Seeing that the house was nearly finished, Rong Zheng headed deep into the mountains again. This would probably be his last hunting trip into the deep mountains that year. He had to start attending the academy next month, and the journey was too long for him to find much time to go again.
He crossed mountains and ridges, already thoroughly familiar with the route.
He first searched for signs of foxes and soon found a white fox. After lying in wait for a day, he shot it dead.
Tired from walking, he casually leaned against a large tree to rest. While he was thinking, an extremely faint sound suddenly reached his ears. Had Rong Zheng not possessed the exceptional hearing of a martial artist, he would have struggled to notice it.
He immediately grew alert and carefully distinguished where the sound had come from without giving anything away. In a concealed patch of grass nearby, a huge wolf watched him darkly. Its head was enormous, its eyes narrowed as it waited for an opening.
Wolves were usually pack animals that hunted through teamwork. Rong Zheng was startled and began carefully checking whether any other wolves nearby were working together to hunt him.
Fortunately, Rong Zheng found that there was only one, giving him a good chance of defeating it.
Very good. Since you want to hunt me, I'll hunt you instead, you great big wolf.
He pretended not to have noticed, tightening his grip on the knife against his chest. Sitting against the tree, he closed his eyes as though nothing was wrong, intending to lure the wolf into attacking.
After a long while, seeing that its prey remained completely unaware, the wolf began approaching slowly, its gaze vicious and its sharp fangs bared. Once close, it lunged at Rong Zheng, intending to bite through this human's neck in one snap.
But Rong Zheng reacted swiftly, springing up and drawing his knife to stab at the wolf's eye. The wolf stopped short, and the blade skimmed past its flank.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense as the man and wolf faced off.
Realizing it had been discovered, the wolf fixed him with a cold, piercing gaze and snarled ferociously, baring its fangs. It closed in on Rong Zheng again and launched a fierce attack, moving as fast as lightning.
As a martial artist, Rong Zheng's reactions were certainly not sluggish. He rolled, making the wolf miss, and simultaneously reached back to seize its tail. With a powerful yank, he slammed it hard onto the ground, then immediately brought his knife down, plunging it straight into the wolf's belly.
The wolf howled in pain when the blow struck. After a brief, agonized struggle, it collapsed limply to the ground.
After some simple processing, Rong Zheng put the wolf into his back basket. Hunting a wolf counted as a fine haul. Most hunters would not deliberately hunt wolves because of their ferocious nature, and a pack was even harder to deal with.
That made wolves a rarity on the market. This one was so enormous that selling it to a wealthy household would surely fetch a good price.
An intact wolf pelt was a rare material, very popular with wealthy families, who liked using wolf pelts to make quilts or bedding. Warm and attractive, they could serve as luxury goods.
Wolf hock bones-the joint bones from a wolf's hind legs-were also extremely precious. Rumor had it that they possessed miraculous powers to ward off evil. Not only could they repel evil spirits, ghosts, and nightmares, they could also attract wealth and treasure. High officials and nobles liked collecting them, displaying them at home as expensive ornaments to show their grandeur.
There were also wolf teeth. Those in good condition were worth a considerable sum, and some people liked presenting them as gifts to powerful, wealthy households. It brought them considerable face.
Since he had obtained a giant wolf, which was rather heavy to carry, Rong Zheng decided to hurry to town and sell it as soon as possible.
He wandered through the town's wealthy residential district and chose a particularly imposing house. Just as he was about to knock, a young gentleman of seventeen or eighteen came out, followed closely by a servant. The young gentleman was slightly plump and dressed in brocade that looked very expensive.
The wealthy young gentleman noticed Rong Zheng at the gate and was about to ask, "What brings you here?" when his gaze caught the giant wolf in Rong Zheng's back basket. Greatly surprised, he asked, "Did you hunt this?"
Rong Zheng nodded. "I did." Taking the opportunity, he asked, "Would you be interested, young master? This wolf is for sale."
The young gentleman's name was Huang Yi. Hearing this astonished him even more. He sized Rong Zheng up and found that the man before him seemed about his own age and was quite good-looking. To think he could hunt down a wolf-how skilled must he be?
Wolves were rare, and few people dared to hunt them. They were the sort of thing that was hard to buy even with money!
Upon hearing that Rong Zheng wanted to sell the wolf, Huang Yi was no longer in a hurry to go out. "Yes, please come in." Young and very curious about wolves, he invited Rong Zheng inside to talk. Turning, he instructed the servant, "Have the steward come to the front hall. Tell him someone is here to sell a wolf."
As they walked, Huang Yi praised him. "You're quite skilled! A wolf that big couldn't have been easy to hunt, could it?"
"It did take some effort." Seeing how easygoing and talkative this wealthy young gentleman was, Rong Zheng answered with a smile.
"Young brother, what's your name? How old are you? You look about my age."
"My surname is Rong, and my given name is Zheng. I'm nineteen this year."
