Chapter 6 — The Bloody Snow and The Baby's Luck
The Long Wait
The pit was dug. The trap was set.
Long Tan lay flat on his stomach in a patch of thick, dry bushes. He had pulled a white cloth sheet over his body to blend in perfectly with the snow. He looked like just another snowdrift.
He was perfectly still. Not a muscle twitched.
He had been waiting for four hours.
The winter wind was cruel. It whispered through the trees, freezing everything it touched. A normal man lying in the snow this long would be suffering from hypothermia. His limbs would be stiff as wood, his blood turning to slush.
But Long Tan was different.
He was circulating the Sun & Moon Refining Technique.
Inside his body, a slow, warm current of energy moved through his veins. It felt like warm water flowing through a pipe. It kept his muscles loose, hot, and ready to explode into action.
Snap.
A crisp sound broke the silence of the forest. It came from the game trail to his left.
Long Tan's eyes sharpened instantly. His breath slowed.
A massive, dark shape emerged from the shadow of the trees.
It was the Wild Boar.
It was a monster of the forest. It was ugly and dangerous. Its body was covered in coarse black fur that looked as hard as wire brushes. Two sharp, yellow tusks jutted from its mouth like daggers.
It was huge—weighing at least 300 pounds. It was a tank made of muscle and anger.
The boar stopped. It sniffed the air loudly. Snort. Snort.
It smelled the bait Long Tan had left—a pile of crushed rabbit intestines hidden in the center of the path. The metallic smell of blood called to it.
The beast grunted greedily. It didn't see the disturbed snow. It stepped forward.
One heavy step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
CRASH!
The hidden branches covering the pit snapped under the massive weight.
The boar gave a loud, startled squeal as the ground suddenly disappeared beneath it. It fell heavily into the six-foot hole.
The Brutal Kill
Long Tan didn't wait one second. He sprang from the bushes like a tiger hunting prey. The white sheet flew off his back.
He rushed to the edge of the pit and looked down.
The boar was thrashing wildly at the bottom. It was a chaotic scene of black fur and snow. The sharp wooden spikes Long Tan had planted at the bottom had done their job—one had pierced the boar's thick leg, but the beast was so strong it had snapped two other spikes like toothpicks.
It was roaring in pain and rage, trying to jump out of the hole. Its eyes were red with madness.
"Die!"
Long Tan didn't have a spear. He didn't have a sword. He only had his rusty iron knife and a heavy rock he had prepared earlier.
He lifted the heavy rock—a granite stone weighing 50 pounds—high over his head.
With his enhanced 275 Jin strength, the rock felt light in his hands.
He threw it down with full force.
THUD.
The rock smashed directly into the boar's skull with a sickening crunch.
The beast staggered. It stopped screaming for a moment, dazed by the blow.
This was his chance.
Long Tan jumped into the pit.
It was a dangerous move. If the boar recovered and gored him with those yellow tusks, his stomach would be ripped open. He could die here, alone in the snow.
But he needed to be fast.
He landed heavily on the boar's back. He wrapped his legs tight around its thick, heaving torso.
The boar woke up. It bucked like a wild horse, throwing its massive weight around, trying to smash Long Tan against the dirt walls of the pit.
Long Tan roared. He grabbed the coarse, wire-like fur with his left hand to hold on. He raised his rusty knife high with his right hand.
He stabbed down.
Plunge.
The knife hit the shoulder blade. The hide was tough, like leather armor.
Plunge.
He stabbed again.
Plunge.
He aimed for the soft spot in the neck.
Long Tan channeled all his strength—every bit of the +10 Jin he gained daily—into his arm.
The blade punched through the thick skin and severed the artery.
Hot, bright red blood sprayed over Long Tan's face and chest. It was blindingly hot in the freezing air. The metallic smell of iron filled the cold pit, overwhelming his senses.
The boar gave one final, violent shake. It tried to bite him one last time.
Then, it collapsed. Its heavy body went limp.
Long Tan sat on top of the dead beast, panting heavily. His chest heaved up and down. His face was smeared with red. Steam rose from the fresh blood.
"It is done," he whispered to the dirt walls. "The tax is paid."
Too Heavy to Carry
Long Tan climbed out of the pit. His muscles ached, but he felt a rush of victory.
He tied a rope to the boar and pulled.
He pulled until his veins bulged. Slowly, inch by inch, he dragged the massive carcass out of the hole and onto the snow.
It was incredibly heavy. A mountain of meat.
He tried to lift the whole carcass onto his shoulder.
His knees buckled under the 300-pound weight.
He dropped it back down. Thump.
"Too heavy," he realized, wiping sweat and blood from his eyes. "I am strong, but walking all the way back to the village with 300 pounds in deep snow... I will be too slow. It will take hours."
He frowned. "If I walk slowly, someone might see me."
He needed to be Low Key.
If he dragged this huge beast openly through the village entrance, the neighbors would get jealous. Rumors would spread.
Worse, the Zhou Family lackeys might hear about it. They would come to his door and demand a "protection fee" or a "hunting tax." They would steal his hard work.
He made a sharp decision.
