The following days were just like before.
During the day, Chen Xuan went into the mountains,
and after reaching the Seventh Grade,
the area where he moved in the back mountain also expanded, although he tried to avoid the territory of that giant black snake as much as possible.
However,
one day he suddenly felt a reckless impulse,
and really wanted to try confronting that giant black snake.
Man and snake, eyes locked together.
Instantly,
the back mountain was in an uproar.
The giant black snake saw someone daringly intruding into its territory,
and its whole body stood upright, letting out a series of roars.
Amidst the lightning and thunder, Chen Xuan only felt a shadow rushing towards him.
Fortunately, he was prepared in advance,
dodging the attack from the giant black snake's tail,
but,
after realizing the deep pit that was several meters deep in the ground,
Chen Xuan had no intention of trying that giant black snake again and ran for his life, using all his strength.
It was incredibly terrifying,
just one tail swipe,
and it could gouge out such a deep pit in the ground of the back mountain.
He couldn't even imagine,
what would be left of him if that tail landed on him.
After that,
he dared not entertain such foolish thoughts anymore.
As for the evenings,
of course, he was working hard to earn Skill Points.
In order to earn a few more points each night,
he really struggled desperately, wishing he could use every ounce of strength.
Just like this,
the times he could earn 35 Skill Points in one night were few and far between.
It's so difficult!
Sometimes he even wondered what Su Yun's secret was made of,
that it could grow stronger when facing strength!
After the first victory, it was consecutive defeats.
It really infuriated him!
Moreover,
since he reached the Seventh Grade, his appetite had increased again.
Now,
he had to eat at least five meals a day, and every meal was frighteningly large.
To say the least,
his daily intake could feed an ordinary family for several days.
Fortunately, after the beginning of spring,
as the temperature grew higher, the wild animals in the mountains became more abundant, and there was only one person in the back mountain.
Although he ate a lot, he also hunted a lot,
so there was no shortage of food.
The days were getting better and better, especially since Chen Xuan had a few hundred taels of silver on hand.
However,
compared to the Chen Family,
many families in Shuanggang Village were living harder and harder.
Originally, after the beginning of spring,
even if there was no food at home, they could venture into the mountains to hunt some prey.
They could still survive.
But,
people died.
There were consecutively four or five incidents of people being attacked by wild animals.
And one died!
This also made the ordinary villagers of Shuanggang Village afraid to enter the mountains lightly.
Even if they did enter the mountains, it was four or five men together, still only on the outskirts.
But,
that way, they caught very little game, not enough to share.
But at least they got something, coupled with picking some wild fruits and pine nuts, it's barely keeping them alive.
This day,
Chen Xuan, as usual, returned from hunting in the back mountains.
He was carrying a sack on his back.
Inside it was loaded with a stag.
Not long after entering the village, near Wang Daming's home, he heard the sound of wailing.
Chen Xuan stopped his steps.
Listened carefully.
"Ah Wang, why did you leave just like that, what am I and your father supposed to do?"
"Wuwuwu....."
"Ah Yue, how could you leave so cruelly, what am I and the child supposed to do?"
"Aaah..."
.....
"The sound is coming from Ah Wang's house, Liu Yue's house!"
"How could it be..... Both houses have incidents at the same time, could it be...?"
Realizing something major had happened, he immediately walked over.
These two families were adjacent,
at this time,
a lot of people had already gathered here.
"What's happened?"
"Sigh, deaths have occurred in both Ah Wang's and Liu Yue's families."
The one speaking was the Village Guardian, Huang Tong.
Wherever there was an incident in the village, he would show up.
"How did they die?"
"Wasn't it from going into the mountains? Someone died a few days ago; they still wanted to go into the mountains thinking it would be safe together, but this time, both Ah Wang and Liu Yue died. Only the kid from Golden Hair's family survived! They're all gone. Sigh! Oh God, you're really pushing Shuanggang Village's villagers to death!"
The speaker was Aunt Li, overwhelmed with grief.
Chen Xuan approached Ah Wang's home.
He saw a mutilated corpse, its face a bloody mess, no longer recognizable as Ah Wang.
Ah Wang's parents were kneeling on the ground.
Ah Wang's aunt was holding Ah Wang's body, crying bitterly, while Uncle Wang looked soulless, staring at Ah Wang.
Seeing this scene,
Chen Xuan felt deeply upset.
Ah Wang was about the same age as him, they used to play together often when they were little.
Though as time passed and he became a hunter,
the two interacted less.
But,
thinking about the lively Ah Wang from before, and now looking at the cold, lifeless figure on the ground, his looks ruined, Chen Xuan felt immense sorrow.
"Sigh!"
He let out a long sigh.
Such things,
having white-haired parents sending off their black-haired children, really pained Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang.
Shaking his head, there was nothing that could be done.
As for Liu Yue's family, with him gone, leaving behind a child and his wife,
that orphaned family was in an even more difficult situation for the future.
Moreover,
with the head of the family gone, this family might not hold together for long either.
The people in the village could now only help handle the afterlife matters, beyond that, under these circumstances, there's nothing more they could do.
Help them?
Didn't have the ability, even their own families were just barely maintained, now most of what they ate was water boiled with grass and leaves.
As for Chen Xuan?
He was just one person, how many could he help!
This world seemed bent on driving people to despair.
Back at home.
Chen Xuan wore a solemn expression.
Su Wanqiu noticed immediately that something had happened.
So she asked, "What happened, Brother Xuan?"
Subsequently,
Chen Xuan recounted the events of Ah Wang and Liu Yue's families.
Instantly,
the main room fell into silence.
Though Su Wanqiu hadn't been in the village for many years, the people here were always kind to her.
On usual days, they were very polite.
Now,
two people had died.
It saddened her as well.
Beside her, Su Yun's eyes reddened.
"Sigh!" After a long time, Su Wanqiu let out a long sigh, shaking her head.
Her face showed utter helplessness.
"Brother Xuan, can we help them?"
Su Yun looked at Chen Xuan with reddened eyes.
"Yun'Er! Stop it!"
Before Chen Xuan could respond, Su Wanqiu reprimanded her.
"There are so many families in the village, what can we help with? Now Brother Xuan can hunt some game every day, but he's a martial artist now, needs a lot to eat, and our family doesn't have much surplus, how do you expect us to help!"
It wasn't that she was heartless, or lacked compassion.
It was genuinely because the family could barely sustain itself.
They didn't have much left over.
Chen Xuan's appetite was enormous!
It was truly beyond their ability to help.
She knew Su Yun was kindhearted, but even if they supported one or two families, what if the others had opinions about it!
Sometimes, good intentions might not yield good returns, and could even lead to bad ones!
People's hearts are unpredictable!
Especially at such times, even more so!
"Alright, alright, sister-in-law, don't scold her, she means well!"
"Come on, let's eat, and after eating we'll sleep!"
However, he then added, "Later, I'll send some meat to the two families, anyway, we still have enough at home!"