That morning, Chen Mu used a stone pot he had carved himself to make a pot of wild boar soup, which he and Duoduo happily savored together.
After eating his fill, Chen Mu planned to make a trip back to the village. After all, he and Duoduo couldn't keep living in the cave forever.
According to village custom, Duoduo had already been given to the Celestial God as a servant. Even if he took her back now, they would be driven out, so he would return alone first and see if he could find a way to get the villagers to accept her again.
"Duoduo, I'm heading out! Remember to lock the door, and whatever you do, don't go out by yourself until I get back!"
Before leaving, Chen Mu gave her a solemn reminder.
"Okay! Stay safe too, big brother~"
Chen Mu had installed a wooden gate at the cave entrance and carved a large number of defensive runes into it. Even if a demonic beast attacked, it would hold out for a while, and ordinary wild beasts had no chance of breaking in. So even when he was away, he felt reassured about Chen Duo's safety.
Chen Mu jumped down from the cave and raced along. Although his clothes were not much different from when he had first gone up the mountain, he had drawn runes in beast blood on his clothes, shoes, and body.
Fully equipped, he no longer needed to tread carefully. He only had to keep an eye out for areas where demonic beasts might be lurking.
After traveling for more than ten minutes, he suddenly heard people shouting nearby. Curious, he ran over to take a look.
Down in the valley, two groups faced off, swords drawn and crossbows bent, looking ready to erupt into a fight to the death at any moment.
"Huyan Fang, we were clearly the ones who killed this wild boar. You came over and tried to carry it off. Just what do you mean by that?"
Chen Shanxiong was powerfully built, with a resolute face and a deep, booming voice like a beating drum.
"Hahahaha, what a joke! Is your name on this wild boar? Whoever gets it first gets to keep it! If you've got what it takes, come and take it!"
The man called Huyan Fang stood over two meters tall, his body as thick and sturdy as a giant bear's.
He had a full twenty people behind him, seven or eight more than Chen Shanxiong's side. Their expressions were brazen to the extreme; clearly, they meant to use their superior numbers to force the others into submission.
Beside Chen Shanxiong, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen looked furious and roared, "You've gone too far! We've put up with you people from the Black Water Tribe always coming to hunt on Chen Village's mountains! But now you're even stealing our prey! Do you really think Chen Village is so easy to bully?"
Chen Shanxiong put one hand behind his back and made a gesture. His face betrayed nothing as he used his other hand to stop the young man beside him.
"Zihu, that's enough! Let them have it. We'll hunt somewhere else!"
"But he..."
Chen Zihu was about to protest when Chen Shanxiong gave him a look. He immediately understood and fell silent.
Huyan Fang's men watched the people from Chen Village turn and leave, sneers of contempt on their faces.
"Hmph! Bunch of cowards! Let's go!"
Seven or eight men from the Black Water Tribe joined forces to lift the huge wild boar, which weighed over four hundred jin, and carried it away in another direction.
A while later, just as the Black Water Tribe entered a narrow mountain pass-
"Kill!"
At Chen Shanxiong's command, more than a dozen people from Chen Village charged the Black Water Tribe from behind, weapons in hand. Leading the charge was none other than the young man named Chen Zihu.
"Chen Shanxiong, how dare you!"
Huyan Fang had not expected them to actually dare to attack. The mountain path was narrow, and he was at the front of the group, so he hastily leaped up, pushed off the mountainside, and sprang toward the rear.
Though Chen Zihu was young, his strength was boundless. Wielding a thick spiked club, he knocked two burly men bringing up the Black Water Tribe's rear to the ground in just a few blows.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two sides clashed at close quarters. Both knew there would be no peaceful end to this today, and neither showed any mercy in the fighting.
"Haha! Huyan Fang, I'm your opponent!"
Huyan Fang had just jumped to the back of the group when Chen Shanxiong met him with a long spear, and the two plunged into battle.
Huyan Fang and Chen Shanxiong were evenly matched, locked in a fierce struggle with no winner likely to emerge anytime soon.
He had thought that, although his side had been caught off guard, their superior numbers would let them quickly gain the upper hand once they recovered.
But to his surprise, the man with the spiked club was like a tiger among sheep, beating his men into a routed mob. He was instantly frantic.
"Chen Shanxiong! I admit defeat this time! You can have the wild boar back. Let us go!"
He had dared to provoke Chen Shanxiong mainly because Chen Village had acted weakly these past few years. He had not expected to run into an iron plate today.
