Chapter 143: Unlocking New Prey, a Battle of Wits and Courage

“What is it, exactly?” Lin Heng asked, pressing for an answer. The suspense was really annoying.

Xiulan quickly added, “Dad, Big Brother, just tell us already.”

“We were setting the nets, and near the reed marsh, we spotted several wild boar piglets. Since we knew you hunt, we came to get you,” Chen Changxia, Xiulan’s father, explained.

Lin Heng was a bit shocked. Were wild boars this rampant in Lushui County? “How big were they? Did you see a mother boar?”

Chen Zhidong, the eldest brother-in-law, shook his head. “No, we only saw three piglets, about fifty to sixty pounds each. We figured they must be wild boars that had strayed from the group.”

“Wait for me here. I’ll be right back,” Lin Heng nodded and turned to grab his bow.

Half an hour later, Lin Heng returned with his bow, and Xiulan was already on the bamboo raft with Xiaoxia.

The raft was large, about seven or eight square meters, and had a circle of plastic bottles around it, making it almost impossible to capsize.

“I’ll pull you!”

Chen Zhiliang, the third brother-in-law, helped Lin Heng onto the raft, and Chen Changxia and Chen Zhidong pushed the fishing boat off.

The bamboo raft quickly drifted toward the center of the lake, passing by many fishing nets set in the water.

“Dad, what’s that?” Xiaoxia asked, sounding cheerful. If Xiulan hadn’t been holding her, she would probably have jumped up and bounced around.

Lin Heng glanced in the direction Xiaoxia was pointing and saw several beautiful large geese flying in a V-shape across the sky.

“Those are geese. They’re flying south,” Lin Heng smiled in response. If they weren’t so far away, he would have shot a couple for dinner.

“Yay, yay!!”

As the raft moved forward, Xiaoxia continued to jump and bounce.

“Xiaoxia, look!”

Lin Heng picked up a small stone from the raft and tossed it into the lake. It made a splash and disappeared.

“If you keep doing that, you’ll fall to the bottom of the lake like that stone, and you’ll never see us again,” Lin Heng warned her.

Xiaoxia froze for a moment, staring at the disappearing stone. The lake water suddenly seemed much scarier in her eyes.

“It’s scarier than the big bad wolf, and if you jump again, you’ll get a spanking,” Lin Heng added.

Xiaoxia glanced at her mother, and Xiulan’s face had already turned stern, ready to act if necessary.

Taking her out was just a spontaneous idea to let her experience the raft ride, but she had gotten too excited.

With the double warning, Xiaoxia stopped jumping and obediently stayed close to her mother.

Before long, the raft reached the reed marsh, where the tall, white reeds swayed in the wind, creating a scene that looked like a white ocean.

As they approached, Lin Heng noticed the area was a complex swamp, but he couldn’t spot any wild boars.

“Huh? They’re gone already? They were just here,” Chen Changxia said, surprised. Given the terrain, wild boars wouldn’t run far.

“Let’s search some more,” Lin Heng said, not expecting much.

They paddled the raft along the reed marsh, searching in circles, but found nothing.

The only thing they spotted was a few waterfowl. When they saw the raft, they quacked and flew into the reeds.

“Let’s find a place to land. I’ll go into the reed marsh to have a look,” Lin Heng said after thinking for a moment.

Chen Changxia shook his head. “If we didn’t find anything, then forget it. Your clothes will get dirty.”

“It’s fine, Dad. I can wash the clothes. If we catch that wild boar, we’ll have meat for several days,” Lin Heng laughed.

He was also curious about exploring the area to see if there was anything else of interest.

Xiulan saw that Lin Heng was determined, so she spoke up. “Dad, if he wants to go, let him. I’ve brought spare clothes for him.”

Since she agreed, Chen Changxia reluctantly nodded. “Alright then, let your big brother and third brother go with him. At least there’ll be someone to watch his back.”

“Great!” Lin Heng nodded.

They found a spot, and the raft anchored. Chen Zhidong, the eldest brother-in-law, got off first and then helped Lin Heng onto the shore.

“I’ll go ahead. Big Brother, Third Brother, you follow me behind. Let’s search in a triangle pattern. If you find anything, speak quietly.”

Lin Heng glanced at the two of them, holding his bow and moving ahead.

The swampy reed marsh wasn’t too difficult to navigate. There were paths left by animals, so it was just a matter of identifying which areas were safe to walk on and which were not.

After about twenty minutes of searching, Lin Heng finally spotted something, or rather, the prey spotted him first.

