But overall, Li Xuan was very pleased to have gained two blue traits.
He carefully slid down the tree and walked over to the wild boar's carcass.
Up close, the beast looked even more terrifying, its tusks savage and its whole body radiating ferocity.
The three Iron Arrows had sunk almost entirely into its body, a testament to their penetrating power.
He checked the arrows first. One had entered the side of the neck from behind, one was lodged in its flank, and one had struck below its throat.
The first two might be recoverable, though they would certainly need careful sharpening. The third had pierced clean through and was probably ruined.
Still, trading three Iron Arrows for a huge wild boar and 55 points was an absolute windfall.
Next came the more troublesome matter-how was he going to get this huge beast home?
Li Xuan looked at the boar's carcass, which lay on the ground like a small hill. Once his excitement faded, the practical problem reared its head.
How was he supposed to get this huge thing home?
He drew his Woodcutter's Blade and began butchering it.
First, he slit the skin along the wound in its neck and drained the remaining blood. Then, with considerable effort, he rolled the boar over, cut open its belly, and pulled out the steaming innards.
The heart and liver were good eating. He kept those.
The intestines and stomach stank. He buried them in a freshly dug pit nearby, covering them with a thick layer of earth and fallen leaves to mask the smell of blood as much as possible.
The boar's hide was thick and would fetch a fair amount of money if properly tanned. That had to be kept too.
With his blade, he carefully peeled off the entire hide along with some of the fat, then rolled it up.
By the time he finished all that work, he was drenched in sweat despite his considerably improved physique.
By his rough estimate, even after removing the innards and draining the blood, the boar still yielded at least a hundred and fifty or sixty jin of meat. With the bones and hide added in, its weight was truly staggering.
Getting the whole boar down the mountain alone was almost impossible. The mountain paths were difficult, and the load would be far too conspicuous.
After some thought, Li Xuan decided to make two trips.
He used his Woodcutter's Blade to split the boar along its backbone into two fairly even halves.
He securely bound one half together with the heavy hide using tough vines, then cut some leafy branches to cover it as a makeshift disguise.
For the other half, he chose a more secluded hollow, covered it with branches and leaves as well, and scattered some dirt over it.
After cleaning up the blood at the site, he pulled up several handfuls of strongly scented mugwort, crushed it, and scattered it around to further dispel the bloody smell.
By the time he finished, it was getting late, and the woods had grown darker.
Li Xuan took a deep breath and hoisted the half of the boar weighing at least a hundred and thirty or forty jin onto his shoulder.
The load was tremendously heavy, pressing painfully against his shoulder, but the strength brimming within his body kept him steady on his feet.
He adjusted his breathing, then set off down the mountain.
Mist had risen through the mountains, shrouding everything in gray.
In weather like this, there was naturally not a soul to be seen along the path.
Li Xuan actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Bringing game back to the village several times in a row had relieved his family's most urgent needs, but it was bound to draw attention.
The villagers were simple, honest folk, but that did not mean no one would turn green with envy.
A wild boar was worth far more than pheasants or rabbits. If he carried it home with great fanfare, there was no telling what gossip or trouble it might bring.
Returning quietly like this was ideal.
Through the rain and mist, he carried the meat with stumbling, uneven steps, finally reaching his courtyard gate before darkness fully fell.
He pushed the gate open with a creak. Wang, who was feeding the fire beside the stove in the main room, looked up and nearly dropped the firewood in her hand.
"Good heavens! Third Brother, you... what are you carrying?!"
Li Xuan set the bloody half of the boar, with its dark brown hide and bristles, onto the courtyard ground with a thud.
Even in the dim evening light, its frightening bulk and heavy reek of blood were unmistakable.
Li Zhong ran out of the inner room, while Li Shan hobbled to the doorway on his crutch.
Little Xiu'er came running out too and began drooling at the sight of the boar.
"Heavens, Third Brother! Pork! It's pork!"
"We have pork to eat!"
"A... a wild boar?!"
Li Zhong's tongue almost tied itself in knots. He crouched down and felt the coarse, tough hide and the long, thick bristles.
Then he looked at the bases of those savage tusks. "A boar this big?! Third Brother, you killed it all by yourself?!"
Li Shan looked even more stunned, his hand tightening around his crutch.
"Xuan, this... you really hunted this yourself? You weren't hurt, were you?"
As an old hunter, he knew all too well how ferocious wild boars were.
These creatures had thick hides and tough flesh. In a frenzy, they could snap trees as thick as a bowl's mouth. Even two or three seasoned hunters surrounding one with hunting dogs had to proceed with extreme caution. One careless move could leave them dead or injured.
How many days had it been since Li Xuan changed his ways?
And now he had brought down a beast this big single-handedly? It was simply beyond anything Li Shan could comprehend!
"Yes. I got lucky and shot it from a tree."
Li Xuan wiped the rainwater and sweat off his face. He kept his explanation brief, leaving out the dangers involved.
"But I only carried back half. It was too heavy. The other half of the meat and bones is hidden on the mountain. We need to bring it back quickly, before some other beast ruins it, or..."
He did not finish, but Li Shan understood immediately.
In times like these, wild animals were not the only things on the mountain.
"What? There's another half?!" Wang's voice rose to a shrill pitch. "Third Brother, why didn't you say so sooner? What if someone makes off with it?"
These days, even grain was desperately scarce, let alone meat!
The thought of losing a hundred jin of meat had his sister-in-law beside herself with anxiety!
"I'll go right now!" Without another word, Li Zhong turned to fetch hemp rope and a carrying pole, his face filled with both urgency and excitement.
Li Shan was anxious too. "I'll also..."
"Dad, your leg isn't up to it. It's raining, and the mountain paths are slippery. Stay home and wait."
Li Xuan stopped him and turned to Wang. "Sister-in-law, watch the house. Eldest Brother and I will go."
But Wang wiped her hands on her apron.
"No, you two men-one's a simpleton and the other... ahem. I can't trust you! With this much meat at stake, nothing can go wrong! I'm going up the mountain with you!"
Brisk and decisive, she made up her mind on the spot.
"There's no need, Sister-in-law. There's only a little over a hundred jin left on the mountain. Eldest Brother and I can manage."
"All right, then. Come back quickly, and be careful."
There was no time to lose. Li Xuan found an old piece of oilcloth and draped it over the family's handcart to give it some protection from the rain.
Li Zhong shouldered the carrying pole and hemp rope, then took a woodcutting blade as well.
Just before they left, Li Xuan suddenly remembered the scene at the village entrance that morning. He turned to Li Shan, who was tapping his pipe bowl against the threshold, and asked:
"Dad, is there a hunter called Wang Kui in neighboring Wang Family Gully? Do you know him?"
"Wang Kui?"
Li
Shan had just knocked the ash from his pipe bowl. At the name, he paused, his face darkening and unmistakable disgust creeping into his voice.
"You ran into that bastard?"
"This morning at the village entrance. He was with Widow Zhao. We crossed paths," Li Xuan answered truthfully.
"Hmph!" Li Shan gave a heavy snort.
"That son of a bitch is no good! He had some strength when he was young, and somehow pulled strings to spend a few years at a martial arts school in town. After returning to the village, he gathered a few idle good-for-nothings from Wang Family Gully into a gang and proclaimed himself some sort of 'mountain boss.' Nothing but dirty, underhanded business!"
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