Chapter 548: Alarm Bell

In the end, everyone successfully butchered the giant wild boar carcass and brought it down from the mountain, but along the way, they noticed many wild beasts that had been drawn by the scent; had there been fewer people, they likely would have been in real danger, so they left the entire set of internal organs on the spot for them to fight over.

Early the next morning, several ox carts were loaded with various meats chilled with ice and covered with a thick layer of Wild Rice straw; another cart carried the remains of Zhang, protected in the same way. After resting for a night, Xi's pain had not diminished, and only then did he realize he might truly be seriously injured.

Zhang's death, while not having much to do with him personally—and truth be told, he could have completely absolved himself of responsibility—still left his heart uneasy, so upon returning, he accepted whatever punishment or compensation might come; it would be even better if he could secure a medal for Zhang, though he dared not even think about Nobility.

It had been many years since anyone in Huaxia had died from hunting, so the news quickly spread throughout Lema City. As the saying goes, good news does not leave the door, but bad news travels a thousand miles; just like some of their policy notices, which take a long time to be communicated properly, this kind of matter spread on its own without any need for them to publicize it, and the details were not even slightly off, though no one knew where it had started.

Xi and Zhang both resided in Lema City and fell under the jurisdiction of Lema City, so there was no need to return to Huaxia City. The Lema City Ministry of Revenue took this matter quite seriously, and since Xi was also a man of the Ministry of War, both ministries were stirred into action.

The final result was that Zhang was buried in the land belonging to his family; Zhang was the first adult to die in the entire Lema City, as previously there had only been children who died prematurely.

Xi wanted to secure some honor for Zhang, but his situation did not meet any of the criteria, because they had gone out as hunters, not as soldiers, and it was to collect food for themselves and Huaxia, not to execute any major mission, and they were taking the lion's share of the gains themselves; in any case, no matter how one put it, Zhang would not receive any honor.

However, the Lema City government did give Zhang's family some compensation, enough for his whole family to get through a good Winter. Zhang's women could remarry after half a year; the main reason for this was the fear that they would focus on themselves and not look after the children, leading to the children being neglected during the Winter.

Although Huaxia clearly stated that as long as the party with children wanted to remarry—for instance, those who were widowed—the newly found partner must accept the children she brought and must not abuse them, Huaxia had never had a divorce, and people did not even know such a thing existed, so there were no such troublesome matters as custody or child support.

After a simple diagnosis by a Lema City doctor, Xi's injury was thought to be a sacral fracture or crack, but their palpation techniques could not make a definitive judgment, so they told him to go to Huaxia City to see their doctor.

Only then did Xi begin to panic. A fracture meant a long period of recuperation, and whether he could fully recover in the future was uncertain. As a Strong Archer of Huaxia, what would it be if he were to cripple himself just by falling? Moreover, he felt guilty in his heart for taking military benefits while not going on missions; after all, Huaxia was currently facing a food shortage, and he would not only be unable to help but would become a burden.

For the sake of his future, he hurriedly took a cart to Huaxia to see the doctor. When the doctor pressed on his tailbone, he cried out in pain. Fortunately, the doctor's diagnosis was a crack, not a fracture; with proper rest, it would heal on its own, though exactly how long it would take was hard to say. Currently, the area around his tailbone was quite severely swollen.

The doctor prescribed him some medicine and wrote out a formula so he could get it filled while in Lema City, and also explained many precautions. Only then did Xi return to Lema City with lingering fear.

Because he felt guilty, he had not dared to see Zhang's family, but this time he made up his mind to go. Ignoring his wife's anxious gaze, he had his third son pull two bags of grain on a handcart to Zhang's house.

However, Zhang's family was not as angry as he had imagined; instead, they looked quite indifferent. It was just that his child was still small, only a little over a year old. Zhang was young and had married late, and it was precisely because of his young age that Xi's sense of guilt was so strong.

Zhang's household was so simple, with only a woman and a child left. Xi thought to himself, forget it, what good would just giving grain do? It would be better if he took them in and raised them himself. So he asked for the woman's opinion; the woman was in urgent need of a man to protect and rely on, so she naturally agreed, especially when she saw him bringing two large bags of grain and knew she would not suffer, and she did not hesitate at all.

No one felt there was anything wrong with this. Xi went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to register and explain, and since no one objected, the two were added to Xi's household. They were not worried that Xi would abuse Zhang's child; if such a situation were to occur, the punishment for a soldier would be very severe.

However, the Ministry of Rites Official who was working in Lema City at the time witnessed the whole thing. He felt in his heart that this behavior was somewhat improper, but he could not say exactly why, so he could only frown as he watched Xi leave.

Xi's two wives were not dissatisfied that Xi had brought back two more women; they were just happy to see the grain that had been lost and regained. Xi learned from the Ministry of Revenue that Zhang's wife was a woman traded from the Jiangshui Tribe, so she had not yet integrated into Huaxia in all respects, and Xi needed to pay more attention to her.

The team led by Lu had returned to Lema City exactly one day before Xi, and then moved on to Huaxia City to rest for a day, so it was two days later when he learned of Zhang's death. Lu naturally felt it was a great pity, and at the same time, it sounded a warning bell for him: the wilderness was full of hidden dangers that could take his life at any moment.

At the same time, he thought of the wolf pack that was getting closer and closer to them. Because of the dogs, Lu did not have such a strong aversion to wolves, and even wondered if those wolves could also be domesticated into dogs. But now it seemed better to abandon such thoughts; a wild beast is a wild beast, and one must always view them with the greatest hostility. Even rabbits, which seemed to have no threat, had once almost turned Huaxia upside down, let alone wolves with sharp teeth and claws that traveled in packs.

Lu also had an idea: they should no longer be so scattered and hunting on their own; could they organize a large-scale hunting sweep to directly clear out the wild beasts in the surrounding area?