Vicious

The old village chief suddenly turned his head, glared at someone, and roared, "Zhang Ertie, get the hell out here."

Among the crowd stood a dark-skinned middle-aged man—the Zhang family's second son, Zhang Ertie.

Zhang Ertie's face went pale with fright, terror written all over it. Instinctively, he tried to back away.

But the crowd automatically moved away from him, rapidly clearing out the space around him and leaving him standing in an empty circle.

Without another word, Zhao Dahu charged over, grabbed him by the hair, dragged him out of the crowd, and threw him to the ground. Then he planted a foot on his face.

A pack of Zhao family members surrounded him like fiends, punching and kicking Zhang Ertie as they beat him viciously.

"Ow! Owwww~"

Zhang Ertie curled up on the ground with his head in his arms, shrieking like a pig being slaughtered. Before long, his head was split open and bleeding.

"Old Village Chief, spare his life!"

Zhang Ertie's wife rushed out and dropped to her knees, pleading, "It was all my fault. Your hen wandered into our yard, and Ertie caught it. He meant to return it to you, but I was starving and got sick after being drenched in the rain. Ertie wanted to nourish my body, so we ate the chicken."

Before she had finished speaking, Auntie Zhao strode over, raised her hand, and slapped Zhang Ertie's wife across the face. The blow sent her sprawling sideways into the mud.

Auntie Zhao was beside herself with rage. "You vile bitch! You dared eat my hen? Who gave you the nerve?"

At once, the Zhao family's daughters-in-law crowded around, pinning Zhang Ertie's wife down. They pinched her hard and stabbed her with needles until she let out shrill, miserable screams.

At this sight, all the villagers fell silent as cicadas in winter.

Then Zhang Datie stepped out, knelt before the old village chief, and kowtowed. "Old Village Chief, my younger brother did wrong. We admit our guilt and accept punishment. We'll compensate you for the chicken."

"Compensate?"

The old village chief snorted coldly. "That hen could lay eggs. Can you afford to compensate for it?"

With tears in his voice, Zhang Datie said, "We still have some grain at home."

That was the grain he had received in exchange for selling his daughter.

The old village chief glanced at his son.

Zhao Dahu immediately understood. He grabbed Zhang Datie, shoved him along, and made him go fetch the grain.

Zhang Ertie and his wife continued to be beaten.

Only after Zhao Dahu returned carrying half a sack of grain did the Zhao family stop their assault.

Everyone looked over. Zhang Ertie was already covered in wounds, his arms and legs bent at grotesque angles. Most likely, they had been broken in the beating. It was a ghastly sight.

His wife was in just as terrible a state, her body covered in needle holes and smeared with blood.

Zhang Datie and his wife hurriedly lifted the two of them and carried them home.

The old village chief looked over the villagers, his face grim. "You all saw it. This is what happens when you do evil and try to hide it from me! I had another rooster, and someone stole that too. Whoever did it, step forward yourself. Otherwise, Zhang Ertie will be your warning from the carriage ahead!"

The villagers shuddered, but no one answered.

The old village chief frowned deeply and turned to Zhao Dahu. "You searched everywhere?"

Zhao Dahu nodded. "We searched house by house. We only found chicken feathers in Zhang Ertie's home."

The old village chief's eyes flickered. He sneered, "Go smell their breath. Anyone who ate meat will definitely smell different."

"Right, right!"

With a sinister chuckle, Zhao Dahu walked over and made the villagers open their mouths one by one, breathe out, and let him smell their breath.

Skinny Dog crouched on the ground and could not help glancing up at Fang Zhixing.

Soon, Zhao Dahu arrived in front of Fang Zhixing.

"Big Ox!"

Zhao Dahu gave Fang Zhixing a long look, a trace of disgust surfacing between his brows. He said coldly, "Open your mouth."

Fang Zhixing cooperated readily, opening his mouth and breathing out.

Zhao Dahu sniffed, then suddenly threw his head back and stumbled away, pinching his nose as he shouted, "Why does it stink so damn much? What the fuck did you eat?"

"That's not a stink. It's the smell of medicine."

Fang Zhixing defended himself, "I got sick, so I gathered some herbs in the mountains and boiled them to drink."

Zhao Dahu did not believe him. He touched Fang Zhixing's forehead and immediately felt it burning hot.

He quickly shoved Fang Zhixing away and barked, "Get the hell away from me. Don't fucking infect me."

Fang Zhixing simply went home.

