Inside the house, the woman looked furious, while Chen Guodong sat aside, his face full of worry.
The little boy watched helplessly at this scene. At that moment, a figure appeared at the door, and he immediately ran excitedly towards Chen Fan, hugging his leg tightly.
"Brother, you're back!"
"Yeah."
Chen Fan smiled and patted his little head, then looked at his parents in the house and curiously asked, "Dad, Mom, what happened? I just heard you mention Li Family Stronghold while I was outside. Did someone from our village have a conflict with them? Was anyone hurt?"
"Don't worry, no one was hurt."
Chen Guodong shook his head.
"How can it be fine?"
The woman couldn't help but say, "The prey was snatched by them; these people are simply robbers!"
"Alright, let bygones be bygones," Chen Guodong frowned and signaled the woman with his eyes. Xiaochen doesn't understand things, while Xiaofan is different. Letting him hear this would only add to the worries.
The woman opened her mouth, "Let's eat first."
Chen Fan furrowed his brows, no one could accept things left in the middle of the discussion.
Moreover, this matter seemed quite important.
"Dad, Mom, what exactly happened? Am I not a part of the village? Besides, if Mom already knows, then many others should know too. I can just ask others later, right?"
The woman looked at Chen Guodong with some resentment, the latter hesitated for a few seconds before finally sighing, "Alright, I'll tell you, but after hearing it, don't act impulsively."
After hearing Chen Guodong's narration, Chen Fan finally understood what had happened.
It turns out that his father led the Hunting Team out of the village to check the traps in various places. They had no harvest until they reached the last trap, where a startled wildebeest suddenly ran towards them.
This type of horse, nearly two meters tall with a single horn on its head, is famous for being one of the largest low-level fierce beasts.
At first, they were happy, but then they sighed helplessly, as a wildebeest in its prime has no means of long-range attack, leaving them unable to do anything.
Upon seeing them, the wildebeest was naturally terrified and changed directions, falling into a trap they dug, which was like manna from heaven, making everyone smile broadly.
However, Chen Guodong had a bad feeling. It was clear the wildebeest was chased by someone, perhaps they were just behind, but slowed down for now. They needed to get the prey out of the trap quickly, or unforeseen complications might arise.
Unfortunately, while they were still busy, people from Li Family Stronghold appeared, leading to an argument. The other party claimed they spotted the wildebeest first, wanting a share, which the village people of course didn't agree to.
However, the people from Li Family Stronghold soon realized they were outnumbered, as even the Wei Brothers weren't around. Fourteen against eight, almost double.
Thus, Li Family Stronghold decided to take everything, leaving not a scrap of meat. Previously, when both sides were evenly matched, they would split the prey half-and-half.
Now with Wei Brothers absent and fewer people, if a fight broke out with archers on the other side, their own village would suffer the loss, ending up with no prey and injured people.
In this world, what injuries mean is self-evident.
Therefore, the village people could only watch those from Li Family Stronghold destroy the trap and leave with the prey, cynically mocking them before parting.
"That's how it happened, my fault." Chen Guodong sighed, originally not planning to speak about it to avoid demoralizing everyone.
But on the way back, someone from the team, feeling very angry, spoke out, letting many know.
People always need an outlet, he understood.
"Dad, I think you did the right thing."
Chen Fan nodded, "If we clashed with them, the best outcome would be mutual destruction. Worse could be our total annihilation and then the villagers left would not survive without you all."
He sighed inwardly. In this world, one has to fight not only fierce beasts but other people. Perhaps people are more dangerous than beasts.
Chen Guodong looked at him with mild surprise.
He thought Chen Fan would be agitated, shouting to take those people on.
The woman beside him also fell silent. She understood this principle, but understanding doesn't prevent cursing even if it's useless.
"Alright, let's sit down and eat first, you've been training all day."
Chen Fan nodded, gathering around the table with his brother to sit down.
Dinner was still the same as yesterday — a bowl of thin porridge and a plate of meat slices.
"Xiaofan, eat more."
Chen Guodong picked some meat to put in Chen Fan's bowl, but the latter blocked him with chopsticks, "Dad, you eat. I'll take a couple of pieces; I have something else to talk about with you."
Chen Guodong paused, it was the first time seeing such a serious expression on his son's face. He instinctively retracted his chopsticks, "What is it?"
"I want to go hunting with the Hunting Team tomorrow."
"What?"
Chen Guodong and his wife exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Then, the woman decisively said, "No! You are still so young, do you know how dangerous it is? What if something happens?"
Chen Guodong glanced at his wife before nodding, "Xiaofan, I understand you want to contribute to the village. You've been practicing archery day and night, but it's only been a few days. How about waiting for another month or two and then go out with us?"
The woman's lips moved, but the words she intended to say were swallowed back.
"Brother, please don't go. It's very dangerous outside." His brother Chen Chen gazed at Chen Fan, even a child knew what going out meant.
Chen Fan shook his head resolutely, "Dad, I have a reason for saying this. After dinner, please come to the warehouse with me, and you'll understand everything then."
Another month or two?
He seriously doubted if the village could last that long.
Chen Guodong and his wife looked at each other in bewilderment.
Where did Xiaofan get the confidence to say such things? Could he have learned archery in just two or three days? Even if he did, it's only superficial, right?
In the end, Chen Guodong nodded, whether to agree or not could be decided after seeing for himself.
After dinner, Chen Fan led Chen Guodong towards the warehouse, with the woman uneasy taking Chen Chen along, making them a family of four.
A lame man witnessed this scene with a stunned expression.
What's going on?
Isn't it just bow practice?
Why bring so many people?
Chen Fan smiled at him and picked up a sixty-pound longbow.
At that moment, Chen Guodong squinted his eyes, a look of seriousness spreading across his face.
If he remembered correctly, Xiaofan was using a forty-pound bow just yesterday, when did he switch to sixty pounds?
If a forty-pound bow could barely hunt low-level fierce beasts, sixty pounds was enough to kill most low-level fierce beasts and even wear out some mid-level fierce beasts.
He admitted Chen Fan gave him a bit of a surprise, but it wasn't enough.