Everyone is afraid of tigers, but if the one doing the work isn't one of your own, it's not quite as terrifying, right? Thus, being rebuked by Old Lady Li like this, she waved her hand: "Old sister, you know my boys haven't hunted before. Dalin is different; he's been running in the mountains all year round. Even if tigers are scary, don't people still make tiger bone wine?"
"Old sister, these tigers aren't easy to come across. If these few tigers are taken down, Dalin will surely be able to give you a bone or two. I heard tiger bones are very valuable; if sold, they might even buy several acres of land."
"That would be wonderful! You four should go and hunt them all down. Then you can all move to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury." If not for her two daughters-in-law holding her arms, she would have certainly given her a beating.
Seeing everyone's minds being led astray by Old Lady Ke, Village Chief Yang Lin felt a surge of desolation.
This was while they could still find food and save a few catties every day. Without these dried goods, without needing anyone else, the people in this village alone would become terrifying.
"Sister-in-law, you don't need to feel angry. It wasn't your family who called us here; your family has no obligation to be responsible for everyone." He swept a cold gaze over the crowd, a sneer curling his lips: "Though we are from the same village, helping is a kindness, and not helping is a duty. These past few days, Pan Dalin has brought everyone to find prey and water without a single word of complaint."
"Tigers! And four of them at that! You actually think he should be the one to hunt them? What kind of hearts do you have? Feel your consciences; check if they are even still there!"
"You've eaten old dog shit and gone blind! Dalin is doing everything for you, yet you're the ones who owe him. You actually have the heart to send someone to their death? Are you even human? Why is every one of you more terrifying than a ghost?"
Village Chief Yang Lin was truly enraged. He went on a tirade, cursing so fiercely that no one dared to lift their heads, and then he said words so regrettable that they would make anyone's intestines turn blue with regret.
"Since everyone lacks the heart to work together, then no one has the obligation to risk their life for anyone else. Dalin helped find the water and the prey; from now on, every family can live their own lives. Forget hunting tigers—even if you find a dragon, it's yours alone."
"This... Chief, we didn't say anything. How can you lump us all together like this?"
"Exactly, we didn't say anything! We aren't stupid; we know tigers and wild boars aren't in the same league."
"Brother Dalin, don't be so stingy. We didn't say anything, you can't just leave us behind!"
There were over six hundred people, a third of whom were able-bodied youths. Some among them had gone up the mountain to set traps, while others had never even thought about hunting. If they didn't follow Pan Dalin, where would they find anything? With them, they wouldn't even know how to find a tiger's den.
"Everyone, I am also a man with a family to support. From the moment it was confirmed there were four tigers, I had no intention of going back in. If something happens to me, my wife and children will have to be raised by others. You've all seen how children raised by stepfathers turn out."
"Dalin, you must be joking. Sister Li is not that kind of person."
"She isn't, but I hope she lives a good life. When I asked for her hand, I told my mother-in-law that if I were to pass away, she should find her a good home."
"..."
No one had ever heard of such a way to marry a wife. The problem was, he actually did it. What kind of intentions did Old Lady Li have?
Regardless of what everyone said, Pan Dalin had no intention of going back in. His family sat under the tree, discussing whether they should leave.
"Pack the bundles. We leave tomorrow. We need to get far away from here."
In unison, the whole family looked toward Li Jiang, who seemed to be delivering a final verdict.
Glancing at her parents-in-law, Jiang Shi said cautiously, "I think... there is quite a lot of prey here. We could stay here a bit longer. After all, prey is scarce outside."
"A tiger's territory is not small. The reason there aren't many animals here is likely because this is also a tiger's territory." Holding a tree branch, he dug in the ground for a while longer, then scratched his head. "I've hunted for so many years, but I've never seen so many animal tracks. If it were just one big fellow, I would fight for it. But four? Just looking at those footprints makes my calves tremble."
Even now, the reason he was still alive was not just his experience, but his extreme caution. He truly did not want anything to happen to him, or his son would have to follow in his footsteps. The mountains were not easy to enter.
Unless driven to a desperate extreme, who would want to go up the mountain to beg for food!
Jiang Shi had originally wanted her husband to back her up, but once Pan Dalin spoke, she didn't dare have any more stray thoughts. As for the families living not far from them, they had been straining their ears, and though they hadn't heard exactly what the Li family was saying, Pan Dalin's vigorous voice had fallen squarely into their ears.
Now, they were afraid.
"Let's hurry. We'll leave early tomorrow. We can pick up plenty of dried goods along the other side of the mountain."
"Yes, yes, yes, let's leave early."
The neighboring families who heard Pan Dalin's voice hurriedly began packing and climbing trees, everyone harboring their own thoughts.
"Big brother, second brother, let's cut a few handy branches and make some larger carrying frames to make it easier for the women." Staring at Li Jiang, who was busy shaving long spikes, he scratched his head, thinking that the women could just use the sharpened tips of the branches they had brought in—why cut new ones? "These are a bit thick; they'll be hard for the women to carry. I'll cut some thinner ones with nodes for you; the nodes will be easy to grip."
His movements paused, and Li Jiang looked up. "Alright, brother-in-law, you pick out some suitable ones."
In the dead of night, once she was certain Old Lady Li and Li Xiaoxia were asleep, Qin Wangshu carefully climbed up. Xiao Hei was curled up by her pillow.
This fellow hadn't disappeared since returning that day. To make things easier in the future, she had found a time to tell everyone that this was a cat she used to keep, and that she had found it again, and that she would not abandon it.
It wasn't strange for a young lady from a wealthy household to keep a blue-eyed foreign cat, and it was even less strange to find an old cat from far away; people believed cats possessed spiritual intelligence.
Thus, this fellow staying by her side these past few days hadn't caused any issues. Instead, the fellow had been frightened by the way everyone looked at her when they saw meat, and hadn't dared to say another word.
"You can fight a tiger, right?" Otherwise, if she had asked it to protect everyone today, it wouldn't have agreed. "They are all asleep, they can't hear. Just speak softly."
Looking at Qin Wangshu's eager eyes, Xiao Hei, who was very reluctant to speak, could only say in a relatively low voice: "My claws can easily sever a tiger's throat. However, I advise you not to harm animals. Intelligent life should develop in harmony with nature."
"I know, I know everything. But I am human. If one is human, one wants to live a little better and eat a little better. I know many animals will go extinct because of humans. Perhaps what will make them extinct is the era of firearms, the era of machinery... in our era, it is only humans who fear them."
"Besides, this planet is not small. Even if the entire planet becomes arid, many places will remain unaffected. If species go extinct because of this solar storm, I cannot undo it with my own strength. And the people of this era have a very narrow mindset; even if I were to build a spaceship, no one would dare follow. And even if they did, where could we go? In interstellar space, it is difficult for you all to live, is it not?"
(End of Chapter)