Aftermath

Gu Sheng left a wild rabbit for Gu Erniu, but he first asked Li Lian to take good care of Gu Erniu and told her to let him rest and recover from his injuries. Then, Gu Sheng returned to his own home.

Neither of them mentioned Li Yan.

They had also already discussed the aftermath.

They would pretend the incident never happened, and as for Gu Erniu's injuries, they were caused by a wild wolf bite.

Gu Sheng closed his door.

He threw the wild deer he was carrying into the wooden basin, drew water from the well, and prepared to clean and process it.

Next.

He opened the leather bag. The Silver Fox was lying there, completely unharmed, which immediately relieved Gu Sheng. He had genuinely feared that the Silver Fox's fur might have been damaged during the recent fight, which would have been a significant loss.

As for hunting the Silver Fox, Gu Sheng hadn't told Gu Erniu yet.

The fewer people who knew about it, the better. He would consider whether to ask Gu Erniu for help with connections when it was time to sell it in the city.

Without hesitation.

Gu Sheng immediately began to skin the Silver Fox. Fox meat was sour and unpalatable, but Gu Sheng didn't plan to discard it. He would make it into dried meat for emergencies, or at the very least, trade it for some millet.

Winter would be arriving soon, and Gu Sheng needed to stock up on winter supplies.

Although life had improved now, it wasn't yet at a point where they could afford to waste things. During the hardest times, they had even eaten leaves, so meat was undoubtedly a hundred times better.

Soon.

A complete Silver Fox pelt was skillfully removed. A quick rinse with water washed away all the bloodstains.

The entire pelt was about half a meter square, perfect for making a shawl or something similar. It was entirely silver-white and felt soft and smooth to the touch.

Winter.

For the poor common folk, the cold was a major crisis. But for the wealthy families who possessed immense riches, having such warm items meant that the snowy scenery was also a beautiful sight to behold.

Gu Sheng shook his head slightly.

Although he now possessed some ability to protect himself and his life was much better than that of ordinary common folk, he was still essentially struggling at the bottom.

"The road ahead is long!"

He sighed, shaking his head as he tallied his day's gains.

The Silver Fox pelt, if he found a suitable buyer, could be worth over twenty taels of silver.

The hunting bows, combined, were also quite valuable. Li Yan's bow, in particular, was superior to Gu Erniu's and worth four or five taels of silver.

Calculating it this way, if he included the harvest of the wild deer and rabbit.

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

It could be considered a windfall!

He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. Once these goods were sold, he would have the basic resources for practicing martial arts prepared, and wouldn't be struggling financially right from the start.

"When the village's procurement team heads to the city next month, I'll go with them to exchange these spoils of war for money!"

Generally, villagers needed to pay a fee to accompany the procurement team into the city. However, skilled hunters like Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu, with their exceptional Archery skills, did not. If they encountered mountain bandits and outlaws, they would be valuable combatants.

When night fell.

Gu Sheng went to the place where bows were buried and dug out his bows and short blades, quietly bringing them back and hiding them in his home.

The next day.

Gu Sheng's mindset had gradually settled. It was just killing a few hunters from Li Family Fort, after all.

He lit a fire, cooked, ate his fill, and then continued practicing his archery.

The battle yesterday had given him much to reflect on, and he felt a sense of enlightenment.

He felt that.

His Archery was close to breaking through to perfection.

Swish, swish, swish!

Arrow after arrow was shot. Shooting arrows brought calmness, and Gu Sheng's state of mind became increasingly peaceful, completely putting the events of yesterday behind him.

As the sun began to set.

Gu Sheng rubbed his sore wrists and arms, ending his training for the day. He had been focused today, and his progress was good, gaining more than 2% proficiency.

"At this rate, my Archery should reach perfection in about a week!"

He felt a surge of happiness.

Just then.

A sturdy figure was seen sprinting from a distance. His distinctive snub nose was very noticeable – it was Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze saw Gu Sheng putting away his hunting bow and anxiously grabbed him, pulling him forward.

