Chapter 6: Touching Dogs Doesn't Steal Chickens

  "Rumble!"

  Qin Yiren lay on the couch, listening to the rumbling of his stomach, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

  His hunger was unbearable, and to make matters worse, his stomach kept growling loudly, as if he was afraid others wouldn't know how hungry he was. But no matter what, his stomach just wouldn't cooperate, rumbling away like a tank, leaving him speechless.

  "Alas!" Qin Yiren had never encountered such a predicament in his two lifetimes, and could only silently lament.

  Qin Yiren wasn't without a way to make a living, after all he had received higher education and knew many things, surely some of them were rare in the Warring States period? With one or two small inventions or creations, making a living wouldn't be a problem.

  The problem is that you need energy to do things, he's so hungry that he has no energy and can't do anything; even if he had the energy to do it, he would still need freedom, but now he's under house arrest, his world is just this small courtyard, and even with energy, he can't use it.

  Only by sitting and waiting for a desperate situation is torture, torturing people to death.

  "Hoo-hoo!"

  A gust of cool wind blew, like a knife cutting, Qin Yiren's thin body couldn't withstand it, the feeling was like being drenched with a basin of cold water on a freezing winter day.

  It's already winter, the weather is extremely cold. Qin Yiren doesn't have any warm clothes and is only wearing a worn-out thin robe, which can't withstand such coldness, he keeps shivering and his teeth are chattering.

  Quilt?

  That's a luxurious word, according to his predecessor's memory, Qin Yiren didn't know how long it had been since he last used a quilt.

  "Ah!"

  A burst of teeth chattering came from another room, very crisp and clear. Qin Yiren knew that Hei Bo, Miao Er, Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong and others were also frozen to the point of unbearable.

  Qin Yi Ren curled up like a dog and endured the hardship, finally making it to midnight, when he suddenly jumped up from bed, dragging his tired body to the backyard, following the direction of the refreshing water vapor, until he arrived at the ceramic jar filled with water, where he gulped down a bellyful of cold water.

  "Cold, really cold, damn it's cold." Qin Yiren had been frozen to the point where his whole body was chilled to the bone, without a single thread of warmth. After drinking another bellyful of cold water, he was chilled to the core, like an ice stick, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

  Fortunately, after drinking a bellyful of cold water, I finally recovered some strength.

  "It's time!" Qin Yiren looked up at the sky, only to see a gloomy darkness without a single starlight. He picked up a withered branch and returned to the house, rushing straight to Meng Zhao's room.

  "It smells terrible!" As soon as he reached the door, Qin Yiren was hit with a stench worse than feces that made his head spin and eyes blur. He pinched his nose and entered Meng Zhao's room.

  In the dark of night, Meng Zhao could be seen sleeping soundly, emitting snore after snore. Qin Yiren sighed in admiration: "This skill is truly impressive!"

  So hungry, yet Meng Zhao can sleep so soundly, this skill is really impressive, I don't know how he cultivated it. How many days of starving does one need to endure to cultivate such an extraordinary ability? Qin Yiren's nose turned sour, with a sudden urge to cry.

  A pair of tattered boots in front of the bed, according to Qin Yiren's memory, these two tattered boots were not only broken but also smelly, like a big fish mouth, and very stinky, even more pungent than feces, a sour and corrupt smell that made people dizzy.

  Qin Yiren used a withered branch to prop up his tattered boots and slipped out of the house stealthily.

  XXXXXXXX

  As for Meng Zhao, he was sleeping soundly and only felt that someone was talking by his ear: "Time to eat meat!"

  "Meat?" The snoring seemed to have been cut off by scissors, Meng Zhao sprang up like a spring, his eyes wide open, looking around wildly, and asked hopefully: "Where's the meat? Where's the meat?"

  Meat was a luxury word for Qin Yi and others, they didn't know how long it had been since they last ate meat.

  No, don't mention eating meat, I've already forgotten how many days it's been since I last smelled the taste of meat.

  It is true that the word "meat" has an irresistible attraction to Meng Zhao, and even if he hears a faint "meat" in his sleep, he will wake up immediately and swallow saliva.

  "Meng Zhao, come with me." Qin Yiren's weak voice sounded.

