The Yun family's secret guards who went out to gather information returned and reported that they had discovered a herd of wild goats and deer in a valley deep in the mountains.

Yunmo sent someone to inform the village chief that they were preparing to set off for the valley to hunt early the next morning.

The villagers were very excited and eager to try it out.

Lin Yinan brought back a wild boar, which made many people green with envy.

The village chief had no choice but to select twenty or thirty villagers with good kung fu and archery skills to go together, and the game they brought back would be divided among them.

Lin Yiheng and his sister also went along.

Yun Mo led a team of 150 people through the mountains and forests.

The deeper they went, the denser the forest became, and the guards at the front had to cut a path with their swords to get through.

In an era without maps or navigation, the Yun family's secret guards possessed an astonishing ability to orient themselves.

Looking at the dense forest where only a sliver of light shone through, Lin Yinan was filled with admiration.

They passed through forests where firewood was being cut down, crossed two mountains, and finally arrived at the valley the guard had described.

Perhaps because it was surrounded by high mountains, the temperature in the valley was significantly higher than in the village, even though it had snowed, and everyone took off their cotton-padded coats.

There was very little snow on the grassland in the valley.

A large herd of wild goats were leisurely grazing on dry, yellow grass.

Just as the guards said, there was a small herd of deer in the distance.

Yun Mo quickly devised a strategy, distributing arrows to those with bows and arrows in groups, marking the arrows, and finally seeing which group hunted the most prey.

There were less than twenty arrows in the quiver. Lin Yinan frowned slightly. "Not enough. Give me another twenty."

Yun Liu, who had never witnessed her archery skills, teased, "Miss Lin, don't waste the arrows."

Lin Yinan narrowed her eyes, looking at the person who was teasing her.

Yun Er patted Yun Liu on the shoulder and laughed, "Little Liu, you'd better open your eyes wide and take a good look later. Even I can't compare to Aunt Lin's archery skills."

Yun Mo curled the corners of his lips, and then readily gave her another thirty arrows.

After receiving the arrow, Lin Yinan turned around to find the best position, and the villagers who were assigned to her group quickly ran to catch up.

Those who couldn't shoot arrows, like Lin Yiheng, were assigned to another group. They were responsible for guarding the various exits to prevent frightened or injured animals from escaping.

After everyone was in place, Yun Mo nodded slightly to Yun Er.

Yun Er fired the first arrow; the sound of the arrow piercing the air was deafening, and a goat immediately fell to the ground.

If you persevere, the moment will come when Lin Yinan shines.

Before the goat could react, she quickly nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring taut, and released it. The arrow, carrying all its force, pierced the goat's neck.

Lin Yinan's archery movements are both concise and powerful. Once she locks onto her target, she shoots one arrow after another with a 100% hit rate.

The villagers who were assigned to her group were dumbfounded.

Soon, Lin Yinan's arrows missed their mark; she noticed that the villagers' arrows barely moved.

Give me the arrows.

The villagers were stunned and obediently handed her the arrows.

The hunt lasted for nearly two hours before they stopped to count their kills, watching the goats gradually disappear into the distance.

They hunted over a hundred goats and twenty wild deer in total.

Lin Yinan's group killed more than 30 goats and five wild deer.

The group carried their prey down the mountain, returning home laden with their spoils.

On the way back, everyone was wearing thick cotton-padded clothes and carrying heavy game over two mountains, but they still didn't feel hot. Instead, they felt colder and colder.

In the evening, although it did not snow, the temperature dropped sharply.

Lin Yinan carried a small goat, and just as they were about to freeze, they could already vaguely see the village's watchtower.

Li Shulan, dressed in a bulky cotton coat, stood with Qianwu, hands clasped together, stamping their feet, constantly peering out from the village entrance.

The Yun family guards on the watchtower were the first to spot the returning team, and they immediately blew loud whistles.

"Madam, listen! It must be the young lady and the eldest young master returning."

Qianwu's small face, which was red and cold from the cold, blossomed into a smile.

As the procession drew closer, the guards on the watchtower shouted, "Third Master and the others are back!"

Yunyi, who was leading a patrol team nearby, and Yunye, who heard the whistle in the village, came together to the gate to greet the hunters.

The villagers gathered at the entrance of the council hall, swallowing hard as they looked at the mountain of prey.

The Yun brothers, along with the clan chief and village chief, discussed the matter in the council hall and soon decided on a plan for distributing the prey.

Each household in Linjia Village received ten jin of meat, while the furs went to the Yun family.

Lin Yinan, who caught the most prey this time, was given two goats and one deer, as well as five sheepskins.

The villagers expressed no objection to the distribution of the Yun family's assets.

Looking at the venison that had been brought back, Grandma Zhao's wrinkled face blossomed into a smile.

Some well-off families secretly came to inquire whether Lin Yinan and his family were exchanging venison.

The deer they hunted wasn't large; after removing the internal organs and fur, it weighed only a little over 100 jin (approximately 50 kg).

Lin Yinan and Lin Yiheng had already discussed it. After traveling for so long, they would leave the venison for their own family to eat and replenish their energy.

The mutton was made into jerky to save for later use on the road.

"Yunzhi is injured. This is such good venison. Why don't we send him a leg?" Lin Shuo said, cutting up the venison with a knife.

Venison is highly nutritious and can strengthen the body; if they come here, they will never be able to eat it in their lifetime.

Li Shulan also realized what was happening, and Lin Yinan quickly spoke up, "Uncle, we just sent over a wild boar leg yesterday. If we send another one, Uncle Su might be unhappy."

Lin Yiheng was a scholar and knew Su Kunliang's character.

"Yes, Uncle Su is a man of high moral character."

The Su family is having dinner.

Su Yunyan ate the delicious wild vegetable and meat soup in her bowl. The wild vegetables were cooked with fresh meat, and there was no bitterness at all. The meat was sent by her future sister-in-law yesterday.

"I've heard that venison is very nutritious. Brother, do you think your future sister-in-law might send us some venison?"

Zhu Jinhui rolled her eyes at Su Yunru and scolded, "You're always looking for something better than what you have. You can't even shut yourself up with food."

Su Kunliang put down the bowl in his hand, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and spoke in his usual gentle voice.

"The Lin family already delivered meat yesterday. One should not be greedy, lest one give others cause for gossip."

Su Yunru secretly glanced at her mother, wondering what her mother had said to Lin Yinan alone yesterday.

Zhu Jinhui's heart was pounding with panic. She tried to remain calm, but her hand holding the chopsticks was trembling slightly.

As darkness fell, snowflakes began to flutter down.

While everyone in the village was busy stockpiling supplies for keeping warm, time quickly passed through the heavy snow and the winter solstice arrived.

More than a hundred people were lying in ambush in the woods in front of the village, some of them dressed as soldiers.

Several arrows whistled through the air and shot towards the watchtower at the entrance of the village.

The well-trained guards on the watchtower quickly concealed themselves upon hearing the sound and sounded a loud horn.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"