Chapter 48: Chapter 048 Peng Village People Assemble to Hunt in the Mountains
Yuan Xiao’s expression, coupled with the tone of his voice, made the late-night conversation seem all too real.
Tang Zelin pondered for a mont before saying, “What you an is, there’s sothing wrong with the village?”
“Well, that’s just a guess. Whether it is or it isn’t, I really couldn’t say,” Yuan Xiao paused, smacking his lips before continuing, “But, when you think about it, if these two things really are connected, bro, doesn’t it give you the creeps?”
“If you’ve done nothing guilty, you’ve got nothing to fear from ghosts knocking on your door. What should I be afraid of? Is it you who’s scared?” Tang Zelin laughed and flicked off so ash from his cigarette.
Yuan Xiao nodded. “You said it. I wasn’t feeling anything off, but just now in the dead of night, even you had a nightmare. Honestly, I’m feeling a bit shaky myself.”
“You didn’t dream about anything?”
...
Yuan Xiao shook his head: “Nope, when I was born, my grandma had soone look at , said I was so full of yang energy I was almost smoking, and that even ghosts would piss themselves and flee at the sight of . I don’t attract that kind of stuff.”
Looking at the watch, it was already past 3 a.m.; they could hardly sleep much longer with dawn approaching, so Tang Zelin asked Yuan Xiao if he was going back to sleep. Yuan Xiao had been woken up by Tang Zelin’s sleep-talking in the middle of the night, and after their stimulating conversation, his sleepiness had faded. They figured there was no point lying down for just a little bit longer.
Tang Zelin suggested going for a run?
The mont Yuan Xiao heard this, he flopped back down, pulled the blanket over his face, and cried out, “Bro, spare , please. Running around in the dead of night, people in the village will think a madman’s been let loose. I’d rather get so sleep.”
Tang Zelin kicked him and cursed: “You coward, did you get discharged from the military just so you could avoid running?”
“Ah!”
Yuan Xiao didn’t have the nerve to respond.
While Yuan Xiao tried to catch up on his sleep, Tang Zelin, wide awake now, stepped outside and began exercising in the courtyard beneath the night sky.
At the crack of dawn, the rooster crowed.
Peng Chunlai got up early and smiled faintly upon seeing the neat pile of freshly chopped firewood in the corner of the courtyard. His sleep was light, yet he wondered how he hadn’t heard Xiaotang chopping wood.
In the morning, after everyone had breakfast, those who were preparing to go on the hunting expedition gathered at Peng Chunlai’s place.
Tang Zelin and Yuan Xiao, being visitors, stood aside and didn’t interject. The Village Chief, Peng Chunlai, was directing on-site, and the hunting leader was the veteran hunter, Hunter Zhang. He was in his forties or fifties, lean and taciturn, sitting off to the side on a wooden stump and smoking, waiting to depart.
Yuan Xiao, with his alert eyes, looked around the gathering a few tis before whispering to Tang Zelin, “My word, dozens of people have shown up to hunt rabbits in the mountain?”
Tang Zelin lowered his voice and said, “There may be sothing good to hunt today.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
“Cut it out, you’re keeping secrets now?”
anwhile, the Village Chief Peng Chunlai was discussing the final arrangents with Chunlai. At first, Chunlai simply nodded in agreent, but later, sothing the Village Chief said clearly offended him, causing Chunlai to abruptly rebuke him.
Tang Zelin noticed that when Chunlai scolded the Village Chief, the latter’s expression was sowhat strange. Years of professional instinct made Tang Zelin suspect that this hunting trip to the mountain might not be as straightforward as it seed.
Yuan Xiao, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking that far ahead. He was more concerned about what good things they might catch hunting in the mountain today. What could there be in the mountains nowadays? Maybe rabbits, roe deer, or wild boars, right? Surely they weren’t going to hunt wolves.
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