Chapter 2: Appointment for a Hunting Contest

Near evening, the old man emerged from the mountains carrying a wild boar of three to four hundred jin, and the other hunting villagers came out one after another, looking at the old man with faces full of envy and respect.

"Old man, can you even finish eating such a big wild boar? Told you to catch smaller game, why won't you listen." The old man looked at Ning Ze inside the house with a long face; Ning Ze didn't care about him and just talked to himself. "Look at you, so old already, still working yourself to death, aren't you afraid of being killed by wild beasts."

Every time the old man returned home he would be angered half to death. "I hunt such big game every day because of you, you eat more than anyone, who knows how much of each haul ends up in Ning Ze's stomach." But there would still be leftovers; the old man wanted to rest a day or two, but the leftovers were given away by Ning Ze to the village's widowed and orphaned, who even said righteously, "Not wasting food!" The old man nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood.

Toward Ning Ze's behavior, the old man paid him no mind — let him be; this was also one reason the village hunters respected the old man. The old man found Ning Ze's natural capacity to eat astonishing, studied it for a while, then handed it to Old Ge Tou to examine; nothing was diagnosed, but Ning Ze picked up some medical skills instead.

From then on, the old man began training Ning Ze. By day Ning Ze herded cattle and cooked; by night he was drilled by the old man. Starting at age six, daily body tempering — the old man called it forging constitution, saying later he could enter the mountains and hunt big game like him. Ning Ze rolled his eyes at the old man several times over this, but ultimately went obediently to train; a wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him, and the half-threatening, half-coaxing old man was not easy to deal with.

"Tonight you'll start learning the saber and bow." The old man's words came out of the blue.

Although he was half-forced into body tempering by the old man, Ning Ze absolutely persisted without slacking — training in the dog days of summer and the dead of winter. Because Ning Ze harbored a xianxia dream; poisoned by 21st-century webnovels, many transmigrators have strong constitutions and walk the invincible body-cultivation path. Ning Ze thought: a strong physique might help him enter an immortal sect, then leverage his advantage to become invincible in the immortal realm.

Hearing the old man's words, Ning Ze at first refused to learn the saber no matter what; in his words, "Even if I'm beaten to death I won't learn the saber. I'm going to be a sword immortal who flies on a sword — learning the saber is too embarrassing. Imagine others flying on swords while I fly on a saber, the visual is too intense." The old man's face darkened but he said nothing more; he tied Ning Ze to a tree and whipped his buttocks fiercely with the flat of the saber. After a few strokes Ning Ze submitted under the old man's authority. Whatever happened to "beaten to death, won't learn"? Whatever happened to "Ning Ze won't yield"? By convention, once Ning Ze yielded it should have ended, but this time the old man didn't stop with Ning Ze's submission.

"Dead old man, you're for real, ah—ah!"

"I'll learn, I'll learn!! I'll learn, okay?! My sword-flight dream is gone just like that!!!"

The saber the old man had already eased up on came down hard on Ning Ze's buttocks again. Ning Ze cried heaven and earth while tied to the tree, until villagers heard the miserable screams and rescued him. The old man looked displeased, clearly not having hit enough, resulting in Ning Ze not daring to go home even after Old Ge Tou applied medicine; later the old man casually grabbed him and carried him back — no one in the village could stop the old man. From then on, Ning Ze began learning saber and archery under the old man's "earnest" instruction.

Ning Ze's wise image was thoroughly ruined yesterday; the village wasn't big, and the matter spread quickly. Originally Ning Ze was the children's role model, the "other people's kid" in other parents' mouths; the village kids already disliked Ning Ze, and now kicking him while he was down was inevitable. The next day, all the village kids came to see Ning Ze's sorry state. Poor Ning Ze wrapped in a blanket, lying prone on the bed, sticking his butt out — still burning with pain; Old Ge Tou's medicine wouldn't help for a while.

"No entering, no bullying Ning Ze-gege."

"Right, no laughing at Ning Ze-gege." A chubby kid and a twin-pigtail girl stood at the door, blocking the other children outside.

"Wang Pangdun, Liu Lv'er, we're looking for Ning Ze, what do you mean blocking the door? Move!" A tall kid shoved Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er as he spoke.

Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er were both pitiable people in the village. Liu Lv'er's father died hunting in the mountains not long after her birth; her mother couldn't accept it and left the village one night, never heard from again, leaving Liu Lv'er to live with two elderly grandparents. Wang Pangdun was slightly better off — his father died in that same hunting incident, but his mother didn't leave, raising Wang Pangdun alone.

