Chapter 35

Cheng Duo suddenly realized, "When you saved me back then, you used it, right?"

He had heard a tiger roar before losing consciousness, but when he woke up, the only person he saw was Yong-ge. He thought he remembered it wrong.

"Yeah."

Cheng Duo nodded, but he didn't reach out to take the tiger bone whistle that was handed to him. While it might not be valuable in modern times, in this era where beasts and bandits roamed, it could be a life-saving tool in critical moments.

Moreover, Yong-ge had been carefully keeping it close to him, so it must have been important to him. Cheng Duo didn't want to burden anyone, so if that was the case, he couldn't accept Yong-ge's precious possession.

Yong-ge was infuriated by his stubbornness. He raised his hand to push the whistle into Cheng Duo's arms. "Fine, keep it if you want. Don't forget, you've also attracted wolves. The footprints around your home haven't disappeared yet!"

Cheng Duo's hands were covered in grease, so he could only raise his arm to refuse. He looked at Yong-ge's anxious expression and suddenly said, "If my fiancée finds out that I accepted something from another ger, she would definitely be angry."

Yong-ge's hands and feet turned cold. With the whistle in his hand, he froze, not knowing whether to give it or not.

He slowly lifted his eyes and met Cheng Duo's gaze. Cheng Duo's pupils were deep, his gaze steady and resolute. Under the scrutiny of those eyes, Yong-ge suddenly felt that his little schemes were exposed. Did Cheng Duo… already know?

Yong-ge's face turned pale, feeling extremely embarrassed and miserable. He suddenly thought, did Cheng Duo refuse this whistle because he was indirectly rejecting him?

And how absurd it was for him to think that their relationship would change after going through the wild boar attack. Why did he keep thinking about the meaning behind Cheng Duo's smile at that time?

Cheng Duo, on the other hand, regretted it. He could have found many excuses, so why did he say the most hurtful thing? His hands clenched and then relaxed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Yong-ge, I…"

"I… I should go back!" Yong-ge suddenly turned around, hastily picked up the things on the ground, and left.

"Wait!" Cheng Duo called out, and Yong-ge stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around.

He didn't know what he was thinking. Perhaps a glimmer of hope ignited within him, expecting Cheng Duo to say something different…

But Cheng Duo was destined to disappoint him. He turned around, picked up a hunting knife, quickly cut off two large chunks of meat from a basin, threaded them with hemp rope, and placed them in Yong-ge's hands. "Take these, they're what you deserve."

"Okay." Tears finally fell from Yong-ge's brimming eyes. He didn't look back, but responded with a choked voice, then fled.

Yong-ge opened the slightly ajar gate and happened to see Wei Ling standing by the door. He felt extremely embarrassed and forced a smile at Wei Ling before running away.

"Yong-ge!" Wei Ling was a little worried and instinctively wanted to chase after him, but when he remembered Yong-ge's tearful and difficult smile, he slowly stopped in his tracks.

For Wei Ling, Yong-ge's appearance had changed significantly. The first time they met at the camp's entrance, he was dark and thin, with rough skin, but his eyes were particularly bright.

But this time was different. Yong-ge had become fairer, changed his appearance, and revealed the clear contours of his delicate features. The cherry birthmark on his forehead was red and alluring, and his eyelashes were long and curled… Wei Ling simply couldn't believe that Cheng Duo had rejected someone like him!

Wei Ling, who had a good temper, had to suppress his anger. He entered the courtyard and faced Cheng Duo with a questioning tone for the first time. "Do you have a fiancée?"

Why was he getting close to Yong-ge when he already had a fiancée? These two were talking so familiarly in front of him, what was this supposed to be!

Cheng Duo hesitated for a moment and didn't deny it, "Yes, it's my parents' wish and the matchmaker's words."

"Then why did you still go to the military camp with Yong-ge? You're already engaged, don't you know to avoid suspicion?"

Wei Ling's aggressive attitude irritated Cheng Duo. Every time he thought about why Wei Ling cared so much, he couldn't help but have the urge to hit someone!

But when he thought of Yong-ge, he held himself back.

He couldn't deny that Yong-ge was a good person. He was kind, brave, diligent, and magnanimous, completely different from his own dark and despicable side. Yong-ge was like a ray of light that shone into his dark heart.

Even if he couldn't hold onto that light, he didn't want to ruin it because of his own selfishness…

Cheng Duo glanced at Wei Ling and slowly recounted the events that happened earlier. He explained, "Yong-ge was worried about his older and second brothers, so he asked me to take him to Twenty Li Slope to find someone. His intentions were good, and I didn't want to accept it intentionally, which led me to say hurtful things and made him cry. Yong-ge only sees me as a friend, and our relationship is purely innocent…"

You're just friends? I don't believe that!

Wei Ling knew Cheng Duo was lying but, because of Yong-ge, he had to go along with the pretense. "I think so too. How could Yong-ge possibly be interested in someone like you, a rough man?"

Wei Ling felt annoyed. It was the first time he said such harsh words in front of someone, especially when the target of his ridicule looked so fierce.

He thought that even if Cheng Duo didn't rush over and hit him, he would at least kick him out of the house. But to his surprise, Cheng Duo only sullenly accepted it, then turned around and went back to sorting the wild boar meat.

Now it was Wei Ling's turn to be stunned. He had been prepared, his whole body tense, expecting Cheng Duo to come and fight him. How could he teach the other person a lesson if Cheng Duo didn't fight back?

Although in a real fight, it wasn't guaranteed who would teach whom a lesson, but he wouldn't know until they fought!

Wei Ling thought for a moment and made a proposal, "You don't have to be in a hurry. How about we go outside and have a fight?"

