“Xiao Sanzi, Xiao Sanzi, your grandpa and I are going into the mountains today, hurry up and get up.”
A deep, Middle-aged Man’s voice called out in the yard, breaking the morning tranquility of the village household.
“Woo… Mm, got it.” A childish voice responded from the west room, carrying the mumble of someone suddenly woken up.
This place was a mountain village located at the foot of the vast mountains. There were only about thirty households in this village, which was a very common type of village in the Great Liang Kingdom, a country covered in mountains.
Most of the villagers in this mountain village were of the Qin surname. It was said that thousands of years ago, a prominent Qin family moved here to avoid disaster.
Time had passed, and the prominent Qin Family had long since declined, leaving only its Clan members to live by hunting for generations. Although life was extremely hard, they could at least ensure they had enough to eat and were safe from want.
The head of this household was named Qin Hong, around forty years old, and he was robust and burly. He had three sons; his eldest son was conscripted into military service the year before last; his second son was an apprentice at a blacksmith shop in Tenglong Town, thirty li away from the mountain village; only his youngest son remained at home to accompany his parents.
His father was over sixty years old, and as a mountain dweller who frequently climbed mountains and hunted, his body was still healthy.
At this moment, the Child who answered from the west room was his youngest son, named Qin Fengming. Such a respectable name had a great origin.
It was said that when Qin Fengming was born, the birds in the mountains chirped for half the night, and when dawn broke, Qin Fengming was born smoothly. Therefore, the Clan Chief named him Fengming. At that time, he had said that there was a heavenly sign when he was born, so he would definitely achieve great success later on.
This year, Qin Fengming was exactly ten years old. Although his complexion was a bit dark, he had a proper face and extremely lively eyes, appearing very intelligent and quick-witted, without any of the dullness typical of a mountain village Child.
The Qin Family lived in the back of the eastern part of the mountain village. The saying “poor children start early” was very accurate for mountain village children. Qin Fengming began hunting in the mountains with his father and grandpa when he was six or seven, and by now, three or four years had passed.
Upon hearing his father’s call, Qin Fengming dared not delay any further. He put on his clothes and walked out of his room.
Because there had been a light rain last night, the air in the courtyard was exceptionally fresh at this time. Taking a deep breath, one could still smell the scent of green leaves mixed with rain. Outside in the forest, various mountain birds chirped non-stop, yet the entire courtyard seemed very quiet and peaceful.
After a simple meal of coarse tea and plain food, and preparing some dry rations for lunch, Qin Hong and his father, each holding their tools, called out to little Fengming, then got up and walked out of the courtyard gate.
Seeing this, Qin Fengming happily responded, strapped a small knife, about a foot long, to his waist, picked up a small steel fork, and quickly followed them out.
Little Fengming, however, did not know that this trip into the mountains would change the trajectory of his life.
Yesterday, Qin Fengming and his grandpa had already set up several snares and traps about twenty li from the village. Going today was mainly to see if there was any harvest. This was something Qin Fengming most enjoyed doing.
Along the way, the grandpa and Qin Hong, who were leading the way, constantly determined directions and sought paths. At the same time, they also had to pay attention to their surroundings, looking out for venomous snakes and insects.
Because the villagers had hunted for generations, it was already difficult to find prey within ten li of Qin Family Village. Therefore, Qin Fengming and his grandpa and father had to walk a considerable distance.
Two hours later, after a journey of crossing mountains and ridges, the three finally reached their destination. After a detailed search, their harvest was quite abundant: two pheasants, a rabbit, and a mountain marten.
Time passed unnoticed as they traveled, and it was already noon. After tidying up the game, the grandpa, father, and son rested on a rock. Using mountain spring water, they took out the dry rations prepared before leaving home, and the three of them ate and chatted.
The mountain marten was considered very precious among many small prey. If taken to the town’s shop, it could be exchanged for a good amount of silver.
Therefore, Qin Hong and his father were very happy.
After some discussion, Qin Hong decided that since it was still early, they would walk another two or three li forward to see if they could encounter large prey like elk or deer.
