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

Just after crossing the mountainside, Qin Shaolang saw a towering stone pillar.

Chu Wu also reached out and took the short gun, gripping it with both hands, carefully watching out for the nearby bushes and trees.

"I heard that the white-browed tiger is near that stream."

Looking around, the nearby woods were already very sparse. Qin Shaolang suddenly said, "Let's stop following them and find a way to get to that stone pillar. We can see far from there."

The purpose of my visit today is simply to check on the condition of the white-browed tiger and formulate a plan accordingly.

Killing the white-browed tiger was not part of his plan; a high vantage point overlooking the entire area would help him see a lot of intelligence.

It took the two some time to find the path to the stone pillar, and then they climbed to the top of the pillar and looked down.

The hunting party gradually split into two groups of two, carefully checking the nearby bushes and grass.

Seeing that Er Mazi's arrangements were quite methodical, Qin Shaolang smiled slightly.

"He has some of the skill of an old hunter, but unfortunately, not quite enough."

Teaming up in pairs can indeed help each other and prevent being ambushed without warning, but that's also where the problem lies.

If an emergency occurs and one person is attacked by a tiger, the remaining person needs to remain calm, provide assistance to the ambushed hunter, and issue a loud warning.

In a mere instant, there is so much to do that few people can accomplish!

Moreover, how could one person threaten a white-browed tiger and snatch someone from its jaws?

Even well-trained hunting teams should at least be organized into squads of three.

If these hunters are just ordinary villagers who are not familiar with the procedures for dealing with these raids, then they should increase the number of people in their group, at least to four!

One person calls for help, two others come to the aid of the ambushed teammate, and if all else fails, the extra two can easily flank the tiger from both sides, preventing it from finishing off the enemy.

Chu Wu squinted and carefully observed the stream before speaking.

"Brother Qin is acting strangely. I heard that the tiger is extremely arrogant. After it has eaten its fill, it will stroll along the stream and patrol its territory. According to the information I've gathered, it can be seen along the stream except when it's hunting."

Qin Shaolang looked into the distance and saw a group of wild deer busy foraging for food on the opposite bank of the stream, hidden by groves of trees.

If what Chu Wu said is true, then the fact that the tiger patrols every day means that it has a high level of intelligence.

Because of the threat posed by this white-browed tiger, few humans would dare to cross the stream to hunt wild deer on the other side.

However, once the number of people increases, it becomes extremely difficult to hide, and the deer herd will become alert.

Whose tiger patrols its territory all day long?

This seems more like an attempt to drive the wild deer to the other side of the river to prevent their food from being stolen by humans.

"Chu Wu, have you heard any other news, such as the news that tigers have become spirits?"

Qin Shaolang was genuinely surprised by his own guess.

If this is true, then the difficulty of dealing with this white-browed tiger by the two of them alone is extremely high.

It's not that we're afraid of wild beasts being physically strong, it's that we're afraid of wild beasts also having brains!

Moreover, the two wild boars that knew how to cooperate yesterday really left a deep impression on him.

In the world before he transmigrated, he had never seen such cooperation between wild boars.

Chu Wu scratched his head before speaking.

"Sigh, these wild beasts have always been so difficult to deal with. Only fully armored soldiers can easily crush them. However, there are too few soldiers, and they can't take care of anything other than the county town. If they were easy to deal with, there wouldn't be a bounty on these large wild beasts."

Qin Shaolang couldn't help but mutter to himself.

If wild beasts continue to be this stupid, won't the people of Great Wei soon be plunged into misery?

When the court is stable, the officials and soldiers still have the resources to deal with wild animals, which can ensure basic peace.

Once the court falls into complete chaos and various forces begin to fight for power, using their military strength for internal strife and having no power to deal with wild animals, will these wild animals still have any scruples when they break into the village?

Moreover, they also possess a certain level of intelligence!

They might even launch a sneak attack, ambush, and gradually erode our strength!

At that time, people will inevitably be filled with anxiety.

"The people of Great Wei are in a rather dangerous situation."

Qin Shaolang suddenly sighed.

Chu Wu, who was standing to the side, pursed his lips.

"Brother Qin, what you said is not quite accurate. It is that since the new emperor took office, the situation of the entire Great Wei has not been good."

From Chu Wu's introduction, Qin Shaolang obtained several crucial pieces of information.

The new emperor has long neglected state affairs, and this news has already reached the ears of the people in the county town. Even in remote villages like theirs, some people know about it.

This is a man-made disaster.

After the new emperor took the throne, winter came earlier and became colder each year. Grain production also declined year by year.

This is a natural disaster.

With natural disasters and man-made calamities combined, Qin Shaolang dared not even imagine what a tragic end the people of his time would suffer.

"Ugh."

Qin Shaolang sighed softly. He couldn't control this matter at all. Without any experience in the imperial court, he had no way of demonstrating his value there. Even if he gained the appreciation of some important figure, what difference would it make?

If even the emperor is neglecting state affairs, how can he expect his court officials to play a role?

If they truly had such intentions, the Great Wei would not be in its current predicament.

Hearing Qin Shaolang sigh, Chu Wu couldn't help but offer words of comfort.

"Brother Qin, there's really no need to worry too much. We're in the northern border region, so it's normal to have more wild animals here. There are practically no wild animals left in the interior of the Great Wei."

Qin Shaolang simply shook his head.

"It's alright, we can't control it anyway, let's just do our best to protect ourselves for now."

While the two were chatting, Er Mazi had already led his hunting team of more than a dozen people to the edge of the stream.

Under Er Mazi's arrangement, the hunters also hid in various locations, keeping watch on the stream ahead, waiting for the white-browed tiger to appear.

Time passed slowly, and Qin Shaolang and Chu Wu lay on top of the stone pillar, enduring until noon.

The terrain here is high, but there is nothing to block the wind, and the two of them were chilled to the bone by the wind.

I ate two pieces of bread with just some water, and that's when I felt a little better.

"Brother Qin, why don't we go somewhere else? Staying here is too agonizing."

Qin Shaolang continued to observe from his position on the stone pillar.

"You should go down and hide first. I'll stay here and keep watch."

After speaking, Qin Shaolang continued to look down at the stream, staring at the sparse woods and the wild deer grazing on the leeward side in the distance.

Chu Wu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not get up and leave.

Suddenly, Qin Shaolang's brows furrowed.

"Did you hear anything?"

Chu Wu immediately perked up his ears, looked around, and frowned.

He heard it too!

The sound was strange, like the sound of scratching a stone with your fingernail.