The arrow missed.
Liu Mazi fumbled to retrieve another feathered arrow from his quiver.
He exerted all his strength, his face flushed, as he slowly drew the bowstring.
Ge Wulai crouched low, cautiously observing Zhang Dajian's position.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard a series of "grunt, grunt" sounds from behind him.
His face instantly turned ashen, and he mechanically, slowly, turned his head.
Over ten meters away, a wild boar weighing over three hundred catties stood in the snow.
Shredded meat still hung from its tusks, and its blood-red eyes were fixed on him, a low growl rumbling in its throat.
"Boss, there's a wild..."
"Pfft!"
Ge Wulai's startled cry was cut short by the sharp sound of an arrow tearing through the air; a feathered arrow accurately pierced the back of his head.
Warm blood mixed with brain matter splattered onto the snow, and he didn't even have time to show an expression of terror before he fell straight down, twitching twice before going still.
Liu Mazi's eye caught sight of his companion's tragic fall, and the longbow in his hand trembled violently, almost slipping from his grasp.
"Old Ge?"
He instinctively turned his head, only to come face to face with the wild boar's bloodshot eyes.
The three-hundred-catty behemoth dug its hooves into the ground, sending snow flying, and let out a deafening roar as it charged towards him!
"Bang!"
Liu Mazi's body, like a kite with a broken string, arced through the air and slammed heavily into the snow.
A large section of his chest had caved in, and blood mixed with shattered internal organs gushed from the corner of his mouth; it was clear he wouldn't survive.
The wild boar, however, did not give up, and trotted through the snow, charging at Liu Mazi again.
Just as it closed in, "Whoosh!" a feathered arrow, like a meteor, plunged fiercely into the wild boar's left eye.
"Oww... oww oww..."
The wild boar let out a tragic howl, its massive body continuously rolling and twitching in the snow.
Gradually, its strength waned, and eventually, it fell silent.
Zhang Dajian hid behind a large tree thirty meters away, another feathered arrow already nocked on his longbow.
Because he pulled too hard, the longbow had developed cracks, and after one or two more shots at most, it would be completely ruined.
After waiting another ten or so breaths, both the wild boar and Liu Mazi remained still.
Zhang Dajian was somewhat uneasy, so he picked up a fist-sized stone and hurled it at the wild boar and Liu Mazi.
Seeing that neither showed any reaction, he then gripped his woodcutting knife and slowly approached.
Arriving nearby, the feathered arrow was still stuck in the wild boar's left eye; it had long since stopped breathing.
Beside it, Liu Mazi and Ge Wulai were also undeniably dead.
He first forcibly pulled the feathered arrow from Ge Wulai's head, removing the evidence, and then began searching the two bodies.
Unfortunately, apart from half a coarse grain biscuit, there was nothing else.
"Damn it! Poor bastards! Not even a single copper coin, and they call themselves the village bullies, bah!"
Zhang Dajian kicked the bodies a few times, then went over to the wild boar.
He immediately noticed the dark longbow and matching quiver that had fallen nearby.
"Oh? This longbow isn't bad."
He picked it up and tried to draw it; the bow's strength was considerably greater than his previous one, making it just right for him.
Before the wild boar cooled, he took out his woodcutting knife and directly made a cut on the wild boar's neck.
The wild boar still had a large amount of blood in its body; if it wasn't quickly drained, it would rapidly clot internally.
At that point, not only would the pork be gamey, but the uric acid in the blood would also be absorbed, making it unsellable.
After draining the boar's blood, Zhang Dajian dared not delay.
The smell of blood here was too strong and would soon attract other beasts.
He picked up his woodcutting knife and quickly cut down four tree trunks the size of a calf's leg, flipped the wild boar onto them, and tightly secured it with pre-prepared ropes.
He then placed Liu Mazi's bow and arrows next to the wild boar, covered them with weeds, and then laboriously dragged the wild boar down the mountain.
As for the bodies of Liu Mazi and Ge Wulai, he was not worried at all.
Within half an hour, beasts attracted by the smell of blood would devour the two, leaving no trace.
The mountain path was uneven and difficult to traverse; even with his system-enhanced physique, dragging a three-hundred-catty weight down the mountain still left Zhang Dajian breathless.
At this moment, he suddenly thought of his spatial storage; how much easier would it be if he had a spatial storage?
"System, are you there?" Zhang Dajian called out in his mind.
"Ding! Host, please speak!"
"Can you help me out and give me a spatial storage or something? It's too undignified to drag this wild boar down the mountain like this."
"Ding! I cannot help with that, but the host can acquire Affection Points to draw from the prize pool, which is all-encompassing, and space is naturally included."
Hearing the system's last sentence, Zhang Dajian's face lit up with joy; as long as it was in the prize pool, he would eventually draw it.
By the time he finally reached the foot of the mountain, the sun was already at its zenith.
Many villagers at the foot of the mountain, having found nothing, were about to go home and chew on tree bark when they suddenly saw a figure dragging something down from the mountain.
