Chapter 11: I Want Those Two Fangs

“Hey! Why are you always so gruff? Grandpa Liu asked me to give you this bundle.” Stone tossed the bundle to Lu Nineteen, then scratched his head. “Oh, and he told me to pass on a message: Keep fighting to live. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope!”

Lu Nineteen clenched the bundle tightly. “Hmm.”

“Hey, not even a thank you?”

Without a word, Lu Nineteen knocked over the campfire and dug into the ashes, pulling out an oval-shaped lump of earth.

Stone, acting overly familiar, squatted beside her. “What’s that?”

When the lump was cracked open, the distinct aroma of chicken meat burst forth irresistibly.

Stone swallowed hard, eyes wide as if staring at a cow’s eyes. “Your way of roasting chicken is amazing! No need to pluck the feathers; they all fall off by themselves once it’s cooked. So convenient and clean!”

While he praised, a chicken wing was pressed into his hand. “A token of thanks!”

Stone waved his hands hurriedly. “I-I was just joking earlier. Helping out casually doesn’t need any thanks!”

Lu Nineteen placed the wing firmly in his hand and resumed eating without looking up.

She ate quickly, but not messily; there was a rhythm to it. Stone couldn’t quite describe it but felt it was even more meticulous than his mother’s rule that every bite had to be chewed exactly three times before swallowing.

“Not eating?” Lu Nineteen looked up after finishing.

“No, no.” Stone stuffed the wing into his mouth, and as he chewed, his eyes lit up. “Delicious! Tender!”

Lu Nineteen glanced at him, slung the bundle over her shoulder, and started walking away.

“Hey, hey, where are you going? Cough, cough...” Stone hurried after her.

“If you don’t want to die quickly, stay away from me!” Her voice remained cold as ice.

“What are you planning to do next? Since I just ate your chicken wing, I owe you a favor. Don’t worry, I won’t get close!”

“I don’t need help!” Lu Nineteen’s tone was icy.

“I want to repay a debt. See? I just ate one of your wings!” Stone pointed at his mouth.

Lu Nineteen pursed her lips, cast him a cold sidelong glance, and went on to check other places for setting traps.

After moving through several spots, whenever she caught something, she casually tied it with vines and tossed it to Stone.

“Give these two rabbits to Grandpa Liu as a side dish for his drinks. The rest I want to trade with your father for a sharp knife—for protection.”

“Ah? I’ll ask my father. Is the knife urgent?” Stone asked.

“Yeah, the sooner the better.”

“Alright! I’ll ask now. In a couple of days, I’m going on a long trip with my father.”

Stone then hoisted a line of wild chickens and rabbits on a freshly carved wooden pole and headed downhill.

Seeing that the day was still young, Lu Nineteen planned to explore the mountain a bit more.

---

“Hmph, hmph!”

The distant voices instantly tensed her whole body.

Estimating the distance roughly, she chopped a small tree and carved it into a double-pointed wooden stick, gripping it tightly.

“Hmph, hmph!”

The sounds didn’t come closer but grew more urgent instead.

Lu Nineteen tucked her machete at her waist and cautiously approached the source, holding the wooden sticks.

“Huff huff~”

The tone of the sounds changed toward the end.

Her steps involuntarily quickened.

“Huff~ huff~”

Drawing nearer, she realized the sounds came from a spiked trap.

The pit was eight feet deep, six feet wide and long—a trap dug to catch big game.

Inside, two wild boars lay barely alive.

Their exposed tusks gleamed sharply, momentarily dazzling her.

A perfect ready-made weapon for self-defense.

“Hey! Hey! Are you still there?”

Stone, having returned, shouted loudly from nearby.

“I’m here!” Lu Nineteen stepped out, voice deep and steady.

“Little Miss Lu, I heard you want to trade my brat for a sharp knife?” The tall and sturdy Wang Dayi spotted her immediately.

“Yeah, is that a problem?” Lu Nineteen asked with pursed lips.

“Kids carrying knives are too dangerous!”

That was a refusal.

Lu Nineteen lowered her brows. “Then how about I trade these hunted animals for two boar tusks?”

“Boar tusks?” Wang Dayi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Follow me!” Lu Nineteen said, dropping the words and heading toward the pit.

“This...”

Seeing the two fat wild boars in the trap, Wang Dayi was also taken aback.

Lu Nineteen pointed inside the trap, “I want those two tusks!”

“This trap clearly belongs to someone.”

She replied without joy or sorrow, “My father dug it.”

---

Wang Dayi smiled knowingly, “Right, I forgot your father’s the village’s famous hunter. But...”

“He won’t give me the tusks!” Lu Nineteen cut him off bluntly.

Wang Dayi’s gaze lingered on her tattered clothes for a moment, then he sighed. “Alright, I’ll get them for you.”

With the two tusks secured, Lu Nineteen carefully fastened them at her waist.

“You keep the wild game you caught. This is just some effort; no need for payment.” Wang Dayi looked at the girl in front of him.

“I also caught them with some effort.” Lu Nineteen examined the tusks at her waist without looking up.

Wang Dayi chuckled briefly. “Fine! I won’t haggle. I’ll sell them for you, and later have Stone’s mother make you some clothes and prepare some food.”

“No need! They won’t let me interact with you, nor will they let me accept your things!” Lu Nineteen refused coldly without hesitation.

“Then…”

“These two tusks mean a lot to me. I’m willing to pay any price!” She lifted her leg and headed toward the Dead Man’s Forest, leaving behind their skinny backs.

“Dad, see? She’s just a strange-tempered person!” Stone smacked his lips. “But her way of roasting wild chicken is unique!”

Wang Dayi nodded thoughtfully. “A very strange child! Despite being so mistreated, her expression is unnervingly calm. No sign of resentment or hatred.”

“I saw her cry once before,” Stone muttered. “But she never admitted it.”

“She’s a strong-willed child!”

“Dad, why didn’t you want to trade knives with her? You clearly have some.”

Wang Dayi gave his son a slap on the head. “Do you want to get your old man into trouble?”

“How would that get you into trouble?” Stone was momentarily confused. “She just needs it for protection. After all, there are many wild animals in the mountains.”

“Protection only from animals?”

Stone’s head snapped up. “She needs to protect herself from people too? Could it be from her own family?”

“Just look at the new wounds on her body. She once mercilessly sent her grandmother to the authorities. Now, it’s no surprise she would strike back to protect herself.”

“Those tusks...” Stone immediately understood.

“Yes, probably for defense.”

“Dad, then why did you still help her get them?”

Wang Dayi sighed deeply. “She’s a pitiful child. Even if I didn’t help, she’d get them herself—it’s only a matter of time.”

“Then...”

“There aren’t many kids as tough and clever as her.”