Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. Moreover, in this unfamiliar grassland, saving a local herder might bring unexpected convenience and information.

With a thought racing through his mind, Wei Chen didn't hesitate. In a flash, he sped off in that direction. He didn't run at full speed, lest he alert the wounded wolf and cause it to become desperate and attack the herdsmen, but his speed was still astonishing, leaving almost imperceptible shallow tracks on the snow.

Within a few dozen breaths, he had approached the depression. The wounded wolf seemed to sense a new threat, abandoned its covetousness of the herdsman, turned its head, bared its teeth, and let out a threatening growl, but its eyes clearly showed fear—it may have witnessed or sensed the death of its kind not far away.

Wei Chen's eyes were cold. Without pausing for a moment, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow while running, completing the action in one smooth motion.

"Thud!" The arrow pierced the air and accurately pierced the wounded wolf's throat. The wolf only had time to let out a short wail before collapsing to the ground, twitching twice and then falling still.

Wei Chen then quickly walked over to the herdsman.

Upon closer inspection, the herdsman appeared to be about forty years old, with a dark complexion, high cheekbones, and typical Mongolian features. At that moment, due to blood loss and the cold, his face was pale with a bluish tinge, and his lips were chapped.

When he saw Wei Chen, especially the bow in Wei Chen's hand and his clean and efficient skill in shooting and wounding the wolf, a strong light of survival suddenly shone in his cloudy eyes. He struggled to sit up and said urgently in broken Chinese mixed with Mongolian, "Help...help me...friend...help me..."

"Don't move!" Wei Chen said in a calm tone as he crouched down to quickly check his injuries.

The right shinbone is openly fractured, with bone fragments faintly visible. The wound is deep and bleeding profusely, clearly caused by being pierced by sharp stones or icicles when falling from the horse, and then torn by wolf claws. The blood loss is already considerable; without immediate intervention, coupled with the extreme cold, even a miracle would be unlikely to save him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Wei Chen immediately took out a small cloth bag wrapped in oiled paper from his spatial storage (pretending to take it from his personal bag). Inside were the wound medicines he had prepared before setting off, some of which were ordinary hemostatic powder bought on the market, and some were golden wound powder produced in the game world, which was more effective, mixed together. There were also clean white gauze and a small kettle containing warm salt water.

"Bear with it, let's stop the bleeding and disinfect first." Wei Chen's words were concise, but his actions were exceptionally swift. He first carefully rinsed away the blood and dirt around the wound with warm salt water.

The salt water caused a sharp pain, but the herdsman gritted his teeth, his forehead veins bulging, and he didn't utter a sound. He then quickly sprinkled a thick layer of hemostatic powder on the wound and tightly bandaged and secured it with gauze.

Next, he simply cut two tree branches, clamped them between the herdsman's broken lower leg, and secured it firmly with bandages and strips of cloth to prevent further injury.

After treating the wound, he took out a water bottle and a piece of biscuit and handed them to the herdsman: "Drink some water, eat something, and keep your strength up."

The herdsman gave a simple self-introduction. His name was Batu. He was so grateful that he didn't know what to say. He just took the water bottle with trembling hands, gulped down several mouthfuls, and then wolfed down the biscuits. Only then did he feel a little warmth return to his cold body and regain some strength.

"May the Eternal Heaven protect me... so that I could meet a friend like you..." Batu murmured a few prayers in Mongolian, then looked at Wei Chen, his eyes filled with the relief of surviving a calamity and sincere gratitude. "Friend, thank you... thank you for saving my life! You are my benefactor, the greatest benefactor of my whole family!"

Although his Chinese was broken, he expressed himself clearly. "My name is Wei Chen, I'm just passing by." Wei Chen introduced himself briefly, glanced at the sky, and said, "Your injury requires rest and you can't get cold. Your horse..." He looked at the horse with the broken leg and shook his head.

Batu's eyes darkened. That was his good horse, which had been with him for several years, but he was helpless at this moment: "The horse is no good... Friend, Brother Wei Chen, could you... could you help me find a place to shelter from the wind? I know it's not too far from here. Go east, there's an old sheep pen we used in the summer, made of stones, that can block the wind... I, I'll give you directions..."

Wei Chen nodded. He had originally planned to find a place to return to the game world and spend the night, but after rescuing Batu, he naturally couldn't abandon him.

He carefully carried Batu on his back. Batu was burly and heavy, but Wei Chen, with his true energy, found it easy to carry him.

Then he walked to the dying horse, sighed, and with a flash of cold light from his dagger, gave it a quick death, ending its suffering.

Batu looked regretfully at the horse and wolf carcasses on the ground and said, "What a pity for these prey! Soon after we leave, other animals will come and devour them! We can't take them with us; they'll just benefit the animals around here."

Unbeknownst to him, after carrying him a hundred or two meters away, Wei Chen, with a thought, used his spiritual power to store the horse and several wolf carcasses into his spatial storage. Batu, lying on Wei Chen's back, due to his injuries and the angle of his body, couldn't clearly see Wei Chen's specific actions in "dealing with" the horse carcass and the wolf carcasses in the distance.