"I knew you'd be out here practicing archery. Did you know your Erniu brother was bitten by a wild wolf in the mountains yesterday? Li Lian sent me to tell you. Erniu is quite badly injured and probably won't be able to go into the mountains for a while."

Gu Sheng immediately showed a look of shocked concern and said urgently:

"How could you be bitten by a wild wolf of all things? Brother Erniu has rich hunting experience, this shouldn't happen. Did you perhaps encounter a wolf pack? Let's go take a look!"

His thoughts raced. Li Lian clearly knew he had helped Gu Erniu back last night, and now she was deliberately having Zhang Ze notify him, which meant she must have figured something out.

He guessed that she probably discovered a clue while applying medicine to Gu Erniu.

Gu Erniu and his wife likely wanted to sever the connection between Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu. Otherwise, if anyone with ulterior motives found out that Gu Sheng and Gu Erniu had come down from the mountain together, and once the news of Li Yan and the others' deaths spread, they might start suspecting something.

Gu Erniu alone couldn't have killed Li Yan and the other four, but if they had cooperated, it would have been possible!

It just so happened that when they returned to the village yesterday, they hadn't encountered anyone.

Gu Sheng couldn't help but praise inwardly, Women are indeed meticulous. He followed Zhang Ze towards Gu Erniu's home.

By this time, several people had already arrived at Gu Erniu's house, surrounding him closely. They were all hunters with whom he usually had good relations, and they all looked at Gu Erniu with concern.

A leg injury was no small matter; if it didn't heal properly, it would greatly affect his future hunting endeavors!

"Erniu, what exactly happened? How did you get bitten out of nowhere?"

"Is your leg alright? Get plenty of rest during this time. If you need any help, just tell us all!"

"That's right, recover well. We brothers are all waiting for you to return to the field!"

Gu Erniu's grateful voice could be heard:

"Thank you all for your concern, I received timely treatment and it's not a serious injury. After half a month to a month of rest, I, Gu Erniu, will still be that capable man!"

The crowd burst into laughter. Seeing that Gu Erniu's spirits were not dampened, they gradually felt at ease.

Gu Erniu feigned a curse:

"Yesterday was just bad luck. I had finally found traces of the Silver Fox, but unexpectedly, a lone wolf ambushed me. This beast bit me, but fortunately, I shot an arrow and blinded one of its eyes, so it fled in disgrace. Otherwise, my life might have truly ended there."

"Now I can't move my leg and can't go into the mountains. Yesterday, I found the Silver Fox's tracks in the Red Maple Forest, near Little West Valley. If you have good luck, you can go check it out. Whoever hunts the Silver Fox later must treat me to a good drink!"

Gu Erniu laughed heartily, his words half true and half false.

Being bitten by a wild wolf was false, but finding the Silver Fox's tracks was true.

The hunters' eyes immediately lit up, and they repeatedly chuckled:

"Then thank you, Erniu. If we hunt the Silver Fox, let alone one meal, we'll treat you to three!"

Gu Sheng listened from the side, his heart stirred.

The place where he hunted the Silver Fox yesterday was indeed in the Red Maple Forest.

So Brother Erniu found the Silver Fox first. They chased and disturbed the Silver Fox, and I ended up getting a freebie.

Watching the hunters eagerly preparing themselves, Gu Sheng merely smiled and remained silent. He had already hunted the Silver Fox. After some time, when everyone couldn't find the Silver Fox, their enthusiasm would naturally wane.

With this news, which was half true and half false, once the hunters entered the mountains the next day and confirmed the Silver Fox's tracks, they would naturally believe without a doubt that Gu Erniu was bitten by a wild wolf.

Afterward, when the news of Li Yan and the others' disappearance and death spread, no one would connect it to this matter.

Gu Sheng nodded silently in his heart, very satisfied with the aftermath arrangements made by Gu Erniu and his wife.