Niu Xixi was pointedly called out for no apparent reason, yet he had no face to argue back, his awkward gaze darting around as he felt too embarrassed to speak.
“Using a bow and arrow, obviously. How else would he have hunted it?” Zhang Tongtong chimed in defensively, patting the bow and arrow strapped to his back. “My Brother Wei made this himself. See for yourselves, are there arrow wounds on the body of the sheep?”
Zhao Champion squatted down to inspect it. Indeed, there were arrow wounds: one on the sheep’s hind leg and another where an arrow had pierced its right front leg, though neither had penetrated very deeply. The fatal blow had been delivered to the neck with exceptionally clean technique.
Looking at the bow and arrow on Zhang Tongtong’s back, it didn’t look very practical because of how crudely it was made.
Zhao Champion looked at Wei Heng in disbelief. “No way, you’re the one who hunted this?”
“Xiao Zhou, are you being too modest?”
Zhou Youlan must have been humble, not wanting to fight others for the credit, which was why he attributed all the glory to Wei Heng.
Wei Heng had no desire to fight anyone for credit. He walked over to the fireside to rest. His clothes had gotten soaked while washing away the clear bloodstains earlier, and the night air still carried a chill.
Zhou Youlan shook his head. “I saw Wei Heng catch it with my own eyes. I really only helped carry it.”
“If Brother Wei hunted it, then Brother Wei hunted it. He worked so hard to catch it, is it really good of us to keep questioning him?” Ruan Mengmeng muttered softly.
Zhang Tongtong curled his lip and complained quietly as well, “We told you Brother Wei hunted it and you didn’t believe us. If you don’t believe it, don’t eat.”
[Idol Bro, Idol Sis, watch what you guys say. The people in front of you are seniors, I’m sweating bullets for you.]
[The only one with blood splattered on his face when they came out was Wei Heng. It’s obvious it splashed onto him. Is there really any need to question who caught it?]
[Even though I didn’t like this long haired bro at first, I do think he’s the one who caught the prey.]
[Don’t worry, our young master wouldn’t deign to fight others for this kind of credit. If he says it’s Wei Heng, then it definitely is Wei Heng.]
[Exactly, it’s Wei Heng. Didn’t you see him deal with Old Ghost? Wei Heng is so badass, if it wasn’t him, who else could it be?]
[Ahhh cameraman, I hate you! Didn’t they tell you to stick close to Wei Heng? How could such an important and exciting scene get lost in the live broadcast? It’s driving me crazy!]
[Begging for a pair of divine eyes, I want to watch the whole playback of Wei Heng hunting the sheep.]
[Wait, the production team doesn’t even give the guests a first person perspective? Don’t they do any backup recordings?]
“Alright, alright. Anyway, regardless of who did it, we’re all grateful,” Zhao Jie said, looking at the creature on the ground. “The point now is whether we can process this thing first. How are we supposed to eat this?”
Zhou Youlan actually wanted to consult Wei Heng’s opinion, seeing as this was his prey after all.
Big Mac and the others, however, could no longer wait and dragged the sheep off to the side. “There are so many of us, why don’t we make a whole roasted sheep?”
“Oh, that works! Roasting it is quick and simple.”
Instead, Zhou Youlan took the initiative to ask for Wei Heng’s opinion first. “Wei Heng, what do you think?”
Since this was the prey Wei Heng hunted, he naturally had to be consulted first.
Wei Heng nodded slightly, and only then did the others dare to make a move.
Fearing they wouldn’t have enough firewood, several people volunteered to gather some, while the rest began processing the sheep.
Zhou Youlan instructed them to keep the internal organs, as they could be used for hunting or as fish bait, and to bury the sheep wool and other scraps in a dug out pit so the bloody scent wouldn’t attract other insects, ants, or wild beasts.
Wei Heng grabbed a clean set of clothes, took some sheep organs from Zhang Tongtong and the others, and headed back down to the riverside. It had been too crowded earlier to clean things properly, and it was much quieter now.
