Chapter 143 - 134: The Triumphant Yuan Ming

When Liu San saw this, he was so shocked he muttered to himself, "Oh my god, why has Sir summoned so many refugees?"

Da Zhuang was worried. He ran up behind Liu San and whispered, "Third Master, does Sir think we’re working too slow? Is he looking to replace us?"

Liu San’s expression hardened. He scolded in a low voice, "Don’t spread rumors! When Sir is doing something, don’t ask questions. If you do your job well, he’ll notice."

Da Zhuang flinched and hurried back to stirring the broth.

After the large pot of gruel was cooked and distributed, a full thirty refugees stood before them.

The refugees whispered amongst themselves. They took the bowls of gruel and drank it down eagerly. Some cried out that it was hot but couldn’t bear to spit it out.

"Slow down, you’ll burn your throats," Qin Ziwen said as he scanned the crowd of refugees. "I’ve called you here for a job. If you do it well, the other half of this pot is yours tonight! And I’ll add meat!" He paused. "If you’re not willing, you can leave now."

Someone asked cautiously, "Sir, what is it you need us to do?"

"Hike a mountain trail and carry things back. Including travel, it’ll be about six hours of work."

Hearing this, the refugees murmured to one another before agreeing in unison.

Seeing their reaction, Qin Ziwen knew perfectly well what they were capable of. ’They’re fine for carrying things and making a show of force. But if I tried to get them to fight, or even hunt a wild beast, it’d be impossible. They’d bolt at the first sign of real danger.’

"Follow me."

Qin Ziwen led Du Yu and the crowd of refugees downstairs, a dense, dark mass of people.

Wang Xiaoli was just coming upstairs when she heard the thundering footsteps from above and quickly stepped aside. She saw Qin Ziwen at the head of the group and instinctively lowered her head.

Qin Ziwen walked past her, followed by the tall, masculine figure of Du Yu.

Behind them trailed a disorderly group of men and women, their hair matted and faces caked with grime.

’Where did all these strangers come from?’

Wang Xiaoli found it odd, but then a thought seemed to strike her.

’Don’t tell me... these are all people he summoned!’

She covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

After leaving the building, Qin Ziwen led the large party out through the south gate.

A few neighbors saw them on their way out.

But Qin Ziwen’s group moved quickly, and they were soon ascending the path up the mountain on the northern slope.

By dusk, they finally reached the Giant Sloth’s carcass.

As Qin Ziwen approached, Qin Ziwu and the others emerged from a nearby thicket.

"Brother, you’re finally back."

"What’s wrong?" Qin Ziwen sensed something was off about the atmosphere.

Qin Ziwu said, "About half an hour after you left, that Short-faced Bear showed up. We threw a few Incendiary Bottles to scare it off. It tried to circle around and approach from another direction, but Brother Yang spotted it and landed an Incendiary Bottle right on it. That’s what finally drove it away."

Du Yu asked, "Did the Short-faced Bear come back again?"

"No," said Qin Ziwu. "I think we really scared it."

Du Yu mused, "It might be scared for now, but bears hold a grudge. Once it recovers, it’ll likely be back. We can’t let our guard down."

Du Yu glanced back at the refugees. ’It’ll be a problem if the Short-faced Bear shows up again and scares them off.’

On the ground, the Giant Sloth’s carcass had already been butchered into several large pieces.

"Brother, here are the arrows we recovered from it. Most of them are ruined." Qin Ziwu pulled out the Carbon Fiber Arrows. A few of the heads were bent, but most of the shafts had snapped clean through.

"Mm." Qin Ziwen took the broken arrows. He had expected as much, but it still pained him to see them.

For now, Carbon Fiber Arrows were essentially irreplaceable.

They were light, had high tensile strength, and offered incredible range and power.

But their weakness was a low resistance to lateral impact. They were prone to brittle fractures when they hit something hard, like bone. In short, they were glass cannons.

The group lit bonfires in the surrounding area and began butchering the sloth meat under the cover of night.

As time went on, more and more meat was carved away.

With everyone working together, the enormous prey was gradually broken down into smaller, manageable chunks of meat.

Then, shouldering the meat and holding torches aloft, the group moved through the mountain forest like a long, thin column of ants.

People in the column sang songs and hummed tunes, their torches burning brightly.

Back in the forest, the Short-faced Bear rose to its full height. Its massive body was hidden behind a tree, the fur on its chest and arms scorched black and curled. The distant light of the torches reflected in its pupils.

A low growl rumbled in its throat.

But in the end, it didn’t give chase.

Only after the humans were long gone did it cautiously approach the site where the Giant Sloth had been butchered, leaving nothing but scraps. It gathered the discarded offal and leftovers and began to gnaw on them.

...

「10 PM.」

Hu Huilan fidgeted on the sofa. "It’s so late, and Yuan Ming still isn’t back."

Yuan Dajun pulled out one of his prized cigarettes, sat on the sofa, and smoked, his brow deeply furrowed.

"Don’t just sit there smoking. Do something! Think of a way to help."

Yuan Dajun said, "I just went to Dr. Wang’s house to ask. His wife said Wang Yun isn’t back either. They’re on the same team. They must have just gotten held up by something."

Hu Huilan sat back down, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

A knock came from the door.

Hu Huilan scrambled to her feet and opened the door.

Seeing Zhang Liang at the door, she forced a smile. "Old Zhang, have you found out where Yuan Ming is?"

"Don’t you worry now," Zhang Liang said, trying to comfort her. "They’re not part of our Alliance Association’s Hunting Team, so it’s hard for me to get information quickly. But I’m sure they’re fine. We’ve hunted the surrounding areas countless times, and there aren’t any really dangerous beasts around. They must have just been delayed."

More footsteps approached from outside.

The three people in the living room turned to look.

It was Zhang Liang’s wife, Lin Xing, and their daughter, Zhang Zihan.

Zhang Zihan said, "Dad, Uncle Yuan, I just went and asked around. No one’s seen Yuan Ming or his group. But one person did say that Yuan Ming’s captain led a big group of people out this evening. They said the people he was with had messy hair and were dressed like beggars."

"Whew—Mom, come give me a hand!" Yuan Ming’s breathless voice called from outside.

Yuan Dajun let out a small sigh of relief and stubbed out his cigarette.

Zhang Liang turned his head. "That’s Yuan Ming’s voice."

Hu Huilan shot to her feet and was the first one out the door.

Outside, Yuan Ming was bent at the waist, two massive strips of meat slung over his shoulders.

The long cuts of meat hung down on either side of him. He was beaming, a triumphant grin on his face.

Seeing her son like this, Hu Huilan felt a sting in her nose. "You brat!"

She rushed forward to help him with the meat.

’So heavy!’

Zhang Liang, Yuan Dajun, Lin Xing, and Zhang Zihan got up and followed her outside. When they saw the two enormous strips of meat, their eyes went wide.

"This..." Lin Xing was speechless. She looked at her husband. He was a Hunting Team Captain, leading a squad of ten men. On a good day, they brought back six or seven pounds of meat. On a bad day, only a pound or two.

The total amount of meat her husband had brought back since becoming captain probably didn’t even equal the one strip Yuan Ming had been carrying. That single piece had to be nearly a hundred pounds.

And Hu Huilan was holding another one just like it!

...

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