The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 66

 

| TBBOTOF | 66

When the group entered Dayou Mountain from Xiaoyu Mountain, the light overhead was blocked by the dense forest, and their vision was somewhat affected. 

Tang Xu could feel that as they crossed the narrow crack between the mountains, the air on this side became even hotter and more humid. He frowned and followed Wei Dong down the slope step by step.

"That's the mountain slope I mentioned," Wei Dong stopped in his tracks, pointing to a large green area below.

Between the two mountains, there was a long and wide gently sloping area, densely covered with trees, and a group of wild sheep leisurely wagging their tails and grazing.

Although Tang Xu's vision was still decent, the light was really dim now, with no sun overhead. Seeing that it was almost dark, he said, "Let's find a place with a water source, have dinner first, and then we'll talk."

The four brothers from the Pan family admired him to the utmost, especially the eldest brother Pan, who had initially tried to stop Tang Xu from following them up the mountain.

He never expected that this skinny-looking, seemingly weak guy would silently climb the mountain with them for over two hours!

Not only that, he never lagged behind. He knew a lot about edible wild plants. Although it was already late in the season for gathering seeds, he could still collect them and take them back home to plant next spring.

He could also make exceptionally delicious grilled meat. Well, it was Wei Dong who grilled it, but Tang Xu was the one who prepared the seasoning! And he knew so much, and he was so daring!

Pan, the eldest brother, praised Tang Xu using his own humble words, even having the thought, ‘What kind of luck did my brother have to marry such a good husband?’

Tang Xu had no idea what was going on in the eldest Pan's mind. His legs were already feeling weak, and even taking a step felt difficult.

Gritting his teeth, he followed Wei Dong into the mountain hollow. The soles of his feet felt scorching hot, from the initial heat and pain to now feeling hot, numb, itchy, and swollen, the sensation was indescribably uncomfortable.

If it weren't for the fact that there were four big men around, he would have taken off his shoes and socks long ago, letting his feet cool off in the wind. He definitely didn't want to get athlete's foot from being too sweaty and stuffy.

At this moment, he was extremely grateful for the skill of the old lady who sewed the shoe soles. They were breathable, but the shoes just made him walk a bit slowly.

"What are you thinking?" Wei Dong walked ahead for a while and noticed that Tang Xu wasn't following him. He stopped, turned around, and called out to him.

Tang Xu's face was flushed, sweat covered his forehead, chest, and back. His clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking to his body. Luckily, he was wearing dark colors; otherwise, he would have been embarrassed.

As the hem of his clothes swayed, a cool breeze slipped in, giving him a shiver of relief.

"I was thinking, when we get back, we should thank Grandma. The shoes she made are so comfortable." He lifted his foot to show Wei Dong. "The soles are really thick."

Wei Dong raised an eyebrow. "Are you tired? Should I carry you?"

Tang Xu waved his hand and pointed to the group of wild mountain goats below, leisurely grazing. Their fur was quite long, longer than the one Wei Dong brought back last time. "Shall we catch a couple for dinner?"

Wei Dong nodded and glanced at Pan, the fourth brother, beside him. Pan took off the bow from his back, nodded to them, and said, "I'll go."

Along the way, Tang Xu had chatted with them quite a bit and learned that Pan, the fourth brother, was skilled in using the bow and arrow. His accuracy was excellent, almost never missing a shot. He was the type who could patiently wait and aim at his prey.

In modern times, he'd definitely excel in sniping.

Pan, the eldest brother, and Pan, the second brother, were strong, while the third brother was agile and could climb trees with ease. It was the third brother who had picked the sweet plums that Granny Pan had given to Tang Xu. With his tree-climbing skills, the third brother also had sharp eyes and could spot prey from afar.

Tang Xu saw Pan, the fourth brother, run behind a rock, hide his figure, string his bow, and then remain motionless. 

Not understanding, Tang Xu turned to ask Wei Dong, "What's going on?"

"We wait for the right moment. When they gather together, if one dies, the rest will all be scared off," Wei Dong patted Tang Xu's shoulder and pulled him back. "You stay here and don't move."