  "Master?" Meng Zhao hastily put on his boots and let out a sharp cry: "How did my boots get so wet? It's as if they've been washed in water."

  "What's with all the nonsense? Do you want to eat meat or not?" Qin Yiren asked in a low voice.

  "Think, think, think!" Meng Zhao said in one breath, uttering countless "think"s, and was also somewhat skeptical: "Young master, is there really meat to eat? You're not deceiving me, are you?"

  "If you want to eat meat, come with me." Qin Yiren didn't waste any words and turned around to leave.

  "Meat? Young master must be confused, where would there be meat?" Meng Zhao muttered to himself, but had no choice but to follow.

  When Meng Zhao arrived at the backyard, he was startled and saw a meat mountain lying on the ground. His eyes widened suddenly, and he shouted: "Isn't this that hateful big yellow dog? How did it die?"

  Zhao Ping's vicious dog Da Huang was lying straight on the ground, its head drooping to one side, with white foam spewing from its mouth, dead as can be.

  That vicious dog was so ferocious, Meng Zhao wouldn't know, they had suffered greatly at the paws of this vicious dog, and deeply knew how difficult it was to deal with this big yellow dog. If it were easy to deal with, it would have been their food in their stomachs long ago, why would they tolerate its wild barking?

  It was as if a ferocious dog that was hard to deal with had suddenly died, and Meng Zhao felt like he was dreaming, and he didn't believe it was true at all.

  "Is this real? Am I dreaming?" Meng Zhao's mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg in it, and he didn't notice Qin Yiren's magical claws reaching out towards his thigh.

  "Ah! Young master, how dare you tease me?" Meng Zhao suddenly shrieked and asked Qin Yiren.

  Qin Yiren secretly exerted his dark power, and with a fierce twist of Meng Zhao's leg, it was so painful that it felt like wood. This wasn't a human leg, but rather a wooden one - there wasn't an ounce of flesh, only a thin layer of skin: "You know it hurts, you're not dreaming anymore, I'm helping you wake up."

  "We really have meat to eat now." Meng Zhao couldn't help but swallow his saliva, overjoyed and in a good mood, speaking in a half-singing tone.

  "I've already assigned this task of skinning to you." Qin Yiren has delegated tasks.

  "Master, rest assured, I'm quite skilled at skinning dogs." Meng Zhao volunteered enthusiastically, full of confidence, saying: "Not only am I skilled, but Ma Ge and Fan Tong are also skilled. With us around, you can put your mind at ease."

  Turning around, they rushed into the house excitedly. Before long, Ma Gai, Fan Tong, Hei Bo and Miao Er followed suit, their faces filled with incredulity. When they saw the dead big yellow dog, they were shocked beyond words.

  This big yellow dog is as big as a calf, it's a mountain of meat, enough for them to have a good meal, who can't be happy? With joy in their hearts, they spoke and sang to express their good mood.

  "Master, you rest and wait for a while. I'll go boil water with Miao'er to stew the dog meat. Meng Zhao, you three skin the dogs quickly, hurry up!" Hei Bo directed everyone to work, beaming with joy, his grey-haired head bobbing back and forth, extremely happy.

  "Quickly, quickly." Meng Zhao and the other two said in unison. They were so hungry that they could hardly bear it, and would have liked to hug the big yellow dog and take a big bite out of it - didn't he dare to hurry up?

  "Master, was it you who killed him?" Meng Zhao suddenly remembered something.

  "Yes." Qin Yiren raised his head and puffed out his chest, saying with a self-satisfied tone: "This is what I call 'petting the dog without stealing the chicken'."

  "Sir, where are the chickens? If there were any, could they have survived till now?" Ma Gei shook his head vigorously.

  If there were chickens in this courtyard, wouldn't they have become their food long ago?

  "Master, how did you manage to kill this vicious dog?" asked Mei'er with great curiosity, blinking her clear black and white eyes.

  She's as thin as a bamboo pole, her blinking expression is extremely cute, just like a cute skull making a spoiled face.

  "Yes, young master, how did you do it?" Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong and Hei Bo were also curious, their eyes shining with excitement, staring fixedly at Qin Yiren.

  The big yellow dog is quite a handful, they are very aware of it, and it's impossible for them not to be curious.