"Then you're two years older than me. My name is Huang Yi, and I'm seventeen. Brother Rong, a pleasure to meet you!"
"Just call me Rong Zheng."
Seeing that Rong Zheng carried himself and spoke with considerable poise, neither servile nor overbearing, Huang Yi formed an excellent impression of him. "If you ever hunt another wolf, bring it to my house. We'll buy them all." His family was in business and had no shortage of money. They could afford however many wolves he brought.
"I might not have time to hunt again. I have to start studying at the academy next month."
"Azure Cloud Academy? What a coincidence. I study there too."
"That's the one."
There was only one academy in town. Feeling that they were brought together by fate, Huang Yi grew even more enthusiastic in conversation.
The sale went very smoothly. Seeing his young master chatting so happily with this hunter, looking very much as though he intended to befriend him, the Huang household's steward offered a little above the market price. They finally settled on a hundred taels.
Having earned a decent sum, Rong Zheng thought he would find someone to turn the white fox he had into a fur scarf for Ye Yun. It would be lovely and warm to wear in winter. Lately, Ye Yun's complexion had grown rosy and his features even more refined. That snowy white fur around his neck would surely make him look incomparably elegant.
He went to the Autumn Charm Pavilion clothing shop and asked whether Shopkeeper Zhou could have it processed for him. Shopkeeper Zhou looked regretful upon hearing this and repeatedly asked whether he truly would not sell it, even offering to raise the price by five taels. But Rong Zheng only wanted to make a scarf for his darling husband.
"All right, then. But the processing won't be cheap. How about eight taels?"
"All right. About how many days will it take?"
"Come back for it in ten days. You really do dote on your husband, lad, to spend so freely." Eight taels! Some poor families might not save eight taels in an entire year, yet this man was willing to spend it on his husband without batting an eye.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Zhou."
Once home, Rong Zheng told his husband about selling the wolf and handed him ninety taels.
Ye Yun's brows knitted tightly when he heard. That was a wolf, an extremely vicious wild beast! Noticing faint bloodstains on Rong Zheng, he forgot all about being shy and tugged at his clothes to check whether he was hurt.
"A-Yun, are you getting handsy with me?" Seeing his husband take the initiative to pull at his clothes for the first time, Rong Zheng teased him.
"Quick, let me see. Are you hurt?" Normally, Ye Yun would shy away upon hearing such words, but he could not worry about that now. He cared far too much about Rong Zheng, and those bloodstains in particular made his heart clench, afraid Rong Zheng had been bitten by the wolf.
Seeing that his husband still looked worried, Rong Zheng took his hand and said, "I really am fine. That blood got on me when I killed the wolf. I'm not hurt, so don't worry." He stroked his husband's forehead.
"I'm scared." Ye Yun's nose stung. This was the first time he had met someone who treated him so well, and he was truly afraid something would happen to Rong Zheng.
Rong Zheng drew his husband into his arms and comforted him for a while. Once his emotions had settled, he handed him the money pouch again.
Taking the heavy money pouch, Ye Yun put it away carefully, still feeling that it was unreal.
They had spent a hundred taels building the house, and now Rong Zheng had almost earned it all back. The family's savings had once again reached a hundred taels. It left him both stunned and utterly delighted.
Seeing his husband finally reveal a sweet smile, Rong Zheng found it a delight to behold.
Mm, I'll have to earn more money in the future.
"I have to start studying at the academy next month, so I'll only be able to occasionally find time to hunt closer by in the mountains behind the village." Rong Zheng spoke of his plans.
"Mm-hm. Focus on your studies. I'll take good care of things at home." Ye Yun looked earnest.
"Of course I trust you, A-Yun. Oh, and let's hold off on sending Xiao Chen to the academy. He's been becoming more outgoing lately. Let him stay home and play with the village children. I'll teach him reading and writing at home too. It won't be too late to send him to the academy once he has some foundation."
Rong Zheng felt it was necessary to keep Ye Chen at home for a year. Ye Chen had an inferiority complex, and pushing him into the academy too early might not be good for him; it could have the opposite effect. Besides, he hoped Xiao Chen could train in martial arts for a year and develop a strong physique so he would not be easily bullied.
"I'll listen to you," Ye Yun obediently agreed. He felt that his husband always handled things very reliably, so he could not go wrong by listening to him.
Seeing how soft and obedient his husband was, Rong Zheng felt like teasing him again. "You'll really listen to me?"
Ye Yun was nodding, thinking that he really was quite obedient to his husband, when, amid his puzzlement, he heard Rong Zheng add, "Then when I want to kiss you, remember to be good and listen. Don't dodge!"
Those words made Ye Yun blush scarlet again. He-he did not want to dodge either, but when Rong Zheng kissed him, he always left him breathless before letting go...
Outside, Rong Zheng appeared composed and proper, but in private, he simply loved teasing his husband.