Tang Xu nodded, and he watched as his man reached into his knife sheath several times, and then several small knives flashed with a cold light in his hands. Tang Xu slowly widened his eyes, shocked.

Oh my! Could it be that his man was also a master of throwing knives like Xiaowei Feidao!

Whether Xiaowei Feidao existed or not, Tang Xu wasn't sure, but watching Wei Dong cautiously approach the wild goat herd, crouching and moving step by step, made him very nervous.

Pan, the eldest brother, and Pan, the second brother, weren't just standing around either. They had gone to the other side, judging the direction in which the chaotic herd of wild goats would flee, intending to catch a couple alive in the confusion.

Tang Xu's eyes were fixed on Wei Dong. When he saw Wei Dong raise his arm, a flash of cold light shot out swiftly.

He involuntarily turned his head to follow the trajectory of the flying knife, only to see it stab into the neck of a goat. Whether it was due to the thick wool or the short length of the knife, the goat didn't collapse immediately. Instead, it leaned to the side, bumping into its companion. As it tried to flee, two more knives swiftly shot out—one stabbed into its eye, and the other into its neck.

With a swift sound, the arrow, sharpened from a tree branch, pierced the belly of another goat. The goat fell to the ground, unable to get up, blood flowing from the wound.

The commotion startled two nearby goats grazing on grass. They startled and attempted to run away. Wei Dong, whether dissatisfied with the knives or because they hadn't immediately killed the goat, tossed aside the slender knife he had previously used for throwing and used for cutting snakes.

That last throw definitely carried some anger with it. Tang Xu only heard a "baa" sound, and then the long knife went over, knocking the goat's head off, which rolled a couple of times.

Tang Xu took a deep breath, holding his forehead.

He reasonably suspected that his own man had been provoked by the arrow shot by Pan, the fourth brother, just now.

The commotion caused by this was significant. The herd of wild goats became agitated, scattering in panic and chaos, crashing and running around. Wei Dong sprang out from the grass and pounced straight at them. Pan, the fourth brother, did the same, rushing towards the fleeing goats.

With so many wild goats, catching a few live ones to raise wouldn't be a bad idea!

Fortunately, it had rained for a few days before, so there wasn't as much loose soil in the mountains. Otherwise, after their chase, Tang Xu estimated that the mountain slope would be emitting smoke. When everything calmed down, it had been about half an hour.

Despite not doing anything himself, Tang Xu's heart was still pounding with nerves.

In the end, the capture results were not bad. Apart from the two dead ones, they caught five live ones. Wei Dong was really amazing; he caught two by himself.

At this moment, Pan, the third brother, who had been vigilant in the trees, whistled, drawing everyone's attention towards him. Pan, the third brother, pointed to the other side from his perch in the tree. "There's a cave over there!"

Wei Dong pulled up the fallen goat from the ground. "Ah Xu, there's a bundle of grass rope in the backpack, bring it over." 

Tang Xu fetched a large bundle of grass rope from the backpack Wei Dong had placed on the ground, being careful of the stones underfoot, and ran over. As Wei Dong tied up the goats, he said to Tang Xu, "Let's go check out that cave. If it's safe, we'll stay there for the night."

Tang Xu nodded.

The mountain slope was too large. Who knew where that injured tiger was hiding? And they also needed to conserve their energy. They had to pick mandrakes; that stuff was good. If they could find some, they could almost be certain that catching a live tiger wouldn't be too difficult.

"You mentioned seeing mandrakes, right? Where?" Tang Xu helped Wei Dong tie up the goats after he finished binding them. He tied the rope around both goats and pulled on it a bit. Even if the goats were reluctant, they followed a couple of steps.

Mainly because the punches Wei Dong had landed on their heads earlier were too fierce. It was lucky the goats weren't killed outright. 

"There are some nearby," Wei Dong lifted his hand and pointed to a patch of grass not far away. "I'm not sure if it's the one you mentioned."

Tang Xu walked over, pushing aside the tall grass, revealing several blooming flowers in front of him. Each flower resembled a hanging trumpet, covered by large green leaves.