He took his bloody knife and began to cut the boar in half, right behind the ribs.
It was messy, difficult work. He had to saw through the spine.
Finally, the beast was in two pieces.
He took the bottom half (the hind legs and rump) and dragged it fifty meters away. He buried it deep in a snowbank, covering it with thick pine branches to hide the smell from wolves.
"I will take the top half first."
He hoisted the front half of the boar onto his shoulder. It was heavy—about 150 pounds—but manageable.
He covered the meat with his blood-stained cloak to hide the shape.
He lowered his head and began the walk home.
The First Arrival: Relief
Long Tan entered the courtyard quietly through the back gate.
It was late afternoon.
Su Lan was sitting by the well, washing clothes in a bucket of icy water. Her hands were red and raw from the cold. Little San was sitting next to her, trying to help wring out the cloth with his small hands.
When Long Tan walked in, carrying a massive, dripping bundle on his shoulder, Su Lan stood up.
She saw the blood on his pants.
"Tan?" Her voice shook.
Long Tan walked to the wooden chopping block and dropped the bundle.
THUD.
He pulled back the cloak.
The massive head and shoulders of the Wild Boar were revealed. The yellow tusks looked terrifying, even in death. The eyes were open and glassy.
Su Lan gasped. She covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes went wide.
"Oh my heavens..."
Little San's eyes popped out of his head. He jumped up.
"A monster! Father killed a monster!"
Long Tan leaned against the wall, catching his breath.
"This is the tax," he said, his voice raspy and tired. "The tusks. The thick skin. The meat. It is worth more than ten silver coins. Much more."
Su Lan looked at the beast. Then she looked at Long Tan.
Her legs gave out. She sat down heavily on the wooden bench and started to cry.
They were not tears of sadness. They were tears of pure, overwhelming relief.
For months, the fear of the Tax Collector had been hanging over their heads like a guillotine blade. She had nightmares about being sold into slavery.
Now, the blade was gone.
"We are safe," she sobbed, burying her face in her hands.
Long Tan walked over and touched her hair gently.
"Not yet," he said softly. "There is another half in the forest. I must go back before the wolves smell it."
The Second Trip
Long Tan didn't rest. He drank a bowl of cold water and ran back to the forest.
He moved fast. His body was fueled by excitement and the promise of a full belly.
He found the hidden snowbank. The pine branches were undisturbed. The meat was safe.
He dug out the hind legs and hoisted them onto his back.
When he returned the second time, the sun was setting. The sky was a bruised purple color.
He dropped the second half next to the first.
The courtyard was now filled with meat. A whole boar.
It was a mountain of food. It was enough wealth to change their lives for the entire winter.
Long Tan leaned against the doorframe. He was exhausted. He was covered in dried blood, dirt, and the musky smell of the boar. His hair was matted. He looked terrifying, like a demon that had crawled out of the mountain.
The Baby's Luck
He walked into the warm hut to wash up. The heat of the stove hit his cold skin.
Su Lan was sitting on the bed, holding baby Long Hao. She looked up and saw him.
She flinched slightly. He looked very scary with the dried blood on his face.
"Tan, go wash quickly," Su Lan said nervously. "You are covered in blood. You look fierce. You will scare the baby."
Usually, babies cry when they smell blood. They cry when they see scary, dark figures.
Long Tan nodded. He didn't want to make his son cry.
But as he walked past the crib to get to the water basin, he paused.
He looked down at his newborn son.
Long Tan's face was smeared with red gore. His eyes were still intense from the kill. He radiated the aura of a predator.
Long Hao looked up.
The baby blinked his big, black eyes.
He didn't cry. He didn't turn away.
He stared at the blood on his father's chest. He stared at the fierce energy radiating from Long Tan.
Suddenly, Long Hao's face broke into a wide, toothless smile.
He kicked his legs excitedly.
"Gurgle! Yah!"
He reached his tiny, chubby hands out, trying to grab Long Tan's bloody shirt. He wanted to touch the source of that power.
Su Lan was shocked. She stood up. "He... he isn't scared? He is laughing?"
Long Tan looked at his son. He felt a strange warmth bloom in his chest, chasing away the cold of the forest.
"No," Long Tan whispered. "He isn't scared. He knows."
"Knows what?"
"He knows this blood means life. He knows his father is strong enough to feed him."
Long Tan carefully reached out his pinky finger—the only clean part of his hand—and touched the baby's soft cheek.
Ding…
A faint, clear sound echoed in Long Tan's mind. It was clearer than before.
[System Interaction]
[The 'Luck Seed' is pleased with the offering of survival.]
[Family Luck Increased Slightly.]
[Current Luck: Low → Stable]
Long Tan smiled.
The "Ding" confirmed it.
His hard work, the brutal kill, the blood on his hands—it wasn't just for food. It fed the family's destiny. The baby was the connection to the System.
"I will wash now," Long Tan said, his heart lighter than it had been in years. "Then, we will eat pork. We will eat until we are full."
That night, the small hut was filled with laughter, the rich smell of roasting meat, and the feeling of safety. The winter outside was still cold, but the Long family was finally on the rise.
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