk—did you forget? I haven't settled accounts with you yet; that's me giving you face."

A low gasp rippled through the onlookers.

"You're full of crap!" Qin Lai jumped up, the veins on his forehead bulging.

Exposed in public, he was consumed by shame and rage. He decided to drop the pretense entirely, pointing at Qin Meng's nose and cursing: "Debts must be repaid; it's only natural.

These two deer will cover the debt—I'm doing you a favor! Liu San, Wang Laizi, drag them away!"

"Cover the debt?" Qin Meng suddenly laughed, but the mirth didn't reach his eyes. "Qin Lai, listen well."

He took a step forward, the setting sun shining from behind him, stretching his tall frame until it completely loomed over Qin Lai.

"First, as for that debt of fifty taels, I will pay you back tomorrow. Second, this pair of velvet antlers is worth at least eighty taels on the market. Third—"

His voice suddenly dropped. "My father taught me the hunter's code: to steal a man's prey is the same as killing his parents. Try touching this deer today and see what happens."

He spoke the last few words softly, yet they sent a shiver through everyone nearby.

That was the look of someone who had truly seen blood.

Qin Lai was pinned to the spot by that gaze, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. But he couldn't retreat; with so many people watching, if he backed down, he could forget about throwing his weight around in the fortress ever again.

"You've gone mad!" he roared, bracing himself to bolster his own courage and to let the others hear him. "You owe money and refuse to pay, yet you dare to act tough? I'll take it myself!"

He lunged forward to grab the thick rope, his movements fast and vicious—he was going to seize it by force.

Qin Meng didn't move.

It wasn't until Qin Lai's hand was about to touch the knot that Qin Meng's right foot lashed out like a viper striking.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed. Qin Lai didn't even see the movement; he only felt as if his lower abdomen had been struck by a heavy hammer. His entire body flew backward, crashing heavily into the dirt.

"Ugh—" He curled up like a shrimp, his internal organs feeling displaced, unable to even let out a complete scream.

The crowd scattered in an uproar, then fell into a deathly silence.

Under the setting sun, Qin Meng slowly retracted his leg, his figure standing tall as a spear. He didn't even look at Qin Lai on the ground, turning instead to the two lackeys who were frozen in shock:

"You two, do you want to touch my prey as well?"

Liu San and Wang Laizi turned deathly pale, retreating repeatedly, their heads shaking like rattles.

Only then did Qin Meng lower his head to look at Qin Lai, who had finally caught his breath and was struggling to climb back up.

He didn't strike again. He simply crouched down and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"That night at the irrigation ditch, I was dead drunk. Was it someone who pushed me in on purpose?"

Qin Lai's body stiffened, his pupils contracting violently.

"I didn't die. You must be very disappointed, right?" Seeing the panic in his eyes, Qin Meng understood everything. His voice was calm, yet it made Qin Lai feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"With so many people watching today, you were the one who moved to seize my prey first. Even if I beat you to death right here and it went to the county magistrate, it would be 'defending property.' But I won't kill you. We'll play this out slowly, just like with Song Zhong."

"It was you..." Qin Lai's body trembled, the fear in his eyes intensifying.

Qin Meng stood up and raised his voice so that everyone could hear:

"Qin Lai, the fifty taels I owe you—I will return them to you tomorrow at noon. I ask the clan elders and Captain Qin to serve as witnesses. Principal and interest, not a single copper less."

He scanned the familiar faces around him, his gaze sweeping over those who once held pity and contempt, now replaced by shock and fear:

"But some debts, they have to be settled separately."

"Fellow villagers, if you want venison, come to my place to trade for it."

With that, Qin Meng pulled the sled forward, and the crowd automatically parted to make way.

No one noticed the calculation hidden beneath his cold indifference.

Breaking ties completely with Qin Lai was exactly what he needed to goad these ruffians into action. Given Qin Lai's vengeful nature, having suffered such a humiliation, he would certainly retaliate.

He needed a sufficiently "legitimate" reason. If the other party broke into his home at night with malicious intent, then "killing thieves in self-defense" would be a logical outcome.

His strength gave him confidence. With the boons of born divine valor and thick skin and fleshy, his physique far surpassed that of an ordinary man, and he even had wild instinct to provide warnings. Qin Lai and his band of ruffians in the fortress were nothing more than stepping stones for him.

Qin Meng dragged his prey, walking step by step toward home.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, like a blade slowly returning to its sheath.

Behind him, Qin Lai was finally helped up. His face was covered in dust mixed with cold sweat. He pointed at Qin Meng's retreating back, wanting to curse, but instead broke into a violent fit of coughing.

He stared venomously at the back that was growing smaller and smaller, his lips trembling. In the end, he could only squeeze out a few words: "You... you just wait..."