Once they got home, Skinny Dog said excitedly, "Good thing you had the foresight to eat some Chinese toon and cover up the smell."

But Fang Zhixing's expression was exceedingly grave. He bared his teeth and said, "You can hide from the first day, but not from the fifteenth!"

The night soon passed.

Early the next morning, heart-rending cries suddenly rang out through the village.

Zhang Ertie had not made it through the night. He was dead!

His wife had also fallen into a deep coma. She might not survive either.

It did not rain today. The sky was still somewhat overcast, but it might clear up.

Early in the morning, Fang Zhixing and Skinny Dog dragged their sick bodies out of the house.

Not only had their illness not improved, it showed signs of worsening.

Fang Zhixing could still hold on for now, but Skinny Dog was getting worse by the day. He staggered even while walking.

Gritting their teeth, the man and dog left the village as usual, intending to hunt in the deep mountains.

"Big Ox!"

Someone suddenly called out from behind him.

Fang Zhixing turned around, and his pupils contracted. Zhao Dahu and his group were striding quickly toward him.

"Morning, Uncle Zhao!" Fang Zhixing forced out a smile and nodded obsequiously.

Zhao Dahu stepped forward with a genial smile. "Big Ox, heading out to hunt?"

Fang Zhixing replied repeatedly, "Just going to try my luck."

Zhao Dahu gave an acknowledging grunt and smiled. "I want to discuss something with you. We're running short on arrows. How about lending us some?"

Fang Zhixing's heart skipped a beat. Then he swiftly took off his quiver and handed it over, smiling ingratiatingly. "Uncle Zhao, you're being far too polite. Why call it borrowing? These arrows are no use in my hands anyway. I'll give them all to you."

Zhao Dahu's brows rose, and he laughed. "You kid, you're loyal! How about this—if we bring down anything today, we'll give you a share."

Fang Zhixing quickly said, "That would be wonderful. Thank you, thank you."

Zhao Dahu said nothing more. Carrying the quiver, he left with his group, chatting and laughing as they went.

Fang Zhixing watched them disappear into the distance, his expression gradually darkening.

Skinny Dog said furiously, "They've gone too far! This is outright robbery! Fuck, they're not even pretending anymore!"

Fang Zhixing transmitted, "The old village chief's family is getting worse by the day. They're trying to cut off my path to survival."

Skinny Dog asked, "What do we do? Without a bow and arrows, how are we supposed to hunt?"

Fang Zhixing touched his hunting knife and sighed. "We can only rely on this."

The man and dog walked into the mountains. After traveling roughly seven or eight li, Skinny Dog suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

"I can't go on, Fang Zhixing!"

Skinny Dog groaned in pain and howled, "I'm seeing stars, my head's spinning, and I can't hold on anymore."

Fang Zhixing was speechless. He picked Skinny Dog up and immediately felt that his whole body was burning hot. His heart pounded like a drum, and his breathing was especially labored.

"This is bad!"

Fang Zhixing looked helpless, his brows knotted tightly together.

Just then, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

Fang Zhixing whirled around and saw two people approaching, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Third Uncle Zhao?"

Fang Zhixing knew these two people.

One was over fifty, the other around thirty. They were the old village chief's third younger brother, Third Uncle Zhao, and his son Zhao Dazhi.

Third Uncle Zhao smiled amiably and said, "Big Ox, what are you doing here?"

Holding Skinny Dog, Fang Zhixing backed away step by step and smiled ingratiatingly. "I came out to hunt. What brings you two here?"

Seeing this, Third Uncle Zhao's smile turned cold. He sighed, "Big Ox, I thought you were a fool, someone who would be easy to kill. I never expected you to be so cautious, slipping through my fingers again and again."

Fang Zhixing's heart turned cold, but he gave a foolish grin. "Third Uncle Zhao, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Best if you don't understand!"

Third Uncle Zhao smiled and mused to himself, "When I was young, there was a famine once. It was even worse than this one. People everywhere exchanged children to eat. Have you ever eaten a child's flesh?"

Fang Zhixing shuddered. Slowly, he put Skinny Dog down.

Seeing this, Zhao Dazhi assumed he was about to run. He immediately drew his hunting knife and said grimly, "Don't move. I'll make it quick for you!"

Fang Zhixing set down his battered bamboo basket as well.

Third Uncle Zhao let out a hoarse chuckle and sneered, "Run if you want to run. But do you think you can outrun us?"

Fang Zhixing took a deep breath, suddenly drew his hunting knife, and stabbed it into the ground.

"Awwoooo~~"