Chapter 11: The Badger Hunt

Early the next morning, Lu Chuan rose.

He went out into the yard and began by practicing a set of boxing. He studied Xingyi Quan. As the saying goes, "It takes ten years for Tai Chi to leave the courtyard, but one year of Xingyi can kill a man." In his previous life as a mercenary, his goal was to resolve conflicts swiftly. In a word, martial arts are killing techniques. Every move and stance he had learned was designed to be lethal. As he practiced, his movements were forceful and resonant, generating gusts of wind with every strike.

After an hour, Lu Chuan finished his practice and headed to the kitchen to prepare some food. By this time, Su Ruan and Bai Siyu had both woken up.

"Master, you should teach us how to cook in the future," Bai Siyu said. "You have to go out hunting every day and worry about things around the house; it’s just too tiring. We should be able to help you shoulder some of the burden!"

Su Ruan’s eyes lit up. "Are you going hunting? I’ll go with you!"

"No need," Lu Chuan shook his head. "There is a man at the edge of the village named Sun Mian, whom we all call 'Sun the Scab.' We have some bad blood between us. If I’m away and there is only Bai Siyu at home, it won't be safe. You are a descendant of a military family, a person of the pugilistic world. Stay at home and protect Bai Siyu."

As they spoke, two wolf cubs came scampering out. One was recklessly frolicking in the yard, while the other sat there with an air of haughty dignity, staring at Lu Chuan, ready for battle!

"Alright!" Su Ruan replied, no longer insisting. She looked at the cubs and added, "Last night, Little Sister Bai and I discussed giving these two little ones names. You are the head of the house—what names do you think would be best?"

Lu Chuan paused, looking at the cubs on the ground. "Hmm..." He pointed to the one frolicking about. "Let's call this one 'Brainless'." He then looked at the one sitting there in a defensive posture. "As for this one, let's call it 'Unhappy'."

"Huh?" Bai Siyu and Su Ruan stood there, stunned, unable to believe their ears. What kind of names were these? They had never heard such bizarre names before. Didn't Bai Siyu say that Lu Chuan was a very cultured man?

"The names the Master has chosen..." Bai Siyu didn't know what to say. She smiled bitterly and added, "They are certainly... one of a kind."

"Alright, I’m heading up the mountain now!" Lu Chuan took the bow and arrows from behind the door and set off, his footsteps heavy and uneven on the snowy path.

The heavy snow had stopped. On the mountain, he searched continuously for subtle, obscured entrances, usually hidden by withered trees or dead leaves. Badgers are cunning creatures; catching them is no simple task. Even experienced hunters often find themselves thwarted by such animals. Moreover, despite their small size, badgers are incredibly strong and agile. Often, a group of hunters would surround one, only for it to slip away in another direction. Furthermore, badger meat is considered "heaty" and quite tough, so most families do not care for it. Consequently, hunters rarely target them unless they happen to stumble upon one.

Persistence pays off. Soon, Lu Chuan discovered an entrance hidden by a dead tree in a mountain hollow. He hurried over, carefully measured the size of the hole, and observed the surroundings.

"It seems luck is on my side today; the creature must be inside!"

Lu Chuan did not rush. He piled withered wood, leaves, and debris at the entrance, then carefully scouted around the hollow. Eventually, he found another entrance of roughly the same size at the other end.

"This is it!" He climbed to a higher vantage point to observe both sides, mentally estimating the distance between the two holes and the path inside. Regardless of the animal, few burrow in a straight line. However, different animals have different habits, and a seasoned hunter can judge the interior layout by the shape of the terrain.

Having prepared everything, Lu Chuan returned to the first entrance. He gathered damp wood and leaves from nearby to plug the hole. Striking a fire-starter, he ignited the pile and, once it was burning well, smothered it with more damp leaves. A thick plume of smoke immediately billowed into the burrow. Lu Chuan used a few rocks to seal the entrance tightly, then quickly retreated to the high ground, bow drawn and arrow nocked, eyes fixed intently on the second hole.

Seconds ticked by. Lu Chuan narrowed his eyes, watching with unwavering focus, carefully counting his own breaths.

Feeling the time was right, Lu Chuan drew his bow to its full length, his gaze locked on the second entrance. Moments later, a black shadow darted out with incredible speed.

Lu Chuan was faster. The arrow seemed to have eyes of its own as it flew toward the black shadow.

*Thwack.*

The arrow buried itself into the creature's body. The shadow yelped in pain and scrambled to flee, but Lu Chuan did not hesitate. He drew and fired again in one fluid motion. Before the shadow could react, a second and then a third arrow struck home.

The creature struggled violently, but the loss of blood rapidly drained its strength. It didn't make it far before collapsing.

Lu Chuan let out a long breath. *Good! It seems the basic hunting skills are sufficient. If I could get Chen Qingqing's intermediate hunting skills, it would be even more secure.*

Lu Chuan had fired three arrows to be safe. One reason was that badgers are fast, and because of their small size, they can easily squeeze into other burrows. If that happened, even if you killed it, it would be inside another tunnel, making it nearly impossible to retrieve.

Lu Chuan walked over, picked up the badger, retrieved his arrowheads, and tossed the carcass into his inventory. He continued his search. Badgers are relatively common on the mountain, though they hide away in winter. To hunt them, one must know how to identify their dens, which are usually well-hidden—a task that relies entirely on a hunter's experience.

However, his luck seemed to have run out. Two hours passed after catching that first badger, and he failed to find another den. He was already famished, so he took a flatbread from his inventory and began to eat.

Just then, he suddenly sensed that something was watching him.