Chapter 254: The One That Got Away

As he adjusted to the dim surroundings, a bead of blood dripped into his eye, blurring his vision. He squinted and rubbed his eye socket slowly but firmly with his hand.

That’s when he saw the passage—and the little kid retreating inside it, clutching a cast iron pot.

The man’s face was a mess of bruises and blood. His expression had gone beyond ferocious—it was tragic.

He tapped the passage wall with the back of his knife, crawling forward with each strike.

With every knock, bits of dirt crumbled down.

The rhythmic pounding echoed like a drumbeat against the heart.

It was the hunter’s declaration to his prey: I’m coming for you.

Suddenly, Daya lunged forward, scooping her younger sister out of the passage.

No one knew where she got the strength, but she actually managed to snatch the iron pot from Yan Yu’s hands.

She stood there, trembling, holding the pot in front of her, muttering over and over, “Sister… back up… hide…”

Yan Yu, now potless: …

In that moment, she was both dumbfounded and touched.

Li Xuemei moved steadily, her hands unwavering.

The best hunters often appear in the guise of prey.

She’d heard something like that on TV once.

And now, it was playing out before her eyes.

That man was using the sound of his knocking to intimidate them, but in doing so, he was also giving away his position.

She didn’t disturb Daya, who was tense and bracing herself ahead. Instead, she slipped the Iron Crossbow through a gap and aimed.

The Northern Rong man was still howling in exaggerated fashion, trying to scare the girl holding the pot.

Then he saw the dark, gleaming iron weapon.

He froze, then recoiled in terror.

He recognized it. A crossbow. The Iron Crossbow.

Would Li Xuemei give him a chance to escape?

Not a chance.

She took a quick glance, adjusted her aim slightly, and the moment it felt right—

She fired.

At nearly the same moment, Yan Yu pushed up the iron pot in her sister’s hands to block her view, then squeezed her little head underneath to peek through the passage.

She saw the man with an iron arrow lodged deep in his open mouth.

The arrow had gone in so far, it was nearly buried.

Yan Yu wrinkled her nose in disgust.

So ugly.

Just then, a voice called from the cellar entrance on their side.

It was Hu Er.

“Dad? Second Sister-in-law Yan? Are you okay?”

Grandpa Hu roared in fury, “Hu Er, you little brat, get your butt down here!”

Up above, Hu Er: …

He stared blankly at Qi Wu.

Qi Wu’s eyes were wide, as if to say, “What did you do to make Grandpa Hu mad?”

Hu Er got the message and thought, I have no idea either!

What’s gotten into the old man?

He quickly lifted the cellar door and climbed down.

“Dad, what’s going on? What happened?”

As soon as he descended, he sensed something was off.

He looked around and froze when his gaze landed on the passage.

“You little bastard! What’s the point of raising you? Weren’t you supposed to be out killing Northern Rong? How’d they end up chasing you all the way here?” Grandpa Hu and Village Chief Luo really were two peas in a pod—when it came to scolding people, they had the same flair.

“What are you standing there for, you blockhead? Pull the arrow out and patch him up!” Grandpa Hu huffed and puffed, glaring fiercely.

Hu Er understood what his father meant and, with Qi Wu who had just come down, dragged the man out of the passage.

He tried to pull out the arrow, but it wouldn’t budge.

Qi Wu had experience with this kind of thing.

“Hu Er, step aside,” Qi Wu said.

Hu Er obeyed instinctively.

Qi Wu gave a mighty tug, and the iron arrow came free.

He wiped it clean on the body, then turned to find Li Xuemei. Grinning sheepishly, he held out the arrow.

“Second Sister-in-law Yan, here you go.”

Before Li Xuemei could reach for it, Madam Rong snatched it from him and tossed it aside.

Old Mother Qi, hearing her grandson trying to be helpful, was so angry she could barely breathe. She called Qi Wu over, took off her shoe, and started smacking him.