Realizing Cheng Duo was looking at him, Wei Ling quickly put on a pretense, "When I heard Meng Ji mention you at the camp entrance, I was very curious and wanted to have a friendly exchange. Now that we have the opportunity, why not… have a match?"

Cheng Duo sneered inwardly. Wei Ling, the young general from a noble family, was indeed well-mannered. Even if he felt jealous and wanted to fight him, he still had to make up an excuse.

"Sure!" Cheng Duo promptly agreed. He was willing to help explain things for Yong-ge's sake, but it didn't mean Wei Ling could provoke him.

Since he asked for it, he shouldn't expect Cheng Duo to be polite!

The two walked out of the courtyard together. Just before they started, Wei Ling suddenly remembered that they didn't have any weapons… He frowned and said, "We don't have any weapons…"

When he came out, he only brought a bow and arrow. He couldn't fight someone with just a bow and arrow, right?

Cheng Duo moved his head and hands, "It's okay, we'll fight like this."

If they used weapons, he was afraid that Wei Ling, the young general, would be killed on the spot!

Cheng Duo had spent nearly half of the ten years before his transmigration outside the base. The zombies never tired, nor did they rest. Every move and technique Cheng Duo had was honed through battles.

Wei Ling was the same.

But Wei Ling was facing living opponents. They wouldn't stop or hesitate, even if their limbs were severed. The difference in their experience levels was already substantial, not to mention Cheng Duo's advantage as a power-enhanced individual. This meant that the game they were playing was a one-sided beating by Cheng Duo.

Cheng Duo was also particularly petty. Although he had already restrained most of his power, every time he struck, it was aimed at the handsome face of the young general.

As a result, Wei Ling's face swelled up like a pig's head, but he had no choice but to acknowledge Cheng Duo's superiority.

No matter what moves or methods he used, he couldn't even touch Cheng Duo's clothes. What could he do if he didn't admit defeat?

In fact, there were times when Wei Ling couldn't help but admire Cheng Duo and wanted to become his disciple. But when he thought about this guy being engaged and deceiving the innocent Yong-ge… Wei Ling was conflicted.

Although he knew Cheng Duo might not have done it intentionally, after all, if Cheng Duo wanted to pursue others, he wouldn't have rejected Yong-ge. But the fact that Cheng Duo had embraced Yong-ge was a reality, once in front of the military camp, and now when dealing with the wild boar. Although there were reasons for each time, which unmarried young ger could refuse the hero saving the beauty… In the end, it was Cheng Duo who was too untrustworthy!

I have to say that Wei Ling is magnanimous. Even though Cheng Duo almost turned him into a pig's head, he still gave him a fair evaluation in his mind.

As for Cheng Duo, he felt a sense of satisfaction but also a little guilty.

In any case, both of them looked at each other with complex feelings. But men's thoughts are simple like that. After a fight, neither of them said anything further, and they reluctantly coexisted peacefully.

When Yong-ge passed by Village Head Li's courtyard on his way home, he heard his aunt pestering him about why their family didn't get any meat.

Yong-ge originally wanted to take a detour, but his cousin, Feng-ge, noticed him. "Yong-ge!"

Wu Guihua saw Yong-ge with his hands full of wild boar meat and complained, "Why does Yong-ge get so much meat? Our family didn't get a single piece!"

She was about to rush over and snatch it, saying, "Did you take our meat? This is for our family, I'll take it myself!"

"Aunt, this is my meat, not yours!" Seeing that Wu Guihua was about to snatch the two pieces of meat Cheng Duo gave him, Yong-ge hurriedly dodged backward.

Village Head Li also exclaimed in anger, "Yong-ge came to help, and no one from your family did anything. Why should you get a share of the meat?"

Wu Guihua turned a deaf ear, and she even took the opportunity to try to scratch Yong-ge's face during the commotion! At a critical moment, Li Wang suddenly appeared, grabbing Wu Guihua's hand and forcefully shaking her off, then protecting Yong-ge behind him. "Wu Guihua, what are you doing? You're acting like a thief, trying to steal our Yong-ge's things!"

"What stealing? It's obvious that Yong-ge took our meat!"

"Village Head already said it, your family didn't do anything, so you don't have a share of the wild boar meat!"

At this moment, Village Head Li also arrived. "Wu Guihua, you've gone too far. I said there's none for you, so there's none! If you keep causing trouble, I'll gather the clan elders and convene a family meeting!"

Wu Guihua was a little scared, but she still felt dissatisfied. "Then why does Yong-ge get so much? What has he done? Village Head, you're being unfair!"

"Well…" Village Head Li didn't know either. He had a rough idea of how much he gave Yong-ge, but it definitely wasn't this much.

Yong-ge couldn't bear to see him being troubled and spoke the truth, "It's from Cheng Duo."

Village Head Li pondered for a moment and nodded, "Yong-ge, you saved Cheng Duo today. He sent you this much meat as a way to thank you, right?"

"What thanks? I think that hunter has been captivated by Yong-ge's current appearance," Feng-ge muttered with jealousy, "Could it be that he wants to become someone's little…"

Yong-ge couldn't believe Feng-ge would say such things. His transformation was too significant, and Yong-ge was starting to doubt himself.

The other side stared at him with a venomous gaze, as if they held deep hatred and resentment.

Yong-ge didn't understand how he had offended them. Could it be because of Cheng Duo?

That's right, Feng-ge was publicly rejected by Cheng Duo. Did he think that… Yong-ge hesitated to tell Feng-ge that he had also been rejected by Cheng Duo. He was slightly better off because it didn't happen in front of everyone, but it was still embarrassing because Cheng Duo rejected him twice…