Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"...Little Stone, what is your relationship with Lord Wei?" the hunter suddenly asked.

"Well... that's fine, it's mainly because I have a good relationship with the sect leader," Fang Xiaoshi said hesitantly.

"It's that Luper named Qi Xiaobai."

"That's it..."

Just as Fang Xiaoshi was about to ask, the hunter spoke again: "Tell your father the truth, how much money do you have on you right now?"

"I do not know either."

Fang Xiaoshi took out the pocket from his pocket.

The hunter opened it and his breath caught in his throat.

The total amount of jewelry is not much, not enough to forcibly change the fate of a village or a group of people, but it is too much for a rural family.

"Have you used these things?" the hunter pressed.

"The sect leader took some during the banquet last night."

"What exactly does he mean?" The hunter was almost swallowed up by the gloom in his heart.

"Father, what exactly happened?" Fang Xiaoshi's brows furrowed as well. "And about me changing my surname..."

"Changing the surname is no longer important."

The hunter interrupted Fang Xiaoshi and retied the bag: "The point is that you showed off your wealth last night. People saw it, and rumors have started circulating in the village. Nobody can guarantee how many eyes are watching our family."

In that meeting just now, quite a few people were openly or subtly testing me. They thought I couldn't understand, but I've been out in the world for a while, and I've seen those kinds of looks before..."

Fang Xiaoshi realized the meaning behind his father's words, and being young, he immediately panicked.

The hunter stood up again: "While the people at the ancestral temple haven't completely dispersed yet, I'll go and donate this money to the village chief so he can use it to renovate the ancestral temple."

"But……"

"Listen to me, we can't keep this money!"

For the first time, the hunter's tone hardened, and he quickly left the house, carrying his bag.

He didn't deliberately hide the bag in his hand, letting it fall into the sight of other people in the village.

By the time the hunters arrived at the ancestral temple, the meeting had already ended, and most of the village representatives were preparing to leave, leaving only the village chief inside the temple to handle the aftermath.

Upon seeing the hunter rush back, carrying an eye-catching bag, the villagers, who were about to leave, all slowed down.

In front of everyone present, the hunter handed the bag to the village chief, who opened it and glanced at it, then stared in astonishment.

"This is for renovating the ancestral temple," the hunter said frankly.

The village chief glanced at the hunter's expression and roughly guessed what had happened. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and agreed.

The bag was handed over to the village chief in full view of everyone.

The hunter calmed down a little and walked hunched over toward his home.

Once the other villagers had dispersed, the village chief closed the ancestral temple gate again, and Qi Yan reappeared from behind the ancestral statue once more.

"Fang the Hunter is quite a talent. He may be timid, but he's timid in a decisive and efficient way." He commented with a detached smile, "Unfortunately, in my opinion, his timidity will only become the root cause for others to take advantage of him."

Chen paid no attention to any of this, and emerged from behind the ancestral statue with a worried expression:

"Why was that bag of jewelry exposed? I'm very worried about Fang Xiaoshi's safety now."

"I did it." Qi Yan readily admitted his wrongdoing.

"Are you deliberately tempting the villagers of Moushan Village with greed?" Chen's anger flared up immediately.

"Yes, I admit that my actions this time were quite despicable. Even Black Snake would be impressed."

Qi Yan still had that smiling expression: "But it's better than forcibly suppressing all the hidden dangers. Once a wound has appeared, if we don't endure the pain to disinfect it and just wrap it with gauze, it will become inflamed and rot sooner or later. When it breaks out again, it won't be so simple."

"You still say I'm high and mighty, but what have you done?!" Chen was so angry that he wanted to rush up and punch Qi Yan hard in the face.

"Come on, I'm cheating! I already have a god-like perspective."

Qi Yan spread his hands: "I can tell you clearly that if we don't get involved in the Moushan Village matter, people will die in the future."

"He was still a kind-hearted, ambitious young life."

"The greed of the entire village will turn everyone into something repulsive, making you want to kill them all."

Seeing Chen's face turn pale and then red after Qi Yan's words, Qiu Bai quickly stepped between the two.

"Stop arguing. If Qi Yan really knew something in advance and made corresponding arrangements, that would be a good thing."

After comforting Chen, Qiu Bai turned to Qi Yan and said, "Whether your methods are despicable or not is another matter. The key question is whether the situation will spiral out of control and become unmanageable?"

Qi Yan waved his hand and said, "Wei Yanwu will help step on the brakes at crucial moments. He is responsible for solving the current problems, and I am responsible for solving the future problems. We are a good team, okay?"

Although I might be suspected of causing trouble, I also realized that Wei Yanwu's methods were too mild, so I needed to complement him a little.

Chen felt as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world:

"You're saying his methods are mild? Are you out of your mind?"

"Don't worry, we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Chapter 952 The Stage Play Under the Night

Another night.

Located in a remote area with limited entertainment options, Moushan Village, like other impoverished settlements, had its lights off early in every household.

The few remaining lights looked so pitiful in the dark mountain ravine.

Fang Xiaoshi sat on the edge of his bed, without turning on the light, thus immersing himself in darkness.

The hunter, also seated on the wooden chair beside the bed, urged in a low voice:

"Go to bed and don't make a sound if you hear any noise."

"Father, why?" Fang Xiaoshi asked in a low voice.

"I already told you, that money..."

That's not what I meant.

Fang Xiaoshi interrupted the hunter: "I can understand that our family can't keep that money, but why do we still live in fear even after we've given it away?"

"...Human nature is terrifying." That was the only answer the hunter could give.

