Chapter 53 - 49: Spicy Strips

Qin Ziwen remained silent the whole time, just watching her quietly.

’Is this a side effect of having killed someone?’ he wondered. After encountering an unexpected incident like this, his first instinct was to shut her up for good—to make it so she could never speak again.

’My mindset is completely different from before I killed.’

But he knew that wasn’t a rational thing to do.

In a public place with so many people, especially within the Gated Community—a relatively "safe" environment—making a move in front of everyone would only provoke resentment and vigilance from the other residents.

’If everyone in the entire Gated Community were scattered into the forest, we’d be a pack of highly intelligent beasts struggling to survive. Acting on animal logic would be fine then.’

’But now, we have the Gated Community, we have a Home. Even though the threads of civilization are stretched to their breaking point, they haven’t snapped just yet.’

A decisive person would be feared and respected, while a cruel and bloodthirsty one would be loathed and shunned.

Just as Qin Ziwen was weighing the pros and cons, his younger brother stepped forward and shoved Xue E to the ground.

Then he said coldly, "We gave you an inch, and you tried to take a mile. You’re trying to extort us. Taking without asking is stealing. How dare you say something like that?"

Xue E sat on the ground in a daze. She looked around pleadingly, but no one spoke up for her. Everyone was just watching from the sidelines.

When his eyes met Xue E’s, Deng Guang looked away.

"Mom!"

A boy rushed out from behind Xue E. He crouched down, held his mother’s arm, and whispered, "Mom, are you okay?"

Xue E whipped her head around and cursed, "Your mother just got pushed to the ground and you’re just standing there watching the show! You didn’t even try to help me. I raised you all these years for nothing!"

Liu Zhuang glanced at Qin Ziwu, who stood a full head taller than him. The courage he had just managed to summon vanished, and he lowered his head in fear.

Seeing how spineless her son was, Xue E flared up in a sudden rage. "Help me up!"

Liu Zhuang quickly helped his mother up. The gazes of the onlookers made his eyes dart around nervously, and his breathing grew ragged.

"All you know how to do is bully a woman like me." Xue E spat out the words, turned, and started to walk away. After a few steps, she saw her son still standing there and cursed again, "What are you standing there for? Like a block of wood! You’ve never been able to do anything right since you were a child." Liu Zhuang’s nose tingled. He buried his head and hurried after Xue E.

...

Exiting through the east gate, Qin Ziwen walked along the riverbank.

Seeing that Qin Ziwen had been silent ever since they left, Deng Guang offered some comfort. "You don’t need to blame yourself. No one could have expected Old Liu’s accident. It’s just fate."

"Xue E’s always been like that. She’s just loud and hot-tempered. I live next door to her, and I can often hear her beating and cursing her son. That kid is more scared of his mom than anyone else."

Qin Ziwen, who had been thinking about the cave’s location, snapped back to reality with a smile. "Brother Deng, I wasn’t dwelling on it. I was just wondering how to find more Gray Sweet Potatoes. I’ve noticed they only seem to grow in the muddy soil by the river, but there aren’t many."

Deng Guang caught on. "Oh, right, the ones you picked last time. Okay, I’ll help you keep an eye out for more."

Along the way, they found another eight plants.

Three were in the mud, while the other five were found in the grassy patches on the bank. Their leaves were mixed in with the grass, making them hard to spot if you weren’t paying attention.

Compared to the ones from the fertile mud, the tubers of the Gray Sweet Potatoes growing in the damp soil on the bank were slightly smaller.

After walking for some time, they arrived at the spot where the Earth Cages were set.

Qin Ziwen went to check the snare traps first.

Thanks to the rope Old Deng had provided yesterday, the number of snares had shot up to ten.

Checking each trap was like opening a blind box.

The first trap was empty. The second was empty, too.

After two empty snares in a row, Deng Guang’s brow furrowed. He suspected the rope he provided might not be up to snuff.