Under the yellow flowers, there were fruits covered in sharp thorns. The green fruits hadn't ripened yet.

Tang Xu's gaze shifted downwards, where there was a thick layer of grass leaves, many of which had already rotted into brown husks.

Tang Xu felt delighted and looked to the side, where several plants grew not far away. One of them had many branches and was flourishing. "Wei Dong!" Tang Xu waved behind him, pointing at the brilliant blooming flowers and shouted, "This is it!" His call was heard by the others.

One by one, the five men came over. Pan, the third brother, couldn't resist and directly pulled down a flower, sniffed it, then wrinkled his nose, "It doesn't smell that good. Can you eat this flower?"

Without further ado, he acted recklessly and took a bite out of the flower petals.

Tang Xu never expected Pan, the third brother, to just go ahead and pick the flowers without hesitation. Even more unexpected was him not only sniffing the flower but also biting into the petals without hesitation. He quickly regained his senses and exclaimed, "Spit it out, spit it out! It's poisonous!"

As Tang Xu shouted, Pan, the third brother's Adam's apple bobbed, and he had already swallowed the bite of the flower petal.

Everyone else: "????!!!!"

Wei Dong reacted the fastest. As Tang Xu shouted, he grabbed Pan, the third brother's arm and pulled him in front of him. Using his thumb, he opened Pan's mouth and poured water into it.

"Drink and spit it out."

Pan, the third brother, was confused as he was forcibly fed water. The water was poured too quickly, flowing out of his mouth, down his chin, and into his shirt. 

Tang Xu shouted to the dumbfounded three beside them, "Quick, quick, give him water!" 

Luckily, they were not far from the stream, and there was enough water. Pan, the third brother, drank and vomited, and the flower petal was indeed spit out. Wei Dong was afraid the toxicity was still there, so he held Pan's chin and forced more water into his mouth.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm!" Pan, the third brother struggled, almost passing out from vomiting.

Urgh~

For the first time, he drank water until he was bloated, and also drank water until he vomited. It was also the first time he drank water until he rolled his eyes back! 

Pan, the third brother vomited violently, expelling all the food he had previously digested. Tears and mucus flowed incessantly from his vomiting, his appearance extremely miserable.

"I~I~I'm so dizzy~~ My stomach~feels so big~urgh~urgh~it's so hard~urgh~to bear~urgh~" 

Tang Xu covered his face, shaking with laughter.

It was too pitiful, too hilarious.

Hahaha, he was laughing to death!

The other three Pan brothers also covered their mouths, laughing uncontrollably. 

Even though Pan, the fourth brother, usually did not show much expression, it didn't stop him from laughing. 

Only Wei Dong remained serious. He kicked Pan, the third brother, who was sobbing on the ground with a worried expression, and asked, "How are you?"

 "I~I'm so~dizzy~I feel~like~I'm~floating~" Pan, the third brother, knelt on the ground, arms outstretched, flapping twice, "flying~flying~" 

"Hahaha!" Tang Xu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Pan, the third brother's face turned red, his lips slightly dry. Tang Xu saw him wriggling on the ground, and although he found it funny, he also felt concerned. 

He patted Wei Dong and said, "Let him lie down, let me check on him."

After a simple check of his pulse rate and pupil response, which were not quite normal but manageable, Tang Xu said, "Let's wait for a bit. We acted promptly, so he should be fine." 

Wei Dong sighed, "Second and fourth brothers, carry him, let's go to that cave over there."

Tang Xu and Pan, the eldest brother, dragged the tied-up wild goats together and bound the two dead ones. They headed towards the cave Pan, the third brother had spotted earlier.

Tang Xu whistled to the nearby big mule, which trotted over. During the commotion just now, it had fled to a safe place.

The entrance of the cave was covered by bushes of varying heights. The interior space wasn't large, but fortunately, there were no wild animals inside. The environment inside the cave was decent, and with a little cleaning up, they could stay overnight comfortably.

