Chapter 13

Qin Qingman and the others stayed in a forest where various nut-bearing trees gathered. During this long winter, some animals that didn’t hibernate would occasionally come looking for fallen fruits hidden under the snow. At this moment, she was looking for traces left by large animals.

The original owner’s death was due not only to her own cowardice but also to greedy people like Zhu Hongxia.

If it weren’t for these inhuman beings who had dragged their feet and withheld the original owner’s supplies, the original owner wouldn’t have died quietly.

The person who took over the original owner’s body, Qin Qingman, had planned to take revenge for the original owner.

Now, seeing Zhu Hongxia and her group being so greedy, she finally made up her mind.

Some grudges required blood to be settled.

While Zhu Hongxia and her group were climbing trees and searching for tree holes, Qin Qingman quickly walked away, even though the snow had piled up to her knees. She didn’t stop but moved swiftly, listening intently to the sounds around her.

What she needed to avoid now were people, not animals.

About ten minutes later, Qin Qingman stopped and looked back.

She was sure that Zhu Hongxia and her group would catch up soon, but at that moment, she showed a smile.

Because she had heard a very faint grunt.

Looking at the cloth bag in her hand, Qin Qingman emptied all the nuts onto the snow. The handful of nuts she had been holding had already scattered across the ground during her walk over the past few minutes.

After setting the trap, Qin Qingman quickly left the spot.

The snow was deep, making it difficult to walk. By now, Qin Qingman had already started sweating on her forehead, but she continued walking with determination.

Not five minutes after she left, a figure, quick and agile, arrived at the spot where she had scattered the nuts. The figure immediately began devouring them, grunting with pleasure as they ate.

In the distance, Zhu Hongxia and her group, having finished rummaging through a few tree holes, wore wider grins.

They felt especially smug.

“Let’s go, let’s catch up quickly, don’t let that girl Qingman eat all the food herself.” Zhu Hongxia called to her two sisters-in-law and little sister-in-law, still thinking about the handful of nuts in Qin Qingman’s bag.

She intended to take everything from her.

“Second sister-in-law is so smart.” Yao Chunying complimented Zhu Hongxia.

“Good thing second sister-in-law came up with this idea, otherwise, going back to those tree holes from last year would probably be a waste of effort. Following that girl Qingman is a good plan. Let’s go, we’ll walk faster and split things with her soon.”

It’s often said that people who are alike tend to stick together. Just like Zhu Hongxia, her two sisters-in-law and little sister-in-law were not good people either.

Under the bright sunshine, the footprints left by Qin Qingman were incredibly clear, and Zhu Hongxia and her group were happily following them.

In order to avoid alerting Qin Qingman, the group kept quiet this time, not speaking at all.

After walking for a while, Zhu Hongxia, who was in the front, suddenly stopped and listened carefully, quietly asking, “Did you hear that sound?”

“What sound? Isn’t it just the sound of snow sliding off the tree?” Qin Xiang looked at Zhu Hongxia in surprise.

Every winter, the snow here was heavy, and the ground and trees were covered with thick layers of snow. Walking through the forest, it was common to hear the sound of snow sliding off the branches that had bent under its weight. These sounds were nothing unusual in the mountains.

“No, it’s not the sound of snow sliding.” Zhu Hongxia said, her expression turning tense. Her hearing was fairly sharp, and she trusted it.

Upon hearing Zhu Hongxia’s words, the others became tense as well. In the mountains, if it wasn’t the sound of people or snow sliding, the most likely explanation was the presence of animals.

“Should we call the director and the others?” Qin Xiang asked, her eyes scanning the surroundings. Although she couldn’t detect anything unusual, she had a feeling of danger creeping in.

Anxious, she wanted to gather the villagers—strength in numbers would make them unafraid of any animal.

“Don’t call them.”

Li Meina was the first to stop Qin Xiang. If they truly encountered an animal in the forest, making noise would likely provoke it. If it were a vicious animal, no matter how many people they had, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves.

Swallowing the saliva that had gathered from nervousness, all of them hesitated.

“Let’s retreat.”

After careful thought, Zhu Hongxia decided it was best not to go forward. Compared to food, their lives were more important.

“Retreat.”

Qin Xiang and the others trusted Zhu Hongxia’s judgment. They carefully huddled together and began to move back, step by step.

Since they couldn’t see anything, they knew they couldn’t just turn and run. They had to keep their eyes and ears open, cautious of everything around them.

“Flap, flap—gobble, gobble—”

Just as the four of them were sweating nervously, the sound of wings flapping broke the tension. A gust of wind blew over their heads, and two wild pheasants landed on a tree not far away. The added weight from their landing caused the snow on the tree to slide off continuously.