At the third trap, a familiar field mouse lay motionless on the ground.

The noose was cinched tightly around its head, its eyes rolled back.

Qin Ziwu chuckled. "It’s even sticking its tongue out to look cute."

Qin Ziwen laughed in exasperation. "That’s it rolling its damn eyes back!"

Qin Ziwu grinned. "Hehe, just kidding."

With that, he picked up the field mouse by its tail. It hung limply, like a limp noodle, but Qin Ziwen noticed its hind leg twitch the moment it was lifted.

"Eagle, down."

Qin Ziwen clapped his hands, and the Beaked Eagle swooped down from the branch like a gust of wind.

It stared intently at the field mouse.

The field mouse remained perfectly still, even as Qin Ziwen untied the noose.

The Beaked Eagle pinned the mouse with its talons, but it still didn’t move.

Only when the eagle’s sharp beak drew near did the mouse finally give up its act, struggling desperately. But its struggle was utterly futile.

Qin Ziwen took the field mouse from under the Beaked Eagle’s talons and tossed it into the bucket.

Then, the group checked the fourth trap.

This trap had caught a brownish-green lizard. The noose was caught right around its neck, where the head met the body.

It was a good two palms long.

Seeing people approach, the lizard opened its mouth wide, trying its best to look intimidating.

Qin Ziwen patted the Beaked Eagle’s head. "Here’s a snack for you."

’Lizards are a pain to keep, and I don’t want to eat the meat anyway. Might as well let the Beaked Eagle have an extra meal.’

The Beaked Eagle struck with a single peck. The lizard went quiet instantly, falling to the ground as if asleep.

After checking all ten traps, they had caught a total of four prey.

One wild rabbit, two field mice, and one lizard.

The lizard was given to the Beaked Eagle as food, while the rabbit and mice were put in the bucket.

Qin Ziwen said to Deng Guang, "Brother Deng, you should take these two field mice home. You provided most of the rope, after all."

Deng Guang waved his hands dismissively. "No, no, you’re the one who set the traps, and you even taught me how to make them. Consider the rope my tuition fee. Your skill is what caught them. Besides, I took a lot of kiwis yesterday, a good twenty pounds’ worth."

Qin Ziwen said seriously, "Those are two different things."

Deng Guang grew anxious. "They’re the same thing! If you keep this up, I’ll be too embarrassed to come out with you anymore."

Seeing his reaction, Qin Ziwen didn’t insist. "All right, then."

They reached the riverbank and started pulling up the Earth Cage.

Before it even broke the surface, he could tell it felt different! Heavy! Something inside was struggling frantically, the force traveling all the way up the rope.

The green Earth Cage burst through the water’s surface, jets of water spraying from its mesh holes.

Inside the Earth Cage, a two-meter-long, brown-black, round-headed snake was thrashing violently.

Qin Ziwen lifted the end of the cage and swung it hard against the ground, dumping the large snake out.

The moment it was out, the snake’s first instinct was to flee. The Beaked Eagle on the tree dove, hooked the snake with its talons, and lifted it into the sky.

The snake twisted its body, trying to coil around the Beaked Eagle’s talons.

The Beaked Eagle gave it a sharp peck, causing the snake to writhe in pain.

After flying a dozen meters into the air, the Beaked Eagle dropped it, then dove in pursuit. The snake had barely hit the ground and hadn’t recovered when sharp talons tore through its scales.

Unable to bear it any longer, the snake whipped its head around to bite the Beaked Eagle. The eagle flapped its wings to dodge, caught up again as the snake tried to flee, and stomped down hard, pinning the snake’s head and its "seven-inch spot."

The eagle’s beak pecked again, viciously, tearing off a large patch of scales and skin.

After being toyed with several more times, the water snake was reduced to a shredded mess.

Meanwhile, Qin Ziwen looked at the two small loaches stuck in a corner of the cage.

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