“Flap!!”

A gray goose, not far away, saw him and instead of flying away, it charged right toward him.

“Huh?”

Lin Heng was stunned. This was an adult goose, so why was it doing this?

Before he could even react, the goose flew straight toward him and stopped just two meters in front of him.

He walked over and picked it up. To his surprise, the goose was still alive and appeared to be fine physically, but its eyes were dull, and it seemed as though it had given up on life.

“Oh, I get it now,” Lin Heng suddenly realized.

Geese pair up for life, and if one dies, the other often chooses to die as well. This goose was likely seeking death after losing its mate.

“So this is true,” Lin Heng said with some surprise. Even in his previous life, he had only heard of it but had never seen it.

He guessed the goose’s mate had probably been killed by a hunter.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll send you on your way,” Lin Heng said, picking it up and smiling. This was quite an unexpected prize for him.

As for sadness? The joys and sorrows of humans and geese were unrelated!

“Big Brother, come here for a sec.”

Lin Heng called out to Chen Zhidong, who was searching for wild boar tracks in the reed marsh nearby.

“What’s up?” Chen Zhidong hurried over when he heard the shout.

The third brother-in-law, Chen Zhiliang, also curiously walked over.

When they saw what Lin Heng was holding, their eyes widened.

“You caught a live goose?” Chen Zhidong exclaimed.

“I didn’t catch it. I found it. It must be a goose that lost its mate and doesn’t want to live anymore. Take a look. If there’s nothing wrong with it, we can take it back and eat it,” Lin Heng explained.

Chen Zhiliang waved his hand, assuring him, “There’s no problem with it. I’ve heard the older folks in the village talk about this. I didn’t expect you, Lin Heng, to have such good luck.”

He couldn’t help but look at Lin Heng with new respect. With that kind of luck, they could never compare.

“Maybe when people are happy, their luck is better,” Lin Heng laughed and continued walking.

He had never eaten goose before, but he had heard it was delicious. This was a new species for him to try!

After walking for a few minutes, Lin Heng spotted a shallow water bar. At first glance, he saw many “ground tigers” lying around, each about the length of a finger.

This made him a little envious of the local aquatic resources. With ground tigers this big, setting a fish trap here could probably yield dozens of pounds.

Although ground tigers were annoying, their meat was undoubtedly good.

Just as he passed by this water hole, Lin Heng noticed wild boar tracks.

There were signs of rooting, and from how fresh the traces were, it seemed like it had been less than half a day since they passed by, as the dirt hadn’t even dried in the sun.

He followed the trail for about a hundred meters, but the tracks suddenly stopped. Looking around at the surrounding weeds and reeds, Lin Heng felt lost.

At that moment, he thought of Xiongba. If it were here, finding the wild boar would be easy.

But there was no “if.” Lin Heng shook his head and continued searching. As he got closer to dusk, mosquitoes in the reed marsh started becoming rampant.

After nearly an hour of searching, the only thing he found was a goose that had flown straight into his trap. He didn’t see many wild chickens either.

He spotted two flocks of wild ducks, but they quickly ran off, leaving no opportunity to strike.

Checking his watch, it was almost seven o’clock. He took two more steps forward.

Suddenly, he saw something in a water hole among the reeds—a large black fish, about half a meter long.

Looking at the five arrows in his hand, Lin Heng quickly strung his bow and shot an arrow into the water.

Splash!!

A large spray of water erupted, and the black fish disappeared, along with the arrow.

“Did I miss? No way.”

Lin Heng felt he had aimed well. After waiting for two minutes and not seeing the fish resurface, he sighed and turned to walk away.

As a seasoned fisherman, he knew that it was impossible for a fish to stay submerged for minutes after being shot with an arrow.

He guessed that maybe this type of arrowhead wasn’t suitable for fish, and also, the black fish was a bit too long. Even at only six or seven meters away, his aim had been off by a bit.

Looking ahead at the even taller grass, Lin Heng gave up exploring.

The reed marsh ahead had no clear path anyway, so it was better to give up. One goose was enough.

He turned around to find his two older brothers-in-law and prepare to leave. But after walking just a few steps, he saw his third brother-in-law, Chen Zhiliang, sneaking over.

“Third Brother, did you find something?” Lin Heng asked softly. His movements suggested he had spotted something.

Chen Zhiliang nodded excitedly. “Yes, I saw the wild boars! It’s the same three we saw before, about a hundred meters away. I didn’t dare get too close.”

