The Golden Age - Chapter 74: Mandrill
Chapter 74: Mandrill
Qin Xiao only came out of the bush after making sure that these hunters would bring him no harm.
By listening to what they said, it seems that they ran into some accidents while hunting. The kid named Yang Wa was crying because his father was seriously injured.
Han Bo was obviously the one who made most of the decisions, commanding the people to rescue Yang Wa’s father.
Hunters spend most of their time hunting. So most of them would bring some medicine to treat wounds just in case.
But after all, they were just poor peasants like everyone else. They don’t have good expensive medicine.
If these people could save that person, then they’d use everything they had. But since he was still bleeding, that obviously meant that none of their medicines were effective.
Saving a person was like fighting a fire, every second was precious. Once one lost too much blood, he or she might never wake up again.
Qin Xiao happened to have the Jinshuang Medicine that Hong Ye prepared for him. He knew that this expensive medicine was different from the others and could potentially save a person’s life. Seeing the poor hunters doing everything they can to save that guy, he stopped hesitating and walked out from behind the bush.
His sudden appearance made the hunters a bit surprised. One of them asked in a deep voice, “Who are you?”
Han Bo also stood up. He raised his hand toward that person and said, “Don’t move.” He stepped toward Qin Xiao and asked, “What did you say?”
“I have some medicine that can perhaps stop the bleeding.” Qin Xiao handed over the Jinshuang Medicine. “I see that one of you is severely injured. Maybe this can help. But I can’t guarantee anything.”
Han Bo bowed and took the medicine with both of his hands. “Thank you.”
Without wasting more time, Han Bo took the bottle and ran back to the injured person to apply for the medicine.
The other hunters gathered around hoping that the medicine would work. Suddenly Qin Xiao thought of something and asked, “Do you guys have wine?”
“You need wine?” One of the hunters took out a wine bag, “I have some. It’s not some high-quality wine but it’s better than nothing.”
“That’s not what I meant,” said Qin Xiao, “before applying the medicine to the wound, it’s best to clean it with alcohol first.”
“This boy’s right,” said Han Bo, “bring me all the wine. We need to clean the wound first.”
After a few minutes, the wound has been cleaned and the medicine has been properly applied to the wound. Qin Xiao stood by the side and watched. The wound was big and deep. It didn’t look like a sword wound, but it didn’t look like an animal bite either.
The wound was so big that the whole bottle of Jinshuang Medicine was used. Qin Xiao knew that saving his life was way more important than anything at the moment so he did not mind at all.
Just as Qin Xiao expected, the Jinshuang Medicine that Hong Ye prepared was some incredible medicine. After about another fifteen minutes, the bleeding stopped.
Since the bleeding stopped, then that means there was a chance of survival.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Han Bo saw that the whole bottle of Jinshuang Medicine was used and said embarrassedly, “I’m sorry. We used it all. How much silver does it cost? We’ll repay you.”
Qin Xiao waved his hand and smiled. “No need, I found it on the streets. I’m just glad it helped.”
Yang Wa had already walked over at this time. He was in his early twenties and had a sturdy body. He knelt in front of Qin Xiao. “Thank you so much. Thank you so much.” Qin Xiao quickly helped him out. “Please, you don’t have to do this.”
“Everyone rest first.” Han Bo ordered, “Yang Wa’s father shouldn’t move right now. We wait until tomorrow morning.” He then ordered some people to get some fire food and set up a camp at the foot of the mountain. Yang Wa looked after his father as everyone else circled around the fire to eat.
The hunters did not care that Qin Xiao was a beggar. They took out their food and offered them to Qin Xiao first. They also had some wine leftover and also offered them to Qin Xiao. Qin Xiao gladly took it over and took a big gulp. This made him feel a lot better.
“Son, where do you come from?” Han Bo handed Qin Xiao a bun. “Why are you here?”
Qin Xiao had been preparing his script this whole time. “A few years ago, my whole village died from the epidemic. I managed to survive and now I’m wandering around everywhere.”
“Yeah, a lot of people died that year.” Han Bo sighed, “Last year there was famine again. More and more people are becoming beggars. Life is hard for people like us.”
