Amidst the cries of surprise from the crowd, the boy’s body flew backward as if thrown, crashing toward the rear. In that direction, another boy holding a stick stood wide-eyed in shock at the scene.

He was clearly the youngest and smallest in the village, and it was his first time experiencing such a stormy and chaotic situation. The villagers had deliberately placed him at the very back of the group. Yet, even so, when misfortune struck, he still suffered the first major blow of his life.

Two screams of pain burst from the mouths of the two boys, and the younger one was also knocked flying.

But behind him, there was no one left to cushion his fall, so he landed hard on his back, arms and legs flailing, and a sharp protrusion on the ground scraped across his back.

A violent, dizzying sensation instantly swept through the boy’s entire body. A not-too-large but not-too-small wound opened on his back, blood gushing out and quickly soaking the clothes behind him. The force of the impact also caused him to immediately lose consciousness.

At this moment, however, no one was paying attention to this boy anymore.

Everyone was locked in a life-and-death struggle with the black bear, even the weaker women and children were no exception.

A huge bolt of lightning exploded with a deafening crash, streaking a brilliant white light across the sky and illuminating the entire land as if it were broad daylight.

But it lasted only a moment before the forest was plunged back into darkness.

Yet at that very instant, a not-so-large crack suddenly split open beside the unconscious child, and a ball of eerie, flickering light emerged from within.

It was unclear whether this ball of light was lucky or unlucky; as soon as it left the crack, it was splattered by the blood flowing on the ground.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The ball of light flickered violently a few times, then flew onto the unconscious boy, following the trail of blood to his wound and merging into it.

Moments later, the wound on the boy’s back stopped bleeding, and his breathing gradually became steady.

For this boy, the entire world had fallen into complete darkness...

...

A dream!

David Wright had many dreams. In those strange dreamscapes, he seemed to experience a great deal, but for a ten-year-old like him, it all felt too distant to truly gain anything from it.

His eyes slowly opened, his vision gradually clearing from its haze.

He saw it was his own familiar home. He was lying on the bed with his chest down and back up, his head turned to the side, sprawled in this odd position.

He moved slightly, and a sharp pain shot from his back, making him cry out involuntarily.

The curtain at the door was quickly lifted, and a middle-aged man hurried to the bedside. His clothes were simple, and his long, ink-black eyebrows were like the feathers of wild geese, slanting toward his temples. He carried a scholarly air rarely seen among mountain village hunters.

But at this moment, his face was filled with concern.

"Haotian, don’t move."

He pressed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, "You have a wound on your back. You need to rest for a few days. It’s best not to move around during this time."

David Wright's eyes darted around, and only then did he recall what had happened before he lost consciousness.

"Dad, what happened to those black bears?"

The middle-aged man was the boy’s father, Charles Wright. Although he was neither the head of Dalin Village nor its strongest hunter, he still held considerable status in the village, second only to the village chief, Jason Clark.

At this moment, he smiled slightly and said, "Don’t worry, all those black bears were killed. Not a single one escaped."

David Wright blinked a few times and cautiously asked, "Did anyone in the village... get hurt?"

Charles Wright waved his hand and said, "Most people were injured, but fortunately, no one died." His eyes narrowed a bit as he smiled, "You were the most seriously hurt. You were unconscious for a whole day and night—you really worried me."

Relief showed in his eyes. Before David Wright woke up, he had been worried sick, but now that his son was awake and looked energetic, he could finally relax.

David Wright opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, his stomach let out a loud "gurgle."

Charles Wright laughed heartily, "You’ve been out for a whole day and night, of course you’re hungry. Aunt Yu made you some porridge—it’s warming on the kang. I’ll bring it over."

David Wright blinked repeatedly. Although the wound on his back still hurt, nothing was more important than his empty stomach.

Soon, Charles Wright brought over a bowl of porridge. A thin layer of yellow oil floated on top, giving off a tempting aroma.

With Charles Wright's help, the little fellow ate two small bowls in a row and still wanted more, but Charles Wright refused to let him have a third.