In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

Amid Chu Wu's complaints, Qin Shaolang laughed and habitually patted Chu Wu on the shoulder.

"Stop complaining. The smell of these two wild boars' blood will spread quickly, and we need to deal with it promptly. If you still want to use the blood to hunt other large animals, then just pretend I didn't say anything."

After saying these words, Qin Shaolang squatted down on the ground, skillfully pulled out a knife, and began the dismemberment process.

Chu Wu, who was standing nearby, quickly squatted down next to Qin Shaolang and took out his knife to help.

But after just one glance, he exclaimed in surprise, "Are you the village butcher?"

Qin Shaolang glanced at Chu Wu with suspicion.

The name Qianqian is unique in the village; no one else shares the same name. Moreover, Qianqian was a doctor, and even if he was considered a "useless doctor," people would always remember him as the only doctor in the village when they were truly ill.

Was Chu Wu really from the same village as him?

However, these are not things he should explore. After all, everyone has secrets. If he seeks answers too earnestly, there will only be one outcome—being eliminated.

Take himself for example. If someone were to question his identity now and try to get to the bottom of things, Qin Shaolang would most likely be cautious enough to eliminate that person.

Avoiding the sensitive issue of identity, Qin Shaolang smiled lightly.

"I'm the village doctor, but I learned some skills from my adoptive father when I was very young, so I'm quite proficient. What about you? I saw that your thrust with the short spear was precise just now, and your turn was also different from ours."

While saying these words, Qin Shaolang was multitasking, dealing with the wild boar carcass, keeping an eye on Chu Wu, and being mindful of the surrounding environment to guard against any potential wild animals.

Chu Wu laughed and patted a token at his waist.

"My family has produced centurions, and my father left behind some wealth and military skills. However, I'm struggling to make ends meet these days, which is why I thought of going hunting in the mountains."

Qin Shaolang neither confirmed nor denied this statement.

The rank of centurion may not sound high, but in reality, a centurion can manage more than a hundred men in the army. A portion of the military achievements of these hundred men in battle must be attributed to the centurion.

Even after retiring from the military, one's accumulated military merits will ensure a good living environment.

Even if Chu Wu really squandered his fortune and couldn't make ends meet, he could easily infiltrate the army and find a way to survive by relying on the connections left by the centurion in his family. Why would he need to come here to hunt?

It is clear that these are all Chu Wu's statements to the outside world, and not a single word of them can be believed.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. How about we split this pork in half?"

Chu Wu immediately shook his head and wagged his finger.

"No way! If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead by those two wild boars today. You can have the big one, and I'll take the little one, how about that?"

Without Qin Shaolang's reminder, Chu Wu would most likely have adopted a sneak attack strategy, and even if he succeeded, he would have been ambushed by another wild boar.

Moreover, he revealed his location from the very beginning, so the premise for a sneak attack was not valid.

Once lured to the open space between the two streams, and attacked from both sides by two wild boars, Chu Wu had no idea how he would survive.

"For the sake of this life-saving favor, I don't mind giving you both pigs. The main thing is that I don't have any surplus food. I'll have to shamelessly take half of the smaller pig."

Upon hearing this suggestion, Qin Shaolang immediately shook his head.

"No need, I can't carry that much by myself. Consider this pork as a token of our friendship."

This pig weighed over 200 jin when it was alive. Even after bleeding it, removing its internal organs, and taking away parts like the head that have less meat, it still weighed over 100 jin.

It's easy to imagine how difficult it must have been for him to carry such a heavy load of meat, along with his weapons and other miscellaneous items, down the mountain.

If his journey is delayed and he is unable to descend the mountain before dark, all he can do is pray that he is lucky enough not to encounter any nocturnal beasts.

After quickly dealing with the smaller wild boar, Qin Shaolang was about to get up to deal with the larger one when suddenly, Chu Wu slapped his forehead.

"I just remembered something. The magistrate seems to have issued a reward: anyone who brings a large hunted animal to the county office will receive one hundred taels of silver."

Qin Shaolang frowned.

A hundred taels of silver is already a considerable sum; if it could be exchanged for, it would be enough to supplement the family income.

But the question is, given the current state of the Great Wei, is it really possible for the county magistrate to fulfill this promise?

Seemingly sensing Qin Shaolang's worries, Chu Wu chuckled.

"Let's just consider it as selling it at the county government office. It's much easier than selling it piece by piece at the market. Besides, this wild boar is quite large. Even if the magistrate buys it as pork, he'll have to pay at least three times the market price. Why wouldn't we do it?"

After hearing the explanation, Qin Shaolang made up his mind and nodded.

"Okay, but this wild boar weighs over 150 jin even after being bled, so it won't be easy to carry away."

Chu Wu suddenly grinned.

"It's only 150 pounds, I can easily carry it by myself."

Qin Shaolang suddenly looked at Chu Wu.

"Are you really capable?"

Chu Wu grinned smugly, then rolled up his sleeves and spat into his palm.

"I'm going to show you what I've got today!"

After saying that, Chu Wu went to the side of the wild boar carcass, hugged the wild boar with both hands, then twisted his waist and used his strength to lift the wild boar onto his shoulder. After standing firmly, he even jumped up and down rather smugly.

"See, it was easy to take down."

Qin Shaolang immediately gave Chu Wu a thumbs up.

"sharp!"

At this moment, Qin Shaolang suddenly had the idea of ​​befriending Chu Wu, whose combat strength was definitely much higher than that of ordinary people!

Having more friends means having more options in the future.

……

A murmur of conversation arose from the dense woods.

"What a pity today! We failed to catch that white-browed tiger; it was just one step away from the trap!"

"If we can catch it, we can at least get a few pieces of meat."

"They're even dividing the meat! Last month, the captain led us to catch a bear cub, and we got a full twenty taels of silver. If we can catch this tiger, we can easily get a hundred taels of silver!"

……

Hearing the crowd's discussion, Er Mazi showed no joy whatsoever.

Something's very wrong lately; there are far fewer animals in the mountains than last year. After these hunting trips, he's certain it's not that other wild animals have come to the mountains.

Then there might only be one possibility left: this winter will come earlier than in previous years!

This also means that he doesn't have much time left to hunt.

He returned almost empty-handed this time, with almost nothing to show for it except for a few pheasants, which made him very frustrated.

"Stop talking, let's meet early tomorrow, I'm taking you guys to pull off a big heist!"

When Er Mazi suddenly spoke up, the hunters, though puzzled, still enthusiastically cheered and flattered his decision.

These compliments made Er Mazi feel a little better.

He hadn't been happy for long when suddenly, a hunter pointed to two figures ahead and said...

"Captain, look at those two people, they look like Qin Shaolang."

"Holy crap! Who is that person? Carrying such a huge wild boar, and yet moving so fast?"

Upon hearing these words, Er Mazi immediately took two steps forward.

He glanced at Qin Shaolang from afar, then looked back at the pheasant his subordinate was carrying.

Shabby!

Extremely shabby!