15: Chapter 15 Going Back on One's Promises

The Red Foxes in the valley appeared and disappeared within the mist, looking like small clusters of burning fire.

Everyone stopped and stared intently at the cave entrance with bated breath; those foxes' fiery-red fur was glossy and smooth—if they could catch them, they would surely fetch a good price!

The greed in Zhang Youqiang's eyes was almost overflowing; his hand was already touching the fletching of an arrow, ready to attack.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ye Jing caught Zhang Youqiang's movement and warned in a low voice, "Hunter Zhang, don't be impulsive. This cave leans against the mountain; while the entrance looks narrow, the inside is surely connected in all directions. If we act rashly, we'll only alert the enemy!"

Zhang Youqiang withdrew his bow and arrow. "Elder Ye, do you have a good plan?"

Ye Jing's gaze swept over the surroundings of the cave. This section of the mountain wall was uneven, but fortunately, there were no other crevices, and several rocks surrounded the cave, making it convenient for hiding.

"How about this: Wang Laosan, take two men, circle around to the left of the cave, and prepare to provide backup with net bags."

Ye Jing spoke rapidly, arranging things methodically: "Xuaner, Yier, you two take Fire starters to burn herbs and smoke them out. Don't make it too thick; you just need to force them to retreat toward the center."

"Hunter Zhang, you take the brothers from Chen Family Village and stand guard directly in front with bows and arrows. Notch the arrows but don't fire; use them only as a deterrent."

"Then when do we make our move?" Zhang Youqiang pressed, unable to contain himself. He only thought about forcing the foxes out; with so many people from Chen Family Village, they could surely catch a few first, and when it came time to divide them, they could claim a larger share.

"When the smoke rises, that's when they'll fall into chaos!" Ye Jing's gaze was sharp.

Next, everyone acted as instructed. Ye Yi and Ye Xuan quickly lit the Mugwort on the left, and thick blue smoke drifted toward the cave with the wind.

These foxes seemed to sense the incredibly choking, strange smell and immediately began pacing restlessly inside the cave. A few even poked their heads out to observe where the smell was coming from.

"Add more smoke!" Ye Jing called out.

Ye Xuan and Ye Yi immediately added another handful of herbs, and the smoke became very thick.

This was pure torture for the Red Foxes with their sensitive sense of smell.

One of the male foxes couldn't help but run out of the cave and lunged toward the smoke, only to be intercepted in mid-air by a dark shadow.

That was Ye Yi, who had been prepared long ago; he picked up a large net and trapped the male fox.

The trapped fox let out a shrill, mournful cry.

This cry was disastrous, causing all the Red Foxes inside the cave to run out in a panic.

"Move!"

Ye Jing shouted loudly.

Zhang Youqiang had been waiting for a long time and immediately ordered, "Brothers of Chen Family Village, go!"

He himself drew his bow to its limit, aimed at a fleeing Red Fox, and pierced its neck with a single arrow.

There were more foxes in the cave than they had imagined; foxes were running all over the ground, at least twenty or more.

Suddenly, a sharp roar came from deep within the cave. The sound didn't resemble a normal fox's cry; it had a somewhat eerie piercing power that made one's scalp tingle.

Before anyone could react, a red figure darted out from the shadows of the cave, fast as lightning, lunging straight at Zhang Youqiang.

That fox was a size larger than normal, its fur glossy and smooth. There was actually a tuft of snow-white fur on its forehead, its eyes were as red as blood, and a trace of black Qi faintly swirled around its body.

It was actually a Demon Fox!

Zhang Youqiang only felt a foul wind blowing in his face; his pupils constricted, and it was already too late to dodge.

In that critical moment, Ye Jing fired an arrow, hitting the fox in the head.

Seeing this, the fox immediately dodged, jumping upward. The red in its eyes intensified, and a low growl issued from its throat.

"It's a Essence Spirit!" the people from Chen Family Village cried out in alarm, looks of terror appearing on their faces.

This world had Immortal Sects, so humans could Cultivate to achieve Immortal Ascension, and animals could also laboriously temper themselves like human cultivators, absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to continuously enhance their spirituality and abilities, becoming Essence Spirits.

Weird things like Essence Spirits possessed great strength and decent intelligence; for Mortals like them, they were extremely terrifying existences.

Seeing so many people around, the fox found it difficult to strike again. It shot a furious glare at Ye Jing and then quickly darted into the forest and disappeared.

"I didn't expect there to be a Essence Spirit here! What bad luck!" Zhang Youqiang said, his heart still pounding with fear.

Ye Jing felt helpless; they had slaughtered its kin, and that Essence Spirit fox seemed determined to fight them to the death.

"Catch these foxes first!" Zhang Youqiang didn't want to deal with the escaped Essence Spirit fox anymore and spoke sharply.

Although Essence Spirits were terrifying, the Tax Silver was even more so.

The people of Chen Family Village used bows and arrows to capture them, while the people of Liu Village stayed on the periphery with nets to catch any that slipped through.

