Aftermath

Gu Sheng left a wild rabbit for Gu Erniu. He merely told Li Lian to take good care of Gu Erniu and have him focus on recovering from his injuries for the time being, then returned home.

Neither of them mentioned Li Yan.

They had already discussed what to do next.

They would act as though nothing had happened. As for Gu Erniu's injuries, they had been caused by a wild wolf.

Gu Sheng shut the door.

He tossed the deer he had been carrying into a wooden basin, fetched some well water, and prepared to clean and dress it.

Then—

He opened the leather sack. The Silver Fox lay inside, perfectly intact, and Gu Sheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly been afraid that the battle earlier had damaged its fur. That would have been a huge loss.

For the time being, Gu Sheng had not told Gu Erniu about catching the Silver Fox.

The fewer people who knew about it, the better. When he later went into the city to sell it, he could decide whether to ask Gu Erniu to help him find a buyer.

Without hesitation—

Gu Sheng immediately began skinning the Silver Fox. Fox meat was sour and unpleasant, but he had no intention of throwing it away. He could make it into jerky for emergencies, or at worst trade it for some millet.

Winter would arrive before long, and Gu Sheng needed to stockpile more supplies.

Life might be getting better now, but he was not yet in a position to waste things carelessly. In the hardest times, he had even eaten leaves. This meat was undoubtedly a hundred times better than leaves.

Very quickly—

An intact Silver Fox pelt was deftly removed. After a rinse with water, the slight traces of blood were washed clean.

The entire pelt was roughly half a meter square, just right for making a shawl or something similar. It was silver-white all over, and felt soft and smooth to the touch.

In winter—

Cold was a grave danger for poor families at the bottom of society. But for wealthy households that possessed immense fortunes, with warm items like this, even snowy scenery became a particularly pleasing sight.

Gu Sheng shook his head slightly.

Although he now possessed some ability to protect himself and lived much better than ordinary commoners at the bottom, he was still, overall, struggling at that same level.

"The road ahead is long!"

He shook his head with a sigh and took stock of today's gains.

If he found the right buyer, the Silver Fox pelt could be worth over twenty taels.

The several hunting bows were worth quite a bit as well. Li Yan's bow in particular was even better than Gu Erniu's, worth four or five taels of silver.

Adding in the wild deer, rabbit, and other gains—

Gu Sheng had earned at least thirty taels of silver today!

It was practically a sudden fortune!

He could not help but feel delighted. Once he sold these supplies, he would have the basic resources needed to practice martial arts. He would not be left scraping by the moment he began training.

"When the manor's purchasing team enters the city next month, I'll go with them and exchange these spoils for silver!"

Ordinary villagers had to pay a fee if they wanted to follow the group into the city, but hunters with outstanding archery like Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu naturally did not need to. If they ran into bandits or roaming outlaws, they would be valuable fighters.

After nightfall—

Gu Sheng went to the place where he had buried the bows, dug out the bows, arrows, and short blades, then quietly brought them home and hid them away.

The next day—

Gu Sheng had gradually calmed down. After all, he had only killed a few hunters from Li Family Fort.

He lit the fire and cooked a meal. After eating his fill, he continued practicing archery.

Yesterday's battle had left a deep impression on him, and he seemed to have gained some insight.

He felt that—

His archery was close to breaking through into the perfected realm.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows flew out one after another. Shooting arrows calmed the mind, and Gu Sheng's state of mind grew increasingly tranquil. He completely put yesterday's events out of his head.

As sunset drew near—

Gu Sheng rubbed his aching wrists and arms, ending today's training. He had been intensely focused today, and his progress was excellent. His proficiency had risen by more than 2%.

"At this rate, my archery should reach the perfected realm in about a week!"

Joy rose in his heart.

Just then—

A burly figure came running from the distance. His distinctive flat nose was conspicuous—it was Zhang Ze.

Seeing Gu Sheng put away his hunting bow, Zhang Ze anxiously grabbed him and pulled him forward.

"I knew you'd be here practicing archery. Do you know your Brother Erniu was bitten by a wild wolf while in the mountains yesterday? Li Lian asked me to tell you. Erniu was badly injured, so he probably won't be able to enter the mountains for some time."

Gu Sheng immediately put on an expression of shock and concern, asking urgently:

"How could a wild wolf have bitten him for no reason? Brother Erniu has plenty of hunting experience. That shouldn't have happened. Did he run into a wolf pack? Come on, let's go take a look!"

Thoughts raced through his mind. Li Lian had clearly known that he had helped Gu Erniu home last night, yet she had deliberately sent Zhang Ze to inform him now. She had evidently discovered something.

He guessed that she had probably noticed something suspicious while applying medicine to Gu Erniu's wounds.

Gu Erniu and Li Lian likely wanted to sever any apparent connection between Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu. Otherwise, if someone learned that Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu had come down from the mountains together, then when news of Li Yan and the others' deaths spread, they might connect the dots.

Gu Erniu alone could not possibly have killed Li Yan and the other three, but if two people worked together, it was possible!

Fortunately, they had not run into anyone when they returned to the village yesterday.

Gu Sheng could not help but praise women for being more meticulous. He followed Zhang Ze as they hurried toward Gu Erniu's home.

Several people had already gathered at Gu Erniu's house, crowding it tightly. They were all hunters who were usually close with him, and each looked at Gu Erniu with concern.

A leg injury was no small matter. If it did not heal properly, it would greatly affect his future hunting!

"Erniu, what happened? How did you get bitten for no reason?"

"Is your leg all right? Rest properly for a while. If you need any help, just tell us!"

"That's right. Recover well. All of us brothers are waiting for you to make your comeback!"

Gu Erniu's grateful voice came from inside:

"Thank you for your concern, brothers. It was treated in time, so it's nothing serious. After resting for half a month or a month, I, Gu Erniu, will still be the same tough man!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Seeing that Gu Erniu was not dispirited, they gradually relaxed.

Gu Erniu pretended to curse and said:

"I just had rotten luck yesterday. I'd finally found traces of a Silver Fox, but I never expected a lone wolf to ambush me. That beast bit me, but fortunately I shot it in one eye. It ran off with its tail between its legs. Otherwise, I really might have lost my life."

"Now that my leg can't move and I can't enter the mountains, I'll tell you this: the Silver Fox tracks I found yesterday were in Red Maple Forest, near Little West Valley. If you're lucky, go take a look. Whoever catches that Silver Fox later had better treat me to a good drink!"

Gu Erniu laughed heartily. His words were half true and half false.

Being bitten by a wild wolf was false, but finding traces of the Silver Fox was true.

The hunters' eyes immediately lit up, and they replied with laughter:

"Then thank you, Erniu! If we catch the Silver Fox, forget one round of drinks—even three rounds will do!"

Listening from the side, Gu Sheng felt a thought stir within him.

The place where he had caught the Silver Fox yesterday really had been in Red Maple Forest.

So Brother Erniu found the Silver Fox first. He and Li Yan chased it and startled it, but I ended up benefiting from it instead.

Watching the hunters eagerly rub their hands together, Gu Sheng only smiled and said nothing. The Silver Fox had already been caught by him. After some time passed and they failed to find it, their enthusiasm would naturally fade.

With this mixture of truth and lies, once everyone entered the mountains tomorrow and confirmed that the Silver Fox tracks were real, they would naturally become convinced that Gu Erniu had been bitten by a wild wolf.

Once news later spread that Li Yan and the others had gone missing and died, no one would connect it to this matter.

Gu Sheng silently nodded, thoroughly satisfied with how Gu Erniu and Li Lian had handled the aftermath.