Chapter 250

Chapter 250

The Competition

The next day, after breakfast, Lin Nannan and Lu Heng set off into the mountains.

They had been away for several days and were curious about how Yin Xu’s plans were coming along.

Upon reaching the mountain, they noticed the old narrow path had changed—the weeds on either side had been cleared, flattened into a wide road, and even fortified against rain.

The spot where they had temporarily stayed before now had a house built from a combination of wood and stone, a big upgrade from the old tents.

When they arrived, they saw Ma Amin prepping vegetables, clearly having taken charge of the place.

“Stay for lunch—I’ll whip up something tasty. They’ve caught quite a few wild rabbits!” he said with a smile when he spotted the couple.

Lin Nannan leaned in for a look and saw several rabbits hopping around. Curious, she asked, “Did they go hunting?”

“Not at all. They just tidied up the surroundings, and there was plenty of game around. They even caught a wild boar earlier—let the villagers handle it, and we had a big pot of stew,” Ma Amin explained with a laugh.

Lu Heng scanned the area and said, “Villagers rarely come up here, and you never went far into the woods before, so there’s plenty of game.”

“Exactly. Yin Xu said that since this is the village’s back mountain, once we took over, the villagers couldn’t come up as freely. So later, we’ll send some game down for the village chief to distribute…” Ma Amin brought up their prior deal, which Lin Nannan noted. She turned to Lu Heng and said, “Let’s go too—add some meat to the village and give them a feast!”

“If the village makes a communal meal, we’d need at least two wild boars,” Lu Heng said.

Lin Nannan immediately lit up with excitement. “Let’s make it a challenge—one boar each. How about it?”

Lu Heng was baffled by her competitiveness. Why compete over this?

But seeing her enthusiasm and recalling her earlier desire to fight him, he figured hunting wild boars was a better alternative than an actual fight.

Better than losing a fight to her.

“Well? Are we going?” Lin Nannan urged when she noticed his conflicted expression.

“Let’s go,” Lu Heng sighed inwardly, playing along.

Thrilled by his agreement, Lin Nannan eagerly shoved him playfully. “Hurry up! If we’re fast, we can make it back for lunch!”

Lu Heng, who had just finished breakfast, let her hustle him along…

Ma Amin, still holding vegetables, watched the two walk away, opening his mouth but finding no words. This was ridiculous…

Weren’t they supposed to stay for lunch? How did it turn into a hunting competition?

Baffled, he shrugged and went back to his work…

…

Once in the forest, Lin Nannan said to Lu Heng, “Let’s split up—race you to the first boar!”

Lu Heng tried to reason with her. “Teamwork’d get it done quicker.”

He was worried that if he took his eyes off her, she’d bolt, and he’d never catch her.

“Then it wouldn’t be a competition!” Lin Nannan refused.

Knowing she wouldn’t budge, Lu Heng gave in.

"You go this way, I'll take that way," Lin Nannan quickly chose two directions.

Lu Hang let her arrange it, then made his own request: "Whether we find anything or not, we meet back here in one hour!"

"What's the fun in just one hour!" Lin Nannan protested unhappily.

"Want to just stick together then?" Lu Hang asked bluntly.

Lin Nannan pouted and said, "Ugh, fine! One hour!"