Everyone watched as Zhang Cheng carried the plump roe deer on his back.

With the headless wolf king's corpse slung over his shoulder, he strode away.

They all stood there, stunned, looking at each other.

"Damn it, why does Er Gouzi look like he's been transformed?"

A man rubbed his frozen hands and muttered to himself.

"The way he looked at me just now was so cold and gave me the creeps."

"Absolutely! The change is too drastic! Could it be that once someone marries a wife and separates from the family, they suddenly become independent?"

Someone nearby chimed in, their tone full of disbelief.

“He used to be so timid and listless, he didn’t even dare to speak loudly.”

"I just can't figure it out,"

Zhang Jianhao, whose ankle had been straightened by Zhang Cheng earlier, rubbed his ankle, wincing in pain.

"How did he manage to kill that wolf king? It was a wolf king! And just now, he twisted and turned my ankle like that, and hey, it didn't hurt much anymore. Do you think he secretly learned some bone-setting skills behind our backs?"

"Alright, alright, that's enough talk!"

Zhang Da Tou covered his bleeding cheek and roared incoherently.

"Hurry up, carry the injured back to the village! What are you dawdling for!"

"Brother, what do we do with these dead wolves?"

Someone pointed to the wolf carcass on the ground.

"What else can we do? Carry them back! Divide them among the people!"

Zhang Da Tou spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

Zhang Cheng ignored the whispers behind him.

He carried about a hundred pounds of prey on his shoulder.

The snow crunched underfoot.

Although the wolf king was headless, it was still quite heavy, and with the roe deer on top of it, his shoulders ached from the weight.

But this little bit of pain is nothing compared to the heavy thoughts weighing on his mind.

The harvest was indeed plentiful, enough for him and his crazy wife to get through the toughest part of the winter.

Thinking of this, he quickened his pace.

Zhangjia Village is not large, with only about forty households in total.

There aren't many able-bodied young men to begin with, maybe thirty or forty at most.

In today's wolf attack, seventeen people went out, all of them injured, and Li Junyi died. Li Yaohui's arm also looks like it's hanging by a thread.

The days to come will likely only bring more misery.

Help? What can he offer? He hasn't even finished cleaning up his own dilapidated house.

Back in the village, as I passed the front yard, I saw my sister-in-law, Er Ya, sitting on the threshold, warming herself with a scorched earthenware pot.

When Er Ya saw him, especially the big thing he was carrying on his shoulder, her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open for a long time, probably big enough to fit an egg.

Zhang Cheng didn't even lift his eyelids, walked straight through the yard, and returned to his mud hut.

Inside the house, the fire was burning brightly.

Shi Yangyang was still sitting by the fire, looking dazed. He was wearing a new cotton-padded coat, and although his face was still dirty, at least he was no longer trembling like a leaf.

Upon seeing her, Zhang Cheng's tense face relaxed a little.

He put down the prey on his shoulder and, with a clang, drew his wood-chopping knife.

First, peel it.

Wolf kings have thick, glossy fur; they're valuable.

Although roe deer skin is thin, it is very soft.

Two wolf pelts and one roe deer pelt, tanned and ready, should be enough to make a thick leather vest for the crazy woman and an outer cloak for myself.

After skinning the roe deer, Zhang Cheng carried it by the leg, walked to the door, grabbed some clean snow, and vigorously scrubbed off the bloodstains.

Then, back inside the house, facing the wooden stump,

"Bang Bang Bang"

It was just a big chopping spree.

Cut the bones and meat into roughly equal-sized pieces.

The iron pot was placed on a fire and heated.

He picked out a piece of fat and threw it in. In no time, the fat was rendered out, sizzling and releasing a rich aroma of meat mixed with the caramelized fat, which instantly filled the entire small house.

Shi Yangyang's previously dull eyes suddenly came alive. She stared intently at the rolling chunks of meat in the iron pot, making a "gurgling" sound in her throat, and there was even a faint, glistening substance about to drip from the corner of her mouth.

How could the dilapidated mud walls possibly keep out such an enticing aroma? It quickly drifted on the wind to the main house in the front yard.

Inside the large house, Old Zhang's family was warming themselves around the stove.

"That damned beast! Where did he get such audacity and ability? In just a few days, first a wild boar, now a roe deer, and he even brought back the wolf king!"

The old woman slapped her thigh, spitting as she spoke, but her eyes glanced at her eldest son, Zhang An, whose ear was wrapped in a strip of cloth.

"Boss, look at that little beast, he can even hunt something. You're much stronger than him. Why don't you... go into the mountains and try your luck?"

Zhang An's mind started to stir after his mother's words.

Yeah, if that coward Er Gouzi can do it, why can't I? But when he thought about the dangers in the mountains, especially the news he had just heard, he became a little scared.

"Mom, in the mountains..."

"Dad, how about we go together?"

Zhang An looked at Old Zhang; he really didn't dare to do it alone.

Old Zhang took a puff of his pipe but didn't immediately respond.

"I think it's a good idea!"

His mother made the decision for him.

"When the snow eases up a bit, have your dad go to Old Li's house and borrow their old hunting rifle! With a gun, what's there to be afraid of!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Zhang An immediately perked up, as if he could already see himself carrying his prey back.

"With a gun, we're not afraid! Dad, we'll definitely be able to shoot that big guy!"

The father and son were talking animatedly when they suddenly heard heart-wrenching cries, a man's roar, and a woman's pleas coming from the neighboring yard.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!