Chapter 10: Spring Hunt (4)

Chapter 10 Spring Hunt (4)

"You feeling confident?" Zheng Yuanzhi had a water flask strapped at his waist, a bow and arrows slung over his back, and his high ponytail tied behind his head—looking fresh and full of energy.

Chen Shuoan looked like he was heading to his doom.

"Not at all, but I have the resolve of someone going to their death."

Qin Zhonglian overheard this and strode over on his long legs, sneering at Chen Shuoan: "That's about all you're good for. Usually you act all tough when pushing around the weak. Today, let's see who bags more game. The loser has to call the winner 'Dad'! You got the guts to take that bet?"

Though Chen Shuoan lacked skill, he'd spent years sharpening his gift of gab.

He lifted his chin and copied Qin Zhonglian's stuck-up attitude, saying: "Heh, does the Duke of State Stabilization know his son's out here calling random people 'Dad'?"

Qin Zhonglian's handsome face went green with anger, and he hated this petty jerk even more. Fuming, he said: "You better remember those words. We'll see who's laughing in the end!"

With that, he turned his back on Chen Shuoan and pouted while glaring at the still-closed hunting gate.

Chen Shuoan saw the look on Qin Zhonglian's face like he wanted to tear him apart, and shook his head. The kid was still too young—once he hit Chen Shuoan's age, he'd get it.

Chen Shuoan turned to Zheng Yuanzhi, who'd been enjoying the show, and said: "You see, prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain—it's hard to move. I've been a changed man for a while now."

Zheng Yuanzhi snapped out of it and said seriously: "Ahem, yes, you're absolutely right."

Qin Zhonglian's ears, which had been perked to eavesdrop, twitched. Feeling Chen Shuoan's eyes on him, he snorted coldly.

When the stone gate opened, the crowd ahead started moving. The men filed in one by one, looking dead serious—just like lining up for a Monday morning flag-raising ceremony.

Chen Shuoan gripped the bow in his hand tightly, feeling this was even more nerve-wracking than the night before the college entrance exam.

It's fine, he reassured himself. A 0.5mm carbon pen was his weapon in the exam room, and this bow was his weapon in the hunting grounds!

Chen Shuoan looked at the red marks this stupidly heavy, crappy bow had left on his hand.

His face was expressionless.

Maybe he wouldn't even need this weapon at all.

————

The hunting grounds were quiet and deep in the woods. The towering trees blocked out the sun, and the temperature inside the forest was much lower than outside.

Every now and then, shrill bird cries came from above—close but far—sending chills down your spine. The plants grew wild, with weeds as tall as a person. Get close enough, and you could even see bugs resting on the leaves.

Zheng Yuanzhi pushed through the vines and fought his way out of the tangled woods.

Chen Shuoan obediently stayed stuck in the middle of the group. The guy who usually never shut up now kept his mouth shut about Zheng Yuanzhi's obvious mistake of leading them the wrong way.

Because if he said one more word, he'd get sent to the front to be bug food.

As the one holding the whole team back, he had no right to speak.

Silence is golden.

I don't like talking.

Chen Shuoan brainwashed himself into believing it.

"Further in is the inner hunting grounds. There'll be more predators, and it gets more dangerous. Do we keep going?" Zheng Yuanzhi turned around and asked.

Chen Shuoan was stunned. He couldn't believe that Zheng Yuanzhi, who'd led them this far off track, actually knew the difference between the inner and outer grounds. Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover.

Li Wei popped his head out from behind Chen Shuoan and said excitedly: "Let's go in! I think the outside is totally boring."

You only live once, man—you can't relive your life!

You're really gonna risk your life over "boring"?!

Chen Shuoan, being a 21st-century college student who'd taken safety classes, proposed a different view: "I think the outside is pretty good too. Let's not go picking fights with white tigers or brown bears. We could just find some pheasant eggs and add some protein to dinner..."

His voice trailed off under the group's questioning stares.

Zheng Yuanzhi laughed heartily and patted Chen Shuoan on the shoulder, saying: "Did you see any watchtowers on the way here?"

Chen Shuoan was baffled and honestly shook his head.

"The outer grounds are 30 kilometers long with 5 watchtowers for safety. The inner grounds are even better—there's a watchtower every 4 kilometers. If you run into danger, just fire the flare you're carrying."

Zheng Yuanzhi suddenly paused, then said urgently: "Don't tell me you didn't know? You didn't bring a flare?"

Chen Shuoan looked bewildered. That thing that looked like bamboo rice—that was a flare?

Seeing the urgency on Zheng Yuanzhi's face, he realized it was something that could save his life, and quickly nodded: "I brought it."

Except he'd thought it was some kind of compressed biscuit or emergency food.

Heh heh heh, close enough. Chen Shuoan was so embarrassed he wanted to dig a hole and hide.

Zheng Yuanzhi was now really worried about Chen Shuoan and made a point of telling him: "Don't fall behind. Stick close to me."

"Okay." Chen Shuoan's gaze was sincere, his eyes as serious as if he were joining the party.

The group continued forward under Zheng Yuanzhi's lead.

Sure enough, the inner and outer grounds felt like two totally different worlds.

If the outer grounds were quiet and still, the inner grounds were full of hidden danger.

It was a weird feeling—you never knew when danger would hit.

No one said a word. Everyone looked dead serious.

Zheng Yuanzhi, who was leading, suddenly stopped.

Everyone tensed up right away.

Zheng Yuanzhi turned around and said awkwardly: "Sorry, guys, I don't think I've been here before."

Unknown territory meant danger. Even with backup, no one dared to make a move.

Zhang Chenggong looked at the darkening sky and said: "The sun's about to set. It's creepy enough going forward, let alone on a path we don't know at all. If it gets fully dark and we stay here, even the gods couldn't save us."

Li Wei thought for a second and said, "Yeah, true."

Seeing no one objected, Zheng Yuanzhi turned the group around to head back.

"Wait." Chen Shuoan, who'd been quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

He held out his hand in a "stop" gesture, signaling for them to wait.

Chen Shuoan jogged over to a bush, crouched down with only his fluffy head visible, then stood up holding a bird's nest with several white eggs inside.

"Just as I said—here it is! These eggs won't be handed over; I'll save them for tonight and make roasted eggs for us all." Chen Shuoan couldn't help but brag about his hawk-like eyesight, which he'd gotten after transmigrating into the book—rivaling even the Monkey King's.

The young masters were no strangers to eggs and meat in their daily lives, but knowing these were "ill-gotten gains" made their mouths water—it was all about the thrill.

After all, no matter how big or small the prey you caught, you had to hand it over to the Supply Office to get points.

Li Wei was no stranger to going through the motions while doing his own thing, and the moment this came up, he got excited, scurrying over to Chen Shuoan with a sycophantic grin. "Brother Chen, how many do I get?"

Chen waved his hand grandly, unconcerned. "Everyone here gets a share!"

He had the vibe of a CEO doling out year-end bonuses.

They laughed and made their way back along the same path, the setting sun bathed them in golden light, making their backs glow as they walked off.

That's all it took to make these kids happy.