Chương 17: Red-Eyed Zhao Family

Giant Willow Village, the Li Residence. Faced with Old Li's intense curiosity, Song Que merely pointed at the crowd behind them, smiled, picked up Husky, and walked inside. His own house had no courtyard, so the donkey cart could only be driven straight into the Li family's yard. The three adults hurriedly unloaded the goods, while the two children took the candied hawthorns Song Que had given them out to share with the neighborhood kids. The atmosphere was incredibly lively.

Taking advantage of the moment when Li Tie and his wife were carrying things inside, Song Que stealthily pulled out a significant amount of items from his Storage Space and placed them on the cart. This left Old Li carrying things while shouting out in utter confusion. Keeping the items meant for his own home, Song Que left the rest of the entire cart for the Li family. He then transformed into a coolie, hauling his own goods back to his house.

After a bout of bustling and cleaning, evening fell, and everyone gathered at the Li house for a meal. The festive atmosphere was even more vibrant than New Year's Eve. Entering the house, Song Que saw Gou'dan and Er'ya watching with teary eyes as their mother locked their new clothes away in a chest. He could only smile and shake his head. At this point, Li Tie's curiosity still hadn't subsided. He approached and asked:"A'niu, where did you get the money to buy all this?"

"Uncle, it was all thanks to Uncle Zhong helping us sell our goods at a great price. Furthermore, I was lucky enough to earn some extra income. So, after buying the bow, I still had quite a bit of money left. Since we rarely go to town, I figured I'd stock up on things we'll use gradually." Song Que smiled, offering no further explanation. Seeing his demeanor, Li Tie felt somewhat reassured. He placed his worries back in his stomach and nodded.

Bringing out his bundle, Song Que smiled at him and said:"Uncle, look what I brought back for you." Opening it, the bundle revealed a bow and arrow set, a spearhead, and a hoe blade. The latter two had been sitting in his Storage Space for a long time, and now he could finally gift them to Li Tie. Seeing the spearhead, Li Tie's eyes lit up, but his attention was quickly captivated by the bow. Intrigued, he picked it up and actually brought it to his nose to take a deep sniff, causing Song Que's face to darken.

"Hehe, A'niu, don't mind me. I'm just too excited." Intoxicated by the smell of the lacquer on the bow, Old Li only noticed Song Que's weird stare later, blushing and laughing sheepishly. Mimicking how others used a bow, Li Tie drew an imaginary arrow, aimed at the wall, and pulled back with all his might. Despite his face turning red and his neck veins bulging, he only managed to draw the bow slightly past the halfway point.

Seeing Song Que looking at him with undisguised disdain, he felt so embarrassed he slammed the bow on the table, stubbornly arguing:"It's just because I haven't eaten today, so I have no strength!"

"Dad, you're really embarrassing," Gou'dan ruthlessly mocked him. I might not be able to discipline Song Que, but you think I can't discipline a little brat like you?! Unluckily for Gou'dan, he was immediately pinned down and given a thorough beating by his old man. Only when the boy's head was covered in lumps did Old Li sit back down, feeling refreshed and reinvigorated. He absolutely refused to touch the bow again, seemingly having completely given up on it. Having been busy all day, they were quite exhausted.

After eating, Song Que immediately returned home. Looking at the various items piled up in his house, a surge of accomplishment welled up in his heart. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he laid out a brand-new set of bedding, poured himself a cup of water, and comfortably settled into bed. Holding a book in his hands, he began reading with deep fascination. He had just bought this book today, and it had cost him a full three taels of silver.

It made him profoundly emotional at the time; no wonder the illiteracy rate in this era was so astronomically high. With books this expensive, poor families couldn't even dream of affording one. The book was over two hundred pages thick and taught a thousand basic characters. On one side was the character, and on the other was a pictographic illustration. It was surprisingly easy to understand. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Of course, it only contained the most basic words like "leaf," "snake," "tiger"... but it was an excellent starting point. Top-student Song studied the book with immense relish, constantly tracing the characters with his finger to practice writing. Benefiting from a noticeable improvement in his memory, his quest to eradicate his illiteracy wouldn't be too arduous.... Night. The Zhao Residence. Village Chief Zhao Cairong and his son, Zhao Hu, were currently discussing Song Que.

"Old man, what do you think we should do about this? I heard that brat Song Que bought a donkey cart and a whole bunch of goods. A rough estimate puts it at no less than thirty taels of silver."

"That brat must have stepped in dog sh*t luck. He probably found some treasure in the Great Ridge Mountains and traded it in town this time." Thinking of this, Zhao Hu's face darkened. The father and son had always viewed the Great Ridge Mountains as their private property. Someone taking money straight out of their pockets naturally left them deeply displeased. Zhao Cairong furrowed his brows slightly:"Do you think Zhong Kui was involved in this?"

"Isn't it obvious? Why else would that brat be clinging to Old Zhong's side since yesterday? In my eyes, Zhong Kui definitely pocketed at least half of it for himself." Thinking of thirty times two... over sixty taels of silver had brazenly slipped right past his nose. Even though his family had silver, Zhao Hu still felt his heart bleeding.

