Neither father nor daughter realized that in the depths of the winter mountains, humans were not the only creatures driven desperate by hunger.
The deeper they went, the darker it became.
The dense canopy overhead blotted out the sky itself. Beneath their feet, the layer of rotting leaves was nearly half a foot thick. Every step sank into it like stepping on a waterlogged sponge, producing wet, squelching sounds.
Chen Laosan tightened his grip on the axe in his hand.
His palms were slick with sweat.
“Stay close, Little Six. Don’t get more than three steps away from me.”
He lowered his voice and scanned the bizarre-looking bushes around them with wary eyes.
There was no path here anymore.
Even the most experienced hunter in the village would think twice before venturing this deep.
Following behind him, Chen Zui carried a thin wooden stick.
It looked as though she was simply playing with it, but in reality she was testing the ground ahead.
Her awareness remained constantly spread across a five-meter radius around her—a heightened perception she had gained after transmigrating.
“Father, that oak over there looks good.”
She pointed toward a dead tree not far away.
The trunk was straight and dense. Wood like that burned slowly, produced excellent charcoal, and generated very little smoke. It was perfect for winter fuel.
Chen Laosan grinned.
“Good eye! That one tree alone could keep us warm for half a month!”
He strode over and raised his axe.
Crack!
The blade had barely bitten into the bark when a patch of waist-high dead grass to the right suddenly shook violently.
A powerful stench hit them without warning.
It carried the smell of decay, mud, and animal musk.
Every hair on Chen Laosan’s body stood on end.
This was a farmer’s instinctive reaction to danger.
“ROAR—!”
A deep, thunderous growl exploded through the forest.
A massive black shape burst from the grass like an out-of-control carriage, charging forward with terrifying speed.
A wild boar.
It weighed at least two hundred pounds.
Its coarse bristles stood upright like steel needles.
Two yellowed tusks jutted from its mouth, stained with mud and grass.
Head lowered, it charged straight toward Chen Laosan’s side.
If it connected, a broken back would be the least of his worries.
His guts would spill onto the ground.
“Little Six, run!”
There was no time to think.
Only one thought remained in Chen Laosan’s mind:
The beast must not hurt his daughter.
He spun around and shoved Chen Zui with all his strength, trying to send her behind a tree.
At the same time, he raised his axe with both hands and swung blindly at the charging shadow.
Clang!
The axe struck the boar’s thick skull, sending sparks flying.
But the animal’s hide and bones were unbelievably tough.
The blow failed to kill it.
Instead, it only enraged the beast.
The boar jerked its head violently.
The impact traveled through the axe handle, numbing Chen Laosan’s hands.
The axe flew from his grip.
He stumbled backward and crashed onto the ground.
The boar gave him no chance to recover.
Its hind legs kicked off the earth, spraying dirt into the air.
With its foul-smelling jaws wide open, it lunged toward his thigh.
Chen Laosan shut his eyes in despair.
It was over.
At that critical moment—
A small figure flashed from the boar’s blind spot like a ghost.
Chen Zui had not run.
The instant her father pushed her away, her eyes had remained terrifyingly calm.
Using her small size to her advantage, she slid low across the ground and darted beneath the boar’s raised forelegs.
With a thought—
A tactical knife appeared in her hand.
The blade gleamed with a cold metallic sheen.
Forged from modern alloy steel, it was razor-sharp.
Gripping the handle with both hands, Chen Zui combined the momentum of her slide with the strange strength in her body.
She drove the blade viciously upward into the boar’s most vulnerable area beneath its throat.
Thrust!
The sound of steel slicing flesh rang out clearly amid the chaos.
The knife sank all the way to the hilt.
Chen Zui did not pull it out.
Instead, she twisted her wrist sharply, then rolled away using the momentum, instantly widening the distance.
The entire sequence flowed like water.
It happened so quickly that it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.
“SKREEEEEEE—!!!”
The charging boar released a horrifying scream.
Its huge body froze in midair for a split second.
Then it seemed to lose all support.
