Chapter 33: Returning to the Village
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
A short while later, news of the hunting squad catching a Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog had spread across the entire Southern Mountain Village. Everybody, old and young, was in a delighted mood. One after another, they ran to the back of the village and prepared to welcome the hunting squad.
Village Chief Meng Bai stood right at the front of the crowd, his cigar in his hands shaking slightly.
A moment ago he was still thinking of making a deal with the Northern Mountain Village people, but now it seemed that this was completely unnecessary. After all, in making a deal, if the terms were not good enough, nobody would agree to it.
Qin Xuelian stood in the middle of the crowd, her thoughts weren't quite the same as the everyone else. All she wished for was that Fang Zhengzhi would be able to return safely...
Time went by slowly. The hunting squad still hadn't appeared. But, nobody left, and nobody was anxious. Instead, they were filled with excitement and anticipation.
Because, the slower they walked, the more prey they carried.
Finally…
From the depths of the dense forest, a figure appeared.
"It's the hunting squad!"
"They are back, they are finally back!"
The villagers’ excitement instantly rose, it was as if they were celebrating the new year.
"Qingshan, how is it, how much is the yield?" Village Chief Meng Bai spotted Ding Qingshan among the group, and immediately walked over to him, holding his cigar. That stride didn't seem old at all.
"Village Chief look, everything behind is our yield!" Ding Qingshan pointed at the prey hanging off the hunting squad members, and the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog that was being carried in the middle of the group, his face beaming with happiness.
When Village Chief Meng Bai saw these, he couldn't contain his happiness anymore. This was because on all of the hunting squad members, apart from the Fang Zhengzhi walking at the front, there were at least two animals hanging from almost everybody's waist, some even had three or four.
"Woah…"
"What a beast, this is such a big Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog!"
"My God, there are at least a dozen animals, their bodies are filled to the maximum!"
The villagers were all extremely happy. Immediately, some of the villagers volunteered to help carry the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, and some helped to detach the animals hanging off the hunting squad members.
Qin Xuelian also rushed out of the crowd and gave Fang Zhengzhi a huge embrace.
"Are you injured? When they took down the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog, did you participate?" Qin Xuelian's biggest concern was whether Fang Zhengzhi got injured when the hunting squad took down the Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog.
Fang Zhengzhi's heart was filled with warmth. Family love would always be the most precious thing in the world.
"I didn't participate!", Fang Zhengzhi replied immediately. In reality, he indeed didn't participate. This Metal-Toothed Thorn Hog was hunted down by the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad, all he did was carry it away from them.
"That's good, that's good…" Qin Xuelian finally relaxed after hearing this.
"Of course he won't participate. This useless kid only knows how to hide on the mountain and sleep. It would be incredible if he could even get hurt!" Mrs Li stood within the crowd, after hearing Qin Xuelian and Fang Zhengzhi's conversation, she couldn't resist commenting coldly.
The rest of the villagers also smiled. After all, Fang Zhengzhi not catching a single animal in many days was the reality. Furthermore, they also saw, Fang Zhengzhi's body was indeed empty.
Not even a green furred rabbit was hanging from it.
"That's because Zhengzhi is still small!"
"That's right, he's just a seven year old boy, how much can you expect?"
"He might be small, but, by always following the hunting squad into the mountain, not being able to catch anything wouldn't be a problem in the long term. He just has to work harder!"
The villagers discussed, all of them smiling. This time the yield of the hunting squad was huge, but nothing hanged off Fang Zhengzhi's body, making the villagers feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Ding Qingshan was conversing with the village chief at this moment. When he heard the commotion, he instantly frowned.
"All of you shut your mouths. This time the hunting squad was able to catch so many animals, it is all due to this child Zhengzhi, if not for Zhengzhi… how would we have caught anything at all!" Ding Qingshan's tone seemed serious. As the deputy captain of the hunting squad, his words indeed beared some weight in the Southern Mountain Village.
"What?! All because of Zhengzhi?’
"What's this all about?"
"What did Zhengzhi do? Don't tell me he was able to catch something?’
When the villagers heard Ding Qingshan's words, all of their faces were filled with disbelief. They couldn't understand, how could Fang Zhengzhi, with his tiny arms and short legs, who didn't even bring a blade up the mountain, be of any use in the hunting squad?
Most importantly, Ding Qingshan said, it was all because of Fang Zhengzhi!
What is happening?
It wasn't just the villagers. Even Village Chief Meng Bai’s face was filled with suspicion as he looked at Ding Qingshan.
"It was Zhengzhi who robbed the entire Northern Mountain Village hunting squad, that is why, the yield this time was all due to Zhengzhi’s efforts alone!" Gazing at the looks of suspicion on everybody's faces, then shifting his gaze over to Mrs Li, gave a spiteful huff, then explained loudly.
"Robbery?!"
"What did he say? Fang Zhengzhi robbed the entire Northern Mountain Village hunting squad?!"
"How is this possible?"
After hearing Ding Qingshan's words, the villagers’ expressions turned into that of disbelief.
They indeed remembered, the past seven or eight times Fang Zhengzhi entered the mountain, didn't he not even manage to catch a green furred rabbit? How could he suddenly have robbed the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad?
The Northern Mountain Village hunting squad! Over twenty strong men, each of them armed with bows. How can a child who didn't even bring along a blade rob the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad?
No matter how they thought, they still felt that…
This was all a fantasy!
"Fang Zhengzhi robbed the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad?!" Mrs Li’s expression darkened. No matter how much she thought, she couldn't understand how Fang Zhengzhi could rob the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad!
When Qin Xuelian heard about the robbery, she was instantly taken aback. Looking at Fang Zhengzhi standing beside her, she absolutely didn't dare to believe that her own son had actually robbed the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad!
"Zhengzhi… how could you do such a stupid thing? Did you get hurt, did you get hurt?"
"I didn't, I didn't, mum… don't touch me, don't take off my clothes, I already said I didn't!" Qin Xuelian's probing instantly made Fang Zhengzhi somewhat anxious. Don't tell me I have to be stripped in front of so many people!
Village Chief Meng Bai's face immediately changed, gazing across at the surrounding villagers, their faces deep in shock, then looking at Ding Qingshan’s serious expression.
Likewise, he didn't dare to believe it. But, Ding Qingshan couldn't possibly be lying.
Moreover…
Most importantly, when Ding Qingshan spoke, among all the hunting squad members, none of them stood out to oppose. This could only mean one thing - what Ding Qingshan said was true.
"This is really all Zhengzhi's doing?’ Village Chief Meng Bai walked over to Ding Qingshan's side and asked softly.
"Yes of course, this is all Zhengzhi's doing! It was impressive. He actually dug out a large trap in the Northern Mountain Village’s hunting territory, not only did the Northern Mountain Village hunting squad land into trouble, even the entire group of us fell inside!"
Even though Ding Qingshan knew that admitting this would be rather embarrassing, but reality was reality. This was something everybody managed to see, hence naturally, he didn't dare to hide it.