When the villagers saw clearly, they immediately exclaimed, "A wild boar! Holy cow, it's so big!"
The crowd instantly gathered, and Liu Qiang pushed to the front, his Adam's apple bobbing, his eyes red with jealousy.
"Dajian, did you hunt this wild boar?"
Zhang Dajian was panting from exhaustion and couldn't help but roll his eyes, "If I didn't hunt it, who did?"
Liu Qiang wasn't angry; he looked at the massive wild boar, saliva almost dripping from his mouth with desire.
"Dajian, your family only has you and Wanru; you won't be able to eat all this wild boar meat. Can you give me ten catties?"
Other villagers, hearing this, all perked up their ears.
"Liu Qiang, right? I remember Liu Mazi is your cousin, isn't he?" Zhang Dajian smiled brightly.
"That's right!"
"Giving you ten catties of pork is no problem."
Liu Qiang's face was full of pleasant surprise, "Really?"
Zhang Dajian nodded, "Of course it's true. As long as your wife sleeps with me for a month, I'll give you ten catties of meat. How about it? Am I generous enough? I'm only agreeing to this out of consideration for Liu Mazi."
"Zhang Dajian, you're asking for a beating!" Liu Qiang bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
His wife was the village beauty from Songjiagou in the neighboring village, and he had spent half a string of copper coins, plus ten catties of millet, and his cousin's threats.
He had coaxed and tricked her, and it was with great difficulty that he managed to marry her.
They had only been married for less than half a month, and he was in the throes of passion, so he naturally couldn't hand his wife over to someone else.
"Aren't you afraid my cousin will come looking for trouble?" Liu Qiang brought up Liu Mazi.
After all, his cousin was the village bully, and ordinary villagers trembled at the mention of his cousin's name.
Zhang Dajian sneered, "Afraid of him? I was just looking for him! Yesterday, he and Ge Wulai stopped me and beat me up for no reason.
I came out today with my woodcutting knife, and whoever dares to stop me, I'll fight them to the death!"
Zhang Dajian directly pulled the woodcutting knife from his waist.
Because he had just bled the wild boar, the woodcutting knife was covered in dark red bloodstains, looking very intimidating.
Liu Qiang's face turned pale with fright, and he quickly retreated several steps.
Zhang Dajian looked at Liu Qiang's pale face, a cold sneer curling his lips, "Look at how cowardly you are, you don't even dare to utter a harsh word?
My offer is valid for you long-term. This is a famine year, and the entire village has no grain. Ten catties of fatty pork for your wife for a month? You won't find a better deal even with a lantern.
It's only because your wife has such a good figure; if it were any other young woman, I wouldn't even be willing."
The surrounding villagers burst into laughter, Liu Qiang's neck veins bulged, but his clenched fists remained unraised.
He spat fiercely and then quickly walked away towards the village.
The villagers pointed and gestured at Liu Qiang's retreating back:
"That Liu Qiang, he usually throws his weight around because of his cousin, but this time he's hit a brick wall!"
"Why should Dajian give away for free the game he risked his life to hunt?"
"I've disliked that guy for a long time; this time, I finally got some revenge."
The villagers' gazes refocused on Zhang Dajian.
His back was ramrod straight, and his words were aggressive; in just a few days, he seemed like a different person, even Liu Qiang was scared away.
He truly was a man of Panling Village, so brave! He wasn't afraid of anyone else's retaliation in the slightest.
A few quick-witted villagers, seeing that Zhang Dajian was struggling to drag the wild boar alone, voluntarily stepped forward to help.
Zhang Dajian wasn't foolish; he naturally wouldn't offend everyone.
"Thank you all for your help. I'll remember this favor. After I return from selling the pork in town, I'll leave a catty for each of you."
The eyes of those who helped lit up, and they immediately beamed with joy. They had only helped out of convenience, never expecting Zhang Dajian to give them meat.
Deng Gang smiled honestly and quickly refused, "Dajian, I can't accept your meat. It was just a small help, how can I ask for your meat?"
Zhang Dajian smiled, "Brother Deng Gang, it's just a catty of pork. Take it back and let sister-in-law improve her life a bit."
Deng Gang fell silent upon hearing this.
His wife, Zhao Cuiliu, hadn't had a good day since they got married.
His hunting skills were terrible, and he always came back empty-handed.
Their family hadn't eaten meat in several months. If he brought meat back, his wife would probably be very happy, right?
Thinking of this, he sincerely thanked Zhang Dajian, "Brother Dajian, thank you. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know. As long as I can help, I will never refuse!"
Zhang Dajian's impression of Deng Gang greatly improved upon hearing this.
With everyone's help, they quickly returned to the village entrance.
Zhang Dajian looked at Deng Gang, "Brother Gang, could you please go to Uncle Wu's house? I need to use his ox cart to sell meat in town. Tell him I'll pay him ten coins for the fare and ask him to come quickly."
Deng Gang nodded and trotted off to call him.
Soon, an ox cart appeared in everyone's sight.