Big Haul

"Well, well. I see you are having a great time here."

A man with a long mustache, wearing nice cotton and silk clothes, came up to Lin Fan.

He had two chestnuts in his hands which he kept twirling non-stop.

This man is Housekeeper Lee from the Tan family, the richest family in the village.

"I don't think you were invited," Lin Fan replied.

He wants nothing to do with Housekeeper Lee.

Especially when the system had shown this man to have ill intentions towards him.

"Don't be so defensive. Hope you've made up your mind about selling this land of yours.

"Think about what you would have to endure if you can't pay the autumn harvest tax."

Housekeeper Lee patted Lin Fan on his back, pretending to advise Lin Fan with compassion.

Lin Fan shrugged away and said, "Thanks for your concern. Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself."

Housekeeper Lee's smile disappeared for a moment before it appeared again.

"I see you've grown up a lot. If you need anything, just let me know." With that, Housekeeper Lee turned and walked off with his minions following suit.

When they got far enough, one of the minions asked, "Housekeeper Lee, why don't we beat the crap out of this Lin Fan? He certainly can't say no by then."

"You think I don't want to? The village head Ho Fu, who was Lin Fan's father's friend, still wields some power in this village. The Tan family has a reputation to keep."

Housekeeper Lee stopped, handed some silver bits to the minion, and said, "Here, let those without a reputation to keep do the dirty work for us."

The minion received the money and quickly scurried away.

Meanwhile, Lin Fan and Uncle Liu were done feasting on the rabbit meat.

Liu Han sucked whatever grease and meat scraps off his fingers.

Uncle Liu shook his head at this sight.

He thought to himself, he needs to send Liu Han to school in the future.

It is better for him to try for the imperial examinations than follow in his footsteps as a hunter.

Speaking of which, there's also Lin Fan to think about.

"Here, one copper coin for the rabbit skin."

Uncle Liu handed one copper coin to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan took the coin and thanked Uncle Liu.

He is not one to care about all the formalities.

Always do more and talk less.

Uncle Liu and Liu Han left after that to go on with their day.

When Lin Fan regained his energy, he didn't waste much time and got to work again.

Housekeeper Lee must be up to no good.

Lin Fan had a hunch that his father's death has something to do with this Housekeeper Lee.

He needs to quickly upgrade his physique.

Lin Fan first went to the village's blacksmith to procure some arrows and a bow.

Trying to catch prey with his axe wasn't the best option.

Clank! Clank!

Sounds of iron being hit echoed in the blacksmith's shop.

The heat and steam made the air unbearable.

"Lin Fan? What do you want?" The blacksmith asked when he saw Lin Fan coming into the shop.

"I'm here for some arrows and a bow."

The blacksmith's eyes opened wide, surprised at Lin Fan's change.

"Over there." He pointed to the corner of the shop where arrows and bows were stored.

Lin Fan went over and picked up the cheapest looking one.

"How much for this?"

"That... I'll charge you one copper coin for it. Grab those arrows by the side while you're at it."

The blacksmith, seeing that Lin Fan is now all alone without any help, thought for a moment and decided to give Lin Fan a discount.

"Thanks! I'll pay you back soon, since now I can hunt for prey."

"No need for that; it's hard to survive out here as it is."

The blacksmith shook his head and sighed.

What is this kid thinking about?

He is lucky to even be able to get some sparrows.

...

Afternoon, open field by the woods.

Lin Fan wiped the sweat off his forehead as he watched for movements in the grass.

When he saw movements, he activated the Rabbit's Hearing for a split second.

With his hearing, he was able to pinpoint exactly where the wild rabbit was.

He would then shoot in that direction.

Initially, he always missed by a few inches.

As he got more used to it, he was able to land the shot on the wild rabbit.

By the time he ended, he was exhausted and hungry from using his energy due to activating his ability.

Looking at his haul of five wild rabbits, he felt that it was worth all the work.

Wasting no time, Lin Fan bound the wild rabbits with a string and headed back to the village.

By the time he reaches the village's edge, it's already evening.

Out of nowhere, a familiar sound erupted in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Detected 5 souls with malevolent intent incoming!]

[Terminate all people with malevolent intent for 50 vengeance points.]

Lin Fan wasted no time and activated his Wild Rabbit's Hearing.

"That thin, frail-looking guy is our target?"

"I think just one of us can take him on."

"Yeah, not sure why you need five of us."

"Shut up, Housekeeper Lee will not be pleased if you mess it up."

"Wait, he stopped. You think he found out?"

Lin Fan stopped in his tracks.

He didn't want to continue walking; they might have booby traps laid waiting for him.

Without hesitation, he turned back and ran towards the woods.

The thugs waiting in ambush, seeing that he ran, looked at each other.

"What are you waiting for? Go after him."

The minion under Housekeeper Lee hit the thugs on their heads in frustration.

They then shouted at Lin Fan and gave chase.

"Stop running. You'll be sorry if I get hold of you."

Lin Fan couldn't be bothered by them.

He wants to lure them deep into the woods to finish them off.

When he got into the woods, he disappeared into the shadows and thick foliage of the woods.