Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1042: Chapter 953: Official of the First Rank 14

The praises reached the ears of Murong Shuangshuang, who was discussing training matters with the village chief. She couldn’t help but blush; she couldn’t recognize the one who supposedly killed several wild boars with a single slap as herself.

The young men who followed Murong Shuangshuang up the mountain had already begun to admire her, and through their enthusiastic promotion, she gained a large group of admirers quickly.

In this chaotic time, the worship of martial power reached its peak, as in troubled times martial power is more capable of self-preservation, making it even more desirable. However, many couldn’t achieve strong martial power, so people instinctively began to admire the strong, and Murong Shuangshuang was undoubtedly one of those strong individuals.

Still discussing training times with the village chief, Murong Shuangshuang was unaware that her status in the village had already started to rise invisibly, aligning with the prestige of the village chief and village elders.

Once Murong Shuangshuang and the village chief agreed on the training venue, time, and number of participants, over on the other side, the marinated dishes were ready. Although the marinating time wasn’t sufficient for deep flavor, it was more than enough for villagers who hadn’t had meat in a long time.

The village’s top cooks crafted dark noodles that were boiled to perfection, topped with a rich marinade, and served with a spoonful of chopped meat. If lucky, one might even get a fatty piece of pig’s foot or tail.

Bowls were held while slurping, nearly forgetting to chew, and soon a large bowl of noodles would be devoured, tasting delicious enough to swallow the tongue. If not for the village chief and elders preventing them from overeating, everyone would eat until they were full, risking overeating.

It was previously announced that the young men would train, and although there was plenty of meat, it prioritized those training. However, others still got some marinade and bits of meat, enough to satisfy cravings and provide nutrition.

After the meal, not only did the agreed young men anticipate the training, but even those not participating began to gather around the village elders and chief, expressing their desire to train as well.

It wasn’t for anything else but the food given to the participants - if they could eat meat every day, they would gladly train daily too. The villagers licked their lips, savoring the taste of earlier dishes.

Eventually, the village chief, angered, chased them away, and those unselected young men reluctantly left. The entire village couldn’t train; who would tend the fields? When tax time comes and supplies are scarce, they could end up being sold into slavery by the government - this scare tactic made the young men hesitate in asking for training.

Murong Shuangshuang didn’t plan on teaching any high-level combat techniques; besides, the village had no suitable weapons anyway. Fortunately, the mountain next to Yu Family Village produced ironwood, incredibly durable.

By sharpening the ironwood into spears, the pointed ends were sharp, the spear shaft hard, ideal for charging and killing the enemy. Murong Shuangshuang’s training focused on everyone holding the spear and charging forward.

With time being urgent, Murong Shuangshuang mainly instilled in the young men an irresistible vigor and orderly formation, ensuring that when the first row thrust out their spears, the second row could promptly step in.

With daily meat meals, the young men’s physical conditions visibly strengthened, while villagers also went to gather external information. The news of mountain bandits was constant but never certain, only knowing this wave of bandits was aggressive and continually prowling nearby, occasionally raiding a village.

After two days, Da Yushu Village, not far from Yu Family Village, was also robbed, with grains and livestock taken, and many people killed. Many families in Da Yushu Village were related to families in Yu Family Village, causing many to seek refuge with relatives in Yu Family Village. Those without refuge headed to the town, joining disaster victims on their way to the county to find the County Magistrate.

The County Magistrate was also overwhelmed. Nowadays, political achievements were unnecessary; sending money upwards sufficed. However, the people had to manage, and large-scale deaths weren’t acceptable. If rampant banditry occurred in the county, resulting in numerous fatalities, it was undeniably problematic. Promotion was out of the question – he might even see his official position come to an end.

These days, the County Magistrate was so distressed his beard was nearly being plucked bald. All the county office officials were sent out to search for signs of bandits, while the County Magistrate also patrolled the surrounding villages daily, visiting Yu Family Village several times, greatly praising the self-organized training of young men to prepare against bandits.

But bandits weren’t idiots; they never faced the County Magistrate directly, yet the frequency of raids never diminished. More alarming was the increasing cruelty of their tactics; during a recent raid, nearly half the village was slaughtered.

When this news got back, Yu Family Village’s villagers became somewhat somber, and training thereafter became much more serious. Despite being exhausted, they gritted their teeth and persisted, not complaining or taking breaks, knowing their parents, relatives, wives, and children stood behind them. As the family’s pillar, they must protect their kin.

While the young men trained, the remaining work in the fields fell to others, but fortunately, field work wasn’t heavy, and everyone managed. Particularly as young men ate meat, so the whole village enjoyed meat soup and occasionally some meat, improving everyone’s physical fitness and easing labor.

Murong Shuangshuang took time to venture into the mountain again, still bringing a dozen people along - too many would scare away the prey. They chose unfortunate wild boars, even encountering the large black bear from last time that escaped by feigning innocence at her feet.

Upon seeing Murong Shuangshuang, the black bear immediately let out a cry and ran, showcasing astonishing speed and none of the cumbersome aspects of a bear. Clearly, it regarded Murong Shuangshuang as a menacing force.

This time, Murong Shuangshuang discovered two groups of wild boars and managed to hunt several, with the young men partnering to find villagers and carry them down the mountain. The villagers worked together, turning them into cured meats within a day, hanging them to dry. With meat from Murong Shuangshuang’s last hunt, now the village filled an entire granary with meat.

The meat served to strengthen the young men, with the village chief appointing guards to watch the doors, fearing that someone would steal the meat in hunger, which would betray Murong Shuangshuang’s intentions.

Following this, Murong Shuangshuang planned not to hunt wild boars in the mountains for a while, avoiding disrupting ecological balance, and waiting until the autumn harvest to manage wild boars harming crops.

During autumn harvest, if wild boars descended the mountain, it indicated their numbers remained high, insufficient mountain food causing their descent. If none descended, it indicated ample mountain food for wild boars, and for a year thereafter, they would need rest for recovery, prohibiting further hunting.

Last autumn, Murong Shuangshuang had just started practicing martial arts and wasn’t very skilled, watching helplessly as several crop-destroying boars leisurely escaped.

This year, Murong Shuangshuang’s martial arts achieved Great Success, her Inner Strength Endless, incomparable to last year. She eagerly prepared to keep all boars harming crops, which represented considerable earnings.