The father provided enough meat soup every day, and there were also some medicinal herbs in the soup that could replenish his energy and blood—such treatment was simply unimaginable before.

After a month of recuperation, his body finally returned to normal, and with his father's permission, he stepped out of the house.

It was a sunny day, the sun hanging high in the sky. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing air far fresher than that inside the room.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes in leisure, lifted his head, and let the sunlight pour over his tightly shut eyelids, as if savoring that burning warmth.

“Zheng family boy, your health is much better now.”

A familiar voice called out. David Wright quickly lowered his head and opened his eyes, responding to the person who greeted him.

He was surprised to find that many people were being quite polite to him today, an attitude far different from before.

Of course, David Wright didn’t know that this was because the trap his father had set had saved the entire village, earning everyone’s gratitude.

His gaze swept across the playground, and he was surprised to see that hardly any of the village men had gone out hunting today; instead, they were leisurely resting under the sun—a rare sight.

Life in the mountains was quite tough, and there were seldom such idle moments.

But on second thought, David Wright understood: the thirty-two black bears from a month ago must have been a bountiful haul.

Everyone loved to talk about the feat of wiping out the black bears without a single casualty. Even David Wright, who had been lying in bed, had heard countless retellings from visiting and grateful guests.

“Haotian, now that you’re better, come over here.” A clear voice called out.

David Wright's eyes lit up, and he quickly ran to a corner of the playground.

There were some stone blocks of various sizes placed here, all quite roughly made—clearly not finely polished.

But such things were more than enough for the village men to use for training their arms and bodies.

At this moment, standing in front of these stone blocks were not the strong men of the village, but two boys not much older than him.

One of the boys, with a sturdy build and a tigerish look, was the village chief’s son, William Clark—the very one who had knocked David Wright flying that night. He was fourteen this year, had practiced martial arts with his father for many years, and was already recognized as one of the best in the village, with the most promise to become a hunter. His performance that night had earned him the gratitude and recognition of everyone—except David Wright.

Opposite William Clark stood a slightly thinner but sharp-looking boy. He was also from the village, named Thomas Miller, thirteen this year. Though a year younger than William Clark, he was not much weaker in terms of strength.

The three of them were the only boys in this small village of just over ten households. Of course, there were two younger children still babbling, but they were far too young to play with them.

At this moment, William Clark and Thomas Miller seemed to be arguing about something, both red-faced and refusing to back down.

The adults around them watched with smiling eyes, and no one stepped in to mediate. In their view, a few bumps and scrapes during the boys’ growth were nothing bad. Even if they fought until their heads were bleeding, they’d be back to being friends in a few days.

David Wright frowned and said, “What are you two arguing about?”

Although the three of them were different ages, they had always gotten along well, and it was rare for them to be this upset.

Thomas Miller turned his head and said angrily, “I say my uncle will definitely become a mid-level hunter and defeat Wan Yifu.”

Before he finished, William Clark shouted, “My father will definitely become a mid-level hunter before your uncle and defeat Wan Yifu, expanding our hunting grounds tenfold.”

Only then did David Wright understand what they were arguing about, but to him, such things still felt far too distant.

There were many villages at the foot of Bear Wolf Mountain. Among them, the Wan family’s village was populous and powerful, with a mid-level hunter holding the fort, making them the strongest of all the villages.

All the nearby villages had an agreement: each village had its own fixed hunting grounds. The larger the hunting grounds, the richer the harvest.

Every year, the chief of Dalin Village, Jason Clark, would represent Dalin Village to challenge the Wan family’s village.

But his strength was at most that of a junior hunter, and he had never succeeded in the challenge. So Dalin Village’s hunting grounds were not very large, and what they got each year was just enough for the ten or so households to get by.

That’s why the haul of thirty-two black bears this time was an enormous windfall for them.

The two boys glared at each other, then suddenly turned to him and said, “Tell us, who do you think is right?”

David Wright immediately rolled his eyes. The size and physical strength of children could differ a lot in three or four years. Facing the two boys who were much taller than him, David Wright wisely kept his mouth shut and refrained from commenting.

Seeing that they couldn’t get anything out of him, the two boys felt a bit deflated.