Roasting a whole sheep was actually quite time consuming. With the fire burning fiercely, they sliced off portions as they cooked through.
Zhao Champion set aside a sheep leg exclusively, using a portion of the meat to make soup. Someone had previously drawn a small outdoor cooking pot, though small, it was plenty for making soup.
The remaining parts were claimed by Zhang Tongtong to be roasted separately, as he insisted that particular leg belonged to Wei Heng.
Since Wei Heng had hunted the sheep, he naturally deserved the best portion. The others didn’t dare say much more, knowing full well they wouldn’t be eating any meat tonight if not for Wei Heng.
Zhang Tongtong roasted the meat with utmost concentration, cutting off a piece the moment it was done to go look for Wei Heng.
“Huh, where’s Brother Wei?”
He asked Hu Lu, who was sitting nearby. “Sister Hu Lu, have you seen Brother Wei?”
Hu Lu wore a cold face. “No.”
Hu Lu seemed rather unhappy, though she had apparently remained sitting over here the entire evening without helping out, and it was unclear what was bothering her.
Zhang Tongtong looked at the meat in his hand and offered it to her first. “Then you can eat this, Sister Hu Lu. I’ll go look for Brother Wei and tell him the mutton is ready.”
Hu Lu glanced at the meat in his hand, then looked away. “No thanks, I’m going to sleep.”
“Sleep? Aren’t you hungry?” Zhang Tongtong assumed she had other worries. “Don’t worry, I roasted it thoroughly.”
Hu Lu’s stomach was rumbling with hunger, but she stubbornly refused to eat.
“What are you doing?!” Niu Xixi suddenly shrieked over there.
Everyone turned to look simultaneously. Niu Xixi had been knocked to the ground, with Old Ghost standing right beside him.
“Why are you blocking the path in the dead of night?” Old Ghost shifted the blame. “It’s pitch black and you’re squatting here, how am I supposed to see you?”
“I’m such a big person standing right here and you still couldn’t see me? Are you blind?!”
Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Zhao Champion hurriedly called a halt. Big Mac, Zhang Tongtong, and several others all crowded around.
Following their earlier conflict at the river, everyone had a lingering gut feeling that Old Ghost and his group harbored malicious intentions.
Furthermore, it was obvious that Old Ghost had his eyes on their food, as he kept staring fixedly at the mutton roasting over the fire.
Glancing at the row of people blocking his path, Old Ghost sneered dismissively. “Look at how anxious every single one of you is, guarding your food like this.”
“Do you really think I don’t dare deal with you?!” Big Mac raised a grease stained dagger. “What the hell is your deal all day long? Are you seriously trying to pick a fight?”
Although Old Ghost’s words were harsh, the amateur guests didn’t dare speak up, and the celebrity guests were even more nervous than one another.
During their past television shoots, even if conflicts arose between guests, they would exercise utmost patience in front of the cameras. If any such genuine friction made it to the screen for viewers to see, it was usually a deliberate gimmick scripted by the production team.
Yet on this show, arguments seemed to be a regular occurrence. Weren’t these amateur guests afraid of being criticized or defamed at all? They didn’t even bother to restrain themselves.
Though annoyed, Zhao Champion found it difficult to fly into a direct rage, as doing so would make him look petty.
He forced down his helplessness. “What’s going on? If you have something to say, communicate properly. Why does it always have to be like this?”
“You guys eat without inviting anyone, selfishly hogging all the food for yourselves, so naturally I came over to get some for myself.”
Everyone’s understanding of shamelessness was redefined by Old Ghost. They had assumed that after making such an ugly scene earlier, Old Ghost wouldn’t dare provoke them again, yet it seemed he never learned his lesson from past beatings.
Besides, when it came to selfishness, who could possibly compare to them?