"Old man, why don't I send people to force that brat to hand it over? After all, this is the village's communal property; it should be distributed by the village." Zhao Cairong wasn't feeling much better. But having experienced more of the world, he could still maintain his composure. He shook his head and said:"Let it go. Out of respect for Zhong Kui, we won't hold this against them. Send someone to tell them that the brat must join the hunting team.

Everything gathered in the forest must be handed over for distribution. Once he's in, won't that brat be entirely at your mercy to mold and squeeze?" Seeing his father speak, Zhao Hu, though still annoyed, could only huff in frustration.

"Dad, I told you long ago to kick Old Zhong out, but you wouldn't listen. Now he's getting increasingly brazen. Furthermore, I highly doubt that brat is willing to join the hunting team. If it were me who went into the mountains once and made sixty taels, I definitely wouldn't want to share it either." Hearing this, Zhao Cairong's eyes turned icy:"Refuse to join? If he dares refuse to join, do I need to teach you what to do?

The next time you see him, give him a thorough lesson on how a youngster should know his place and keep his head down." With this, Lord Hu finally felt satisfied and snickered darkly.... The next morning.

"Join the hunting team?" Looking at Li Hui standing at the door, delivering the message from the Zhao father and son, Song Que frowned. But he didn't hesitate to refuse:"Brother Hui, my apologies, but please relay this back to Captain Zhao. My uncle and I are used to being unrestrained. We will have to decline his kind offer." Li Hui hurriedly said:"Uncle Li, A'Que, think about it carefully. Lord Hu won't just let this go."

"Brother Hui, my mind is made up. Just relay my message to Captain Zhao." Li Hui shook his head and left. Watching him leave, Li Tie, his stomach churning with worry, anxiously said:"A'niu, why don't you just join the hunting team? I know what kind of person Zhao Hu is; he's incredibly petty. The news of your massive harvest in the forest yesterday has definitely reached them. The Zhao family controls this village precisely so they can exploit the Great Ridge Mountains.

The two of us are essentially snatching food from their bowls. They absolutely will not let us off." Song Que snorted coldly:"What can they do? March in here and rob us?"

"Well, not quite. The whole village is watching. But they will definitely trip us up the next time we go into the forest. In the desolate mountains, who knows what happens? They have numbers and power; we won't have a good time in the future." Hearing this, Song Que pondered slightly. He wasn't afraid, but an open spear is easy to dodge, a hidden arrow is hard to guard against. Beside him was Li Tie, whose leg made him less mobile. If they were targeted in the Great Ridge Mountains, Li Tie would be in real danger.

But working as someone else's coolie was out of the question. He thoughtfully asked Li Tie:"Uncle, the Great Ridge Mountains are so vast, how would they even find us?" The latter smiled bitterly:"The Great Ridge Mountains are vast, but there are only two main entrances. One path goes past Ghost Lake, and for a long time now, even the fiercest beasts don't dare take that route. They only need to wait at the other entrance, and they'll definitely run into us." Hearing this, Song Que broke into a wide smile:"See?

Doesn't that mean we have a private path all to ourselves? What are you moping around for, Uncle?" Hearing this, Li Tie was horrified and hurriedly advised:"A'niu, are you crazy? I know you have skills, but please don't be reckless! Ghost Lake is truly far too dangerous. Over the years, countless people didn't believe the warnings and went to investigate, but all of them left and never returned."

"Furthermore, even the animals in the forest don't dare approach it. It truly is a forbidden zone!" Seeing Old Li's panicked demeanor, Song Que chuckled:"Uncle, then come with me."

"Go? Go where?" Li Tie had a very bad premonition. Song Que didn't answer. He grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Husky, naturally, wagged its tail and hurriedly followed. The further they walked, the more wrong the direction felt. Li Tie panicked. No matter how much he tried to persuade him, it didn't work. Trying to resist physically was also useless; this kid was as strong as a bull! What sin did I commit in my past life?!

Li Tie gritted his teeth, silently resolving that if anything happened, he would risk his life to ensure Song Que's safety. Arriving at the clearing by Mirror Lake, Song Que smiled, pointed to the center, and said:"Uncle, haven't we arrived at Ghost Lake? What danger is there? Relax, I've been here many times and even set up a training ground. There's nothing to worry about."

Seeing the scarecrows and wooden stakes planted in the clearing, which certainly didn't look fake, Li Tie felt a fraction of his anxiety ease, but lingering fear still gripped his heart:"Alright, A'niu. But it's still better to keep our distance."

"Uncle, don't worry. I've already hacked the Water Ghost here to death," Song Que said with a cheeky grin. This time, Li Tie was utterly stunned. His eyes bulged, and his mouth hung open. He stood petrified for a long time before he managed to force out a single word:"Really?"

"Realer than gold. Not long ago, I came here to catch crabs and snails because I was starving. One time, the Water Ghost emerged from the lake to attack me. I hacked it to death with a single slash of my knife."

"This thing looked terrifying, but apart from being disgusting and reeking of a foul stench, its actual combat power was absolute garbage. I reckon the villagers in the past were just scared to death by its appearance." Hearing Song Que speak so casually, Old Li began to feel skeptical too.