Chapter 5: The Wild Boar Spirit on Firewood Hill

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"Brother Yi, there's a letter in the lining of the sheepskin coat," Yunniang suddenly said.

Li Yi paused for a moment, took the letter, and tore it open. Though he could barely recognize a few characters, the rest were in traditional script, and the archaic expressions made the meaning elusive, so he could only guess the gist of it.

He thought to himself, after twenty years of diligent study in his previous life, he had come to the Ming Dynasty only to become illiterate overnight.

Fortunately, Yunniang was attentive. She glanced at the letter and explained softly, "This is a letter from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency to Master Ai, saying that on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, they will deliver goods to Guanzhuang. However, with bandit raids stirring up trouble lately, they hope the Ai family will send some servants to escort them for peace of mind."

Though he didn't know what the goods were, the escort agency's caution suggested they were highly valuable.

Li Yi's mind stirred as he put away the letter; perhaps this was the breakthrough he needed for his revenge.

There were still a few days before the thirteenth of the twelfth month—it was time to plan carefully.

At that moment, Li Guo pushed a cart inside. Like picking up a chick, Li Yi tossed the corpse onto the cart.

The remaining sheepskin coats were all stained with blood. Li Yi, finding them distasteful, stripped them off and handed them to Li Zijing to take back and wash.

As for valuables on the corpses? Not so much as a single coin—at most, each had half a stale, rock-hard brown bread in their chest.

This was the way of local gentry and landlords; rewards were always in land and cloth, rarely in silver or money. It was meant to bind the people to them, not let them amass wealth and run off.

Li Zijing dumbly accepted the sheepskin coats, casting a complicated glance at the defiant Li Yi, opening his mouth but saying nothing.

Li Yi, meanwhile, led Li Guo to a loose earth slope, tossed the corpses into a gully, and collapsed the bank to cover them. The whole process took less than a quarter of an hour.

In the cold wind, Li Guo pulled the cart, hesitating for a long time before mustering his courage.

"Master, about today—what happened earlier was my fault. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that..."

Li Yi rubbed his frostbitten ears and interrupted him bluntly, "Alright, enough with the sentimental drama. Tomorrow, you're coming with me to the firewood mountain."

Li Guo was puzzled. "What are we going there for?"

"Isn't there supposed to be a wild boar demon worth ten taels of silver? Our family is about to run out of food—perfect time to hunt it and fill our bellies."

After a night of turmoil, Li Yi had planned to sleep in, but having eaten only a bowl of porridge and a piece of bread last night, he was far from full, and by dawn his stomach was growling fiercely.

When Anding saw Li Yi get up, she hurriedly stood from her crude loom and brought him a bowl of millet porridge.

It was hardly enough to fill him, but apart from the millet Li Zijing had brought, there was no other grain left in the house, nor any money to buy more. He had to catch the wild boar demon today.

"Master, let’s go," Li Guo said as he entered, wrapped in the cold wind.

Annoyed and distracted, Li Yi gulped down half the millet porridge, handed the rest to Li Guo, then donned his warm sheepskin coat, slung his short spear on his back, and picked up his long spear.

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Li Guo made no fuss, wolfing down the porridge and even licking the bowl clean.

Yunniang stood nearby, worry etched on her face. She reminded them softly, "Many folks from the surrounding villages have been injured by that wild boar demon on Firewood Mountain. You must be careful this time."

Li Guo grinned, patting the bamboo bow strapped to his back. "Don't worry, Mistress. It's just a wild boar—how dangerous can it be?"

"It's cold outside. Stay home and don't go out unless necessary," Li Yi reminded Yunniang before stepping out, hunger gnawing at him.

After a clear night, snow began to fall again.

The two walked along the hard, rutted road for half an hour. Along the way, the trees were withered, and all was silence.

A cold wind whistled into the holes in Li Yi’s shoes, making him shiver. He glanced at Li Guo, who had nearly half his body tucked into a dirty old sheepskin coat, his big toe poking through a hole in his shoe. Sensing Li Yi's gaze, he grinned foolishly and sniffed, looking every bit the village idiot.

Li Yi cursed the miserable weather. Soon, they reached Firewood Mountain.

Despite the cold, many people were gathered at the foot of the mountain. They wore thin, tattered cotton and linen clothes, their heads wrapped in scraps of cloth. Among them were sallow-faced women and children, and withered old men, all picking up fallen branches and leaves in the freezing cold.

The able-bodied men, meanwhile, took half-grown boys up the mountain to chop firewood—not for their own use, but to make charcoal to sell in the city.

