Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

Chapter 418: Chapter 212: Ghost-faced Mountain Demon

Night fell.

At the foot of Zhegu Ridge, torches were lit all across Li Family Village. Every household started its kitchen fire, sending plumes of smoke into the air.

From a distance, the entire village was brightly lit.

In the square before the stockade.

Chen An and his sons, Li Chunlei and his two brothers, and a crowd of Hunters from Li Family Village and Chen Family Gully were all bustling about, busily butchering the Gray Wolf Demon.

The women and children of the village, after boiling water and cooking meals at home, had also gathered in twos and threes to watch from the side.

They watched as the Hunters collected the wolf’s blood, skinned it, and then gutted it to carve up the meat.

The mountain folk in this region were a hardy people. The Gray Wolf Demon had preyed upon the villagers, treating them as food.

When the villagers slew a Wolf Demon, they would drink its blood and eat its flesh.

This was a tradition passed down through generations.

This time was an exception, of course. The Hunters only dared to put their knives to the beast after receiving permission from Lord Chen Cheng, the Purple-clothed Guard of the Demon Suppression Department.

Aside from the offal, which was all buried in the pitfall trap before the stockade, the meat and bones were divided equally among the villagers.

In the hands of these veteran Hunters, the massive Gray Wolf Demon was quickly dismembered, then carved into uniform pieces, ready for distribution.

When it came time to distribute the wolf meat, the Hunters paused and looked to Chen An and Li Hong, the chief of Li Family Village, waiting for them to make a decision.

Li Hong was the elderly father of Li Chunlei and his brothers. He was just over fifty, not much older than Chen An, yet he looked far more weathered.

He glanced at Chen An and said, "Brother Chen An, should we wait for Lord Chen’s return before we divide the meat?"

"Yes, let’s wait. Ah Cheng said he would be back soon," Chen An nodded.

Li Hong took out a large tobacco pipe and a small oilskin pouch of tobacco leaves. He pinched some out and offered them to Chen An.

Chen An accepted the tobacco and took out his own pipe.

The two men squatted before the open-air stove where water was boiling, puffing away on their pipes.

After finishing a bowl, Li Hong smacked his lips and sighed, "That beast... truly despicable!"

Chen An agreed, "Truly. Butchering and eating it won’t bring back the villagers who died."

"It’s all thanks to your family’s Ah Cheng!" Li Hong said.

"Indeed! When Ah Ping wanted to go out and make his own way in the world, I tried to stop him. Looking back now, it seems the outside world is where you truly hone your skills."

"Is the world outside really any safer than our mountain village?" Li Hong asked suddenly.

Chen An shook his head. "Not necessarily. I went to Linji City once and heard Ah Ping talk about it.

Those gentry families who were Cultivating Martial Dao, even with Hospital Martial Artists for protection, still had their entire households wiped out by villains from time to time.

It’s pretty much the same here in Moshan County. A few years ago, wasn’t Gentry Kuang from Huashupo Village also killed by bandits?

Now the Kuangs’—his wife, children, and the elderly—have all moved back to Huashupo Village."

"So what are your thoughts on it?" Li Hong asked.

Chen An understood Li Hong’s meaning. Now that his own nephew, Ah Cheng, had become a high-ranking official, Chen An’s family could naturally go and rely on him.

"I don’t want to move. Once Ah Cheng is done here, I’ll go with him to Linji City to see Ah Ping, but then I’ll come back to Chen Family Gully.

As for the younger generation, Ah Chong and Ah Rui are both fathers now. They have their own minds, so they can choose for themselves where they want to go."

Chen An said after a moment of thought.

A look of envy appeared in Li Hong’s eyes.

’The world outside is chaotic, but it’s still much better than this remote mountain village. If you’re lucky enough, if your ancestral graves start emitting green smoke, and one of your sons or nephews develops the kind of skills Ah Cheng of the Chen Family has, then your family has truly made it.’

"Brother Chen An, you and I have been old brothers for many years, and our children are married. I won’t beat around the bush.

I have a favor to ask. Later, could you help me ask Lord Ah Cheng if any of my three sons, Chunlei and his brothers, have caught his eye?

If so, perhaps he could take them on as subordinates, even just to run errands."

Chen An was straightforward. "Alright," he said. "Later, I’ll ask Ah Cheng in front of you and your sons. Whether it works out or not will depend on Chunlei and his brothers’ own fortune."

Li Hong was overjoyed and said solemnly, "Then I thank you!"

Chen An laughed. "We’ve been old brothers for decades. What’s there to thank me for?"

As they were speaking, a joyful cry came from outside: "Lord Chen is back!"

The villagers all rushed toward the village entrance.

Chen An and Li Hong also scrambled to their feet and headed out.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Chen Cheng burst through the village entrance, carrying a massive Bear Demon with one hand.

His heavy steps made the very ground of the village tremble.

For a moment, all the villagers were utterly stunned!

This Lord Chen, this Purple-clothed Guard of the Demon Suppression Department, was so incredibly powerful!

"Oww... whimmmper..." The huge Bear Demon let out a pathetic cry.

"Ah... Ah Cheng, that Bear Demon... it’s still alive?"

Chen An, who had rushed forward to greet him, was so shocked his jaw dropped.

Chen Cheng grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth. "This beast has committed countless evils. It doesn’t deserve a clean death. We have to bleed it dry while it’s still alive."

Hearing this, everyone’s faces twitched involuntarily.

Then, they suddenly erupted into cheers!

The cheering only stopped when Chen Cheng strode to the front of the stockade, holding the Bear Demon aloft, and slammed it to the ground with a thunderous crash.

...

As the night deepened, bonfires were lit in the square before the stockade.

By the light of the bonfires, Chen Cheng took large bites out of the Brown Bear’s Heart.

While eating roasted Brown Bear Meat, the Hunters listened to a sweat-drenched Chen Rui recount the tale of how Ah Cheng had captured the Bear Demon single-handedly.

Chen An and Li Hong, however, wore pained expressions.

’Sharing the Gray Wolf Demon Meat is a tradition. But to give away so much of this Brown Bear Demon Meat to the villagers, and even roast and eat it on the spot... isn’t that a bit too extravagant?’

"Ah Cheng, with so many of us eating this in one meal, it’s like we’re eating several thousand taels of silver!"

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