Although Ye Ming was known to be very strong, the fact that he could knock out a pheasant with just a snowball was still quite outrageous.
"Now's not the time to worry about that. Let's pick up the two chickens first."
Ye Ming then strode towards the two pheasants.
The two pheasants were not large. The largest one, the one Ye Ming had knocked unconscious, weighed only two and a half pounds, which was considered large for a pheasant.
The smaller one was probably only two pounds.
"Here, your chicken."
Ye Ming handed the chicken with an arrow stuck in its buttocks to Liu Qiang.
"No, you shot it. I can't have it."
"The arrow in its buttocks is yours, and the chicken is yours. We agreed on that from the beginning. Take it. I don't want to play tricks on you. Instead of that, I'd rather go find some prey."
Looking at the pheasant in his hands, Liu Qiang was so moved that he was speechless.
This chicken alone could fetch one or two taels of silver. Even if he didn't kill anything today, it was still a good harvest.
"Okay, then I won't be polite with you."
With that, the two continued walking deeper into the woods.
The forest is easier to navigate in winter. The vines have withered, and there are no insects to bother you. Even the snow isn't slippery.
The two wandered for a long time, but aside from the occasional sparrow, they didn't see anything else.
"Brother Qiang, why don't we split up and search? That way, we'll have a better chance of finding prey. Then we can meet at the intersection before sunset."
"Will that get you into trouble?"
"What's the risk? We'll just search outside."
After hearing Ye Ming's words, Liu Qiang thought for a moment and agreed. Having shot a pheasant just after entering the forest, it was his first time to feel the easy money, and naturally, he wanted to make more.
"Okay, then let's meet at the intersection before dark."
With that, the two separated briefly.
After watching Liu Qiang walk away, Ye Ming, compound bow in hand, headed deeper into the woods.
Because people often come in to chop wood, the outer areas are rare for small animals. If you want to hunt anything big, you have to go deeper.
As for encountering tigers or bears, Ye Ming wasn't too worried, as bears hibernate. Even tigers can't climb trees, and he has a system-generated compound bow, which allows him to protect himself.
The deeper he went, the more Ye Ming could hear pheasants and birds chirping.
"Looks like my decision was right. Maybe there's a big catch today!"
Just as Ye Ming continued to go deeper, he heard the cries of pigs.
Following the sound, he quietly approached and saw a long, black-brown wild boar with seven or eight brown piglets, rooting at a dead log. A few squirrels chirped on a tree not far away.
Ye Ming took a closer look and saw that the tree trunks were filled with food for the squirrels' winter.
"Looks like there's a big catch today!"
In Ye Ming's memory, wild boar meat was not as valuable as hedgehog meat, especially adult males. The meat was extremely smelly and needed to be soaked in running water for several days before it could be eaten.
A pound of meat could only be sold for two hundred coins, which means five pounds would only sell for one or two taels of silver.
However, piglets and sows were valuable because they were not as smelly.
"That's probably a sow. If you want to fight it, you need to find a safe place."
In his previous life, when Ye Ming lived in the countryside, he had dealt with wild boars. These creatures were extremely aggressive.
Even a tiger, as long as it wasn't alone, would charge and fight it. And let alone a sow with piglets, its attack power was even more formidable.
He remembered the feeling of being chased and hit by a small wild boar weighing five or six pounds as a child.
Thinking of that, Ye Ming chose a sturdy tree and climbed up. After finding a good spot to strike, he fired an arrow at the wild boar, which pierced its body.
At first, the wild boar didn't react. When the pain hit, it let out a cry and retreated a few steps with the piglets. Then, with a sniff, it spotted Ye Ming in the tree.
Seeing Ye Ming, it rushed towards the tree like a madman.
"My God, this wild boar is so stubborn! It won't run away even with blood all over the ground!"
Ye Ming said, drawing his bow and shooting again.
As Ye Ming battled the wild boar, the hedgehog he'd hunted the day before was served.
..
In Room 1 of Piaoxiang Tower, a gorgeously dressed woman pouted angrily.
"Brother, why are you stopping me? I'm going to Liangzhou City to find Brother Weichen. He'll definitely stop plotting rebellion when he sees me!"
The armored hero, feeling helpless, rested his hand on his forehead at his sister's idiotic remarks.
"My silly sister, Lin Weichen's rebellion was premeditated. He even colluded with foreign forces and sold out his country for personal gain. What's so good about him? Besides, he wouldn't give up Liangyou City for you."
Murong Mingyue didn't care.
"My brother Weichen must have been forced into this. His family has been loyal for three generations. If it weren't for the Dog Emperor..."
Before she could finish her words, Murong Jianye immediately covered her mouth.
"You silly girl, you dare to say anything! You're going to kill yourself!"
Murong Mingyue rolled her eyes at her brother and bit his hand.
Pained, Murong Jianye immediately released his hand from his sister's grasp.
"Ouch, you're even biting your own brother!"
"Humph, who told you to slander my brother Weichen?"
"I didn't slander him in any way."
Just as the two were arguing, Li Youde walked in with roasted hedgehog meat.
"Sir, the meat you requested is ready."
Murong Jianye glanced at Li Youde in surprise.
"What meat? Didn't I ask for barbecue?"
"Hehehe, sir, you're really forgetful. Didn't you tell our master a few days ago that you wanted bristle pork?"
Hearing Li Youde's words, Murong Jianye seemed to remember what his subordinates had said before.
The bristle pork was incredibly delicious, and it just so happened that someone in his family had opened this Piaoxianglou restaurant in Qingshui County.
To taste wild game, one would usually go to Huang Ji. After all, he often came to Qingshui County to recruit soldiers from the county magistrate.
Huang Ji, in particular, had brought in many capable hunters. As for Piaoxianglou's focus on common dishes, he'd only casually mentioned it at the time.
"It seems to be true."
"By the way, how did you get this bristly pig? As far as I know, your Piaoxianglou doesn't seem to have any cooperating hunters."
Even if someone could dream of catching this thing, it wouldn't be easy. It's covered in thorns, and unless you're an experienced hunter, it's practically impossible to get one.
"Hehehe, sir, originally, there weren't any, but a young man came yesterday. Don't be fooled by his youth; he's quite large. This bristly pig weighs sixteen pounds, and I shot it through with one arrow."
"I bought the bristly pig for a high price, and the young man is willing to come to me whenever he needs game."
Hearing this, Murong suggested that he was intrigued. It's rare to see someone pierce such a large bristly pig with a single arrow.
After all, that thing is covered with hard thorns, and ordinary people can't do anything with it.
"What's the name of that guy?"
"This, this humble servant will find out. But judging by his appearance, I guess he will come again in a few days."
...
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