Chapter 391: Dead Weight
Wan Liang didn’t take Cheng Yuan at his word. He calmly instructed, "Xiang Fei, go take a look and see if it’s as Mr. Cheng described."
Xiang Fei got out of the car, and the others inside were tense.
In fact, two young men in the back vehicle had already raised their crossbows. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would shoot Cheng Yuan dead without a moment’s hesitation!
Fortunately, the young men were clearly overthinking things. Cheng Yuan didn’t try any funny business.
Xiang Fei quickly finished his inspection and returned to report.
"Young Master Wan, Mr. Cheng doesn’t seem to be lying. There are clear bloodstains on the steering wheel and in the driver’s seat. And tracing the car’s path, there’s a long oil slick, which means Mr. Cheng must have been driving for a while before he got here!"
Hearing this, He Jing turned to the girl beside her and said in a placating tone, "Nana, Cheng Yuan is my friend. Would you mind going to the back car and sitting with Wang Yan?"
Zhang Nana was clearly reluctant. Being in the lead car meant she could get close to Wan Liang; she had no desire to go to the back and deal with a few broke losers.
But He Jing had casually produced five hundred thousand yuan earlier, so Zhang Nana didn’t want to get on her bad side. She could only cast a pleading glance at Wan Liang.
"Young Master Wan, should I go to the back car?"
Wan Liang, naturally not wanting Cheng Yuan and He Jing to sit together, gave Xiang Fei a cool glance. "Xiang Fei, you go to the back car."
"Ah, alright."
Xiang Fei happily trotted off to the back car, and Wan Liang, smiling, waved Cheng Yuan over. "Mr. Cheng, come on up. Take the passenger seat."
Cheng Yuan got in, gave a slight nod to He Jing in the back, and then offered his sincere thanks. "Thank you for taking me in, Young Master Wan. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’d be spending the night in the Hundred Thousand Mountains."
Wan Liang said with a grin, "Mr. Cheng, you know Jingjing, and that makes you a friend of mine. I bring new people along all the time, so don’t feel like you’re a burden. I can tailor the hunting routes to everyone’s abilities!"
Cheng Yuan just smiled, offering no explanation. He asked, a little puzzled, "Young Master Wan, you didn’t hire any guides?"
Wan Liang sighed without a word, but Zhang Nana, from the back seat, snapped, "And whose fault is that, Mr. Cheng? Everything was going just fine. But after they saw you, the three guides claimed the risk was too high and demanded ten times their fee! We’re not suckers! We fired them on the spot!"
Cheng Yuan frowned. Once his phone was charged, he could contact Dragon Flame to come get him by tomorrow at the latest.
’If this group doesn’t have a guide, they could easily get lost!’
’He didn’t care about the others, but He Jing was He Hongting’s daughter. He Hongting had helped him a great deal, so he felt he should look out for her.’
"How much was ten times the fee?"
"Two million."
’Just two million?’
’Compared to He Jing’s safety, what’s a mere two million?’
"Young Master Wan, call the guides. I’ll cover the two million. Safety is more important than anything."
He Jing knew Cheng Yuan’s situation well and was aware that he was now incredibly wealthy, so she had no reaction.
Zhang Nana’s eyes, however, lit up. ’No wonder He Jing is so indifferent to Young Master Wan but so warm toward Cheng Yuan,’ she thought. ’So he’s this loaded?’
’Staying in the lead car was the right move after all! It’s a huge win no matter whose thigh I end up clinging to!’
Cheng Yuan’s words nearly made Wan Liang choke. His own card had a limit; he couldn’t withdraw two million. Yet Cheng Yuan could casually offer it up!
’The difference is just too great!’
’He was completely outclassed!’
’He’d thought bringing Cheng Yuan along would serve to highlight his own awesomeness!’
’But instead, Cheng Yuan had put him in his place right from the start!’
Wan Liang rejected Cheng Yuan’s proposal without a second thought.
