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"Xiao Chen, what are you doing standing here with that machete?"

Second Grandfather Lu Wei was somewhat puzzled.

"It's nothing. Second Grandfather, what brings you here?"

Lu Chen quickly led his second grandfather into the courtyard and called out into the house, "Xiao Ming, Xiao Tang, come out quickly, your second grandfather is here!"

Lu Wei looked Lu Chen up and down and saw that he was in good spirits, so his injuries should be almost healed.

It got better quite quickly; I guess the medicine the doctor prescribed was good.

Thankfully, Xiao Chen is alright; otherwise, how would the two little children survive?

"Xiao Chen, how are you feeling? I heard from Xian De that you went into the water to save someone yesterday? You were too reckless. You're not fully recovered yet. You have to think about Xiao Ming and Xiao Tang. They're still young. What will they do if something happens to you?"

Lu Wei complained somewhat.

Although the person he saved was his cousin's grandson, Xiao Chen was still closer to him in terms of their relationship.

He glanced at the two thin children behind him and sighed, "You've suffered! This half pheasant was hunted by your Uncle Ting yesterday. You should cook and eat it to replenish your strength. These mushrooms were picked by Ah Zhen's wife and the kids on the mountain; they're still fresh. There's also a bag of brown rice here; eat it sparingly."

Looking at the half-eaten pheasant, the basket of mushrooms, and the bag of brown rice in his hand, which weighed about seven or eight pounds, Lu Chen's eyes welled up with tears. He quickly bowed to his second grandfather and thanked him, "Thank you, Second Grandfather!"

"Thank you, Second Grandpa!"

Lu Ming and Lu Tang both bowed and thanked them.

Lu Wei nodded: "On my way here, I heard that Lu San and his gang of bastards came looking for you. What do they want?"

"It's nothing, they just came to check and they've already left!"

Lu Chen did not tell his second grandfather about Lu San and the others.

"Yes, if you need anything, remember to come find your second grandfather. While I'm still old, I can still help you out a bit."

After saying that, he patted Lu Chen on the shoulder and turned to leave.

Lu Chen waited until his second grandfather was far away before closing the door.

"Brother, what about Lu San..."

Lu Chen shook his head, looked at Lu Ming and Lu Tang, and said with a smile, "Alright, don't think about them anymore, everything's fine now!"

Seeing that Lu Tang and Lu Ming still wanted to say something, he immediately became serious: "I said, don't worry. Don't run around these few days, just stay at home. Don't rush to the fields for now, understand? If anything happens, just shout for help."

"Yes!" Lu Ming and Lu Tang knew they couldn't cause trouble for their older brother, so they immediately said they understood.

Lu Chen already had some ideas.

When he saw those mushrooms, an idea popped into his head.

Perhaps, I could use the mushrooms to achieve my goal, quietly killing these people without them even realizing it was me.

Thinking of this, he immediately found a bamboo basket and said to his younger siblings, "You go inside. Don't open the door until I come back. I'm going out for a bit."

"Brother, what are you going to do? I can help you!"

Lu Ming shouted.

"If you come with me, what will happen to your sister? You two stay at home. If you're bored, you can practice the throwing techniques I've taught you in the house! Just don't break anything."

Lu Chen pushed the two inside, then put away the load of thank-you gifts that Uncle Huaiyi had sent in the yard, closed the yard gate, took his wood-chopping knife, filled his basket with pebbles, and headed towards the Daqingshan Mountain behind the village.

My second grandfather just said that my second aunt picked those mushrooms in the mountains. It's early summer now, and it rained a few days ago, which is the perfect time for mushrooms to grow.

When he was on Earth, he had a colleague from Yunnan who had an extraordinary love for all kinds of mushrooms, and he had also tasted quite a few mushrooms.

He was particularly familiar with all kinds of poisonous mushrooms that were inedible.

He might not know much about which mushrooms are non-poisonous, but he knows a lot about which are poisonous; he's even read books about mushrooms.

Among the mushrooms that my second grandfather brought over, I saw the matsutake mushroom.

There is a type of mushroom that looks very similar to the termite mushroom, but it is poisonous.

Once in the mountains, after searching for a while, he was sweating profusely from the heat, and sure enough, he found the mushroom.

A patch of it grew nearby.

They are all *Amanita fulva*.

Many Amanita mushrooms are highly poisonous.

The mushroom in front of him is very similar to the termite mushroom, and eating it would have a very high probability of causing death.

People who aren't very familiar with mushrooms will have a hard time distinguishing them.

He picked a basketful, and also mixed in some other poisonous mushrooms that he recognized, as well as some common, non-poisonous local mushrooms.

A whole basket full.

"How can we get them to eat it?"

Lu Chen, carrying mushrooms, suddenly heard a sound coming from the bushes.

"Is that the call of a pheasant?"

Lu Chen was a little uncertain.

He stopped, took out two pebbles, and looked back and forth in the direction from which the sound came.

The woods were quite dense, and there were bushes blocking the view, so we didn't find anything.

He took a few steps forward and suddenly saw the shadows of trees swaying. His eyes narrowed, and the pebble in his hand shot out with a burst of energy.