The snow fell in a gentle, scattered flurry.

The sudden noise startled Zhu Hongxia and the others, causing their hair to stand on end and goosebumps to rise all over their skin.

“That damn thing! It scared me half to death! Spit, spit, spit!”

Seeing that the culprit was just a wild pheasant, Zhu Hongxia let out a sigh of relief but couldn’t help cursing loudly.

Qin Xiang and the others, who had been equally frightened, joined in the cursing as well.

As they vented their frustration, they relaxed their tense bodies and wiped the sweat off their foreheads.

What they didn’t realize was that not far away, a wild boar, busy eating nuts, had lifted its head.

Disturbed while eating, the wild boar was clearly displeased.

With its head lowered, it made a series of threatening grunts, a sound that expressed its dissatisfaction—no, its intense displeasure.

Its small eyes glinted with hostility.

“My God, it’s a… wild boar!”

Qin Xiang, still in the middle of swearing, turned around and made eye contact with the wild boar just a short distance away.

It was a massive wild boar.

Instinctively, after letting out a terrified scream, Qin Xiang turned and ran. In moments like these, it was every person for themselves—whoever ran fastest would be the safest.

Her scream startled Zhu Hongxia and the others, but it also triggered the wild boar’s aggressiveness.

With a mighty push from its hooves, the wild boar charged toward them.

Given the personalities of Zhu Hongxia and her group, they wouldn’t stick together in times of danger.

Instantly, they scattered in different directions, stumbling through the thick snow as they fled for their lives, all the while shouting for help.

Qin Qingman wasn’t so lucky.

Originally, she had planned for Zhu Hongxia and her group to fall into her trap, but of all things, Zhu Hongxia chose to flee toward her.

Hiding from a distance, Qin Qingman had no choice but to start running herself.

Wild boars were tough, with thick hides and strong bodies. Without a gun, there was no way to handle them.

“Qingman, Qingman, help!”

Zhu Hongxia, in the midst of her escape, spotted Qin Qingman in the distance and called out desperately. What she didn’t know was that her sharp cry had caused the wild boar, which had been chasing in the other direction, to turn around and start chasing her instead.

Zhu Hongxia had initially intended to use Qin Qingman as a shield, but she never expected the wild boar to change its direction and start chasing her instead. Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps rapidly closing in behind her, her face turned as pale as a sheet.

Zhu Hongxia was terrified, and Qin Qingman cursed inwardly.

She hadn’t planned on facing the wild boar alongside Zhu Hongxia. With all her strength, she pushed herself to run toward the escape route she had already spotted.

It was a slope leading down to a small cliff several meters high. Given the boar’s speed, it wouldn’t be able to stop in time.

Qin Qingman deeply regretted her earlier decision to watch Zhu Hongxia and the others in their moment of distress.

Her thoughts swirled with regret, but her legs kept moving faster and faster.

However, she wasn’t the original owner, and she had overestimated the body’s recovery.

Despite giving her all in the run, her pace slowed. The deep snow underfoot greatly hindered her speed.

When Zhu Hongxia saw Qin Qingman, who was in front her, slowing down, she couldn’t contain her joy.

Used to hard farm work, Zhu Hongxia was gaining speed as she followed Qin Qingman’s footprints.

Finally, she shot past Qin Qingman like a gust of wind.

Selfish people would always be selfish.

In order to save herself, Zhu Hongxia shoved Qin Qingman hard as she passed her.

The shove caused Qin Qingman to lose her balance and tumble sideways.

As she fell, Qin Qingman realized it was over.

Just as she thought she would be attacked by the wild boar, it rushed past her, slamming into Zhu Hongxia’s back.

With a scream, Zhu Hongxia was knocked several meters away by the wild boar’s heavy blow.

She crashed to the ground and didn’t make another sound.

After knocking Zhu Hongxia out of the way, the wild boar turned its attention back to Qin Qingman, who had just managed to sit up.

Grunting, the wild boar lowered its head again and began scraping its hooves against the snow, preparing for another charge.

Qin Qingman glanced at her escape route in the distance, her expression calm, and slowly stood up.

As she rose, the wild boar, now fully ready, charged again, coming at her with incredible force and speed. It was so fast that Qin Qingman had no choice but to use all her strength to leap sideways in an attempt to avoid the attack.

Her desperate lunge barely dodged the wild boar’s assault, and the boar, like a runaway horse, continued its charge down the slope.

—o—o—o—

T/N: Good for her. She deserves to be knocked over by the wild boar. Running past someone is fine—it’s not your fault if they’re slower or lack stamina—but shoving someone in that situation is just pure evil. She totally had it coming!