Pan, the third brother, was laid on the ground and had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Wei Dong patted him, but there was no response. He checked his breathing, which seemed fine and stable. Tang Xu went over to take a look and noticed that his complexion wasn't as red as before. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully now.

"It should be fine. Let's wait for him to wake up and see. You and I will go out and find some licorice, boil water for him to drink," Tang Xu shook Wei Dong's arm and then said to Pan, the eldest brother, "You guys stay here to watch over him. Bring some bamboo over here, and if you can find any other edible items, bring them back too."

Pan, the eldest brother nodded.

Wei Dong transferred everything from his backpack to Tang Xu's, leaving the full backpack in the cave. He then carried the empty one while holding hands with Tang Xu as they went out.

"What does licorice look like?" Wei Dong had only seen the dried licorice Tang Xu used for stewing meat. He hadn't seen the fresh one found in the mountains.

Tang Xu scanned the grass around and sighed, "It's green, with pointed leaves, and the flowers are in clusters. Look around; there should be plenty of them in the mountains."

Wei Dong nodded. "And what about the mandrake flowers?" Seeing Pan, the third brother's condition, he was convinced that those flowers were indeed poisonous.

Tang Xu looked up at the sky. The sun was almost setting, making it difficult to see.

"After we finish our meal, we'll go pick them," Tang Xu said, expressing his concerns to Wei Dong. "I'm not sure how much to give the tiger to knock it out, so we'll have to use a larger dosage. If we use too little, it won't be effective and could be even more dangerous. If we give the tiger too much, it could be directly poisoned."

Wei Dong had a different concern. "Even if the tiger dies from the poison, would its meat still be poisonous?" Tang Xu shrugged, indicating that he didn't know.

"There's another method," Tang Xu suggested. "You can divide the meat into pieces and feed it to the tiger gradually. If the tiger has been injured by you and can't hunt, it's probably been hungry for the past few days. 

It's likely either at the spot where it previously attacked your deer or hiding somewhere. I guess it might have found a place to hide near where it attacked your deer, which might already be eaten." Tang Xu squinted, examining the bandaged wound on Wei Dong's chest. Fortunately, it wasn't bleeding. 

"Otherwise, we can try feeding it piece by piece. If it collapses after eating a few pieces, we'll be safe."

Wei Dong chuckled. "But the tiger isn't stupid. If it doesn't like the taste after the first bite, it might not eat anymore. It's better to give it a larger dosage at once. Maybe just one lick will be enough."

As they discussed their plan while walking through the grass, Tang Xu spotted licorice flowers in bloom and picked a bunch, putting them in the backpack. He also found some mushrooms in the grass and added them to the collection.

"Wow, the mushrooms here are much larger than those in Xiaoyu Mountain," Tang Xu exclaimed as he spotted palm-sized mushrooms. He turned around and saw several brown-black wood ears growing on a crooked tree not far away. Excitedly, he said, "Quick, let's peel off the bark from this tree."

"I've never encountered wood ears in Xiaoyu Mountain or Yuanbao Mountain," Tang Xu continued, his eyes shining brightly as he wielded his knife to cut the bark. "Let's take this bark back and see if we can grow some fungi."

Wei Dong reached out and turned Tang Xu's face away. Tang Xu, focused on cutting the bark, suddenly realized the forest was full of wood ears, growing thick and large on almost every tree.

"Ah, my love~~~" Tang Xu exclaimed, thrilled as he threw himself into Wei Dong's arms, kissing his chin repeatedly. "You're amazing!"

Wei Dong grinned, but winced as Tang Xu accidentally bumped into his wound.

Tang Xu quickly let go and looked at him. "I should have stitched up your wound yesterday."

Wei Dong's eyes widened. "What?"

"I mean, stitching it up would help it heal faster. Although I've never learned it, I know how to sew clothes, so I think I can manage," Tang Xu said, holding up his fingers as if holding a needle, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

Wei Dong felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, and he involuntarily took a step back, startled by Tang Xu's excited gaze. "No need, I'm already fine," he said.