"Whoosh!"

The pebbles hit some branches and leaves, startling a brightly colored pheasant in the bushes, which fluttered away, trying to escape.

Lu Chen ran forward two quick steps and threw the pebble in his hand again.

With a muffled "bang," the pebble struck the pheasant squarely.

"Excellent! A pheasant stew with mushrooms—you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Let them have their last meal!"

Lu Chen stepped forward, picked up the pheasant, and twisted its neck.

He took everything down the mountain, picked some wild vegetables, and hastily covered the pheasant with them, but deliberately left its feathers exposed, as if it hadn't been properly hidden.

Then, he carried a bamboo basket full of mushrooms to Teng Jun's house and looked around.

Perhaps these guys are universally disliked, or maybe everyone has gone to work in the fields, because there's no one here right now.

Lu Chen would indeed pass through this road when going up and down the mountain.

He crouched down and eavesdropped around the wall for a while, confirming that the four people were inside the house. Then he picked up a pebble, threw it into the yard, and pretended to have just come down from the mountain.

"Ah! Holy crap!" someone screamed.

"Who the hell threw that stone?"

Someone shouted from inside the courtyard and stormed out, just in time to see Lu Chen passing by on the road.

"You little brat, are you looking for death? How dare you throw a stone at your grandpa?"

Lu San had a red bump on his forehead; it seemed like it had hit him squarely.

Lu Chen didn't aim at all; he just threw it randomly, without even using much force. He just wanted to attract the attention of the people in the room, never expecting that it would hit someone right in the middle.

He feigned fear and took a few steps back.

"I didn't throw them away. I just picked mushrooms from the mountain."

At this point, he pretended to be a little flustered and tried to hide the pheasant.

Lu San spotted the pheasant with half its rear end sticking out at a glance. His eyes lit up, and he ignored the wound on his forehead, rushing forward in three steps.

"You little brat, you dare say it wasn't you? Weren't you the one who was holding a grudge and tried to ambush me?"

Lu San grabbed Lu Chen's collar fiercely, his eyes fixed on pheasants and mushrooms.

Lu Si, Teng Jun, and Luo Yong also rushed out, and upon seeing Lu Chen, they were immediately enraged.

When did they ever get bullied by a little brat?

There's no one else around here, who else could it be but you?

"Exactly! These mushrooms look pretty good. Did you catch the pheasant?"

Luo Yong looked at the pheasant in the basket with a bit of envy.

"I picked these mushrooms; I was planning to take them home to eat," Lu Chen said in a low voice, his hand already gripping the machete. "Like I said, I didn't throw the stone. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

Looking at the wood-chopping knife in Lu Chen's hand, Lu San felt a little scared, loosened his grip on Lu Chen's hand, and took a step back.

"Stop! Who said you could leave? Leave the mushrooms and pheasant as an apology! You tried to attack me with a knife earlier, but I let it slide because you're from the same village as me. However, you're not taking these things with you!"

Lu Si grabbed the bamboo basket.

"No!"

Lu Chen was furious. He gripped the woodcutter's knife tightly, stared at Lu Si, glanced at the others, took a deep breath, and showed a look of resentment on his face.

"My younger brother and sister haven't eaten meat in a long time. This pheasant and mushrooms are meant to be used to make chicken stew with mushrooms to help them recover. Don't go too far!"

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen was both angry and helpless: "How about I give you the pheasant and take the mushrooms with me?"

Seeing that Lu Chen seemed to be backing down, the hooligans immediately laughed.

Such people are adept at taking advantage of others and bullying the weak while fearing the strong.

It seems that Lu Chen is just all bark and no bite; he's only pretending to be tough, not really fearless.

Lu San, with an arrogant expression, snatched the bamboo basket: "We want the pheasants, and we want the mushrooms too! Get lost, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

He spoke harshly, his eyes cold and menacing.

Lu Chen flinched, suppressing his anger. He clenched and unclenched his fists, glanced reluctantly at the bamboo basket, his eyes reddening. Without a word, he turned and left.

"Hahahaha! Bah, you piece of trash, how dare you get angry with your grandpa!"

The group laughed heartily, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and started walking back with their bamboo baskets.

"Guys, let's have pheasant stew with mushrooms today, hahaha!"

Lu Chen had his back to them, a smile playing on his lips.

If these mushrooms were delivered to their door, they would worry that they might be poisonous.

But if they snatched it from him, they certainly wouldn't worry about being poisoned.

Moreover, if there are only mushrooms, they might not be willing to cook, but if you add a pheasant, they will definitely be motivated.

However, this is just his speculation.

Whether they will eat it, how long it will take for them to be poisoned and die, and whether they will seek medical treatment are all uncertain.

Since they couldn't really die, he had no choice but to send them on their way himself.

As soon as Lu Chen arrived home, he heard a system notification.

Under the host's guidance and impetus, the fates of Lu San, Lu Si, Teng Jun, and Luo Yong have changed.

[Estimated hit count and reward: Pending settlement]

"The compass of fate has already turned!"

Lu Chen's eyes were icy cold.