With the two sides cooperating, in less than half an hour, the fox den was quickly wiped out; some people even pulled several cubs out of the cave.

Seeing that they had caught enough foxes, Ye Jing said, "Let's return to the camp first! Then we'll discuss how to divide them!"

Everyone happily agreed and rushed back to the camp, clutching the foxes like treasures.

After returning to the camp, the villagers who were still resting were also very surprised to see Ye Jing and the others coming back with so many foxes.

Hei Feng was even more excited, lunging toward Ye Jing and wagging his tail at him.

Ye Jing patted its head affectionately and gave it a bone as a reward.

More than twenty foxes lay scattered on the ground, stained with a bit of mud and blood, and several cubs were in bamboo baskets, letting out small whimpers.

Zhang Youqiang carried the Red Fox whose neck he had pierced with an arrow and walked to the pile of prey. His eyes swept over the foxes on the ground, and a smug smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"Elder Ye, thanks to you for leading the way and dispelling the miasma today. However, the number of foxes is much higher than expected. Our brothers from Chen Family Village were at the front, leading the way and hunting with bows; we put in more effort than your Liu Village."

"In my opinion, should we perhaps renegotiate how to split these foxes?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Ye Yi immediately became dissatisfied: "Didn't we agree to split them equally? Zhang Youqiang, are you going to go back on your word?"

Zhang Youqiang still had a smile on his face, and his tone was one of negotiation: "I'm not going back on my word. Think about it, when we said equal split, we thought there would be seven or eight foxes at most, but now there are a full twenty or more—this is a windfall!"

As he spoke, he deliberately raised his blood-stained cuff and pointed to several strong men from Chen Family Village nearby who had scratches on their arms: "Elder Ye, you are a reasonable man. The rule of hunting is that those who put in more effort should get more."

"Furthermore, our Chen Family Village has more people, we were at the front, and we suffered quite a bit, nearly being eaten by that Demon Fox. If we still split it fifty-fifty, I'm afraid the brothers under me won't be convinced!"

These words seemed like a complaint but actually hid a full calculation; Zhang Youqiang had already figured out Liu Village's situation.

Few people had come from Liu Village, only ten this time, while Chen Family Village had over twenty, and all were strong. If things really got heated, Liu Village would have no advantage at all.

He was calculating in his mind: as long as he disrupted the "equal split" agreement and threw out a seemingly "reasonable" new plan, Liu Village would have to accept it.

Once they had the advantage in numbers, when it came time to pick through them later, they could naturally hide all the best-looking ones.

"Then how do you want to divide them?" Ye Jing asked calmly.

Zhang Youqiang said with a smile, "In my view, let's do a seventy-thirty split. Our Chen Family Village takes seventy percent, and your Liu Village takes thirty percent."

"In your dreams!" Ye Yi's face flushed with anger, and he stepped forward to curse, "Damn it, Zhang Youqiang! Have you no shame? You already took the best hunting grounds before, and now you're going back on your word."

"If it weren't for our Liu Village saving you, you would have been poisoned by the miasma long ago. Now you're turning around to grab the lion's share!"

At these words, everyone from Liu Village glared angrily at Zhang Youqiang, wishing they could give this shameless fellow a good beating.

"You can't say that!" Zhang Youqiang's face darkened, and his tone hardened.

"Dispelling the miasma is the Elder's credit, and we are naturally grateful."

"But when hunting, it was our Chen Family Village's bows and arrows that played the big role! Look at the foxes on the ground; most were killed by our arrows. Your Liu Village just picked up the scraps, catching a few escapees with net bags. How can that count as the primary credit?"

As Zhang Youqiang spoke, he winked at the Chen Family Village people beside him.

Immediately, someone from Chen Family Village chimed in, "That's right! Brother Zhang is right! If we hadn't fired our arrows, they would have all run away long ago!"

"A seventy-thirty split is already looking out for your Liu Village. Don't be ungrateful!"

The Liu Village people glared at the Chen Family Village crowd; they had truly underestimated Zhang Youqiang's shamelessness.

Coldness flashed in Ye Xuan's eyes; although he didn't show his anger openly like the others, he was equally chilling.

He asked Ye Jing beside him, "Father, what should we do? This fellow Zhang Youqiang is going too far!"

"Hunter Zhang." Ye Jing patted Ye Xuan's shoulder, his voice deepening with an undeniable authority: "You say Chen Family Village put in a lot of effort, I admit that..."

"Father!" Ye Yi cried out in a hurry, thinking his father was about to back down.

The other Liu Village people also looked humiliated, watching Ye Jing with distress.

Ye Jing paused, his gaze sweeping over the foxes on the ground, then he changed the subject: "Hunting also values credibility. We agreed on an equal split at the beginning, so we should follow the agreement."

"However, since the brothers of Chen Family Village were at the front, were injured, and put in great effort, I can make a concession. How about this: we in Liu Village only want the fox pelts; you are more than welcome to take all the fox meat!"