Tang Xu pursed his lips, looking a bit disappointed, then turned to pick wood ears. "Well, there's nothing to sew with now anyway. Help me pick the wood ears quickly. Once we're done, let's go back and boil some licorice water for third brother Pan."

Wei Dong let out a sigh and went to help him cut the bark. The wood ears, along with the bark, were put into the basket. 

As they turned around, they came face to face with the long face of the big mule. Tang Xu jumped in surprise and raised his hand to pat the mule's back. "You scared me!"

He hadn't heard the mule approaching at all!

They say people walk quietly, but even such a big mule managed to walk without making a sound.

Wei Dong found Tang Xu's flustered appearance adorable and chuckled as he pulled him into his arms, patting his shoulder. "Let's go back and feed it some bean cakes," he said.

Tang Xu snorted. "Yeah, let's feed it some bean cakes."

The big mule snorted discontentedly at him.

The couple turned back, and Tang Xu found another patch of tall sorghum. He picked quite a few of them. By the time they returned to the cave, it had started drizzling outside.

A fire was already burning inside the cave, third brother Pan was still sleeping, and the first brother Pan was chopping thick bamboo with a hatchet. He turned his head upon hearing footsteps and saw the couple walking in hand in hand.

"It's raining," Tang Xu brushed himself off with his hand. The big mule also came in, but it seemed somewhat reluctant due to the small size of the cave. It didn't venture further inside but stood at the entrance, staring at the five wild mountain goats huddled together. Its eyes gleamed with eagerness, as if it wanted to take a bite.

One of the dead wild mountain goats had already been skinned by the second brother Pan, and the skin was still intact. Tang Xu went over to take a look and then turned to ask Wei Dong, "Can we bring these goats back? We can keep two of them on the hill behind our house."

Wei Dong nodded, "Sure, if you want to keep them." He planned to visit the local yamen later to inquire about the price of the nearby land. Considering his husband's fondness for raising livestock, it seemed like the backyard space would soon be insufficient.

The rain didn't last long. By the time the aroma of roasted meat wafted through the cave, the sky outside had darkened, and the rain had stopped.

Tang Xu cut open the steamed bun and sandwiched grilled meat inside, as well as the mulberry leaves he had picked on the way back. Taking a bite, the fragrance made his eyes squint.

He then opened the pickled vegetables he brought and put them in a bamboo tube, saying to Wei Dong, "If you don't like the taste of mulberry leaves, you can sandwich dried radish instead, it's also delicious."

Wei Dong leaned over and took a bite of Tang Xu's bun. It was his first time eating mulberry leaves, and he frowned slightly, chewing and swallowing. "The flavor is too strong." It's not that he didn't like it, he just wasn't very accustomed to it.

"If you want, you can sandwich radish or cucumber." Tang Xu used a small knife to directly cut meat from the roasted lamb leg. "Here, have some meat."

The eldest brother Pan had just fed third brother Pan a bamboo tube of licorice water, and as soon as he turned around, he saw the two of them leaning close together, eating steamed buns with meat, showing affectionate gestures. He grinned and said, "I also want to get married."

The fourth brother Pan wrapped meat in mulberry leaves and stuffed it directly into his mouth. Taking a bite of the steamed bun, he responded, "If you catch a tiger, then you'll be able to get married."

They followed Wei Dong up the mountain, and Wei Dong wouldn't let them work in vain. Based on their understanding of Wei Dong, if they caught a tiger, the money from selling it would at least give them half of it as compensation.

The first eldest brother Pan nodded, rubbed his hands, and sat down to eat.

The aroma of roasted lamb was very strong. Third brother Pan, who was half asleep, swallowed hard and groggily opened his eyes.

His mind was still foggy, but his body moved on its own accord.

Before he even sat up, he rolled over and crawled towards the scent. If Wei Dong hadn't quickly grabbed him, he might have fallen into the fire pit.

Third brother Pan lifted his head dazedly, and seeing his disoriented state, Wei Dong didn't hesitate to slap him a few times on the face. 

Tang Xu grinned at the sound and said, "Be gentle. He's barely awake, and you might knock him out again with those slaps."