In the darkness, Fang Xiaoshi's eyes seemed to gleam with light.

He sat motionless on the edge of the bed and whispered:

“Dad, you actually know in your heart what the villagers really think of our family. You're not the kind of fool who can't see people's hearts. You know what your years of forbearance have brought about.”

"And then what?" the hunter retorted. "Are we going to break ties with the villagers? We're just outsiders; what if things escalate to the point where we can't live in the village anymore?"

Fang Xiaoshi's voice rose several octaves uncontrollably:

"Then let's go outside. The world is vast. Do you think we can't survive if we leave the village?"

The hunter did not answer.

Fang Xiaoshi only heard a rustling sound coming from the darkness, as if the hunter was taking something out of his pocket.

Without him needing to ask, the hunter spoke up:

"This is the envelope your mother sent back through someone years ago."

"My mother?" Fang Xiaoshi was not actually familiar with this title.

“Back then, I came to the village from outside, married your mother, and settled down, becoming the only person with an outside surname in the village.”

The hunter spoke with a touch of reminiscence: "Actually, I know that your mother married me because she had a heart that yearned for the outside world. But gradually, she realized that I had no intention of continuing to venture out. After I used all my savings to buy our family's farmland, she finally completely believed that I came to this village not to rest."

Later... on the day a peddler lured your mother away, I chased him to the wilderness, but I only managed to snatch you back."

Fang Xiaoshi wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't bring himself to say them.

The hunter's rough fingertips rubbed the crumpled envelope.

He said softly, "She passed away a few years ago. She only sent one letter, and it took several months for the letter to reach me. Inside was only a sum of money, which was her death compensation."

"It's only with this money that I can help the village repair the ancestral temple that you destroyed."

Fang Xiaoshi's body trembled uncontrollably.

The hunter continued, "After she left, she went to the moving city with the peddler, but returned to the wilderness six months later, and then..."

The letter passed through five or six messengers, so the accompanying message was quite unclear, but the envelope contained little money, and it wasn't hard to guess how she had fared over the years.

The hunter stood up, walked to the bedside and sat down next to Fang Xiaoshi, and stuffed the envelope in his hand into Fang Xiaoshi's hand.

Fang Xiaoshi held the still-warm envelope, feeling a pang of unease.

The hunter stroked Fang Xiaoshi's head and spoke again, his voice tinged with pleading:

“You and your mother are very much alike. You both yearn for life outside, but after being away from the village for more than a year, you already know how difficult life is outside.”

Although Luper, Qi Xiaobai, speaks strangely, he is also very straightforward. He is not lying. You have already resorted to swindling, cheating, and even robbing people on the road. Is this really how you survive? How can such a life last?

"Your father is old and may not have many years left, but you are still young. What your father can't bear to part with isn't this house, nor that farmland, nor even this Moushan Village."

Fang Xiaoshi gritted his teeth.

He felt that this was not right.

Before he could speak again, the hunter suddenly pushed him down onto the bed and then pulled the blanket over both of them.

Fang Xiaoshi felt a little panicked. The hunter covered his mouth with his hand, so he couldn't speak, but he could hear a sound coming from his own yard through the blanket.

Fang Xiaoshi could clearly hear his own and his father's heartbeats, and he could also vaguely hear the voices of the two people outside the courtyard.

"Keep your voice down, Fang the hunter is a hunter after all!"

"I'm just a little... scared. Do we really have to do this? Are you sure the hunter Fang still has gems at home?"

"I don't believe he'd be willing to hand it all over. If he really doesn't have it... doesn't he have a pack animal at home?"

"You didn't say you were planning to take advantage of that pack animal before you came!"

"Keep your voice down! We've already taken such a huge risk, are you really going to slink away like this?"

The argument between the two stopped, and they seemed to have completely convinced each other.

Fang Xiaoshi heard his door being carefully pushed open. The old door hinges made a slight creaking sound, which made Fang Xiaoshi's heart start racing for some reason.

Hiding under the covers, a feeling of stuffiness and irritability gradually welled up in Fang Xiaoshi's heart.

He couldn't see them, but he could clearly guess what those two people were doing in his home.

Suddenly, the sound of a wooden plank hitting the wall echoed in the deathly silent room.

Fang Xiaoshi could clearly feel the hunter's body tremble slightly.

But the hunter made no move and remained lying in bed, as if he were an actor trying his best to cooperate with a theatrical performance.

The room was quiet for a moment, then Fang Xiaoshi heard a disdainful sneer, followed by the sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets becoming more urgent and undisguised.

Fang Xiaoshi's heart raced again, and his body began to tremble.

This time, he knew very well that an emotion called anger was rapidly building up in his chest.

He was referring to those two villagers, and also to his own father.

He abruptly broke free from the hunter's grasp, threw back the covers, and roared at the two dark figures in the room:

"Stop! Don't go too far!"

The two shadowy figures clearly hadn't expected Fang Xiaoshi to suddenly erupt. One of them instinctively spoke up, but before he could utter even half a word, his companion covered his mouth, grabbed him, and dragged him away.

Fang Xiaoshi broke free from the hunter, jumped off the bed, and gave chase:

"On Saturday, I recognized your voice!"

The fleeing figure ahead jolted, but was ultimately dragged over the courtyard wall by its companion.

Fang Xiaoshi tried to chase after him, but the hunter rushed up and grabbed him.

He tried to continue speaking, but the hunter forcibly covered his mouth.

By the dim moonlight, Fang Xiaoshi could see his father looking around the village.