Qin Ziwen remained silent the entire time, just quietly watching her.
He didn't know if it was a side effect of having killed someone before, but his first reaction when encountering this kind of sudden incident was actually wanting her to shut up completely, to never be able to speak again.
His mindset was completely different from before he had killed anyone.
But he understood that acting this way wasn't rational.
In a public place with many people, especially within the relatively "safe" environment of the residential complex, taking action publicly would only provoke disgust and wariness from the other neighbors.
If everyone in the entire residential complex were to completely integrate into the forest, then we would just be a group of highly intelligent beasts struggling to survive in the wilderness, and following beast logic would be fine.
But right now, we have the residential complex, we have Home, even though the rope representing civilization is already hanging by a thread, it's still there after all.
Someone who is decisive in killing will be respected and feared by others, while someone who is cruel and bloodthirsty will be despised and feared by those around them.
Just as Qin Ziwen was still calculating the pros and cons, his younger brother stepped forward and directly pushed Xue E to the ground.
Then he said coldly: "You've got some nerve, trying to extort us. Taking without asking is theft, and you actually have the nerve to say such things."
Xue E sat on the ground in a daze, looking around at the others for help, but no one around spoke up for her—everyone was just watching as bystanders.
When making eye contact with Xue E, Deng Guang averted his gaze.
"Mom!"
A boy rushed out from behind Xue E, squatting down to hold his mother's arm, saying quietly: "Mom, are you okay?"
Xue E turned her head and scolded: "Someone just pushed your mother, and you're just standing there watching the show, not even helping me. I really raised you for nothing!"
Liu Zhuang glanced at Qin Ziwu's figure, which was a full head taller than his own, and the courage he'd mustered with great difficulty dissipated again, fearfully lowering his head.
Seeing her son so spineless, Xue E felt another surge of inexplicable anger. "Help me up!"
Liu Zhuang quickly helped his mom up. The stares from the surrounding onlookers made his eyes dart around nervously, and his breathing became rapid.
"You all just know how to bully a woman like me." After throwing out these words, Xue E turned and walked away. After a few steps, seeing her son still standing in place, she scolded again: "What are you standing there for! Like a block of wood! Since you were little, you've never been able to do anything right." Liu Zhuang's nose stung with emotion, he buried his head and quickly caught up with Xue E.
......
Going out from the east gate, Qin Ziwen walked along the riverbank.
Deng Guang, seeing that Qin Ziwen had been silent since leaving, comforted him: "You don't need to blame yourself. No one could have predicted Old Liu's accident; it's just fate.
That Xue E's personality has always been like this. She just has a loud voice and a quick temper. I live next door to her and often hear her hitting and scolding her child. What her child fears most is his mother."
Qin Ziwen, who had been thinking about the mountain cave location, snapped back to attention, a smile appearing on his face: "Brother Deng, I wasn't overthinking it. I was just thinking about how to find more Gray Sweet Potatoes. I found that those things only seem to grow in the muddy ground by the river, but there aren't many of them."
Deng Guang understood: "Oh oh, the ones you picked last time. Okay, I'll keep an eye out for more for you."
Along the way, they found eight more plants.
Three of them were in the muddy ground, while the other five were discovered in the grass by the riverbank, their stems and leaves mixed in with the grass, hard to spot if you weren't paying attention.
Compared to the fertile muddy ground, the tubers of the Gray Sweet Potatoes growing in the moist soil along the bank were slightly smaller.
After walking a stretch, they arrived at the location where the fish trap was set.
Qin Ziwen first went to check the snare traps.
Yesterday, because Old Deng had provided some rope, the number of snare traps had directly skyrocketed to ten.
Each time checking a trap was like opening a blind box.
The first trap was empty, the second trap was also empty.
Two empty traps in a row made Deng Guang frown tightly; he thought maybe the rope he provided wasn't very good.
At the third trap, a familiar field mouse lay on the ground motionless.
