The journey back took more than an hour, and he only felt relieved when he saw wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys of Kuishan Village.

At the village entrance, there were many villagers returning, almost all of whom had just returned from chopping firewood. Although Huai Shuo, which was next door, was a coal mining area, the government controlled it very strictly, and the prices were too high for ordinary people to afford. In this harsh northern region, this was the only way to resist the cold.

The villagers quickly spotted Lü Tu carrying a stag and gathered around him with envy, touching the stag all over: "We didn't know you were so good, Lü Tu! You're much better than your dead father. He never hunted such a big prey in his entire life."

"Tell us where you got it, we want to try our luck too."

Zhao Laowu mingled in the crowd, chuckling, "It's almost dark, why go into the mountains? Why not just have Butcher Lü share some venison with us, and we can return it to him when we hunt something else?"

Upon hearing Zhao Laowu's encouragement, everyone chimed in, "Yes, Lu Tu, you're really doing well now! Not only have you married a beautiful wife, but you've also hunted such a big deer. Oh, and you even have a sheepskin on you! It's so warm! Share some of the meat with everyone!"

Lu Tu glared at Zhao Laowu: "Why should I share what I captured with you? If you want to capture them yourselves! Don't blame me for not warning you, I encountered Wuhuan soldiers in the mountains."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of fear flashed in the eyes of everyone present, and they immediately fell silent.

But Zhao Laowu was the first to scoff: "What nonsense are you spouting? Who are the Wuhuan soldiers? They're the kind of people who can break through a hundred-man Wuchuan army formation with just three or five men. If you encountered the Wuhuan soldiers, would you still be alive?"

The people around relaxed upon hearing this and said confidently, "That's right. Let alone you, even a well-trained veteran from Wuchuan would have a slim chance of survival if he encountered a lone Wuhuan soldier. Do you think you can possibly escape with your life from a Wuhuan soldier?"

"Who are you trying to scare! If you don't want us to eat meat, just say so. Why are you making up all this nonsense to fool us? We've never seen you act this way before!"

Among the crowd were people who knew Lü Tu well. A little girl of about 10 years old ran over and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Lü Tu, you're finally back!"

Lu Tu recognized her as Chen Huahua, Aunt Chen's granddaughter. He patted her head and smiled, "Huahua went to gather firewood again. Good girl."

Chen Huahua nodded obediently: "Grandma told me to gather firewood here. If you haven't come back by dark, she'll send someone to look for you in the mountains."

Lu Tu felt a warmth in his heart after hearing this. He had only asked Aunt Chen to help take care of Song Yuxi, but he did not expect that the other party was still concerned about his safety.

He ignored what others said about him and smiled at Chen Huahua, saying, "Huahua is so good. Let's go home, I'll grill some meat for you!"

Chen Huahua's father was in the army and rarely came home. Her mother also had a persistent cough and couldn't do heavy work. She was very self-conscious in the village. Hearing this, she looked up at her little face incredulously and asked, "Can I eat meat too?"

Lu Tu helped Chen Huahua take the basket, which was almost as tall as her, and said, "Of course, let's go home!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Huahua swallowed hard. Finally, there was meat to eat! In her memory, the only time she could remember meat was three years ago when her father brought back a few pounds of mutton after winning a battle. She still remembered the taste of that meat.

Especially after her mother drank the mutton soup, she didn't cough much for a while. Now that she ate the venison, her mother's illness should get better, Chen Huahua thought to herself.

The two men were not speaking loudly, but many villagers nearby still heard them. Immediately, someone shouted, "Lu Tu, you killed such a big deer, don't you want to pay taxes?"

Lu Tu turned his head and saw Zhang Bo, the village's notorious rogue, squatting at the village entrance with a few idle fellows. No matter who came back, they would check their baskets to see if there was any money to be made.

Too lazy to waste words with them, Lü Tu grabbed Chen Huahua and left. Zhang Bo and the others exchanged bewildered glances, never expecting that the usually honest and timid Lü Tu would dare to disrespect them. They immediately ran up to Lü Tu and blocked his way, saying, "We're talking to you, are you fucking deaf?"

Frightened, Chen Huahua grabbed Lu Tu's sleeve and hid behind him.

Lu Tu shouted in a deep voice, "Who do you think you are? Do you think you're worthy to collect my taxes? Get out of my way!"

"Oh my, did I hear that right? You, an orphan, dare to tell us to get lost?" Zhang Bo picked at his ear with his thumb and asked with an exaggerated expression.

Wang Hao, who was with him, grinned wickedly: "We can leave, but I heard you married a beautiful wife. Since you don't have parents to teach you how to lose your virginity, why don't we brothers help you out, so you don't not know where to start!"

The extremely loud slap startled the nearby villagers. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw Wang Hao fly through the air in an arc, flying several meters before crashing to the ground.

Wang Hao struggled to his feet, glaring viciously at Lü Tu: "You fucking dare to hit me? Zhang Bo, He Qiang, help me deal with him!"

Seeing this, Zhang Bo trembled on the spot and didn't dare to move at all. He wasn't like Wang Hao, who was an idiot. Just now, that slap sent Wang Hao, who weighed more than 100 pounds, flying several meters away. What kind of arm strength was that?

The villagers cheered, "Well done! I've been fed up with these bastards for a long time. All they do is bully people all day long."

"Lu Tu will teach them a lesson they won't dare to bully people like this again!"

Previously, Lü Tu was a coward who wouldn't dare to fight back no matter how much he was provoked, so Zhang Bo and the others had never seen Lü Tu fight anyone before, and they never expected him to have such good skills.

But now that they were leaving in such a sorry state, and he couldn't bear to lose face in front of so many villagers, Lü Tu lost his patience and strode towards them.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar. Everyone in Kuishan Village felt a chill in their hearts, for they were all too familiar with that sound!

A cloud of dust rose at the village entrance as three fierce-looking Wuhuan cavalrymen, armed with scimitars and bows, galloped toward them!

"The Wuhuan cavalry are coming! Run!" With a loud shout, Kuishan Village was thrown into chaos, and everyone scrambled to run in all directions.

With a whoosh, an arrow landed at Zhang Bo's feet in the distance, startling him so much that he yelped and scrambled towards the village.

Lu Tu moved with lightning speed, grabbing Chen Huahua to avoid a fatal arrow and pushing her to safety: "Go home quickly and tell your grandmother and my wife to leave!"

Chen Huahua nodded, her face pale, and threw down her basket to run home. Lü Tu released all his restraints, hid behind a locust tree, drew his bow and nocked an arrow in one swift motion, and shot it towards the forehead of the Wuhuan cavalryman running in the lead.

But the Wuhuan cavalryman seemed to be on guard, and with his keen sixth sense, he tilted his head an inch. The arrow drew a stream of blood across his face, pierced his ear, and exploded like a brilliant blood flower.

The Wuhuan soldier covered his injured right ear, then wiped his blood-soaked hand on his face, roaring angrily, "There's a sharpshooter! He's the one who killed the fourth brother! Kill everyone in the village!"