Chapter 161 Thanks to Little Black

Bai Xi wore a blue cotton-padded overcoat, her feet clad in deerskin boots, and her cape draped slightly askew, revealing her fair, round little face.

"Stop standing there daydreaming, light the fire." Her words were like a warm breeze on a cold night, instantly bringing Chen Daliu back to his senses.

"Ah, yes, I'll light it right away. Great-aunt, are you coming down? You must be careful and take it slow."

Chen Daliu was instantly overjoyed, his hands shaking so much from excitement that he failed to strike a spark several times.

Just as the campfire was lit, the hunting party was also approaching the treehouse.

Such a major commotion near the treehouse naturally could not be hidden from the nearby villagers. Soon, the other villagers who received the news could no longer sleep; even those who woke up dazed by the noise got up.

After lighting the campfire and properly adjusting Bai Xi's cape, Chen Daliu stood by her side, stretching his neck to look out in the direction where the hunting party was returning.

Seeing the campfire blazing near the treehouse, the hunting party spotted it immediately and let out joyful, surprised cries, quickening their pace even more.

"Great-aunt." Li Laohei and the others called out, deeply moved and happy as they looked at Bai Xi's little face illuminated by the fire, "We've made Great-aunt worry."

Children at this age were normally fast asleep by now, yet Great-aunt's hair was still neatly combed and her face showed no trace of sleepiness, indicating she had been waiting for them all this time. The group instantly felt a warm current flowing through their hearts.

"As long as you're back safely." Bai Xi nodded, inquiring about their injuries. Seeing that the wounds were minor and did not require a trip to the hospital, she turned her attention to the game they had brought back.

"Quite a good harvest. Thank you for your hard work."

The men chuckled heartily, repeatedly saying it was all thanks to Xiao Hei.

Indeed, without Xiao Hei leading the way, how would they have known where the game was?

Without Xiao Hei, no one would have dared to venture so deep into the mountains, let alone spend three consecutive nights there.

Even though someone was assigned to keep watch in shifts every night, they wouldn't have felt so at ease if Xiao Hei hadn't been around, as nothing could escape Xiao Hei's sharp ears at the slightest disturbance.

When they encountered large prey, Xiao Hei would always charge ahead first to resolve the situation, and only occasionally let them test their skills on smaller game.

The dozen or so men were practically just following behind Xiao Hei to pick up the spoils. Most of the time, they were actually learning from seasoned hunters like Li Laohei on how to set traps, how to identify footprints of mountain beasts, and how to understand their predatory habits...

By this time, the villagers who rushed over were all astonished the moment they laid eyes on the game loaded onto the wheelbarrows.

"Goodness, this is huge!"

"Such a massive bear, how dangerous!"

"This black bear is no joke; they must have gone deep into the mountains, right?"

"And two large wild boars as well! This must have been so difficult!"

"Of course, they definitely went deep into the mountains; otherwise, why would it take them four days to return?"

"Oh my, Youfu, you're injured? Are you all right?"

Chen Youfu's arm was resting in a sling across his chest. He had a scratch on his arm, though it wasn't deep. Hearing the villagers discussing it, he smiled and said, "It's nothing, just a minor scratch."

"Look at this big black bear, isn't it huge? We owe it all to Xiao Hei."

"Yeah, you weren't there so you don't know. Xiao Hei spotted the big bear early on. Before the big bear could even react, it stealthily crept up and gave the bear two slaps across the face first. While the bear was dizzy and caught off guard, it followed up with a fierce pounce and tangle..."

Though exhausted, the abundant harvest kept everyone in high spirits. Seeing the villagers looking at them with admiration, the men couldn't help but eagerly chime in with their accounts.

That giant black bear was primarily taken down by Xiao Hei, with the villagers assisting on the side by creating distractions to throw the bear off balance. As they recounted the story, excitement still shone on their faces.

"I managed to land two hits on the big bear myself..."

"You have no idea, this giant black bear can snap a calf-thick tree with a single paw, and it moves so fast you can't even see it."

"Still, Xiao Hei is the most impressive, beating that giant black bear until it howled..."

Chen Xiaocong said with a cheerful laugh, "Speaking of which, it was Great-aunt who had the foresight to tell us to bring the wheelbarrows along. Otherwise, getting this huge black bear out of the deep mountains would have been a real struggle."

A giant black bear about to hibernate has a terrible temper, and none of them would have imagined that Xiao Hei would dare to target one.

You must know, the black bear was easily twice the size of Xiao Hei.

Watching Xiao Hei and the giant black bear grapple, the group was initially stunned dumb before reacting to jump in and help.

However, none of them had experience dealing with a giant black bear, so they could only circle around the perimeter, dodging the trees snapped in half by the fighting beasts, and occasionally offering distractions whenever an opportunity arose.

Xiao Hei constantly circled the giant black bear, seizing opportunities to land strikes from time to time. Those seemingly small tiger paws delivered heavy, painful injuries to the bear with every single blow.

Before long, the giant black bear grew timid and tried to retreat, but it still couldn't escape.

To say the least, this trip into the mountains gave everyone an even deeper appreciation of Xiao Hei's formidable strength.

Bai Xi let Xiao Hei's head rub against her palm, already accustomed to the respectful and admiring gazes of the crowd. Could she tell them that she had simply thought that with Xiao Hei around, the hunting party would bag plenty of pheasants and hares, which was why she suggested bringing a wheelbarrow along?

*Master, there is another sounder of wild boars deeper in, but their numbers are quite large. Fearing that everyone might get hurt, I led the group away to avoid them.* Xiao Hei was still reporting the events of the past four days to Bai Xi.

Bai Xi stroked Xiao Hei's head and lowered her voice, "You did very well."

Someone getting injured couldn't be blamed on Xiao Hei. When hunting in the mountains, minor injuries were normal; besides, the injury happened when someone chased after a wild rabbit while Xiao Hei was hunting a wild deer, accidentally falling into an abandoned trap—that certainly couldn't be blamed on Xiao Hei.

One giant black bear, two wild boars, three wild deer, several pheasants, and a number of hares and rabbits made up the harvest of this hunt.

The villagers, young and old alike, were immensely happy, even more so than during the Chinese New Year.

Ever since Great-aunt found Xiao Hei and brought it back to raise, the villagers' lives had been getting better and better. They frequently had meat to eat, and grain had been stored away following Great-aunt's reminders, sparing the entire village from having empty stomachs after a year of hard work...

"Stop just standing there rejoicing." Bai Xi instructed Chen Daliu, "They're exhausted from the journey back. Tell people to boil water, pour drinks for them, and make them something to eat. I still have some..."

Bai Xi originally wanted to send someone to fetch some meat from her treehouse, but seeing that there were plenty of fresh pheasants and hares this time, she changed her mind: "I still have half a bag of flour left, use that to make food for them, and roast a few wild hares to make them some meat soup."

If not for Xiao Hei, even seasoned hunters like Li Laohei would never have dared to venture so deep into the mountains, let alone stay there for three nights.

Hearing this, Chen Daliu slapped his forehead in self-reproach, "Look at me, getting so caught up in the joy with everyone that I completely forgot about this. Great-aunt is right to scold me."

Of course, the flour wouldn't actually be taken from Bai Xi; how could they possibly have the face to consume Great-aunt's food?

*(I always keep an eye out for typos, but sometimes after writing and reviewing a piece several times, I still might miss them—it's just a matter of straining my eyes.)*