Venison forges a bond of goodwill

"Let's go, let's go. Let's head home and grab some grain to trade for meat."

"I ran into that kid Tie Niu on the way; he said Mengzi specifically left this for the fortress."

"That boy Mengzi has finally come to his senses. Good lad, he's a fine son of our fortress."

"That Qin Lai is truly wicked, even trying to scam his own fellow villagers."

"Exactly..."

Venison is a highly nourishing food. Qin Meng's words had set many people's minds racing. They called out to friends and neighbors, or cast looks of disdain toward Qin Lai.

Hearing the villagers' chatter, Qin Lai's face turned even uglier. He stared daggers at Qin Meng's back, the resentment in his eyes almost dripping out.

"Two adult spotted deer... Fine, very fine!" He gritted his teeth, whispering through the gaps, "Qin Meng, do you think that just because you've gained a bit of brute strength and caught some game, you can turn your life around?"

"Do you think you can stop looking at me, Qin Lai, as someone to be reckoned with? We'll... see about that! I just hope this venison isn't too rich for a poor wretch like you to handle!"

He shoved Liu San and Wang Laizi aside and limped toward his home.

Liu San and Wang Laizi exchanged glances and hurried to follow.

They knew that Qin Lai held a deep grudge this time. Given his vindictive nature, this matter was far from over.

The sun slanted from the west as Qin Meng dragged his catch back to his small courtyard.

Shen Qiuyue was picking vegetables by the well. Hearing the commotion, she looked up, and the wild greens in her hand dropped into the basin.

She stared at the two sturdy stags on the sled, especially the one still struggling, and was stunned: "Mengzi, this... all this game?"

"Sister Qiuyue, come give me a hand."

Qin Meng unhitched the ropes and took out the bags of grain, cloth, cotton, salt, and brown sugar from his basket. Finally, he cradled a snow-white bundle from his chest.

"Oh, what is this?" Shen Qiuyue leaned in. When she saw the pair of dark, moist eyes and pointed ears, she gently covered her lips with her fingers:

"A... a fox?"

"Found it on the mountain. Its leg is injured." Qin Meng placed the little fox gently on the bluestone by the well. "It'll need to recover for a few days; it can keep you company!"

"Ying..." The little fox tilted its head and actually nudged Shen Qiuyue's outstretched fingertip with its nose.

The surprise in Shen Qiuyue's eyes instantly melted into soft light. She gathered the little fox into her arms as if holding a clump of fresh snow: "You poor thing..."

"You look after it for now; I'll handle the game." Qin Meng handed her the medicinal powder, turned around, and moved the blood-scaled deer and the demon python into the woodshed to hide them.

--He wasn't about to sell such top-tier goods.

Returning to the courtyard, he picked up his boning knife and began to skillfully bleed and skin the live deer.

Footsteps approached from outside the courtyard gate.

"Mengzi! Did you really bag a big deer?" Auntie Wang's booming voice arrived first. She was the wife of the neighbor blacksmith, a woman with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

In the past, she had often urged Shen Qiuyue not to waste her life on the original owner, who was nothing but a piece of trash. Privately, however, she frequently helped out; for instance, Shen Qiuyue often borrowed grain from her.

Behind her followed her son, Li Tiezhu. Built like an ox, he was a childhood friend who had grown up wearing split-crotch pants with Qin Meng, and he was one of the few people who had treated him well.

"Auntie Wang, Zhuzi." Qin Meng looked up and grinned. "I was just needing an extra pair of hands."

Li Tiezhu didn't say much. He turned around, went home, and returned carrying an old wooden table. With a loud "clatter," he set it up in the courtyard and began helping him butcher the meat and move it onto the table.

Just as they finished tidying up, the courtyard gate was knocked upon.

Villagers carrying grain bags and clutching copper coins crowded the entrance, their eyes darting toward the meat.

Qin Meng wiped his hands and put on a steady, honest smile. "Come in, everyone. Ten catties of grain for one catty of meat. Cash payments are at eighty percent of the market price. I, Qin, do not cheat anyone, young or old."

He cut the meat, weighed it, and collected the money and grain, his movements practiced and efficient. The crowd came and went in a steady stream.

The deer meat trade went very smoothly, and the three-hundred-plus catty stag rapidly diminished.

As for the pair of velvet antlers, one was cut into pieces and traded off in small portions.

The other was bought whole by the militia captain, Qin Tianbao, for twenty-five taels of silver.

Qin Meng understood clearly that this was more than just a transaction—it was a tangible way to reverse the original owner's foul reputation for alcoholism, gambling, and beating his wife.

He didn't care much about that himself; what mattered was that when Shen Qiuyue walked through the village, the cold stares and whispers she used to endure would eventually turn into envy.

When the last group of people dispersed, the courtyard finally quieted down.

Even the pheasants and wild rabbits had been traded away, leaving only a complete deer hide on the table. On the ground lay over a dozen grain bags and dozens of taels of silver.

