Chapter 16 — The Sweet Peach and The Hidden Knife
The Need to Hunt
Long Tan returned from Meng City just as the sun reached its highest point in the winter sky. He dropped off the heavy bundle of raw soap materials and the pouch containing 7 silver coins inside his hut.
Su Lan was surprised to see him back so soon. She started to stand up, but Long Tan waved her down. He didn't stay to rest.
"I am going out," he told her, grabbing his old wooden bow and a quiver of arrows from the wall.
"You just walked three hours from the city," Su Lan said, worry creasing her forehead. "Your body needs rest."
"My body has been idle for ten days while recovering," Long Tan said, stretching his neck. A satisfying crack echoed in the small room. "I need fresh meat. And more importantly... I need to test my body."
He stepped out into the snow.
The air was crisp and biting, filling his lungs with ice. For a normal man, this weather was miserable. But for Long Tan?
He felt explosive.
After ten days of healing and eating high-grade meat, his strength had stabilized at 450 Jin. His blood felt hot, like liquid fire running through his veins, keeping the cold at bay. Walking through knee-deep snow felt as easy as walking on a flat stone road.
He reached the edge of the Blackwood Forest. The trees stood like silent giants, their branches heavy with white powder.
He stood still. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them.
'There.'
Thirty meters away, near a frozen bush, there was a tiny disturbance. A Snow Rabbit.
It was white on white, almost invisible. It was fast. But Long Tan was faster.
His eyesight was sharper now. He could see the individual whiskers of the rabbit twitching in the wind.
He drew the bowstring. His arm was steady as a rock. There was no tremor, no strain. The 450 Jin strength made drawing the bow feel like pulling a thread of silk.
Thwip.
The arrow cut through the wind. It was a perfect shot, pinning the rabbit through the eye before it could even twitch.
"Too easy," Long Tan muttered, walking over to collect the prey. "My senses have sharpened along with my muscles."
He hunted for another hour, enjoying the solitude of the forest. He caught a second fat Snow Rabbit. In this bitter winter, fresh, non-frozen meat like this was rare and incredibly expensive.
The Dignified Trade
Long Tan walked back to the village, the two fat rabbits tied to his belt.
As he approached his hut, he saw his neighbor, Old Zhang, sweeping the snow from the path.
Old Zhang looked terrible. His coat was thin and patched. His face was grey and gaunt. The winter was slowly starving him.
Long Tan stopped. He felt a pang of pity. In a village of selfish people, Old Zhang was the only one who had been kind to him when he was poor.
'If I give him the rabbit for free, he will refuse,' Long Tan thought. 'He is a proud old man. He will feel like a beggar receiving charity.'
Long Tan unhooked the fattest rabbit from his belt. It was heavy, weighing at least five pounds.
"Uncle Zhang!" Long Tan called out, pretending to be frustrated.
Old Zhang looked up, leaning on his broom to catch his breath. "Tan? You had a good hunt."
"Too good," Long Tan lied smoothly. "I caught too much. My wife can't eat all this meat before it spoils. Do you have 10 copper coins?"
Old Zhang stared at the massive rabbit hanging from Long Tan's hand. His eyes went wide.
"10 coppers? Tan, are you crazy?" Old Zhang gasped. "Look at the size of that thing. A fresh rabbit is worth 1 Silver (100 coppers) in the market right now! Meat is gold in winter. You are losing a fortune."
"I don't want to walk to the market," Long Tan shook his head, keeping his face serious and annoyed. "It's cold. My legs are tired. If you take it for 10 coppers, you are saving me a trip. You are doing me a favor."
Old Zhang looked at Long Tan's calm eyes.
He knew the truth. He knew Long Tan wasn't lazy. He knew this was a gift.
Long Tan was practically giving him a week's worth of food for pennies. But he was doing it in a way that let Old Zhang keep his dignity. He wasn't begging; he was "buying."
Old Zhang's chin trembled. His eyes misted over.
He reached into his pocket with a shaking hand and pulled out 10 worn copper coins.
"Deal," Old Zhang whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you, Tan."
He handed over the coins. Long Tan handed over the rabbit. Old Zhang held it close to his chest, like it was a treasure.
The Spirit Peach
Long Tan entered his hut. The warmth of the fire hit him instantly.
He placed the remaining rabbit and the heavy pouch of 6 Silver Coins on the table.
Su Lan gasped when she saw the silver. "Tan... we are rich."
"It is just the start," Long Tan said calmly.
He didn't sit down. Instead, he walked to the back window that looked out into their small courtyard.
He opened the shutters. Cold air rushed in.
In the center of the snowy yard stood the gnarled Peach Tree. It was bare of leaves, looking dead like every other tree in winter.
Except for one branch.
On a single low branch, two pink peaches were glowing softly against the white snow. It was unnatural. It was a miracle. This was the tree Baby Hao touched every day.
