Clatter!
Finally, Xia Xianxian’s patience was exhausted.
She fiercely hurled the cloth along with the needle and thread onto the floor, shouting, “To hell with it! This lady isn’t doing it anymore!”
…bzzz…
The system’s electrical hum let out a faint sound twice and then stopped making any noise.
Xia Xianxian came to her senses and realized it was already pitch black outside. The kerosene lamp, which she had lit to make it bright enough to thread the needle, was now fulfilling its purpose completely.
Why hadn’t Meng Wenzhou come back yet?
The shadows of the mountains in the distance were like a dark, heavy mass, and the imposing mountain that seemed majestic during the day suddenly appeared ferocious. The wind, wandering back and forth in the mountain hollows, finally broke through the range and blew down, rushing straight toward the small courtyard where Xia Xianxian was.
Woo-woo~
The sound was like wailing.
It seemed to be a signal; as if ordered by a general, the plants and trees in the courtyard joined in, all crying out in protest.
For a time, rustling sounds intertwined.
Xia Xianxian stood in the courtyard holding the lamp, anxiously asking the system, “Tong-er, where is Meng Wenzhou? Where is he? Why hasn’t he come back yet?”
Creak~
The gate of the small courtyard was slowly pushed open. Xia Xianxian swallowed her saliva, nervously staring at the dark shadow walking in from outside.
“I’m back.”
Looking at the mud-caked person before her, Xia Xianxian couldn’t believe this was Meng Wenzhou.
“Waaaah~”
She stepped forward and patted him, confirming the person in front of her was indeed Meng Wenzhou, before she burst into tears.
“You jerk, where did you run off to!”
“Shh!”
Meng Wenzhou signaled to both sides.
Only then did Xia Xianxian remember the misunderstanding from that morning.
She instantly fell silent.
Her tear-filled eyes glared fiercely at Meng Wenzhou before she turned and walked into the house.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, it’s my fault.”
Meng Wenzhou clutched the basket in his hands, trotting after Xia Xianxian.
He whispered his pleas for forgiveness to her.
……
When Meng Wenzhou left, he was truly uneasy; once out the door, he turned back to find a lock from the house.
He looked at the lock added to the door, examined it carefully in his hand, and then rushed toward their agreed-upon meeting place.
Meng Yang and Meng Dazhu had been waiting there for a while.
Seeing that the person hadn’t arrived yet, Meng Dazhu stood up with a whoosh, complaining to Meng Yang.
“Hey, you’d think Zhouzi was a straightforward person, so why has he become so sluggish since getting married?”
Meng Dazhu was the type to forget the pain once the wound had healed.
That morning, he had resolved to be more respectful when visiting married households, but only a short while later, his tongue was wagging again.
“Zhouzi just got married; he has someone to look after him now, so it’s normal to be late.”
Meng Yang sat there calmly, occasionally flipping through the tools he had brought out today.
“I’m here, I’m here. I’m late, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
His house was the closest to this spot, yet he had arrived the latest.
Meng Wenzhou had seen them from afar and hurried over to apologize a few times.
Seeing that everyone was present, Meng Yang nodded, and the three of them avoided the crowds, taking a detour along a small path deep into the forest.
Ever since promising Meng Dazhu, his mind had been continuously repeating and reviewing various details from the past to ensure he could keep up with their pace.
The deeper they went, the steeper the mountain path became. The forest was shrouded in mist, and there wasn’t a shadow of any other person around. Unlike the outer areas where villagers usually gathered, this place looked far more dangerous.
Meng Wenzhou carefully stepped in their footprints, following behind.
Ding!
Meng Wenzhou’s ears twitched backward.
【System mission updated. Please complete the single-player mission, Host!】
【Task: Collect a pair of wild boar tusks.】
【Reward: A blueprint for a water-pumping system.】
Tsk, it seemed this trip today wouldn’t be easy!
Meng Wenzhou sighed inwardly and stayed firmly behind the other two.
When the three of them were still half-grown children, they had once accidentally wandered into the forest, and at that time, they had a hunter as their mentor. The old hunter had no wife or children, and seeing that all three were clever, he simply took them under his wing and taught them.
Meng Dazhu pursed his lips and pointed to the footprints on the ground.
“This is the place; these are the tracks we saw last time.”
Meng Yang took out the hemp rope from his basket and skillfully tied a few slipknots. Meng Wenzhou took the prepared slipknots and set them up around the bushes.
Meng Dazhu used a hoe to dig a few shallow pits, then covered them with branches.
The three held their breath, crouching behind trees, pricking up their ears to listen for any movement coming through the jungle.
After an unknown amount of time, they finally heard a rustling sound in the bushes not far away, as if something were passing through.
“It’s here.”
Meng Dazhu’s eyes brightened!
But as the sound grew closer, Meng Yang grew increasingly uneasy.
The movement in the bushes was too great; it sounded nothing like a rabbit.
He gripped his hoe tightly, just about to raise his hand to signal the other two to hide.
ROAR~ ROAR~
A roar capable of shaking the forest erupted!
A massive, black creature suddenly charged out of the bushes!
“It’s a wild boar!”
Seeing the boar about to charge right in front of them, Meng Dazhu let out a shout!
He turned to run, but unfortunately tripped on a tree root, stalling for a moment.
The boar was the size of a young calf, its two white tusks looking extremely terrifying.
The boar was startled for an instant by the shout, then lowered its head and charged toward Meng Dazhu.
At this most dangerous moment, the hoe in Meng Wenzhou’s hand moved; he smashed it fiercely onto the boar’s back.
BANG!
With a dull thud, the boar turned in pain and lunged straight toward Meng Wenzhou.
After receiving the mission, Meng Wenzhou had been prepared.
However, he still overestimated himself. As the boar lunged over, he froze for a split second, though the stench quickly snapped him back to reality.
Thump—rumble rumble!
Meng Wenzhou rolled to his side, dodging.
The wild boar grazed his trouser leg as it charged past.
RIIIP!
The tusks tore through his pant leg.
Meng Yang, who had been searching for an opportunity on the side, swung his sickle and slashed at the boar’s leg.
By now, the boar had been thoroughly enraged by the three of them.
It pawed at the ground with its hind feet, as if gathering strength.
Meng Dazhu, who had fallen to the ground, climbed up, grabbed a rock from nearby, and smashed it against the boar’s skull.
This blow caused the boar to lose all reason.
It ignored Meng Wenzhou, who was closer to it, and charged straight at Meng Dazhu with bloodshot eyes.
Meng Dazhu couldn’t dodge in time and was sent flying by the boar’s impact!
“Dazhu!”
Meng Dazhu fell beneath a tree trunk, letting out cries of pain.
Meng Wenzhou’s eyes turned bloodshot. At this moment, he could no longer think about the system’s mission. He had only one thing on his mind: the wild boar that was hurting people in front of him. He hefted his hoe and charged up again.
This time, he aimed for the boar’s eye.
The boar tilted its head inward, and the hoe only slashed its ear.
The injury to its ear made the boar even more frantic; it circled around in a rage, its tusks tossing wildly in every direction.
This was his chance!
Meng Yang’s eyes lit up!