Harvest

The two of them were used to mountain paths, and their steps were swift. Before long, they entered the mountains.

Li Beichen and Zhao Si parted ways there.

He first headed in the direction where he had encountered the wild rabbit yesterday.

It had been a fat rabbit, and Li Beichen had not been able to stop thinking about it. Today, his [Locust Stone] had reached Threshold of Mastery, and he had also unlocked [Hunting]. He was determined to catch that rabbit.

After unlocking the [Hunting] skill, Li Beichen found himself far more sensitive to the traces left behind by wild animals.

Once he reached the spot, he immediately saw the rabbit tracks. Following the marks on the ground, he traced them all the way to one of the rabbit's burrows.

A cunning rabbit had three burrows. This wild rabbit would generally prepare several dens in advance, so if it was discovered by a predator, it could swiftly flee to another nest.

Li Beichen picked up a handy wooden stick. The moment he spotted a rabbit hole, he viciously jabbed it inside.

This was called beating the grass to startle the snake.

Sure enough, not long afterward, the fat rabbit heard the disturbance and shot out of another burrow some distance away.

Li Beichen had been watching the movements around him all along. He immediately hurled a flying stone.

Bang!

From fifteen paces away, it struck squarely between the eyes!

The wild rabbit fell to the ground, kicked twice without conscious thought, then breathed its last.

Li Beichen stepped forward and weighed it in his hand. This fat rabbit weighed a full four or five jin.

So long as there were no natural disasters or man-made calamities, according to market prices, one jin of rice generally cost ten to twenty copper coins, while one jin of meat could sell for thirty to fifty.

Ram City lay in Jiangnan Circuit, one of the more stable regions of Great Liang, so prices could still be maintained here. Li Beichen's hometown, Bing Province, bordered the Northern Frontier. Last year, a great disaster had struck, with calamities both natural and man-made coming one after another, and prices had long since collapsed.

Li Beichen still owed Wang Er three qian of silver. After this rabbit was skinned, deboned, and gutted, sixty percent of the meat would remain. It could fetch at least one qian of silver.

If Li Beichen caught just two more such prey animals, he would be able to repay the debt in full.

Though Brother Wang Er had said there was no rush, Li Beichen wanted to settle the debt as soon as possible.

Repay kindness with kindness, repay enmity with enmity. Living in this world, that was one of the few principles Li Beichen could uphold.

He glanced at the panel. After catching that wild rabbit, the proficiency of [Hunting] had increased somewhat, but it was still some distance from the next realm.

Li Beichen paid the proficiency panel no further mind. While his hand was still hot, he plunged headfirst into the dense woods.

Yesterday, he had only dared hunt along the edge of the forest. Today, he planned to enter its outer reaches.

There was more prey here.

Of course, the risks were slightly greater as well.

Sure enough, Li Beichen had not gone far when he discovered more black, bean-shaped droppings beneath a clump of shrubs.

They were still very fresh!

On the soft layer of humus-covered earth nearby, faint oval footprints could also be seen.

Li Beichen's eyes lit up, but his movements became even lighter.

Following the tracks, he crept silently onward. Before long, he actually spotted two wild rabbits mating with all their might.

"Spring really has arrived."

Li Beichen's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's. He immediately clasped a pebble in each hand.

Drawing both hands like twin bows, he abruptly flicked his wrists and snapped his fingers at the same time.

"Whoosh, whoosh—"

The sounds of air being torn rang out almost simultaneously.

The two wild rabbits, utterly lost in themselves, had no time to react before they fell at the sound.

Li Beichen picked up the rabbits and continued searching through the mountains.

As the sun sank behind the western hills, Li Beichen emerged from the dense forest carrying three rabbits, a large pheasant, and a bundle of wild vegetables.

Clear Creek Village had no market for trading game. To sell these wild animals, Li Beichen would have to make a trip to Ram City.

However, he would not enter the city. Carrying game would get him classified as a merchant, and entering the city required paying a gate tax.

Five li outside Ram City was a Free Trade Market. That was Li Beichen's destination.

Along the way, Li Beichen passed quite a few villages.

Unlike Bing Province, where starved corpses lay everywhere, the area around Ram City was barely stable. Only an occasional refugee could be seen, their eyes filled with longing as they looked at the prey in Li Beichen's hands.

Had Li Beichen been smaller and thinner, someone would have tried to rob him.

Whenever the villagers of Clear Creek Village had grain, chickens, or ducks to take to the market, young and strong adults generally escorted them.

Even within Ram City's jurisdiction, it was exceedingly dangerous for women, children, and the elderly to travel alone.

Half an hour later.

Li Beichen stopped before the bustling market ahead.

He headed straight for a stall that bought game.

The hunters from Clear Creek Village had brought Li Beichen here before. The stall owner's prices were fairly honest, and they were at least familiar faces.

"Shopkeeper Zhang, have a look at this stock. Weigh it and name a price."