“Take me to see them.” Lin Heng was surprised. They might actually see them again. His luck seemed a little too good today.

“Follow me,” Chen Zhiliang nodded, leading Lin Heng in the direction.

They passed through an area full of small thorns, then crossed a patch of soft, sparse grass, before coming upon a large area of reeds.

“Look, they’re still there,” Chen Zhiliang whispered, pointing at a spot in the distant reeds.

Lin Heng focused for a while before spotting two black shapes. They were well hidden among the reeds and were hard to spot. It seemed they were rooting in the ground, eating worms or something else.

He couldn’t find the third one after searching for a long time—it was probably well concealed.

“Can we shoot them?” Chen Zhiliang asked, looking at Lin Heng.

Lin Heng shook his head. “It’s difficult, too far. There’s about a hundred and fifty meters between us, and getting closer won’t be easy.”

“Yeah, the reed thicket is too thick. If we try to move through, it’ll make a lot of noise.” Chen Zhiliang also understood the problem but was reluctant to give up. After all, these were three wild boars.

Lin Heng didn’t want to give up either. He glanced around and said, “You stay here and keep watch. I’ll try another route and see if I can sneak around.”

“Alright. If you can’t get around, just give up. Safety comes first,” Chen Zhiliang nodded.

Lin Heng first walked a few hundred meters to the left, only to find it led to a swampy ditch, making it impossible to pass.

He returned and tried the right side. There, the thorns were even thicker, taller, and denser. Climbing a tree, he saw that it stretched for a huge area and was worse than the left side.

With no other choice, he retraced his steps and took a wide detour around the swamp. The path wasn’t much better, full of reeds taller than him, but it was still passable, though difficult.

After some thought, Lin Heng decided to go through. He stepped into the reeds and had barely made it halfway when suddenly, his foot sank into black water with a splash.

Lin Heng: “…”

Not his new shoes, this was too much.

Thankfully, it was only a few meters ahead to the edge of the reed thicket, so he gritted his teeth and pushed through.

Once he made it through, he found himself in a field filled with thorny vines that could cut into his skin. Though moving was easier, the thorns made it a challenge, especially for his ankles.

“Damn it, these wild boars have to die today!” Lin Heng gritted his teeth. He had come this far; there was no turning back.

He checked his bearings and carefully proceeded, trying to avoid making any noise. It was already 8 o’clock, and the mosquitoes in the reeds were relentless, biting through his clothes.

Another half hour passed, and the sun had completely set. In another half hour, it would be completely dark.

But just then, Lin Heng reached a good position. Although the thick thorns had left many small cuts on his feet, they also effectively muffled his footsteps.

After some careful movement, he finally spotted the three wild boars again. They were still rooting around. The reason he hadn’t seen the third one earlier was that it was closer to him, almost at the edge of the reeds.

Lin Heng’s target was this one. It wasn’t the biggest, but it was in a good spot—very little reed cover, making it easier to hit.

Now, the distance between them was about seventy meters. Lin Heng wasn’t in a rush anymore, and he didn’t mind the mosquitoes either.

He was fully immersed in the thrilling game of wits and courage between him and the prey. Step by step, he moved closer, taking over ten minutes to get into an optimal position.

He selected the sharpest and most accurate arrow, and before drawing his bow, he took a deep breath to calm himself. There was only one chance—he had to kill it with one shot. Otherwise, in this waterlogged reed marsh, it would be impossible to recover the body.

With the bow drawn and the arrow ready, Lin Heng’s gaze was calm and deep as he aimed at the wild boar still rooting on the ground. Without hesitation, he released the arrow, which flew straight toward the boar.

“In this game of life and death, you lose!” he silently thought to himself.

With a sharp sound, the black arrow shot through the air, hitting the boar about three centimeters behind its front leg and directly piercing its lung and heart.

“Ahhh!!”

The wild boar instinctively charged forward two meters before collapsing to the ground, twitching its limbs in its final moments.

The other two wild boars quickly darted into the reed thicket and disappeared.

“Success!!” Lin Heng jumped up in excitement and threw a punch into the air.

“Awesome!!”

“That’s amazing!!”

On the other side of the reed marsh, his eldest and third brothers-in-law shouted in unison, disregarding everything as they rushed through the reeds to the scene.

Seeing the boar lying motionless on the ground, they both slapped Lin Heng’s shoulders hard.

“Unbelievable, that was amazing!”

“No wonder you’ve made a fortune—your skills are impressive!”