"Strange," muttered Li Guo, "didn't they say the wild boar demon was hurting people, so no one dared come here to cut wood?"

Li Yi frowned. "They're all gathered here but not going up the mountain—something must have happened."

As they spoke, a chubby boy who used to play with Li Guo spotted them and ran out of the crowd, waving.

"Boss, over here!"

"Gao Xiaojia, what are you doing here?"

The fat boy sniffled and complained, "I didn't want to come either, but my dad said the folks from all the villages chipped in to hire hunters to catch the wild boar demon. Once it's caught, we'll hurry up and make charcoal."

Making charcoal in the winter was the villagers' only livelihood. Only by selling it could they buy grain, pay taxes, and survive the winter.

Now, with the wild boar demon injuring people, it was no wonder the villagers were anxious enough to hire hunters.

"Damn it, just my luck," Li Yi muttered irritably—so much for making money by hunting the boar.

Li Guo glanced at Li Yi and quickly asked, "Did they catch the wild boar demon?"

Gao Xiaojia shook his head. "Not so easy. Seven or eight hunters have been at it for days. They set up traps and only just made a move."

He turned to Li Yi, pouting, "Boss, why are you still hanging around with this loser?"

"Watch your mouth," Li Guo whispered hastily. Seeing Li Yi wasn't angry, he let out a sigh of relief.

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Gao Xiaojia, confused, shot Li Yi an unfriendly look. "Boss, you seem scared of this loser today. If he bullies you, I'll get the gang to take revenge for you."

Li Guo's mouth twitched. Even if he were bullied, this gang of ruffians wouldn't stand a chance. The corpses of Liu Mazi and the others were still buried in the ground.

"Enough, just shut your big mouth," he finally said.

Now, he understood why Li Yi had seemed so impatient with him yesterday. After witnessing real bloodshed and burying corpses with his own hands, everything before seemed like child's play—he had been all talk and no substance, but plenty of nerve.

Gao Xiaojia, unaware of last night's events, glared at Li Yi in defiance. He wasn't afraid of Li Yi, but he did fear Li Guo, the leader of their group, so he held his tongue.

Just then, a group of men came running down the mountain, shouting.

Seven or eight burly fellows, armed with iron forks and bamboo bows, limped along, some clearly injured. Two men, faces covered in blood and dirt, were being carried down, terror etched on their faces. The group panted heavily, obviously shaken to the core.

The young men from the village rushed to surround them.

Liu, the village hunter, exhausted, crouched on the ground to rest. Facing a barrage of anxious questions from the villagers, he hurried to explain.

Li Yi edged closer to listen, quickly piecing together what had happened.

The hunters hired this time were all famous in Mizhi County. Using their experience, they managed to lure the wild boar demon into a trap. But to their shock, the beast was monstrously strong—it lifted the wooden cage with its tusks and sent it flying. The hunters were caught off guard and thrown into chaos. The boar rampaged through them, severely injuring two and terrifying the rest, who barely managed to escape with the wounded.

Hearing that their hard-earned money had not only failed to rid them of the wild boar demon but also resulted in injuries, the villagers were deeply disappointed.

Liu the hunter, still shaken, said, "I've been hunting for many years, but I've never seen such a massive wild boar. It must weigh over seven hundred jin, with thick hide and terrifying strength. Our arrows and spears did nothing but enrage it. If we hadn't run in time, someone would have died."

The villagers began to panic. An elder grabbed Liu, pleading, "With winter here and the price of charcoal and firewood at its best, you must think of something!"

A burly man shouted anxiously, "If we can't make money selling charcoal this winter, how will we pay our taxes and debts next year? Who knows how many families will be forced to sell their children!"

"My child is sick at home—we need the money from selling charcoal for medicine. What are we supposed to do?"

The villagers were a mess of anxiety, while the hunters, having barely escaped with their lives, dared not return to the mountain.

The elder hung his head in distress, sighing, "Liu, you're the best hunter for miles around. Say something—how are we supposed to get through this winter with the wild boar demon still out there?"

Liu replied awkwardly, "That beast is truly demonic. There's nothing we can do but wait for it to move on next year. As for the silver, we agreed on ten taels, but we can't in good conscience take it all. Still, we've worked hard for days, and some are injured, so five taels as medicine money will have to do."

Five taels of silver could buy two acres of land—enough for a family of five for a year. The villagers had scraped together ten taels hoping to rid themselves of the wild boar demon and make a living selling charcoal. Now, with the demon still at large and half the silver gone, what would they do next?

The villagers were left despondent, the atmosphere heavy with despair.