Chapter 2

"Xiao Sanzi, Xiao Sanzi, today we are going into the mountains with Grandpa, get up quickly."

A deep, middle-aged voice called out in the courtyard, breaking the tranquility of the early morning in this rural household.

"Ugh... hmm, I know." A childish voice responded from the west room, still groggy from being suddenly woken up.

This place is a small village at the foot of the vast mountains. The village has only about thirty households, and such a village is quite common in the Daliang Kingdom, which is spread across the mountains.

Most of the villagers in this village are surnamed Qin, and it is said that thousands of years ago, a wealthy Qin family moved here to avoid disaster.

Times have changed, and the wealthy Qin family has long since declined, leaving only their descendants to live by hunting. Although life is very hard, they can still manage to have enough to eat.

The head of this household is named Qin Hong, who is around forty years old and is strong and robust. He has three sons: the eldest was conscripted into the army two years ago; the second son is an apprentice at a blacksmith shop in Tenglong Town, thirty miles away from the village; only the youngest son stays at home to keep his parents company.

His father is already over sixty, but he is still in good health, as he often climbs mountains and hunts.

The child who responded from the west room is the youngest son, named Qin Fengming. His name has a significant origin.

It is said that when Qin Fengming was born, the birds in the mountains chirped for half the night, and at dawn, Qin Fengming was born smoothly. Therefore, the clan leader named him Fengming, saying that the auspicious signs at his birth indicated that he would surely achieve great success in the future.

This year, Qin Fengming is exactly ten years old. Although his face is slightly dark, he has a well-proportioned face, and his eyes are very lively, showing his intelligence and quick wit, without the dullness often seen in village children.

The Qin Hong family lives in the eastern part of the village, towards the back. The saying "poor children grow up fast" is very accurate for village children. Qin Fengming started hunting with his father and grandfather when he was six or seven years old, and it has been three or four years now.

When Qin Fengming heard his father's call, he did not dare to delay, quickly put on his clothes, and walked out of the room.

Due to the light rain last night, the air in the courtyard was particularly fresh. Taking a deep breath, he could smell the scent of green leaves mixed with rainwater. Outside, various mountain birds chirped incessantly, but the courtyard was very peaceful and harmonious.

After eating a simple breakfast and preparing some dry rations for lunch, Qin Hong and his father each took their tools, called out to little Fengming, and set out of the courtyard.

Qin Fengming happily responded, tucked a small knife about a foot long into his waist, picked up a small steel fork, and hurriedly followed them out.

Little Fengming did not know that this trip into the mountains would change the course of his life.

Yesterday, Qin Fengming and his grandfather had already set several traps and animal snares about twenty miles from the village. Today, they mainly went to check if there were any catches. This was something Qin Fengming enjoyed doing the most.

On the way, his grandfather and Qin Hong continuously determined the direction and found the path, while also paying attention to the surroundings to avoid any venomous snakes or insects.

Because the villagers have been hunting for generations, there are hardly any game animals left within ten miles of the Qin family village. Therefore, Qin Fengming and his grandfather and father had to walk a long distance.

After two hours of climbing mountains and crossing ridges, the three finally arrived at their destination. After a thorough search, they found a good haul: two mountain pheasants, a mountain rabbit, and a mountain marten.

As they walked, it was already noon. After preparing the game, the three rested on a rock, drank mountain spring water, and ate the dry rations they had prepared before leaving. They chatted while eating.

The mountain marten is very precious among small game animals. If sold in town, it could fetch a good amount of silver. Therefore, Qin Hong and his father were very pleased.

After a discussion, Qin Hong decided to take advantage of the early time and walk another two or three miles to see if they could find larger game animals like deer or wild boars.

They hid the game in a very secret tree hollow and sealed it with stones to prevent other wild animals from finding it, then continued forward.

This area was rarely visited by people, and in many places, there was no path. They had to use a machete to cut through the vines to pass.

"Crack, crack"

While the three were carefully searching for game, a sound of teeth gnashing suddenly came from about thirty feet away. Hearing this sound, Qin Hong and his father smiled. This was undoubtedly the sound of a large animal eating.

Following the direction of the sound, Qin Hong nimbly climbed up a hill, parted the bushes, and his face immediately changed. He saw a wild boar weighing about two hundred pounds gnawing on the roots of a giant tree about thirty feet away.

This wild boar was extremely fierce, with two sharp tusks about a foot long.

The wild boar's hearing was exceptionally sensitive. When Qin Hong discovered it, the rustling of the bushes had already alerted it. Its eyes immediately glared, and Qin Hong felt a chill run down his spine.

But at this point, Qin Hong could no longer hide. He had no choice but to leap up, holding the steel fork in defense, and shouted, "It's a wild boar, run back quickly, I'll hold it off."

Wild boars are known for their aggression among common wild animals. Seeing Qin Hong, it snorted a cloud of white breath, let out a roar, and charged at him with great speed, reaching him in a moment.

Relying on his years of hunting experience, Qin Hong held the steel fork and, as the wild boar approached, thrust it sharply at its eyes. At the same time, he leaped to the side to avoid the wild boar's sharp tusks.

Due to the haste, Qin Hong's thrust did not hit the wild boar's eyes but only grazed its thick fur. The wild boar "whooshed" past Qin Hong and charged down the hill.

Hearing their father's call, Qin Fengming and his grandfather did not hesitate and turned to run back, but the wild boar was too fast. It passed Qin Hong and directly charged towards Qin Fengming and his grandfather, who had not run far.

Seeing the wild boar charge, the grandfather did not panic. He shook his steel fork and, like Qin Hong, thrust it sharply at the wild boar's face. The wild boar's skin is thick, and the hunters in the mountains know that only its eyes are vulnerable.

With a "thud," although the grandfather's fork hit the wild boar, it did not hit a vital spot.

After two attacks, the wild boar, though not critically injured, was in great pain. It was now extremely angry, its eyes flashing with fury. Without turning around, it charged directly at Qin Fengming, who was not far away.

Although Qin Fengming did not stop running, he occasionally looked back. Suddenly seeing the wild boar charge at him, he was greatly alarmed. In his panic, he dropped his small steel fork and quickly ran backward.

Although greatly alarmed, Qin Fengming did not lose his composure. His four years of hunting experience taught him how to avoid danger. Relying on his agility, he always managed to dodge the wild boar by leaping behind a tree when it charged at him.

After two attacks, the wild boar was in a rage, and its only target was the unarmed Qin Fengming.

Although Qin Fengming was much stronger than city children his age, he was still a ten-year-old child. After dodging a few times, he was already panting heavily.

At this moment, the wild boar charged at Qin Fengming again. Due to his young age and fatigue, Qin Fengming failed to dodge the wild boar's tusk. It was hit by one of the tusks, thrown into the air, and crashed into a large tree, rolling down the slope...

PS: This is a cultivation novel, with more setup at the beginning. I hope the readers will be patient and continue reading.