Following Batu's directions, Wei Chen carried him forward into the twilight. Although injured, Batu was clear-headed and knew the grassland like the back of his hand, constantly guiding the way and avoiding ravines and deep snow areas.

"Brother Wei Chen, where did you come from? How did you end up in 'Wolf Valley' all by yourself? There are many wolves here in the summer, and even more in the winter when they come in packs. Even we old herders don't dare to come here alone." On the way, Batu couldn't help but ask, his tone full of lingering fear and curiosity.

"I came from inside the Great Wall to take care of some business, and also wanted to see the grassland scenery," Wei Chen replied vaguely. "I didn't expect there to be so many wolves here."

"More than just many!" Batu said with lingering fear. "This year the snow was heavy, and the pastures were buried thickly. It's hard to find gazelles and wild donkeys. The wolves are starving and much fiercer than in previous years! I came out today to check if my hidden 'earth arrows' (a type of animal trap) had yielded any results, and to patrol the pastures near my wintering grounds. I didn't expect to run into a small pack of wolves led by 'Lame Scarface' (referring to the wolf king with white fur on his forehead). There were at least six or seven of them!"

My horse, "Red Cloud," was startled and fell into a snowdrift... Luckily, I had brought a pitchfork and a dagger, and I fought desperately to kill two beasts, but I also... Alas, if it weren't for the Eternal Heaven sending you here, I, Batu, would be feeding the wolves today!

He paused, then exclaimed sincerely, "Brother Wei Chen, your skills are truly remarkable! I think I saw some movement over there and heard wolves howling. Are you alright? That 'Lame Scarface' is quite ferocious; several of our commune's best hunters have suffered at its hands."

Wei Chen calmly replied, "I was lucky; I wasn't injured. That wolf king was indeed fierce, but it's been dealt with."

Batu gasped. Although he hadn't witnessed the fight, Wei Chen was spotless, without a single scratch, and spoke so calmly, clearly having handled the situation with ease. This made him admire Wei Chen's skills even more. "Resolved? Good! Excellent! A great menace eliminated! Brother Wei Chen, you're amazing!" He gave a forceful thumbs-up.

The two walked and talked (mostly Batu did the talking, with Wei Chen occasionally responding), and their relationship grew much closer. Batu was a typical grassland man, forthright, honest, and grateful, and his gratitude towards Wei Chen was evident in his words.

After walking for about half an hour, just before it got completely dark, they finally arrived at the old sheepfold that Batu had mentioned. It was an abandoned pen surrounded by a low wall about waist-high made of rough stones, backed by an earthen slope, which did block out a lot of the cold wind. There was also a small shack inside, which, although dilapidated, was barely enough to keep one warm.

Wei Chen carefully placed Batu in a relatively dry and sheltered spot in the shack, then went out to gather some dry grass and a few dried cow dungs, and lit a small campfire with matches. The orange flames brought warmth and light, dispelling the chill and darkness in the shack.

With the fire lit, Batu's complexion improved. Wei Chen changed his dressing again, using a more effective wound medicine powder, re-bandaged and immobilized his leg, fed him hot water, and gave him some dry food.

"Brother Wei Chen, I can't thank you enough!" Batu held Wei Chen's hand, his eyes reddening. "You saved my life! When it gets light, can you take me home? My yurt is about twenty miles south in 'Baiyintala.' My family will treat you like their most honored guest, serving you the finest milk tea and the fattest mutton!"

Looking into Batu's sincere and earnest eyes, Wei Chen felt a slight stirring in his heart. His original plan was to hunt deep into the grasslands alone, but rescuing Batu was an accident. If he could reach the actual herder settlements through Batu, he might be able to obtain more information about the distribution of prey, the terrain, and other aspects of the grasslands, which would be much better than blindly exploring on his own. Moreover, he did need to find a relatively safe place for Batu to recover from his injuries.

"Okay." Wei Chen nodded in agreement. "I'll take you back tomorrow."

Batu was overjoyed upon hearing this, and even the pain in his leg seemed to lessen somewhat. He began to chatter on and on about his home to Wei Chen: his wife Qiqige, his son Suhe, and their several precious dairy cows and flock of sheep...

That night, Wei Chen spent most of his time resting and keeping watch, while Batu, due to pain and exhaustion, and the warmth of the campfire, fell into a deep sleep in the latter half of the night.

The next morning, as dawn broke and the snowstorm subsided, Wei Chen checked Batu's injuries. The hemostatic medicine was working well, and the wound hadn't worsened, but the fracture required a long period of rest. He cut two sturdy wooden sticks and made a makeshift stretcher using strips of cloth and rope, securing Batu to it.

"Brother Wei Chen, this...this is too much trouble for you!" Batu looked at the stretcher, feeling both touched and guilty. "It's alright, it's safer to walk like this." Wei Chen was strong, and with his true energy circulating, dragging the stretcher across the snow wasn't too strenuous.

Following Batu's directions, they headed south. Along the way, Batu constantly pointed out the terrain and landforms to Wei Chen, pointing out where the summer pastures were, where the good places to shelter from the wind in winter were, which rivers would have water in spring, and where there might be wolf dens or bear tracks... He wished he could pour out all his decades of experience surviving on the grasslands to Wei Chen.