It had not been long since Shen Ning borrowed the bow and arrows when the hunter Zhao Tong finally returned home after being away for nearly three days.
He was covered in dust, his clothes torn from snagging on branches. A roe deer was strapped to his back, along with five wild rabbits and several pheasants. He had truly returned with a full load.
His wife had gone into labor early, and he had not had enough time to prepare. Their household was poor, and the silver they had possessed had all been spent repairing the roof. This time, Zhao Tong could be said to have put forth every ounce of effort. He wanted to hunt as much as possible so that he would not need to leave home for a while and could properly care for his wife during her confinement.
He had spent several days in the mountains originally intending to hunt a tiger. In the end, he had failed to bring it down and had nearly been injured himself. Having missed his opportunity, and thinking of the wife who had just given birth at home, he could only give up on the wounded tiger and return with the rest of his prey.
The bow and arrows in Zhao Tong's hands were a larger set. The ones Shen Ning had borrowed were the set he had replaced.
After entering the house and setting down his catch, he hurried into the room. His wife had given birth only a few days earlier; these past few days must have been difficult for her.
Although he had left her two days' worth of dry provisions, he had returned a day late… After being pounced on by the tiger and falling into a pit, it had taken him quite some effort to climb back out.
His wife must have gone hungry and suffered.
When he entered the room, Zhao Tong saw his wife sewing a little garment with a gentle expression, while the baby lay beside her, sleeping soundly.
She had already heard the commotion. Lian'er looked at him with concern filling her eyes. “Why were you a day late? You weren't hurt, were you?”
Zhao Tong shook his head. “I took a fall. It's nothing serious. It's just that I came back late. You must have gone hungry, right?”
Lian'er sighed in relief, then shook her head. “I didn't go hungry.”
She then told her husband about Shen Ning bringing her food and borrowing the bow and arrows.
“I always hear people saying this or that about Shen Ning. We haven't had much dealings with her, so I never expected her to be so warmhearted. If she hadn't brought me so much food, I might really have gone hungry… It wouldn't have mattered if I had missed one meal, but I was afraid the baby might go hungry too.”
Zhao Tong was somewhat surprised as well.
Whenever the men in the village occasionally gathered together, they inevitably said some unsavory things, and Shen Ning was among their topics.
Some of those ruffians had entertained improper thoughts while Shen Ning's husband was away, but Shen Ning had driven them out and cursed their ancestors for eight generations. They held a grudge against her, and the things they said were especially vicious… They mocked Shen Ning for having no shame and constantly currying favor with Young Master Pei, who was studying.
They said she had thrown herself at his door, serving him like an ox or a horse and begging for his favor. Their words were too vile to bear listening to.
Even without associating with those ruffians, Zhao Tong had heard some of the rumors. It was easy to imagine how they spread the stories among themselves.
Although those ruffians' mouths were full of filthy words, it was true that Shen Ning often went to the Pei family. Zhao Tong had formed a very poor impression of her and had not allowed his wife to associate with her.
Yet he had never expected that while he was away and unable to help with the funeral arrangements, Shen Ning would think of his wife in confinement and even take the initiative to bring her food.
Lian'er said softly, “You really can't listen to what other people say. I think Younger Sister Shen is very nice.”
Zhao Tong did not contradict her.
There were too few people willing to offer help in someone's hour of need. He owed her this favor.
At that moment, Lian'er suddenly remembered something else.
“Younger Sister Shen said she knows how to shoot arrows too. She borrowed the bow and arrows and went into the mountains. Her family assets were probably spent on the funeral, and she still has to support that foolish younger brother-in-law of hers. It isn't easy for her. Do you think a woman like her might encounter danger in the mountains? Why didn't I think of that when I lent her the bow and arrows…”
Zhao Tong was washing his hands nearby. Upon hearing this, he fell silent for a moment before saying in a muffled voice, “I'll make you some food, then go into the mountains to take a look.”
Even if he wanted to repay the favor, his wife eating was more important.
Meanwhile, Shen Ning was making her way through the mountains with the bow and arrows and a carrying basket on her back.
Although her archery had once been quite good and she had even shot moving targets, truthfully, she had never hunted before. Thus, she was being very cautious and did not venture into the deep mountains, merely wandering around the outskirts.
She encountered a wild rabbit and a young deer in succession but missed both of them. After retrieving her arrows, she continued forward. Not long afterward, the grass ahead rustled violently. Shen Ning immediately drew the string, and then a wild boar charged out.
