Hunting

Five days later.

One snowfall had ended, another began. Snow filled the sky, sweeping everything into a dim blur, and there were still few travelers on the road.

Two-Scar and the thug Black Cat prowled through Snakehead Ravine, madly squeezing the last scraps of money from the villagers.

Their methods were exactly the same as when they had gone to Duan Xuan's home: they produced a pile of foul pelts from who knew where and forced people to buy them.

Under threats and temptation, three households were frightened out of their wits and could only pay for peace.

"These pigs are so easy to scare. Is the Duan Family the only bunch of poor wretches left?" Two-Scar shook the silver in his hand, the treachery and cunning on his face nearly overflowing into the heavens.

Black Cat nodded. "That's right. These poor bastards have nearly had even their coffin money squeezed dry, and this is all they have. It's not nearly enough for Scar Master to enjoy himself.

"Wolf Stronghold is weak now. So many brothers have died, and from what I can see, the rest are starting to prepare to run. Before the Golden Leopard Gang completely takes over this place, why don't we head into the mountains and rake in a haul?"

In places where the imperial court's control was weak, the changing of gangs was commonplace.

Just as Wolf Stronghold had crushed the former great gang, Snake Stockade, the Money Gang had suddenly appeared. With so many experts within its ranks, it had directly broken Wolf Stronghold.

Thus, every leader in Wolf Stronghold wanted to make one last killing before leaving Snakehead Ravine for good. Whether those lowly commoners lived or died had nothing to do with them.

Unfortunately, the people of Snakehead Ravine had just been squeezed dry some days ago. Their pockets were empty, and their poverty left Wolf Stronghold's leaders deeply displeased.

Hearing Black Cat suggest going into the mountains to make a haul, Two-Scar was immediately tempted.

For these villagers, hunting was their only means of making money. Wolf Stronghold had marked off a hunting ground that belonged solely to them.

But they simply did not have enough men, and the mountains were far too vast.

Most importantly, after collecting their incense money, they would drive the prey within the marked territory outward.

They let the hunters serve as free labor once more, killing the prey and waiting for them to reap the harvest.

By now, waiting for the prey to turn into money would probably be too late. They might as well do it themselves. Perhaps they could directly pick up even more valuable game.

"Very good. Your head is still sharp, kid. Now that Firewood Dog has been beaten to death, the position of Fifth Leader will surely be yours once this crisis is over. I'll definitely put in a good word for you before the First Leader."

Black Cat immediately bent at the waist and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Scar Master! Thank you, Scar Master!"

Men died for wealth as birds died for food. Both cherished their lives greatly, afraid of missing today's chance.

Tomorrow, Snakehead Village would be occupied by the Golden Leopard Gang. Braving the wind and snow, they hurried all the way toward the deep mountains.

As the sky darkened, the snow grew fiercer, roaring through the air like pounding war drums and blowing the snow from the trees down in swift showers.

The two looked around, and eventually spotted a twitching sika deer beneath a tree that, for some reason, had a strip of red cloth tied around its trunk.

The sika deer was worthless, but the pale purple marten beside it was valuable. Wolf Stronghold controlled the fur trade in this region.

The nobles in the county loved using sable pelts to make clothing. They often sold for ten taels of silver or even more.

"Hmph. These lowly commoners actually have such skill, managing to catch a rare purple marten. Good thing we arrived in time. If they had taken it away, Scar Master would have had to dirty his own hands again!" Black Cat fawned at his side. "Please wait here, Scar Master. I'll fetch it for you."

Two-Scar nodded in satisfaction. Black Cat hunched himself up and hurried toward the two animals.

Just as he approached the purple marten—

Something beneath his feet seemed to alert him. He sprang hard, leaping far away.

Clack!

A beast trap snapped shut where he had just stepped.

But before Black Cat could catch his breath, something whistled through the air from behind him.

It came so fast that Black Cat only had time to turn his head before the sharp object pierced straight through his knee.

"Aah!"

Black Cat let out a bloodcurdling scream. Unable to keep his footing, he staggered and fell to the ground. Then came two more clacks.

Two traps made of sharpened bamboo viciously clamped through both his hands.

Black Cat instinctively rolled away, but in doing so, he accidentally pushed aside a stone. A thin cord instantly sprang up from the ground.

Whoosh!

Directly overhead, another long wooden arrow came hurtling down.

It pierced straight through his skull and buried itself in his brain.

His entire body convulsed.

He stretched out a hand for help, but before three seconds had passed—

His breathing weakened to almost nothing. Every part of his body went still, and his breath was gone.

Scalding blood splashed and spread in wide stains.

It fell upon the snow and melted it at once.

Yet within moments, it was hastily buried beneath the snow filling the sky.

