As soon as Li Yuan stepped into the room, Yan Yu moved a long bench to block the door.
She sat down on the bench, her whole back against the door, her small face filled with tension and anxiety.
"Brother Yuan, why is Qian San targeting you?"
"He probably has his eyes on my hunting permit."
"Isn't the hunting permit issued by the government... how dare they try to steal it?"
"There's no name on it, and usually, when there's a government official watching, they act decent. But in these times, do you think any official will care about such things?"
"Then what should we do, what should we do?" Yan Yu wrung her hands, mumbling to herself, "Maybe... let's get Uncle Wang next door, and a few other men, you all together... that way, Qian San wouldn't dare do anything."
"Other than Uncle Wang, who else is there?"
"Monk Pan..." Yan Yu suddenly suggested.
Li Yuan thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Gathering people, doing it yourself, and dragging your family into it is not a good idea.
Besides, Uncle Wang, apart from being a bit strong, is just a mild-mannered, honest man, and Monk Pan has nothing to do with him. If the three of them join forces, they're just a ragtag group, less effective than going solo.
Yan Yu was about to say more when Li Yuan sat down beside her, his right hand reaching around her back and gently hooking her soft shoulder, whispering, "Sister Yan, don't worry about the outside matters, I'll handle it."
"How will you handle it?"
"I'll accompany him on a hunt."
"You... you won't be like Uncle Cai Hua, who went and never came back, will you?"
"No, no, with such a beautiful sister Yan at home, how could I bear not to come back?"
Yan Yu blushed, gently saying, "You're being annoying, sweet-talking again," then leaned into his embrace, her face filled with worry.
Li Yuan slightly raised his head, looking at the dim room, his eyes glimmering with a calm light.
In his previous life, he was a butcher. At first, he felt timid, but after killing many, he felt nothing, and even his gaze became calm...
Qian San must be killed.
If I don't kill him, then I must confront him head-on. All my strength is in my bow, and when faced with a crowd, I can only shoot one person per arrow, which won't end well.
Moreover... shooting someone in public counts as murder, and the government will definitely come after me. If I don't shoot, and they beat me up, I won't be able to do anything.
If something happens to me, Sister Yan won't have a good outcome either.
So, where to kill?
Kill him while he's hunting?
That's the best.
But I don't know if Qian San will go hunting these days, and I don't know where he'll hunt.
It's hard to grasp, too many variables.
However, there's one place Qian San will definitely go, and that's his home.
Then, when to kill him?
Today? No, I just had a conflict with Qian San, and if he dies, I might be suspected.
Then in a few days.
That's risky too, what if an accident happens?
Forget it, I'll keep an eye on him and kill him when I have the chance.
Li Yuan's expression became even calmer; it was the same before he slaughtered a pig.
...
...
That evening, the bright moon hung high, illuminating the ground fairly well.
The wind outside was mild, but the ground was frosty, and the air was bitterly cold.
The hole in the window had been patched up by Yan Yu during the day, and now sounds of creaking echoed from within the house...
After a long time...
Yan Yu collapsed softly, falling asleep in her man's arms.
The two huddled together, the bed warm, like a paradise secluded from darkness and cold in this harsh winter.
In these tumultuous times, it's the only light, warmth, joy, and peace.
Li Yuan gently withdrew his arm, softly cautioning, "Sister Yan, I'm going to the restroom, don't come out when you're asleep."
But Yan Yu slept soundly, only murmuring a response in her dreams, then turned her warm body to the other side.
Li Yuan opened a crack, quietly got out of bed, then quickly dressed, grabbed the great bow and quiver from the wall, and after a brief thought, directly allocated the remaining 20 points to "Intermediate Tracking."
A strange sense of agility spread through his body, and along with it came the seasoned tracking experience that flooded into his mind...
Suddenly, he became more adept at understanding the surrounding light, hiding his presence, and focusing on the target.
Li Yuan gently pushed open the back door, crouched low, and darted out with a "whoosh."
As he moved, his speed was incredibly fast, and his steps were extremely light, making him seem like a predator slipping into the village.
With a few swift moves, he was in the small woods behind his house.
Li Yuan sprinted wildly, the wind whistling in his ears.
The cold winter wind was like a knife, but at this moment he didn't care, his eyes scanning around vigilantly.
If there was anything dangerous present, numbers would pop up — an invisible skill of sorts.
Little Ink Workshop in Xiao Mo Mountain wasn't big; overall it resembled more a village, and the use of "workshop" was just to comply with the government's unified naming requirements.
Soon, he reached Qian San's house and instantly ducked behind a shadowy old tree.
...
Qian San's house.
Qian San was drinking, recounting the day's events as he did.
Next to him, a somewhat attractive woman was sitting in his lap, smiling and pouring him wine, laughing as she did so, "Master, you were so formidable today. You didn't even need to lift a finger, and Monk Pan was beaten up by those people."
Qian San chuckled, "Woman, this is called influence, called leveraging power. Even if I explained, you wouldn't understand.
In a while, I'll gather all the hunters in Little Ink Workshop and head into the mountains to hunt.
By then, once I have meat, I can do whatever I want in this village."
The woman scoffed, "Hah, gather them all, huh? There are six hunter families in the workshop, and you've only got Uncle Cai Hua's hunting permit, you're still short by four."
Qian San said, "Pour me wine, I'll deal with them one by one."
The woman hooked her arm around his neck, "Master, I've heard... in some places, just a palm-sized piece of meat can buy you a night with someone's wife, is that true?"
Qian San replied, "True, it's happening right next door in Zhao Family Workshop. And it's done in front of their husbands, who even guard the door for them."
The woman laughed aloud.
Eventually, the drunken man pushed the woman onto the bed, pulled down his pants, about to climb on, when suddenly he furrowed his brow, "You sleep, I'll go... relieve myself."
Qian San pulled up his pants, his face flushed, and hummed an off-tune melody as he staggered outside. Walking over a hundred meters, he stopped in front of an open-air latrine, undressed, and squatted down.
And from afar...
In a corner where he couldn't see, a shadow began to creep stealthily.
The shadow moved with nearly inaudible footsteps, blending seamlessly with the natural sounds and remaining unnoticed.
Soon, the shadow reached about twenty paces away from Qian San.
The shadow glanced at itself, overall strength "5~6."
Then glanced at Qian San squatting at the latrine, overall strength "0~1."
The shadow used its left hand to hold the bow and quickly reached for the quiver with its right hand.
Its fingers were just about to grasp an arrow when they suddenly paused, sliding down to feel a smooth stone instead.
Shooting stone, slingshot, is a basic shooting skill hunters need to master, usually used against small animals to stun them, preserving the animal's fur intact, thereby selling it at a better price.
Qian San squatted at the latrine, nodding and swaying, feeling warm from the alcohol, he didn't even notice the cold outside.
"Three days, give you three days, Yuanzi, tomorrow I'll come find you again, hey..." Qian San muttered to himself.
Right then, a stone silently sliced through a distance of over ten yards, cutting through the darkness, piercing the cold wind, and slammed violently against Qian San's forehead.
"Oooh!!"
A severe pain struck immediately, while Qian San felt his body lose balance, uncontrollably toppling backward with a "thud," plunging into the latrine, and getting submerged.