OFTLHFRO C16

Chapter 16: About the Small Matter of Knocking Out a Wild Boar with One Punch

Seeing that Huo Yan was adamant about having his family return the betrothal gift and speaking so harshly about it, Wang Chen mustered courage and looked up to say, “Huo Yan, it was wrong of me to send others, but now I’m back. No matter how much he looks like me, he’s not me, and I’m willing to marry you.”

Honestly, this was also what Luo Mingchen was worried about.

Huo Yan treating him so well—could it be just because he looked so much like Wang Chen?

If that were the case, Luo Mingchen found it disgusting.

After listening, Huo Yan said, “Originally, I wanted to marry you only because the matchmaker said you’d take good care of the children and you looked decent; it wasn’t that you were the only choice. I thank you for sending Mingchen, but to me, you and Mingchen are very different. Even if he didn’t have this face, I would still want to marry him.”

Wang Chen stared blankly at Huo Yan.

This was completely different from what he thought. He assumed if he returned, Huo Yan would definitely accept him.

Because no one else could accept Huo Yan’s fierceness, and people even said he had killed before.

So it wasn’t that Huo Yan had to have him…

Wang Chen’s mother tugged his sleeve and said to Huo Yan, “Huo Dalang, since you have found the person you love, as you said, we will repay the betrothal gift within two years. We will sell vegetables next month and give you the money.”

Huo Yan nodded slightly, “Fine.”

Then, Huo Yan pulled the ox cart into the yard and wrote a promissory note for them.

The Wang family members couldn’t write, so they all stamped their fingerprints, settling the matter.

Before leaving, Wang Chen was somewhat unwilling. He stopped, fixedly looked at Luo Mingchen, and said, “Huo Yan has killed before.”

Luo Mingchen didn’t understand what he meant, “And?”

To Luo Mingchen, who came from a time when order had collapsed, killing was commonplace, and daily fighting zombies—who were once people—so he didn’t immediately grasp what Wang Chen meant.

To Wang Chen, Luo Mingchen seemed to like Huo Yan so much that it didn’t matter even if Huo Yan had killed someone.

Luo Mingchen thought for a moment and guessed Wang Chen wanted to say Huo Yan was ruthless, “He has killed before. If he broke the law, the government would have punished him. Since they haven’t arrested him, it means he killed the right person.”

Wang Chen hadn’t expected Luo Mingchen’s reply and admired his courage, “Alright then, wish you happiness.”

“…Thank you.”

Luo Mingchen just found him strange.

After the Wang family left, Luo Mingchen saw the onlookers hadn’t left yet and asked in confusion, “Do you have any other business?”

One young man wearing a gray cloth shirt laughed and said, “Huo’s husband, I want to ask Huo Dalang to go see the mountain.”

That form of address…

Luo Mingchen found it a bit awkward, “Go to the mountain?”

The village chief’s son said, “We discovered signs of wild boars. If they come down the mountain at night, it’s hard to stop them. So my father told us to bring some people up there to check. If we can surround the boars in the mountain valley, it would be great. Brother Huo is strong and knows martial arts, so we came to invite him.”

Who would have expected that when meeting people from the Wang family, they would get such a big surprise…

“Oh.”

They were asking for Huo Yan, so Luo Mingchen naturally had no objection, nor would he respond for or decline on Huo Yan’s behalf.

Huo Yan asked, “Going now?”

“Brother Huo, it’s better to do it sooner. It’s not far, just behind your house.”

Because it was so close, they paid particular attention.

Wild boars cause serious damage, and adult boars are extremely ferocious; injuries to people are common.

Also, if the boars rush into the fields now and trample the crops, all their hard work would be wasted.

“Alright.”

After agreeing, Huo Yan told Luo Mingchen, “I’ll be back soon.”

Luo Mingchen blinked at him, feeling a bit uneasy with others watching, and said, “I’ll save you lunch.”

“Good.”

After the group left, Luo Mingchen reflected on their conversation; it really felt like a newlywed couple…

Luo Mingchen shook his head, pushed the thought aside, casually closed the door, and took a child’s chair from his space to seat Huo Xinyue while he soaked some beans.

They still needed to find a suitable spot and build a frame for the stone mill, as they only bought the ground big stones.

Luo Mingchen didn’t know how to make wooden frames, but since Huo Yan had said he could make one, Luo Mingchen didn’t worry, instead taking some loofa vines from his space to plant along the wall.

Seeing he still had time, he took a hoe to turn the soil.

When leaving in the morning, Luo Mingchen saw the previously planted seedlings were alive, so he planned to plant the remaining four acres—two for rice, one for corn, and one for large Chinese cabbages.

Frankly, Luo Mingchen didn’t really know the exact planting times for these vegetables each year.

He could always plant and harvest anytime in his space, so he hadn’t thought of this. Seeing the seedlings alive, he assumed the rest could be planted too, without considering the seasonal weather.

As the sun rose high, even Luo Mingchen’s power creating a fine mist near Huo Xinyue couldn’t block the heat.

Worried the child might get overheated, Luo Mingchen grabbed the hoe, planning to have Huo Yan take care of the child in the afternoon and go back to the fields.

“Yueyue, let’s go, we’re heading home.”

Luo Mingchen put the stool Huo Xinyue was sitting on into the space, smiled, and held her soft little hand as they walked back.

Huo Xinyue smiled sweetly at Luo Mingchen, raised her other hand, and showed him the little flower in her palm, “Daddy, flower.”

“Pfft… that’s a flower.”

Luo Mingchen laughed helplessly.

Huo Xinyue tilted her head, looked up in puzzlement, “Flow?”

“Flower,” Luo Mingchen deliberately slowed his speech to help her watch his mouth.

“Flower?”

“Yes, Yueyue is so smart.”

Seeing Luo Mingchen smile, Huo Xinyue happily repeated “flower” several more times.

Just arriving at the doorstep, Luo Mingchen put down the hoe and took out the keys. Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps accompanied by a beast’s roar.

Turning around, Luo Mingchen saw a large wild boar charging straight down the mountain, heading directly for the field he had painstakingly turned over.

If it charged through, wouldn’t his hard-planted crops be destroyed?

Without thinking much, Luo Mingchen’s body reacted faster than his mind, and he quickly went to block the boar.

Seeing the wild boar charging, Luo Mingchen gathered his power into his right fist and aimed a punch at the boar’s head, knocking it down instantly.

Huo Xinyue, standing at the doorstep, was stunned. From her perspective, Luo Mingchen, who was right beside her, suddenly flashed away.

After Luo Mingchen knocked out the wild boar, he looked up, seeing Huo Yan and several hunters behind him.

Luo Mingchen was dumbfounded, withdrawing his fist, not knowing what to do.

Had he… been exposed?

Huo Yan paused, walked over and asked, “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Luo Mingchen looked at the few people behind him, stunned, “Did they… see something?”

“They saw you knock out the wild boar with one punch.”

Luo Mingchen: “…”

Should he be glad he didn’t use his water whips?