Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Autumn winds swirled fallen leaves across the gray-blue ground of the courtyard, making a soft rustling sound. In the backyard, the faint yet persistently bitter scent of Chinese medicine seemed to be the freshest imprint in the air, seeping into the cracks of every door and window. The source of this smell was the tightly closed door of Xu Damao's house.

Xu Damao leaned against the peeling paint of the octagonal table in the main room, holding a large, rough porcelain bowl in his hands. The bowl contained a dark brown medicinal soup that emitted a strong, strange smell.

He frowned, held his breath, tilted his head back, and gulped down several mouthfuls. He was immediately choked by the extreme bitterness and coughed repeatedly, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Cough cough... Damn it, what kind of prescription did this old guy give? It's more bitter than bitter melon!" Xu Damao slammed the bowl down on the table, wiped his mouth, and cursed under his breath.

His face was somewhat sallow, with dark circles under his eyes, and he exuded a listless air, as if he had been thoroughly soaked in medicinal broth. Since his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Xu Wude, moved away, the large house had been mostly empty, leaving him alone with only the medicine pot that simmered day after day for company.

The Xu family moved out quietly, almost silently. That evening, a borrowed flatbed tricycle was parked at the gate, piled with two heavy camphor wood chests, several bundles, and some pots and pans. Xu and his wife didn't show much sorrow at parting; rather, they displayed a hurried eagerness to get rid of their burdens and a barely perceptible sense of relief.

"Da Mao," Xu Wude patted his son's shoulder before getting into the car, his tone as calm as if he were giving a routine business instruction, "Work at the factory and the movie theater is busy, and going back and forth would take too much time. Originally, we came back to try to get you to marry Miss Lou, but since it didn't work out, your mother and I will go back first! After all, we've been allocated a house there, and if we don't live there long-term, it will be taken back."

"You... take good care of yourself, take your medicine on time, and listen to the doctor. Didn't the doctor say that it's not entirely hopeless? We discovered it early, so we can treat it early! Also, don't tell anyone about this. Have your mother look for a wife for you again, and find you one as soon as possible." He paused, his gaze sweeping across his son's face. Deep within that gaze lay a complex mix of emotions that Xu Damao neither understood nor wanted to delve into—disappointment, exhaustion, and perhaps even a faint glimmer of hope that he himself was unwilling to acknowledge?

Xu Damao's mother's eyes were a little red. She held her son's hand and said a few words: "Mao, don't complain about the bitter medicine. Good medicine tastes bitter. That old doctor is really skilled. Your father went through so many connections to get him to come... Take good care of yourself, okay? If anything happens, let me know..." Before she could finish speaking, Xu Wude gently tugged at her sleeve and urged her to get into the car.

The tricycle creaked and groaned as it rolled across the cobblestone path and disappeared into the alleyway. Xu Damao stood at the courtyard gate, looking at the empty alley. The evening breeze felt colder than usual.

He didn't believe his father's excuse about being "busy working at the movie theater." Far away? Why didn't they say that when they moved here? He knew perfectly well that his parents had completely given up on him.

Xu Wude probably thought Xu Damao's twenty-plus years of practicing the trumpet had ruined him. They were only in their early forties, still in good health, and were probably in a hurry to go back, secretly... maybe practicing the trumpet again!

An indescribable surge of bitterness and shame rushed to Xu Damao's head, making his chest feel heavy. He spat fiercely, turned around, and slammed the courtyard gate shut with a "bang," causing dust to fall from the door frame.

His parents clung to the old Chinese medicine doctor's words as a lifeline, but Xu Damao knew perfectly well that "it's not entirely hopeless." This sounded like a desperate attempt to revive a dying horse; how much truth could it possibly hold? It was just spending money to buy psychological comfort and give his parents a reason to completely give up.

From then on, Xu Damao became completely obsessed with this bitter medicine soup. Every evening, the strong, pungent smell of the medicine would waft out of the broken window of his small kitchen, domineeringly announcing his presence and acting as an invisible barrier, separating him from the lively atmosphere of the entire courtyard.

He rarely went out, and when he saw people in the courtyard, he was indifferent and gloomy. It was as if what was being boiled in the medicine pot was not herbs, but his resentment that had nowhere to be vented.

At the entrance of the east wing in the backyard, Aunt Er was sitting on a small stool, shelling wilted edamame. She sniffed the medicinal smell wafting in the air, pursed her lips, and whispered to Aunt Er, who was sewing shoe soles next to her, "Tsk, smell it, they've started brewing it again! How many days has it been? Those two from the Xu family, they just packed their bags and left, leaving behind a son who's a walking medicine pot... This smell is making me lose my appetite for dinner."

Just then, Jia Zhangshi came out carrying a basin of dirty water to splash. Hearing this, she rolled her triangular eyes and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Oh my! Second Aunt! Xu Damao is destined to have no descendants! I've always seen his pointy-mouthed, monkey-faced appearance since he was a child, he doesn't look like he'll have any good fortune in the future! What happened to him? Did he ruin his health while playing outside? Why is he drinking medicine every day? If he's not destined to have children, drinking more bitter water is useless! It's a waste of money!" After splashing the water, a few drops landed at Second Aunt's feet, but she didn't care at all. She swayed her plump waist back into the house, leaving behind a string of malicious laughter.