Li Beichen placed all the rabbits and pheasant before Shopkeeper Zhang's chopping board.

"Wild rabbits, sixteen jin and three liang. Pheasant... quite plump, four jin and two liang."

The shopkeeper skillfully moved the beads of his abacus, then smiled at Li Beichen.

"How about a total of five hundred and ten copper coins?"

"That works. Thank you, Shopkeeper Zhang!"

Li Beichen knew the going rate. He had originally thought getting over four qian of silver would already be decent, but now he had more than five qian. This shopkeeper truly was honest.

"I remember you. You're Young Brother Li from Clear Creek Village, right? Don't worry—bring any good goods you get in the future. When it comes to prices, I certainly won't short you even half a copper coin."

"Good! Shopkeeper Zhang, please exchange three qian into loose silver for me. Give me the rest in copper coins."

Li Beichen took the money, counted it briefly, then bade Shopkeeper Zhang farewell.

He placed the three qian of loose silver into the pocket sewn into his inner lining. Once he returned to the village, he would give it back to Brother Wang Er. As for the remaining two hundred and ten copper coins, Li Beichen planned to buy some grain, oil, and other goods.

At the market, Li Beichen looked over several shops. The cheapest rice already cost fifteen copper coins per jin.

At the beginning of the year, it had only cost thirteen.

Though it had risen by only two copper coins, if it kept rising, this place would turn into another Bing Province.

Li Beichen cast aside such thoughts. How the world fared was not for him to worry about; even securing food and warmth for himself was difficult enough.

After making a round of the market, Li Beichen bought ten jin of rice, some oil and salt, and finally one liang of brown sugar. Not a single copper coin remained on him.

Before the sky had completely darkened, Li Beichen quickened his pace and hurried toward Clear Creek Village.

Awooo!

Halfway there, waves of wolf howls drifted down from Small Gravel Mountain.

Li Beichen frowned, but he was not overly worried. Unless those beasts were starving to the extreme, they rarely came down the mountain.

When Wang the Second had encountered jackals and wolves before, it had also been because it was the bitter cold of winter and there was nothing to eat in the mountains. Only then had those jackals and wolves risked entering areas where humans gathered.

In this world, humans were still the strongest living creatures.

After the time it took to drink two cups of tea, a sparse village appeared before Li Beichen.

A winding, gentle stream flowed past, moonlight gleaming over its surface and making the water shimmer with rippling light.

Clear Creek Village had arrived.

He headed straight for Brother Wang Er's home.

This time, Wang Er was home, but Li Beichen found him somewhat absent-minded.

"Brother Wang Er!"

Li Beichen's call brought him back to himself.

"Ah, it's Young Brother Li. Come, sit."

Seeing Li Beichen arrive, Wang Er barely managed to rouse his spirits.

"What's wrong with you? You look completely possessed."

As he spoke, Li Beichen took the three qian of silver and the one liang of brown sugar from his pocket and placed them on the table.

"Here are three qian of silver, Brother Wang Er. Please accept them. As for this liang of brown sugar, it's for Sister-in-law Wang to nourish her body."

"Don't. I'm not short of money for now. You've only just recovered from your illness, so keep it and buy something to eat. Build up your body."

Yet under Li Beichen's insistence, Wang Er still accepted the money. No matter what, however, he refused to accept the brown sugar.

Li Beichen was helpless. He had originally intended the brown sugar as interest for Wang Er, but Wang Er adamantly refused it, so he could only take it back.

Seeing that Wang Er was in poor spirits, Li Beichen pressed further.

"Brother Wang Er, you still haven't said what happened."

"Alas..."

Wang Er, a butcher with a face full of fierce flesh who looked vicious on ordinary days, now had regret in his eyes.

"Yesterday, the neighboring Shanghong Village hired me to slaughter a pig. But it was a pregnant sow about to give birth. That family said that the fetuses inside a full-term sow were the most nourishing, and they wanted to slaughter her as the first dish of a banquet."

"That sow seemed to understand human nature. She knelt on both forelegs, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at me. But the household outside was urging me on, so I hardened my heart, tied her up, and brought the knife down."

"I've slaughtered no fewer than a hundred pigs in my life, or at least dozens, but I had never encountered anything like that. After returning last night, all I dreamed of was that sow's eyes..."

After hearing Wang Er's account, Li Beichen fell silent for a moment.

"Brother Wang Er, you know I came here fleeing famine. In my hometown of Bing Province, when people were hungry, they ate people. They even exchanged children to eat, and I never saw any retribution."

"You're a butcher. There's nothing wrong with slaughtering pigs."

"People want to live, and beasts want to live too. It just depends on who holds the knife."

At last, Li Beichen pointed toward Sister-in-law Wang, who was busy in the kitchen.

"They still depend on you to feed them."

With that, Li Beichen strode away from Wang Er's home.