In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 74: Some Gains?

"The village chief is here."

At that moment, the crowd parted to make way for the village chief, Chen He, who walked over and looked at the three corpses on the ground with a solemn expression.

"village head."

The young man who had been checking the situation stood up and said to Chen He, "The dead people are the three Chen brothers. They were probably killed by wild animals coming down from the mountain."

Chen He crouched down, examined the situation, and nodded in confirmation of the young man's judgment: "He was indeed killed by a wild animal."

The wounds on the necks of the Chen brothers were clearly caused by the claws of a wild animal, unless one was blind. However…

Chen He had some doubts in his heart. Because Chenjia Village was close to the Cangmang Mountain, wild animals had often broken into the village in the past. Those wild animals might be wild boars, or jackals, tigers, and leopards. They might be a threat to people, but they shouldn't be so incapable that three adults could not put up any resistance...

There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, indicating that Chen Jin and his two brothers were killed instantly. Even more bizarrely, after killing the three brothers, the beast seemed to ignore their corpses...

Wild beasts kill people to satisfy their hunger, but Chen He had never seen a wild beast that only kills people but does not eat them. Could it be a monster?

Chen He shook his head, rejecting the guess. If the monsters entered the village, it wouldn't just be the three Chen brothers who would die; the villagers living nearby would probably not be safe either.

After ruling out the possibility of monsters, the suspect changed from wild beasts to humans!

For some reason, Chen He suddenly remembered the animal that often hung on Chen Dao, which looked like a cat but also a bear. The animal's claws were quite similar to the wounds on the necks of Chen Jin and the other two!

Thinking of this, Chen He took a deep look at the bodies of the three Chen brothers and said to the surrounding villagers, "Everyone, lend a hand and take them to the mountainside to bury them."

Although he had some suspicions, Chen He did not say anything. He didn't like the three brothers either, and their deaths were a good thing for the entire Chenjia Village.

As for reporting Chen Dao to the authorities, that's even more impossible. First of all, Chen He has no evidence. Secondly, Chen Dao's reputation in the village is currently at its peak. If he dares to say that Chen Dao is a murderer, the first people to object will probably be the surrounding villagers.

Moreover, what benefit would it bring to Chen He to report Chen Dao?

Chen Dao at least distributed steamed buns to the village, and Chen He also received a few. What did the three Chen brothers give him?

"The three brothers were lucky; they were able to have a full meal before they died."

The young man who was the first to check the situation said with a smile that he had also gone to Chen Dao's house to get steamed buns yesterday, so he naturally knew about the three brothers shamelessly asking Chen Dao's house for steamed buns.

"Yes, yes! If these three brothers can eat a steamed bun before they die, they can be considered to have died well-fed in the underworld."

"If you ask me, those three brothers are already dead, why would they still want to eat steamed buns? They might as well leave them for me."

"That's right! Once you're in the underworld, what's the difference between a ghost who dies from overeating and one who dies from starvation?"

"Those steamed buns tasted so good yesterday! I really envy Chen Cheng and the others; they can eat steamed buns every day."

“They probably won’t have anything to eat now. Daoge’er’s house has been built, so there’s no work for them to do.”

"It seems that Daoge and the others went into town again today?"

"Yes. I even saw them leaving the village this morning."

"..."

The villagers seemed indifferent to the deaths of Chen Jin and his two brothers. While chatting, they carried the three bodies to the mountainside, not even bothering to wrap them in straw mats. They dug a hole and buried all three bodies.

…………

…………

As the donkey cart traveled along the official road, Chen Cheng and the others were noticeably less somber than before.

Having witnessed the terror of Xiaoyuan, they were no longer afraid of the forest bandits emerging from the woods. As a result, the people sitting on the donkey cart were quite relaxed and even had time to chat.

An hour later, the donkey cart stopped in front of the Fuhu Boxing Gym. Chen Dao jumped off the cart and was about to slip a copper coin into Wei Ge's hand, who was guarding the gate, as was customary, but Wei Ge waved his hand and refused.

"Brother Chen, there's no need for that."

Wei Ge said, "The museum master said that you can go in and see him directly when you come in the future, without me having to announce your arrival."

In the past, Wei Ge regarded Chen Dao as a nobody from the bottom of society, so he didn't mind taking money from Chen Dao. But now Chen Dao is a guest of honor of the owner, and his status in Wei Ge's heart has risen significantly, so it is inappropriate to take money from him now.

"Then thank you, Brother Wei."

Chen Dao didn't insist on paying, and after gesturing for Chen Da and the others to wait outside, he went into the martial arts school on his own.

Inside the martial arts school, students were practicing the Tiger-Taming Fist under Han Meng's guidance, sweating profusely.

only……

Chen Dao, who had already become a ninth-rank martial artist, looked at these apprentices practicing boxing and secretly shook his head. Under Han Meng's guidance, these apprentices' boxing was indeed quite good, and they were quite skilled.

However, Chen Dao noticed that many of the apprentices were very pale, which indicated that they had overexerted themselves.

Without medicine to replenish qi and blood, even if one's punches are excellent and perfectly executed, it is difficult to become a martial artist. Those pale-faced apprentices are clearly being forced to train harder, which will only deplete their bodies.

"In this world, martial arts require both techniques and resources!"

Chen Dao sighed softly, walked through the main hall, and saw Li Hu practicing martial arts in the backyard and Li Ying sitting at the stone table watching.

Chen Dao had no intention of disturbing Li Hu. He tiptoed over and sat down opposite Li Ying, smiling as he said, "Miss Li, it's been a long time."

"Brother Chen is here."

Upon seeing Chen Dao, Li Ying remained as enthusiastic as ever, responding with a hearty laugh: "Don't call me Miss Li anymore, it's too formal! Just call me Sister Li or Sister Ying."

"No problem! From now on, I'll call you Sister Ying."

Chen Dao readily agreed.

Li Ying turned her head and carefully examined Chen Dao, her delicate eyebrows furrowing and a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

She and Chen Dao hadn't seen each other for almost a month, and in that month, Chen Dao had changed quite a bit. He had grown taller from about 1.5 meters to almost 1.6 meters.

In addition, Chen Dao's complexion and body have also changed dramatically. He used to look frail and pale, but now he looks much stronger, and even his voice has become much deeper.

"You've practiced the Tiger-Taming Fist?"

Li Ying asked thoughtfully.

"Practice."

Chen Dao did not deny it, knowing that his changes could not be hidden from others: "I have made some progress in practicing boxing recently, and my health has improved a lot."

"is it?"

Li Ying looked at Chen Dao suspiciously. Chen Dao's transformation was so great that it didn't seem like he had only gained a little something.