The rope snare had caught it right around the head, the field mouse's eyes rolled back.
Qin Ziwu said happily: "It's still sticking out its tongue trying to be cute."
Qin Ziwen chuckled: "That's rolling its eyes, damn it!"
Qin Ziwu grinned: "Hehe, just joking."
After saying that, he lifted the field mouse by its tail. The field mouse hung limply when lifted, like a weak noodle, but Qin Ziwen still noticed that the moment it was lifted, its little legs twitched slightly.
"Eagle, come down."
Qin Ziwen clapped his hands, and the Crowned Eagle swept down like a gust of wind from the tree branch.
Staring intently at the field mouse.
Right up until Qin Ziwen untied the rope snare for it, the field mouse remained motionless.
The Crowned Eagle pressed its claw on the field mouse—the field mouse still didn't move.
Only when the Crowned Eagle's sharp beak started to approach did the field mouse finally stop pretending, struggling desperately, but its struggle was undoubtedly like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Qin Ziwen took the field mouse from under the Crowned Eagle's claw and tossed it into the bucket.
Then everyone checked the fourth trap.
This trap had caught a brown-green lizard, the rope snare precisely stuck at the junction between its head and body.
It was as long as two palms.
Seeing people approach, the lizard opened its mouth wide, trying desperately to intimidate them.
Qin Ziwen patted the Crowned Eagle's head, "This is your snack."
It wouldn't be easy to keep the lizard back home, and he didn't want to eat its meat anyway, so he might as well give the Crowned Eagle an extra meal.
The Crowned Eagle pecked down once, and the lizard instantly quieted down, falling to the ground to sleep.
After checking all ten traps, they had caught a total of four prey.
One wild rabbit, two field mice, and one lizard.
The lizard was given to the Crowned Eagle as food, while the wild rabbit and field mice were put into the bucket.
Qin Ziwen said to Deng Guang: "Brother Deng, after we go back, take these two field mice home with you. Most of the rope was provided by you."
Deng Guang waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, these traps were set by you, and you even taught me how to make traps. This rope is my tuition fee. That you can catch anything is your skill. Besides, I already took a lot of kiwi fruit yesterday, about ten to twenty jin."
Qin Ziwen said seriously: "That's a different matter."
Deng Guang became anxious: "It's the same matter! If you keep this up, I'll feel too embarrassed to come out with you in the future."
Seeing this, Qin Ziwen didn't press further, "Alright then."
Arriving at the river, they pulled up the fish trap.
Even before lifting it out of the water, the feel was obviously different! Heavy! Something inside was struggling desperately, the force continuously transmitted from the other end of the rope.
The green fish trap broke the water's surface, water columns spraying out from the gaps between the holes.
Inside the fish trap, a two-meter-long brown-black round-headed big snake was struggling violently.
Qin Ziwen lifted the end of the trap and swung it hard toward the ground, the big snake falling out onto the ground.
After falling out, the big snake's first reaction was to escape, but the Crowned Eagle in the tree swooped down, its claws hooking the big snake and lifting it into the sky.
The big snake twisted its body, trying to wrap around the Crowned Eagle's claws.
The Crowned Eagle gave a fierce peck, causing the big snake intense pain.
After flying up over ten meters high, the Crowned Eagle dropped it, then swooped down in pursuit. The big snake, having just landed and not yet recovered, had its scales slashed open by sharp claws.
The big snake, unable to bear it any longer, swung its head to bite at the Crowned Eagle. The Crowned Eagle flapped its wings to dodge, then chased after the escaping snake again, its claws stomping down fiercely to press on the snake's head and seven-inch point.
The eagle's beak pecked down hard again, tearing off a large patch of scales and skin.
After several rounds of toying with it, this water snake turned into a plate of spicy strips.
On the other side, Qin Ziwen looked into the trap at the two small loaches stuck in the corner.
......