They hid the harvested game in a very secluded tree hollow, sealed it with crushed stones to prevent other wild beasts from finding it, and then got up and continued forward.
This area was rarely visited by people, and in many places, there was no discernible path. They had to use a machete to cut through the vines in front of them to pass.
“Creak, creak”
Just as the grandpa, father, and son were carefully searching for prey around them, a sound of teeth gnashing suddenly came from a dozen zhang away. Hearing this sound, Qin Hong and his father showed a hint of a smile. This was undoubtedly the sound of some large animal feeding.
Following the direction of the sound, Qin Hong agilely climbed onto a nearby mound, pushed aside the bushes, and upon seeing what was there, his face immediately changed dramatically. He saw a two-hundred-jin wild boar gnawing at the roots of a giant tree a dozen zhang away.
This wild boar was extremely ferocious, with two sharp tusks pointing forward, each over a foot long.
The wild boar’s ears were exceptionally sensitive. When Qin Hong discovered it, the sound made by shaking the bushes had already startled it. Its fierce eyes immediately caused a chill to run down Qin Hong’s spine.
But at this moment, Qin Hong found it difficult to hide. Left with no choice, he leaped up, holding his steel fork ready for defense, while urgently shouting, “It’s a wild boar! You two run back quickly, I’ll hold it off for a moment.”
Among ordinary wild beasts, the wild boar was known for its combativeness. Upon seeing Qin Hong, it snorted a puff of white Qi from its nose, let out a howl, and charged fiercely towards Qin Hong. Its speed was extremely fast, and in an instant, it had already rushed in front of Qin Hong.
Relying on his years of hunting experience, Qin Hong held his steel fork. As the wild boar rushed closer, he suddenly thrust it sharply towards its eyes. At the same time, he leaped to the side to avoid the wild boar’s two sharp tusks.
Due to the haste, Qin Hong’s thrust did not hit the animal’s eye, merely grazing its thick fur. The wild boar, with a “whoosh,” bypassed Qin Hong and charged straight down the small hill.
Qin Fengming and his grandpa, hearing his father’s shout, naturally dared not delay. The two turned and intended to flee back the way they came, but the wild boar was too fast. After bypassing Qin Hong, it charged directly towards Qin Fengming and his grandpa, who had not yet run far.
Seeing the wild boar charging, the grandpa was not particularly panicked. He shook the steel fork in his hand and, like Qin Hong, suddenly thrust it towards the wild boar’s face as it rushed closer. Mountain hunters all knew that the wild boar’s skin was thick and tough, and only its eyes were its weak point.
“Bang!” With a sound, although the grandpa’s fork struck the wild boar, it still did not hit its vital spot.
The wild boar, having endured two attacks, although its vital spot was not injured, was in great pain. At this moment, the wild boar was extremely enraged, fierce light flashing in its eyes. Amidst its angry roars, it did not turn back but charged directly towards Qin Fengming, who was not far away.
Although Qin Fengming did not stop running, he kept looking back occasionally. Suddenly seeing the wild boar charging towards him, he was greatly alarmed. In his panic, his small steel fork also dropped, and he continued to run backward at full speed without stopping.
Although greatly alarmed, Qin Fengming did not lose his composure. Three or four years of hunting life had taught his young heart how to avoid danger. Relying on his agile movements, whenever the wild boar lunged at him, he could always deftly leap behind a large tree nearby.
Having endured two fork attacks, the wild boar was in a state of fury, its sole target being the unarmed Qin Fengming in front of it.
Although Qin Fengming at this time had much greater physical strength than city children of the same age, he was still a ten-year-old Child. After two or three dodges, he was already panting.
Just then, the wild boar charged at Qin Fengming once more. Due to his youth and declining stamina, Qin Fengming was unable to dodge the wild boar’s tusks this time. He was hooked by one of its side tusks and immediately sent flying. He crashed into a large tree and rolled down the slope…
PS: This is a cultivation novel; it just has more setup in the beginning. I hope readers will be patient and continue reading.