Most of the food Ning Ze sent went to their two families. Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er weren't very old but were sensible early on; both were very grateful to Ning Ze, which was why this scene appeared — they specially came to protect Ning Ze.

"Han Xian, don't even think about entering, hmph! I don't know your thoughts? You just want to see Ning Ze-gege's joke, not letting you in means not letting you in." Liu Lv'er put her hands on her hips with quite a door-blocking momentum, but her malnourished little frame made it rather funny.

"Move it, if you don't move I'll be rude. Ning Ze's usually so imposing, how come he has a day like this too." Han Xian spoke while directly ramming in with his tall body; the crowd of kids behind him clamored to rush in.

Liu Lv'er and Wang Pangdun were knocked down at once. Ning Ze saw things couldn't be stopped, couldn't hide, so he had to speak.

"Liu Lv'er, Wang Pangdun, let them in. Nothing that can't be seen."

"Hurry up and move!" Han Xian smoothed his wrinkled clothes from the shoving, wearing a victor's expression as he entered. Liu Lv'er and Wang Pangdun looked resentful, clearly displeased with Ning Ze's decision and Han Xian's petty triumph.

"Han Xian, are you satisfied with this young master's current state?" Ning Ze lay prone on the bed, yet his momentum didn't lose out in the slightest, not caring at all about Han Xian's group watching his embarrassment. Han Xian's group snickered, ignoring Ning Ze's mockery, staring at his white-cloth-wrapped big butt, laughter growing louder — this was practically a giant external diaper.

"Satisfied, very satisfied. Ning Ze, how'd this happen? Aiya, so careless, this little butt stuck out so nicely, come, let me touch." Han Xian asked knowingly, clearly intending to expose Ning Ze's embarrassment from last night.

Ning Ze gave Han Xian a sidelong glance. Last night's matter was probably known to the whole village — picking the kettle that isn't boiling. "What, you want to try too? Go find my old man to spar?"

Han Xian's laughter visibly paused; he shrank his neck and glanced at the door. The old man's prestige was known throughout the village; basically no one could beat him, and the old man was usually imposing in the village — mischievous kids were all taught until obedient. Clearly Han Xian also feared the old man's discipline.

Not seeing the old man, Han Xian's courage grew again. He continued laughing: "Ning Ze, your family's old man I naturally respect — ten li eight villages all know he's a top hunter, I wouldn't dare spar with him. Look at your current sorry state, I'm not stupid enough to ask for suffering. Nearly laughed to death — sword immortal dream? You? Daydreaming is more like it. Ten li eight townships, never seen anyone chosen by an immortal!"

"Oh, from your tone, you're unconvinced about my sword immortal dream? What, want to spar with me?" Ning Ze's mind turned, an idea forming, and he deliberately teased.

"Pah! Just you — look at your sorry state first, still want me to yield? Even with one hand tied you couldn't beat me." Han Xian looked at Ning Ze with disdain. Current Ning Ze was indeed a weakling.

"Han Xian, I'm injured right now, losing is normal. Wait till I heal, then we'll exchange moves — won't say I'm bullying you. Then we'll compete by village rules: go hunting in the mountains, whoever bags more wins. Loser obediently becomes the little brother." Ning Ze was indeed bold — injured yet still blustering about not bullying others; it'd be good enough if others didn't bully him.

Han Xian was angered by Ning Ze's words — seen shameless, never seen this shameless. Ning Ze's tone so big, Han Xian, the self-proclaimed kid king, didn't want to back down. He glanced at his gang behind him — couldn't lose face. But Ning Ze always had tricks; suddenly challenging today, definitely a scheme. His eyes rolled — seemed to have an idea. A cunning little ghost, belly full of bad water, definitely nothing good.

"Ning Ze, you're really stubborn-mouthed. But I'm magnanimous — won't bully a cripple like you. Fine, I'll take your challenge to the end. I'm older, more hunting experience — I won't bully you. Let's do team hunting, let others help you, so no one says I bullied you."

"Fine, Han Xian, gutsy, daring to accept this young master's challenge. Then three months from now we'll see. Right now this young master needs to recuperate — you lot scram, otherwise even if you win this young master won't accept." Ning Ze directly closed his eyes and ignored Han Xian's group. Liu Lv'er and Wang Pangdun anxiously fretted at the side — how could he just agree to Han Xian's words? This was clearly Han Xian setting a trap; team hunting, Han Xian's side clearly had the advantage. In the village only Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er followed Ning Ze; all other kids followed Han Xian, united in hatred against Ning Ze.

