As Wen Chaoshen was busy, in another part of the abandoned temple, A Shui, who had been sleeping in a pile of hay, suddenly woke up. She slightly lifted her eyes and found a half-bald Big Bck Dog standing in front of her, holding a dented iron box in its mouth, seemingly checking if she was still alive.

  This bck dog looked strange. Like Wen Chaoshen, it was wrapped in a deerskin, tied in a way almost identical to Chaoshen's. However, instead of hay, the dog's deerskin was stuffed with many tight cloth strips and a tattered pink woman's garment.

  A Shui stared at the bck dog in front of her. After it approached her and sniffed, it pced the iron box beside her and took two steps back.

  A Shui vaguely understood its intention. She gently opened the iron box and discovered some congealed porridge inside.

  Though the box was meant for dog food, it had no strange smell, only the fresh fragrance of rice porridge.

  Seeing the clean edges of the box, A Shui knew it must have been washed by someone, either Wen Chaoshen or someone from the county city who fed the dogs.

  This dog was quite particur, not touching the food in the iron box and letting a person eat first.

  A Shui stared at the bck dog for a moment, then really picked up the iron box, scooped some porridge with her hand, and ate a little before returning it to the bck dog.

  With something in her empty stomach, she gained a bit of strength, sat cross-legged against the statue's base, closed her eyes, and seemed to fall asleep again.

  Seeing her like this, the bck dog didn't disturb her. It started panting and eating until it finished everything in the iron box. Then it carried the box to a corner of the stone temple, pced it there, and ran towards a small snow-covered hill in the distance.

  Soon, its thin figure disappeared over the small hill.

  ***

  By noon, the snow had stopped, and the sun came out, covering the mountains and fields with a golden yer that was blinding.

  On the other side of the ditch, Hunter Zhang, carrying a dirty old fishing net, arrived at the small southern ditch. Looking at the frozen surface, he rubbed his hands and picked up a pickaxe to break the ice.

  The process wasn't easy. Even though he was stronger than Wen Chaoshen, his age had caught up with him, and his heart and lungs were aging quickly. The winter wind was cold and dry, and breathing it in felt like thousands of needles piercing his chest. He had to rest frequently.

  When it came to fishing, the south of the county city was not a good pce. However, Magistrate Liu Jinshi had already arranged for constables and some Martial World scoundrels to control the rivers to the north and east. Commoners who wanted to fish there had to pay taxes in advance.

  Liu Jinshi said that the river and ke were public property, and allowing them to fish was a generous act of the king. Anyone caught fishing without paying taxes would face severe punishment, from dozens of shes to one or two months in jail.

  In his youth, Hunter Zhang was strong and capable, having killed a vicious wolf and even trapped a tigress alone. He had some fame in the area and had saved some money. However, over the years, treating his wife Mi Qiu's leg disease had drained his savings, with much of it swindled by chartans and quack doctors.

  After finally breaking through the ice, Hunter Zhang tried casting his net, but he seemed rusty. The water surface he had just cleared started to freeze again.

  His dark face showed little change, except for his nose, which was red from the cold air.

  In the past, hunters in Kuhai County never fished. This was the teaching passed down from his father and grandfather—hunters were the reapers of the mountains and forests, targeting vigint and powerful beasts, not defenseless fish in the water.

  But now, Hunter Zhang no longer thought about these things.

  The ice and snow had cooled his youthful passion, and reality had crushed his pride.

  Now, his only concern was how to get through this harsh winter with his wife.

  Winter days passed quickly, like water in a bamboo basket.

  After a day of struggling by the ditch, Hunter Zhang was considering whether to seek advice from the fishermen in the county city when the slowly falling snow mixed with the sunset light.

  He shielded his eyes and looked towards the distant sunset, his dark face showing a sense of confusion.

  After a long time, he seemed to accept reality, and as he packed up the mess, frost fell from his eyebrows.

  Today, he had gained nothing.

  The wind howled as Hunter Zhang carried his pickaxe and the fishing net soaked in icy river water, step by step, back home. The sky darkened quickly, and the wind grew sharper. He kept his head down to avoid the snowfkes from flying into his eyes.

  As he passed the small stone bridge, he suddenly stopped.

  On the bridge, Hunter Zhang saw another pair of legs.

  Those pants, stuffed with hay and cloth strips—who else could it be but Wen Chaoshen?

  Hunter Zhang gnced at him coldly and said, "What are you doing here?"

  Wen Chaoshen, holding a bundle wrapped in a rag, stood there with snow of varying depths on him, as if he had been waiting for a while.

  "Waiting for you."

  Hearing this, the hunter was silent for a moment before gruffly saying, "There's no food today, let's go back."

  He was about to leave when Wen Chaoshen called out to him.

  "I have some."

  He handed the bundle to Hunter Zhang, who hesitated for a moment before asking, "Rabbit or snake?"

  Wen Chaoshen replied, "Neither, it's frog."

  Upon hearing this, Hunter Zhang gnced at him and turned to leave towards the bridgehead.

  "I'm old, but not so desperate as to eat that."

  In Kuhai County, no one ate frogs.

  The people here had a natural aversion to frogs, finding them disgusting in appearance and assuming their taste was just as bad.

  Moreover, the frogs around Kuhai County were poisonous and considered an ominous symbol by the commoners, so no one would eat them.

  Especially not a hunter.

  In response to Hunter Zhang's words, Wen Chaoshen said, "These frogs are poisonous, but once cooked, they're not. I've eaten them for three years, and they're not as disgusting as rumored. They're meat, after all."

  Hunter Zhang ignored him and continued on his way. As his figure was about to be swallowed by the wind and snow, Wen Chaoshen added, "If you won't eat it, what about Aunt Mi? Won't she eat it?

  I remember she's not well. In such cold weather, you can't just give her porridge, can you?"

  Not far away, Hunter Zhang suddenly stopped.

  After a long time, his gradually fading figure became clear again, and he silently approached Wen Chaoshen, his dark face showing a resigned numbness.

  Wen Chaoshen handed him the bundle again, saying, "You helped me, I won't harm you. I've cleaned and gutted the frogs for you... Cook them, cook them, cook them, it's important to say it three times."

  Hunter Zhang gave Wen Chaoshen a deep look, finally accepting the bundle, and turned to disappear into the snow.

  After a few steps, he suddenly raised his hand, shaking the bundle to scatter the snow.

  Wen Chaoshen knew this was Hunter Zhang's way of saying thank you.