Shrinking his neck back defensively, Zhang Tongtong piped up, “You guys weren’t willing to share when you had food, but now you suddenly want to talk about fairness and selfishness? If you want a share of the food, you’d better ask Brother Wei if he agrees first.”
Whether they should share a portion with them ought to be decided by asking Wei Heng’s opinion first.
Everyone searched around for a glimpse of Wei Heng. With someone like Old Ghost around, only Wei Heng was capable of handling him, but to their surprise, Wei Heng was nowhere to be found.
Where had Wei Heng gone?
“If you want food, you can ask for it nicely, why do you always have to bully people?” Zhao Jie reasoned with kind words. “We should all live in peace, why always target him?”
Though Niu Xixi’s personality wasn’t particularly endearing, constantly being targeted made him look pitiful.
Old Ghost maintained his indifferent attitude. “It was too dark and I just didn’t see clearly. Who told him to squat there without making a sound?”
“Cut the crap!” Big Mac spat. “You just wanted to come and snatch our food. Let me tell you, don’t even dream about getting any of today’s mutton. There’s none for you.”
Zhou Youlan pulled Big Mac behind him, signaling him to stop talking nonsense with the recording still underway.
“Don’t yell at me like that.” Old Ghost took the hunting rifle off his back. “Is it up to you to decide whether there is any?”
Zhou Youlan stepped forward to grab his gun barrel first. “What are you trying to do? Have you lost your mind?!”
How dare he point a hunting rifle directly at them? Did he really think that because the production team permitted a free form shoot, threatening others with a gun meant nobody could keep him in check?
Old Ghost laughed arrogantly, seemingly having completely forgotten the lesson Wei Heng taught him earlier. “What am I doing? Haven’t I not done anything yet?”
Li Xiaohuan hurriedly pulled Zhou Youlan back. “Forget it. We’ve only been on the road for a few days, and with so much time left, there’s no telling what kind of dangers we’ll encounter. It’s better for everyone to live in peace. Besides, they have a gun. Having guns is far more practical than having three heads and six arms. What if an emergency happens and we need their help?”
Perhaps Li Xiaohuan’s reasoning held some merit, but staying with people like Old Ghost was akin to keeping company with wolves. How could they ever expect them to offer mutual aid when danger struck?
When Wei Heng returned, Zhou Youlan was in the middle of a standoff with Old Ghost.
Wei Heng tossed his backpack, striking Old Ghost squarely on the head with a heavy thud.
“Hiss.” Old Ghost clutched his head. Recognizing it was Wei Heng, annoyance flared, but the underlying terror kept him retreating a few steps.
“Brother Wei!” Zhang Tongtong cried out pleasantly, running over to him. “Brother Wei, where did you go?”
Wei Heng didn’t reply. Seeing Wei Heng arrive, Ruan Mengmeng and the others let out a collective sigh of relief.
Seeing Wei Heng return, Wang Ren finally stood up.
Zhang Tongtong relayed how Old Ghost had attempted to steal their food, standing off to the side with an indignant huff. “Brother Wei, he only dared to act so arrogant because you weren’t here. The moment you showed up, he turned coward. Only you can deal with this guy.”
Zhou Youlan noticed that his hair was still damp and his clothes had been changed, leading him to assume Wei Heng had gone down to the river to wash up.
Still, why leave the group without a word? It was far too dangerous so late at night.
Frowning, Zhou Youlan said, “You hunted the prey, so how it gets distributed is entirely up to you.”
The moment Zhou Youlan uttered those words, the expressions of the other guests noticeably shifted.
In truth, up until just now, they had still harbored doubts about whether Wei Heng was truly the one who hunted tonight’s game, given that Wei Heng didn’t look capable of such a feat. But seeing this now, it really was Wei Heng who had brought back this crucial and precious meal for them.
Wang Ren regarded everyone as beneath his notice, keeping his sharp gaze fixed solely on Wei Heng. “How about a trade?”