“You big oaf! That bloody thing, and you’re handing it to your second sister-in-law? She’s pregnant! You want her sniffing that stink?”

Qi Wu squatted obediently in front of his mother, getting whacked by the sole of her shoe without a word…

As the sound of slaps echoed through the cellar, Hu Er quietly finished patching the arrow wound.

He sneaked a glance at Qi Wu and felt secretly relieved.

Thank goodness his own parents didn’t have the habit of beating their kids with shoes. That was terrifying!

Grandpa Hu, after hearing from his son that this was the last straggler, grumbled and gave instructions. “We’ll head up first. You clean this place up.”

He glanced at the passage, then added, “If it’s really too much, just seal this one off and dig a new one nearby.”

The cellar was used to store grain and vegetables. Now that someone had died here, and it was Second Daughter-in-law Yan who’d killed him, Grandpa Hu worried it might bother her.

So, his solution: fill it in and dig a new one.

Hu Er quickly agreed.

No big deal. Just more work.

Qi Wu overheard and, as if some divine spirit had passed by and tapped his head, suddenly had a flash of insight. “Ma, I’ll help Hu Er with the cleanup.”

Old Mother Qi, tired from all the smacking, paused to catch her breath.

“Carry me up first, then come back down,” she said.

“Okay,” Qi Wu replied, lifting his mother onto his back and climbing up with ease.

Then he returned to carry out the body.

Village Chief Luo had said he wanted to see the enemy laid out properly.

Qi Wu’s clothes were already filthy, so he didn’t let Hu Er help. He carried the corpse alone to the village entrance.

He laid it down, adjusted its position and posture, making sure everything looked neat and orderly.

Just as he finished, Master Lu arrived, having heard that the last Northern Rong had been taken down.

He arrived just in time to see the scene.

…

The old man from this village really meant it—and someone actually followed through!

He saw the corpse had been killed by an arrow, which was still embedded.

He walked over and pulled it out.

One look, and he figured it must’ve been that Hu Er kid again.

Who would’ve thought there was a sharpshooter like that hiding in Xiao’an Village?

He alone shot down several of them!

After that, Hu Er got scolded by his own father, then again by Village Chief Luo.

“What was up with those arrows of yours? Why were they so slow? If you’d been quicker, they’d all be dead already! Would Master Lu’s men have gotten hurt then?!”

Hu Er looked thoroughly disheveled. He’d been cleaning out the Yan Family’s cellar when someone dragged him out mid-task just to get chewed out by the village chief.

“I just thought… there were outsiders around…” he mumbled in his defense.

Village Chief Luo glared at him. “So what, you were planning to hide your skills? Well, you sure hid them real good! Six enemies, and you only managed to shoot three and a half. That ‘half’—no one even knows if it was you or Wang Dalang who finished him off. You think people aren’t going to start wondering?”

Hu Er scratched his head. “Then I just won’t step in next time.”

Village Chief Luo didn’t even hesitate—he smacked him with his cane. “Are you stupid? You think this is a game? Those were Northern Rong! They didn’t come here with good intentions! If we don’t kill them, what, save them for New Year’s?”

Hu Er: …

You’ve said everything there is to say, Chief, so what exactly am I supposed to do?

“If you’re going to make a move, then don’t bother hiding it. And stop hesitating like that. We shoot well and shoot true—that’s talent, that’s hard work. You’ve always had a knack for it. You were hitting targets with a slingshot when you were still a kid. Your dad used to brag about you all the time to me. We ate plenty of wild game thanks to you. Got it? If anyone asks, that’s what you tell them.”

Hu Er was still stunned at first. Damn, Uncle Luo was actually praising him?

But the more he listened, the more something felt off. His dad… bragged about him?

By the time Village Chief Luo finished, he understood everything.

Not only did he have to keep shooting, now he had to carry the reputation for it too.

(End of Chapter)