Threat

Zhao Feng held his breath and slowly drew an arrow from the quiver on his back. He carefully nocked it and bent his bow, then sprang to his feet, the arrowhead swiftly locking onto the buck!

The moment he stood, the three roe deer finally spotted him and scattered in panic.

Zhao Feng drew his bow fully and aimed at the buck. Before his eyes, everything between heaven and earth seemed to slow down. The deer looked as though it were running in slow motion.

He could even see the blood vessels bulging in the buck's neck from its fright! He had never experienced this feeling when shooting the rabbit last time.

Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, the Mulberry Arrow swept through the woods on a gust of wind. The next instant, it struck the buck's hind leg, sending blood spurting out. The animal screamed in pain but never paused, continuing to bolt away. Specks of blood dotted the ground behind it.

Zhao Feng had accounted for the distance when he fired. At minor mastery, his Archery could hit moving targets five or six times out of ten. Though he had aimed at the deer's neck, hitting its hind leg was still within expectations. With an arrow in its hind leg, it would not be able to run for long.

All he had to do was follow the blood trail.

After following the increasingly heavy trail of blood for about a li, he finally found the buck lying on the ground, struggling feebly from blood loss.

By then, the doe and fawn had long since vanished. Zhao Feng knew he had to get down the mountain quickly, or the scent of blood might attract predators. Such a large, intact deer hide would fetch a fair amount of money, so he stepped forward, snapped the buck's neck, then hoisted the whole animal onto his shoulders and headed down the mountain.

By the time he reached the village entrance, stars were swimming before his eyes and his legs had gone weak.

Carrying a roe deer weighing over fifty jin across the mountains and back home had nearly drained him dry, despite his youth and strength. Of course, the main reason was that the body's original owner had been an idle loafer with a poor physical foundation.

Night had fallen, and the air had grown colder. No one was chatting at the village entrance, which suited him just fine. But as he returned to the edge of the village and approached his courtyard, he saw lamplight inside from a distance and heard faint voices.

Zhao Feng knew that voice well. After a moment's thought, he suddenly remembered that it belonged to Huang Biao. Huang Biao was the local gang leader, keeping a few petty thugs under him and making his living through extortion and collecting debts for others. The body's original owner had always wanted to join him. But the last time he saw his dream girl, Wang Jinlian, flirting with Huang Biao, anger had gone to his head. He went over to confront them, only for Huang Biao to beat him up and shove him into the water.

Zhao Feng immediately lowered the now thoroughly dead buck gently to the ground. He hid it beneath an earthen slope more than twenty meters away and covered it with leaves. In the pitch-black night, no one would see it.

Only then did he walk toward his courtyard.

Before he even entered, he saw four men standing inside. The burly man leading them wore a felt hat and a fur-lined coat. It was Huang Biao.

Zhao Youlin sat in the courtyard, puffing away at his tobacco pipe. The atmosphere was strange and tense.

"Uncle Youlin, just think what a fine opportunity this is. Master Li is only willing to do this good deed out of consideration for his fellow villagers," Huang Biao said with a smile that never reached his eyes. Turning to see Zhao Feng enter, his eyes lit up, and he strode over to drape an arm warmly around his shoulders.

"Feng, you gave your big brother quite a scare when you accidentally fell into the water last time. Thank goodness you're all right."

Zhao Feng knew Huang Biao was watching his reaction, so he copied the original owner's manner and offered an ingratiating smile. "Thanks for your concern, Brother Biao."

Only then did Huang Biao release him in satisfaction. "Feng, aren't you getting engaged soon? You'll need to deliver the betrothal gifts, won't you? Can you scrape together enough money? Seeing your family in this state, with a year of disaster on top of it all, really pains me as your big brother."

"Master Li in town is willing to lend money to the villagers now. I can put you in touch with him, and wouldn't that solve the problem of your betrothal gifts? As for interest, you receive nine and repay thirteen. Just put up your family's three mu of good farmland as collateral. How's that for looking out for you?"

Zhao Feng looked at Huang Biao's seemingly friendly smile, his heart turning ice-cold.

So this was what Huang Biao had come to their home at night for.

"That's thoughtful of you, Brother Biao. We'll give it some more consideration. If we really need money, we'll definitely come to you," Zhao Feng said with a smile.

The smile on Huang Biao's face instantly chilled. "All right, then. Think it over. But let your big brother remind you: once you pass this village, you won't find another shop like it. Don't keep Master Li waiting too long."

Those final words, "waiting too long," sounded nothing like casual conversation. They were an icy warning.

With that, Huang Biao left with his men.

Only after they were gone did Yang Shi and Tian Cuihua dare emerge from the inner room.

"Li the Landowner is taking advantage of people in their hour of need!" Zhao Youlin said angrily, tapping out his pipe.

"The harvests have been bad these past few years. Plenty of people can only survive by borrowing money and grain. He's the biggest landowner for miles around. When people borrow money or grain from him, he makes them put up their land as collateral. It works out to receiving nine and repaying thirteen. If they can't repay him, their fields become his. Huang Biao collects the debts for him."

"Just today, Wang Laoyan's family in the neighboring village couldn't repay their loan. Huang Biao brought his men over, beat him until his face was covered in blood, and forcibly took his land deed."

"I never thought they'd come after us today."

"It looks like they've had their eyes on our three mu of good farmland for a while," Zhao Feng said.

Huang Biao was a ruthless gang leader who would never stop until he got what he wanted. This time he had tried coaxing and deception. Next time, he would use violence to force their hand.

Zhao Feng still needed to learn martial arts. Although the Great Yan Court placed equal emphasis on civil and martial pursuits, down here at the bottom of society, the weak were meat for the strong. The bigger fist decided what was right.

Zhao Feng silently entered Huang Biao and Li the Landowner in his mental little black book.

Huang Biao's visit had cast another shadow over everyone's heart.

"Dad, Mom, Sister-in-law, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I have a surprise for you. Just wait," Zhao Feng said with a smile, trying to liven up the mood.

They watched him head out with an air of mystery.

"What's that boy up to, acting so mysterious?" Yang Shi said with an affectionate smile.

Ever since her son had fallen into the water and spent a month out of his mind, he seemed to have become an entirely different person.

A moment later, Zhao Feng entered the courtyard carrying a huge dark shape on his shoulders. He set it down with a heavy thud.

"This is... a roe deer!" Zhao Youlin came closer for a look, and his eyes instantly went round.

Yang Shi and Tian Cuihua were stunned too.

"Shh!" Zhao Feng hurriedly motioned for his family to keep quiet.

He shut the courtyard gate securely and braced it with a stone.

"Where did you hunt this?" Zhao Youlin asked quietly, his voice trembling with excitement.

"On North Peak of Great Green Mountain."

"You went that far? How could you dare?" Zhao Youlin said, frightened at what might have happened.

No wonder his son had returned so late. He had gone deep into the mountains.

"Let's leave that for later. Dad, let's butcher this deer together," Zhao Feng said.

A rabbit was easy to dress. Tian Cuihua could handle one alone.

A roe deer was another matter. Removing its hide and antlers intact required an experienced hunter like Zhao Youlin. He first cut off a few slices of meat and had Yang Shi and Tian Cuihua hurry to make meat porridge for the ravenous Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai.

The half rabbit they had salted last time had been finished several days ago. The two little boys had been clamoring for more meat ever since.

Everyone in the family needed meat to replenish their nutrition, especially Zhao Youlin, whose injuries needed to heal. Zhao Feng specifically asked Tian Cuihua to stir-fry a plate of the deer's heart and liver with a little oil to help nourish him.