Xu Damao heard everything clearly inside the house, and he was so angry that he trembled all over. The enamel mug that had just been filled with hot water in his hand creaked loudly. He rushed to the window, wanting to open it and yell back, but when his hand touched the cold window frame, his anger deflated like a balloon punctured by a needle.

Curse? What's the use of cursing? If you win the argument, will his problem be cured? He slumped against the cold earthen wall, feeling the omnipresent smell of medicine, like countless tiny insects, burrowing into his bones, bitter and astringent, with a bone-chilling cold.

……

Security Office of the Steel Rolling Mill.

Wei Chen closed the last report on the factory's fire prevention inspection, deftly twirling the pen between his fingers before smoothly placing it back in the pen holder. This was another ability of Wei Chen that Jin Aiguo had recently discovered: Wei Chen could actually write and revise reports for him. After all, Wei Chen was a college graduate selected through the national college entrance examination, so this was a piece of cake for him. He hadn't expected that helping Jin Aiguo revise a single draft would lead to such a clingy attitude! These past few days, Jin Aiguo had practically treated Wei Chen as a secretary!

Outside the window, the afterglow of the setting sun cast a warm golden hue over the tall chimneys and the gray outlines of the factory buildings. Inside the factory, the melodious music announcing the end of the workday played softly, and workers poured out of the doors of each workshop like ants returning to their nest. The noisy voices approached from afar and then gradually dispersed in all directions.

The factory has been peaceful lately. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong have completely quieted down, like tigers with their teeth pulled, just empty shells. Factory patrols and access control checks are all proceeding smoothly and without incident. As for the purchasing department, the meat supply is also temporarily sufficient, and the embarrassing situation that once caused Deputy Factory Director Li to be in a panic and beg for help is no longer present.

This rare, slightly languid tranquility pleased Wei Chen. He stood up, stretching his shoulders and neck, which were stiff from sitting for so long; his joints cracked slightly. Pushing open the office door, he saw the flow of people leaving get off work heading towards the stairwell. Several security guards passing by nodded respectfully and greeted him, "Wei Chen!" "Wei Chen's off work?"

Wei Chen nodded in response and steadily merged into the crowd. He didn't go straight home, but instead went to the factory's bathhouse first, where he took a nice hot bath to wash away non-existent dust and fatigue.

By the time he came out of the bathhouse and changed into clean clothes, it was completely dark. Lights were twinkling in the direction of the courtyard, and the air was filled with the mixed aromas of dinner from each household.

Back in his own courtyard in the traditional courtyard house, Wei Chen bolted the door and carefully checked the windows. Wang Xiulan hadn't turned on the lights; only the faint daylight filtering in from the windows outlined the simple furniture. His mother was always so frugal; Wei Chen had told her many times it was bad for her eyes, but she never listened!

Big Yellow lay quietly behind the door. When he saw him return, it immediately perked up its ears, gently swept its tail on the ground, and made an affectionate whimpering sound.

After dinner, Wei Chen called Da Huang into his room after his mother and sister went back to their room.

"Let's go." Wei Chen said softly, a thought flickering in his mind.

The scene before my eyes rippled, blurred, and reformed in an instant, like waves on water. The humid, sultry air replaced the dryness of late autumn, and the deafening chirping of insects and croaking of frogs surged in like a tide, instantly drowning out my hearing.

Towering, almost savage trees blocked out the sun, their gnarled vines hanging from the branches, intertwined like giant pythons. The air was so thick it seemed you could wring water out of it, a mixture of the strong smell of humus, the fresh scent of grass and trees, and a pervasive, dangerous stench of the primeval jungle.

The game world—at the edge of a dark, dense forest. A figure of a man and a dog appeared out of nowhere.

Big Yellow was clearly used to this. It let out an excited growl, sprang up from the ground, and its glossy yellow fur bristled instantly, as if it had donned an invisible armor. Its limbs bulged with muscles, brimming with explosive power. Its eyes, gleaming with an eerie green light in the darkness, warily and sharply scanned every swaying shadow and every suspicious clump of bushes around it.

Wei Chen took a deep breath of the primitive and wild air, and the rich spiritual energy contained in it, which was something that did not exist in the real world! The cultivation technique of the Nine Heavens Sun Shooting Technique in his body was like an awakened river, naturally accelerating its circulation.

A warm yet powerful surge of energy rose from his dantian, instantly flowing through his limbs and dispelling the last trace of weariness brought on by the real world. He reached behind his back and took out the hardwood hunting bow that had been with him for so long. His fingers brushed against the smooth bow and the taut bowstring, and a sense of familiarity, as if connected to his very blood, welled up within him.

"Old pal, let's try a different spot tonight," Wei Chen muttered to himself, his gaze drifting deeper into the dense forest, to that treacherous place known as "Malachian Claw Valley," a place even sunlight struggled to penetrate during the day. It was a place he'd never been before, and having recently leveled up, he felt ready to give it a try!

There are more powerful prey and more precious herbs there, which of course also means exponentially increased danger. But his hunter level is now vastly different from before. His arrows can hit a target from a hundred paces away, and his armor-piercing arrows are indestructible. Combined with his increasingly refined internal energy, he has enough confidence to explore this new hunting ground.

"Big Yellow, clear the way!" Wei Chen shouted in a low voice, but it carried an unquestionable command.