Fortunately, it was only a half-grown wild boar. Otherwise, all she could have done was turn around and run.
Shen Ning immediately fired an arrow. It pierced the wild boar's neck. The boar wailed and fled into the grass, and she chased after it and fired another arrow.
Fortunately, both arrows struck their mark. The half-grown wild boar did not get far before collapsing to the ground, twitching and kicking its legs.
Shen Ning had dissected plenty of bodies while studying medicine. She stepped forward, raised her hand, and plunged the dagger she used to clean Xiao Nanchen's wounds into the boar's neck.
Once the wild boar finally stopped struggling, she tied its hind legs with rope and swiftly dragged the carcass back.
Although villagers from the nearby villages often entered the mountains to hunt or gather mushrooms, and this area was not deep within the mountain wilderness, the smell of blood was still somewhat dangerous.
Shen Ning felt that she had been very lucky today. Although the wild boar was not particularly large, it still contained quite a lot of meat. If she took it to the county town, she should be able to sell it for several taels of silver. At the very least, she could first buy the medicinal herbs needed to detoxify her lord.
This was the moment when she would earn merit by following the dragon and establish her career!
However, her luck did not last long. Just as Shen Ning was about to leave this patch of dense forest, a bone-chilling sensation suddenly rose from her back.
Sensing that something was wrong, she did not hesitate. She abandoned the wild boar, gripped her bow and arrows, and quickly retreated to a thick tree. With her back against the trunk, she drew the string and aimed into the forest ahead…
There was a brief silence at first. Then Shen Ning heard what sounded like a motorcycle approaching from a distance.
A motorcycle?
The confusion lasted only an instant. In the next moment, her scalp went numb with a buzzing sensation.
That sound…
Just then, the chest-high grass to her front left began to rustle. A tiger with yellow-brown stripes slowly emerged, its mouth half open to reveal thick, sharp fangs. Its whiskers trembled as it let out a deep, vibrating growl.
Shen Ning's mind went blank for an instant, but only for an instant. Once she came back to herself, she turned around and climbed the tree behind her in three swift movements.
Although she had learned some martial arts, she did not think that being reborn in another world meant she could become a tiger-slaying hero.
Knowing that tigers could climb trees too, Shen Ning did not dare relax after climbing up. She quickly climbed to a horizontal branch about five meters above the ground, turned around, nocked an arrow, and drew the string.
By then, the tiger had already charged beneath the tree.
The beast had not even spared the wild boar lying nearby a glance. It had charged straight at her, wrapping its forelegs around the trunk and attempting to climb.
Shen Ning released an arrow with a whoosh. It struck the tiger squarely in the left side of the face.
The beast became even more furious. Ignoring the arrow embedded in its face, it growled and clung to the tree, trying to climb higher. Its muffled roar seemed to make even the trunk tremble.
Shen Ning viciously pinched herself to suppress her trembling hands. She quickly took two deep breaths, nocked another arrow, and drew the string again…
She missed.
Still, the arrow shooting toward it interfered with the tiger's movements. It slid back down, then began climbing again.
Shen Ning struggled to control her fear and breathing and drew another arrow…
In a short while, only three arrows remained in her quiver, while four arrows had struck the tiger's back. Blood covered the beast, and it was clearly in excruciating pain, yet it stubbornly refused to give up.
Shen Ning did not dare waste her arrows. She waited only for the beast to climb onto the trunk, where it would be unable to dodge nimbly, before shooting. But just then, the tiger suddenly launched itself from the trunk, its forelegs reaching straight for her.
There was still some distance between them, but the hunt happening so close before her eyes sent a chill through her entire body. Her arrow missed again…
Only two arrows remained, while the tiger still had the strength to continue. At that moment, Shen Ning regretted her recklessness more than anything.
It was all because those farming novels she had read were so unreliable. Their heroines would transmigrate, and wild pheasants would conveniently dash over and knock themselves unconscious right in front of them, leaving them only to pick the birds up and take them home.
That ridiculous book had done her no end of harm.
Was she really going to die here?
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared not far ahead: the hunter Zhao Tong.
Zhao Tong had come at his wife's request to help Shen Ning, but he had not expected to turn the corner and come face-to-face with a tiger.
It was the very same tiger he had fought the previous day.
The instant the tiger saw Zhao Tong, it immediately forgot about Shen Ning. It turned around, gave a muffled roar, and pounced at him.
