In Yaoxu, there is a great taboo: do not leave the village after dark.
The sun sank in the west, its dying embers painting half the sky red.
The whole of Yaoxu was shrouded in a deathly silence, as if some great terror was brewing.
At the village entrance, Zhang Chu stood with a group of children, big and small, gazing nervously into the distance.
"Why isn't the Hunting Team back yet? It's almost dark..." Zhang Chu worried, glancing intermittently at a simple hourglass nearby.
Eight-year-old Hu Zi stood on a large rock, peering into the distance. He was the oldest of the children, with a sturdy build and muscles like a young calf.
Suddenly, Hu Zi shouted in delight, "Sir! I see them! Uncle Qing Shan is back with the Hunting Team! They've hunted a huge wild boar!"
Hu Zi spread his arms wide to show its size. "It's this big! A boar bigger than a small hill!"
Zhang Chu immediately breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softening. He thought to himself, *The bait... it worked!*
Following this, Zhang Chu and the children saw the corpse of a wild boar, larger than an elephant, being dragged with ropes of ox tendon by some thirty strapping young men, rapidly approaching from the distance.
The children burst into joyous cheers. "Yay! Uncle Qing Shan and the Hunting Team are back!"
"A boar this big will feed us for a whole year!"
One of the younger children clapped his hands, his face full of admiration. "Uncle Qing Shan and the others are so amazing!"
Tong Qingshan was the captain of the Zaoye Village Hunting Team. Tall, strong, and exceptionally skilled with a spear, he was an idol to many of the children.
At that moment, Zhang Chu glanced at the hourglass and shouted towards the distance, "Qing Shan, hurry! We're running out of time! The night is coming early today!"
Hearing Zhang Chu's words, the expressions of the young men changed instantly. They immediately picked up their pace and broke into a run.
The massive boar's corpse was dragged along in their frantic sprint, making the very earth tremble.
Suddenly, the sun disappeared completely below the horizon.
It was as if a string had snapped in the tranquil world. A terrifying aura descended abruptly.
Darkness, like a terrifying flood, surged from the west, swallowing mountains and rivers in its path as it chased the Hunting Team, rushing towards the small village.
At the same time, in the center of Zaoye Village, an ancient jujube tree began to emit a hazy glow.
Patterns of light intertwined to form a faint golden barrier, completely enveloping the small village and keeping it peaceful and safe.
"Faster!" Zhang Chu yelled with all his might.
If they were submerged by the rolling torrent of night, the Zaoye Village Hunting Team would be finished!
The children were struck silent with tension, expressions of terror frozen on their faces, terrified the Hunting Team would be devoured by the black flood.
Finally, the Hunting Team sprinted into the range of the light barrier just as the darkness instantly swallowed the entire land.
But they were a fraction too slow. Half of the boar's rump was left outside the barrier.
Thud!
With a loud bang, the sprinting boar was jerked to a halt. It was as if an unseen hand in the darkness had firmly seized the beast!
Tong Qingshan's entire Hunting Team was yanked back by the immense force, sending them sprawling to the ground.
*Crack... crunch...* The horrifying sound of a giant monster chewing on bones echoed from the darkness.
Everyone who heard it felt their hair stand on end and a chill run down their spine.
Soon, the sound vanished.
Zhang Chu quickly shouted, "Qing Shan, quick! Pull the boar in! It's finished eating!"
The men scrambled to their feet and, working together, pulled on the boar's corpse again.
This time, the boar's corpse was dragged straight into Zaoye Village.
Everyone saw that the flesh on half of the boar's rump had completely vanished, leaving only some shattered, bloody bones.
The color drained from their faces, and their hearts pounded in their chests.
"That was too close!" someone said, his face a mask of lingering fear.
Another sighed in relief. "Good thing we made it back just in time. Any later, and it wouldn't just be the prey; we probably wouldn't have made it back either."
Just then, Zhang Chu shouted again, "Quick, cut off the spoiled part first!"
