Chapter 39 - 39

Chapter 39 He rushed up and threw a punch."Little sister, do you often go up the mountain?"Yun Huai asked as she followed Yun Ting up the mountain path, looking around as she went."It's alright, I come up to collect firewood whenever I have time. I heard it's very cold here in winter, and heating the kang (heated brick bed) takes a lot of firewood.""Then your second brother will help you pick up more these next few days.""Then thank you, Second Brother!" Yun Tingdidn't refuse, because she knew that this would make her Second Brother feel better, otherwise he would always worry about her." Brother Huai, are there mountains around your unit? Do you go hunting there often?" Zhou Yangasked curiously."Yes! I go occasionally, but I'm usually very busy with training and don't have much time.""Hehe, shall we have a competition later?""Are you sure?" Yun Huai raised an eyebrow at him."Of course…" Zhou Yang said confidently.Yun Huai glanced at him with a smile and laughed heartily: "Sure, a friendly spar is fine too."Neither of them had a hunting rifle; they both carried slingshots. Yun Huai's slingshot was given to him by Zhou Yang.Lu Jiayan was in a bad mood and didn't come with them, so it was just Yun Ting and her siblings, Zhou Yang and Yan Zheng.Yun Ting followed behind them, gathering firewood as she went. She didn't plan to help today; she'd let her second brother do it all."Little sister, stick close to your second brother and be careful.""Second brother, you don't need to worry about me, I know everything."Before long, the group arrived in the woods." Brother Huai, this forest is the boundary. Whoever hunts the most wild animals within one hour wins." Zhou Yang pulled out a handful of smooth, round pebbles from his pocket. "The loser gets to eat at my place for three days.""You win first, haha..."Yun Huai picked up a sharp-edged flint, his eyes glancing at the bushes below the slope: "A slingshot has a weak force. When shooting birds, aim for their wings, and when shooting rabbits, aim for their hind legs. Don't damage their fur."No sooner had he finished speaking than a pheasant suddenly flew out of the hazel bushes on the right, its tail feathers trailing golden-red arcs. Zhou Yang reacted extremely quickly, flicking his wrist to release the rubber band, and a pebble whizzed past the pheasant's belly, startling it soaring straight into the sky."What's the rush?" Yun Huai didn't move, his gaze fixed on the jujube tree to his left—three gray rabbits were huddled at the base of the tree, munching on wild fruit, the fattest of which weighed a good two pounds.He gripped the flint tightly, his arm slightly heavy, the rubber band stretched into a taut triangle, and as his knuckles turned white, he suddenly released it. The pebble flew through the air with a whooshing sound, striking the fat rabbit's hind leg with a "thud." The rabbit rolled over, and just as it curled up, a second pebble arrived, hitting it right behind its ear, and it fell silent instantly.Zhou Yang, his eyes gleaming, also set his sights on another rabbit. He took a deep breath to steady his hand, pulling the rubber band taut, but when he released it, it veered off course by half an inch, causing a pebble to hit a tree trunk and startling the rabbit, which darted into the dense forest."Holy crap... what's going on?""Keep your wrist steady, don't use your arm to exert force." Yun Huai said, then suddenly looked up at the sky—two doves were perched on a pine tree, tilting their heads to peck at the pine cones.He took out a small pebble, flicked his arm, and the rubber band snapped. As if guided by a telescope, the pebble grazed the pine needles and struck one of the doves' wings. The dove fluttered and plummeted, but just as it was about to hit the ground, he flicked it again, and it landed steadily in the grass." Brother Huai, that's great!""Little sister, your second brother did a good job, didn't he?" Yun Huai looked at his younger sister proudly, wanting to take credit."Yeah, Second Brother is really amazing!" Yun Ting praised in agreement. Yun Huai was like he had been injected with chicken blood at this moment, and his movements were swift. In no time, he