There was no time to take the bow and arrows from his back. Zhao Tong raised the woodcutter's knife in his hand to block the attack, but he was directly knocked onto his back.
The tiger raised a paw and was about to pin him down. At that moment, Shen Ning seized the opportunity from the tree and released an arrow with a whoosh. It shot straight into the side of the tiger's abdomen.
The beast's movement stalled. Taking advantage of the opening, the experienced Zhao Tong thrust his woodcutter's knife into the tiger beneath its neck.
The blade sank into flesh. Without the slightest desire to continue fighting, he abruptly released the long knife, covered his head, and rolled away across the ground. The beast, writhing in agony, lashed out with its claws. If he had been even a little slower to dodge and taken a single blow, his flesh would have been torn open in a gruesome mess.
The severely wounded tiger roared desperately and swung its sharp claws, struggling as it thrashed about. After several breaths, it finally could not hold on any longer.
Arrows jutted from its body, and the woodcutter's knife remained lodged beneath its neck, with blood running down its fur. It turned around and tried to flee, but just as it leaped, it crashed heavily to the ground with a bang. Its abdomen heaved repeatedly, and a low growl came from its throat, but it could no longer move.
A moment later, Zhao Tong pulled the woodcutter's knife from the tiger.
“What a pity. The pelt won't fetch a high price now.”
That was what he said, but the delight on his face was plain to see. After all, everything from a tiger's hide to its bones was valuable. One tiger could provide enough money to cover a household's expenses for at least two years. He would be able to buy his wife some good food to help restore her health.
However, this tiger was not his alone…
Shen Ning looked at the enormous tiger carcass on the ground. Its paws were larger than her head. Still shaken, she thanked him repeatedly, but Zhao Tong did not exchange polite words with her. His tone was calm as he said, “We'll take this tiger to the county town and sell it. We'll split the money evenly.”
Although his knife had delivered the fatal blow, the arrows covering the tiger proved that its death had not been achieved through his efforts alone.
How could Shen Ning refuse? She immediately agreed. “All right. Thank you, Brother Zhao.”
Before long, Zhao Tong called over several men from the village with whom he was close. They hitched up a mule cart and loaded the tiger, along with the half-grown wild boar Shen Ning had hunted, then set off for the county town. Shen Ning happened to need to buy something, so she went with them.
Qingyuan Village was a little over an hour from the county town. Along the way, the huge tiger in the mule cart attracted countless gazes.
Zhao Tong was a fairly famous hunter in the nearby villages. When people saw him, they simply assumed that the tiger was his kill.
People occasionally came over to strike up a conversation, their mouths full of praise. Zhao Tong wore an indifferent expression and said little. Shen Ning, of course, did not say anything either, merely walking alongside the mule cart.
Some people also noticed Shen Ning following behind the group of men. Those who knew her muttered under their breath and whispered to one another, their expressions making it obvious that they were saying nothing good.
One of them deliberately raised her voice in a shrill tone. “Well, isn't this the little widow our village sold to Qingyuan Village? Heading into town with a whole group of men, are you?”
Shen Ning looked over with a beaming smile. “Oh, isn't this Bald Auntie from Shihe Village? Even while walking, your eyes are still drifting toward every crowd of men.”
The woman's scalp was sparsely covered with hair, and her expression immediately changed. She glared viciously at Shen Ning.
Another woman beside her spoke in a strange, mocking tone. “Tsk, tsk. The moment her man dies, she burrows into a crowd of men. She really can't live without men…”
Shen Ning chuckled. “You haven't stopped saying ‘men, men’ this whole time. So who exactly is the one who can't live without men?”
Those women had clearly not expected Shen Ning to talk back. A young wife covered her mouth and snickered. “Oh my, did we hit a sore spot? Getting anxious now?”
Shen Ning nodded and sighed. “Anyone would get anxious after being bitten by a dog while simply walking down the road.”
The women immediately flew into a rage. “Who are you calling a dog?”
Shen Ning smiled sweetly. “I was talking about a dog. Why are you getting so worked up?”
In the end, the women were defeated. They glared angrily at Shen Ning before leaving together.
Why were they leaving already?
Shen Ning continued following behind the mule cart, still feeling unsatisfied.
Back when she had been hospitalized, she had found it very amusing whenever she heard the auntie and uncle next door arguing. She had always been eager to try it herself, but at the time, even speaking had been difficult. Now, at last, she had gotten to enjoy herself.
This was so delightful…