Chapter 29: Chapter 24: Hooked
Translator: 549690339
At the end of the official road in Xiaoyu Village.
Zhao Er and his two brothers hid in a clump of grass beside the road at this very moment.
They peered intently at the vast official road through the gaps between the plants, watching every single person passing by.
“Brother Zhao, we’ve been waiting here for half an hour, and that guy hasn’t shown up yet. Do you think he would’ve decided not to take this road?” Hu Zi, the youngest of the brothers, asked after they had waited for quite some time.
He asked not out of loyalty to the gang but out of concern about losing the silver coins that were practically in his grasp.
“Impossible. ”
Zhao Er shook his head decisively, “That undisciplined hunter made a fortune of 130 silver taels by selling fur and animal skins in the town. Carrying such a large sum, he must be eager to get home.”
This official road in Xiaoyu Village is the shortest and fastest route to the mountain within dozens of miles. If they chose to take smaller rural paths, their journey would be half as short or even take twice as long.
He is new to this place and wouldn’t dare stay in our territory longer than necessary.
Besides, among the vast area of Dayu Mountain, only the region nearby Xiaoyu Village has been explored and cleared by hunters and is relatively safe.
Entering the mountain ridge through other areas is not impossible, but those areas are ridden with ferocious animals and venomous insects. Even experienced hunters wouldn’t be able to guarantee coming out alive if they ventured into those areas.
Now, you tell me, if you’ve just made a fortune of 130 silver taels, would you risk your life to cross Dayu Mountain through such places?”
The younger brother immediately shook his head, “Of course not. Only a fool would do that. With so much money, it’s better to find a safe place to buy a house, marry a wife, acquire some land, and live a comfortable life.”
Zhao Er nodded approvingly, “That’s why as long as we wait here, the kid won’t be able to escape. Even if he is daring enough to risk taking another route into the mountain, once our eldest brother and his men arrive, we will gather our gang members to track him down. We’ll definitely catch him.”
“The kid…won’t be able to esca-” Zhao Er’s words were cut off when his gaze snapped to what seemed like something flying towards him from a distance.
Before he could get a better look, pain seared through his eye and a tremendous force slammed into his head.
With that, he was flung out of the grass and crashed into the ground.
“Brother Zhao!”
“What’s happening?”
The sudden turn of events left the two younger brothers bewildered.
They quickly got up from the hiding place in the grass, intending to rush to Zhao Er’s side to check on their eldest brother.
But as soon as they stood up, one of them felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck followed by blood spewing everywhere, before a powerful force sent him crashing to the ground as well.
Only then did Hu Zi realize that two arrows, shot from an unknown location, had struck down his two companions.
‘It must be that hunter!’
Almost instantly, Hu Zi thought of who their enemy could be.
However, even though he knew who it was, he didn’t have the courage to face the enemy for revenge. Instead, he bolted and ran for his life.
His two companions were killed by the enemy’s arrows before they even spotted them. The expertise of the hunter’s archery skills was evident.
A deep sense of dread had already shrouded this member of the Qingzhu Gang.
He couldn’t care less about the silver coins now, with only one thought left in his mind – escape with his life.
Yet, the well-prepared hunt had just begun. How could a skillful hunter let their prey slip away so easily?
After taking only two steps and barely running ten meters, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.
As his body flipped through the air, his eyes glanced at his two lifeless companions, and only one thought remained in his mind, “Am I going to die now?”
With a thud, his body fell to the ground, his eyes fixed on the blue sky, and his pupils gradually dilated.
In the distance, beneath some low ridges, Lu Yuan lowered his bow.
Having already anticipated that he would be hunted down, it was impossible for him not to consider that there might be an ambush on his way back.
So, while returning along the official road earlier, Lu Yuan had carefully avoided walking directly on the path, instead choosing to move closer to the adjacent areas, feeling his way forward along the terrain.
Sure enough, this caution paid off.
When Zhao Er and his fellow Qingzhu Gang members were guarding the official road, he had discovered them hiding from a secret spot on the side.
Once he found them, there wasn’t much for him to say.
Lu Yuan raised his hand and shot three arrows, sending them straight to the underworld.
“Now that these guys are dealt with, there should be no more ambushes on the way into the mountain.” Lu Yuan thought as he walked towards the corpses of Zhao Er and his companions.
He quickly arrived at the area where their mangled bodies lay.
Crouching down, he searched the corpses and soon had three cloth coin bags in his hands.
Upon opening the bags and counting the money inside, he found that the total sum was less than ten silver taels. Zhao Er’s bag held the most money, a total of six silver taels.
“A bunch of poor fools, who’d think they’d even dare to join a gang.” Lu Yuan spat in disgust as he looked at their corpses, then pocketed the money bags, retrieved the arrows from the bodies to reuse, and turned to enter the mountain.
His steps were light, and his face held a smile.
Although he had just scorned Zhao Er and the others for being poor, nearly ten silver taels of extra income was still a joyous event..