Auntie Wang rubbed her hands together, looking somewhat disappointed. "Mengzi, look, the meat is all gone... I had originally wanted to trade for some to help your uncle and Haozi build up their strength..."

"Auntie, don't worry." Qin Meng interrupted her and turned to duck into the kitchen.

When he emerged, he was carrying another, even larger stag on his shoulder—it was nearly twice the size of the previous one, its fur emitting a crystalline luster.

"This, this..." Li Tiezhu's eyes widened.

"Two deer." Qin Meng dropped the deer with a heavy thud. "I only sold one. This one is special; the meat is rich in vitality and blood. We'll eat this one ourselves.

Auntie, go call Uncle Gensheng over. We're eating here tonight."

"That's right, Auntie. We owe so much to your help in the past; you can't refuse." Shen Qiuyue also stepped forward with a smile, taking the woman's hand and inviting her sincerely.

The little fox in her arms let out a soft "ying-ying" sound, its nose twitching.

Auntie Wang's eyes grew warm. She wanted to decline, but when the words reached her lips, they became: "Good, good... I won't go, I won't go. Haozi, hurry and call your father!"

When night fell completely, the Qin family courtyard became lively for a rare occasion.

The stove fire illuminated the window paper, and the venison in the large iron pot bubbled away, its exotic aroma mixing with the scent of firewood to fill the yard.

Qin Meng had processed the demon python separately, taking the most tender sections and stewing them into a soup with wild garlic and chili peppers. The aroma was overpowering.

Auntie Wang's husband, Li Gensheng, a famous blacksmith in the fortress with skin as dark as iron and a man of few words, took a bite of the venison. His chewing slowed down suddenly.

He looked up at Qin Meng. "This deer is no ordinary wild game."

"It's a strange beast," Qin Meng did not hide it.

"You'd be at a loss if you sold it." Li Gensheng nodded, asked no more, and just buried his head in his food. However, the speed at which he used his chopsticks increased significantly.

At the dinner table, Auntie Wang chattered about the recent trivialities in the fortress. Qin Meng listened and responded, while Shen Qiuyue spoke softly, occasionally picking out food for him.

The little fox lay on the stool, happily gnawing on a piece of unsalted deer rib, its tail swaying back and forth.

After the meal, Auntie Wang helped Shen Qiuyue clear the dishes, while Li Tiezhu chopped wood, letting out satisfied burps.

Li Gensheng pulled Qin Meng to the corner of the yard and pulled a small pouch of silver fragments from his bosom. "A hundred pounds of meat and half an antler. The market price should be more than this, take it."

Qin Meng did not decline. "Thank you, Uncle."

Li Gensheng waved his hand, his gaze falling on the long blade wrapped in cloth at Qin Meng's waist. Its shape and length could not be hidden from the eyes of an old blacksmith like him.

"Mengzi," he suddenly lowered his voice. "That ghost-head blade... it looks familiar. Do you want Uncle to put it back in the furnace? I can re-forge it and change its appearance so you don't get recognized and invite unnecessary trouble."

Qin Meng's heart tightened. He looked at Li Gensheng. This honest, taciturn man with a dark face had eyes that shone startlingly bright in the night.

"Alright." Qin Meng unbuckled the blade and handed it over, his voice also dropping. "They followed me to commit murder, and I have a family, so I had no choice but to strike first."

As the corner of the cloth was lifted, the edge of the ghost-head blade glinted with a cold, hard light under the moonlight. There were several fresh, indelible traces of blood-rust on the blade.

Li Gensheng took the blade, his fingers stroking the steel as if feeling the bones of an old friend.

After a long while, he nodded. "You did the right thing."

He patted Qin Meng's shoulder with a heavy force. "This is the northern frontier. If you have the chance, you must eliminate the root of the trouble. If anything happens, come find your uncle."

"I will!"

Qin family courtyard.

Qin Lai had just laid down, grimacing in pain, when his subordinate, Black Bear, rushed in in a panic. "Brother Lai, it's bad! The brothers who went into the mountains to look for people are back..."

"What about Song Zhong and the others?" Qin Lai's heart sank.

"They're all dead." Black bear's face turned pale. "The bodies were mangled by wild beasts, but... there are signs of human interference."

Qin lai's pupils constricted.

Although he had caught the subtext in Qin meng's words, he had never truly believed that sickly ghost could kill Song zhong and the other three.

Yet, the facts were right before his eyes—

If Qin meng had the ability to kill Song zhong, he had the ability to kill him as well.

Wang laizi whispered, "Brother Lai, why don't we wait until he's asleep tonight and..."

"You idiot!" Qin lai backhanded him across the face. "You want to be drowned in the pond for touching him now?"

He breathed heavily, the pain in his lower abdomen and the humiliation of being disgraced in public searing his nerves. But the ruthlessness he had honed from years of hanging around gambling dens forced him to suppress his rage, and a twisted sneer slowly crept onto his face.

"Let's go. We're heading to the gambling den tonight."