“Um, Sister-in-law Xu, can we come with you?”
Just as Wang Shi waved her hand to dismiss Wang Dahai and the others, three childless women approached hesitantly and stammered their question.
Their husbands were already in Wang Shi’s hunting party, but nobody ever complained about having too much food. Since they didn’t have children to look after, having more people meant more food, so they wanted to join too.
However, they were afraid Wang Shi would look down on them for not being as strong as the men.
Wang Shi looked up and saw Wang Dayou and his wife Tong Shi also approaching, expressing their desire to join the hunting party.
People tend to follow the crowd. Two villagers who only needed to feed themselves and had been sleeping nearby heard the commotion and instinctively came over as well.
Suddenly, all nineteen people from Dawang Village, including the children, expressed their wish to join Wang Shi’s hunting party.
Wang Shi raised an eyebrow, her tone leaving no room for refusal, “Everyone will follow my arrangements?”
No one objected, their faces showing delight instead.
Wang Shi told them to go fill their stomachs first, and that she would come later to teach them how to use the hunting tools.
After everyone dispersed, Wang Shi quickly finished her chicken soup, instructed Xu Da to supervise the children’s muscle massage and stretching exercises, then took her hunting tools and headed toward Wang Dayou and the others.
When they saw Wang Shi approaching, the villagers of Dawang Village all stood up, clearly treating her as their leader.
Xu Da secretly curled his lip, telling himself he wasn’t the least bit jealous.
Turning around, he urged the children to do their stretching exercises.
Xu Dalang was still eating, as if he couldn’t get enough, pouring all the remaining soup into his mouth.
The longer Xu Yue watched, the deeper her little frown became. Finally, when she saw Xu Dalang reaching for the raw taro in the basket, she couldn’t help but walk over and gently press his stomach.
His bulging belly felt hard to the touch when pressed slightly – his stomach was about to burst!
“Huh?” Xu Dalang looked puzzled at his sister who had suddenly approached, seemingly unaware of the tremendous pressure his stomach was under.
Seeing the raw taro in his hand, Xu Yue snatched it away.
If anyone else had done this, Xu Dalang would have thrown a punch immediately, but since it was Xu Yue taking his food, he only felt wronged.
“Brother, you can’t eat anymore!” Xu Yue said worriedly.
Xu Dalang patted his stomach and uttered one stiff word: “Hungry!”
Xu Da, who was supervising Xu Erniang’s stretching, noticed the situation and glanced over. He happened to see Xu Dalang’s bulging stomach and heard him say he was hungry, causing his brow to furrow.
His dear son seemed like his spirit and body hadn’t fully integrated yet. Otherwise, how could he not sense his body’s condition?
Xu Yue grabbed her brother’s hand and made him slap his own bulging stomach, saying angrily, “Look at your belly! If you keep eating, it’s going to explode.”
“People can die from this! Die!” Xu Yue made a slicing motion across her own neck to scare Xu Dalang.
Xu Dalang’s eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head: “No die!”
But he finally realized something was wrong. He looked down at his swollen belly and tried to sense the consciousness inside him that kept screaming for more food, remaining dazed for a long time.
Xu Da walked over, intending to pat the youth’s shoulder, but as soon as he raised his hand, Xu Dalan’s fierce gaze swept toward him. He had no choice but to reluctantly lower his hand and reminded:
“Observe your physical condition closely; don’t rely entirely on your consciousness. I’ve seen cases like yours before—it’ll settle down completely in a few days.”
Xu Da suspected that his dear son must have inherited the immense divine power along with everything else, and Xu Dalan’s original body couldn’t withstand it, leading to this disharmony between spirit and flesh.
He, Wang Shi, and the others, having not inherited the power of their past lives, had integrated quickly.
But what exactly had this dear son done in his previous life?
Such divine power was certainly not that of an ordinary person.
Even before the spirit and flesh had fully merged, he could unleash such terrifying strength. What level of power would he achieve once the fusion was complete?
Recalling the surging force he had felt when restraining Xu Dalan twice, Xu Da found himself somewhat looking forward to witnessing Xu Dalan at his full potential.
However, as he observed Xu Dalan lost in thought, Xu Da suddenly remembered something else.
After a soul takeover, one’s strength often couldn’t be fully manifested due to the limitations of the new body. He wondered if this would happen to Xu Dalan as well.
But these weren’t his immediate concerns. Night had fallen, and with wild beasts on the prowl, this open space offered no shelter. They needed to make some arrangements.
Perhaps because he had eaten his fill, Xu Da felt as if he had boundless energy coursing through him.
He picked up a sickle, cut a large amount of grass, and built a simple shelter.
Fortunately, during his previous life’s training and experience in the world, he had led low-level disciples and learned this essential skill for wilderness survival.
Xu Da never imagined that he, a dignified Golden Core True Person, would one day resort to such mundane tools. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky and sighed:
“The unpredictability of fate.”
Meanwhile, Xu Yue, seeing her brother zoning out after their cheap father’s reminder, poked him to get him up for some exercise.
She also massaged his leg muscles to prevent them from becoming sore and swollen by the next morning.
A bonfire crackled in the clearing, occasionally spitting sparks. Small animals, spotting it from afar, hesitated to approach.
They quietly diverted to the forest opposite the clearing, cautiously making their way down the steep slope to drink by the water’s edge, maintaining a safe distance from the humans.
By midnight, the grass mats in the clearing were filled with the sounds of deep slumber.
Suddenly, a loud “splash” echoed—the sound of a large animal accidentally falling into the pond. Everyone sleeping on the grass mats instantly woke up.
“Help—glug glug—”
Cries for help and choking sounds came from the opposite bank of the clearing. Moonlight streamed like water, casting a silver glow over the land. Tree shadows fell upon the pond, creating ripples that spread in circles.
Several disheveled figures emerged. One was flailing in the water, while three or four others stood on the slope, initially attempting to rescue the fallen person. Unexpectedly, Wang Dahai shouted sharply, “Who’s there!”
The would-be rescuers immediately turned and fled.
Amid the dense shadows of the trees, they quickly vanished without a trace.
Splashes continued to erupt from the water. Wang Shi, unable to bear it any longer, frowned and called out:
“The water isn’t deep; it won’t drown you!”
The splashing sounds gradually weakened as a figure emerged from the water, scrambling ashore on hands and knees. Wang Dahai glanced at Wang Shi and, seeing her nod, immediately lit a torch. He gathered several fellow villagers and circled around to the opposite bank.
But the person had already fled, leaving only a stumbling, gaunt figure retreating into the distance.
Yet this was enough for them to recognize who it was.
The group returned from the opposite bank with grim expressions. Wang Dayou urgently asked, “Was it that gang from noon coming back?”
Wang Dahai shook his head. “No, it was the group beaten up by the Xu family’s eldest son.”
“They actually followed us all the way here?!” Another villager felt a sudden, inexplicable dread.
People who resorted to cannibalism could no longer be considered human. For a mouthful of food, they were capable of anything.