Era-C44

Chapter 44: Three Times Passing the Door Without Entering

“Let’s hurry back, your clothes are soaked through,” Xiu Lan said, her mood finally calming down as she noticed Lin Heng’s clothes were drenched, a bit concerned.

“It’s fine, we’re not far from home,” Lin Heng smiled and started walking back.

“Eh? Why are you taking the upper path? It’s longer, and you’ll pass by Old Uncle’s house.” Xiu Lan looked at Lin Heng, puzzled. He always used the lower path before.

“Oh, nothing, I took a wrong turn, but it’s the same either way!” Lin Heng casually said without looking back.

Xiu Lan looked at him, shook her head, and then followed behind.

“Woof woof!!”

Xiong Ba barked twice, as though trying to say something.

“Where did the dog bark come from?”

Inside the house, Old Uncle Lin Xuping was eating, with his eldest son, Lin Lei, helping him. The two looked out the door and saw Lin Heng carrying something, with Xiu Lan and the dog following behind.

Boom!

The lightning suddenly lit up the sky, and everyone in the room clearly saw the badger Lin Heng was carrying on his back.

“Badger!!” Aunt Li Ping shouted in surprise, her voice filled with disbelief and shock.

“Wait, Lin Heng, where did you get this badger?” Old Uncle Lin Xuping stepped out the door and called out from under the eaves.

Along with him came his wife Li Ping and his eldest son Lin Lei.

Lin Heng glanced back at them and smiled. “Where else? I hunted it, of course.”

He then turned around and kept walking without another word.

“He hunted it?” Aunt Li Ping shook her head repeatedly. Impossible! How could this good-for-nothing have such skills?

That was a badger, and even the old hunters in the village might not catch one in half a year. How could Lin Heng, a young boy, do it?

Lin Heng’s cousin, Lin Lei, also looked at him in disbelief. Was this the same person he knew?

“Lin Heng, you killed such a big game and didn’t share any with your wife?” Old Uncle Lin Xuping came to his senses first and called out.

However, Lin Heng and Xiu Lan didn’t seem to hear, walking away without a word.

The group stood there for a while, then helplessly returned to the house. The table of vegetables no longer seemed appetizing, and they felt like their mouths had turned bland.

They hadn’t had meat in at least a month, and the only fat they had was a little pork lard in the stir-fried vegetables.

Earlier, Lin Xuping had smelled the fragrance of meat when he went to Lin Heng’s house and had wanted to join, but because of their strained relationship, he didn’t get to.

Now seeing that Lin Heng had brought back a badger weighing about twenty to thirty pounds, he could no longer hold back. “Twenty to thirty pounds! How long will that last?”

“You useless thing,” Li Ping snapped when she heard this. “I’ve followed you into this miserable life, and we can’t even get any meat.”

“Also you,” she turned to scold her eldest son, Lin Lei. “You’re no better than this good-for-nothing.”

Lin Lei, the only filial son among her three children, often helped out around the house. Hearing this, he lowered his head, feeling disheartened, and said nothing.

“I don’t think it’s from hunting. Maybe he picked it up from someone else,” Lin Xuping said.

“It’s possible!” Li Ping’s eyes lit up. She quickly added, “Tomorrow, let’s quietly ask around the village to see if anyone lost a badger.”

“If someone did, maybe we can take a share,” Lin Xuping said, his eyes gleaming with cunning.

However, no matter how clever they were, they couldn’t eat this meal now.

As for the elderly lady, she had already gone to sleep, and Li Ping didn’t bother to call her for dinner.

On the other side, Lin Heng and Xiu Lan had already arrived at the doorstep.

“Husband, you’ve gone the wrong way again. You need to turn left to go home, this is the third time today!”

Xiu Lan looked at Lin Heng helplessly, wondering if he had caught a cold since he couldn’t even tell which road to take.

“Oh, I’m a bit tired, that’s all,” Lin Heng chuckled and retraced his steps.

“Are you sick?” Xiu Lan asked, concerned.

“No, just tired,” Lin Heng quickly shook his head.

It wasn’t a sickness, he had just instinctively gotten lost.

But fortunately, his strong willpower kept him in check.

Inside the yard, the family’s dinner was ready. They had been waiting for Lin Heng, but since carpenter Liang Mu was there, they didn’t want to keep their guest waiting too long, so they started eating.

“Why’s it taking so long? Xiu Lan hasn’t returned, and Lin Heng’s not back either,” Lin Heng’s mother said, looking out at the heavy rain with some worry.

Lin Heng’s father was also a bit concerned. “Let’s wait a bit longer, if they don’t return soon, I’ll go look for them.”

Liang Mu, taking a bite of his meal, looked out at the rain and sighed. “Hunting isn’t as simple as it seems. Your son probably didn’t catch anything and might even be hurt.”

“When they come back, we should get him a real hunting mentor. It seems like he’s treating hunting as a joke.”

He didn’t have much respect for Lin Heng, thinking that with just a bow and arrow, it wasn’t practical for hunting.

Unusually, Lin Heng’s elder sister-in-law didn’t respond to him, thinking he was being too talkative.

Creak!

Just then, the gate to the yard opened.

“Second Brother and the others are back!”

Cai Yun ran out first, followed closely by Lin Heng’s nephew, Lin Wei.

“Second Brother… My God, what did you catch?”

Cai Yun was about to ask if Second Brother was okay but froze when she saw the game on Lin Heng’s back.

“My God, Second Dad caught a wild boar!!” Lin Wei shouted loudly, startling everyone in the house, and they quickly ran outside.

“It’s not a wild boar, it’s a badger!” Lin Heng’s father was stunned when he saw it.

“Second Brother, did you really hunt this?” Lin Heng’s elder sister-in-law, Liu Juan, couldn’t believe it.

“This must weigh about thirty pounds, right?” Lin Heng’s mother gasped, at a loss for words.

Liang Mu stood frozen, unable to speak. This kid had caught wild chickens and rabbits before, but how could he have gotten a badger?

Could it be that the bow and arrow were that powerful?

“Give it to me, quickly go change your clothes.” Lin Heng’s elder brother, Lin Yue, was the first to step forward and take the game.

“That nearly took my life,” Lin Heng sighed and said, “I’ll go change my clothes first, then we’ll talk. Cai Yun, help Xiong Ba wipe himself down.”

Lin Heng entered the house, and Xiu Lan took a basin and towel, bringing in some warm water to wipe his back, fearing he might catch a cold.

“Did he really catch it?” Liang Mu asked in disbelief, crouching down to examine the badger.

“Clearly, my son did,” Lin Heng’s father said, holding a flashlight and pointing at the two arrow wounds. “He’s really skilled.”

Nearby, the arrows Lin Heng had used still had blood on them.

“Lin Heng is the only one in Maple Tree Village who uses a bow and arrow for hunting. Who else could it be?” Lin Heng’s mother proudly looked at Liang Mu.

Liang Mu awkwardly smiled. He hadn’t expected this good-for-nothing he looked down on to have such skill.

“I was wrong, your second son is truly skilled. I’ll apologize to him personally later.”

But Liang Mu, being someone who could admit his mistakes, took it in stride.

After thinking about it, he realized he had been a bit arrogant. During the two days he had been there, Lin Heng had come back with rabbits and turtles, never empty-handed.

It seemed that he, not Lin Heng, was the real fool.

End of Chapter