Chen Shanxiong sneered without a word, his hands moving a few degrees faster.
"If you still won't stop, are you trying to make an enemy of our Black Water Tribe?"
In that short time, nearly half the Black Water Tribe's men had been killed or wounded. Huyan Fang grew anxious and shouted, fierce in voice but craven at heart.
"Huyan Fang! Tell your tribe chief for me! Your Black Water Tribe may be strong, but if you want to swallow Chen Village, you'd better be ready to break your teeth!"
Hearing Chen Shanxiong's words, Huyan Fang knew he could gain no advantage and had no choice but to call his men to retreat.
"Retreat! Go!"
The people of the Blackwater Tribal Community had long since lost their will to fight. At the command, they immediately fled in panic.
Chen Zihu wanted to give chase, but Chen Shanxiong stopped him.
"Forget it. Huyan Fang is a third-stage martial artist, just like me. We can't keep him here."
Just then, a booming report rang out. Huyan Fang, who had not gotten far, screamed and fell to the ground.
"A hidden weapon?"
Startled, Chen Shanxiong raised a hand, signaling everyone to stay where they were and make no rash moves.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunderous reports rang out one after another. With each boom, flesh and blood flew from the fleeing Black Water Tribe members, and they fell to the ground.
Chen Shanxiong finally saw a small, thin figure in the woods beside the mountain path, holding a long weapon and racing after the Black Water Tribe's people. Before long, the figure had killed every last one of them.
"A Mu?" Chen Zihu recognized Chen Mu and turned with a smile. "Granduncle Xiong, he's one of us. That's my cousin Chen Mu!"
Chen Shanxiong thought back for a long moment before he remembered.
"Chen Mu? Haoran's son?"
"Yes! More than four months ago, my dad said he'd gone missing. I didn't expect to run into him here."
Chen Shanxiong nodded, then noticed that Huyan Fang was still alive on the ground and immediately went after him.
"Haha! Huyan Fang, oh Huyan Fang! I never thought I'd see the day!"
To prevent Huyan Fang from striking back in his death throes, he drove his spear into Huyan Fang's heart without hesitation, putting an end to this grave threat once and for all.
The Black Water Tribe and Chen Village were neighbors, both low-ranking tribes in the Wilderness. Over the centuries, they had accumulated countless grudges.
The only reason they usually left each other in peace was that both sides feared the other's strength and did not want to fight to mutual destruction. After all, they were not the only two tribes on Black Rock Mountain.
Killing one of their third-stage martial artists would undoubtedly greatly weaken the other tribe. It was an opportunity he absolutely could not pass up.
"Brother Hu!"
Chen Mu slung the Rune Gun across his back and greeted Chen Zihu with a smile.
Chen Zihu was his eldest uncle's eldest son. He had been open and straightforward since childhood and treated Chen Mu and his younger sister well, so Chen Mu had always been quite fond of him.
"Haha, not bad, kid! Where did you get a weapon like that? It can even kill martial artists. That's incredible!"
Chen Zihu stared at the Rune Gun on Chen Mu's back, his eyes shining with amazement.
"I can't explain it in just a few words. Brother Hu, I'll tell you all about it when we get back!"
"Haha! All right!"
Chen Zihu turned to ask Chen Shanxiong, "Granduncle Xiong, what do we do now? We killed so many people from the Black Water Tribe. Should we be worried they'll come for revenge?"
Chen Shanxiong shook his head. "It's fine! People from the White Rock Tribe and Ironwood Village have been coming here often lately. As long as we clean up the traces, they won't dare act rashly without proof!"
With that, Chen Shanxiong immediately assigned people to clear away the traces of the battle and bury the bodies scattered around them.
With Chen Zihu leading the charge, no one in Chen Village's hunting party had died in the fight. Only three had been seriously wounded; the rest had suffered minor injuries.
After clearing away the traces, everyone headed back to the village together.
Most of the hunting party were injured and had to look after the seriously wounded, so Chen Zihu could only drag the dead wild boar back to the village by himself.
Although he possessed tremendous natural strength, dragging the huge wild boar, which weighed over four hundred jin, still took a great deal of effort, and he moved extremely slowly.
No one intended to ask Chen Mu to help. After all, he was only nine years old and did not look particularly strong.
But when Chen Mu used the Transport Talisman, everyone was once again astounded by him.
What Chen Mu did not know was that, from a tree across the mountain path, someone had witnessed the entire fight from afar.
"Chen Village! I'll make you repay this blood debt in blood..."
With those words, the person vanished deep into the forest.