"Then we won't disturb your rest — wouldn't want you to go back on your word. Brothers, three months we'll see if Ning Ze's still this bold and imposing. Really hope to see you admit defeat." Han Xian's group turned and left smugly.

After Han Xian's group left, Liu Lv'er's red-rimmed eyes spilled tears. "Ning Ze-gege, how could you agree to team hunting with Han Xian? They have so many people, and occasionally hunt together — how can we beat them? Let's think of something, not compete okay?"

"Right right, Big Brother Ning Ze, we can't beat them. I, Wang Pangdun, can at most fight two — no, three — but hunting, they have more people."

"Lv'er, don't cry. If I didn't agree, how could Han Xian's group leave so happily? I don't want a crowd surrounding me watching my sorry state, like a swarm of flies — annoying to death. Besides, this mountain man has his own clever plan. Han Xian thinks he's gained an advantage — haha, let him go drink this young master's foot-washing water. Stop crying, cry more and you'll turn into an ugly girl."

Ning Ze rubbed Liu Lv'er's head, his doting gaze holding a trace of unusual emotion, thoughts drifting far away.

"Hmph, stinky Ning Ze-gege, I won't turn into an ugly girl. This young lady is naturally beautiful — won't turn ugly."

Liu Lv'er's tears stopped, but she held a grudge over Ning Ze's "ugly girl" remark. Little lass remembers grudges — after all she's a woman, and women all value beauty.

At noon, Ning Ze kept Liu Lv'er and Wang Pangdun for lunch to thank them for helping. Actually he had to lie in bed, couldn't get down to cook; with the old man's cooking skills, Ning Ze's condition would probably worsen.

When the food was ready, the old man returned right on time. That's not right — shouldn't the old man return after finishing the afternoon hunt? Could he have smelled Liu Lv'er's cooking fragrance!

"Little Lv'er cooks better and better. Whoever marries her will have daily culinary bliss. Why not marry our family's Ning kid? Then I can also taste-test daily." The old man said while eating with chopsticks.

This turned Liu Lv'er's face red as an apple. But Liu Lv'er was indeed a beauty embryo — already quite delicate now, definitely a beauty when grown.

"Ning Grandpa!!! You!!" Liu Lv'er shyly lowered her head, eyes sneaking glances at Ning Ze — looks like the little lass has a good impression of Ning Ze. A young girl's heart is always stirring with spring.

"Old man, stop teasing Lv'er. Sun rose from the west today? Back from hunting at midday — something up?" Ning Ze said.

"Something up, of course something up. You brat've grown capable — heard you're having a hunting contest with the village's Han kid?" The old man suddenly stopped and asked.

Looks like Han Xian's brats spread the news. Village is that big — once it spreads, before long everyone basically knows. Adults don't take it too seriously — just one more after-dinner topic. Some busybodies even betting on who'll win.

"Mm, what about it, problem? That Han Xian brat — how could he possibly be this young master's opponent." Ning Ze said indifferently.

"You brat're so casual. Followed me, old man, yet never hunted — never even killed a chicken. That Han kid's gone into the mountains with his dad many times. What do you have to win with? If you lose, this old man can't afford to lose face." The old man said proudly.

"What face do you have to lose — not just... cough. This person has his own way to beat them. They're just a piece of cake." Seeing the old man's face about to change, Ning Ze hurriedly changed tack.

"Can't you stop bragging? No good — this period I'll properly train you. Otherwise if you lose, the village will say this old man has no successor — where will I put my old face. Hmph, just wait for last night's scene again. Since you made a bet, you must win. I'm the village's number one expert after all." The old man stroked his beard seriously.

"Wow, old man, cut it out. I can't take any more of this torment — keep going and I'll die!" Hearing this, Ning Ze's face instantly fell. He could only resign.

"Don't want to train? You'll train. Don't train and I'll beat you then train. You're doing team hunting, so it's not just you training — Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er, you two come too." The old man said.

"Don't want to, Ning Grandpa." Liu Lv'er and Wang Pangdun spoke in unison.

"After eating, all of you to the backyard." The old man finished, turned and went to the backyard, ignoring the three pitiful unlucky kids.

Originally watching Ning Ze's misfortune, pressed by the old man to train, Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er snickered at the side. The old man glanced sideways — that's what prompted the next line. Instantly Wang Pangdun and Liu Lv'er's faces fell too. There — now all three are unlucky together.

Ning Ze instead gloated. Now he was the one laughing at the side. When one's down on luck, seeing someone even more down on luck always feels much better.