“Han Bo, what kind of animal did you meet on the mountain? Qin Xiao took a bite. “Why is he hurt so badly?”
One of the people sitting next to him interrupted, “He’s lucky to be alive. We already lost four people from our village. Oh, wait, Liu Zi died today in addition to the Luo guy that we met. Six people died already.”
Qin Xiao gasped. “Six people died?” He looked at Han Bo. “What’s going on?”
“Mandrill.” Han Bo said bitterly, “There is a huge mandrill in the mountain. Look at Yang Wa’s father. He just got kicked by that thing and flew onto a tree. His stomach got cut open too as you can see. Thank goodness we met you, otherwise, he’s a goner for sure.”
Qin Xiao was even more surprised. “There are mandrills on the mountain?”
”Two months ago, a group of hunters found a mandrill. Two of them died on the spot. One month ago, another one died. Half a month ago, Yang Wa’s cousin also died in the hands of the mandrill.”
“If that animal’s so fierce, then why don’t you hunt on a different mountain?” Qin Xiao couldn’t help but ask.
One of the hunters said angrily, “It’s all for the two bearskins. Normally, we only have to turn in a total of thirty skins. The only thing hard about it was the two tiger skins. If we all work together, we could get it done. But since last year, they made us give three bearskins as well. The only place where bears appear is in this area of the mountain. We managed to get one already but we still need two more. If we can’t give the officials three bearskins, not only will they take our hunting permit away, we’ll also have to send men to work for free in the mines for three years.”
After he explained, the others sighed and shook their heads helplessly.
Two bear skins were incredibly valuable. These hunters even have trouble feeding themselves, they can’t go buy some.
The only way for them to get bear skins to turn in as taxes was to hunt for them on the mountains.
After hunting all year round for a living, of course, they knew the situation well on the mountain.
The mountains were extremely dangerous. But being forced by the skin taxation, the hunters had no other choice but to go up the mountain and risk their lives.
“If the mandrill doesn’t die, it’ll be difficult for us to catch any bears.” Han Bo said angrily, “We might have to spend a few more months before we get the skins. By October, we have to turn the skins in. We have to kill that mandrill somehow.”
“Then did you manage to hurt it at all?” Qin Xiao asked.
“No shit!” One of the hunters complained, “That mandrill is insane. It travels around the mountain like it’s walking on a flat floor. No matter how many men we bring, we’ll never be able to hurt something like that. We’re currently planning to pay someone powerful from the Jianghu. I heard that most of them are incredibly strong cultivators. No matter how strong the mandrill is, it definitely won’t stand a chance against a cultivator. As long as we find someone who’s willing to help, the mandrill will no longer be a threat.”
Hmm. If they do find a cultivator to help, they might actually be able to kill that mandrill. Qin Xiao thought to himself.
“We went to town and asked for cultivators. We met a few but none of them were willing to help us, peasants. They also claimed that their skills aren’t used against animals.” One of the hunters said angrily, “It took us a few days before we found someone whose first name was Luo. He looked very strong and had a big sword. We gathered twenty taels of silver hoping that he would get rid of the beast for us.”
“So he agreed to help?” Qin Xiao asked.
Han Bo sighed. “We had high hopes for him. We treated him well and planned everything. We decided that yesterday at noon we’ll head to the mountain together and find a place where the mandrill has been spotted before. We waited until today at noon until it finally appeared. We first shot the arrows and then the cultivator said he would come out and take him down.”
“Then what happened?”
“Then?” Another hunter spoke, “As soon as the mandrill appeared, that piece of shit peed his pants and ran for it. The mandrill caught up to him easily and killed him in one shot.”
Qin Xiao was stunned.
“We saw that the situation was not good and also ran for it. Yang Wa’s father tried to stab it with the iron fork and got kicked.” Han Bo sighed, “His stomach was pierced open by the tree and Yang Wa carried him on his back until now. We used arrows to scare the animal away but he still managed to get Liu Zi. We couldn’t save him and he died in the hands of the mandrill. It was thanks to him that we, fortunately, managed to get away. And here we are now.”