Wei Dong grunted in acknowledgment and slapped him again, smack!

Finally, amidst the consecutive slaps to his face, third brother Pan regained consciousness, his gaze focusing. "What... What's happening?" His voice was hoarse, and his throat was sore. 

Tang Xu handed him some licorice water, saying, "Drink a few sips."

Third brother Pan held a bamboo tube and drank water. After drinking, he licked his lips and said, "I'm hungry~~~~" 

Tang Xu burst out laughing, covering his face and giggling uncontrollably. Second brother Pan couldn't bear to watch, so he reached out and pulled him, "Get up quickly."

Third brother Pan turned his head to look at his brother, rubbed his face with his hand, and asked, "What's wrong with me? My face feels sore."

"If your face hurts, that's good. If it didn't hurt, you'd still be clueless," Second brother Pan pulled him to sit beside him, stuffing a large steamed bun into his hand, and cutting a large piece of lamb for him, "Next time, would you dare to eat randomly like this again? If it wasn't for Dong ge reacting quickly, you wouldn't even know how you died."

"Yeah, before brother Xu finished talking, you stuffed that poisonous flower into your mouth. Remember this lesson!" Fourth brother Pan glared at him, "That flower was meant to poison tigers. If the tiger wasn't poisoned, you'd be poisoned first."

Third brother Pan drooped his head, listlessly took a bite of the lamb, and then suddenly perked up. He was fine again!

A roasted lamb was shared among the group. Tang Xu had a big appetite today, eating two steamed buns and a lot of roasted meat. After drinking some licorice water, he was full.

He stood at the entrance of the cave, stretching lazily. A wolf howl came from outside the cave. Tang Xu's eyes widened suddenly, and even his hand stopped moving.

A wolf!

Wei Dong held a lamb leg in his hand, chewing on it. Seeing Tang Xu standing there dumbfounded, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Wolf! There's a wolf!" Tang Xu turned his head to look at him and pointed outside the cave, "I heard the wolf howl."

"In the Dayou Mountain, there are wolf packs, and it seems there's more than one group," The eldest brother Pan spoke up, "I've seen gray wolf packs and black wolf packs, but they don't usually roam on this side of the mountain. This area belongs to the tigers."

Tang Xu looked surprised, "Why is that?"

"It's the rules of the jungle," Wei Dong spoke, tossing the cleaned bone into the fire and wiping his hands, "Let's go, pick some flowers."

Tang Xu glanced at the people inside the cave, seeing them still eating, he nodded, "You and I will pour the juice outside with stones. We can't bring it into the cave. If we smell the flowers too much, we might get poisoned."

Wei Dong frowned, "Isn't that dangerous for you too?"

"Plug your nose." Tang Xu shook the steamed bun in his hand, "Wasting half a steamed bun to plug your nose."

Wei Dong: "..." You really do think of everything. Can you think without saying it? Anything is better than not plugging it at all.

After smashing the flowers and flower leaves, Tang Xu also smashed several green thorny fruits together, then collected them all into a bamboo tube. "That's enough." He chewed on some licorice leaves in his mouth and swallowed.

Wei Dong nodded, "Just leave it here and go back to sleep."

Tang Xu hmm'd in agreement, pulling Wei Dong to pick a lot more licorice. He remembered that it could detoxify, whether it was true or not was hard to say, but at this point, he didn't know any other herbs he could interpret. It was a case of making do with what they had.

After cleaning, they threw the whole licorice plant into the water to boil. They each drank from a bamboo tube and then went to sleep. They didn't need to adjust their sleeping positions; Tang Xu just leaned into his man's embrace. 

Before leaning in, he even lifted the gauze to check the wound, which hadn't bled.

"No, I need to reapply the medicine for you." Tang Xu rummaged through his own backpack and took out a small porcelain bottle containing medicine for wounds, given to him by Wei Xi.

Wei Dong nodded and obediently let him handle it.

After everything was done, Tang Xu leaned against his shoulder, "Go to sleep."

