Chapter 30: Incompatible Horoscopes

On the way, Wang An and Li Biao both calmed down, and that sense of trepidation gradually faded!

Wang An said to Li Biao, "Biaozi, you know the rules of mountain hunting. Originally, I didn't want to go strictly by the book, but given your performance..."

Before Wang An could finish, Li Biao’s face flushed with what seemed to be shame and indignation! He hurriedly interrupted Wang An and said, "Brother Wang, I don't know what kind of fit I was having today. Maybe it's because my old man beat the crap out of me yesterday!"

Fine, he wouldn't even let him finish! Then don't say it! Everything will just be done according to the rules! Even between brothers, accounts should be kept clear; there's nothing wrong with that!

Wang An said calmly, "Alright then, let's not dwell on it. Regarding these wild boars, how do you think we should split them?"

Li Biao seemed quite generous as he said, "Brother Wang, I came into the mountains with you, and it's just the two of us. We'll split them however you say!"

Wang An didn't read any hidden meaning into those words: "Alright, then let's just do it by the hunting rules to keep things simple."

Doing a mental calculation, there were about 1,200 catties of sow piglets and over 1,200 catties of sows and piglets in total. Li Biao's share would be two portions.

That meant 350 catties of sow piglets, and 350 catties of sows and piglets!

After calculating, Wang An said, "According to the rules, I'll give you 350 catties of sow piglets and 350 catties of sows and piglets, right?"

Li Biao did the math himself and said without any hesitation, "Yep, that's right!"

Wang An continued, "You know roughly how much each of these boars weighs. So, I'll give you one 350-catty sow piglet, one sow, and instead of butchering the piglets to divide them, I'll just give you one whole little piglet weighing around 130 or 140 catties! Does that work for you?"

Li Biao thought about it for a moment before saying, "How about I skip the sow piglets, and I take a big piglet instead?"

Hearing this, Wang An froze, momentarily at a loss for words! He had originally intended to give Li Biao an extra seventy or eighty catties of pork out of brotherly affection, yet here the man was, trying to play tricks on him!

Everyone knows sow piglet meat tastes bad and isn't worth much, yet he actually wanted to trade 350 catties of sow piglets for 180 catties of piglet meat...

Had he misjudged this brother?

From the moment they entered the mountains today, whether it was on the way in, during the hunt, or now during the division of the meat, everything had felt utterly bizarre!

Perhaps as he got older, he would finally come to his senses and cherish their brotherhood! In his previous life, he only went to the fence to see him when they were both in their late 40s or nearly 50!

Thinking of this, Wang An said with feigned indifference, "No need. We caught so many! I'm not short on pork! Let's just split it the way I said!"

Neither spoke again as they raced their sleds back home! They ignored the pheasants and cats that jumped out of their way!

Upon arriving home, Wang An gave his usual shout, and they worked together to unload the boars. After unloading one sow and three piglets (two large, one small), Wang An drove the sled to deliver one sow and one small piglet to Li Biao's house. As expected, no one was home.

After dropping the two pigs at Li Biao's outer room entrance, the two returned to Wang An's house to eat a hurried lunch.

During lunch, Wang An had wanted to talk to and advise Li Biao, but he was interrupted every time; the words simply wouldn't sink in!

Wang An gave up completely, because there was no point! It was better to let nature take its course!

After lunch, Wang An and Li Biao headed back into the mountains.

This time, Wang An switched to a stallion to pull the sled. The colt had already run nearly 100 *li* back and forth; another trip would be too much and would surely injure the horse!

Fortunately, there were two horses at home, otherwise they would have had to wait until tomorrow to haul those three sow piglets!

On the way back, the two barely spoke a word!

By the time they reached home, it was nearly six in the evening. In Northeast China at this time of year, the sky had already turned pitch black!

After delivering Li Biao's sow piglets to his house, Li Biao walked Wang An to the main gate and asked, "Brother Wang, when are we heading into the mountains again?"

Throughout the entire day, Wang An had felt a sense of awkwardness from the moment they entered the mountains—everything felt off!

As soon as Li Biao spoke, the root of that awkwardness was finally revealed!!

He wondered how other hunters cooperated!

In his view, it should be just like what the other hunters often discussed!

Man and heart, horse and saddle! Working together to hunt, and happily sharing the prey! That was all there was to it!

But in his case, where was the problem? The root was Li Biao; Li Biao himself was the problem!

At least, to him, Li Biao was a problem!

Recalling the past, they had played together since childhood!

So many times, even when Wang An was clearly right, Li Biao refused to listen! Even when he was wrong, he neither admitted it nor apologized!

Most of the time, he only listened when there was no other choice, and when things went right because he listened, he took it for granted!

Back in school, among their group of troublemakers, he was the one with the worst reputation, and he always ignored what Wang An said, doing whatever he pleased!

And because Wang An considered him a brother, he had always been tolerant. When Li Biao caused trouble, Wang An would always find a way to fix it, treating his mistakes as nothing, only for them to happen again next time!

Just like today's hunt, he wouldn't show even a shred of reflection; he felt it was all perfectly natural and felt justified in his actions!

Because that was how they had always interacted!!

But now, because he had been reborn, Wang An had changed!

He would no longer continue that old way of interacting, nor did he have the patience or desire to keep tolerating him!

Therefore, when Li Biao acted as if things were only natural, it only made Wang An feel more uncomfortable!

In his previous life, when he went to the fence to see him, all he did was ramble about their youth, filled with various memories and reflections!

He must have been reflecting on his younger self, realizing how poorly he had handled things and how big his flaws were!

He had concluded that they were simply incompatible—that Li Biao had always been a jinx to him!

But, wouldn't it be better to just part ways and live their own lives?

Having been given a second chance at life, he wasn't going to let himself be wronged!

Wouldn't he be happier living for himself? Why should he insist on letting this guy lead him into a pit?

Thinking of this, Wang An didn't hold back and said directly, "Biaozi, we've only gone once! How do you have the nerve to ask about the next time? Do you think I haven't been screwed over enough?"

Hearing this, Li Biao actually said with a grin, "Brother Wang, it's so awesome following you into the mountains! We caught so many wild boars! It's great!"

Seeing through him, Wang An didn't get angry, but said, "The point is, what use is it to bring you along? You bring bad luck! You bring trouble! You're just a liability!"

Li Biao didn't seem to catch the meaning and continued grinning, "But you're here, Brother Wang! As long as you're leading the way, it's fine!"

Wang An said disdainfully, "Cut the crap. I don't owe you anything! Can't I hunt by myself?"

Li Biao finally seemed to realize that Wang An didn't want to deal with him anymore; the grin vanished, and he looked somewhat displeased.

He seemed to be scowling, though Wang An couldn't see it in the dark. He just heard Li Biao say, "Calling me 'little brother' now? Is that how you treat a brother?"

*Holy shit!* This was his true nature showing; even if Wang An wanted to save his face, he couldn't!

Although Li Biao no longer mattered to Wang An, those words still made him very unhappy. He said in a heavy tone

"To be brothers, one needs to have a sense of dignity! If you don't even care about your dignity, what's the use of being brothers? To tell you the truth, someone like you isn't even a decent person!"

Having said that, Wang An ignored Li Biao, took his horse, and headed home through the darkness!