Chapter 26: Li Biao's Struggle

Li Biao’s face turned beet red, and the veins in his neck bulged. He strained his neck in agitation, yet he couldn't find a single word to argue back!

After suffering in silence for a long while, he finally said, "Don't worry about it. As for the Water-Linker, I can definitely handle it myself!"

Seeing Li Biao sulking there, Wang An felt a twinge of pity. His own Water-Linker was sitting idle; he could actually give it to Li Biao!

After all, this brother, Li Biao, truly treated him like a real elder brother!

He had originally intended to give the gun to Mu Xueqing, and had even bought plenty of ammunition for that purpose, but the gift never happened, and instead, he had married his wife!

He hadn't expected his father-in-law and mother-in-law to be so decisive in their actions, though that was just how weddings were done these days!

However, influenced by his views from a future life, he felt he owed Mu Xueqing a great deal. *Sigh! I'll make it up to her gradually!*

But mountain hunting required the consent of one's family!

Otherwise, if he gave the gun out of kindness and something went wrong, not only would he live with guilt for the rest of his life, but how would his family look at him?

Besides, a gun wasn't exactly a cheap thing! He couldn't just give it away on a whim. What would Li Biao think? What would his own parents think? And what would Li Biao's parents think?

*Forget it, let him try it himself first and see how things go. As long as his family agrees to let him go into the mountains, if they won't give him a gun, I'll find a way to give him one!*

Thinking this, Wang An said, "Deal then, Biaozi! Stop making that long face. As long as your uncle and aunt agree to let you go into the mountains, if they won't give you a gun, I'll find a way for you!"

Li Biao glanced up at Wang An but said nothing, as if to say, *How could something like that possibly be solved by you?*

Wang An stepped down from the raised bed and said to Li Biao, "Deal. I'll be leaving my house tomorrow morning between 6:00 and 7:00. If you manage to talk your uncle and aunt into it, come over early! If not, I'm heading home to be with your sister-in-law!"

With that, he turned to walk outside. Li Biao, heavy-hearted, instinctively tried to follow Wang An, but Wang An pushed him back into the room!

***

That evening, Wang An's house still had a quite a feast on the table. Wang An finally got to eat his first meal of wild leopard meat in both his past and present lives!

It was alright, though not as delicious as fox meat. The meat was very fatty and had a strong gamey smell. In this day and age, being able to eat meat was good enough; who would complain about that?

At night, Wang An and Mu Xueqing fought several more rounds! Finally, Wang An fell into a deep sleep, holding the limp, boneless-feeling Mu Xueqing in his arms!

...Meanwhile, in Li Biao's house not far away, a fierce argument had been raging since dinner!

Li Biao said in a low voice, "Dad, Mom, I plan to go mountain hunting with Brother Wang An."

Li Facai said, "Go ahead! If you've got nothing better to do, catching a rabbit or a pheasant to eat would be fine."

Li Biao said, "No, we're going into the deep mountains."

Li Facai frowned. "What do you mean? Trapping?"

Li Biao said, "Yes, hunting big game. Brother Wang has been going for several days in a row, and today he even bagged a leopard!"

Li Facai's frown deepened, and he raised his voice, "A leopard?? He can actually attract something like that? Don't listen to his nonsense!"

Li Biao said unhappily, "Look at your age! Why don't you believe me?"

Zhao Jinling spoke up, sounding angry, "How are you talking to your father? Can't you speak properly?"

Li Biao said impatiently, "That's just the truth! Our families live so close, what else would he be making up?"

Li Biao was just reaching adulthood and was rebellious, feeling like he was the master of the world. He felt he was an adult and found his parents' questioning or lecturing extremely annoying!

If Wang An were to see this, he would realize he was exactly the same at that age in his previous life—except he was even more of a pain in the ass than Li Biao!

In truth, a large portion of boys are like this when they reach this age. No one is in a position to judge anyone else.

Li Facai smoked his pipe in silence; this matter was quite unbelievable to him. In his view, hunting a leopard was practically impossible!

Everyone in Northeast China knew that back in the Qing Dynasty, those old women sent countless experts to hunt leopards for their gallbladders, yet the harvest was meager at best!

Zhao Jinling shouted, "What do you mean by that? You absolutely have to go into the deep mountains with that kid from the Wang family?"

Li Biao replied, "Yeah, into the deep mountains to hunt big game. It'll bring in more money!"

Li Facai lost his temper. "Hunt big game? Won't a big animal just kill you instantly? Do you think you're some kind of big shot? How did Song Ermazi end up getting disemboweled by a cannonball? How did Sun the Scarred end up in that state? Don't you know that?"

Li Biao craned his neck and argued stubbornly, "They are them, and I am me! How can they be compared to me? Besides, I'm going with Brother Wang. He can even hunt leopards! He's a crack shot!"

If Wang An could hear this, he would surely say to Li Biao with deep meaning

"You stupid Biao, stop bragging! Your Brother Wang is struggling just to find prey right now! Stop hyping him up! Your Brother Wang relies entirely on 'luck' to hunt!"

"You are not going!" Li Facai roared in fury.

"Fine, I won't go. Then find me a job at the forestry farm! I don't have a cent in my pocket every day; I can't even afford a pack of cigarettes! Or just give me some money to spend!" Li Biao began to act like a rogue.

"You son of a bitch!" Li Facai flew forward in a rage, cursing as he delivered a sharp slap to Li Biao's face!

With a crisp *slap!*, a clear red handprint appeared on Li Biao's cheek at a speed visible to the naked eye!

After taking the slap, Li Biao angrily craned his neck and tilted his head, breathing heavily, with an attitude that said, *Go ahead, kill me, this is all I am!*

Li Facai grew even angrier and unleashed a flurry of punches on Li Biao. Li Biao didn't even dodge; he just sat there, stiff and defiant!

Since he was his own flesh and blood, after a few hits, Li Facai sat down, panting heavily!

Having been beaten, Li Biao's eyes were red with anger, yet he remained stubborn: "Always fearing this and fearing that? Having no money and living such a pathetic life!"

He continued, "We never even see a bit of meat. Forget my eldest and second brothers, look at how thin Xiaoxiao is in my third brother's house! Is my third brother's work any worse than anyone else's? And yet he lives like that! As for our family, we eat potatoes one meal and radishes the next, without a drop of oil! And you're scared of going into the mountains! You're useless!"

His words were the kind that made one want to beat him to death; anyone listening probably wouldn't even think of stopping them!

However, he did have a point.

Li Long, Li Hu, and Li Bao, the three brothers, had all moved out to start their own households!

So, after Li Biao finished his rant, the three people in the room sat with their heads down in silence.

After a long silence, Li Facai spoke very steadily

"Fine! Biaozi, you're right! Living in fear is indeed pathetic! Tomorrow, take that Water-Linker into the mountains. The Water-Linker is a top-tier gun, so leave the barrel at home!"

Then, he added very seriously, "But your mother is here too! We've advised you, we've told you what we needed to say, and we've beaten you as much as we needed to! You're an adult now, so if anything happens in the future, you can't blame anyone! Do we have a deal?"

"Deal!" Li Biao replied firmly.