Because the distance was so close, the ten arrows flew true, all hitting the wolves.
However, it seemed none struck a vital spot. After being hit, the three wolves went mad, opening their bloody maws and lunging at Li Dong.
Seeing this, Li Dong did not hesitate and opened fire immediately.
The three wolves, with their mouths agape, exposed their fatal weakness. Li Dong's ten arrows almost all landed inside their mouths.
The mouth and throat were the wolves' most vulnerable areas. Some arrows pierced directly through to the back of their necks.
The charge of the three wolves came to an abrupt halt.
The wolves lay on the ground, writhing and struggling. After a while, they gradually stopped moving.
Witnessing this, Chen Xiao Bei felt a wave of emotion. Humans die for wealth, birds die for food; wolves were no different. To survive, they had to intercept them on the road. He, along with Li Dong,
Of course, he too had to kill these three wolves for survival.
Li Dong stepped forward and kicked the three wolves, a hint of regret in his eyes, and shook his head.
"Alas, what a shame. These wolves could have provided several more meals."
Indeed, each wolf weighed nearly a hundred jin, yielding a significant amount of meat.
"Uh, Brother Li Dong, how about we each carry one?"
Li Dong looked at Chen Xiao Bei's suggestion with surprise. "It's still thirty to forty li down the mountain. Can you manage carrying these things?"
Chen Xiao Bei nodded. "I can. Trust me."
Li Dong thought for a moment, untied the rope from his waist, tied the heads of the two wolves together, and then coiled the rope around his waist.
The wolves' heads were almost touching his thighs.
This way, half the wolves dragged on the ground and half were lifted.
"I'll drag two, you drag one. We'll take all three down."
Chen Xiao Bei had to admire Li Dong's ruthlessness, even surpassing his own.
Of course, this also showed how desperately poor the people of Hetou Village were, unwilling to waste any resource.
Chen Xiao Bei untied his own rope, tied one end to a wolf, and the other end to his waist.
Though it looked a bit strange, it was much easier than carrying them.
Thus, the two men dragged the wolves, carrying the snakes, and began the arduous journey down the mountain.
With the sudden addition of nearly three hundred jin of burden, their speed significantly decreased. They had originally planned to reach the foot of the mountain before dark, but it had already become the second watch of the night.
Upon returning home, Cui Hong Yu was dumbfounded at the sight of the four large snakes and three dead wolves.
"You, you, how did you bring these back?"
After listening to Chen Xiao Bei's account, Cui Hong Yu's eyes welled up with tears. She naturally understood why Chen Xiao Bei had brought back the wolves.
Chen Xiao Bei asked Li Dong to call the village guard members to bring the three wolves under the big locust tree and quickly butcher and distribute them, lest they rot by tomorrow. Su Dan Novel Network
Of course, Chen Xiao Bei also had a selfish motive this time. He asked Li Dong to distribute the wolves to the village guards, and the villagers would wait for the next time.
Fortunately, the villagers had no major objections. After all, Chen Xiao Bei had carried the wolves back, and it was his decision whether to give them or not.
After settling everything, Chen Xiao Bei, with an excited expression, took out the ginseng from his embrace and showed it to Cui Hong Yu.
"Hong Yu, look at this."
Cui Hong Yu took the ginseng and examined it several times under the oil lamp, her face filled with excitement and surprise.
"This one is over a hundred years old, this one is several hundred years old. By the way, were those snakes guarding this ginseng?"
Chen Xiao Bei nodded.
Cui Hong Yu immediately stood up. "No, you must release these snakes quickly. They are king snakes. If you capture the king snakes, countless snakes will come to our village."
Chen Xiao Bei wanted to laugh at this but couldn't. In this era, knowledge of natural phenomena was still very limited.
He and Li Dong had carried these four snakes for fifty to sixty li of mountainous terrain, and had even crossed a canyon. Even if their descendants wanted to find them, how could they possibly track them?
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Tomorrow I'll take these four snakes to the county town and see if I can sell them for a good price."
Seeing that her persuasion was ineffective, Cui Hong Yu had no choice but to stop.
The next morning, Chen Xiao Bei and Li Dong set off.
Initially, Li Dong didn't want to go, wanting Chen Xiao Bei to sell the ginseng himself. But Chen Xiao Bei wouldn't agree, insisting that Li Dong accompany him.
Chen Xiao Bei had his own plans. In the future, many things would require Li Dong and other villagers to learn to share the burden. He couldn't rely on himself for everything, or he, as the village head, would be exhausted.
As the two were heading to the county town, Yang Zhi and Yang Bo had also made a new discovery.
The two got up early and rushed to the crossroads in Xiaojia Town. They squatted by the roadside, watching the passersby. Based on the information they gathered from the innkeeper, they had a general understanding.
North-south and east-west were two main roads, and their intersection made the town very prosperous.
Therefore, by guarding here, they might find something.
Before long, Yang Bo discovered something. He tugged at Yang Zhi's arm, "Second brother, isn't that Batu over there?"
Following the direction of Yang Bo's finger, it was indeed Batu, a carriage approaching in the distance.
Batu was sitting on the carriage, his head leaning against a large wooden chest, his eyes half-closed. The carriage moved at a leisurely pace.
"Ba..." Yang Bo had only uttered one word before Yang Zhi covered his mouth and pulled him back several steps, hiding in a corner.
"Brother Zhi, that's Batu!" Yang Bo was a little anxious.
"I know it's Batu. Follow him and see where he's going," Yang Zhi said in a low voice.
"But..." Yang Bo wanted to say something else, but Yang Zhi interrupted him directly.
"But what? At least half of our brothers got out. Why is Batu alone?"
Hearing Yang Zhi's words, Yang Bo fell silent.
The two watched Batu until he was over ten zhang away, then quietly followed.
Batu drove the carriage at a leisurely pace, traveling about five or six li south, and stopped by a nondescript house by the roadside.
He jumped off the carriage, walked to the courtyard gate, and knocked gently a few more times.
Soon, with a creak, the courtyard gate opened. A young woman opened it.
Batu's expression was respectful as he cupped his fist. "Miss Xiao Cui, long time no see."
The woman, named Xiao Cui, smiled sweetly, her eyes full of allure.
"Leader Batu, you've arrived. The patron is inside, please come in."
Batu nodded and handed the reins to Xiao Cui.
Then, he smoothed out his robe and walked in.
In the courtyard, there were only three main rooms. Batu arrived at the door of the middle room and gently knocked twice again.
"Is that Leader Batu? Come in." A deep voice came from inside the room.
Batu then gently pushed the door open. The room was somewhat dark. After a moment of adjustment, he saw a table placed at the front, with two chairs beside it.