Wei Dong hugged Tang Xu and glanced at the other four brothers sitting against the mountain wall on the other side. The four of them gestured and decided to sleep in shifts. Wei Dong closed his eyes.

This night, only Tang Xu slept relatively soundly. The other five men merely rested with their eyes closed for a while before opening them again to switch positions. 

Even though they were in a cave, it wasn't entirely safe, and the fire couldn't be extinguished. They had to occasionally add some branches to it.

When it was barely light outside, Tang Xu opened his eyes. He yawned and saw his man maintaining the same position of holding him all night, leaning against the mountain wall without moving a muscle.

He stretched his sore neck and patted Wei Dong. Wei Dong opened his eyes immediately, showing no sign of sleepiness.

Without asking, Tang Xu said, "Where do we find the tiger? After eating, let's go. The sooner we catch it, the sooner we can go down the mountain." 

Wei Dong nodded, "When do we apply that ointment?"

"Let's talk about where the tiger is hiding when we find it. The fresher the blood, the more it attracts wild beasts," Tang Xu smacked his lips, feeling that their plan this time went quite smoothly.

He couldn't help with finding the tiger, nor did he want to cause trouble. Wei Dong took the three Pan brothers out, leaving third brother Pan and Tang Xu waiting in the cave.

Around lunchtime, the three of them returned.

"Did you find it?" Tang Xu looked up at Wei Dong.

Wei Dong nodded, all of them looking dirty, probably crawling through the grass to advance. 

"Where is it?" Third brother Pan asked.

Tang Xu handed water to Wei Dong, and fourth brother Pan said, "Follow the ravine over there. It's not too far from here, but the road is difficult. It's hiding in the woods."

After finishing the water, Wei Dong said to Tang Xu, "You were right. It's not far from where I injured it." 

Tang Xu squinted; they had gone around in a big circle, only to come back?

Well, so be it. As long as they could catch the tiger, it was fine.

Then they set off.

They went back to put the cart on, hitting the road.

Tang Xu sat on the cart, leaning against the iron cage, and closed his eyes to take a nap.

After that, he didn't have much to do. He was just a useless fighter; as long as he didn't get in the way, it was fine.

Until Wei Dong and the four Pan brothers dragged the tiger, which had been knocked out by poison and tied up, back to him, Tang Xu was actually a bit dumbfounded. He didn't expect it to actually work!

He went to check Wei Dong's body; there were no wounds. Then he turned to look at the other four, who were also unharmed. The four Pan brothers were ecstatic.

Following Tang Xu's instructions, Wei Dong slaughtered a wild goat on the spot after finding the cave where the tiger was hiding. 

After skinning the goat and removing its internal organs, he poured mandrake juice on the goat's body and left the goat in place. They retreated and climbed trees.

After waiting for about half an hour, the injured tiger limped over. It was very hungry and couldn't resist the strong smell of blood. It pounced and began to tear and bite.

Even though it tasted that the flesh and blood weren't quite right, it didn't stop eating.

At that moment, none of them dared to move. It wasn't until fifteen minutes later, when they saw no sign of the tiger waking up, that Wei Dong took out a coarse hemp rope and went over to tie the tiger up.

Afraid it might wake up halfway through, he poured the remaining flower juice from the bamboo tube into its mouth. Whether it lived or died didn't matter; as long as it didn't wake up and go berserk.

Then they dragged the tiger to Tang Xu.

The four Pan brothers admired Tang Xu to the fullest. They never thought it would be so simple to catch a live tiger! 

Despite being dragged and tossed into the cage, it didn't wake up. Tang Xu was so excited that he couldn't help but reach out and touch the slightly prickly fur.

"It's so beautiful," he exclaimed repeatedly.

"Do you want to take it back and raise it?" Wei Dong teased as he drove the cart. 

Tang Xu glared at him, "Are we going to sell it now?"

Wei Dong nodded. Neither of them knew how long the tiger would sleep, so the sooner they got back, the better. The half goat smeared with flower juice wasn't wasted either; it was also stuffed into the cage. If the tiger woke up, it might as well have a meal.