With a heavy crash, it slammed into the ground less than half a foot from Chen Laosan.
Warm blood erupted from the wound like a fountain, splattering across his face.
The boar convulsed violently.
Its legs kicked wildly, scattering leaves everywhere.
Then its pupils gradually lost focus.
A moment later, it stopped moving.
Silence returned to the forest.
Only Chen Laosan’s ragged breathing remained.
He stared blankly at the enormous carcass beside him.
Then he touched his own legs.
Still there.
His mind was completely empty.
How…
How had it died?
“Father! Father, are you okay?”
Chen Zui’s anxious voice sounded nearby.
She had already stored the knife away during her roll.
Now she emerged from behind a bush, clutching a sharp broken wooden stake in her hand.
Chen Laosan finally snapped back to reality.
He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, frantically checking her over.
“Little Six! Are you hurt? You scared me to death… You scared me to death…”
The seven-foot-tall man had not cried when facing the charging boar.
Now, holding his daughter, tears sprang from his eyes.
“I’m fine.”
Chen Zui patted his trembling back.
Then she pointed innocently toward the boar’s throat.
“Father, look! This beast was unlucky. It charged too hard and ran right into the sharpened stake I was using to dig wild vegetables. It went straight into its neck!”
Chen Laosan followed her finger.
Sure enough.
There was a bloody hole in the boar’s throat.
Beside it lay a bloodstained hardwood stake.
(In reality, Chen Zui had deliberately planted the evidence moments earlier.)
“It… it ran into it and died?”
Chen Laosan swallowed hard.
Was this the legendary story of waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit?
No.
This was waiting by a tree stump for a boar.
“It must be the Mountain God protecting us!”
Chen Laosan clasped his hands and bowed repeatedly toward the forest.
“Our Little Six is blessed! Even wild boars don’t dare harm you!”
He could think of no other explanation.
After all, who would believe that a three-year-old child had just killed a two-hundred-pound boar?
“Father, what do we do with it now?”
Chen Zui nudged the carcass with her foot.
The boar’s belly jiggled with fat.
“If we drag it down the mountain, we can sell it for lots of money. We can even make a fur coat for Second Sister.”
The fear in Chen Laosan’s eyes instantly transformed into joy.
One wild boar like this was worth more than half a year of backbreaking labor.
“We’re taking it!”
His strength seemed to return immediately.
Finding several sturdy vines, he tied the boar’s legs together.
“Little Six, give me a hand. Let’s drag it down!”
Father and daughter worked together.
One pulled from the front.
The other pushed from behind.
From the outside, Chen Zui appeared to be doing little more than steadying the carcass.
In reality, she was secretly bearing most of the weight.
Chen Laosan only felt that the boar wasn’t nearly as heavy as it should have been.
He assumed the adrenaline from nearly dying had awakened hidden strength.
As the sun began to set, they finally emerged from the deep mountains.
When they reached the narrow path at the foot of the mountain, they encountered a sneaky-looking figure carrying a basket.
It was Eldest Aunt Zhang.
Because of the rumors about her “poison sores,” she had hardly dared leave the house for the past two days.
Today, unable to resist her cravings any longer, she had come into the mountains hoping to dig up some winter bamboo shoots.
She looked up—
And froze.
There stood Chen Laosan, covered head to toe in blood—boar blood.
Behind him was what looked like a mountain of meat.
For a moment, Zhang Shi’s tiny eyes widened into saucers.
The rusty shovel in her basket slipped free and clattered to the ground.
“Oh, my heavens…
That’s so much meat…”
Greed blazed in her eyes like wildfire.
It burned away all memory of the fear she had felt over the past two days.
It even made her forget that the little “omen of disaster,” Chen Zui, was standing right there.
Peeking out from behind the boar, Chen Zui watched the woman practically drool.
A playful, cold smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
Perfect.
The lesson she had taught yesterday clearly hadn’t sunk in deeply enough.
Since Zhang Shi had conveniently delivered herself to the doorstep, she had nobody to blame for what came next.