Although Zhang Chu was only in his twenties and, compared to the men of the Hunting Team, lacked the strength to even truss a chicken, Tong Qingshan listened to him without question. With one slice of his knife, he cut off a portion of the boar's rump and tossed it into the darkness.
*Crack... crunch...* From the darkness came another round of chewing sounds.
...
In the center of the village, by the Old Jujube Tree, all the villagers—men and women, young and old—had gathered.
The Old Village Chief, holding a curved blade, sliced off a piece of "pig snowflake" weighing more than ten jin and placed it on the stone table beneath the Old Jujube Tree.
This "pig snowflake" was the upper shoulder meat, the most delicious cut on the boar, so tender that even a child could eat it raw.
But in Zaoye Village, the "pig snowflake" could only be offered to the Old Jujube Tree.
This was an ancient custom of Zaoye Village.
The finest part of any hunted prey had to be contributed to the Old Jujube Tree.
Only then would the Old Jujube Tree grant the villagers its protection and ward off the nights of Yaoxu.
The piece of "pig snowflake" could be seen vanishing before their very eyes. In just a few breaths, the meat, weighing more than ten jin, was gone.
At the same time, the light barrier enveloping Zaoye Village grew a little more solid.
After the Old Jujube Tree had its first bite, the Old Village Chief finally announced, "Alright, let's eat!"
With the Old Village Chief's order, the entire small village instantly came to life.
The women started fires and began to cook soup.
The elders gathered to discuss how to divide and store the boar for the lean years when food might be scarce.
The young men sat around a fire, resting their weary bodies after a long day.
"Uncle Qing Shan, how did you catch such a huge boar? Tell us the story!" Hu Zi asked loudly.
The other children also crowded around the hunters, their faces filled with curiosity and longing.
To join the hunt was the dream of every child.
But Tong Qingshan looked at Zhang Chu with admiration. "It was because of the bait Sir gave us! In the past, we would never have dared to provoke such a beast!"
The other members of the Hunting Team chimed in, "That's right! The bait Sir gave us was incredible. After the boar ate it, it was so dazed it couldn't tell which way was up. All we had to do was stab it with our spears."
The Old Village Chief also sighed with emotion. "Sir is truly the greatest gift the heavens have bestowed upon Zaoye Village!"
A few of the young men loudly encouraged the children:
"Hu Zi, you make sure to study hard and learn to read with Sir, you hear? If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be having meat with every meal!"
"Exactly! Before Sir came, we were always starving."
Not far away, a few young women were gathered, whispering to each other as they washed the dishes.
"Tong Ya, you're stealing glances at Sir again!"
Zhang Chu didn't say much. He just sat quietly to the side, a small smile on his face, enjoying the peaceful moment.
In truth, Zhang Chu was not from this world. He came from Earth and was a university student.
During summer vacation, he had been reading under the old jujube tree in his family's yard when he was inexplicably transported to this world.
The only clue was that the old jujube tree from his home was identical to the one in Zaoye Village—ancient, powerful, with gnarled, coiling branches.
He couldn't go back. Zhang Chu had tried to communicate with the Old Jujube Tree, but it had never given him any response.
And so, Zhang Chu had settled down in Zaoye Village.
He had been living there for three years.
Compared to the people of this world, Zhang Chu was undoubtedly a physically weak scholar, unable to even truss a chicken.
However, the villagers held him in high esteem.
Whether it was Tong Qingshan's Hunting Team or the Old Village Chief, they all respectfully addressed him as "Sir."
Because Zhang Chu could read.
In fact, the so-called bait was not his own invention.
There was an ancient book in the village, its origins unknown. Its pages were yellowed with age, and it was written in Small Seal Script. Its name was *The Great Wilderness Scripture*.
*The Great Wilderness Scripture* was not a cultivation manual, but a geographical atlas of this world. It recorded the topography of the Great Wilderness, its local customs, demonic beasts, and medicinal herbs.
Of course, it also contained some special formulas.
Zhang Chu had simply followed a record in the ancient book, mixing several common herbs to create what they called "bait."
Just then, a woman's surprised cry rang out, "Aiyo! A pig bezoar!"
Proofreader: Peter Pan