Chen Changyuan's face was gloomy as he observed the trap carefully.
The trap was dug very deep and the surroundings were well camouflaged. If you were not careful, you could easily fall into it.
The sharp bamboo sticks at the bottom of the trap were obviously set up intentionally for the purpose of hunting large animals, or even... humans.
"Something's wrong," Chen Changyuan said in a deep voice, "This trap was obviously dug by someone on purpose."
Zhou Wu also came over and looked at the trap, his expression becoming serious:
"Brother Changyuan, do you mean... someone is deliberately trying to harm us?"
Chen Changyuan did not answer directly, but looked up and looked around, his eyes as sharp as an eagle.
"Besides our village, there's only Wangjia Village nearby. Could this be a trap set by them?"
Chen Changyuan's words were like dropping a huge rock into a calm lake, causing a thousand waves.
Everyone was immediately in an uproar and started shouting.
"Those sons of bitches from Wangjia Village! I've been fed up with them for a long time!"
A bearded man roared, spit flying everywhere.
"That's right! We haven't settled the score with them for stealing our grain seedlings last time! Now they're doing this again!" Another young man echoed indignantly.
Zhou Wu frowned and pondered:
"Brother Changyuan, this matter can be big or small. If it is really done by Wangjiacun, we can't just let it go like this."
Chen Changyuan nodded, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.
"Of course we can't just let this go! If there hadn't been this tiger today, wouldn't those two young men have died? This Wangjia Village clearly wants to kill us!"
"Yes! Let's go settle the score with them!"
"Fight them!"
The crowd was excited and clamored to attack Wangjia Village immediately.
Chen Changyuan raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
"Everyone, don't be impulsive. It's getting late now, and any rash actions will be useless. Let's go back to the village first, discuss a countermeasure, and then go to Wangjia Village tomorrow to seek an explanation!"
Although everyone was furious, they also knew that Chen Changyuan was right.
So, the group carried the injured little tiger and the two young men and walked down the mountain in silence.
Behind the bushes, a pair of cunning eyes stared at the receding backs of Chen Changyuan and his group.
The beggar spat, and the phlegm landed precisely on a piece of weed. "Damn it, he's so lucky! He didn't die from the fall!"
Beside him, Zhou Dazhu had a gloomy face, like a stone just pulled out of a well.
After a long silence, he suddenly grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "What are you afraid of? Even if I didn't kill them today, Chen Changyuan will be in big trouble."
Laizi scratched his head in confusion, "Brother Zhu, what do you mean?"
Zhou Dazhu's eyes rolled around.
"You're stupid! This trap is clearly aimed at people. Chen Changyuan is very clever and must suspect that Wangjia Village did it. If we add some fuel to the fire, I guarantee that the two villages will start fighting immediately!"
Laizi slapped his thigh and said, "Great! Brother Zhu, you are really smart! When the time comes, we can sit back and watch the tigers fight, wouldn't it be fun!"
Zhou Dazhu snorted complacently.
"I know a lot of scoundrels in Wangjia Village. When the time comes..."
He lowered his voice and whispered a few words into the beggar's ear. The beggar's eyes lit up more and more as he listened, and finally he couldn't help laughing, his laughter sounding particularly abrupt in the silent forest.
…
I don’t know how long I walked.
Finally, the crooked old locust tree at the entrance of the village appeared in front of everyone. Dim lights shone through the windows of several houses, adding a bit of warmth to the dull night.
When he arrived at the village entrance, Chen Changyuan stopped and put the body of the little tiger in his hand on the ground.
"This tiger is not big, and the meat isn't much," he said solemnly, looking around at everyone. "Everyone has worked hard, and this tiger meat..."
"Brother Changyuan, you killed this tiger, how can we share the meat?"
The bearded man scratched his head and said in a muffled voice. The others echoed him, saying they didn't dare to take credit for it.
"Don't talk nonsense,"
Chen Changyuan waved his hands. "If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have been able to succeed. Besides, this little tiger cub is not what I imagined..."
He smiled bitterly. He had originally planned to hunt an adult tiger, but now he hunted a young tiger. He felt a little disappointed.
"Let's do this,"
Chen Changyuan pointed at the gutted tiger carcass and said, "I'll keep the bones, and you can divide the remaining meat among yourselves."
"How can this be possible!" Zhou Wu was the first to jump out and object. "Brother Changyuan, you contributed the most, and you only get a few tiger bones. That's too much of a loss!"
"That's right, Brother Changyuan, this tiger skin is the most valuable. Even if you don't want the meat, you should take the tiger skin!"
Another young man followed suit.
Chen Changyuan shook his head and pointed at the two young men who were carried back. "They are seriously injured. This tiger skin will help them recover." He paused and said firmly, "It's settled. Stop arguing."
Seeing Chen Changyuan's firm attitude, everyone didn't know what to say, but they were all full of admiration for Chen Changyuan's loyalty.
After dividing the tiger meat, Chen Changyuan carried a few pieces of tiger bones and walked towards home alone.
As the night deepened, the village was silent, with only the occasional barking of dogs in the distance. When Chen Changyuan reached the door of his house, he stopped.
A dim light shone through the half-open door, and a woman's figure swayed in the room, accompanied by a burst of sharp abuse.
Chen Changyuan's heart tightened, not understanding what had happened at home. He pushed open the half-closed door, and a foul smell of blood and sweat hit him in the face.
Under the dim light, three women were fighting with each other like three mad bitches.
The widow Wang from next door was riding on Xiaoya, whom she hadn't seen for many days, and slapping her left and right, making loud slapping sounds.
Xiaoya's cheeks swelled up quickly and blood oozed from the corners of her mouth, but she still bit Widow Wang's arm tightly and refused to let go.
Chen Changyuan's mother Fang Suxia was squeezed into a corner, with two clear bloodstains on her face, trying in vain to separate the two.
"Stop it!" Chen Changyuan roared, causing the dust on the roof to fall down.
The three women were stunned at the same time and turned to look at Chen Changyuan at the door.
Standing in front of his mother Fang Suxia, Chen Changyuan didn't understand why two unrelated people appeared in the house.
Widow Wang reacted first, and immediately got up from the ground, pointing at Xiaoya and crying:
"Brother Changyuan, you have to help me! This little bastard bit my arm!"
She lifted her sleeves, revealing several deep teeth marks on her arm, with blood oozing out.
Chen Changyuan frowned and looked at Xiaoya.
Xiaoya's hair was disheveled, her clothes were in disarray, her face was covered with tears and blood, and she looked very miserable.
She didn't say anything, but just stared at Widow Wang stubbornly, with flames of anger burning in her eyes.
"Xiaoya, what's going on? Why are you in my house?"
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