Long Tan reached out and plucked them. They felt warm in his hand, humming with energy.
He closed the window and handed them to Su Lan.
"Eat."
Su Lan stared at the fruit. "From the courtyard tree? In winter? How is this possible?"
"Don't ask," Long Tan said softly. "Just eat."
Su Lan hesitated, but she trusted her husband. She took a bite.
Crunch.
Sweet, hot juice exploded in her mouth. It didn't taste like a normal fruit; it tasted like sunlight condensed into liquid.
"Oh!" she gasped.
In seconds, a visible flush of red returned to her pale face. The warm energy rushed through her veins, hunting down every ache and pain in her body. The exhaustion of childbirth, the fatigue of the cold winter—it all melted away instantly.
She stood up, flexing her fingers. She felt light. She felt powerful.
"I feel... strong," she whispered, her eyes shining. "My back doesn't hurt anymore."
"Good," Long Tan said, his voice turning serious. "Because starting tomorrow, I will teach you martial arts."
Su Lan froze. "Martial arts? Is it... because of the Zhou family?"
"It is because of everything," Long Tan said, looking out the window at the grey sky. "We have money now. Money attracts wolves—both beasts and men. If I am gone hunting, you cannot be weak. You must be the shield for our son."
Su Lan looked at Baby Hao sleeping peacefully in the crib. Her expression hardened into determination.
"I will learn," she promised.
The Failed Hunt Returns
Later that afternoon, a loud commotion erupted at the village gate.
Long Tan went to the window.
The Village Hunting Team was returning.
This wasn't the elite guards of the Zhou Clan. This was just the ordinary hunting squad, led by a distant relative named Zhou Gou.
They looked like a defeated army.
Zhou Gou was limping badly, his leather armor shredded by claws. Two other men were being carried on stretchers, groaning in pain. They had no Bear. They had no deer. They had nothing.
The villagers rushed out of their houses, faces full of fear.
"What happened?"
"Where is the winter supply?"
"Where is the Iron-Hide Bear?"
Zhou Gou's face was pale. He was terrified. He had promised the Village Elder he would catch the bear. Now, he had failed. He had gotten men hurt. The village would starve because of him.
He looked around frantically. He needed an excuse. He needed someone to blame to save his own face.
Just then, Long Tan stepped out of his hut to fetch water from the well.
The crowd went silent.
Zhou Gou saw Long Tan.
He saw the clean clothes. He saw the healthy, rosy face. He saw the calm aura of a man who had just eaten a spirit peach.
Jealousy exploded in Zhou Gou's heart. 'Why is he safe? Why is he warm while we bleed in the snow?'
He wanted to scream at Long Tan. He wanted to blame him right there.
But then, Long Tan turned his head.
His eyes locked onto Zhou Gou.
They were cold. Indifferent. Like a tiger looking at a rat.
Zhou Gou froze. His throat went dry. He felt the invisible pressure of Long Tan's 450 Jin strength rolling over him. He remembered the rumors of the wolf pack Long Tan had slaughtered.
'I... I can't provoke him to his face,' Zhou Gou realized, cold sweat dripping down his back. 'He looks dangerous. If I accuse him now, he might snap and break my other leg.'
Zhou Gou quickly looked down, pretending to check his bandage. He didn't dare say a single word while the tiger was watching.
Long Tan scanned the pathetic group, saw they were no threat, lost interest, and went back inside his house.
The Lie Behind the Back
Only after the heavy wooden door to Long Tan's hut clicked shut did Zhou Gou find his courage.
The tiger was gone. The rat felt brave again.
"What happened, Gou?" a villager asked desperately. "Why did the hunt fail?"
Zhou Gou looked at the closed door of the Long family. His eyes narrowed with malice.
"We... we had it trapped," Zhou Gou lied loudly. "We were about to kill the Iron-Hide Bear."
"Then what?"
"Someone..." Zhou Gou pointed a shaking finger at Long Tan's house. "Someone was hunting rabbits nearby. A loner. He made noise. He stepped on dry branches."
The villagers murmured. "Long Tan?"
"He spooked the beast!" Zhou Gou shouted, nodding frantically. "The Bear went crazy because of the noise! It broke our formation! It attacked us because he interfered!"
He didn't dare say the name to Long Tan's face, but he whispered it to the mob now.
"He ruined the hunt..." a villager whispered angrily, clutching their empty stomach. "He sells rabbits for silver while we starve because of his mistake."
The poison began to spread. Zhou Gou wiped sweat from his forehead. He had saved his own face by stabbing Long Tan in the back.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE]
The Lie is planted! 🌱
Zhou Gou was too scared to face the Tiger, so he poisoned the sheep instead.
Next Chapter: The Compensation Demand.
The villagers want Long Tan to pay for the "damage" he caused.
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