By the time they descended into town, it was already dark. Wei Dong drove the mule cart directly to the doorstep of Boss Song, the owner of the grain shop. The gatekeeper, seeing the tiger in the large iron cage, was so frightened that his legs went weak as he trembled inside to report.

Boss Song rushed out without even fastening his robe's buttons properly and lunged straight at the iron cage.

The tiger had already woken up, but it was still groggy. When the firelight shone on it, it let out a dissatisfied growl from its throat. Boss Song took two steps back, grabbed Wei Dong's hand, and exclaimed excitedly, "Sell it to me, it must be sold to me!"

Wei Dong nodded, "I just brought it over. Its front leg is injured, but if you feed it well, it'll recover in a while." Boss Song nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay, how much money?"

"You can offer a price, and if it's suitable, I'll sell it." Wei Dong didn't specify a price, but in his mind, it was twelve taels of silver. He wouldn't sell for less. Boss Song rubbed his hands together, thought for a moment, and then signaled to his steward with a glance.

The steward of Boss Song turned back into the courtyard and soon came out with a small wooden box, which he handed to Boss Song.

Boss Song then turned around and personally handed the small wooden box to Wei Dong, "Take a look, is it enough?"

Wei Dong opened it and counted in front of him, thirteen thousand silver bills. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Boss Song, "You're giving quite a lot."

"Well, isn't it to show my sincerity? Brother Wei, you've helped me a lot!" Boss Song smiled happily, his eyes and eyebrows curved, "I've been so worried about this tiger."

Wei Dong raised an eyebrow but didn't ask further. He closed the small wooden box and nodded to Boss Song, "Alright, Mr. Song, have someone put the cage in. Don't worry if the tiger eats the half goat and falls asleep; it's been medicated."

Boss Song agreed and waved his hand. The servants behind him nervously moved the cage. They dared not approach; just the tiger's claws reaching out through the gaps in the cage were enough to frighten them.

After busying for a while, Wei Dong drove the mule cart into the backyard himself. He unloaded the cart directly and pushed the cage down with a thick wooden stick. 

Tang Xu didn't show up throughout the whole process; he stood in the shadows, waiting for Wei Dong to come out and pick him up with the cart.

On the way back, Wei Dong took out four thousand silver bills and handed them to the four brothers, "One thousand each." 

The four brothers from the Pan family were surprised; they hadn't done much, yet they were still able to receive so much money. 

"No, no, this is too much, we can't accept it," The eldest brother Pan waved his hand and pushed it back.

The other three brothers also refused to take it, saying it was too much.

However, Wei Dong insisted and gave each of them a bill, saying, "If you don't take it, I won't call you for any good things in the future."

Tang Xu leaned on his chin and sighed, adding, "Take it. Without you guys accompanying us up the mountain, it wouldn't have been so smooth."

"Besides, selling for so much silver, we won't be able to live with ourself if we didn't giving each of you two hundred taels." Tang Xu patted Wei Dong and waved to the four men, "We won't see you off. We're going back; there's a younger brother at home worrying about us."

The four brothers stood dumbfounded, holding the silver bills in their hands, watching the two of them disappear into the night.

Tang Xu leaned against Wei Dong, swinging his legs as he said, "It seems that Dayou Mountain isn't as dangerous as we thought."

Wei Dong turned to look at him, while a male and female wild goat trotted alongside the cart.

"Not encountering danger doesn't mean there's no danger. We've walked up and down the mountain road several times, but going deeper into the mountains is risky. Plus, there's no shortage of food in the mountains now, so generally, big wild animals won't come out," Wei Dong explained.

Tang Xu nodded, "So encountering this tiger was also your luck."

Wei Dong chuckled, "This tiger was probably driven out by the other tigers in the mountains. Judging by its teeth, it's probably quite old." Tang Xu nodded in agreement, finding a silver lining in their misfortune.

When they entered the house, Wei Xi heard the commotion. He had been on edge for the past few days, unable to sleep properly, and finally, he was relieved to have them back.

"Brother! Brother-in-law, you're finally back!"

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