"You’re overthinking it, Mr. Cheng," he said. "I’ve been to the Hundred Thousand Mountains many times; you could say it’s like my own backyard. The reason I fired those guides wasn’t because I couldn’t afford the two million, but because I refuse to be taken for a ride. I only hired them as extra hands for the hunt, anyway. Since you dared to venture into the Hundred Thousand Mountains alone, Mr. Cheng, your hunting skills must be quite formidable, no?"
’So Wan Liang knows the way?’
Cheng Yuan relaxed and replied vaguely, "My hunting skills are decent, I guess."
Wan Liang had already lost face when it came to money; he had to regain his standing on the hunting front. He wasn’t about to let Cheng Yuan off the hook that easily.
Wan Liang pressed on, "Mr. Cheng, I wonder, what draw weight can you handle on a bow?"
Cheng Yuan didn’t know much about bows, so he just smiled and turned the question back on him. "And how much can you draw, Young Master Wan?"
Wan Liang lifted his chin, affecting a modest pose. Some things were just bragging if he said them himself, but if someone else said them for him, that was true prestige!
Evidently, Zhang Nana was perceptive enough to pick up her cue and quickly jumped in to explain for him.
"Mr. Cheng, Young Master Wan can draw a seventy-kilogram bow! That’s more powerful than the standard heavy bows used by soldiers in ancient times! On an old battlefield, a man of Young Master Wan’s strength would be a valiant general at the very least! In the modern day, his power is absolutely in a league of its own!"
Wan Liang waved his hand modestly. "Nana exaggerates. At best, I’d rank in the top three at the provincial level. Making the top ten nationally would be a stretch. Mr. Cheng, you have such a sturdy build. You must be even stronger than I am, right?"
Cheng Yuan answered truthfully, "Young Master Wan, I’ve never used a bow. I prefer knives."
’He’s never used a bow?’
’And he comes to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to hunt?’
’Is he for real?’
Wan Liang finally felt he’d regained some face. He put on an exaggerated expression of admiration and gave Cheng Yuan a thumbs-up.
"So, Mr. Cheng is a legendary knife-hunter! In our Great Xia, only the legendary Hunting God is recorded as having hunted a black bear with a blade! I hope I’ll get to witness the glory of a knife-hunt firsthand this time!"
Even though Wan Liang was clearly mocking him, Cheng Yuan acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He just said calmly, "If the opportunity arises, I’d be happy to show you what I can do."
He Jing snapped, "Cheng Yuan, don’t be reckless! If you’re forced to use a knife, that means a wild beast has already charged us! That’s an extremely dangerous situation! I, for one, hope it never comes to that!"
Zhang Nana laughed. "Jingjing, don’t you worry. With Young Master Wan’s skill, what beast could possibly get close to us? Young Master Wan has shot two wild boars and three black bears before! Since we’re bringing a novice like Mr. Cheng along this time, we’ll just stick to the periphery. We’ll run into medium-sized animals at most. How could there be any danger?"
Cheng Yuan couldn’t be bothered to explain that he wasn’t a burden. Sticking to the periphery was fine by him; at least He Jing’s safety would be assured.
It had to be said, Wan Liang’s memory was pretty good. Even without a guide, he found their campsite without a hitch.
The campsite had three small cabins built from timber, and inside them were inflatable mattresses and pillows.
Wan Liang, taking charge as if it were his right, started assigning tasks.
"It’s two hours until dark. The three women can gather some wild vegetables around the camp, and we men will go hunting. Any objections?"
The group shook their heads.
The men grabbed their gear and fell in behind Wan Liang. Cheng Yuan took a Hunting Blade from the back of the SUV and subconsciously started to follow them.
Wan Liang stopped him. "Mr. Cheng, it’s not that I look down on you, but you’re a novice. Don’t tag along and cause trouble. I’ll give you the easiest job—go fetch some water from the source!"