At last, all the deer had been tied up.
Looking at the results, Li Chen was highly satisfied. As for Liu Chenxu and the others, the way they looked at Li Chen now was practically the way mortals looked at an immortal. They no longer saw him as an ordinary human.
“Pull the arrows out of the injured deer, bandage the wounds, then make a few drag stretchers and tie the injured deer onto them.
“As for the rest of the deer, untie their hind legs, tie ropes around their necks, and string them together. Dashi, you’ll lead the stag and drag the herd downhill. That’ll save us some effort.
“If the stag dares resist, hit it. Just don’t injure or kill it.”
Li Chen gave his instructions.
The boys moved quickly. Before long, several simple drag stretchers had been made, and the injured deer were secured onto them.
As for the large stag, Zhao Dashi, now fully fired up, gave it a solid beating with his fists until even the does behind it probably could not recognize it anymore.
Under Zhao Dashi’s pulling, the stag obediently followed wherever it was led.
The other deer were tied together with ropes and could not break free, so they could only follow the stag forward.
By the end of the evening, they finally emerged from the mountains.
The moment they reached the foot of the mountain, the entire village erupted into chaos.
“Heavens above, a herd of deer! Li Chen actually captured an entire herd alive!”
“One, two, three, four, five… thirteen in total, big and small… Could Li Chen be the reincarnation of a mountain god? How can he be this incredible?”
“With a ready-made deer herd like this, if they’re raised properly, in less than two years their numbers could double!”
“Li Chen is really going to become rich…”
“Hey, Old Liu, where are you going?”
“I’m going to find a matchmaker and head to Li Chen’s house. My daughter would gladly become his concubine. From now on, my family could eat venison every day!”
“Your daughter isn’t even close to mine. Li Chen would have to be blind to fancy your girl.”
“You dare insult my daughter?”
“So what if I do? She’s ugly and still wants to chase after Li Chen. Am I not allowed to say it?”
“I’ll beat you to death!”
As a result, while the villagers watched Li Chen leading the deer herd through the village, they were also busy pulling apart two brawling men. The scene became utterly chaotic for a while.
Meanwhile, Liu Chenxu and the others held their heads high. At this moment, the vanity unique to teenage boys was immensely satisfied.
After all, they had helped Brother Chen capture those deer.
Even now, just thinking about it made them so excited they could barely contain themselves.
When the group returned with the deer herd, even Yu Qingwan was stunned.
Yesterday they had hunted wild boars, killed a leopard, and brought back a tiger cub. Today they had directly captured a herd of deer alive. At this rate, would they bring back a dragon the day after tomorrow? This chapter was taken from novelping dot com without permission.
“We’re not going up the mountain tomorrow. We’ll build a deer pen beneath the cliff and prepare for long-term breeding,” Li Chen said.
“No problem, Brother Chen,” the boys replied together with vigorous nods.
“I’ll make delicious food for all of you tomorrow,” Yu Qingwan said. She was currently looking distressed at the wound on one of the injured fawns, but the moment Li Chen spoke, she immediately chimed in with her usual clever sweetness.
“Thank you, Sister-in-law,” the boys laughed.
Yu Qingwan’s cooking skills were simply too good. Every meal left their stomachs completely satisfied.
“Come, let’s divide today’s game,” Li Chen called to Liu Chenxu and the others.
“Brother Chen, no need, really. We barely did anything. Besides, you already taught us so much…” they all waved their hands repeatedly, firmly refusing.
Li Chen frowned slightly. “Are we brothers or not?”
The moment his expression darkened, their hearts all jumped.
When Brother Chen looked serious, he was truly intimidating.
Since Brother Chen is being generous, let’s not act coy. We’ll listen to him,” Liu Chenxu said first.
Then they began dividing the spoils.
Meanwhile, Yu Qingwan busied herself preparing dinner.
After a while, the spoils were fully distributed.
They had caught eight Pine Grouse, four rabbits, and nearly twenty large birds.
Each person received one Pine Grouse and one rabbit. As for the large birds, the boys absolutely refused to take any more, insisting what they already had was enough.
Even when Li Chen deliberately put on a stern face, they still would not accept them.
Receiving this much already made them feel overwhelmed with gratitude.
“As for the deer, each of you can have one. If you want money, take it home and sell it.
“If not, leave them here to raise for now. We’ll talk about it later.”
Li Chen pointed toward the tightly bound deer outside.
However, the deer carried a strong musky odor, making Yu Qingwan keep covering her nose in discomfort.
Li Chen thought to himself that he would need to arrange a proper place for the herd tonight.
“We’d only get one payment if we sold them now. Leaving them here means they can keep breeding. We won’t take them,” the boys said together.
Deep down, they genuinely did not want the deer.
Li Chen understood what they were thinking, but he already had his own plans for the future.
Soon afterward, dinner began.
This time, they stewed a Pine Grouse. Combined with the incredibly delicious refined salt and the fragrant coarse rice, the meal was irresistible.
The half-grown boys ate until sweat covered their faces and their shirts were soaked through.
They also cut a large amount of fresh grass and tender branches and fetched water to feed them.
By the time everything was finished, the sky had gone completely dark.
“Husband, this little tiger is so naughty. It peed on me and dirtied my clothes. Can I spank it?”
Yu Qingwan hugged the tiger cub and complained sweetly to Li Chen.
Now her personality was much livelier than before, and she had become far bolder. She dared to speak to Li Chen proactively and even act spoiled with him.
She could feel that her husband had become much gentler and kinder than before, and that he truly cared about her.
Only… when he occasionally lowered his face in anger, he was still frightening.
“If it deserves a spanking, then spank it. After enough time, it’ll naturally learn the rules,” Li Chen laughed.
He was very pleased with Yu Qingwan’s changes.
Truthfully, he also did not want one person in a marriage to always live in fear and never dare open their heart. That kind of life was far too dull.
“Alright then. Little Jinzi, watch your mother teach you a lesson!”
Yu Qingwan curled her finger, blew warm air onto it, and gently flicked the tiger cub on the forehead.
The tiger cub, whose eyes had not even opened yet, immediately protested, squealing while scratching at its head with tiny paws. It was unbelievably adorable, making Yu Qingwan burst into laughter.
Watching this warm and happy scene, Li Chen felt warmth spread through his chest, as intoxicating as wine.
As he stared at his little maidservant wife, his gaze gradually became fierce and heated.
Of course Yu Qingwan knew what he was thinking. She simply lowered her head shyly while stroking the tiger cub, her cheeks turning red.
Beneath the lamplight, the beauty looked delicate as jade and graceful as a willow.
Li Chen got up first and went outside to finish arranging everything. Then he returned inside and shut the door.
After washing up briefly, he blew out the lamp, scooped Yu Qingwan into his arms, and carried her onto the heated brick bed.
Soon, amid Yu Qingwan’s soft whimpers as she bit her lip, their passionate night began.
After an unknown length of intense lovemaking, the two finally fell into deep sleep.
However, less than two hours after lying down, Li Chen suddenly felt an ominous warning rise in his heart, instantly jolting him awake.
At the very moment he regained consciousness, he vaguely heard what sounded like horses neighing from below the mountain.
Then everything returned to silence.
But the warning signs of danger only grew stronger. It was the instinct toward danger he had developed over years of mercenary life.
Li Chen suddenly sat upright.