Zhang Cheng held two cold hunting rifles, his chilling gaze sweeping over the group of young men from Wangjia Village.
People who are used to being wild in the mountains have a ruthless streak in their bones, but they are ultimately not outlaws.
Faced with absolute military intimidation and the threat of death, that bit of ruthlessness vanished instantly.
"Throw all your stuff away." Zhang Cheng's voice was devoid of any warmth.
"Dump! Let's dump! Let's dump it now!"
Wang Weiguo was the first to react. His voice trembled as he quickly threw the machete in his hand far into the snow.
The others' faces were filled with resentment and fear, but they dared not hesitate for a moment. They threw their hunting rifles, machetes, sharpened wooden sticks, and other weapons more than ten meters away.
A makeshift yet potentially deadly "weapon" was suddenly scattered on the snow.
"You, step back!" Zhang Cheng ordered again, his gun barrel slightly shifting to lock onto the crowd.
"Retreat! We're retreating right now!"
Wang Weiguo practically tumbled backward, and the others followed suit in a panic, wanting nothing more than to get as far away from this menacing figure as possible.
Only when the group of people had retreated dozens of meters away and become blurry dots in the snow did Zhang Cheng slowly withdraw his gaze.
He glanced at Wang Jian, who lay unconscious on the ground, and then at Wang Jimin, whose thigh was still gushing blood and whose face was ashen.
That look in his eyes was as cold as ice crystals in the dead of winter.
When Wang Jimin met Zhang Cheng's gaze, he trembled all over, his lips shaking unconsciously, and he even forgot to groan in pain.
Zhang Cheng stopped paying attention to these losers.
He slung one hunting rifle back over his shoulder, held the other in his hand, then bent down and easily tossed the heavy roe deer onto his shoulder.
He strode forward towards Zhangjia Village, his figure standing out remarkably strong and upright against the vast snowfield.
In the distance, Wang Weiguo and the others looked at Zhang Cheng's disappearing figure, exchanging bewildered glances, speechless for a long time.
"Brother Weiguo... are we just going to let him go like this?" a young man asked in a low voice, unwilling to give up.
"Otherwise what?" Wang Weiguo retorted irritably. "You want to stop me? Do you have the guts?"
Another young man, still shaken, said, "There were so many of us, and we had four hunting rifles..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Wang Weiguo spat. "If you've got the guts, why didn't you attack earlier? It's unbelievable! How did Zhang Ergou become so ruthless? And his marksmanship... damn it, he hits exactly where he aims! If any of you dare to mess with this kind of scoundrel again, don't blame me, Wang Weiguo, for turning my back on you!"
A moment of silence fell over everyone. Recalling Zhang Cheng's swift, decisive, and ruthless methods, they all felt a lingering fear.
"Alright, stop standing around!" Wang Weiguo steadied himself. "Hurry up and go check on Jian Ge! And Wei Min, his leg... we need to get it back in place as soon as possible!"
...
Zhang Cheng carried two guns on his right shoulder and the carcass of a roe deer on his left. The heavy burden did not slow his pace.
A biting wind blew past, and his eyes were sharp.
Retaliation by Wang Jian and his gang?
He is not afraid.
If you really anger him, he wouldn't mind adding a few more nameless corpses to this snow-capped mountain.
However, it's not that we'd go to such lengths to kill someone over just one roe deer.
But this matter can't just be left like this!
Breaking the rules comes at a price!
Upon returning to Zhangjia Village, Zhang Cheng did not go directly to the dilapidated house in the backyard, but instead headed straight for Zhang Da Nao's house at the west end of the village.
Zhang Da Tou was chopping firewood in the yard when he saw Zhang Cheng returning with it on his shoulders and in his hands. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets, especially when he saw the fat roe deer.
"My goodness! Er Gouzi!" Zhang Da Tou threw down his axe and rushed over, marveling at Zhang Cheng. "You're really something! You went into the mountains all by yourself, and before it was even dark, you'd already hunted such a big roe deer!"
He looked Zhang Cheng up and down, his eyes filled with amazement and a hint of barely perceptible awe.
Zhang Cheng put the roe deer down and stomped his feet, which were numb from the cold.
"Big-Headed Brother, I remember that big bronze gong used for announcing things in the village, is it still at your house?"
"Yeah, it's at my house." Zhang Da-Nao, puzzled, asked, "What's wrong? Do you need it?"
"Let me borrow it for a bit," Zhang Cheng said directly.
Zhang Da raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious: "Lending it to you is definitely no problem. But, can you tell me what you need the gong for? It's so cold outside..."
A cold glint flashed in Zhang Cheng's eyes: "Wang Jian from Wangjia Village led his men to break the rules of the mountains, trying to steal my roe deer halfway there!"
"What the hell?!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Da Nao's face instantly changed, his eyes widened, and anger surged. "Are you serious? Those little brats like Wang Jian would dare to do something like this?"
"Would I lie to you about something like this?" Zhang Cheng retorted.
"Damn it!" Zhang Da Tou stomped his foot angrily and cursed, "They've gone too far! Those kids from Wangjia Village are increasingly disregarding the rules of our ancestors!"
He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "This can't just be left like this! Er Gouzi, I'll go with you to Wangjia Village and give them a piece of our minds! We have to make them give us an explanation!"
With that, Zhang Da Tou turned and ran into the house.
"Er Gouzi, wait a minute, I'll find the gong for you right away!"
He shouted as he ran, "That's right! We can't just go alone! I'm going to get Jianhao and Tiezheng! Damn it, we're in the right, we'll teach those bastards from Wangjia Village a lesson today!"
More than half an hour later.
In Zhangjia Village, in the courtyard of Zhang Da Nao's house, twenty or thirty strong young men had gathered.
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