had caught quite a few Wild Chickenrabbits.Zhou Yang was not to be outdone, but ultimately his aim was a bit off, and he ended up panting heavily.In contrast, Yun Huai remained calm and composed, showing no signs of the intense scene that had just unfolded.Yun Ting followed behind, helping to collect the game. Yan Zheng was also forced to help Zhou Yang collect the game. However, compared toYun Huai, Zhou Yang's side caught far fewer game."Are you even capable? You made me pick it up for you? Isn't that a waste of your talent?" Yan Zheng teased Zhou Yang."Of course! How can a man say no?" Zhou Yangshouted excitedly, startling the Wild Chickens in the bushes into scattering everywhere.Even Yun Ting, who was not far away, looked at him, and Zhou Yang's face suddenly turned bright red."Heh~" Yan Zheng chuckled softly.An hour passed. A small pile of prey lay at Yun Huai's feet, and there was still some in Yun Ting's basket. He emptied the prey and counted it: a total of twelve wild rabbits, twenty-two pheasants, and five fat doves, all shot in non-lethal spots, their fur intact. In front of Zhou Yang, there were only seven wild chickens and a wild pigeon that had been shot and was still twitching its wings slightly." Brother Huai, I admit defeat wholeheartedly. You're truly impressive, as expected of someone trained in the military…" Zhou Yang tucked his slingshot into his waistband. "So, Brother Huai, what do you need me for?""After I left, I helped my younger sister carry water for a month.""Huh? That's it?""Hmm! Otherwise?"" Brother Huai, this is too simple. There's a well in this yard. I just need to draw water for her to use in the house.""That's settled then! Protect my sister and don't let anyone bully her.""Of course, your sister is my sister.""Get lost, that's my sister." Yun Huai kicked him.Yun Ting watched the two of them speechlessly. Would anyone ask her, the person involved, for her opinion?"Huffing and puffing..."What was that sound?"Shh—" Yun Huai suddenly made a shushing gesture and pointed to the bushes in front of him.Yun Ting's ears twitched slightly; it was a wild boar.Zhou Yang and Yan Zheng looked in the direction he pointed and saw two burly wild boars rooting around a tree root. One of them had tusks that were half a foot long, and it looked like it would be a tough opponent."Little sister, quick, climb up the tree, and whatever you do, don't come down," Yun Huaiwhispered to Yun Ting.Before she could make a move, the two wild boars spotted them and charged straight at them.Yun Huai pulled Yun Ting behind him and picked up a large wooden stick, assuming a fighting stance.Zhou Yang and Yan Zheng were also on high alert, taking precautions carefully.Yun Ting took the slingshot that his second brother had just put in his pocket, picked up a large pebble, aimed it at the wild boar's eye, and fired.Seeing this, Zhou Yang did the same, but unfortunately his aim wasn't that good, and he accidentally hit the wild boar in the belly.The wild boar that had been hit in the eye screamed and charged into the dense forest, while another wild boar, unaware of what was happening, followed it in."Chase!" Yun Huai shouted, and rushed out first.Just as the wild boar was about to disappear into the dense forest, Yun Huai suddenly accelerated, leaped forward, grabbed its tail, and forcefully pulled it to a stop. The wild boar panicked and turned to gore him with its tusks, but Yun Huaidodged to the side. Yun Ting, who had caught up from behind, rushed forward and punched the wild boar, leaving it dazed and disoriented."Little sister..." Yun Huai broke out in a cold sweat.Seeing that the wild boar didn't react, Yun Huaiquickly drew the dagger from his waist and precisely stabbed it in the neck. The wild boar struggled a few times and then stopped moving.Seeing its companion killed, another wild boar charged at them in a frenzy, but Yun Ting saw it crash into a large tree trunk in front of her with a "bang" and faint.Zhou Yang caught up, panting heavily. When he saw the two large wild boars on the ground, he looked at them and saw that Yun Huai and Yun Ting, without even breaking a sweat, gave him a thumbs up. "You two are really amazing."