The two spoke excitedly, one after the other.

“Hahaha, it’s all thanks to Third Brother for spotting the wild boars,” Lin Heng smiled slightly. After killing the boar, he wasn’t as excited as expected.

“Let’s go, let’s hurry and carry the boar back. This one must be over fifty or sixty pounds,” Chen Zhidong said, tugging on the boar’s leg with a grin.

“Yeah, it’s getting dark. Let’s move quickly,” Lin Heng nodded, his pants soaked halfway and his feet scratched by thorny vines.

…

Outside the reed marsh, Chen’s father, Xiulan, and the others started to grow worried since it had already gotten dark.

“Dad, should I go in and take a look?” Xiulan’s fourth brother, Chen Zhicai, suggested, wondering if Lin Heng might have had trouble hunting and didn’t want to come back empty-handed.

“How are you going to find them in such a big reed marsh? Let’s just wait here. Your elder brother is not the type to lose his sense of direction,” Chen’s father shook his head.

Xiulan didn’t respond, but she kept her eyes fixed on the direction of the reed marsh, holding her daughter.

“Chen Changxia, why haven’t you left yet? It’s already dark!” A bamboo raft came by, and the person on it called out loudly.

“My son-in-law and the others went into the reed marsh to hunt wild boars. I’m waiting for them here,” Chen’s father replied.

“Hunting wild boars? That’s no easy feat,” the person chuckled lightly, about to leave when suddenly, a sound came from the reed marsh.

“Dad, Xiulan, Lin Heng is amazing! He got a big wild boar!!” Chen Zhidong’s excited voice came from a distance.

“He really got one!” Chen Zhicai, on the bamboo raft, was stunned.

They all looked over and saw three figures walking out of the reeds. The leader carried a large wild boar, the second one held a gray goose, and the third was leisurely walking with empty hands.

“Amazing!!” Chen’s father’s eyes widened. He hadn’t really expected them to get a wild boar, and this was a pleasant surprise.

“Dad, Dad!!” Xiaoxia waved happily when she saw Lin Heng.

Meanwhile, the bamboo raft quickly paddled toward them, and an old man on the raft exclaimed incredulously, “Did you really catch a wild boar?”

Before long, the three arrived at the bamboo raft, and Chen Zhidong, grinning, said, “Quick, help out. This boar weighs fifty or sixty pounds.”

Chen’s father helped lift the still-bleeding boar onto the raft and asked, “Is everyone alright?”

“We’re fine, let’s hurry back. There are too many mosquitoes here,” Lin Heng waved his hands, signaling for them to leave.

“Okay, okay,” Chen’s father nodded repeatedly, a broad smile on his face. His son-in-law was truly impressive.

Xiulan’s three brothers were all in awe. Lin Heng’s skill was truly unmatched. No wonder he had made a fortune.

Paddling the bamboo raft, the group made their way to the shore of Liu Lake. While they walked back with the wild boar and goose, Xiulan’s third brother excitedly retold the entire process. He was even more excited than Lin Heng himself.

When they had been carrying the boar back to the raft earlier, both the eldest and third brothers-in-law had asked Lin Heng about the details multiple times.

Lin Heng and Xiulan walked ahead to change clothes when they got home.

Back at the house, the three sisters-in-law and Chen’s mother were there.

When they saw Lin Heng looking so dirty, Chen’s mother stood up and asked, “What happened to you, you’re all dirty like this?”

Lin Heng shook his head, smiling. “It’s from hunting in the reed marsh, but it was worth it. I brought back a wild boar.”

“A wild boar?”

Chen’s mother froze, and the three sisters-in-law stopped their work, eyes wide in shock, as though time had frozen.

Lin Heng smiled and didn’t explain further. He and Xiulan went inside to change clothes.

Not long after they entered, Chen’s father and the others came inside, carrying the boar. Seven or eight curious villagers also followed them in.

Soon, the courtyard was filled with excited chatter.

“Look at this arrow, it’s no simple feat! One shot went straight through the heart and lung, killing it instantly—so accurate!”

“Chen Changxia, your daughter really married a fine man. Just one day here, and he brought back a big wild boar!”

“You’re lucky, old man. How come Lin Heng didn’t fall for my daughter back then?”

The neighbors looked on with envious eyes. This was a wild boar weighing fifty or sixty pounds!

“Hahaha!” Chen Changxia laughed so hard his mouth couldn’t close. His son-in-law was truly amazing.

(The end of this chapter)