The instant Two-Scar heard Black Cat cry out in the distance, he first calmly surveyed his surroundings.

Once he confirmed there was no ambush nearby, he prepared to follow Black Cat's tracks and save him.

Yet Black Cat's string of misfortunes that followed did not seem accidental no matter how he looked at them.

So he turned and ran without looking back.

Whoosh!

An arrow skimmed past the side of his scalp.

Two-Scar immediately broke out in a cold sweat. "Damn it, that was close! If I'd gone forward to save Black Cat, I'd have been shot dead!"

But because of that arrow, he became absolutely certain that Black Cat had been shot to death and that someone else was nearby.

"Are you a hero or a coward? Show yourself.

"Could you be brothers from the Golden Leopard Gang? Then you've got the wrong man. I came to join you." Two-Scar spoke submissively, admitting weakness.

But he had already calmed down. The snow was too heavy and visibility too poor; he could see nothing at all and could only prick up his ears and listen carefully.

Then he quickly rolled to the side, but this time what came flying at him were not arrows, but two stones.

Two-Scar snarled, "You dog, you dare toy with me? Come out here!"

Just then, the gale swept up, and goose-feather snow smashed fiercely into Two-Scar's face.

He hurriedly flailed a few times. When he came back to himself, he discovered that he had become lost. Everything around him looked too much alike.

Even the footprints they had left on the way here had been filled in by the heavy snow.

Only then did Two-Scar panic.

Of course he feared death. With martial roots so poor that he could not even reach Open Force, he feared it more than anything.

"Brother, stop hiding. I can see you.

"I don't care what grudge you have against me, but killing me won't do you any good.

"I'm Wolf Stronghold's Fourth Leader. If you're after money, I'll leave it here. Until we meet again!"

After saying that, he stood there for more than ten seconds. Once he confirmed there was no movement at all, the corner of his mouth curled faintly. "So it really is for money..."

But before the last note of his words fell—

With a whoosh, a wooden arrow flew in from the side at an extremely tricky angle.

Crack!

The wooden arrow smashed his leg bone and drove sideways into his knee.

"Urgh, aah!" Veins bulged across Two-Scar's face from the pain, and he bared his teeth. Without caring which way led up the mountain or down it, he limped toward the trees.

He watched his footing carefully, certain he would not step into a trap. Yet wooden arrows and stones came from behind him.

They constantly disrupted his judgment.

Finally, the instant the second stone struck a large tree to his left, Two-Scar was frightened out of his wits.

In a moment of carelessness, he fell to the ground. Filthy urine flowed from his crotch, melting a wide patch of white snow.

"Spare me, spare me! I'm begging you!"

Sure enough, both the stones and wooden arrows ceased their assault. Two-Scar gradually regained his senses and tried to rise. Clack.

"Aahhhhhh!"

His agonized howl rapidly carried through the empty forest.

It startled so much snow from the trees that it came tumbling down.

Only then did Two-Scar understand. That person had never intended to spare him. He had watched Two-Scar crawl to another spot with his own eyes, only to suffer further torment.

The bamboo-slat trap would not kill him outright, but it would keep him in pain until he bled to death.

"Hey!" After an unknown amount of time, Two-Scar heard someone calling to him from overhead. He thought help had arrived.

But when he raised his head, the face he saw made his jaw drop—the most useless, most worthless thing in the Duan Family, Duan Xuan!

"Scar Master, I came to save you!" He pulled the longbow in his hands to its fullest, the incomparably sharpened arrow aimed at Two-Scar's forehead.

Thrum!

His small callused hand released the bowstring, and the wooden arrow shot from the bow, instantly piercing through Two-Scar's head.

It was Duan Xuan's first time killing someone, yet there was not the slightest emotion in his eyes. His expression remained just as composed.

He knew these people deserved to die. These people had to die. So long as they remained alive, neither he nor this world could ever be well.

He had waited a long time for today, searching for this opportunity. Duan Xuan had concluded that these greedy men, busy fleeing for their lives, would covet the hunters' last means of survival.

Thus, every night when he hunted, he set several new traps. So long as someone stepped into one, a chain of mechanisms would surely await them!

After stripping the two men of their money, Duan Xuan used a stone he carried with him to smash their faces and their wounds to pulp.

Not even a miraculous physician could determine what sharp weapon had killed them. He found a deep pit at random and let the heavy snow bury them.

Nor did he forget to take the purple marten he had caught with such difficulty, leaving behind only the sika deer.

He also moved and concealed the series of traps along with the sika deer elsewhere.

After winding around and dodging several times, he did not encounter anyone else on the way. Duan Xuan quickly returned home.

When he saw his mother quietly sitting on the kang, weaving fur pelts, the heart he had been holding in his throat finally eased...